Welcome to our guide to the best VR-ready laptops and high-end gaming laptops and based on raw hardware performance, critic and user reviews, design and general pure gaming pedigree.
These gaming laptops have the latest Intel and AMD processors and high-end graphics enough to rival even desktop gaming performance. More than that, many of these offer enough hardware power to function as a 4k gaming laptop on higher resolutions as well as the extremely high-performance demands of VR headsets such as the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.
Keep in mind, however, that for these power hungry beasts battery longevity and mobility may not be their strongest suites. Serious gamers who want an uncompromising gaming experience for the foreseeable future should be prepared to battle it out here for their top choice. Those with smaller budgets should check out our best gaming laptops under $1500, our best gaming laptops under $1000 guide or our best cheap gaming laptops under $500 guide instead.
Top Picks >> Runners Up >>Honorable Mentions >>
Best High-End Gaming Laptop – Top Pick
1. Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-53-72XD 15.6-inch

The Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-53-72XD is a 2020 laptop that has received a huge boost in popularity thanks to its extremely powerful hardware and attractive price point. Powered by an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, it is capable of cruising through most modern games at high settings with ease and is future-proof enough to allow good playability on most games for the foreseeable future. More than that, its price to performance ratio is better than most competing laptops which offer similar hardware at a higher price.
One of the main highlights of the the PH315-53-72XD is its 144Hz display which received great reviews for its clarity and flexible viewing angles.The 144Hz display allows for playing games at above the standard 60 frames per second limitation on standard 60Hz monitors. Considering the powerful GeForce RTX 2060 graphics, achieving frame rates of above 60 FPS on games is not only possible, but highly likely, so the high refresh rate on the display makes a lot of sense. This allows for a more vivid and realistic gaming experience especially for action oriented games.
Asides from its powerful graphics card, it also features a hex-core Intel Core i7-10750H processor which offers desktop-grade performance and is suitable for advanced applications and multi-tasking. The included 16 GB of DDR4 2933MHz RAM should be more than enough to handle most users’ needs too. Storage wise, the included 512GB SSD hard drive is large enough for a fair amount of games and other media, and there is also a free hard drive slot for adding additional hard drives for more storage as needed.
An additional perk of the laptops design includes very good heat management, meaning your laptop is unlikely to overheat or be uncomfortably hot during use thanks to Acers’ fourth generation AeroBlade 3D cooling design technology. This is often a huge problem with gaming laptops, especially ones with graphics cards as powerful as this. The laptops’ design is topped off with a quality RGB backlit keyboard with customizable lighting zones.
The PH315-53-72XD received criticism for its plastic construction, which is clearly where Acer decided to cut corners in order to bring the price down. Though the design is attractive enough, it lacks the aluminium or other finish found on more high-end gaming laptops in the $1500 range or higher. Other downfalls include a mediocre touchpad, short battery life, and some reports of fan noise under heavy load. If you are willing to live with these sacrifices, the Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-53-72XD is one of the best value for money high-end gaming laptops currently on the market.
Pros
- Powerful GeForce RTX 2060 6GB graphics card
- High quality 144Hz display
- Excellent heat management
- Quality RGB backlit keyboard
Cons
- Plastic construction
- Mediocre touchpad
- Fan noise under heavy load
- Short battery life
Specs
- Intel Core i7-10750H 2.6Ghz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 6GB GDDR6 [View Framerates]
- 16GB DDR4 RAM
- 512GB SSD
- 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels (IPS)
- Windows 10 Home
- 6 hours battery life
- 5.07 lbs
Summary & Score
Although it may lack the premium build construction of more high-end gaming laptops, the PH315-53-72XD offers extremely attractive hardware at a price that's ahead of the competition.
on Amazon.com
(as of 31-05-2023 19:24 UTC) Details
Best High-End Gaming Laptop – Runner-Up
2. ASUS TUF506IV-AS76 TUF A15 15.6-inch

Competing neck on neck with the Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-53-72XD for best high-end gaming laptop featuring a GeForce RTX 2060 in 2020 is the slightly less popular ASUS TUF506IV-AS76 TUF. Don’t let its popularity fool you though – the TUF506IV-AS76 is still one of the top selling high-end gaming laptops of the year and matches the competition head on in almost every aspect with its own unique features to boot. Notably, where the Asus TUF506IV-AS76 really shines is its CPU, which knocks competing i7 processors out the water.
Although the core of any serious high-end gaming laptops is its graphics card, it’s worth mentioning up front that the included AMD Ryzen 7 4800H CPU is probably one the most powerful CPUs to ever hit the laptop market, let alone at this price point. It offers around 40-50% better performance than competing i7 Intel based laptops. While this won’t directly improve graphics performance by much, it will allow for running advanced applications of all shapes and sizes faster than you have ever seen them go.
Moving onto the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 offers performance roughly on par with the competing NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, although the RTX 2060 is a newer generation card. This level of performance is enough to play most major PC games on highest settings and will only be held back by next-generation hardware hogs such as Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.
Coupled with the Ryzen 7 4800H, the duo makes for one seriously high performance machine that can easily rival the speed of most gaming desktops today despite its portable form factor. This will allow it to take full advantage of the high refresh rate on its 144Hz display, making for a much more immersive gaming experience.
The build quality on the TUF506IV-AS76 has received excellent reviews despite its budget price point, including an aluminum finish that is a step ahead of the plastic finish on many competing laptops. The laptop also received positive feedback on its sturdy and customizable RGB backlit keyboard, as well as lengthy battery life for a gaming laptop. If you plan on moving around a lot the battery life will certainly give you a leg up over most competing gaming laptop models.
Where the TUF506IV-AS76 falls flat in some reviewers eyes is its screens color reproduction, which won’t be able to stand up directly to many competitors and won’t be good for color sensitive work. That said, the quality is not bad – it certainly does the job, but in a playing field where some competitors do better. Other minor shortcomings include noisy fans under intense load, the bane of almost every gaming laptop on the market, and an average touchpad that’s not quite sensitive to allow the laptop to be used very comfortably without a mouse.
If you are looking for the highest performance possible and don’t mind sacrificing a little when it comes to screen contrast and color reproduction, the TUF506IV-AS76 is the unsung beast of AMD’s high-end gaming laptop line up and at an incredibly competitive price to boot.
Pros
- Extremely powerful GeForce RTX 2060 6GB graphics
- Extremely powerful AMD Ryzen 7 4800H CPU
- Solid build quality with aluminium finish
- 144Hz screen refresh rate
- Quality RGB keyboard
- Good battery life
Cons
- Screen color reproduction lacking
- Fans get can get noisy under load
- Lacklustre touchpad
Specs
- AMD Ryzen 7 4800H 2.9GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 6GB GDDR6 [View Framerates]
- 16GB DDR4 3200MHz RAM
- 1000GB SSD
- 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels (IPS)
- Windows 10 Home
- 9 hours battery life
- 5.07 lbs
Summary & Score
Despite losing points due its displays contrast and colors, the ASUS TUF506IV-AS76 TUF packs some incredibly powerful hardware and impressive features that have wooed critics across the board.
on Amazon.com
(as of 31-05-2023 19:24 UTC) Details
Best High-End Gaming Laptops – Honorable Mentions
3. Alienware AW17R4-7352SLV-PUS 17.3-inch
Alienware is one of the most well-known brands when it comes to gaming PCs, and their laptops generally feature killer hardware specs and are more than powerful enough to handle any game that is thrown their way.
The Alienware AW17R4-7352SLV-PUS is an insanely powerful gaming laptop that has a price to match. Alienware are known for offering laptops with amazing displays and the Alienware AW17R4-7352SLV-PUS is no exception, not only is it a high resolution QHD display, but it also offers a frequency of 120Hz, NVIDIA G-SYNC technology and last but not least, Tobii Eye-tracking technology. Its brilliant display is backed up by a powerful NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 and will allow you to enjoy any of the 2017 games that are currently on the market.
This GPU will also give you the very best experience if you intend on using a VR headset. The GTX 1080 will also come in handy if you are an animator or a video editor as it will offer far superior rendering speeds compared to its GTX 1050 and GTX 1060 siblings. If this isn’t enough for you, then you could always purchase the Alienware Graphics Amplifier and a desktop grade GTX 1080 Ti. Though this is not necessary and is merely a lavish luxury.
You also get a higher-end processor than most gaming laptops and instead of an i7-7700HQ, you get a far more powerful Intel i7-7820HK processor which can be further overclocked if you feel the need to get those extra bragging rights. Note: The model shown here only comes shipped with 8GB of RAM. To save $200-300 buy your own DDR4 2400MHz RAM and install it yourself to get the equivalent of the 16GB or 32G version for cheaper. We recommend a minimum of 16GB of RAM for best performance.
Pros
- QHD display with Tobii and G-SYNC
- Huge amount of RAM
- Extremely powerful mobile GPU
- Overclockable i7 processor
- Great selection of ports
Cons
- Heat buildup
- Higher price
- Slower SSD than its competitors
Specs
- Intel Core i7-7820HK 2.9GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia Geforce GTX 1080 8GB GDDR5X [View Framerates]
- 8GB DDR4 2400MHz RAM
- 256GB SSD / 1024GB 7200 RPM HDD
- 17.3 inch, 2560 x 1440 pixels (IPS)
- Windows 10 Home
- 8 hours battery life
- 9.7 lbs
Summary & Score
The Alienware AW17R4-7352SLV-PUS is an insanely powerful gaming laptop with a price to match, however some users have mentioned that it can get warm while gaming.
on Dell.com
(as of 04-10-2022 03:48 -07:00) Details
4. GIGABYTE Aero 15X v8-BK4 15-inch
The first thing you will notice about GIGABYTE’s new Aero 15X v8-BK4 is that it hardly looks like an intimidating gaming laptop, but don’t be fooled, this subtle looking beast packs enough power to handle almost anything you throw at it without breaking much of a sweat. It is has an incredibly high quality aluminium chassis that gives it its premium look, and it is incredibly stable and portable thanks to its lightweight 4.6 pound design.
It looks more like a machine geared towards creatives than it does a gaming laptop, and it has all the necessary hardware to deliver a top class gaming performance. The incredibly fast 144 Hz display is said to have a high color accuracy thanks to the X-Rite Pantone Color Calibration, making for a high quality viewing experience that is suitable for both gamers, videographers and photographers. There is practically no new bezel around the display, much like its competitor, the MSI GS65 Stealth THIN-051 15.6-inch.
Under the hood you will find the the powerful new six core Coffee Lake processor by Intel, the i7-8750H, and the MSI GS65 mentioned above and the ASUS ROG Zephyrus M GM501GS-XS74 are some of the first to laptops host these CPUs that are far superior to the previous Kaby Lake series. The CPU, combined with the 16GB of RAM and the speedy 512GB NMVe SSD paves the way for a smooth user experience – programs and windows will load up in seconds and the system will be very responsive.
The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 is the Max-Q version, which is economical and it runs quieter and cooler than the normal GTX 1070 cards for laptops. That being said, there have been some complaints heat complaints, with many users noting that after extensive gaming sessions, or when running demanding applications, the laptop can run hot. We would recommend purchasing a cooling pad to help keep things cooler. It has an excellent battery life, with notebookcheck finding that it lasts around 8 hours 24 minutes when doing less demanding tasks, which blows the MSI GS65 Stealth THIN-051 (4.75 hours) and the ASUS ROG Zephyrus M (4.5 hours) out of the water. It has an awesome keyboard that features RGB per key lighting, but sadly the trackpad does not have the same high quality design, receiving some criticism from customers.
Pros
- Premium chassis
- Compact, sleek and portable
- Great battery life
- Blazing NVMe SSD
- Stunning display
- Very thin bezel
Cons
- Heating issues
- Webcam camera placement
- Average trackpad
Specs
- Intel Core i7-8750H 2.20 GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 [View Framerates]
- 16GB DDR4 RAM
- 512GB SSD
- 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels (IPS)
- Windows 10 Home
- 10 hours battery life
- 4.62 lbs
Summary & Score
The GIGABYTE Aero 15X v8-BK4 is an unassuming looking gaming laptop that houses some incredibly powerful hardware that will tear through almost anything that you throw at it, and it comes with a breathtaking 144Hz display.
on BHPhotoVideo
(as of 04-10-2022 03:47 -07:00) Details
5. ASUS ROG Zephyrus M GM501GS-XS74 15.6-inch
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus GX501-XS74 had been sitting comfortably as one of our top picks for a while now, but its successor has been released, the ROG Zephyrus M GM501GS-XS74, alongside one of the thinnest gaming laptops that ASUS have created, the GS65 Stealth Thin.
The GM501GS-XS74 has kept the awesome chassis that we saw in its predecessor, but the audio quality and battery life (even if it is by only a little) have been improved, along with the inclusion of the latest Intel Coffee Lake processor. The beautiful chassis is made from brushed aluminium, and it is incredibly thin and portable, weighing in at 5 pounds with a height of only 0.78 inches. It has a beautiful, lightning fast 144Hz display that looks great when gaming especially when combined with Nvidia’s G-Sync function.
Notebookcheck did point out that the display accuracy is average however, finding in their tests that it covers 93% of the sRGB color space and 60% of the AdobeRGB color space. It is more than enough for gamers though. The keyboard and touchpad have been repositioned into their usual place and the keyboard is said to have a good feedback and features AURA, ASUS’s RGB lighting effects, allowing you to add your own personalized color combinations (you have millions of colors to choose from). The Intel Core i7-8750H is Intel’s latest six core beast that runs alongside a whopping 16GB of RAM.
Needless to say, you’ll be able to run demanding programs with very little trouble. Interestingly, ASUS have added Nvidia’s GTX 1070 8GB and GTX 1080 8GB in the pricier model that don’t make use of Max-Q that we saw in the previous model, and this is where the GS65 Stealth Thin is superior, in our opinion. The Max-Q technology runs more efficiently, and when it comes to thinner gaming laptops, efficiency means a cooler and quieter laptop. The ROG Zephyrus GX501-XS74 is said to get quite loud under load, which can become annoying to some. Regardless, it is still a powerful card that will handle today’s games at max settings with ease, and it will comfortably run VR applications.
The battery life is poor, even though the Optimus Mode feature promises to preserve some of your battery by disabling G-SYNC, allowing the system to switch between the GPU and the integrated graphics, but you can still expect around 2.5 – 3 hours with web browsing, and around an hour when gaming, so be prepared to remain plugged in. Another drawback is the exclusion of an ethernet port, forcing you to remain on WiFi.
Pros
- Excellent chassis design
- Great, Fast 144Hz display
- Useful graphics switching technology
- Upgradable memory
- Top-tier gaming performance
- Smooth gaming thank to G-SYNC
- Good speakers
Cons
- Poor battery life
- No ethernet input
- Loud fans
Specs
- Intel Core i7-8750H 2.20 GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 [View Framerates]
- 16GB DDR4 RAM
- 1000GB 5400 RPM HDD / 256GB SSD
- 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels
- Windows 10 Pro
- 4.5 hours battery life
- 5.4 lbs
Summary & Score
The exclusion of the Max-Q Nvidia cards means that the fans are noisy and there may be some unwanted heating under load, but the ASUS ROG Zephyrus GM501GS-XS74 is still one serious gaming machine that features Intel’s latest six core i7-8750H.
on Amazon.com
(as of 04-10-2022 03:47 -07:00) Details
6. Razer Blade RZ09-02386E92-R3U1 15.6-inch
Razer’s latest compact gaming ultrabook is the successor to last years Razer Blade RZ09-01953E72-R3U1 14-inch, which was an incredibly well received laptop by both online tech sites and everyday users alike. This new model sees a slight redesign, with Razer going for an “edge-to-edge” display thataffords you more screen real estate thanks to the 4.9mm bezel. The display itself is said to be bright and incredibly crisp, and thanks to the 144Hz refresh rate, you will have the smoothest representation of visuals.
The case retains it slim form factor, and the aluminum unibody design makes it lightweight and awesomely portable, as well as incredibly durable and rigid. The matte black case is eye-catching, but it’s a fingerprint magnet. The keyboard features Razer’s Chrome backlighting that is highly customizable, and Razer has included a large, spacious touchpad that is said to be responsive and awesome to use. There is a diverse selection of ports that are up-to-date by today’s standards, including a blazing fast USB-C Gen2 port that supports Thunderbolt 3.
The omission of an Ethernet port is a surprise, however, but fortunately its Wi-Fi performance is solid and incredibly reliable. Nvidia’s GTX 1070 with Max-Q needs very little introduction. Combined with Intel’s 6-core Coffee Lake i7-8750H and the 16GB of RAM, you have a system capable of running all the latest games at max settings all while maintaining stable frame rates.
The 512GB SSD offers you enough space to store all your multimedia and larger gaming files, but while it is fast, we do predict that more serious gamers with larger game libraries will see it filling up rather fast. The Blade RZ09-02386E92-R3U1 manages to run cool during intensive work or gaming sessions thanks to the innovative vapor chamber cooling system, but some noted that the fans can run quite loud.
Pros
- Class-leading build quality
- Slim form factor
- Incredibly lightweight
- Runs cool
- Awesome display
- large, spacious touchpad
- Most current hardware available
Cons
- Charging plug is annoying to use
- Loud fans
- No ethernet port
Specs
- Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2.8GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB GDDR5 [View Framerates]
- 16GB DDR4 RAM
- 2000GB 5400 RPM HDD / 256GB SSD
- 17.3 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels
- Windows 10 Home
- 6 hours battery life
- 6.8 lbs
Summary & Score
The exclusion of the ethernet port is a bit of a letdown, but the Razer Blade RZ09-02386E92-R3U1 15.6-inch is as premium as it gets, featuring all the latest hardware to power through any game without breaking a sweat.
on Amazon.com
(as of 31-05-2023 19:20 UTC) Details
7. MSI GS65 Stealth THIN-051 15.6-inch
The GS65 Stealth is one of MSI’s thinnest laptops that they have produced, and definitely their most impressive one yet. It is an ultraportable solution that features some of the hottest components currently on the market. Weighing in it at 4.14 pounds with a measurement of 0.69 inches thick, it will easily pass as just another book in your bag. The 15.6-inch display has a 82% screen-to-body ratio, so you will hardly notice the thin bezels around the edges.
It has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 with an impressive refresh rate of 144Hz and it is an IPS display, which is vibrant and incredibly rich in color, receiving plenty of praise from Amazon customers. The keyboard has Per-Key RGB customization options thanks to the SteelSeries Engine 3, meaning you can customize the color scheme in any way you see fit. Intel’s new 8th Gen six core Intel Core i7-8750H processor and 16GB of RAM run the show, making easy work of tasks and allowing you to run multiple programs or browser windows at once without it breaking a sweat. The ROG Zephyrus M GM501GS-XS74, which is its biggest competitor, is also one of the few gaming laptops currently running the powerful Core i7-8750H.
The GS65 Stealth contains the Nvidia GTX 1070 that makes use of the latest Max-Q technology, and when combined with the CPU and RAM, you will be able to render games at 60FPS in Full-HD with little trouble, and it supports VR. It has a pretty good battery life considering the fact that it is a high powered gaming laptop, with most noting that it lasts around five and a half hours when it comes to browsing the web and doing other non-gaming related tasks. For a laptop that is this thin, it isn’t shy of ports, featuring three USB 3.1 Type-A ports, Thunderbolt 3, a Mini DisplayPort, HDMI, and an HDMI port. While it features the Cooler Boost Trinity that is supposed to assist in cooling, the underside is still said to run hot, an issue that the thinner laptops can’t seem to shake.
Pros
- Beautiful design
- Barely noticable bezel
- Gorgeous display quality
- High-powered hexacore Intel i7-8750H
- Excellent gaming performance
- Fast NVMe SSD
Cons
- Runs hot
- Poor speaker quality
- Storage too little for large game folders
Specs
- Intel Core i7-8750H 2.20 GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 [View Framerates]
- 16GB DDR4 RAM
- 256GB SSD
- 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels
- Windows 10 Home
- 4.75 hours battery life
- 4.14 lbs
Summary & Score
The MSI GS65 Stealth THIN-051 gaming laptop is a top of the line gaming laptop that features a lot of the latest technologies, including a six core Intel processor and a Max-Q GPU, but it suffers from heating issues, a problem we so commonly see with ultra thin gaming laptops.
on Amazon.com
(as of 04-10-2022 03:47 -07:00) Details
8. Acer Predator 17 G9-793-79V5 17.3-inch
With the specs that the Acer Predator 17 G9-793-79V5 boasts, you can not go wrong when it comes to running demanding AAA titles and resource hogging applications. The flashy black and red design may not appeal to all, but the first-class performance offered by the Kaby Lake i7-7700HQ processor and 16GB of RAM certainly will. Acer have shoved a GTX 1070 under the hood, which has 8GB of dedicated GDDR5 VRAM, and yes, it is VR-ready. 1080p games will run smoothly, and 4K will be manageable, but at reduced settings. The 1080p 17.3-inch IPS display has received praise all round, and users liked the RGB backlit keyboard that is customizable, allowing you to customize your colors and macro profiles. Some noted that its touchpad sits a bit too deep, but others did not have much of an issue with this. The Predator 17 G9-793-79V5 is bulky however, weighing in at 9.3 pounds, and lugging it to your local coffee shop for a work session is definitely going to prove tiresome. Furthermore, if you do not have a power outlet around, your battery will drain quicker than your coffee if you do not have your power management settings set correctly. Most found that it lasts around 3 hours with the correct settings in place. It has a good port selection and comes with a Thunderbolt 3 port and 4 USB 3.0 ports. The 256GB SSD allows for a responsive overall system and 1TB HDD affords you plenty of storage space. Overall, the Acer Predator 17 G9-793-79V5 is a responsive and powerful gaming machine that is well suitable as a desktop replacement.
Pros
- Powerful
- Responsive
- SSD+HDD combo
- VR-ready
- Great 1080p display
Cons
- Battery life
- Heavy
- Touchpad sits deep
Specs
- Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2.8GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 [View Framerates]
- 16GB DDR4 RAM
- 1000GB 7200 RPM HDD / 128GB SSD
- 17.3 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels (IPS)
- Windows 10 Home
- 3 hours battery life
- 9.3 lbs
Summary & Score
The battery life and weight of the machine are common drawbacks of gaming laptops, but the Acer Predator 17 G9-793-79V5 17.3-inch offers a first-class gaming performance.
on Amazon.com
(as of 31-05-2023 19:07 UTC) Details
9. ASUS ROG STRIX GL703VD 17-inch
ASUS’s new ROG Strix GL703VD DB74 is a entry-level to mid-rastrix-gl703vd-17-inch/?preview=truenge gaming laptop that’s budget and travel friendly thanks to its reasonably lightweight design of 6.7 pounds (light by gaming laptop standards at least). It has an all black exterior and a fairly large orange-backlit ROG logo on the brushed aluminium lid, and it feels solid and sturdy, but while the design is fairly subtle when compared to other aggressive looking gaming laptops, it may still draw some attention when compared to non-gaming ultrabooks.
Most have found that it delivers a great 1080p gaming performance thanks to its powerful hardware including the GTX 1050 GPU by Nvidia, the blazing fast Intel i7-7700HQ quad-core processor and 16GB of RAM that combine to easily deliver enough power for videographers and photographers, running demanding editing applications easily. The 1920 x 1080 IPS 17-inch display is said to have some pretty good color representation, but we are sad to see that there is no G-Sync support, which was what made the previous generation ASUS ROG Strix GL502VM-DB71 such an appealing buy. It has a full size island-style keyboard that has great tactile feedback, and it does feature the four-zone RGB Aura backlighting, but some reviewers did notice some keyboard flex.
While it may not be per key RBG backlighting, it beats the single red backlighting of the Acer Predator Helios 300 G3-571-77QK 15.6-inch. You get a fair selection of connectivity options, with 4x USB 3.0 ports and a single Type-C USB 3.1 (Gen1) port, along with a mini DisplayPort, HDMI port, and an SD card reader. You will have storage space thanks to ASUS opting for dual storage. You get a fast 256GB SATA SSD that will have your system files and essentials on, and you get an additional 1TB HDD that can store your larger game folders. Notebookcheck’s battery life test, which involves continuously web surfing until the battery drains, showed that it managed 7 hours and 9 minutes before completely draining, which is impressive for a gaming laptop. This is partly due to Optimus, which utilizes the integrated GPU as opposed to the discrete GPU when not gaming.
Pros
- Solid 1080p gaming
- Large display
- Decent battery life for gaming laptop
- Decent battery life for gaming laptop
- Appealing price
Cons
- No G-Sync
- Runs hot
- Loud fans
Specs
- Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2.8GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 4GB GDDR5 [View Framerates]
- 16GB DDR4 RAM
- 1000GB 7200 RPM HDD / 256GB SSD
- 17.3 inch, pixels
- Windows 10 Home
- 5 hours battery life
- 6.7 lbs
Summary & Score
The ASUS ROG Strix GL703VD DB74 is a well priced gaming laptop with a sleek and slim form factor, and it drives a highly respectable 1080p gaming experience, but it is disappointing to see that ASUS failed to include G-Sync with this model.
on Amazon.com
(as of 31-05-2023 19:13 UTC) Details
10. ASUS ROG Strix GL702VS-AH73 17.3-inch
The Acer Predator Helios 300 G3-571-77QK 15.6-inch has been a firm under $1500 gaming laptop favorite of ours for quite some time. Its price was unbeatable, especially since it came with fantastic hardware that delivered excellent gaming performance. The ASUS ROG Strix GL702VS-AH73 17.3-inch laptop has emerged out of this highly competitive market, and it offers us a better price-to-performance ratio thanks to the inclusion of the mighty NVIDIA GTX 1070 that tears through games and demanding multimedia editing software, especially since it has been combined with the powerful Kaby Lake i7-7700HQ 2.8 GHz and 12GB of RAM to give you the best possible performance. ASUS have opted for an ultraportable case, and have gone with an aluminium lid and plastic body.
The 17.3-inch G-Sync IPS display is stunning, and it has a refresh rate of 75Hz, which will give you a smooth incredibly viewing. It comes with a red-backlit chiclet-style keyboard that has minimal flex and the keys are said to have great travel. The touchpad is not great for a laptop of this class, and definitely needs improvement. We have seen that most gaming laptops struggle when it comes with battery life, and the The ASUS ROG Strix GL702VS-AH73 is sadly no different. Most have found that it lasts around 1hour 30minutes when gaming, but this is not surprising considering the all the power hungry muscle it packs.
The USB Type C port (with thunderbolt) ensures lightning quick data transmissions and it comes with three USB 3.0 ports and a DisplayPort and HDMI port for those who want to plug in an external monitor. It runs quietly overall, with the fans delivering very little noise, but concerns were raised with its cooling. The Hyper Cool Duo-Copper cooling system is not as efficient as most had thought, as some did note that it runs hot during demanding operations, and this may affect your overall performance.
Pros
- Great price for laptop with NVIDIA’s GTX1070
- Lots of muscle
- G-Sync display
- Portability
- Great construction
Cons
- Runs hot
- Slower mechanical HDD
- Small SSD
- Disappointing touchpad
Specs
- Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2.8GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 [View Framerates]
- 12GB DDR4 RAM
- 1000GB 7200 RPM HDD / 128GB SSD
- 17.3 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels (IPS)
- Windows 10 Home
- 6 hours battery life
- 6.4 lbs
Summary & Score
Heating issues are commonplace amongst ultraportable gaming laptop designs, but the included NVIDIA GTX 1070 at this price makes the ASUS ROG Strix GL702VS-AH73 one mean gaming laptop.
on Amazon.com
(as of 31-05-2023 19:11 UTC) Details
Conclusion
To compare the specs of all available graphics card and other hardware heading over to our gaming laptops guide for more useful info on the top high-range gaming notebook hardware before you take the dive. While this article is focused more on the higher end of the spectrum ranging from gaming laptops under $2000 and upwards, in our budget gaming categories there are also some more affordable cheap gaming laptops starting from $500 all the way through to mid-tier gaming laptops under $1000. Most of the cheaper options have a balanced configuration of mid to low level specs enough to breeze through routine tasks, but their entry-level graphics only allow for more casual gaming. For non-gaming laptops are guide to the best all-purpose high-end laptops offers some more portable and lightweight counterparts.