If you haven’t checked in on the gaming laptop scene in a while, you should know that there’s been some changes. Like your ex-girlfriend, the gaming laptop shed some extra pounds, has a ton more energy, and gets so hot that it melts the skin off your thighs. If you’re in the market for something new, I’ve pulled together some really solid laptops for your consideration.

There are plenty of good reasons to buy a laptop for gaming, but if you’re a PC-only kind of gamer, I get it. We can still help you out though. Unleashthegamer has plenty of reviews to help you choose the best PC cases for your DIY build, or for peripherals like monitors and speakers. But for those of you in the market for a good gaming laptop, here’s my top 10 choices.

The Asus FX504 Thin & Light TUF Gaming Laptop is built to last. The dual-fan cooling and filtration system works great at keeping your components cool and dust-free. The FX504 is compact, durable, and will last you for a very long time.

The Asus FX504 has a modest 8th Gen. Intel Core i7-8750H CPU, but that’s pretty decent considering that this is on the budget end of the gaming laptop spectrum. The GeForce GTX 1050Ti graphics card is also starting to show its age, but at the end of the day it’s still a monster GPU.

Asus Republic of Gamers series laptops are an extremely popular product, and they sit right in that sweet spot of affordability and performance. If you can find the Asus ROG Strix Hero II Gaming Laptop for sale like I did, it becomes an even better choice. It has a 6GB GeForce GTX 1060 GPU, which is a bit better than the other mid-range laptops on this list.

The ROG Strix Hero II has an 8th Gen. Intel Core i7-8750H CPU, but that’s still plenty of processor for most people’s needs. The case is well-designed, with a ton of easy-to-access USB 3.1 and 3.1 Type C ports. The keyboard is really top-notch, with a layout that’s been optimized for gaming. The fully-addressable RGB lighting is a nice touch as well.

If you’ve read some of my other articles on Unleashthegamer, you’ll know that I’m a sucker for Alienware. The 15.6” High Performance Gaming Laptop model is thin, lightweight, and has that unique Alienware design aesthetic that you either love or hate. The compact size makes it ideal for quality gaming on road trips, vacations, or in your dorm.

If you need the absolute latest and greatest components, this is not the laptop for you. The 8th Gen. Intel i7-8750H CPU and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card is a very respectable combination for gaming, but Intel has already moved on to 10th Gen. chips and NVIDIA has an entirely new RTX product line. But if you lust after that little glowing alien head like I do, the Alienware 15.6” High Performance Gaming Laptop is a relatively affordable way to get it.

Lenovo may not be the first brand that springs to mind when you think of high-powered gaming laptops, but I wanted to show what you can find when you look outside of the most famous brands. Lenovo’s Legion Y540 Gaming Laptop min/maxed its components to optimize performance on a budget, which as a gamer I can appreciate.

When you look at the Legion Y540 you’ll think “Yep, that’s a laptop. Nothing special here,” but don’t let the bland exterior fool you. It has the same 9th Gen. Intel Core i7-9750H that the higher-ranked laptops on this list have. The GeForce GTX 1650 may be an underwhelming budget GPU, but the included 32GB of RAM really makes the Legion Y540 stand out from the crowd.

Dell’s G5 15 Gaming Laptop isn’t as flashy as the newer G7, but it’s more affordable and it still gets the job done. The dual-fan cooling system makes it better than many laptops at heat dissipation, which is definitely an important consideration for those marathon gaming sessions. I also appreciate that the included 16GB of RAM isn’t the bargain basement stuff.

The CPU is the top-of-the-line 9th Gen. Intel Core i7-9750H, which is good because it’s going to have to do some of the heavy lifting for the graphics card. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is nothing to laugh at- it’s still a dedicated 4GB GPU at the end of the day- but there are much, much more powerful models out there. It has a decent number of USB ports and a great 256GB SSD/1TBHDD combo storage.

The Sager NP8957 Thin & Light Gaming Laptop has a name that only a mother could love, but don’t let that turn you off. Sager/Clevo has built a sizeable following over the years, and while they may not be a household name, they are known in the community for building quality gaming laptops. Like the Omen by HP on this list, Sager has managed to squeeze the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 GPU into this laptop.

That big of a GPU means that the fans in the NP8957 will usually be working overtime to keep the heat down. Loud fans is a pretty common complaint with gaming laptops, so this isn’t a big deal, but it is worth noting. It could do with some more storage, but overall this a really solid choice.

The Omen by HP 2019 15-Inch Gaming Laptop packs a lot of great things into a relatively small 5 Lbs. package. It has the best GPU on this list: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 8GB model. It also has the excellent 9th Gen. Intel Core i7-9750H CPU which means you should have smooth sailing on any game you choose to play.

I know that opinions on HP vary, but even if you’re not their biggest fan you have to admit that you’re getting a ton of high-quality components for your money with the Omen by HP 2019. There’s also room to grow with this model, with a convenient access port for when you want to upgrade the RAM or storage. The only downside is that the absolute unit of a GPU is going to need some serious help cooling off if you want it to have a long happy life.

With gold highlights on the case, and a beautiful RGB keyboard with a bunch of pre-programmed settings, the MSI GS75 Stealth Gaming Laptop certainly has the look of a very high-end machine. Fortunately, what’s going on under the hood is just as impressive as the exterior. The 9th Gen. Intel Core i7 processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU let’s the GS75 go toe-to-toe with any gaming laptop on this list.

The GS75 laptop is light and sleek, weighing in at a svelte 9.5 Lbs. That’s great for when you’re hauling it around, but that light weight may lead to some heat dissipation issues when you’re in a marathon session of the latest AAA title. All things considered though, you’re getting a lot for your money with this gaming laptop.

The Razer Blade 15 Gaming Laptop has a more impressive spec sheet than many custom-built tower PCs- it’s packing some serious firepower. The 240Hz display is also the nicest on this list. All of the RGB lighting is sure to please. None of that comes cheap however, but a man can dream!

The GPU alone costs more than many people want to pay for an entire laptop. It’s the GeForce RTX 2080, and there’s few better on the market. The 512GB SSD is a little lacking in the storage department, but that’s a small price to pay for all of this raw power.

There really aren’t any compromises with CyberPowerPC’s Tracer III gaming laptop. I was sitting here scratching my head trying to come up with anything negative to say about it. It is a hefty 13.9 Lbs., and like other laptops with beefy GPUs it’s going to put a hurting on your battery when it’s unplugged.

I love having a full-sized mechanical keyboard on a laptop, and on the Tracer III each key has individually addressable RGB. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU and Intel i7-9750H CPU are some of the best on the market and will keep you happily running the latest AAA titles for years to come. The CyberpowerPC Tracer III is an absolutely beastly gaming laptop with few if any compromises. It’s easily earned my #1 recommendation.

CONCLUSION

You don’t have to break the bank to get a quality gaming laptop. Last-gen processors and graphics cards are just fine for running graphically-intensive games still, and will be for some time. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with splurging on the latest and greatest either, if you can afford it. I tried to include both options in this list, along with some perennial favorites and some hidden gems. I hope this helps to pick the gaming laptop that’s right for you!