If you're looking for gaming flexibility then it's hard to go past a gaming laptop. You can get enough power from the top end gaming laptops for most people to fully replace a desktop, but they're also portable enough to take with you on the go. Thanks to game stores like Steam you can also stream games running on your laptop to TVs and other less powerful devices to make Laptops a great console replacement too if you want.
Gone are the days when all gaming systems were big and bulky units that would barely survive between powerpoints – thanks in no small part to the popularity of Ultrabooks, they're becoming more sleek and portable while maintaining the power needed to handle the latest games. There’s even a whole category of Gaming Ultrabooks that give you impressive gaming performance in a thin and light package.
Regardless of whether you're in it for the sleek numbers to slip in your satchel on the go, or an all-in-one replacement for a desktop rig, we've sifted through what's on offer to bring you the best gaming laptops available in Australia.
It's worth noting that our list of the best gaming laptops here in Australia will be a bit different to our US and UK counterparts. While the laptops themselves are undisputedly powerful and capable, the Australian 'tech tax' means we simply don't get as good a deal down under, and so the value proposition is a little different.
The quick list
Want to cut to the chase and find out what the best gaming laptops are? Below, you’ll find a roundup of our choices, and you can jump to a more detailed review of every pick, along with our price comparison tool to help you find the best deals.
The best overall
With a large 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 165Hz screen and a powerful mid-range RTX 4070 GPU, the Legion 5i in a great bang for buck option for gamers looking to buy a mid-range laptop.
The best cheap gaming laptop
Acer’s Nitro 5 is a well balanced gaming laptop for anyone on a tight budget. The device utilises a cheaper 12th gen Intel CPU and pairs it with the latest 40 Series Nvidia GPU and a 144Hz screen to maximise gaming potential. Importantly, you can also get it for next to nothing.
The best value
While the Legion Slim 5 is only equipped with the RTX 4060 in Australia, the GPU is a good match for the Ryzen 7 7840HS CPU and overall gives great gaming bang for buck. Even better the Aussie model has a 2880 x 1800 120Hz OLED screen.
The best lightweight
This isn't just a durable and powerful gaming laptop - it's also one of the most lightweight options on the market. Just be ready to pay a premium for it.
The best slim 16-inch laptop
This stylish laptop is a great option for those who need a powerful computer – be it for gaming, or creator use. Key is the slimmer and lighter build, making it perfect for carrying every day.
The best desktop replacement
The Alienware 18 offers exceptional performance while maintaining a decent price point for the desktop replacement market. It's a kilo heavier than many competitors, but it means you get better performance from cheaper components.
The best RTX 4090 gaming laptop
If you're looking for a gaming laptop that will outperform many of the best gaming PCs, then look no further. The Titan is an absolute monster with 4K display and an RTX 4090 GPU to power the best PC games at 4K with few compromises — other than its obscenely high price.
The best RTX 4000 laptop
One of the first Nvidia RTX 4000 gaming laptops we've tested, the Pro 7i pairs incredible performance with a stunning and fast display.
The best dual-screen
Both gamers and content creators will appreciate this laptop's dual-screen layout. The second screen is a 4K touch panel with smart stylus support.
The best gaming laptops in 2024
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Below you'll find full write-ups for each of the best gaming laptop in our list. We've tested each one extensively, so you can be sure that our recommendations can be trusted.
The best gaming laptop overall
The Lenovo Legion 5i has long been a favourite amongst gamers looking for a great value laptop, and the new Gen 9 model is the best yet. It's not without a few niggles of course, and you do need to buy it when (frequently) discounted for it to be good value.
The 5i configuration tested (Core i7-14650HX / 32GB RAM) gives great gaming performance thanks to a RTX 4070 GPU that's well matched to the 16-inch, 1600p, 165Hz display. Gaming prowess aside, the 5i is also a very competent workstation and performs well on AC, battery or USB-C power. Battery life is lower than ideal (but should improve as drivers are updated) and it's a shame no facial recognition webcam (or fingerprint reader) is included.
The Legion 5i is also available with a range of different hardware, including more powerful i9 CPUs, and RTX 4050, 4060 and 4070 GPUs. The 16-inch IPS display has a 2560 x 1600 resolution, a 100% sRGB, 350nit brightness, and a 165Hz (G-Sync supporting) refresh rate. There's also a 500nit, 240Hz version of the display but it's harder to find in Australia.
Gaming performance is excellent, and the Legion 5i has a powerful cooling system that allows the GPU to work to it's full potential. For the RTX 4070 model tested, even intense games such as Cyberpunk 2077 can achieve decent frame rates at the displays native resolution. The laptop is also a powerful option for those who need a productivity laptop for work or Uni, and while on the larger side, the 5i is still able to be carried day to day without too much fuss.
The best pricing for the 5i is often direct from Lenovo Australia – but only when discounted from full price. Typical discounts range from 30% to 40%. For example the i7, RTX 4070 has been discounted under AU$2,700 (and the i9 variant under AU$2,799) while the RTX 4060 equipped 5i has been under AU$2,200. Other retailers often have different configurations of the Legion 5i compared to Lenovo – such as extra RAM – but again they are only good value when discounted from RRP.
Read the full Lenovo Legion 5i (Gen 9) review
The best cheap gaming laptop
While it might have a 12th Gen CPU, this won't affect performance much since a lot of i5 and i7 laptop chips saw conservative gains. The Nitro 5 does have either a GeForec RTX 4050 or 4060 GPU from Nvidia however, an upgrade that'll improve gaming performance by about 20% over the previous 3060 models. This is a noticeable jump of between 10 and 40 frames per second meaning you can play less demanding games at well over 120fps and modern shooters like Cyberpunk 2077 at over 80 fps using 1080p Ultra settings.
This matches up nicely with the 144Hz refresh rate on the 15.6-inch FullHD IPS screen, allowing you to really push games to the maximum potential without either component overpowering the other. It’s got a 300 nit typical brightness and 72%NTSC (100% sRGB) which is good colour and brightness for a budget gaming laptop too.
There's plenty of interface options and while it doesn't have the absolute latest Wi-Fi spec, it's not far off. It's also got a fast SSD and handy NitroSense software.
I've seen Acer selling this configuration for as little as $1,399 down from an RRP of $2,199, which is exceptionally good value.
Read the full Acer Nitro 5 review
The best value gaming laptop
✅ You want a portable option: As the name suggests, the Legion Slim 5 is thinner and lighter than a lot of comparable performance gaming laptops.
✅ You want solid mid-range performance: The RTX 4060 has a generous 105W power profile, which allows for solid frame rates in even high impact games.
❌ You want high frame rates at the 2.8K native resolution: The 2880 x 1800 resolution OLED display is great, but you need to drop back to 1080P for higher frame rates.
❌ You want a big screen: 14.5-inches is nothing to sneeze at, but does look small next to our favourite 16-inch or 17-inch gaming laptops.
The Legion Slim 5 (14-inch, 8th Gen) is great mid-range gaming option that is surprisngly affordable – especially when on sale. It's a great option for those who want a gaming laptop that can also do double duty for work or study, as the 14-inch form factor and slim build make it very portable. For a gaming laptop anyway.
The Legion Slim 5 has fewer variants in Australia than overseas. We only really get the one build – a decently powerful Ryzen 7 7840HS paired up with a RTX 4060 and 32GB of RAM. The only options are either a 512GB or 1TB model. The latter is AU$100 extra (which is not a big increase considering) though the best model is whatever one is on sale, as the Legion 5 Slim can be often found for under AU$2,500.
Gaming performance from the RTX 4060 is pretty good, but important here is the power envelope used. The Legion Slim 5 gives the RTX 4060 up to 105W, which means it can run the GPU right up to the most effective power levels. The laptop also has a very capable cooling system to ensure higher performance can be sustained without thermal throttling. Still, with a 2880 x 1800 display, you will need to drop the game resolution or details back on demanding titles if you want to hit close to the panels 120Hz refresh rate.
You can read the TechRadar review via the link below, but keep in mind that it's for the US model that is slightly different from what we get in Australia. For example, we get the 2.8K OLED, while the US variants have an IPS display. In contrast, the US gets additional CPU and GPU options, while we only have the Ryzen 7 and RTX 4060.
Read the full Lenovo Legion 5 Slim 14 review
The best lightweight gaming laptop
Sure, it might be expensive, but the new 2024 Razer Blade 14 is just a thing of beauty; a compact, quiet, durable, and powerful gaming laptop that ticks just about every box. Top-notch internal components are joined by an incredibly bright and vivid screen, with the classic machined metal chassis that has come to define the aesthetic of the Blade laptop line.
What's even better here is that despite its thin and light chassis, it boasts excellent gaming performance that's comparable to similarly-specced yet less portable gaming laptops.
Also for a thin laptop, it's got impressive cooling. That is, even though it did heat up during intense gaming sessions in our testing, it never suffered noticeable stuttering, freezing, or slowing down, meaning that you can push it like you would other laptops without getting frustrated. You might be disappointed by the battery life, though, as you will only get the rated 10 hours with light use.
Read the full Razer Blade 14 (2024) review
The best slim gaming laptop
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 and G14 have regularly been at the top of our best gaming laptop roundups due to their great performance and reasonable price tags.
The G16 stands out thanks to a combination of a slim build that's perfect for carrying every day when on the go, and great GPU performance for gaming and creator use. The G16 features a Intel Core Ultra 7 or 9 CPU, paired up with an Nvidia RTX 4050, 4060, 4070, 4080 or even 4090 GPU. The best bang for buck is the RTX 4060 equipped G16 – though the RTX 4070 is also a good choice if you need a little more grunt.
The G16 has a very stylish design, with LEDs that can be customised to stand out, or toned back for use in class or at the office. The 16-inch screen is a vibrant, bright 2560 x 1600 IPS panel, with excellent 100% DCI-P3 colour reproduction, and a 240Hz refresh rate for gaming. While we wish the battery life was a touch better, the G16 is still one of our favourite options overall.
Read the full Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) review
The best desktop replacement
What’s most important in a supersized gaming workstation is performance and Alienware’s unique configuration performed exceptionally well in a wide range of tasks. Despite going up against Nvidia 4090 GPUs with just a 4080, the Alienware was able to achieve frame rates within six percent of the combined averages of all laptops we’ve tested with a 4090.
Alienware seems to have achieved this by adding significantly more cooling to the architecture. Sure the added thermal mass adds a whole kilo over Razer and Asus’ 18-inch competitors, but these large-format devices are hardly appealing to gamers wanting an ultra-portable experience and it means you’ll keep up with the best using more conservative (and affordable) components.
The CPU scores weren’t bad either, with the i9-13900HX keeping up with or outpacing higher specced Intel processors in demanding encoding tasks. The screen might be a little under gunned for professional gamers, but the best laptops still struggle to get over 150fps on modern titles like RDR2 and Cyberpunk 2077 in 1080p Ultra, so there's actually plenty of overhead for the rest of us.
Battery life was on par with competitors offering just two to three hours depending on what you’re doing (don’t expect to be able to game on battery). What’s perhaps the biggest drawcard of this excellent gaming laptop it’s over AU$1K less than the RRP of Asus's ROG Strix Scar 18, at just AU$5,298 on Dell’s online shop.
Read the full Alienware m18 review
The best RTX 4090 gaming laptop
The MSI Titan 18 HX is an absolute monster of a gaming laptop, easily outperforming the competition. It's packed full of high-end hardware, such as a gorgeous 4K+ mini LED display and a mighty RTX 4090 GPU.
All those top-tier specs and performance come at a cost though, as the MSI Titan 18 HX starts at almost $5,000/£5,000/AU$7,000, making it one of the most expensive gaming laptops available.
In our testing, the Titan 18 HX was able to easily achieve 60 FPS at 4K in many of the best PC games like Assassin's Creed Mirage, and with DLSS 3, you'll even be able to close to or surpass 60 FPS on games like Cyberpunk 2077 and F1 2023 when ray tracing is set to max.
No surprise – battery life is terrible, but that really shouldn't be a concern since you're rarely going to take this beast off your desk and onto battery power unless you're going into another room in your house.
Read the full MSI Titan 18 HX review
The best RTX 4000 gaming laptop
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is one of the most powerful gaming laptops we’ve tested so far, thanks to its RTX 4080 mobile GPU. When we tested it out, it delivered some incredible gaming performance, absolutely smoking through every one of our graphics-based benchmark tests with flying colors, and nearly matched our scores for the Alienware Aurora R15 gaming PC. This level of power also translates to gaming performance, with titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered looking its best.
Its display is an absolutely ridiculous 16-inch WQXGA, 240Hz, 500nits screen, which means that when we took it for a gaming test drive, we found the refresh rate to be butter smooth enough for professional gamers. The screen is extremely bright with a high-definition resolution, and it also features an RGB-lit keyboard with an excellent port selection to boot.
The chassis is very bulky and heavy, as befitting of a desktop replacement laptop, with an abysmal two-and-a-half-hour battery life. This laptop was made purely for performance, with not a thought to its aesthetics, but for the performance it’s worth it.
Read the full Lenovo Legion Pro 7i review
The best dual-screen gaming laptop
If you're after something a bit different — or you're a content creator who wants a laptop for gaming too — then the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 is an incredible (if expensive) choice. The 16:10 main display is joined by the delightful ScreenPad Plus, a secondary touchscreen that elevates out of the chassis when you open the lid, creating a laptop that's reminiscent of a certain beloved handheld console.
Nintendo DS references aside, the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 is also an absolute monster of a system thanks to its Ryzen 9 6900HX processor and RTX 3080 Ti graphics card, backed up by a whopping 64GB of DDR5 RAM. It's great for gaming and watching movies, in no small part due to a set of powerhouse speakers that provide shockingly good room-filling audio.
Read the full Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 review
How to choose the best gaming laptop for you
Choosing the best gaming laptop is easy when you’ve got deep pockets or have a couple of thousand dollars to spare. It’s when your budget is more limited that getting a great gaming laptop becomes trickier.
Lucky for us, we’re getting plenty of more affordably-priced CPUs and GPUs that don’t compromise on power. The latest internals are more capable yet also cheaper than ever. That means that gaming notebooks under AU$4000 can be just as capable as any gaming PC while keeping things portable and space-saving.
Still, some components are more powerful or cheaper than others. While it’s no longer a hard and fast rule, AMD’s offerings are generally more affordable, which means that AMD Ryzen-powered laptops tend to be slightly cheaper.
In terms of graphics cards, Nvidia is still king when it comes to performance, although which RTX card you should go for depends on the type of gaming experience you want. The RTX 4060, for example, is a terrific mid-range contender with lots of power for 1080p (and higher) gaming. However, if you want that 4K goodness, an RTX 4070 or higher is the way to go.
Consider the RAM as well. Other things to look at are the amount of storage, type of display, and type and variety of ports. Take a look at the battery life as well, especially if you plan on gaming on the go. Know that just because something is premium doesn’t automatically mean it’ll deliver a long battery life. And, of course, since you do have to like how your gaming notebook looks, think about the design and whether or not you want RGB lighting.
Whichever one you pick however, we guarantee one of our picks below will let you dive into your favourite games, from the best cheap PC games to the best laptop games and the best PC games – all without tethering you to a desk.
Which laptop is best for gaming?
At a base level, you’re going to need a gaming laptop that runs the newest game releases, whether they’re AAA or games that require lower graphics settings. Ideally, you’ll want to pick a gaming laptop with a decent graphics card - it doesn’t have to be as advanced as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090, which can play even the most graphically intense games at the highest settings, but you’ll want something that can play any and every game, even if that means dropping back the detail levels in more demanding titles.
An RTX 4060 is typically the best bang for buck GPU on the more affordable side, but the RTX 4070 can offer great value in many circumstances and is ideal for higher resolution screens or use with external monitors. The RTX 4080 and 4090 are very powerful, but need large cooling systems so are typically only seen in 17-inch or larger gaming laptops.
Memory is crucial in the best gaming laptops as well – especially for games with a lot of textures. The last thing you want is for your game to sputter or freeze in the middle of important action sequences or cutscenes, so you’ll want a gaming laptop with plenty of RAM to tackle those high-intensity games.
Screen size should also factor into your gaming laptop decision and 14-inch, 15.6-inch and 16-inch models are the most popular. 17-inch or larger screens are great for gaming, but are much less portable than smaller laptops.
If you travel a lot or want to use your gaming laptop for work or Uni, you’re going to want to consider weight, as well as if you need to use the big AC charger or if USB-C charging is an option. Travelling will often also mean you need to make sure your gaming laptop has a decent battery life – though the best power banks can help keep your laptop running when between outlets.
How much RAM do I need for gaming?
Most gaming laptops that start you off with 16GB of memory, which is the minimum these days. However, that might not be enough for best performance if combined with a mid-range or above CPU and extra RAM is usually worth the upgrade.
If you play a lot of demanding AAA titles, at least 32GB is recommended for the smoothest experience. If you can afford to splurge, a 64GB memory will give you the smoothest, most immersive experience. Most gaming laptops have upgradeable RAM, so even if you opt for 16GB now, it's easy to have it upgraded (or do it yourself) in the future if needed.
Is it worth it to get a gaming laptop?
Absolutely. Gaming PCs are no longer incomparable, thanks to mobile devices getting smaller yet also more powerful. If you need something that's space-saving and/or portable yet powerful enough to tackle your favourite games, no matter if those are not-so-demanding games or the most graphically-intensive titles, one of the best gaming laptops is worth considering.
What is a good thin gaming laptop?
There aren't a lot of thin and light gaming laptops out there, but that doesn't mean you can't find several options to choose from.
The best ones are impressively portable without sacrificing power or battery life. The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 sits at the top of that pile, with MSI GS65 Stealth and the Razer Blade Stealth following closely behind.
How we tested these gaming laptops
Testing a gaming laptop isn’t as easy as you might think. But, then again, neither is narrowing down your options and choosing the best one for you, which is why we take our job seriously. Even if that means gaming for hours on end – hey, someone’s gotta make the sacrifice, right?
In all seriousness, we put every gaming laptop we test through its paces to make sure it delivers as promised and is worth your hard-earned case. That means that on top of playing the latest and hottest games on it, noting things like gaming and thermal performance, we also run synthetic benchmarks like PCMark 10, 3DMark, UL Procyon and Geekbench 6 as well as battery tests.
Because a gaming laptop is only as good as its elements, we take a look at how smooth and fast the display is, how comfortable and responsive its keyboard is, whether or not there are enough ports on hand, and how good its overall design is. We also test the webcam, in case users want to utilise it for game streaming.
We then take everything we’ve learned about the gaming laptop and compare it to its price – whether or not it’s performance and features are worth that price tag, and whether or not it offers the best value to customers.
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