The thin, understated chassis of the MSI GS66 Stealth is its other claim to fame.
Of course, MSI also sells a 1080p model with up to a 360Hz refresh rate, but the 1440p 240Hz model strikes a better balance of resolution and refresh rate. It starts with the power of the Nvidia RTX 3080, allowing the system to push frame rates higher and higher, even on a native 1440p display. Gaming in 1440p is finally possible, and the MSI GS66 Stealth is one of the few options available to make it happen. Who's it for: Gamers who want a sleek laptop without sacrificing an iota of performance. Why you should buy this: It's a great alternative to the Razer Blade 15. If you're looking for a bit more power, the company also offers a popular 15-inch model with more gaming performance and a 1440p screen. The latest model also comes with the new Ryzen 5000 processors, which are fantastic. If you can opt for the RTX 3060, you'll be able to easily play most games over 60 frames per second at Ultra settings. You have options for either a GTX 1650, a GTX 1660 Ti, or the new RTX 3060.
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 also provides excellent gaming performance, of course. Multi-threaded performance is off the chart for a laptop this small, making it a capable option for video editors, 3D modelers, and content creators of every kind. The heart of it is AMD's Ryzen 4000 eight-core processor. The result is the smallest gaming laptop ever made, especially given how powerful this thing is. It's incredibly lightweight at just 3.5 pounds and uses just a 14-inch screen rather than the typical 15-inch variety. The G14 is unlike any gaming laptop you've used. Who it's for: Gamers, students, and content creators.
Why you should buy this: It's the best portable gaming laptop you can buy. That makes it the best of Razer's offerings and the best overall gaming laptop you can buy right now. Trying to decide between this and the Razer Blade 15? Well, the 15-inch model will produce slightly better frame rates, but the 14-inch model is smaller, cheaper, and gets better battery life. It's also the first Razer laptop to embrace AMD's Ryzen 5000 processors, which are a match made in heaven for Razer's ultra-compact gaming laptops.
The Razer Blade 14 feels like the fulfillment of that vision.ĭespite having a smaller 14-inch screen, the Razer Blade 14 packs in up to an RTX 3080 graphics card. The Razer laptops have successfully changed the perception of just how sleek a gaming laptop can be without sacrificing too much of the performance you expect. The Razer Blade 14 couldn't be more different. When you think about the best laptops for gaming, you might think of a thick chassis accented with aggressive angles and vents everywhere possible. Who it's for: Gamers who need something small and light that can still pack a punch. Why you should buy this: It's the best overall gaming laptop you can buy. I'm by no means a big spender, so at the end of the day, I have to go with the best deal. When it all comes down to it though, the GX640 just offers the best performance per price of anything I've seen. It still has plenty of power to be more than useful, but compared to the GX740 it feels like a big hit to take. It's the same size, same design, same layout, so switching to it would be very simple. On the other hand, the GX640 is very similar to my current laptop, the GX620.
The size of the thing is pretty extreme though and takes up almost all of my available desk space, leaving little room for my mouse, lol. I do a lot of video converting as well as 3D modeling, so 8 cores is pretty sweet. On the one hand, the GX740's quad core CPU with hyperthreading was a huge selling point for me. In my case, battery life wasn't really a concern since I rarely use my laptop away from a plug, so it was really no holds barred between the two. I'm not a hardcore gamer by any means, but I do like to play the latest games from time to time. I went back and forth between these two laptops more times than I can count.