Gaming laptops are no longer bulky monsters equipped with giant coolers that scream under the lightest load. Now gaming laptops have turned into lightweight, compact devices with powerful hardware. According to their capabilities, they are able to compete with desktop computers.
Choosing the right gaming laptop depends on what is most important to you: mobility, performance or price? Usually, only two of these three parameters are selected. The best gaming laptops are powerful and lightweight, but extremely expensive. At the other end of the spectrum, you can get great performance at a reasonable price, but it will have a more cumbersome form factor.
In this top 10 gaming laptops of 2018, we tried to gather the best representatives in each price and weight category. When creating the list, we were guided by the opinions of experts from well-known publications, such as PC Gamer and Techradar, as well as evaluations of various laptop models on Yandex.Market.
10. Acer Predator Triton 700 (PT715-51)
The average price is 171,070 rubles.
- Processor: Core i7
- CPU Frequency: 2800 MHz
- RAM capacity: 16 ... 32 GB
- Hard drive capacity: 512 ... 1024 GB
- Display diagonal: 15.6 "
- Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080
- Weight: 2.4 kg
- Optical drive: no DVD
- 4G LTE: no
- Bluetooth: yes
- Wi-Fi: there is
The first thing that catches your eye is the elegant design, reminiscent of high-tech devices from science fiction. Pleasantly pleased and mechanical keyboard with backlit keys and a powerful graphics card, as well as a large amount of RAM. The screen quality 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 terrible for everything except brief use, so just be sure to remember to grab the mouse for this laptop. In addition, the keyboard is very hot on the left side.
9. Alienware 17 R5
The average price is 180,061 rubles.
- Processor: Core i7 / Core i9
- Processor frequency: 2200 ... 2900 MHz
- RAM capacity: 8 ... 32 GB
- Hard drive capacity: 1128 ... 1512 GB
- Display diagonal: 17.3 "
- Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080
- Weight: 4.42 kg
- Optical drive: no DVD
- 4G LTE: no
- Bluetooth: yes
- Wi-Fi: there is
The fifth generation of the Alienware series notebooks 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 the flagship laptop Alienware has 13 customizable lighting zones, as well as quiet fans and loud speakers. And the most expensive model is equipped with a UHD IPS-display with a module that tracks the direction of the user's gaze.
A sturdy laptop case made of metal and high-quality plastic looks not only stylish, but also expensive. The flip side of this magnificence is quite a lot of weight.
Add to that more than 3 hours of battery life, as well as a large number of ports, including Thunderbolt 3, and you’ll understand 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
- CPU Frequency: 2200 MHz
- RAM Capacity: 16 GB
- Hard Drive Capacity: 256 GB
- Display diagonal: 15.6 "
- Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
- Weight: 1.88 kg
- Optical drive: no DVD
- 4G LTE: no
- Bluetooth: yes
- Wi-Fi: there is
One of the thinnest and lightest gaming laptops to date. The high-end version also became one of the first gaming systems to feature an 8th generation Intel Core processor and a Coffee Lake six-core processor, which promises 20 percent more performance than its predecessor.
The screen with very thin bezels has excellent color reproduction and sharpness. The keyboard, according to user reviews, is very comfortable and quiet, and has a nice backlight. Another advantage is the convenient touchpad, which the more expensive Acer Predator Triton 700 cannot boast of. You can not complain about the cooling system, it is not noisy and at the same time effective.
Cons: tight loops, because of which you have to open the laptop with both hands, the 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 capacity: 8 ... 16 GB
- Hard drive capacity: 1128 ... 1256 GB
- Display diagonal: 15.6 "
- Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
- Weight: 2.7 kg
- Optical drive: no DVD
- 4G LTE: no
- Bluetooth: yes
- Wi-Fi: there is
It is difficult to find in the market of high-tech devices an area to which the Chinese company Xiaomi has not yet had a hand. And this is only at hand for users, because this company is famous for its high-quality and inexpensive products.
The stylish Mi Gaming Laptop is no exception. It is powerful, light enough, with a large, bright (about 296 nits) IPS-screen with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 and thin frames, a convenient touchpad and a good cooling system. As a sound system, Dolby Atmos with two 2 W speakers is used. In addition, upon purchase you will receive a free Office package, a trifle, but nice.
Unpleasant 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.
- 15.6 ″ gaming laptop
- weight 2.45 kg
- Intel Core i7 8750H 2200 MHz processor
- 32 GB DDR4 memory
- discrete graphics
- total volume (HDD, HDD + SSD, SSD) 1512 GB
- without optical drive
- Bluetooth wifi
- Windows 10 Home
- 5.5 hours
- dimensions (LxWxT) 384x262x19.9 mm
One of the most powerful gaming laptops boasts top-end specs, including a Core i7 processor and GTX 1060 graphics with 6144 MB of GDDR5 video memory. This means that you will not have problems with games on ultra-settings.
The keyboard is nice and comfortable and optimized for fans of first-person shooters.
Given the excellent cooling, multiple ports and excellent characteristics, the laptop looks very compact, but at the same time quite solid.
However, you will have to dance with a tambourine to configure the energy consumption system for yourself. And to make a hinged bottom out of plastic is a bad manners.
5. HP OMEN 17-an016ur
The average price is 69,667 rubles.
- 17.3 ″ gaming laptop
- weight 3.78 kg
- Intel Core i5 7300HQ 2500 MHz processor
- memory 6 GB DDR4
- discrete graphics
- drive (HDD, SSD) 1000 GB
- DVD-RW optical drive
- Bluetooth wifi
- Windows 10 Home
- working time 12.75 h
- dimensions (LxWxT) 423x304x33 mm
Beautiful model with a futuristic design. She can’t call the specifications the most modern, but for most games the capabilities of the GeForce GTX 1050 graphics and a reliable Intel Core i5 processor are enough. The laptop also features a large screen with rich colors and good viewing angles. The cooling system is quite powerful, but under load the fans are very noisy.
Cons: due to the non-standard size, bags designed for 17-inch models do not fit this laptop. The Russian alphabet is very small. You cannot change the brightness level and color of the backlight of the keys.
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
- 16 GB LPDDR3 memory
- integrated graphics
- 512 GB drive (SSD)
- without optical drive
- Bluetooth wifi
- Windows 10 Home
- dimensions (LxWxT) 321x206x13.1 mm
Somehow, Razer manages to squeeze some of the most powerful specs into a super slim and lightweight case. The latest version of the Razer Blade Stealth is equipped with an overclocked Intel i7 processor, Intel HD Graphics 620 video processor, a fantastically bright (385.5 cd / m2) QHD display, a very fast SSD drive and a keyboard with mechanical keys. Real battery life is about 9 hours. In other words, this is one of the best options for gaming laptops of 2018 in terms of price and quality.
Cons: heats up in games, for the latest games in the "AAA" category, the graphics performance of the laptop is not enough.
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 capacity: 8 ... 16 GB
- Hard drive capacity: 1000 ... 1256 GB
- Display diagonal: 15.6 "
- Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
- Weight: 2.7 kg
- Optical drive: no DVD
- 4G LTE: no
- Bluetooth: yes
- Wi-Fi: there is
Opens the top 3 one of the most affordable gaming laptops. It offers a convenient, full-fledged keyboard, excellent sound for a laptop, a screen that keeps your eyes steady, and a GTX 1060 graphics card (there are also models with a GTX 1050 Ti) that can deliver 60 frames per second at maximum settings in most modern games. Suppose that this model does not have any fancy on-screen features, such as a high refresh rate or G-Sync. These minor issues are not significant given the super affordable price.
Cons: easily soiled case, the battery instead of the stated 7 hours keeps from power for 3 hours.
2. Lenovo Legion Y520
The average price is 61 588 rubles.
- Processor: Core i5 / Core i7
- Processor frequency: 2500 ... 2800 MHz
- RAM capacity: 4 ... 16 GB
- Hard drive capacity: 128 ... 2128 GB
- Display 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: no DVD
- 4G LTE: no
- Bluetooth: yes
- Wi-Fi: there is
In the legion of Lenovo devices, replenishment is an inexpensive gaming laptop with a matte IPS screen, loud speakers, a full-sized and comfortable keyboard, and good cooling. The light weight, the minimum number of pre-installed programs and the low price also distinguish Lenovo Legion Y520 from a variety of "colleagues". At medium and high settings in modern games, the laptop produces about 40 fps.
Cons: easily soiled body, slightly unnatural color rendition.
1. MSI GT75 8RF Titan
The average price is 289 990 rubles.
- Processor: Core i9
- CPU Frequency: 2900 MHz
- RAM Capacity: 32 GB
- Hard Drive Capacity: 1512 GB
- Display diagonal: 17.3 "
- Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
- Weight: 4.56 kg
- Optical drive: no DVD
- 4G LTE: no
- Bluetooth: yes
- Wi-Fi: there is
This is the most powerful laptop on the market with the latest overclocked processor, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 graphics and a fast SSD. And if that's not enough to interest you, the GT75 8RF Titan has an incredibly vibrant 4K display and first-class speakers, making it the undisputed juggernaut in the gaming laptop world.
But the real highlight of the best gaming laptop of 2018 is the mechanical keyboard with large island keys, which is so convenient that you may not want to return to your desktop.
Cons: a very expensive and heavy model.