The Best Laptop Deals In Australia - Live Now

• Gigabyte Aorus 17X AZF-C5AU665SP 17" Display Laptop, 4th Gen Intel Core i9, NVIDIA RTX 4090, 32GB DDR5, 1TB SSD – A$4,799.36 (was $7,499, 36% off)
• HP Envy x360 2-in-1 Laptop, 13th Gen Intel Core i5, 16GB DDR5, 512GB SSD – A$1,495 (was $2,199, 32% off)
• Lenovo Yoga 7 14IRL8 14" Laptop, 13th Gen Intel Core i5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD – A$1,297 (was $1,799, 24% off)
• Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11, Intel Core i7-1355U, 16 GB DDR5, 512GB SSD – A$2,557 (was $3,619, 29% off)
• Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 13.3" FHD Chromebook, 8GB RAM, 256GB + Lenovo USI Pen + Duet Folio Keyboard – A$755 (was $1,079, 30% off)
• MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo 13.4" 120Hz 2-in-1 Laptop, 13th Gen Intel i7,16GB RAM, 256GB SSD – A$1,199 (was $2,599, 54% off)

Check out more Australian PC deals here.

Purists will argue that you need a PC to truly play games, especially if you're a fan of pushing the levels of graphics quality beyond the capabilities of a mere gaming console. To do that, the gaming desktop is still king, particularly when it comes to having the kind of components and horsepower needed to run 4K games smoothly and support virtual reality (VR) setups. But if you want or need something you can tote around the house or over to your friend's place, we're here to help you choose the right gaming laptop.

Our list of picks is ever-evolving as we test new models. We have organized our choices into our current favorites in the budget (under about $1,200), midrange (between $1,200 and $2,000), and high-end ($2,000 and up) classes. In years past, we saw only 15.6-inch and 17.3-inch laptops, but we are now seeing 14-inch, 16-inch, and 18-inch systems too, so grouping picks by specific size is too cumbersome. And so, in addition to the pricing tiers, we've selected picks for those seeking a particularly portable or an especially big-screen solution and designated a few additional favorites for more niche use cases, such as content creation and cloud gaming.

If the base model starts at a lower price, we may designate a model in a different price class than what we tested it at. Also note that the budget class in particular saw some price inflation through 2023 and 2024, given the silicon shortages and supply-chain issues that have plagued the industry since the pandemic began. Before, we'd have set a hard limit of $999 for budget gaming machines, but we are seeing price rises at the lower end of this market. So, we've lifted the price ceiling for this class of gaming machines.

Check out a detailed breakout of our current picks for the best gaming laptops for 2024 below, followed by our extensive buying guide to how to shop for a gaming laptop.

Gaming systems have higher-end components than run-of-the-mill consumer laptops, so their prices consequently will be higher, but the range across the category is huge: from under a grand to $4,000 and up. Budget gaming laptops start at around $800 and can go up to about $1,250. For that, you get a system that can play games at full HD resolution (1080p) with the settings turned down in most titles, or at maximum quality settings in simpler games. Storage will likely be a modest-capacity solid-state drive (SSD); a hard drive indicates an older model best avoided. An SSD as the boot drive is always preferable, and nowadays, hard drives have been relegated to secondary drives in larger laptops.

Want something better? Midrange systems give you smoother gameplay at high or maximum settings on a better-quality 1080p screen (which will support high refresh rates; more on that in a moment), and they should add support for VR headsets. These models will range in price from around $1,250 to $2,000.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

High-end systems, meanwhile, should guarantee you smooth gameplay at 1080p with graphics details maxed out, invariably on a high-refresh screen. They even might let you play at 4K resolution if the screen supports it. A high-end model should also be able to power a VR headset and support additional external monitors. These machines tend to come with capacious PCI Express SSDs, and they are priced above $2,000, often closer to $3,000.

Some laptops in this class support QHD (2,560-by-1,440-pixel) or 4K screens, a hard drive to supplement the SSD, and ultra-efficient cooling fans as optional extras. Thanks to modern advancements, an increasing number of these are even fairly thin and portable. With laptops in this tier, you'll either pay a premium for high-end performance in a thin chassis or pay for the most possible power in a chunkier build.

Put the GPU First: Which Gaming Laptop Graphics to Get?

The main attribute that makes or breaks a gaming laptop is its graphics processing unit (GPU). We don't consider a laptop to be a gaming laptop unless it has a discrete graphics chip from Nvidia or (less commonly) AMD.

A quick crash course for the uninitiated: In general, the higher the suffix number in a GPU series, the more powerful it is. For example, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 will generally produce faster frame rates and higher-quality graphics than an RTX 3070, and so on down the stack. The "30" denotes the generation, so the latest GeForce 40 series is superior to the 30 series; the GeForce RTX 4080 is the successor to the RTX 3080. Nvidia is the dominant player in the field right now, currently producing discrete mobile GPUs based on its "Ada Lovelace" microarchitecture, though some older "Ampere"-based (2021) GPUs are still available.

(Credit: Molly Flores)

Ampere GPUs sell under the GeForce RTX 30-series name (i.e., the RTX 3070 or RTX 3080), though they have been largely phased out by the newer GeForce RTX 40-series "Ada Lovelace" GPUs. The latter launched on desktops in 2022, and laptops with RTX 40 series GPUs started to hit shelves in early 2023. Virtually any new laptop released this year will run 40-series GPUs, but some base-model configurations (and non-gaming laptops) may still feature a GeForce RTX 3050 or 3060 to keep the price down.

And so, we'll touch on both generations. Unlike past generations, the top-end 30-series and 40-series GPUs available on new laptops carry an "RTX" designation rather than "GTX," a nod to the ray-tracing technology that the platform offers for enhanced in-game visuals (with games that support it). This fancy real-time lighting effect looks amazing but is very demanding to run.

Combined with a rendering technique called DLSS, the high-end GPUs are even able to push ray-tracing at higher resolutions in some titles. Nvidia is continuously working on this technology, and the improvements in the latest edition, DLSS 3, are a big part of the effectiveness of its RTX 40-series GPUs. More demanding games may not hit 60 frames per second (fps) at 4K, especially with ray-tracing active depending on the laptop, but it's much more plausible to do either on their own with top-end RTX 40-series GPUs. DLSS 3 and the "frame generation" feature are doing wonders for the 40-series GPUs.

(Credit: Molly Flores)

Ampere and Ada Lovelace laptop GPUs are not 1:1 performers in line with their desktop counterparts, but performance is still very strong, and they're more capable of ray-tracing than the 20 series was. We've found that there can be some sizable performance variance between the same GPU in one laptop versus that same GPU in another, depending on the power that laptop makers deliver to the GPU. To see our findings on why this is, read our mobile Ampere testing article. This makes laptop shopping a bit more complicated than going by just the GPU name on paper. Our testing of each system is more important than ever.

Now, let's move down the power hierarchy a bit. The midrange RTX 3060 occupies space just under the RTX 3070 and 3080. At the bottom of the 30-series stack are the GeForce RTX 3050 and RTX 3050 Ti, which launched in spring 2021. Compared with the premium RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 (and their souped-up RTX 3070 Ti and RTX 3080 Ti counterparts), these GPUs are available in budget-friendlier gaming laptops, or the base configurations of more premium machines, bringing ray-tracing to entry-level machines. (See our primer on ray-tracing on the PC.)

Below the RTX 3050 are the GeForce GTX GPUs mentioned earlier, but these have become virtually irrelevant in 2023. If you're seeing a system with GTX GPUs, it's dated. RTX 3050, RTX 3050 Ti, and RTX 4050 GPUs are the new budget class.

(Credit: Molly Flores)

The same relative hierarchy applies to the RTX 40 series. Laptops with an RTX 4080 or RTX 4090 (used in the most expensive laptops) are exceptional performers at all resolutions, and the RTX 4070 is impressive in its own right, even above 1080p gaming. As mentioned, DLSS is a must to run ray tracing at higher resolutions, but it's much more capable in these scenarios than the 30 series. Raw performance increases outside of these scenarios are more modest. The RTX 4060 is a reliable, steady pick for 1080p laptops that won't break the bank, and it appears in machines at either the high end of budget pricing or the low end of midrange pricing.

Nvidia is still the main player in graphics, but chief rival AMD is seeing an increase in adoption. A rising number of gaming laptops include Radeon RX GPUs, though far less than Nvidia still; AMD announced its next generation of mobile GPUs (Radeon RX 7000) in early 2023, but we didn't see all that many of them throughout the year.

AMD GPUs are sometimes paired with an Intel processor, though we're also seeing more frequent examples of AMD graphics combined with AMD processors than before. (Dell and MSI, for example, were offering a few AMD-on-AMD CPU/GPU machines.)

Even with all the above complexity, we can still draw some basic conclusions about graphics performance. Today, a single midrange or high-end discrete GPU will let you play the latest AAA gaming titles on a 1080p screen with high-quality settings turned on, and be fine for powering VR play. The RTX 3070 and 3080 have made smooth 1440p gaming the norm, and the latter GPU especially has made even 4K gaming on laptops much more plausible than before. Their parallel models in the RTX 40 series, along with DLSS where the game supports it, have furthered those high-res-gaming trends.

The Panel: How High a Refresh Rate to Get in a Gaming Laptop?

In the past, the power of a GPU like the RTX 4070 would look like overkill for sticking with gaming at 1080p, but several new factors can absorb that extra potential. A high-refresh-rate screen is now the norm in any new gaming laptop, which allows for the display of lofty frame rates in full to smooth out the perceived gameplay. You'll need a powerful graphics chip to leverage the benefits of a high-refresh panel with demanding games. You'll be able to identify machines like these by marketing lingo about, say, a 144Hz, 240Hz, or even 300Hz-plus screen. (A typical display on a laptop is a 60Hz panel, but new gaming models all have 144Hz-plus screens at this point.)

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

A 144Hz panel is emerging as the most common, but we're also seeing some 240Hz and even 360Hz options in pricey models, so they can display more than 60 frames per second (for example, up to 144fps in the case of 144Hz screens). This makes gameplay look smoother, but only high-end GPUs can push those limits, in many cases. Additionally, the aforementioned ray-tracing techniques (think real-time lighting and reflection effects) are demanding to run, and as more video games implement the technology, the more you wish you could flip them on.

Because of that, you have multiple reasons to opt for a high-end GPU, even if playing games at a full HD (1080p) resolution doesn't look too demanding to you on paper. On the lower end, DLSS can also help less powerful hardware like the RTX 3050 or 4050 run or enable ray-tracing with limited downsides, so you're not totally out of luck if you can't afford the top-end chips. DLSS support is far from universal, but it's appearing in more and more titles.

Nvidia's G-Sync and AMD's FreeSync technologies are more down-to-earth. They help increase the quality of the gaming experience and smooth out frame rates by letting the laptop screen rewrite the image onscreen at a variable rate that depends on the output of the GPU (rather than the fixed rate of the screen). Look for support for one of those technologies if you're a stickler for perfectly rendered visuals. These technologies, collectively known as "adaptive sync," are becoming more common, but they tend to show up in pricier machines, with G-Sync being much more common in laptops.

The Processor: Which CPU to Get in a Gaming Laptop?

In 2023, we saw the launch of Intel's 13th Generation ("Raptor Lake") chips and AMD's Ryzen 7000 processors, which have taken over most of our picks through the year and into 2024. Our first performance tests of the Core i9 Raptor Lake chips and Ryzen 7000 "Dragon Range" chips were impressive.

Intel just launched its Core Ultra "Meteor Lake" chips with onboard AI processing, and these will run in some gaming systems. More likely to appear in the gaming sphere, though, are Intel's new 14th Gen "Raptor Lake Refresh" HX processors, which should prevail in larger, more powerful gaming machines, like a swath of 18-inch MSI laptops we covered at CES 2024.

(Credit: Molly Flores)

For now, most laptops included here encompass Intel Core i7 processors (even most of the thin-and-light gaming laptops), while the most expensive hardcore laptops are running Core i9 CPUs. These days, many budget machines use Core i7 chips, but some especially affordable options may opt for Core i5 chips.

In general, more cores and higher clock speeds bring better overall efficiency and much-improved performance on multithreaded tasks like media projects, but it's less vital for gaming. Gaming doesn't usually see as much of a boost from more threads as many media tasks do. But they certainly don't hurt.

(Credit: Molly Flores)

As a result, if you have to make the choice between a high-end CPU and a high-end GPU, go for the graphics. For example, we'd recommend getting a Core i5 CPU over a Core i7 if the money saved could then go toward an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU instead of an RTX 4050. Spending the money on the GPU makes more sense than spending it on the CPU if gaming is your main concern.

Look for Intel Core i5 processors in budget gaming systems, with Core i7 H, HQ, and HK processors in midrange gaming laptops. The H-series processors are higher-power and tend to show up in more expensive gaming laptops, while lower-power Core i7 U-series chips are designed for thinner, more portable (and generally not gaming) machines. The most expensive, biggest gaming laptops out there use Core i9 H-series processors, which are also superior for media tasks. The branch-off Core Ultra Meteor Lake processors drop the "i" structure, but still have their own Ultra 5, 7, and 9 tiers, as well as designations like H series and U series.

Then you have the AMD side, which we alluded to at the start of this discussion. AMD's chips long played second fiddle to Intel's offerings, but these days Intel and AMD tug back and forth for performance supremacy. Today, AMD's Ryzen 7000 chips go toe-to-toe with Intel's 13th Gen processors, making for fiercer competition. For now, any Ryzen 6000, Ryzen 7000 or 13th Gen Intel H-class chips should be capable gamers under most circumstances, with the upcoming Ryzen 8000 series and Intel 14th Gen chips a given.

Display: What Screen Size to Get in a Gaming Laptop?

In terms of display size, a 15.6-inch screen is the traditional sweet spot for a gaming laptop. You can buy models with larger displays, but this will almost certainly jack up the weight to well beyond five pounds and put portability in question.

Multiple vendors announced 18-inch laptops early in 2023, including Alienware, Asus, and Razer. We reviewed the first of these, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18, in February 2023, and several have followed since. You'll find more screen options than ever, with popular picks at 14, 15.6, 16, 17.3, and 18 inches. The 16-inch size is another up-and-comer.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

In terms of resolution, a full HD (1,920-by-1,080-pixel in 16:9 aspect ratio) native-resolution screen is the default minimum at this point, whatever the screen size. One thing to note: Laptop makers have increasingly moved to 16:10 panels, which provide a little more vertical real estate without changing the footprint much.

Also note that 14-inch panel sizes, as well as 16-inch ones that are slightly bigger than the 15-inch class, are now a consistent member of the market in 2023. Major makers such as Acer, Alienware, Asus, and Razer have produced 14-inch gamers, and 16-inchers are everywhere, on the way to supplanting the long-standard 15.6-inch size.

Larger displays are capable of giving you higher-than-1080p resolutions, but choose wisely, as a resolution of QHD, QHD+, or 4K can boost the final cost twice: first for the panel, and second, possibly, for the higher-quality graphics chip you'll need to drive it to its full potential. As mentioned, look for increasingly common G-Sync or high-refresh-rate screens (as discussed earlier) if you want smoother visuals.

(Credit: Molly Flores)

Because they require the most potent GPUs for smooth gameplay at native resolution, gaming laptops with a 4K screen (3,840 by 2,160 pixels in 16:9) are still an exception, and still expensive. And keep this in mind: Only the most powerful graphics cards can render complex game animations at playable frame rates across the full screen at 4K, so a 1080p screen may actually be a better use of your money if all you do is play games.

Even though the RTX 3080 and particularly the RTX 4080 can handle 4K gaming much more ably than any laptop GPUs before them, we still don't think it's worth the cost to seek out 4K gaming in laptops, unless you can spend big. The screens do look excellent, though, especially since they're sometimes paired with OLED technology. QHD is often a better resolution pairing for modern high-end GPUs on laptops.

Gaming Laptop Storage: SSDs Bring the Speed

These days, virtually every laptop comes with an SSD as the boot drive, and most have done away with spinning hard drives entirely. SSDs speed up boot time, wake-from-sleep time, and the time it takes to launch a game and load a new level. Only older laptops will still have a hard drive as the boot drive.

In large gaming laptops, it was previously common to see a small-capacity (256GB) SSD boot drive paired with a roomy (1TB or greater) secondary hard drive to store the bulk of your library. You may still find this combination, but as higher-capacity SSDs have become more affordable, SSDs have become the norm. A 512GB SSD is the new default, while some budget gaming laptops will start at 256GB, and high-end systems will include a 1TB SSD or more.

Adding greater SSD capacity will certainly increase the price, but it may be necessary given how large modern game installations can be, so shop accordingly. We do recommend at least a 512GB SSD if you can afford it; your library will fill up your drive fast. A too-small SSD can mean you're forever shuffling games on and off the drive.

How Much Memory to Get in a Gaming Laptop?

Before we forget, let's talk about memory (RAM). In a Windows gaming laptop, expect at least 8GB of RAM. (In practice, no self-respecting model will come with less.) That will give you some breathing room when switching back and forth between your gameplay window and your messaging app, but we'd save researching game tips for when you're not playing, as each successive browser window you open eats into your RAM allotment.

For a higher-end system, we recommend 16GB, so you can have your gaming session, a messaging app, several websites, a webcam, and streaming video active simultaneously. A midrange gaming laptop should function fine with 8GB of memory, but be aware that many new laptops are not upgradable. You may be stuck with the amount of memory you order. For an investment-grade gaming laptop, 16GB is the minimum target; for most folks who aren't extreme streamers or multitaskers, more than that is overkill.

Buying the Best Cheap Gaming Laptop

If you're shopping for a gaming system on a limited budget (in this case, between roughly $900 and $1,300), you're going to need to make some sacrifices. Maximizing power while staying within a limited price range is the goal, but you'll have to accept that some of the components won't be comparable with the more expensive laptops you'll see while browsing. That said, $1,200 is a reasonable ceiling for what some buyers are ready to spend on a gaming laptop, and you can still get an effective system for that much. (Check out our side roundup of the best cheap gaming laptops.)

The main drop-off will be the graphics, since the dedicated graphics chip is one of the most expensive components in a machine and the major factor in a laptop's gaming prowess. The graphics chip almost single-handedly defines the class of laptop you're dealing with, so pay attention to that part. Fortunately, even the less powerful GPU options these days are quite capable.

(Credit: Molly Flores)

Past budget systems were equipped almost exclusively with those wallet-friendly Nvidia GeForce GTX 1600-series GPUs we mentioned earlier. The GeForce RTX 3050, RTX 3050 Ti, and RTX 4050 have replaced these in laptops for as low as $799. These are now the entry-level options.

The RTX 4050 is now the budget baseline, but you can hunt for sales for past 30-series laptops if you're looking to save as much as possible. Even at the entry range, with most of these GPUs, you'll be able to play smoothly at 1080p, just not at the very highest settings in newer games, and all should be able to provide at least a decent level of VR play if that's your thing.

Processors are the next biggest difference. In a budget model, you'll likely get a capable Core i5 instead of a faster Core i7. Still, some of the benefits of an i7 machine aren't a major factor for gaming, but instead benefit video editing and other creative uses, so an i5 will do the job. Over the past year or two, we saw more Ryzen CPUs in cheap, general-use laptops than in cheap gaming laptops, despite their adoption in some higher-end or ultraportable gaming systems.

AMD GPUs are much less common in budget gaming laptops than Nvidia ones. There are more all-AMD laptops available than in the past, but few are budget machines.

Outside of the graphics card and processor, the other components should actually be closer to more expensive machines than you'd expect. SSD boot drives are the norm even in the cheapest new gaming laptops, though they may be small in capacity. The display will almost certainly be 1080p, as 1,366-by-768-pixel panels are now reserved only for cheap non-gaming systems. The RAM will likely top off at 8GB in budget laptops, but you will find some (more ideal) 16GB laptops in this range.

What Else Do You Need to Up Your Game?

Given that high-end components tend to drain battery life, don't plan on taking any of these gaming rigs too far from a wall socket very often. Cutting-edge ports like USB Type-C and Thunderbolt 4 are beneficial now, and will only be more so down the road, but look for at least two ordinary-shaped (aka, "Type-A") USB 3.0 ports so you can plug in an external mouse and a hard drive for your saved media files.

If you want to attach a VR headset to your rig, look for the right loadout of ports to accommodate it. You'll need a well-placed HDMI or DisplayPort video out (it depends on the headset which one you'll need) and enough USB ports for a possible hydra-head of cabling. Other video ports, like DisplayPort or mini-DisplayPort (sometimes implemented over a USB-C port), will be helpful if you want to play games on an external display, but they aren't absolutely necessary if your laptop's screen is large enough.

So, Which Is the Best Gaming Laptop to Buy?

Feeling more prepared now to buy than before? We hope so. Scroll down for a detailed spec breakout of all the top-pick machines that we laid out above.