It’s not easy finding a good gaming laptop: you need to find a device that will accomplish some heavy workloads in a relatively small package.

Fortunately, we’re here to guide you on what to look for! When shopping, consider the following criteria:

Memory (RAM)

RAM is used for very quick data storage and retrieval and is critical for gaming. We recommend at least 16GB of RAM or 32GB if you want to be on the safe side.

CPU cores

CPU cores allow parallel computing. This is crucial not only for running games, but also for running other applications (e.g., a browser) in the background. You will want to find a laptop that offers at least 8 cores, but 12 would be even better.

A dedicated graphics card

Graphics cards can either be “intergated” or “dedicated.” Integrated graphics cards share power with the CPU and are generally not sufficient for gaming. A dedicated graphics card will deliver the performance required for gaming.

dGPU RAM

dGPU RAM is the amount of RAM your dedicated graphics card has. You’ll want at least 6 GB dGPU RAM but 10 GB dGPU RAM would be better.

Hard drive space

Modern games take up a lot of space on your computer and, therefore, you’ll need a good bit of hard drive space. We recommend aiming somehwere between 500GB - 1000GB.

Display size

Last but not least, consider display size when looking for a gaming laptop. You probably don’t want to be gaming on a 13 inch screen! That being said, most laptops that meet the other specs we’ve mentioned will probably be on the larger side already. For display size, we recommend aiming anywhere from 16 inches and up, although this depends a lot on personal preference.

Conclusion

If you can find all of the above in a gaming laptop, you’ll be set. If you’d like our specific recommendations, we suggest looking at some of the following gaming laptops:

Note that these are affiliate links and we earn some money from qualifying purchases.

What to look for in a gaming laptop