Gaming Laptops are no joke. They pack some serious performance under the hood that even some mid-range desktops cannot match. They’re often considered as huge, heavy and fat machines with red and blue paint all over their chassis, but that’s not the case at present. Over the past few years, manufacturers have introduced laptops packing more and more power in a thinner and lighter chassis. If you take a look at a gaming laptop from ten years ago and compare to anything from the present, I can guarantee that your jaw will drop and you’ll start wondering how technology has improved over the decade. So, if you’re in the market looking forward to buy a new portable gaming machine, we’ve got you covered. Today, I’m going to help you make your decision by telling you about the 12 best gaming laptops that you can buy in 2017:

1. ASUS ROG G701VI Gaming Laptop

This is arguably one of the most powerful laptops in the world, that money can buy. Make no mistake, this one’s huge. I mean, really huge. But it packs some serious raw power under the hood that makes up for the laptop’s size. It features an unlocked Intel i7-7820HK processor, which can be easily overclocked using Asus’ ROG Gaming Center software, 64GB of DDR4 RAM (yes, you read that right!), 1 TB NVMe SSD and an overclockable GTX 1080 desktop class graphics card. I’m betting on the fact that your reaction is “Oh my God!”. It’s fine, you can relax now. You can see all the frames that your GPU pushes, as the display is a 17.3-inch 120Hz Full HD IPS panel with NVIDIA G-Sync for buttery smooth gaming.

You don’t have to worry about the build quality of this laptop, as it features a brushed aluminium chassis, which definitely looks and feels sturdy. As far as price is concerned, it offers 13 times the graphical horsepower and 4 times the RAM capacity of a maxed out 15-inch MacBook Pro for the same asking price of $3500.

Buy on Amazon: ($3498)

2. Alienware 17 R4

Dell’s gaming subsidiary, Alienware has been usually termed as the “Apple” of gaming laptops in the past and that’s because they were so expensive for the power they packed. However, off late their prices have dropped by a considerable margin, probably because of the heat they were facing from the competition. Nevertheless, the Alienware 17 R4 is an absolute beast when it comes to specifications. It has almost all the specs as the G701VI, featuring Intel i7-7820HK processor which can be overclocked up to 4.4 GHz according to Alienware, 32GB of DDR4 RAM, 1 TB NVMe SSD and NVIDIA GTX 1080 desktop-class graphics card.

Apart from this, it features a 17.3-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) IPS panel for all the eye candy you’ll need while gaming, because GTX 1080 can easily handle all of the latest games at 1440p.

Pricing is on the expensive side, at least for our configuration, although it costs slightly less than the G701VI at $3249. The Alienware 17 R4 can also be bought with lower-end hardware for a much more affordable price from Dell’s website, with configurations starting at, as low as $2299.

Buy on Dell’s Website: (Starts at $2299)

3. Razer Blade Pro 4K Gaming Laptop

This is one of the most powerful and expensive laptops in the world and it’s even more expensive than the MacBook Pro and the other two beasts that we discussed above, but Razer kind of justifies its price point in a way. It’s not an easy task to fit a desktop class GTX 1080 graphics card into a chassis which is 22.5mm thin. Razer is the only company that has managed to do this. Other manufacturers have made attempts as well, but they have not been able to fit such power in a body this thin. Its build quality is as good as the latest MacBook Pro laptops from Apple, as it features an aluminium unibody design which makes this laptop quite sturdy.

The Blade Pro is powered by the Intel i7-6700HQ Skylake processor and features a gorgeous 17.3-inch 4K IGZO touchscreen display with a 100% sRGB coverage and 99% Adobe RGB coverage ,which is perfect for content creation and color accuracy. This display panel has NVIDIA G-Sync for buttery smooth gameplay. The laptop also has 32GB of DDR4-2667Mhz RAM that is soldered on to the motherboard. The Razer Blade Pro is available in 512GB, 1 TB and 2TB SSD variants for the price of $3600, $4000 & $4400 respectively. Apart from the SSDs, the specifications across all the variants are the same.

Buy on Amazon: (Starts at $3600)

4. Dell Inspiron 7567

I’m pretty sure that you’re tired of reading about expensive laptops that you probably cannot afford at the moment. So, we’ve included some budget gaming laptops as well in case you’re planning on getting one. The Dell Inspiron 7567 is the least expensive gaming laptop in this list, but still packs some punch under the hood. It’s powered by the Kaby Lake Intel i7-7700HQ processor with NVIDIA’s GTX 1050 Ti graphics card and also comes with 8GB of DDR4 RAM, which is upgradable to 32GB. The display is a 15.6-inch Full HD TN panel though, so don’t expect great viewing angles like an IPS display.

The GPU in the Dell Inspiron 7567 is capable of handling almost all the latest games on high settings at 1080p resolution. The laptop has a sleek design and feels quite sturdy for a budget gaming laptop. In addition to this, it has a neat LED-backlit keyboard as well. For an asking price of just $949 and all the power it packs, the Dell Inspiron 7567 laptop is pretty much a steal.

Buy on Dell’s website: (Starts at $949)

5. Samsung Odyssey 15 Gaming Notebook

Samsung introduced their first line-up of gaming notebooks back at CES in January this year, under the Odyssey brand. The Samsung Odyssey is a 15.6 inch gaming laptop packing a Full HD TN panel and the South Korean giant promises good viewing angles on this machine. It’s got the Kaby Lake Intel i7-7700HQ for the processing power and NVIDIA GTX 1050 for all the graphics horsepower that you will need on a budget laptop.

Although it’s a couple hundred bucks more expensive than the Inspiron 7567, Samsung justifies the price by including a 16GB DDR4 RAM and a 128GB NVMe SSD to go along with the 1 TB mechanical hard drive, for faster boot times and application load times. There’s enough ventilation provided at the bottom of the laptop to keep the operating temperatures in check. It’s now available for purchase on Amazon at a price of just under $1200.

Buy on Amazon: ($1197)

6. Alienware 13 R3 OLED

This is the smallest gaming laptop on this list with the display at 13.3 inches, but make no mistake, this is probably the most beautiful 13-inch screen you’ve ever seen. Thanks to the gorgeous QHD (2560 x 1440) OLED display, you’ll be able to experience the deepest blacks while playing your favorite games. The display also boasts of 100% Adobe RGB and sRGB coverage, which makes this a perfect color accurate display for content creators.

Under the hood, the Alienware 13 R3 packs Intel’s Kaby Lake i7-7700HQ, NVIDIA GTX 1060 GPU, 16GB DDR4 RAM that is upgradable to 32GB and a 512GB NVMe SSD that can be upgraded to 1 TB as well. For a price of just under $2000, this portable machine is totally worth it.

Buy on Amazon: ($1866)

7. MSI GS63VR 6RF Stealth Pro Slim Gaming Laptop

The MSI Stealth Pro laptop is one of the thinnest and least expensive GTX 1060 laptops you can buy. It packs some serious power in a 17.5 mm thin chassis. The MSI GS63VR features the high end Intel i7-6700HQ Skylake processor, 256GB M.2 SATA SSD along with a 1TB HDD, 16GB DDR4 2400 Mhz RAM and a 15.6-inch 1080p display. The display is a TN panel though, so expect washed out colors if you look at the laptop from an angle. The laptop is quite sturdy and also features an RGB keyboard for all the fancy lighting that you’ll need while playing games in all their glory. All of these features, for an asking price of just $1499, is what makes this laptop a great option for gamers.

Buy from Amazon: ($1498)

8. Origin EON15-X Customizable Gaming Laptop

Origin is a company that primarily focuses on building custom gaming desktops. That doesn’t mean the Origin EON15-X isn’t impressive. Wait until you read the specs. This is a 15.6-inch gaming laptop which is pretty much on the hefty side, but packs the unlocked Intel i7-7700K desktop processor, which can be overclocked. Make no mistake, this is not the 7700HQ processor that’s found on all the other gaming notebooks. The CPU’s stock speed is at 4.2 Ghz which turbo boosts to 4.5 Ghz. Apart from the processing prowess, the EON15-X also packs an NVIDIA GTX 1060 GPU, 500GB NVMe SSD, 16GB DDR4 RAM and a G-Sync capable QFHD IPS display. 

This Origin EON15-X can be completely customized according to your needs at Origin’s website, but the specs that we’ve mentioned here amounts to approximately $2300, which is quite steep when you take a look at the competition.

Buy on Origin’s website: (starts at $2288)

9. HP Omen 17 4K VR Gaming Laptop

The HP Omen 17 is another mid-range gaming laptop, and coming from a brand like HP, the laptop doesn’t disappoint. The Omen 17 features a 17.3-inch 4K UHD display with an IPS panel for those ultra wide viewing angles. Under the hood, the laptop packs an Intel i7-6700HQ Skylake processor, an NVIDIA GTX 1060 graphics card and 16GB of DDR4 RAM, which can be upgraded to 32GB if you desire. It also comes with a 128GB SSD which acts as the boot drive to speed up Windows and the applications on it. You may think it’s too low, but the laptop. also packs a 2TB HDD for all the storage you’ll need in this world.

HP’s price point for the HP Omen seems justified, as it’s in line with the other GTX 1060 laptops from the competition. It’s currently available for just under $1900.

Buy from Amazon: ($1899)

10. Acer Predator 15 G9-593 Gaming Laptop

Predator is Acer’s product line-up that is completely dedicated to gaming hardware. Their Predator line-up of laptops have already impressed us enough in the past and this year, it’s no different. The latest Predator 15 laptop features a 15.6-inch Full HD IPS panel with NVIDIA G-Sync support for buttery smooth gaming experience for the user. Under the red and black chassis that we usually expect from gaming laptops, it packs an Intel i7-6700HQ processor, NVIDIA GTX 1070 desktop-class GPU, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD and a 1TB mechanical hard drive.

Although the laptop is mostly made of plastic, it has good chassis strength and limited screen flex. For an asking price of under $1600, this is one of the the affordable laptops, powered by the GTX 1070 GPU, capable of handling all the games out there with a stable frame rate and maxed out settings.

Buy on Amazon: ($1589)

11. MSI GT72VR Dominator Pro

This MSI Dominator Pro is heavier and bulkier than its GTX 1060 powered sibling – MSI GS63VR 6RF Stealth Pro. Howeer, it’s also only $50 more expensive than the GS63VR laptop for much better gaming performance with the GTX 1070 GPU in a heftier chassis. The build quality is also quite similar to its thinner sibling. Apart from this, the laptop features a 17.3-inch Full HD TN panel with NVIDIA G-Sync, as opposed to the 15.6-inch display on the Stealth Pro laptop which lacks G-Sync.

It’s powered by the i7-6700HQ processor, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 128GB M.2 SATA SSD which is the boot drive and a 1TB mechanical HDD for all the massive storage space you’ll need to store all those games. For an asking price of under $1550, this is the least expensive GTX 1070 powered gaming laptop that you can probably buy in the market today.

Buy on Amazon: ($1649)

12. Lenovo Legion Y520 Budget Gaming Laptop

A new budget gaming beast from Lenovo was all that we were waiting to see. At CES 2017, the company launched the new gaming laptops under the new “Legion” brand, the Legion Y520 and the Y720. It definitely makes more sense than “IdeaPad”. Lenovo has always aimed at excellent price-to-performance ratio on their gaming laptops. Well, the Legion Y520 is no exception, boasting an Intel i7-7700HQ, 16GB DDR4 RAM, GTX 1050 Ti GPU and a 256 GB PCIe based SSD. It also features a Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS panel that’s well suited for gaming on the mid-range GTX 1050 Ti graphics card. All of these for an asking price of just under $1130, which makes this laptop a great offering if you are looking for a budget gaming laptop.

Buy on Amazon: ($1129)

                 SEE ALSO: 8 Best MacBook Pro Alternatives You Can Buy

Which Gaming Laptop Are You Going For?

As you can probably see, if you take a look at all the gaming laptops that are available this year, there are plenty of options to choose from. Unlike previous generation laptops, this year’s machines are powered by mostly desktop-class graphics cards that offer similar levels of performance in a laptop form factor. Almost all of these laptops except the GTX 1050Ti-powered Dell Inspiron and Samsung Odyssey laptops should be able to handle Virtual Reality with absolute ease. So, are you looking forward to get a shiny new gaming machine? If so, let us know which one you’re going for and if not, make sure you let us know which one’s your favorite laptop in this list by dropping a word or two in the comments section below.