This is a table of best gaming laptops up to the GTX 680M / Radeon 7970M performance level. The table is filterable by screen size and in the near future more filtering options will be available (suggestion are gladly accepted). The recommendations include also gaming laptops that I personally wouldn’t buy or recommend, but some people might find them useful, like the Alienware m17x which I think is totally overpriced. Other options were not even included, like the OriginPC options which are also overpriced though based on the same MSI GTs barebones many others, including MSI itself, use and I can’t see why buy them.
I’ll focus especially on several specific categories. Each category highlights some of the more interesting aspects of a laptop and so it would be easier to find a gaming laptop for your needs:
- Best for Price – best gaming laptops for the price range. This is the more interesting category for most people, as most gamers want to get the fastest gaming laptop in their budget yet having some basic qualities, like not falling apart, good enough 1080p screen, good thermals and sometimes upgrading options. This laptops in this list are ordered mostly according to their gaming performance / price ratio.
- Ultra-portable gaming laptops: These are the more portable gaming laptops, having very good battery performance combined with low weight and slimness, for their price and compared to the competition. If you have a strong preference of portability over having the fastest laptop, these are laptops you should check. These usually wouldn’t be the fastest for gaming.
- Small gaming laptops: smaller than 15.6″ form factor – usually 14.0″ and 13.X”. Note that some smaller laptops are not the most portable in terms of battery and weight (take the Asus G46VW for example) and also, might have other disadvantages, like screen quality, so you better check both categories.
- Fastest gaming laptop – simply put, these are the fastest available with a performance level of a GTX 670MX / 675M and up. This list is an overview of the more interesting fastest gaming laptops. I did not include laptops with dual GPU configurations above the GT 650M/750M SLI level as currently these are very expensive and personally I don’t find them very cost effective.
- Unique Mix – Gaming laptops who are a unique mix of features. Though might not fit well in the other categories, some gaming laptops have a combination of features that worth considering as a package, like having an excellent screen and a low weight, special design, very good cooling and so on. This list is meant to differentiate such laptops from the “best gaming laptops” list which has a more defined and specific target – see above.
- All gaming laptops - the whole list. There are many gaming laptops there I didn’t include in one of the above category. In this state you can filter the gaming laptops by choosing some more specific filters like price range and GPU and you might find a laptop that is more suitable for your needs or taste than the above. The list is mostly ordered according to the performance / price ratio too, but other parameters are taken into account too like the extra value of a good screen, thermals and noise, keyboard, weight and so on.
Finally, I want to say that the prices are given in range to reflect the price changes. Also, sometimes a model becomes no longer available.
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MSI GT60-0NE (680M)15.6 (matte, 1080p)
1700$-1800$
1700$-1800$
GTX 680M, I7-3630QM, 12GB, 750GB 7200RPM
Blu-Ray Burner
- Highest gaming performance for a single GPU laptop.
- High quality Killer 1202 WiFi network adapter – excellent for LAN parties
- Blu-Ray burner
- 2-year warranty
- Very good thermals
- Good DynaAudio sound system
- Battery performance is not great but acceptable
- Might be noisy for some people
- Still, pricey
FORCE 16F3 (36-024) (680M)15.6 (matte, 1080p)
Current deals / Direct link
1550$
~1630$
GTX 680M, I7-3630QM, 8GB, 750GB 7200RPM
- Highest gaming performance for a single GPU laptop.
- Gaming performance / price ratio is excellent.
- Good thermals for such a laptop.
- Lots of configuration options, including some nice screen upgrades
- Good enough sound system (as the MSI GT70)
- Not quiet
- Some upgrades are overpriced
- Noisy under load
Alienware m17x-R4 (7970M)17.3 (glossy, 1080p)
Current deals / Direct link
1750$-1800$
1850$-1900$
Radeon 7970M, I7-3630QM, 8GB, 500GB 7200RPM
- Very high gaming performance with the Radeon 7970M
- Good thermals and no throttling
- Very good build quality
- Good keyboard
- Good touchpad
- Screen has good viewing angles
- Good set of connection ports
- Distinct style
- Highly overpriced - you can get the same performance for 300$-400$ less
- Heavy even compared to the rest high end laptops
- Shouty style
- Glossy, reflective screen
- Battery performance could be better
Eurocom Racer 2.0 (7970M)15.6 (matte, 1080p)
1510$
~1600$
Radeon 7970M, I7-3630QM, 8GB, 500GB Hybrid HDD or 128GB SSD
High quality AUO 95% adobeRGB coverage screen (included in price)
- Gaming performance / price is very good.
- Radeon 7970M performanceis very high, rivaling the GTX 680M
- Very good matte 1080p screen included in price - good for professionals
- Hybrid HDD/128GB SSD for low price.
- You can get more gaming power for your money, if you are not interested in the extra features
- Noisy under load
Sager NP9150 (7970M)15.6 (glossy, 1080p)
Current deals / Direct link
1370$ (cash)
1450$ (cash)
Radeon 7970M, I7-3630QM, 8GB, 750GB 7200RPM
- Gaming performance / price is excellent with the Radeon 7970M
- Radeon 7970M performance is very high, rivaling even the GTX 680M.
- Many configuration options
- Windows 7 option
- Upgrades are not cheap (SSD, for example) – The Eurocom Racer 2.0 might be a better choice
matte screen (+30$)
Sager NP9150 (675MX)15.6 (glossy, 1080p)
Current deals / Direct link
1280$ (cash)
1360$ (cash)
GTX 675MX, I7-3630QM, 8GB, 750GB 7200RPM
- Gaming performance / price is excellent with the Radeon 675MX
- GTX 675MX gaming performance is very high.
- Many configuration options
- Windows 7 option
- Upgrades are not cheap (SSD, for example) – The Eurocom Racer 2.0 might be a better choice
matte screen (+30$)
CyberPower Fangbook X7-100 (675MX)17.3 (matte, 1080p)
1350$-1470$
1350$-170$
- Gaming performance / price ratio is very good
- Good thermals for such a laptop.
- Good enough sound system (as the MSI GT70)
- Two HDD bays
- Two mSata connection ports
- Not quiet.
- No extended warranty available
- Noisy under load
MSI GT70-0NC (670MX)17.3 (matte, 1080p)
1200$-1350$
1300$-1350$
GTX 670MX, I7-3630QM, 12GB, 750GB 7200RPM
BR-R
- GTX 670MX gaming performance
- With the extra features – very good value for the price
- Good thermals
- Blu-ray player
- Screen’s horizontal angles are good, high contrast, almost all sRGB is covered.
- Good sound
- 2-year warranty
- Two HDD bays
- Two mSata connectors
- Sometimes very good deals
- You can get a better gaming performance for this price, if you don’t need the OS, blu-ray player and 2-year warranty.
- Noisy under load
2-year
15.6 (matte, 1080p)
1220$-1350$
1300$-1420$
GTX 670MX, I, 8GB, 500GB Hybrid HDD / 128GB Crucial m4 SSD
High quality AUO 95% adobeRGB coverage screen (included in price)
- Gaming performance / price is very good.
- GTX 670 (and up) gaming performance
- Very good matte 1080p screen included in price - good for professionals
- Hybrid HDD/128GB SSD for low price.
- Noisy under load
- Battery performance might be not so good
Asus G75VX (670MX)17.3 (matte, 1080p)
1250$
1250$
GTX 670MX, I7-3630QM, 8GB, 1TB 5400RPM
- Excellent performance for the money
- Excellent thermals making the G75 throttling proof
- Low noise
- Very good build quality
- Comfortable keyboard
- Two HDD bays
- Heavier than other 17.3 laptops (not by much)
- 5400RPM HDD and not 7200RPM, but you can replace it yourself
- Sound issues?
replace the HDD with a fast one.
Lenovo Y500 (I7, GT 650M SLI)15.6 (glossy, 1080p)
1000$-1050$
1000$-1050$
2xGT 650M (> GTX 670MX) , I7-3630QM, 8GB, 1TB 5400RPM
- Gaming performance for the money is extra ordinary and above any other laptop in this list, for most games
- Good sound system
- Low noise
- Might get pretty hot under full load (use a cooling pad)
- Not light
- Battery performance is not good
- Trackpad in first models was very problematic
- 5400RPM HDD
- Glossy screen
replace the HDD with a fast one.
MSI GX60 (7970M)15.6 (matte, 1080p)
1050$-1200$
1050$-1200$
Radeon 7970M, A10-4600M, 8GB, 750GB 7200RPM
BR-R
- In Many games, the gaming performance is very high with the 7970M, exceeding anything else in the price range
- Blu-ray player
- Good thermals
- Good DynaAudio sound system
- Good battery performance(5 hours surfing)
- Two HDD bays
- CPU is replaceable with next gen. AMD CPU.
- Good build quality
- Performance in some games is limited due to the A10 cpu, but note that drivers have improved.
- Might get noisy under full load
2-year
Sager NP9130 (670MX)15.6 (matte, 1080p)
Current deals / Direct link
~1080$ (cash)
~1150$ (cash)
GTX 670MX, I7-3630QM, 8GB, 750GB 7200RPM
- Very high gaming performance for the money
- Very good screen upgrade option for low price (95% adoeRGB Gamut)
- Good build quality
- No backlit keyboard
- Only 1 HDD bay
See NP9150 reviews
Lenovo Y500 (I5, GT 650M SLI)15.6 (glossy, 1080p)
900$
2xGT 650M, I5-3230M, 6GB, 1TB 5400RPM
- same as the I7 version, only with an I5 and 6GB RAM.
- Extremely cost effective
- Might get pretty hot under full load (use a cooling pad)
- Not light
- Battery performance is not good
- Trackpad in first models was very problematic
- 5400RPM HDD
- Glossy screen
FORCE 16F3 (22-001) (I7, 670M)15.6 (matte, 1080p)
Current deals / Direct link
960$ cash
~1040$
GTX 670M, I7-3610QM, 8GB, 750G 5400RPM
- Good gaming performance for the money with the GTX 670M
- Highly configurable
- Good build quality
- Good sound with DynaAudio speakers
- There are higher performers for the money
- No backlit keyboard included
- Battery performance is so-so
1 (GT60)
HP Envy dv7t-7300 (I7, GT 650M)17.3 (matte, 1080p)
950$-1100$
950$-1100$
GT 650M, I7-3630QM, 8GB, 750GB 5400RPM
Blu-Ray player
- Good build quality
- Very good 1080p screen with good viewing angles and high contrast
- Good gaming performance for the money or a 17.3 gaming laptop
- Backlit keyboard
- 2-year warranty
- Blu-ray player included in the price
- Not bad thermals
- Might be somewhat noisy
- Not the best gaming performance for the money, if you consider also 15.6 laptops
2-year
1 (dv6t-7200)
Dell Inspiron 17R SE (I7, 650M)17.3 (matte, 1080p)
950$-1100$ (depends on coupons)
950$-1100$
GT 650M, I7-3630QM, 8GB, 1TB + 32GB mSSD
32GB mSSD
- Good build quality
- Good backlit keyboard
- Two HDD bays
- 32GB mSSD cache drive
- 1080p screen has good viewing angles and high contrast, even compared to other 1080p screens
- Good gaming performance for a 17.3 laptop in this price range
- Gaming performance for the money is good but not great.
- Included battery is relatively small
- High temps
Asus N56VZ (I7, 650M DDR3)15.6 (matte, 1080p)
900$-1000$
900$-1000$
GT 650M DDR3, I7-3630QM, 8GB, 750GB 7200RPM
Blu-Ray Player, small external subwoofer
- Very good build quality
- Very good matte 1080p screen
- Very good backlit keyboard
- 7200RPM HDD as a default
- Blu-Ray player
- Good gaming performance for the money (not the best though)
- Good looks
- Very quiet even under load
- Not the best gaming performance for the money
- Might get a bit hot under load (shouldn’t worry you)
Sony Vaio S 15.5 (I5/I7, GT 640M LE)15.5? (matte, 1080p IPS)
900$-1000$
900$-1000$
GT 640M LE, I5-3210M, 8GB, 750GB 7200RPM
- Very good build quality
- Very good IPS 1080p screen with very good viewing angles
- Lightweight 4.42lbs laptop
- 750GB 7200RPM
- Good battery (at least 4 hours surfing through WiFi)
- Gaming performance is much lower than what you can get for this pricerange
Lenovo Y500 (I7, single GT 750M)15.6 (glossy, 1080p)
800$-850$
800$-850$
GT 650M, I7-3630QM, 8GB, 1TB (optional: 16GB mSSD)
Optional: 16GB mSSD
- Gaming performance and value for the money is good with GT 650M and I7.
- Good sound system
- Glossy screen
- 16GB mSSD
- Backlit keyboard
- Low noise
- Might get pretty hot under full load (use a cooling pad)
- Not light
- Battery performance is not good
- Trackpad in first models was very problematic
- 5400RPM HDD
- Glossy screen
15.6 (matte, 1080p)
850$-900$
850$-900$
GT 650M, I5-3230M, 8GB, 750GB 7200RPM
- good matte 1080p screen
- 7200RPM HDD
- not heavy compared to other 15.6 gaming laptops in the level
- Gaming performance is good for the price.
- Might get hot under full load
- Battery performance is so-so
- There are faster options for the price (look aside)
HP dv6t-7000 Select Edition (I5-3210M, 650M)15.6 (matte, 1080p)
750$-900$
GT 650M, I5-3210M, 6GB, 640GB 5400RPM
- Good matte 1080p screen with good viewing angles
- Relatively good battery performance
- With some good coupons, good gaming performance for the money
- Windows 7
- Nice looks
- Without coupons the price isn’t that good
- 5400RPM HDD as a default
Backlit keyboard upgrade
Alienware m14x-r2 (650M)14.0 (matte, 768p/900p)
Current deals / Direct link
950$-1075$
950$-1075$
GT 650M, I5-3230M, 6GB DDR3, 500GB 7200RPM
- Very good build quality
- Very good keyboard
- Good gaming performance (not the best for the money)
- 900p screen with high contrast and relatively good viewing angles
- 14.0 form factor
- Default 7200RPM HDD
- Though 14.0, not lightweight at around 2.8-3kg
- 900p screen colors are not good and the screen is glossyt (although it is not a bad one)
- Bulky
- Gaming performance for the money is not as good as other laptops
900p screen upgrade
Asus G46VW (660M)14.0 (matte, 768p)
Current deals / Direct link
900$-950$
900$-950$
GTX 660M, I5-3210M, 8GB DDR3, 750GB
- 14.0 form factor
- Very good gaming performance for the price
- Excellent cooling system
- Good battery
- Very good build quality
- Good touchpad and keyboard
- Screen is average at best. Disappointing for such a high end laptop
- Compact, but not lightweight
- 5400RPM HDD
Replace the 5400RPM HDD
Sager NP6165 (I5, 650M)15.6 (glossy, 1080p)
Current deals / Direct link
820$ cash
~900$ cash
GT 650M, I5-3230M, 8GB, 750GB 7200RPM
- Highly and easily customizable
- Two HDD bays
- Good gaming performance for the money (espeically if you don’t need Windows OS)
- Very high quality 95% adobeRGB Gamut screen upgrade option
- Not the best gaming performance for the money
- Bulky, not as light as others
- Battery performance isn’t that good
1 (user review)
Screen upgrade
Dell Inspiron 15R SE (I5/I7, 7730M)15.6 (matte, 1080p)
600$-800$
600$-800$
Radeon 7730M, I5-3210M/I7-3630QM, 8GB, 750GB 5400RPM
- Matte 1080p screen
- Good build quality
- Battery performance
- Gaming performance is lower than competitors significantly
Asus N56DP (A10, 7730M)15.6 (matte, 1080p)
750$-800$
750$-800$
Radeon 7730M, A10-4600M, 8GB, 1TB 5400RPM
small external subwoofer
- Good matte 1080p screen with wide horizontal viewing angles
- Cool & Quiet
- Excellent keyboard
- Big trackpad
- Very good build quality
- Gaming performance for the money is lower than competitors
- The trackpad buttons are unified and sometimes are not very comfortable to use
- 5400RPM HDD
Lenovo Y400 (I7, GT 750M)14.0 (glossy, 768p)
700$-750$
700$-750$
GT 750M, I7-3630QM, 8GB, 1TB 5400RPM (sometimes with a 16GB mSSD)
Optional ultrabay with another GT 650M
- 14.0 form factor
- Highest performance for the money in this price range
- Sometimes includes a 16GB mSSD for around the same price
- Optional ultrabay with an additional GT 650M GPU
- Average 768p laptops screen..
- Although a 14.0, not lightweight
Acer V3-571G-6622 (I5, GT 730M)15.6 (glossy, 768p)
600$-630$
600$-630$
GT 730M, I5-3230M, 4GB, 500GB 5400RPM
- Very good gaming performance for the money with the I5 and GT 730M (~GT645M)
- Low noise
- Good keyboard
- Average glossy 768p screen (low quality)
- Not lightweight
HP dv6z-7200 (A6-4400M, 7670M)15.6
535$-685$ (w/ 1080p)
535$-685$ (w/ 1080p)
Radeon 7670M, A6-4400M to A10-4600M, 640GB 5400RPM HDD
- Very good matte 1080p screen
- Good battery performance
- Good thermals
- Good looks
Dell Inspiron 15R SE (I5, 7730M)15.6 (matte, 768p)
Unavailable currently
550$ (before tax and shipping)
550$
Radeon 7730M, I5-3230M, 6GB, 750GB 5400RPM
- Very high gaming performance for the money
- Good build quality
- Low noise
- OK keyboard, good trackpad
- Tax & shipping make add significantly for price
- 768p screen
- Not always available
iBuyPower Valkyrie CZ-17(675MX)17.3 (matte, 1080p)
1300$-1350$
1300$-1350$
GTX 675MX, I7-3630QM, 16GB, 750GB 7200RPM
BR player
- Excellent gaming performance for the money
- Good build quality
- Good matte 1080p screen with very high contrast
- OK keyboard, good trackpad
- Blu-Ray player
- Not quiet
- Not light (not heavier than compatitors though)
- Though screen is relatively very good, it is not for professionals who need adobeRGB covered
How to choose a gaming laptop for yourself
And how to use this filtering system. If you’ll try to use the filtering, you’ve probably noticed that the laptops are not ordered according to their price. Actually, it is a real problem how to arrange this list according to the laptop’s quality since each one of us have different needs and while one will prioritize high mobility over top performance, another one might prefer it differently.
So, I tried to place each laptop more or less according to its total value for most people, in my opinion. For example, the Gigabyte P2542 is placed lower than the Lenovo Y580 because the Y580 costs 250$-300$ less and although the P2542 has a much better screen, it still seems to me to be a less interesting find for most of the people.
When you choose your laptop you are trying to get the best gaming laptop (in this case) for your money and needs. Therefore, you need to think it over once or twice and define for yourself what are your needs (performance, weight, screen quality, battery) and what is the budget. Sometimes you need some more opinions and I suggest discussing your thoughts and questions over the forum - this way your can refine your choice. But generally, the laptops in this table are – again, in my opinion – the most interesting ones to be counted as the best gaming laptops currently available.