If you want a gaming PC that can follow wherever you may roam, a gaming laptop is likely your best bet. While desktop parts will usually still beat out a gaming laptop, the best of them offer excellent performance in the latest games. Best of all, some models are able to offer peak performance while still remaining thin and light, like the Razer Blade 16, which is my pick for the all-around best gaming laptop of 2025 so far. As of April 15, these are back in stock after Razer had briefly taken down the direct link to buy the Razer Blade 16 and other laptops, replaced with "Notify Me" buttons, ahead of when tariffs were supposed to kick in.
The first thing I always recommend to people hunting for a new gaming laptop is to consider is what PC games they actually hope to play. The second is what settings they hope to play them at. These two questions can guide your purchase to higher- or lower-end hardware and what trade-offs you're willing to make. Now more than ever, gaming laptops come in every shape and size, from thin and light devices to moderately heavy powerhouses like the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16. Larger performance-driven laptops (like the ones that come with a 4K display) achieve their enhanced performance with more powerful, and power-hungry, components, which means sacrificing on portability, battery life, and fan noise.
There are countless to choose from a ton of different gaming laptop brands, and finding the best for you can be more than a little daunting. I've tested dozens over the years, and I have a deep understanding of what it takes for a laptop to ascend to greatness for different types of gamers and can confidently say: These are the best gaming laptops of 2025 so far.
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Best Overall Gaming Laptop
Best Budget Gaming Laptop
Best High-End Gaming Laptop
Best Work/Gaming Laptop
Best Gaming Laptop for Students
Gaming laptops have come a long way in relatively little time. Power, portability, and price have all seen dramatic improvements in just the last five years, and somehow gaming laptops are getting thinner and adding even more features.
Portability and Form Factor
Where will you be taking this gaming laptop? If you'll be taking it out every day, you’ll want something portable, such as a 15-incher or even smaller. Users who just want a laptop to live at home as more of a desktop replacement should go for a 17-inch rig or bigger for the larger screen size and greater power.
Weight is another consideration if you'll be carrying the laptop around all day. Anything more than 5lbs is going to be very noticeable. This can be an issue because gaming laptops have a tendency to be a bit bigger than competing options that don't need larger and more advanced cooling solutions. It's not impossible to find thin and light gaming laptops with great performance, but you should definitely take the time to consider what you're comfortable with and if you're willing to trade performance for portability.
With integrated GPUs, with the integrated graphics on modern processors getting to be so good, it's also possible to find gaming laptops in form factors that just didn't work before. The ROG Flow Z13 is a prime example; it is essentially a 2-in-1 gaming laptop that can double as a tablet for artists and students, but offers impressive gaming performance thanks to its AMD Ryzen AI MAX processor.
The point is, you don't need to limit yourself to bulky clamshell designs in the same way you used to. Depending on your budget and performance needs, there are more options than ever out there.
Power
The newest gaming laptops come equipped with the latest Nvidia RTX or Radeon RX graphics chips. These mobile chips are nearly as capable as their desktop version, plus they support the latest ray tracing, DLSS, and frame generation technologies.
On that front, it can also be important to consider what games you plan on playing, their minimum and recommended specifications, and what advanced features they might support. If the game is equipped with the latest version of Nvidia's DLSS, for example, and supports frame generation, you can probably get away with a lower-powered, lower-cost graphics card since the tech will improve your frame rate even on a cheaper card. As you get into higher tiers of laptop GPUs, prices skyrocket quickly.
Choosing the latest processor isn't quite as necessary, but it's nice to have and can help ensure that it doesn't bottleneck the potential performance of your GPU. If you're looking at a laptop with an Intel processor, be sure that the processor isn't more than a couple generations behind. Both Intel and AMD offer gaming processors with built-in neural processing units for enhanced AI performance. For Intel, these are referred to as Core Ultra processors while AMD dubs its lines AI and AI MAX. Both can offer great gaming performance.
If you only plan to take part in light gaming, a recent Core Ultra or AI Max processor can also take the place of a dedicated graphics card and save you hundreds in the process. Both of these chips feature powerful integrated graphics, and so long as you're willing to adjust settings and resolutions, can deliver playable frame rates. They're also great if you plan on streaming your games through the cloud through services like Xbox Cloud Gaming or GeForce Now.
Price
If you're set on a gaming laptop and just need to decide which one to get under a certain price point, then your choices will be narrowed down based on your maximum budget. If that's you, you'll probably want to explore our full list of cheap gaming laptops we'd recommend instead, but here's our top budget pick right now:
Most gaming laptops are only as portable as the nearest electrical outlet. All that power comes at a price, though. The general rule of thumb about gaming laptops is that their battery life stinks. In general, you should plan on plugging in your laptop before loading a game. Playing on battery power typically lasts an hour or less and also delivers worse performance due to the power limits the laptop imposes on the graphics card and processor. It's just not ideal, but may still be better than lugging around a heavy power brick, depending on what you're playing.
One recent exception to this is Nvidia's RTX 50-series laptop GPUs. These new chips feature enhanced power management features, so you can count on closer to two hours instead of one.
Another consideration when choosing a gaming laptop versus a gaming desktop is its price. It costs quite a bit more to stuff all those components (i.e. the built-in trackpad, keyboard, speakers, and display) into an easy-to-carry shell.
Depending on how tech-savvy you are, You can save some money by choosing a laptop with less memory and storage at checkout and upgrading these components yourself. It's usually much cheaper to do so. However, you'll want to research carefully to ensure that both are upgradable at all and, if so, are easily accessible. Some laptops hide components inside, beneath others, making them especially difficult, if not impossible, for anyone other than an expert to access. Bear in mind, however, that a laptop in general is much less upgradable than a desktop gaming PC. Outside of memory and storage, changing out other components likely means buying a whole new PC.
Should you buy a gaming laptop or a gaming PC?
When considering a gaming laptop over a gaming desktop, ask yourself: Is the premium price worth it for the luxury of portability? In virtually every case, you'll pay more for a gaming laptop with similar on-paper specs to a well-matched gaming desktop. It doesn't stop with the cost: Just because two graphics cards have the same name doesn't mean that they're the same in all circumstances. Laptop versions of same-name GPUs usually offer reduced performance due to their thermal and power limitations. Gaming desktops provide more bang for your buck, are less expensive to upgrade and repair, and last longer before they go obsolete. See our guide to gaming PCs vs. gaming laptops for a deeper comparison.
Is the CPU or GPU more important in a gaming laptop?
Both are important, but you should consider the graphics card more than the processor. Even though a slow processor can throttle the graphics card and lower your fps, usually this is much less of a concern than simply having an underpowered GPU. Remember, it's the graphics card that renders your games and is the single most influential component to gaming performance.
Do I need a dedicated graphics card in my gaming laptop?
Not always. This depends on what you're hoping to achieve. If you're interested in running the latest games at high graphics settings and resolutions, you definitely need to invest in a laptop with a great graphics card. If you only plan to do light gaming, enjoy older games that aren't very demanding or stream your games from the cloud. A modern processor with integrated graphics can also be a good way to save some money. With that in mind, relying on an integrated graphics card hasn't always been as possible as it is today. As such, I would recommend this only for gaming laptops with AMD Ryzen 7000-series or Intel Core Ultra processors.
Do you need a laptop cooling pad?
Many modern gaming laptops come with ample cooling solutions baked into the chassis. But given their much smaller form factor than traditional desktop gaming PCs, thermal throttling can occasionally be an issue. If you are experiencing a downgrade in performance or your device seems a little too hot to the touch, a laptop cooling pad could be a simple, affordable solution. Laptop cooling pads often feature fans and ventilation slots or mesh for better airflow than when your laptop rests on a gaming desk or your lap, helping to ensure your device is working to its full potential and can even increase its longevity. If you're looking to keep your gaming laptop cool on the cheap, the Havit HV-2056 is an excellent option.
Christopher Coke has been a contributor to IGN since 2019 and has been covering games and technology for more than a decade. He has covered tech ranging from gaming controllers to graphics cards, gaming chairs to gaming monitors, headphones, IEMs, and more for sites such as MMORPG.com, Tom’s Hardware, Popular Science, USA Today’s Reviewed, and Popular Mechanics. Find Chris on Twitter @gamebynight.
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