Best gaming ultrabook (thin-and-light gaming laptop) in 2025

Here at Ultrabookreview.com, we’ve been testing and reviewing thin-and-light gaming laptops for more than 15 years now, of all kinds and from all major brands. Our experience allows us to help you choose the best portable gaming laptop (or gaming ultrabook) for your needs and within your budget, from the multitude of options available in stores as of the first part of 2025.

I’m Editor-in-Chief at Ultrabookreview.com, and in this article, I go over our recommendations on portable thin-and-light gaming ultrabooks, especially in the compact 13-inch and 14-inch segments. I also briefly touch on some of the full-size but still portable 15 to 17-inch gaming notebooks, as some of these are better-value options than the ultraportable models, and most of them are still fairly compact and lightweight these days.

We take a multitude of aspects into consideration for our recommendations. The performance, thermals, and noise levels while running games and other demanding applications come first, but other details count as well, such as the overall build quality and ergonomics of each design, the screen and audio quality, the typing experience, and especially if there are any potential deal-breaking flaws that you must be aware of with each model. On top of these, pricing plays an important role as well in determining a notebook’s overall worth.

Even when accounting for all these, you’ll find that there are many good-value gaming laptops out there, and that’s why this article is not just a basic Top 10 as you’ll find on most other sites, but a detailed buying guide (with a condensed summary in the beginning). Take your time and go through the entire article, it will help you narrow down your options and make a purchase you won’t regret.

I’ve split the article into a few different sections, in order to make it easier for you to navigate:

• 13-inch gaming ultrabooks – the most compact and lightest options;
• balanced 14-inch portbale gaming notebooks  – the sweet spot balance of performance and portability ;
• the best 15 and 16-inch slim and lightweight gaming options – not as compact, but still portable and more powerful, as well as potentially more affordable;
• the best 17 and 18-inch lightweight options – with larger screens and improved performance, but still fairly light and portable;
• more powerful, less portable gaming laptops – for value-oriented buyers, or when shopping for the best performance in a laptop format.

The Best portable 13-inch gaming laptops and ultrabooks

In the past, the Alienware 13 was for many years the only 13-inch performance laptop you could get. It wasn’t compact and it wasn’t pretty, but it bundled an i7 and a mid-tier GTX GPU in its latest iteration, good enough for FHD gaming at high details at the time.

Since that’s no longer an option, unless you somehow find it used, these days your best options in the 13-inch segment are a few powerful models in the Asus ROG Flow lineup, the older Razer Blade Stealth 13 if ypu can stil find it somewhere, and perhaps some of the more powerful designs with latest-gen hardware and iGPUs. Not much else in this class, but the offer is far more generous in the 14-inch segment of performance and gaming laptops.

Asus ROG Flow Z13, ProArt PX13, ROG Flow X13- most powerful 13-inch gaming computers

These two ROG Flow models and the ProArt PX13 are the most powerful 13-inch computers available today, suitable for multitasking and sustained work/gaming loads.

The ROG Flow X13 is a convertible 2-in-1 laptop built on previous-gen AMD Ryzen 9 HS hardware with up to RTX 4070 graphics (60W TGP), up to 32 GB of LPDDR5 memory, a 75 WH battery and a 13.4-inch IPS QHD+ 165 Hz 3ms display. This is an all-metal all-black design with good ergonomics, inputs and IO, and weighs 1.3 kg (2.9 lbs). It comes with a 130W USB-C charger.

You’ll find all about it in our detailed reviews, the latest being over here: Flow X13 review. And here’s a picture of this X13 hooked-up to the ROG XG Mobile external dGPU, which is compatible with all the pre-2025 Flow models.

The ProArt PX13 is a more recent iteration of a similar all-metal all-black 2-in-1 chassis, a little thicker and heavier (1.4 kg, 3.05 lbs) than the Flow X13, but also significantly more powerful and better cooled.

This is built on an AMD Strix Point Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 platform with up to 32 GB of faster LPDDR5x memory, up to an RTX 4070 dGPU (75W TGP), and a 73 Wh battery. This also bundles an OLED 13.4-inch 60Hz touch-display, instead of the IPS on the Flow X13, which is a solid option for creator use, but not necessarily ideal for gaming with only 60Hz refresh rate.

Furthermore, due to the more powerful settings, the PX13 comes with a larger 200W charger and not the 130W USB-C model offered with the Flow X13. This series is also more expensive and not as widely available across markets.

Then there’s the ROG Flow Z13 lineup, available in either a 2023/2024 generation or in a completely revamped 2025 model. Both are tablet formats with a kickstand on the back and a detachable keyboard folio. Both are all-metal solid constructions with decent ergonomics and IO.

The gen1 Flow Z13 (2023/2024) is built on an Intel Core i9-13900H platform with up to RTX 4070 graphics (65W TGP), up to 32 GB of LPDDR5 memory, a 56 WH battery and a 13.4-inch IPS QHD+ 165 Hz 3ms display. This is comparable in capabilities to the Flow X13, but a little faster and better cooled due to the tablet format and the more advanced thermal module with a vapor-chamber.

This is also bundled with a 130W USB-C charger, and is still widely available today. However, you’ll mostly find this Z13 generation in stores in the RTX 4060 version with only 16 GB of RAM.

You’ll find all about it in our detailed reviews, the latest being over here: Flow Z13 review.

The gen2 2025 ROG Flow Z13 is a similar tablet+ folio format, once more a little thicker and heavier than the gen1 model, as shown in this comparison article.

However, this series is quite unique as one of the very few built entirely on the AMD Strix Halo platform with Ryzen AI Max APUs that combine a powerful 16Core processor with the most capable Radeon iGPU available to date, alongside up to 128 GB of fast LPDDR5x memory. Now, the realistic graphics performance of this platform is somewhere in between the low-powered 4060 and 4070 included in the other 13-inch models offered by Asus, but what really sets this apart for potential work applications and AI loads is the platform’s architecture and the possibility to get this with 64 or 128 GB of RAM (in some markets) and then allocate up to 96 GB of this memory to the GPU.

At the same time, keep in mind this Flow Z13 generation is quite a lot more expensive than the other models discussed here, and comes with a chunky 200W charger.

I’ll link to our detailed review once available.

All these being said, while the ProArt PX13 and the gen2 Flow Z13 are refined iterations of the original Flow models with generally faster performance and better cooling, the original Flow models might still be the smarter buy for most of you looking for good performance and capabilities in these formats, especially with the current discounted prices. Follow these links for the latest configurations and prices:

• ROG Flow X13 (2-in-1 convertible format, AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS + up to RTX 4070 60W)
• ProArt PX13 (2-in-1 convertible format, AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 + up to RTX 4070 75W)
• ROG Flow Z13, gen1 (tablet + folio format, Intel Core i9-13900H + up to RTX 4070 65W)
• ROG Flow Z13, gen2 (tablet + folio format, up to AMD Ryzen AI Max 395+ 80W total)

Ultrabooks with integrated graphics

The general graphics performance of recent iGPUs in games and media applications has increased over the years, and the latest iGPUs from Intel (Arc 140v, 140T) and AMD (Radeon 780M, 880M, 890M) might offer enough for your needs.

Still, that mostly means a decent gaming experience at 1080p/1200p resolution with low to medium settings, and mostly in lighter casual games (Minecraft or Fortnite or Dota2 or the likes) or older titles. If you plan on running AAA modern games on your device, you’ll just have to go with a dGPU or a Strix Halo platform instead. And that’s either available in the few 13-inch options mentioned earlier, or in larger 14+ inches chassis designs.

On the other hand, there are plenty of options with modern iGPUs ranging up from handheld gaming consoles and micro-computers up to 13-17 inch ultraportables. They’re not all equal, as even iGPU performance varies between implementations based on the power settings and cooling capabilities of each model, but they offer mostly similar capabilities within each platform’s limits.

However, when it comes to 13-inch ultrabooks specifically, there are very few options still available with modern specs, such as the Dell 13 Premium and the MSI Prestige 13 built on Intel Core Ultra hardware with Arc graphics, as most OEMs migrated their thin-and-light models towards the 14-inch format as well. We’re discussing ultrabooks indepth in this separate guide.

The best 14-inch gaming laptops – lightweight and well-balanced

More and more excellent 14-inch gaming laptops are available these days, and these are the sweetspot of performance and portability available for most buyers.

With powerful processors and graphics, these can handle pretty much everything a full-size portable design would, but in a smaller and more compact chassis and with somewhat more limited power settings and performance. You just can’t beat physics. You might have to pay a slight premium over a 15/16-inch model with similar capabilities for the better 14-inch performance models, or have to accept higher internal temperatures.

I’d also note that since we’re interested in gaming performance, I’m only considering options built in x86 Intel, AMD, Nvidia hardware, so none of the MacBooks and Arm-based Qualcomm Snapdragon Copilot+ models. For various obvious reasons. However, if you’re rather interested in this sort of laptop for productivity and work applications, the latest Apple MacBooks and especially the MacBook Pro 14 M4 generation should be on your list.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 – the sweet spot

We’ve tested the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 in multiple configurations over the years, and at this point you can still find several variants in stores, so I’ll quickly go over the particularities of each generation.

• Zephyrus G14 GA403 2025 – updated gen3 chassis, a little thicker and heavier in order to accomodate faster hardware and improved cooling, Ryzen Ai 9 HX 370 and up to RTX 5080 110W;
• Zephyrus G14 GA403 2024 – gen3 chassis, more premium build and smaller/lighter format, OLED display, lower power hardware with AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS and up to RTX 4070 90W;
• Zephyrus G14 GA402 2023 – same gen2 chassis, with slightly updated IPS display, but with AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS and up to RTX 4090 125W graphics;
• Zephyrus G14 GA402 2022 – gen2 chassis with updated design, keyboard, 16:10 IPS display, AMD Advantage design with Ryzen 9 6900HS  + AMD Radeon graphics;
• Zephyrus G14 GA401 2021/2020 – gen1 chassis, with 16:9 IPS display, Ryzen 9 4900/5000 HS+ RTX 2060/3060 specs.

Here are the gen2 and gen1 designs side by side.

And here’s the newest gen3 chassis in either gray or silver.

I’ll update the article with a side-by-side comparison picture of the gen3 and gen2 models as well.

Each of these generations could make sense for some of you, but I’d mostly look into the 2023, 2024 and 2025 models at this point. You might not even find the older ones anymore, unless you’re ok shopping for an used model at bargain prices.

Nonetheless, Asus has refined these Zephyrus G14 designs over time, but functionally and aesthetically, even though their approach was kind of all over the place with the various model years.

For instance, the 2023 model focused on performance, with a powerful RTX implementation for a 14-inch laptop and the ability to spec up to a top-tier RTX 4090. Then, the 2024 gen3 chassis changed things, as a much more compact and lightweight chassis (1.5 kilos vs 1.7+ kilos on gen2 models), more premium construction and looks, and an OLED display. At the same time, this series is only available with mid-level specs running at lower power, so not as competent in sustained loads and games as the 2023 model.

Regardless, most people will be interested in the mid-specced variants on these Zephyrus G14s anyway, at around 1500 USD/EUR or maybe less. That generally gets you an R9 + 4060 in the pre-2025 models, and should get you a 5060 in the 2025 generation when available. Paired with the capable AMD CPUs, that’s still plenty for a daily driver that can tackle daily use, multitasking, work loads and games.

The latest 2025 Zephyrus G14 refines the gen3 2024 chassis, making it a little thicker and heavier in order to accommodate latest-gen hardware running at higher power. This generation offers a Ryzen AI 9 processor, one of the better all-around mobile platforms of this time, up to Nvidia’s latest GeForce RTX 5080 graphics chip and up to 64 GB of LPPDR5x onboard RAM.

Our review of the original gen3 Zephyrus G14 is available here and links to our reviews of the older G14 generations are available at the beginning of this subsection. We’ll update the article once we get tot review the refreshed gen3 model from 2025.

In the meantime, follow this link for updated Zephyrus G14 prices and configurations in your country.

Razer Blade 14 – powerful 14-inch laptop

The Blade 14 is one of the most powerful 14-inch gaming ultrabooks out there today, built on a Ryzen 9 7940HS processor with up to a full-power RTX 4070 Laptop dGPU (up to 140W) graphics in its latest iteration. This hasn’t been yet updated to 2025 specs as of February 2025, but I’d expect a 2025 refresh over the next months, with a Ryzen 9 AI processor and RTX 5000 Blackwell graphics.

Our full review of the 2024 Blade 14 is available over here and it’s an excellent compact laptop, pretty much a shrunk variation of the mainstream Blade 15 and Blade 16 models, as you can tell from the picture down below. The build-quality and overall feel of this Blade remains second to none in this class, and the wide-gamut 240Hz IPS display is excellent for daily use, creator use and gaming.

At the same time, though, this Blade 14 is much heavier than other 14-inchers, due to the sturdy metal chassis and vapor-chamber internal cooling. But at 1.8 kg, this is about as heavy as some of the 16-inch options out there. That aside, its keyboard and speakers could use a refresh, and the series comes with a hefty price premium over most other options from other brands.

Follow this link for updated prices and configurations at the time you’re reading the article.

HP Omen Transcend 14 and MSI PrestigePro 14 – premium all-rounders

The Omen Transcend 14 and the newer PrestigePro 14 series from MSI are potential alternatives for the latest Asus Zephyrus G14 model, with a similar premium-chassis approach and mid-powered specs.

The Omen 14 is a little bigger and heavier than the G14, offers an RGB keyboard and spreads ports on all sides, including behind the display. Speaking of, the display still only opens-up to around 140 degrees.

The specs are built on an Intel Core Ultra H platform here, with up to RTX 4070 graphics at only 65W TGP, so not as powerful as the other options in this segment. But at least this allows HP to charge the laptop via a compact 140W USB-C brick.

The Omen Transcend 14 is averagely priced these days, at around $1500 for the RTX 4060 model. It’s not available everywhere, though.

The MSI PrestigePro 14 is a newly launched series in 2025, a slightly thicker version of the Prestige 14 chassis with updated cooling, in order to accommodate a dGPU. It’s built on a Core Ultra platform with RTX 4050 graphics, with a 90W battery and comes with a middling IPS display and weighs 3.7 lbs. Look for an update once this is available in stores.

 

More affordable options: Asus TUF Gaming A14, Acer Nitro 14, Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14

These are a handful of mid-sized mid-specced and well-priced laptops with 14-inch displays, available from a few different brands.

As far as specs go, these are available with RTX 4050/4060 graphics and recent Intel/AMD hardware, with various power settings and various cooling modules, alongside either IPS (TUF A14, Nitro 14) or OLED (Legion Slim 5) displays. Expect these to be updated with 2025 specs at some point in the second part of the year.

They come with different designs and particularities, but are mostly mid-tier chassis with part plastic and part metal elements. Some of them are more compact and lightweight, such as the Asus TUF A14 , while the Legion and especially the Nitro is heavier.

All these devices are worth considering.

The Acer Nitro 14 is one of the most affordable options, but also quite bulky and heavy and only available with a mid-quality IPS display and rather lacking speakers. It can be specced up to AMD Ryzen 7 specs, 32 GB of RAM and RTX 4060 110W graphics, alongside a 76 Wh battery.

The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14 is mid-sized and nicer built, comes with an OLED 120Hz display, and similar Ryzen 7 + RTX 4060 105W specs. This would be more competitive if updated to latest-gen Ryzen AI specs.

The Asus TUF Gaming A14 is the more affordable version of the Zephyrus G14. It’s most lightweight option in this section at less than 11.5 kilos, as well as the one with the most up-to-date specs, as it is built on a Ryzen AI platform with RTX 4060 100W graphics, impressive settings considering the size of this chassis. On the other hand, this is only offered with a mid-level IPS display and dual speakers.

You’ll find more on each unit’s particularities from our reviews and via the links above.

 

Older-gen options – Acer Swift 14X and Predator Triton 14, Asus ZenBook Pro and VivoBook Pro 14X

These are a handful of other options you could still consider if shopping on a limited budget, as these are mostly 2023 launches that haven’t been updated with more recent specs in the meantime.

That means you’re not getting the latest hardware on these models, but they are still plenty capable for daily-multitasking and even work/gaming loads within reasonable expectations. And they can sell for competitive prices, if you can still find them in your area.

The Acer Predator Triton 14 and the Asus Zenbook Pro 14 and Duo 14 were premium-tier models in their days with solid construction and ergonomics and powerful specs, mostly Intel Core i9 H processors with RTX 4060/4070 graphics. The Triton 14 offers a miniLED display, while the Zenbooks offer OLED screens. And as the name suggests, the Zenbook Duo is a dual-display notebook.

We’ve reviewed these devices over the years. You’ll find more about the ZenBook Pro 14 OLED from this article, and here’s our detailed review of the ZenBook 14 Pro Duo. There’s a more recent Zenbook Duo design available in the meantime, but that’s something else and not a powerful as this 2023 Duo Pro generation.

The Acer Swift X 14 and VivoBook Pro 14X are mid-tier designs with more compact and lightweight constructions and lower-tier specs. They were available with Intel/AMD processors and up to RTX 3050Ti graphics, and might still be found at excellent prices around 500-700 USD/EURs.

Even at those prices levels, though, these are hard sells for gaming options compared to the more recent 4050/4060 configurations, but they are still competitive multi-use laptops.

Here’s our review of the Acer Swift X series and here’s the review of the Asus Vivobook Pro 14x model, this one offering better cooling, a superior 2.8K OLED 90H display, and a larger battery than the Acer Swift X.

These aside, we’re discussing other 14-inch laptops in this separate article, both ultraportable and all-around performance options, so check it out if interested in more options in this segment.

The best 15/16-inch thin-and-light gaming laptops

This section cherry-picks the best thin-and-light no-compromise notebooks for school, work, and gaming available with full-size 15+ inch displays.

The options here offer compact, thin, and premium builds at around 2 – 2.2 kilos or less, high-quality screens with proper brightness, colors, and refresh rates, good-quality RGB keyboards, as well as the latest available hardware specs and features. More importantly, these options are perfectly capable of delivering on the hardware’s performance potential in demanding workloads and AAA games.

At the same time, though, most of these premium options are expensive, and you should also expect them to run warm and/or noisy with games on the highest-power profiles – compromises you’ll just have to accept when looking for powerful hardware inside compact form factors.

I’ve only included the portable 15-inch and 16-inch gaming laptops in this selection, but this part of the guide also covers the larger 17-inch and 18-inch gaming ultraportables. And, if you’d rather get something more affordable or you’re willing to somewhat sacrifice on size and weight to some extent, the options in this section would most likely better fit your needs.

Premium lightweight options: Dell XPS (Premium), Lenovo ThinkPad P1, MacBook Pro

Let’s briefly touch on the available premium ultraportable performance laptops first, with an emphasis on premium and ultraportable, and less so on performance.

Unlike options such as the Razer Blade or the ROG Zephyrus models that we’ll discuss in a bit, the options in this subsection are compact and lightweight all-rounders meant for daily use, school, and work activities. They’re not primarily gaming laptops, although the mid-specced variants can still tackle most titles at mid-level resolutions and graphics settings, and some options are available with higher-level RTX graphics.

We’re not going to get in-depth on all these options here, instead, I’ll list them (alphabetically) with links to our available reviews and analysis:

• Apple Macbook Pro 16 – aluminum unibody construction, Apple M Pro/Max silicon, 16.2″ Liquid XDR miniLED screen, 99 Wh battery, starts at 2.15 kg / 4.7 lbs;
• Asus ZenBook Pro 16X – premium aluminum build with sliding keyboard, Core i9 H with RTX 4080 graphics, 16″4K OLED touch,  96 Wh battery, from 2.4 kg / 5.3 lbs;
• Dell XPS 16 (Dell Premium 16) – to be updated when the new Premium 16 is announced – premium aluminum build with weird keyboard, Core Ultra with RTX 4070, multiple screen and configuration options, 99.5 battery, from 2.2 kg / 4.4 lbs;
• Dell XPS 15 – older generation XPS, premium build with a more compact and more traditional design, still worth considering today;
• Lenovo ThinkPad P1 – classic ThinkPad design and build, Core Ultra and up to RTX 4070 graphics, multiple configuration options, IPS or OLED displays, 90 Wh battery, from 1.82 kg / 4 lbs;
• Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i – premium build and Yoga design, Core Ultra and up to RTX 4060 graphics, IPS or miniLED displays, 84 Wh battery, from 2.2 kg / 5 lbs;
• MSI PrestigePro 16 – premium lightweight build, Core Ultra and RTX 4050 graphics, OLED display, 99 Wh battery, from 1.6 kg /3.5 lbs;
• Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra – premium lightweight build, Core Ultra and RTX 4070 graphics, OLED 3K touch, 76 Wh battery, from 1.82 kg / 4 lbs.

Keep in mind that given the portable and slim form factor of these notebooks, the thermal design plays a crucial role in the way these perform with games and demanding loads, and I suggest carefully looking into detailed reviews to figure out what to expect from each of them.

Follow the links for our in-depth reviews and coverage, and get in touch in the comments section at the end if you have any questions.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G15/G16/M16 and ROG Flow X16 lineups

With those out of the way, let’s tackle the real gaming ultraportables.

We start with the Asus ROG models, as these are right now the best-balanced products in the niche, and we’ll discuss the other brands further down.

Asus offer the ROG Zephyrus G16 with latest-gen specs and features, as well as slightly older ROG Flow X16, ROG Zephyrus M16, and ROG Zephyrus G15 models in this class. Here’s a quick summary of all these models, with links to our detailed reviews for each of them:

• ROG Zephyrus G16 – compact clamshell design (4.1 lbs/ 1.85 kg), RGB keyboard, 16-inch OLED display, Core Ultra + RTX 5090 or AMD Ryzen AI + up to RTX 4070 specs with onboard RAM and 2x SSDs, dual-fan cooling with vapor-chamber on Intel models, 90 WH battery, 6x speakers.
• ROG Flow X16 – 2-in-1 convertible design (4.6 lbs/ 2.1 kg), RGB keyboard, 16-inch 16:10 QHD IPS or miniLED displays, Core i9 H + up to RTX 4070 120W with 2x DIMMs and 2x SSDs, tri-fan cooling, 90 WH battery, quad-speakers.
• ROG Zephyrus M16 – clamshell design (4.8 lbs/ 2.2 kg), RGB keyboard, 16-inch 16:10 QHD IPS or miniLED displays, Core i9 H + up to RTX 4090 145W with 2x DIMMs and 2x SSDs, tri-fan cooling, 90 WH battery, 6x speakers.
• ROG Zephyrus G15 – compact clamshell design (4.45 lbs/ 2.02 kg), RGB keyboard, 15.6-inch 16:9 FHD/QHD IPS displays, Ryzen 9 H + up to RTX 3070Ti 120W with with 1x DIMM (partially soldered memory) and 2x SSDs, dual-fan cooling, 90 WH battery,  6x speakers.

The Zephyrus G16 is the latest addition to this series, a complete new design for 2024 that was later refreshed in 2025. It’s a premium compact clamshell laptop available in a wide range of hardware variants, with an OLED display, punchy speakers and a 90W battery.

To make things confusing, Asus actually offers two chassis variants of this laptop, one that’s a little heavier and thicker and reserved for the higher-specced models, and another that’s offered with the mid-specced configurations. Furthermore, only the Intel variant is offered with RTX 4080/4090 GPUs, and only the Intel model has been updated in 2025 with RTX 5080/5090 chips. The AMD version hasn’t been refreshed yet and still tops at a 4070 configuration.

Here are our detailed reviews of the Intel-based Zephyrus G16 and the AMD-based Zephyrus G16 variant, as well as details on the 2025 G16 update.

For what is worth, Asus also offers a Proart P16 version of the G16, with cleaner aesthetics and a 4K OLED display. You’ll find all about it from this review.

The ROG Flow X16 is a convertible 2-in-1 design with a touchscreen, but a slightly older chassis design that hasn’t been yet updated to the latest hardware specs.

It’s an all-black all-metal design with good inputs and IO, and available with either IPS or mini LED display options. It weighs 2.2 kilos, thus is heavier than all other clamshell models.

At this point, the Flow X16 tops out and an Intel Core i9 + RTX 4070 configuration, but I’d expect it should be updated with a gen2 chassis and latest hardware at some point in the near future.

The other two Zephyrus models are slightly older designs from a few years ago, with the Zephyrus M16 being the high-performance version with better specs, cooling and a mini LED display option, and the Zephyrus G15 being a mid-specced bud-get friendly version built on an older chassis with a 16:9 display. These are worth considering if found for the right price, a fair bit under similar configurations of the latest G16 chassis.

Razer Blade 16

The Blade 16 is a brand new chassis design for the 2025 model year, and a step-away from the previous-generation Blade 16 chassis.

It’s thinner, more compact and more lightweight (2.1 kg, 4.6 lbs) than the previous Razer 16 generation, while still being a premium build with iconic Razer design cues. It also implements an updated keyboard and updated audio with 6x speakers, both much needed refreshes for the Blade series. The display is still a 16-inch latest-gen OLED with QHD+ resolution and 240Hz refresh, with touch.

Internally, this Blade 16 is built on AMD Ryzen AI 9 hardware with Nvidia RTX 5000 graphics, alongside an updated cooling module with a larger vapor-chamber. That allows Razer to squeeze in up to a 155W RTX 5090 inside this thin chassis, but we’ll need to test how things go with noise levels and thermals.

Pricing and availability are yet to be announced for the 2025 Razer Blade 16, but expect it to cost and arm and a leg, much like all past Blades. Follow this link for updated configurations and prices at the time you’re reading the article.

MSI Stealth A16 AI+ and Stealth 16 Studio

These are the latest-generations of MSI’s Stealth series of performance thin-and-light laptops, in either AMD (Stealth A16 AI+) or Intel (Stealth 16 Studio) variants paired with up to 64 GB of RAM and various types of RTX graphics, starting from entry-level RTX 4050 chips and all the way up to RTX 5090s.

So far, only the AMD models were announced with 2025 specs and RTX 5000 graphics, while the Intel version is still offered with Cora Ultra H specs and RTX 4000 graphics, but that will most likely change soon enough.

Specs aside, these laptops are premium all-metal chassis with excellent ergonomics, such as a full IO and 180-displays. They’re available in multiple screen options, with either IPS or OLED panels, with 6x speakers and comfortable keyboards with per-key RGB. They weigh around 2.1 kilos, and that’s despite packing 99 WH batteries inside.

On the other hand, these devices are only mid-power designs, with GPU TGPs of around 100-110W, and still tend to run hot and noisy in sustained loads. Make sure to look into detailed review for more details on the exact particularities of each configuration.

 

Mid-specced portable options: Lenovo Legion 7i, Gigabyte Aero X16, Acer Predator Triton Neo 16, HP Omen Transcend 16

These are fairly portable 16-inch designs with mid-level specs, especially on the GPU side, and mid-range power settings and cooling modules.

The Lenovo Legion 7i is an all-metal design and weighs around 2.25 kilos, so is a little heavier than other options, but is well built and functional. It’s built on latest gen Intel hardware and up to an RTX 5070 dGPU, alongside 2x SSD slots and a 99 Wh battery. It’s offered with IPS displays, either 2.5K or 3.2K resolution. Don’t confuse this with the Legion Pro 7i series, which is a larger chassis with more powerful hardware and OLED displays.

The Gigabyte Aero X16 is a very functional chassis as well, still all-metal and around 1.9 kilos in weight, despite offering excellent IO, a full keyboard with a NumPad, and a 76 Wh battery.

Specs wise, the Aero X16 is built on a Ryzen AI 9 platform with up to RTX 5070Ti graphics, with 2x RAM slots and 2x SSDs. It’s only available with a mid-tier IPS display and dual-speakers.

The Predator Triton Neo 16 is Acer’s offer in this segment, another all-metal chassis at around 2.05 kilos. This is an Intel configuration with mid-tier RTX graphics and onboard RAM, and hasn’t been yet updated to 2025 specs. Comes with an IPS screen, 76 Wh battery and dual-speakers.

The HP Omen Transcend is a more more premium build and a heavier chassis, at around 2.3 kilos. It compensates for this with sturdy build quality, and OLED display, more powerful hardware with up to a RTX 4070 130W GPU inside, and a 97 Wh battery. It’s not that affordable, but it’s a fair value model in its class.

All in all, you’ll pretty much want to find these devices at competitive prices, in order to compensate for some of their lacks in comparison to the higher-tier devices mentioned earlier in the article.

 

17-inch and 18-inch portable gaming laptops

Most 17-inch and 18-inch laptops offer uncompromised specs and performance without much concern for portability, but there is a sub-lineup of lightweight 17-inch computers meant for those of you looking for the extra real estate offered by larger screens, but still in a mid-sized chassis that won’t break your back. We’re covering these options in a separate article, which includes popular options such as the Dell XPS 17, the Alienware X17, the MSI Stealth GS77, or the Asus Zephyrus S17, among others – these aren’t latest-gen designs, though.

Laptops with 18-inch displays will be discussed in a future update as well, once those are available in portable formats. For now, this article goes over the best gaming/work 18-inch laptops currently available in stores.

More powerful, less portable gaming laptops

This section is about the best-value gaming laptops that will give you the best gaming experience for your money, without taking the thin and lightweight form factor into consideration. Even so, most of these computers are still compact and fairly portable, but not as thin or light as the options mentioned earlier.

Options around $1000

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For this budget, your best bet is a modern RTX 3060 configuration available on sale, but only the lower-tier designs are that affordable. That means you’ll somewhat sacrifice the build quality, aesthetics, battery life, and potentially on performance and screens compared to the higher tier and more expensive models.

Options in this class include the Acer Nitro 5, HP Victus 16 series, MSI Katana, or the Lenovo IdeaPad 3.

Furthermore, if you’re willing to go with lower graphics performance in a better design, you could look for RTX 3050Ti configurations of the Asus ROG Strix, Lenovo Legion 5, or Dell G15 Gaming lineups.

Options in the $1000-$1500

This is where you’re getting the best bang for your money.

The build and design are subjective and you should choose based on your preferences, but make sure you’re getting something that’s at least made well and will last for a while, has a strong screen hinge, grippy rubber feet, friendly corners and edges, and ergonomically positioned ports.

Then you should carefully consider the inputs and screens. I recommend at least a 144 Hz IPS panel with at least 100% sRGB color coverage and above-average response times, especially if you plan to run fast-paced games such as shooters or racing simulators. You might also get 240 Hz screens in this price niche, which will benefit you in CS:GO and the like.

For specs, the GPU is what matters most when it comes to gaming, so I’d aim to maximize that. A higher-power RTX 3060 with proper cooling would be the ideal pick in this segment, but you might even find an older RTX 3070 model here. Pair it with fast SSD storage and at least 16 GB of RAM.

As for the CPU, even a modern Intel Core i5 or Ryzen 5 should handle games without stress, but you can go with Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 options if you also plan to run some CPU-demanding loads for work or school. For what is worth, Intel platforms are the more powerful options at this point, while AMD has an efficiency advantage on battery use.

This aside, keep in mind that not all laptops are created equally, and the thermal designs and power profiles play a major role in how a specific model ends up performing. That’s only something reviews can reveal for you, the kind we put up here on the site.

With all these in mind, let’s look at some options.

At the lower limit in this price bracket, you’ll be able to get better-specced versions of the units mentioned above, with more RAM, more storage, and perhaps a faster processor.

Towards the middle of this price range is where you’ll find the real gems, with options such as the Acer Predator Helios 300, Asus TUF Gaming and ROG Strix lineups, Alienware m15, Dell G15 Gaming, HP Omen or Lenovo Legion 5. Most are available with either Intel or AMD specs. 17-inch variants of these notebooks are also up to grabs if you prefer a larger screen and generally improved thermals. There’s an updated selection of these 17-inch mid-range gaming laptops over here.

Among these, my favorites are the latest Lenovo Legion 5 and Asus TUF Gaming series, they’re the best balanced and best-priced of the bunch. The other models have their advantages as well, so again, there’s no clear winner here. Think about what matters for you and where you can compromise, and pick the one that best caters to these needs.

At the higher price limit, you can find better-specced versions of the models above, but also a few RTX 3070 configurations, which is what I’d recommend for gaming, given the GPU matters the most in that case.

There are also a couple of options based on barebone designs from Togfang or Clevo, from brands such as Eluktronics, Sager, Shenker, XPG, or Vapor, each available in different regions. I would only buy these if I understand what a barebone design means, with the advantages and the cons, and only get them from a trustworthy seller. In fact, looking at the reviews on Amazon and other stores, buyers are satisfied with these products and rate them highly, in many cases even higher than the A-brand alternatives.

Options above $1500

At this point, your options get incrementally better, and the best value is in the high-power RTX 3070Ti configurations of the models above, or if you’re willing to splurge a little, with some of the higher-tier full-size performance and gaming designs such as the Asus ROG Strix SCAR, the MSI GE Raider, the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro or the Lenovo Legion 7 lines.

With these, expect extra features such as improved build and ergonomics, higher quality and higher resolution displays, per-key RGB keyboards with options for mechanical switches, improved thermal designs, larger batteries, improved audio quality, and generally improved performance with a better-balanced mix of temperatures and noise levels.

Most of these are also available in 17-inch formats, but in this class you’ll actually find some dedicated full-power designs, pretty much the most powerful gaming laptops money can buy, such as the Acer Predator Helios 500, the Asus ROG Scar 17 Special Edition or the MSI Titan 18.

Conclusions on the best available portable gaming laptops

All in all, there are many good gaming notebooks in this list, of different sorts, and for different budgets.

As a buyer interested in a compact gaming computer today, you’ve got a wide array of options to choose from, starting with the highly portable 13-inch gaming ultrabooks, and up to the most powerful 17-inchers with uncompromised specs and features. Most of these are thin-and-light builds, while some favor performance over portability.

In the end, it’s up to you to choose the gaming laptop that best suits your requirements and budget, and find the right balance between power, portability, features, and price for you. I’m sure this article helped you in your quest, and we have further in the comments section if you have any questions or anything to add to this post. Get in touch and we’ll get back to you.