You’ll find that in the last few years, gaming laptops have gotten exponentially better, with the best ones providing an almost indistinguishable experience from gaming PCs, which makes some of the ones on this gift guide really stand out. If you’re shopping for a gaming laptop as gift this holiday, our guide breaks down a wide collection of the best gaming laptops to choose from in a range of different price points. So there should be something that fits almost all budgets. And if you’re looking for something for your console, like the new PS5, don’t forget to check out our guide for best PS5 accessories or best gaming headsets, which are updated monthly.
Holiday Gift Guide 2022: Best Gaming Laptops
Razer Blade 14
Razer officially announced the Blade 14 in June of 2021, its first ever gaming laptop to come with an AMD CPU. Since then the company has been refining it with upgrades. Like the Ti versions of NVIDIA’s 30-series GPUs. The new AMD-powered Blade 14 is also the first 14-inch laptop the company has launched since the original Blade years ago. When we reviewed the laptop, we found it to be one of our absolute favorites due to its portable and sleek design and excellent performance. Weghing at just under 5 lbs. this slim gaming laptop is definitely one of the best you can buy. But you’ll definitely be spending a lot to get one. It will however be worth it.
Razer Blade 15
If you want something just a little bit larger, look no further than Razer’s Blade 15, which is one of the best gaming laptops in this gift guide and in general. It’s got just about everything the Blade 14 has. Though it uses Intel instead of AMD for the CPU. It also comes with the Ti models of the 30-series GPUs from NVIDIA, as well as an upgrade to Windows 11. Razer is also now selling Windows 11 models directly where it comes pre-installed so you don’t have to update. If you want power and performance without sacrificing design, this is it. Not to mention, you can find this laptop in configurations with both the Intel 11th Gen and Intel 12th Gen CPUs. As well as with different screen resolutions and refresh rates.
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 (2022)
Price: $1,999.99Where To Buy: Best Buy
The ROG Zephyrus G15 from ASUS has been a favorite among the gaming laptops this year and last year, and for good reason. This model packs an AMD Ryzen CPU and a combination of NVIDIA 30-series GPU options are at your fingertips. It’s slim, lightweight, and powerful enough to handle gaming at high settings for most games. It also has decent battery life and is a bit cheaper than the Razer Blade 15 Advanced. Making it one of the best gaming laptops in this gift guide and again, in general. In fact it might even be our absolute favorite.
Alienware x15 R2
You can’t talk about gaming laptops, in a gift guide or not, without talking about Alienware. And the Alienware x15 R2 is our top pick for Alienware laptops as it’s an excellent mix of function and form. In fact it might just be our favorite gaming laptop this year. If you really don’t care about desk space or the weight, then you go for something like the Alienware Are 51 m2 or the Alienware x17 R2. Both of which are beefy in size and performance. But if you want something more portable, and a lot of people do these days, then this is the one you want. It’s got a sizeable yet still manageable 15-inch display, NVIDIA 30-series Ti GPU options, and plenty of RAM and hardware space for gaming. Not to mention configurations with different CPUs, refresh rates and more. Overall, the Alienware x15 R2 is probably one of the best-looking gaming laptops today, it functions spectacularly, and it’s got a great trackpad and keyboard that feel top-notch. Plus, all but the power port are on the back. Which helps for keeping your desk space clean of a bunch of wires and peripherals.
Lenovo Legion 5 Pro
You might be surprised to know that Lenovo makes a series of gaming laptops that falls under its Legion branding. And the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro is one of the better options. This particular model comes with the RTX 3070 GPU so it’s running the 30 series. Which means you’ll get some ripping fast speeds and awesome performance. It’s also running with a Ryzen 7-5800H CPU and 16GB of RAM. This version of the laptop still performs extremely well and offers a 1TB SSD, a 15.6-inch QHD 165Hz display, and many other great features. You can also get this laptop in other configurations with more storage space through larger SSDs, as well as more RAM. Weight-wise this is a little on the heavier side at close to 6 lbs. but that’s still relatively lightweight when you think about what all gaming laptops used to be like years ago.
Lenovo Legion 7
If you want to stick with Lenovo and want something more powerful, the Legion 7 might be a really great fit. This is a 16-inch laptop with an NVIDIA RTX 3070 GPU, up to 64GB of RAM, up to a 3TB NVMe SSD, and an Intel i7-11800H CPU. It also supports WiFi6. Size wise, it’s not the smallest but it’s still portable enough to use as an everyday gaming laptop that can be carried around. And it comes pre-installed with Windows 11 and comes with a 165Hz refresh rate QHD display.
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14
The G14 is a lot like the G15, but in a slightly smaller package. This is the perfect alternative to the G15 if you want something that won’t take up as much space and maybe weighs a tiny bit less. It still comes with NVIDIA 30-series GPU options, too. So you aren’t really sacrificing much power and performance. This model comes with an NVIDIA RTX 3060 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 144Hz Full HD display. You’ll also find a bevy of ports and a battery life that should last you well into the day.
Dell G15
This is the latest G15 gaming laptop from Dell and if you want something more on the budget end, this is a really great place to start. It has configurations starting as low as $699.99 and can go up to over $2,000 depending on the specs you pick. So you have some wiggle room in terms of how powerful you want the laptop to be. It comes with a starting GPU option of the RTX 3050, but you can get all the way up to the RTX 3070 Ti if you wish. And there are numerous options for RAM and storage space too. It also comes in a few colors and it’s WiFi 6E certified. It’s a slightly heftier laptop but not by much compared to others. Overall this is probably the best option for those looking to get something decent under $1,000.
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 (2022)
Another really great laptop from ASUS is the ROG Strix Scar 17 from this year. This refreshed model of one of ASUS’ most popular gaming laptops comes with either an RTX 3070 Ti, an RTX 3080, or an RTX 3080 Ti GPU. It also has a Core i9-12900H or Core i9-12900HX CPU, 16GB or 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. Additionally, it comes with Windows 11 out of the box. The best part though, is the pairing of all that power with the 360Hz 17-inch IPS display. You’re going to get a whole lot of frames per second if you play games on this bad boy. And as they say, frames win games.
Acer Predator Triton SE
Rounding out this list is another good option at a lower cost. The Predator Triton SE from Acer comes with an NVIDIA RTX 3060 GPU. It’s also fairly thin and lightweight, and honestly it looks pretty good in the design department. Other notable features include an 11th Gen Intel i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. The storage size isn’t exactly the largest, but if you can manage your space a little better you get to save a ton of money while still getting a really good graphical experience in games. It has a 144Hz display too, so your refresh rate isn’t too bad either. Of course, our top pick is still the Alienware x15 R2, then the Razer Blade 15. But those also come at a considerably higher cost.
