What's the best gaming laptop you can buy in the UK?
Your buying guide for the best gaming laptops in 2018
There are plenty of things to look for in a respectable gaming laptop. You need a capable CPU, a graphics chip that is strong enough to deliver your games as the developers intended them, enough system RAM to keep applications stored in memory, sizeable and fast storage drives to holding games and other files, a sizeable and decent-resolution screen to view the action on, and a good chassis to bear all these components.
With that in mind, we've broken down our buying advice by component to help you figure out what to look for - though you can also just skip straight ahead to our review round-up.
Oh, and if you're open to buying a powerful laptop that's not been designed specifically with gaming in mind, check out our guide to the best laptops of 2018.
Which processor is best in a gaming laptop?
From Intel, the seventh-generation Core series processors (codename: Kaby Lake) are well suited to the CPU task, but the latest eighth-generation (codename: Coffee Lake) are even more power efficient while also providing a boost in performance.
You don't need a Coffee Lake chip, and you'll likely get a better deal and more performance if you go for a laptop with a more powerful processor from the previous generation than a low-end chip in the most recent generation. As ever, our benchmark results provided within our reviews will tell you how quick a particular laptop is at various tasks.
Which graphics card should I choose?
The graphics chip is arguably the most important component of a gaming laptop, as it does most of the work when you're playing a game. Unlike with a desktop PC, you can't usually upgrade the graphics card in a laptop, so it pays to get the best you can afford to begin with.
Laptops with Nvidia GTX 1080, 1070, 1060 and 1050 graphics chips are currently the ones to look for. Unlike the 900M-series chips in older laptops, these new GPUs are not cut-down versions for laptops: they're the same as their desktop counterparts.
The new GTX 1050 and 1050 Ti are found in slightly cheaper gaming laptops. We were expecting to see much lower prices (around £600-700) but as of yet, such laptops are still around the £1000 mark.
What screen size do I need for a gaming laptop?
Laptop screens have improved in recent years, with screen resolutions now settling at full-HD (1920x1080), and using better technology than the basic TN type found on cheap portables. Look out for IPS panels, which offer wide and consistent viewing from all angles, better contrast ratio and wider colour gamuts.
Don’t be misled by boasts about screen brightness - contrast ratio, especially at lower brightness settings, is far more important than dazzling your eyes with 300cd/m2 figures.
It’s also easier to find screens now with more practical anti-glare finishes, reversing the trend of high-gloss reflective panels that were once unavoidable from most brands.
And you can usually ignore the trend for greater-than-HD resolution, since graphics processors struggle with UHD (4K) screens. For most gamers, FHD (1920 x 1080) or QHD (2560 x 1440) is a happy compromise between glorious on-screen detail and playable framerates.
How much storage do I need?
For storage, a solid-state drive will greatly improve the user experience when it comes to booting a PC, launching programs and opening and saving files. It won’t make your games run faster, although it may reduce any loading times between levels, and they should start up faster.
Nevertheless an SSD is always recommended, with the option of a second capacious hard disk to store your games.
Do gaming laptops have better sound?
Some gamers like to use headphones or headsets, especially in multiplayer games, but if you don’t anticipate spending your time donning ear defenders you should still find that modern gaming laptops run quieter today. Which means you may get to appreciate the built-in stereo speakers.
Some sport brand badges to suggest bespoke audio systems - we’ve seen B&O, Dynaudio, Harman, Klipsch and Onkyo put their names to tinny laptop speakers - although in our experience, these are more window dressing, with some of the best-sounding laptops bearing no fancy badges.
Battery life and other considerations
Battery life is perhaps less a concern for a desktop-replacement type of gaming laptop, although that’s more a historical resignation caused by the long-standing difficulty in combining fast graphics with svelte and mains-dodging laptops.
As we discovered with one model in the following group at least, you can have a powerful gaming machine and stunning battery life, even if the unplugged runtime will dwindle more rapidly once low-power integrated graphics have switched over to hungrier gaming graphics.
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Don't forget about warranty. You're spending a lot of money, so it's important to make sure the manufacturer offers a good, long warranty. Ideally this would cover the cost of shipping the laptop back to base for repair and then being returned to you, so always pay attention to the small print.
Best gaming laptops 2018 UK - best gaming laptop reviews
1. Alienware 15 R3
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 20 April 2017
- RRP: From $1225
The Alienware 15 R3 is a gaming laptop that is hard to beat. It has as much power as any of its mainstream rivals, and has lighting that is both eye-catching and customisable, but can also be switched off when you’d rather let you laptop slip into the background. It’s very well-made, the keyboard is great and the frame has some connections you sometimes only see in a laptop dock. However, its omission of a memory card slot is odd, the fan system is fairly loud and while hardcore gamers may appreciate the use of (in some models) a TN display it doesn’t do pure image quality many favours. As usual with an Alienware machine, you can find similar specs for less money from value-driven alternatives from, for example, PC Specialist and the HP Omen range. Its price is competitive with its direct rivals, the Acer Predator and Asus RoG series, and this is easily the slimmest and classiest-looking of the trio.
Read our Alienware 15 R3 review.
2. Asus RoG Strix GL703VM Scar Edition
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 7 February 2018
- RRP: $1,599
The Asus RoG Strix GL703VM is a high-quality laptop that packs great 1080p gaming performance into a respectably thin and light case. It’s not that portable, and isn’t designed to be, but is a good option for those who don’t want a machine that weighs 4kg and is 4cm thick.
You don’t pay in performance, but the Asus RoG Strix GL703VM’s keyboard does get warm during play, which may annoy.
3. Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 10 July 2017
- RRP: From $799
The Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming gets just about everything right apart from its screen tech. Its design is fine, its performance admirable and its battery life a jaw-dropper. This makes its lacking screen quality all the more annoying, although at least Dell lets you upgrade this if you can afford £1299 rather than £899. It’s something to consider carefully if £899 is your upper limit, though, as the poor colour and contrast really does not do games justice.
Read our Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming review.
4. Asus ROG Strix GL702VM
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 20 March 2017
- RRP: $1429
We have just one issue with the Asus ROG Strix GL702V: its trackpad does some strange things, most likely because of driver issues. Operating under the assumption this can or will be fixed, this is a great gaming laptop. It’s not incredibly expensive by today’s standards but still gets you desktop-grade gaming power, a good display, solid build and fair battery life. Thanks to the great power of Nvidia’s latest laptops graphics cards, this could well be the only gaming machine you need. And this particular one is hundreds cheaper than some others using the same GPU.
Read our Asus ROG Strix GL702VM review.
5. Alienware 17 R4
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 20 July 2017
- RRP: Base model: $1,299, mid-range model: $1,479, high-end model: $1,779, $2,299.
There’s no doubt that the Alienware 17 R4 is one of the most capable gaming laptops we’ve seen, making easy work of our CPU and GPU benchmark tests and providing generally smooth gameplay. The design is eye-catching too, sporting a flurry of customisable LEDs across the body of the laptop, although it’ll never look as sleek and attractive as a MacBook Pro.
But while the Alienware 17 R4 is a powerful beast, it’s not perfect; it gets hot and loud fairly quickly, it’s heavy at over 4kg and we feel like it should feature one or two more USB ports, especially when boasting VR compatibility. And while it is incredibly powerful, our build was incredibly expensive too.
Read our Alienware 17 R4 review.
6. Gigabyte Aero 15X
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 6 December 2017
- RRP: £2,149.99
- Buy from Gigabyte
The Gigabyte Aero 15X is a gaming laptop that defies the conventions of this class. It refuses to be 4cm thick, to weigh at least 3kg and to last just four hours between charges.
What you end up with is a very powerful, desktop-rivalling laptop that is also slim, light and long-lasting enough to function as a portable computer. In this field your best other option is the Razer Blade, which isn't available with a GTX1070 Max-Q (yet) and works out more expensive anyway.
This is a laptop that can “do it all”, although you will probably have to spend some time getting used to the keyboard.
Read our Gigabyte Aero 15X review.
7. Acer Aspire VX 15
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 21 June 2017
- RRP: US$799
The Aspire VX 15 is a value gaming PC with plenty of bold design flourishes that gamers seem to love. There’s none of the smart aluminium you’ll see in an Alienware 15, but as usual Acer’s plastic build feels very solid. A competent cooling system, usable keyboard and decent (for the price) performance add up to a solid buy. There are two problems. An uninspiring trackpad isn’t necessarily a big deal when you’ll want to plug-in a mouse a lot of the time anyway, but the poor screen really isn't ideal. Bad contrast and weak colours won’t make your games look great, although the rival Dell Inspiron 7000 Gaming suffers from exactly the same problem.
Read our Acer Aspire VX 15 review.
8. Razer Blade Stealth
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 29 December 2016
- RRP: From $1399
- Buy from Razer
The Razer Blade Stealth is an accomplished little laptop that can sidle up to the flashiest ultraportable laptops without seeming like the weird gamer kid in the corner. It’s slim, it’s moody, and you can tweak its personality with the multi-colour keyboard backlight: pink on black is a strong look. Its 4K screen is stunning if you don’t mind ultra-energetic Adobe RGB-style colours and while battery stamina isn’t amazing, it roughly matches the new MacBook with OLED touch panel.
It’s a shame the cost of making this a home gaming laptop with the Core attachment is quite so high, but the Razer Blade Stealth convinces as a pure and simple ultra-light style laptop too. Black is back for everyone tired of brushed aluminium and “rose gold”. We’d recommend buying the cheaper version than we’re actually reviewing unless you absolutely need loads of ultra-fast storage and a 4K display.
Read our Razer Blade Stealth review.
9. Acer Predator 21X
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 22 August 2017
- RRP: $8,999
- Buy from Acer
We'd normally write a verdict explaining whether you should buy the product we've reviewed but that hardly seems appropriate here. The 21X is clearly not a product for the masses and is essentially a concept you can buy.
The value of this laptop is very low but that's probably not an issue if you've got the money to afford one. Acer has successfully made the most insane gaming device we've ever seen that, despite some flaws, we'd love to own. It's a great way of showing off what it can do and to point the majority of gamers to its more accessible Predator devices.
Read our Acer Predator 21X review.
10. Dell XPS 15 9560
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 1 March 2017
- RRP: From $999
The Dell XPS 15 is an amazingly flexible laptop, despite looking like an ordinary high-end one on the surface. It’s very powerful but has unusually good battery life for its class. It has a 15in screen but is smaller than almost all other 15in laptops with one. And is its 4K version the XPS 15 has the colour performance for pro design work.
It’s also good-looking, and while not ultra-portable is not that heavy given the components inside. It makes the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar seem a bit frivolous in comparison, not to mention extremely expensive.
Read our Dell XPS 15 9560 review.
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