Gaming laptops are no longer bulky monsters with giant coolers that scream under the lightest of loads. Now gaming laptops have evolved into lightweight, compact devices with powerful hardware. They are able to compete with desktop computers in their capabilities.
Choosing the right gaming laptop depends on what matters most to you: portability, performance, or price? Usually only two of these three options can be selected. The best gaming laptops are powerful and lightweight, yet extremely expensive. At the other end of the spectrum, you can get great performance for a reasonable price, but it comes in a bulkier form factor.
In this top 10 gaming laptops of 2018, we tried to collect the best representatives in each price and "weight" category. When creating the list, we were guided by the opinion of experts from well-known publications, such as PC Gamer and Techradar, as well as assessments of various laptop models on Yandex.Market.
10. Acer Predator Triton 700 (PT715-51)
The average price is 171,070 rubles.
- Processor: Core i7
- Processor frequency: 2800 MHz
- RAM: 16 ... 32 GB
- Hard disk capacity: 512 ... 1024 GB
- Screen diagonal: 15.6 "
- Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080
- Weight: 2.4 kg
- Optical drive: DVD no
- 4G LTE: no
- Bluetooth: yes
- Wi-Fi: yes
The first thing that catches your eye is the elegant design, reminiscent of high-tech devices from science fiction. The mechanical keyboard with backlit keys and a powerful video card, as well as a large amount of RAM, are pleasantly pleasing. The quality of the screen deserves special praise - the image is clearly visible both at dusk and under the bright rays of the sun.
One of the drawbacks of this model is the poor location of the touchpad, close to the display unit. This is awful for anything but short use, so just make sure not to forget to grab a mouse for this laptop. In addition, the keyboard gets very hot on the left side.
9. Alienware 17 R5
Average price - 180,061 rubles.
- Processor: Core i7 / Core i9
- Processor frequency: 2200 ... 2900 MHz
- RAM: 8 ... 32 GB
- Hard disk capacity: 1128 ... 1512 GB
- Screen diagonal: 17.3 "
- Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080
- Weight: 4.42 kg
- Optical drive: DVD no
- 4G LTE: no
- Bluetooth: yes
- Wi-Fi: yes
The fifth generation of the Alienware series laptop has an impressive design, and a large 17-inch screen with Full HD- or QHD-resolution and IPS- or TN-matrix, respectively. The latest version of Alienware's flagship laptop comes with 13 customizable lighting zones, plus quiet fans and loud speakers. And the most expensive model is equipped with a UHD IPS-display with a module that tracks the user's gaze.
The sturdy laptop case, made of metal and high-quality plastic, looks not only stylish, but also expensive. The downside of this magnificence is the rather heavy weight.
Add more than 3 hours of battery life and plenty of ports, including Thunderbolt 3, and you can see the difference between a regular gaming laptop and a good gaming laptop.
Cons: Noisy cooling system.
8.MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RE
The average price is 133,245 rubles.
- Processor: Core i7
- Processor frequency: 2200 MHz
- RAM: 16 GB
- Hard disk space: 256GB
- Screen diagonal: 15.6 "
- Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
- Weight: 1.88 kg
- Optical drive: DVD no
- 4G LTE: no
- Bluetooth: yes
- Wi-Fi: yes
One of the thinnest and lightest gaming laptops available today.The top version is also one of the first gaming systems to feature an 8th Gen Intel Core processor and a six-core Coffee Lake processor that promises 20 percent more performance than its predecessor.
The ultra-thin bezel display delivers superior color and sharpness. The keyboard, according to user reviews, is very comfortable and quiet, and has a pleasant backlighting. Another advantage is a comfortable touchpad, which the more expensive Acer Predator Triton 700 cannot boast of. One cannot find fault with the cooling system, it is not noisy and at the same time efficient.
Cons: Tight hinges that require both hands to open the laptop, average sound quality.
7. Xiaomi Mi Gaming Laptop
The average price is 90,990 rubles.
- Processor: Core i5 / Core i7
- Processor frequency: 2500 ... 2800 MHz
- RAM: 8 ... 16 GB
- Hard disk capacity: 1128 ... 1256 GB
- Screen diagonal: 15.6 "
- Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
- Weight: 2.7 kg
- Optical drive: DVD no
- 4G LTE: no
- Bluetooth: yes
- Wi-Fi: yes
It is difficult to find an area in the high-tech device market that the Chinese company Xiaomi has not yet had a hand in. And this is only beneficial for users, because this company is famous for its high-quality and inexpensive products.
The stylish Mi Gaming Laptop is no exception. It's powerful, light enough, with a large, bright (about 296 nits) IPS screen with a 1920 × 1080 resolution and thin bezels, a comfortable touchpad and a good cooling system. Dolby Atmos with two 2W speakers is used as a sound system. In addition, when you purchase you get a free Office suite, a trifle, but nice.
The unpleasant little things include turning off the backlight after 10-20 seconds of inactivity. To turn it on again, you have to press a button.
6.ASUS ROG Zephyrus M GM501GM
The average price is 158,546 rubles.
- gaming laptop with 15.6 ″ screen
- weight 2.45 kg
- Intel Core i7 8750H 2200 MHz processor
- 32GB DDR4 memory
- discrete graphics
- total volume (HDD, HDD + SSD, SSD) 1512 GB
- without optical drive
- Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
- Windows 10 Home
- operating time 5.5 h
- dimensions (LxWxT) 384x262x19.9 mm
One of the most powerful gaming laptops boasts high-end specs including a Core i7 processor and GTX 1060 graphics with 6144MB of GDDR5 VRAM. This means you won't have any problems playing games on ultra settings.
The keyboard is nice and comfortable and optimized for FPS fans.
With excellent cooling, plenty of ports and great specs, the laptop looks very compact, but still solid enough.
However, you will have to dance with a tambourine to customize the power consumption system for yourself. And making a folding bottom made of plastic is bad manners.
5. HP OMEN 17-an016ur
The average price is 69 667 rubles.
- gaming laptop with 17.3 ″ screen
- weight 3.78 kg
- Intel Core i5 7300HQ 2500 MHz processor
- 6GB DDR4 memory
- discrete graphics
- storage (HDD, SSD) 1000 GB
- DVD-RW optical drive
- Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
- Windows 10 Home
- working time 12.75 h
- dimensions (LxWxT) 423x304x33 mm
Beautiful model with a futuristic design. The specs are not the most up-to-date, but for most games, the graphics capabilities of the GeForce GTX 1050 and the reliable Intel Core i5 processor are sufficient. The laptop also features a large screen with vibrant colors and good viewing angles. The cooling system is powerful enough, but the fans make a lot of noise under load.
Cons: Due to the non-standard size, bags designed for 17-inch models are not suitable for this laptop. The Russian alphabet is very small. You cannot change the brightness level and color of the key illumination.
4. Razer Blade Stealth 13.3
The average price is 108,000 rubles.
- 13.3 ″ touchscreen gaming laptop
- weight 1.33 kg
- Intel Core i7 8550U 1800 MHz processor
- memory 16 GB LPDDR3
- integrated graphics
- storage device (SSD) 512 GB
- without optical drive
- Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
- Windows 10 Home
- dimensions (LxWxT) 321x206x13.1 mm
Somehow, Razer manages to cram some of the most powerful specs into a super thin and light body. The latest version of the Razer Blade Stealth features an overclocked Intel i7 processor, Intel HD Graphics 620 video processor, a fantastically bright 385.5 cd / m2 QHD display, super fast SSD storage and a keyboard with mechanical keys. Real battery life is about 9 hours. In other words, this is one of the best gaming laptop choices of 2018 in terms of price and quality.
Cons: heats up in games, the graphics performance of the laptop is not enough for the latest AAA games.
3. Acer Predator Helios 300 (G3-572)
The average price is 88,992 rubles.
- Processor: Core i5 / Core i7
- Processor frequency: 2500 ... 2800 MHz
- RAM: 8 ... 16 GB
- Hard disk capacity: 1000 ... 1256 GB
- Screen diagonal: 15.6 "
- Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
- Weight: 2.7 kg
- Optical drive: DVD no
- 4G LTE: no
- Bluetooth: yes
- Wi-Fi: yes
Opens the top 3 with one of the most affordable gaming laptops. It offers a comfortable, full keyboard, great laptop sound, an eye-catching screen, and a GTX 1060 graphics card (also available with GTX 1050 Ti) capable of 60fps at maximum settings in most modern games. Let this model lack some fancy on-screen features like high refresh rates or G-Sync. These minor issues don't really matter when you consider the super affordable price tag.
Cons: easily soiled case, the battery, instead of the declared 7 hours, lasts 3 hours at most.
2. Lenovo Legion Y520
The average price is 61 588 rubles.
- Processor: Core i5 / Core i7
- Processor frequency: 2500 ... 2800 MHz
- RAM: 4 ... 16 GB
- Hard disk capacity: 128 ... 2128 GB
- Screen diagonal: 15.6 "
- Video card: AMD Radeon Pro 560 / AMD Radeon RX 560 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
- Weight: 2.4 kg
- Optical drive: DVD no
- 4G LTE: no
- Bluetooth: yes
- Wi-Fi: yes
The legion of Lenovo devices is replenished with an inexpensive gaming laptop with a matte IPS screen, loud speakers, a full-size and comfortable keyboard, and good cooling. Low weight, minimal number of preinstalled programs and low price also distinguish Lenovo Legion Y520 from many “colleagues”. At medium and high settings in modern games, the laptop produces about 40 fps.
Cons: easily soiled body, slightly unnatural color rendering.
1. MSI GT75 8RF Titan
The average price is 289,990 rubles.
- Processor: Core i9
- Processor frequency: 2900 MHz
- RAM: 32 GB
- Hard disk capacity: 1512 GB
- Screen diagonal: 17.3 "
- Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
- Weight: 4.56 kg
- Optical drive: DVD no
- 4G LTE: no
- Bluetooth: yes
- Wi-Fi: yes
It is the most powerful laptop on the market with the latest overclockable processor, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 graphics and a fast SSD. And if that's not enough to keep you interested, the GT75 8RF Titan has an incredibly bright 4K display as well as top-notch speakers, making it the undisputed juggernaut of the gaming laptop world.
But the real highlight of the best gaming laptop of 2018 is the mechanical keyboard with large island keys that's so comfortable that you might not want to go back to your desktop.
Cons: very expensive and heavy model.