Best gaming laptops 2016: What's the best gaming laptop? The 15 best laptops for games - best gaming laptop reviews

When it comes to high-end Windows gaming, we’ve cracked that. It’s a doddle to find a powerful PC system that will play the most arduous of action titles, all day long and at the highest detail on high-resolution displays.

Today’s challenge is now to squeeze that kind of performance into something quiet and portable, a gaming laptop that can be toted as easily as any other modern notebook PC.

We’ve come close with workstation-class gaming behemoths, but they weighed well in excess of 3kg, required a mains brick that brought that mass closer to 5kg, and sounded (and felt) like a salon hair dryer once the on-board cooling kicked in.

Thankfully the two heavyweights in computing silicon, Intel and Nvidia, have come to understand that the demand is now for power efficiency – to make central and graphics processors that carefully sip precious power rather than guzzle it, making their chips run cooler in confined spaces and without the need for huge fans or liquid cooling systems. See all laptops buying advice.

Best laptops for games: Graphics

If you’re looking for a laptop that can take on modern games, the graphics processor is the most influential component, the part that controls whether your game runs at 5 or 50 frames per second. But it does need back up. This means a capable main system processor, enough system RAM to keep applications stored in memory, sizeable and fast drives to store games and other files, a great screen to view the action on – and a good chassis to bear all these components.

Currently Intel and Nvidia are in the ascendent for both listed processor duties, with AMD’s mobile CPUs and graphics processors lagging behind in performance and efficiency.

From Intel, the new sixth-generation Core series processors (codename: Skylake) are well suited to the CPU task, being even more power efficient while getting the same amount of work done. One laptop maker - Schenker - has even managed to shoe-horn in a desktop Skylake processor into its XMG U506.

For graphics processors, Nvidia’s 800 and 900 Series have made breakthroughs in power efficiency, allowing performance that compares with recent desktop cards but cool enough to slip into the confines of a laptop. See all laptop reviews.

Laptop screens have also improved, with screen resolutions now settling at full-HD, 1920 x 1080 pixels, and using better technology than the basic TN type found on cheap portables. Look out for IPS panels which offer wide and consistent viewing from all angles, better contrast ratio and wider colour gamuts. Don’t be misled by boasts about screen brightness – contrast ratio, especially at lower brightness settings, is far more important than dazzling your eyes with 300cd/m2 figures.

It’s also easier to find screens now with more practical anti-glare finishes, reversing the trend of high-gloss reflective panels that were once unavoidable from most brands. And you can usually ignore the trend for greater-than-HD resolution, since graphics processors struggle with UHD (4K) screens. For most gamers, 1920 x 1080 is a happy compromise between glorious on-screen detail and playable framerates.

For storage, a solid-state drive will greatly improve the user experience when it comes to booting a PC, launching programs and opening and saving files. It won’t make your games run faster, although it may reduce any short pauses between levels. Nevertheless an SSD is always recommended, with the option of a second, traditional capacious hard disk inside to keep your games stored.

Some gamers like to use headphones or headsets, especially in multi-player settings, but if you don’t anticipate spending your time donning ear defenders you should still find that modern gaming laptops run quieter today. Which means you may get to appreciate the built-in stereo speakers.

Some sport brand badges to suggest bespoke audio systems – we’ve seen B&O, Dynaudio, Harman, Klipsch and Onkyo put their names to tinny laptop speakers recently – although in our experience, to date these are more window dressing, with some of the best sounding laptops bearing no fancy badges.

Battery life is perhaps less a concern for a desktop-replacement type of gaming laptop, although that’s more a historical resignation caused by the long-standing difficulty in combining fast graphics with svelte and mains-dodging laptops.

As we discovered with one model in the following group at least, you can have a powerful gaming machine and stunning battery life, even if the unplugged runtime will dwindle more rapidly once low-power integrated graphics have switched over to hungrier gaming graphics. See how to buy a budget laptop.

14 best laptops for games: best gaming laptops

15. Schenker XMG A505

• Rating: 
• Reviewed on: 15 May 15
• RRP: £1205 inc. VAT

The XMG A505 is a versatile choice if you wish to define your gaming laptop experience. Finish quality and style are conspicuously behind the leaders here, although display image is good and the Intel/Nvidia combination means the most challenging games play with ease. The second-fastest storage we’ve ever tested means one quick everyday laptop, even if storage performance counts for near nought when you’re actually playing Windows games.

Read our Schenker XMG A505 review.

14. Gigabyte P55 V4

• Rating: 
• Reviewed on: 19 August 15
• RRP: £1150 inc. VAT

We had issues with the Gigabyte P55 V4's underperforming display and keyboard and trackpad don’t meet quality for the price but this laptop is assuredly fast for gaming and other applications.

Read our Gigabyte P55 V4 review.

13. Schenker XMG P505

• Rating: 
• Reviewed on: 18 June 15
• RRP: £1822 inc. VAT

The XMG P505 is a very accomplished game player, fueled by its top-of-the-range Nvidia mobile graphics processor. The Clevo platform to support this is fairly standard chunky games machine fare, although the all-up weight of around 2.6 kg is modest by the standards of the breed. This laptop is distinguished by its premium IPS display, solid build and the graphics chip required to drive modern Windows games at their highest settings without fuss. And as a general PC it feels commensurably quick, helped along by its 1 GB/s-class PCIe solid-state drive.

Read our Schenker XMG P505 review.

12. Gigabyte P35 v5

• Rating: 
• Reviewed on: 1 February 16
• RRP: £1399 to £1799 inc VAT

As Intel’s CPUs let even gaming beasts like the Gigabyte P35X v5 creep into battery life territory that almost makes them viable as roving productivity machines, every big of extra portability becomes more valuable. Sure enough, this is one of the most portable machines to feature a GTX 980M graphics card. The problem is that if being able to lug the Gigabyte P35X V5 around conveniently isn’t a major concern, this wouldn't be our top pick. Performance is great, the screen is fine and there are plenty of connections. But fairly noisy fans and better touchpad/keyboard combos available from Alienware and Asus make it drop down our most-wanted list a little way. Still, if portability and sober looks appeal, it deserves a place on your shortlist.

Read our Gigabyte P35 v5 review.

11. HP Omen 15-5001na

• Rating: 
• Reviewed on: 20 November 15
• RRP: £1299.95 inc. VAT

The shiny touchscreen is a pointless ostentation raising price and weight besides sapping power, and network connectivity is limited. Otherwise the HP Omen 15 is a nicely built, stylish and speedy gaming laptop.

Read our HP Omen 15-5001na review.

10. Gigabyte P37X

• Rating: 
• Reviewed on: 13 May 15
• RRP: £1750 inc. VAT

The Gigabyte P37X is built for gaming speed, based on a large 17-inch display chassis but in a thinner than traditional case. With the help of the best single-chip mobile graphics processor currently on the market it can play any game you want, up to very high rendering quality. It may not stand out in style but it gets the job done, albeit at a high price.

Read our Gigabyte P37X review.

9. HP Pavilion Gaming 15

• Rating: 
• Reviewed on: 12 April 16
• RRP: From £649 inc VAT (£719 inc VAT as reviewed)

The HP Pavilion Gaming is a classic HP laptop given a gamer’s refresh. A little bit of green trim here, a dedicated Nvidia graphics card there and you have a gaming laptop that’s both capable and practical. Highlights include a good keyboard and performance that can handle all current games at reasonable settings. However, you do need to pick your spec carefully. HP has devised these systems to look good on paper to an extent. The lower-end version uses slow storage that impacts day-to-day performance and the extra cost of the Intel Core i7 CPU would be better spent on an alternative with a step-up GTX960M CPU instead. That all models use single-channel RAM in a laptop that isn't really upgradeable is disappointing too. The sweet-spot model with a 128GB SSD and Intel Core i5 processor is a decent buy, though.

Read our HP Pavilion Gaming 15 review.

8. MSI GE62 2QD Apache Pro

• Rating: 
• Reviewed on: 11 August 15
• RRP: £999 inc VAT

Sensibly powered for great games action, while remaining portable and comfortable to use, the GE62 is only compromised by tricky upgrade potential and disappointing battery life. It has a great display and respectable keyboard for gaming, and crucially plays games at high detail without distress.

Read our MSI GE62 2QD Apache Pro review.

7. Toshiba Satellite P50T-C-109

• Rating: 
• Reviewed on: 2 November 15
• RRP: £799.99 inc VAT

The Satellite P50t has high-end touches on a midrange model, such as UHD IGZO screen and nVidia gaming graphics, plus some metal machining to suggest premium build. It’s let down by a reflective screen and lousy battery life. Despite underwhelming benchmark results it should be speedy enough for general duties.

Read our Toshiba Satellite P50T-C-109 review.

6. Dell Inspiron 15 7559

• Rating: 
• Reviewed on: 30 November 15
• RRP: £999 inc VAT

Lumpy but suggesting longevity, the Inspiron 15 7000 Series ought to survive as desktop replacement at home or the office. Powerful discrete graphics will please gamers and professionals, although the reflective screen and a trying trackpad knock points off usability. If you can live with these foibles, it's good value.

Read our Dell Inspiron 15 7559 review.

5. Alienware 13

• Rating: 
• Reviewed on: 13 May 15
• RRP: £1100 inc. VAT

The Alienware 13 is a compact yet very powerful laptop, suited to playing all modern Windows games. It’s chunky thick but relatively light in weight, and has been well designed and equipped to be a premium yet still portable powerhouse.

Read our Alienware 13 review.

4. Schenker XMG U506

• Rating: 
• Reviewed on: 16 October 15
• RRP: £1585 inc VAT

Slipping a performance desktop PC processor into a laptop may seem lunacy but Schenker gets away with it, aided by the 14nm Skylake architecture. How much it actually helps gaming is moot, since we’ve seen Nvidia GTX 970M run as fast or faster in laptops with mobile-class chips. Besides benchmark-busing results, Skylake also means state-of-the-art connectivity like Thunderbolt 3. As a workstation – gaming or CAD – the chassis and top components make a powerhouse with real performance to spare.

Read our Schenker XMG U506 review.

3. Asus G501JW

• Rating: 
• Reviewed on: 13 November 15
• RRP: £1299 inc VAT

Asus has assembled a fast and lightweight gaming laptop with good results. The 4K-UHD screen is perhaps more about pose than performance, but at full-HD resolution this machine takes Windows games in its stride at high detail.

Read our Asus G501JW review.

2. Alienware 17 (2016)

• Rating: 
• Reviewed on: 22 January 16
• RRP: From £1350

The Alienware 17 is one of the best gaming laptops money can buy. At this stage we just need to check out the relevant competition, the Asus G752, the Acer G9-791 and so on, to find out which will become our go-to recommendation for 2016 gamers with big budgets. Great performance is really a given with an Alienware box, but what really impresses is its smart use of large, quiet, low-rpm fans. It can work hard without showing it is doing so on the outside. The lingering concern is one around price, another Alienware staple. While the Alienware 17’s base specs appear at first competitive, by leaving out the expensive but likely popular 16GB RAM and SSD upgrades, most people’s desired configs are still going to end up rather pricey.

Read our Alienware 17 (2016) review.

1. Asus RoG G752

• Rating: 
• Reviewed on: 4 February 16
• RRP: From £1299 inc VAT

The Asus RoG G752 is one of the few laptops that, even in 2016, can justify being almost 5cm thick and a monstrous 4kg. This almighty body lets it fit in everything that makes a gaming laptop great, from quiet-running fans to the fast mobile GPU money can buy right now. It’s the sort of laptop to buy if you want to play any game at max settings, and are willing to pay for the privilege. Other than the practical issues that come with a laptop of this size, the only things to worry about are the predictably poor battery life and that the design is pretty loud even by gaming laptop standards.

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