“`html
If you’re wondering which gaming laptops are worth your money, stick around! After we run through each product, I’ll give you my personal take—Would I buy it, or would I skip it? No fluff, just my honest opinion. Let’s get into it!
Watch the video version: I Tried 20 Best Gaming Laptops Of 2025: Here's How They Really Stack Up!
Alienware X16 R2:
The laptop’s webcam is quite disappointing with poor contrast and unbalanced lighting, making it inadequate for streaming or video calls. While it claims impressive gaming performance, it only manages 52 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at Ultra settings, which is below average for its price point. The battery life is mediocre at just 6 hours and 32 minutes, and the laptop gets excessively hot during gaming sessions. Despite having a powerful Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor and RTX 4080, the performance isn’t consistent enough to justify its premium price tag.
Would I buy it?
No – The combination of heating issues, underwhelming gaming performance, and poor webcam quality makes it hard to recommend, especially considering its high price point.
Dell G16 7630:
While the laptop offers decent battery life lasting 5-6 hours, it’s nothing exceptional for its category. The aluminum chassis feels premium, but the laptop struggles with thermal management during intense gaming sessions. The display options are limited to either 165Hz or 240Hz, which is restrictive compared to competitors offering more variety. The laptop’s performance is inconsistent, especially when running demanding games at higher settings.
Would I buy it?
No – Despite its premium build quality, the thermal issues and limited display options make it difficult to recommend when there are better alternatives available.
ASUS ROG Strix G16 (2024):
The laptop absolutely crushes gaming performance with its Intel Core i9 14900HX and RTX 4080 GPU, delivering exceptional frame rates across all modern games. Its 240Hz QHD+ display with G-SYNC support provides incredibly smooth gameplay with minimal ghosting. The laptop offers excellent upgradeability with user-replaceable RAM and storage options up to 32GB and 2TB respectively. The build quality is outstanding with comprehensive connectivity including Thunderbolt 4 support.
Would I buy it?
Yes – The combination of top-tier performance, excellent display, and future-proof upgradeability makes this an outstanding choice for serious gamers.
ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (2024):
The laptop comes equipped with AMD’s latest Ryzen 9 8945H processor and RTX 4070, providing excellent gaming performance with DLSS 3 support. The display is impressive with a 2.5K 165Hz panel featuring G-SYNC and 100% DCI-P3 coverage. The cooling system is highly efficient with 84-blade Arc Flow Fans and five dedicated heatpipes. The battery life is exceptional with a 90Wh capacity and fast charging that can reach 50% in just 30 minutes.
Would I buy it?
Yes – The combination of powerful hardware, excellent display, and impressive battery life makes this a fantastic value proposition for gamers.
Acer Nitro V:
The 15.6-inch gaming beast comes with a powerful NVIDIA RTX 4050 GPU that handles modern games with ease, delivering smooth gameplay at 1080p resolution. The 144Hz refresh rate display with IPS technology provides crystal-clear visuals and responsive gaming experience, while the 13th Gen Intel Core processor ensures you won’t experience any bottlenecks. I love how they managed to keep it relatively portable at just 4.63 lbs, and the 59Wh battery gives you decent gaming sessions away from the plug. The laptop stays impressively cool during intense gaming sessions thanks to its efficient cooling system, and the white backlit keyboard gives it a clean, professional look.
Would I buy it?
Yes – The combination of powerful hardware, great cooling, and reasonable price point makes this an excellent choice for gamers who want performance without breaking the bank.
Alienware M18 R2:
This massive 18-inch laptop gets ridiculously hot and loud under load, making it uncomfortable for long gaming sessions. While the Intel 14th Gen CPU and RTX 40-series GPUs deliver impressive performance, the display is far from class-leading compared to competitors. The battery life is disappointingly short, and at 3.9kg, you’ll need serious muscles to carry this beast around. The price is outrageous for what you get, especially when competitors offer better features like mini-LED panels for similar money.
Would I buy it?
No – The combination of poor thermal management, subpar display, and excessive weight make this a hard pass, especially considering the premium price point.
MSI Thin 15:
The laptop impresses with its sleek design at just 21.7mm thickness and a reasonable weight of 1.86kg, making it actually portable for a gaming machine. The 144Hz IPS display provides smooth gaming visuals, though the 45% NTSC color gamut might disappoint content creators. I appreciate the inclusion of the latest connectivity options like Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, but the single fan cooling system might struggle during intense gaming sessions. The RTX 4050 with a modest 45W TGP delivers decent gaming performance, though it won’t break any records.
Would I buy it?
Maybe – While it offers good portability and decent gaming performance, the limited color gamut and potential thermal constraints make it a situational choice for casual gamers.
MSI Katana A15 AI:
This powerhouse rocks an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS processor paired with an RTX 4060 that delivers an impressive 11.6 TFLOPS of gaming performance. The dual-fan cooling system keeps everything running smoothly, and I love the 144Hz display that makes every game look buttery smooth. With DDR5 RAM running at 5600MHz and PCIe Gen 4 storage, everything loads lightning fast, and the 4-zone RGB keyboard adds that perfect gaming aesthetic. The 53.5Wh battery might seem small, but the efficient AMD processor helps manage power consumption effectively.
Would I buy it?
Yes – The combination of latest-gen AMD processor, powerful RTX 4060, and efficient cooling system makes this an excellent choice for serious gamers who want top-tier performance.
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16:
The aluminum top cover adds durability while housing impressive internals including an Intel Core i7-13700HX and RTX 4060, delivering outstanding gaming performance with 68 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at high settings with ray tracing enabled. The 16-inch QHD+ display is incredibly bright at 499 nits and offers a crisp 165Hz refresh rate with excellent color coverage, making games look stunning. The laptop comes equipped with plenty of ports including Thunderbolt 4, and the keyboard deck feels solid despite being plastic. The downward-firing speakers could use more bass, but that’s a minor complaint for a laptop that excels at its primary gaming purpose.
Would I buy it?
Yes – This is a powerhouse gaming laptop that delivers exceptional performance and premium features at a budget-friendly price point.
MSI Katana 15:
The laptop struggles with battery life, lasting only 2 hours and 39 minutes during web surfing and a mere 41 minutes while gaming. The trackpad feels cheap and unresponsive, making navigation a frustrating experience. While it manages 81 fps in Far Cry 6 at 1080p Ultra settings, the styling feels dated and the build quality is reminiscent of older gaming laptops. The thick and heavy plastic body makes it less portable than modern competitors.
Would I buy it?
No – Despite decent gaming performance, the poor battery life and build quality make it hard to recommend when better options exist at similar price points.
HP Victus 15:
The laptop features excellent thermal management with a dual-fan setup that keeps things cool even during intensive gaming sessions. The 144Hz refresh rate display delivers smooth visuals, and the sturdy build quality gives confidence in its longevity. It handles multitasking like a champ, easily juggling between gaming, streaming, and productivity tasks. The port selection is generous, and the keyboard feels comfortable for both gaming and typing.
Would I buy it?
Yes – It’s a well-balanced gaming machine that offers solid performance and build quality at an attractive price point.
MSI Creator M16 HX:
The laptop packs serious power with configurations up to Core i9-14900HX and RTX 4070, plus a gorgeous 16-inch QHD+ 240Hz display with full DCI-P3 coverage. The cooling system handles demanding tasks well, though the fans can get quite noisy during extended use. Battery life is a major weakness, draining in less than an hour during intensive tasks, and the screen brightness could be better for outdoor use. While it supports up to 64GB DDR5 RAM and PCIe Gen5 SSD, it lacks Thunderbolt 4 ports and only comes with a 65 WHr battery.
Would I buy it?
Maybe – The powerful specs and beautiful display are tempting, but the poor battery life and lack of Thunderbolt ports might be dealbreakers depending on your needs.
Lenovo Legion Pro 5i:
The Legion Pro 5i offers strong gaming performance with its RTX 4060, handling 1600p gaming smoothly while maintaining 165 FPS in Overwatch 2 and 52 FPS in Red Dead Redemption 2 at ultra settings. The 16-inch 2560×1600 display is bright and colorful, though you’ll have to deal with constant fan noise even at idle. The laptop’s build quality is decent but mostly plastic, and you’ll get mediocre battery life and subpar audio quality. At $1,449, it represents good value for money with its high refresh rate display and powerful components.
Would I buy it?
Maybe – While it offers solid performance for the price, the constant fan noise and mediocre battery life make it hard to fully recommend.
Lenovo LOQ 15:
This budget-friendly gaming powerhouse delivers impressive 1080p gaming performance with its RTX 4050/4060 options and surprisingly quiet fans. The keyboard feels fantastic to type on, making it great for both gaming and daily use. You get great thermal management that keeps things cool under load, and the 144Hz display keeps up with DLSS-boosted frames perfectly. The build quality is sturdy despite being plastic, and the price starting at $949 makes it an incredible value proposition.
Would I buy it?
Yes – The combination of great gaming performance, quiet operation, and excellent price point makes this an easy recommendation for budget-conscious gamers.
HP Omen Transcend 14:
The laptop suffers from visible ghosting behind fast-moving objects due to slower response times, and it lacks both FreeSync and G-SYNC support. While the OLED display offers great colors, the keyboard backlighting doesn’t shine through the legends, making them hard to see in dark environments. The webcam is mediocre with soft and overexposed images, and battery life only lasts six to seven hours of light use. Despite having powerful components, thermal throttling is present, though fairly minimal.
Would I buy it?
No – The combination of display issues, poor keyboard visibility, and short battery life make it difficult to recommend over competitors.
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9:
The laptop delivers stellar performance with excellent thermal management and features a gorgeous display that’s more color accurate than previous generations. The new matte black design looks and feels amazing, with improved build quality and an extra USB-C port supporting 140W Power Delivery. The keyboard continues to be one of the best on any laptop, and the 240Hz display offers incredible gaming performance. Performance has improved significantly with just a CPU bump, making it an incredible value among premium gaming laptops.
Would I buy it?
Yes – The combination of top-tier performance, excellent build quality, and practical features makes it the ultimate gaming laptop choice, especially considering its competitive pricing compared to rivals.
Razer Blade 18 (2024):
The 18-inch Mini LED display is absolutely stunning with its 300Hz refresh rate and 2,000 local dimming zones, making every game look incredible. While gaming performance is phenomenal thanks to the 14th Gen Intel processor and RTX 4090, the battery life is disappointingly short at only 5-6 hours for basic tasks. The build quality is outstanding with an all-aluminum chassis, but this thing is seriously heavy and bulky, making it more of a desktop replacement than a portable gaming machine. The keyboard feels great with per-key RGB lighting, though some keys are a bit wobbly and the palm rejection on the touchpad isn’t perfect.
Would I buy it?
No – While the performance is incredible, the poor battery life and bulky design make it impractical for most users, plus it costs an absolute fortune.
MSI GE76 Raider:
The performance is seriously underwhelming for the price point, with frequent crashes and stability issues that made testing frustrating. The massive size and weight combined with terrible battery life make this completely impractical as a portable machine. While the RGB lighting looks cool with the front light bar, the build quality feels cheap with a worryingly bouncy display. The speakers are surprisingly good and fill the room nicely, but the constant fan noise drowns them out during any serious gaming.
Would I buy it?
No – For this price, you’re better off buying a gaming desktop and a cheaper laptop, as this offers poor value with too many compromises.
HP 255 G10:
The touchpad is completely broken on multiple units, with driver issues making it essentially unusable out of the box. While it has decent specs on paper with a Ryzen 7 and 16GB RAM, this is clearly not designed for gaming at all. The keyboard feels cheap with no backlight, making it frustrating to use in low light conditions. Battery life is decent but that hardly matters when basic functionality is compromised.
Would I buy it?
No – This is a basic business laptop masquerading as a gaming machine, with serious quality control issues making it a risky purchase.
Gigabyte Aorus 16X:
The vibrant display and powerful RTX 4070 combo delivers excellent gaming performance at a more reasonable price point than the competition. The keyboard is really satisfying to type on with good tactile feedback, though some keys feel a bit wobbly. The speakers get impressively loud with minimal distortion and decent bass, making gaming without headphones actually enjoyable. While the battery life is mediocre, the cooling system keeps things running smoothly even during intense gaming sessions, though the fans do get quite loud.
Would I buy it?
Maybe – It offers great gaming performance and features for the price, but the loud fans and average battery life hold it back from being a must-buy.
Thanks for watching, I hope this video helped you pick the gaming laptops for you. If you have any questions, drop a comment below. Links to all of these products mentioned in this video will be in the description.
“`