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While regular laptops and gaming laptops remain, the line between them has almost disappeared. Nowadays, if you have a fast CPU and graphics card, along with perks like a large screen and a good cooling system, you can play a decent number of games on your laptop. Plus, not everyone wants a big, flashy gaming rig, nor does everyone want to spend the money to get one of those. If you’re considering a new laptop for school, there are now more options than ever that can help you get through your most challenging studies and keep up with your next AAA game. These are our top picks for the best laptops for gaming and schoolwork, but if you’re looking for a dedicated gaming laptop instead of an all-in-one machine, check out our list of the best gaming laptops for our recommendations.
Best Laptops for Gaming and School in 2025
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Screen size: 14-inch OLED | Screen resolution: 2560 x 1440 (QHD) | UPC: AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS | GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 | RAM: 32GB LPDDR5X | Storage: 1TB SSD | Weight: £3.31 | Maximum battery life: 10 hours
Read our full ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 Review
He Zephyr G14 It’s been our laptop recommendation for gaming performance for years, but this year it’s better than ever thanks to a refined aluminum unibody casing, a gorgeous OLED display, and a weight reduction to just 3.3 pounds. It feels curiously light for a machine with an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS CPU and NVIDIA RTX 4070 graphics. While the new Zephyrus G14 loses the RTX 4080 option from the previous model, that’s not a big deal. You’ll be better off with a lighter, better-looking model that doesn’t cost a ton.
$2,000 at Best Buy
Will Lipman Photography for Engadget
Screen size: 14 inches | Screen resolution: QHD+ | UPC: AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS | GPU: NVIDIA RTX 4060 or 4070 | RAM: Up to 32GB | Storage: Up to 1TB SSD | Weight: £7.98 | Maximum battery life: Up to 7 hours
Read our full Razer Blade 14 Review
Razer’s flagship Blade laptops have been the closest analog PCs to Apple’s MacBook Pro since their debut, and the latest Blade 14 doesn’t change that in the slightest. It features the company’s signature build quality with a rock-solid aluminum case, but now features AMD’s Ryzen 9 8945HS CPU and your choice of NVIDIA’s RTX 4060 and 4070. The new LCD screen with a 240Hz refresh rate will also let you play almost anything. at breakneck speeds (or, at the very least, will give you a useful accuracy boost while shooting) supervision 2). While we would have liked to see an OLED display like the Zephyrus G14, the Blade 14 is still an excellent gaming laptop. Just be prepared to pay a premium for its fantastic hardware.
$2,836 at Amazon
Will Lipman Photography for Engadget
Screen size: 15.6 inches | Screen resolution: 1920 x 1080 (FHD) | UPC: Intel Core i5-13450HX | GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 | RAM: 16GB LPDDR5X | Storage: 512GB SSD | Weight: £6.19 | Maximum battery life: 6.5 hours
While Alienware has established itself as a solid premium brand, Dell’s cheaper G-series laptops are worth a look for anyone who needs a budget-friendly machine. In particular, the G15 continues the trend of offering highly capable hardware, including Intel’s latest 13th Gen CPUs, AMD’s Ryzen 7000 CPUs, and NVIDIA’s 30- and 40-series RTX GPUs, for under $1,000. . Sure, the case is mostly plastic and the laptop’s screen doesn’t offer all of the latest niceties (at least there’s finally a 165Hz option!). But for the price it is difficult to find something more powerful.
$800 at Dell
Dell
Screen size: 16 inches | Screen resolution: QHD+ | UPC: Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Processor | GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 | RAM: 16GB LPDDR5X | Storage: 1TB SSD | Weight: £5.75 | Maximum battery life: 90Wh
After just a year on the market, Dell went back to the drawing board with its latest Alienware m16 and redesigned it from the ground up. The result is the m16 R2, a lighter, more affordable gaming laptop that can still pack a punch. Cyberpunk 2077 with its RTX 4070 GPU. Weighing 5.75 pounds, it’s a beefy beast, but it’s still 20 percent lighter than the previous 7.28-pound model. And for some, the weight will be worth it with the m16 R2’s gorgeous 16-inch, 240Hz LCD panel.
$1,399 at Dell
Asus ROG
Screen size: 18 inches | Screen resolution: QHD+ | UPC: Intel Core i7-13650HX | GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 2TB SSD | Weight: 11.9 pounds
Sometimes a 16 or even 17-inch screen isn’t enough. For the most demanding gamer and media editor, there’s the ROG Strix G18, an 18-inch beast with Intel’s latest 14th Gen CPU and NVIDIA’s RTX 40-series family (which, of course, includes the high-end RTX 4080). The Strix G18 screams “gaming laptop” more than anything else in this guide, but it’s a solid option for anyone who wants a big-screen machine at a relatively affordable price.
$1,760 at Amazon
Are gaming laptops good for school?
As we mentioned, gaming laptops are especially useful if you do some demanding work. Its great promise is powerful graphics performance, which is not limited only to PC games. Video editing and 3D rendering programs can also take advantage of your GPUs to perform laborious tasks. While you can find decent GPUs in some productivity machines, like Dell’s XPS 15, you can sometimes find better deals on gaming laptops. My general advice for any new workhorse: pay attention to the specifications; get at least 16GB of RAM and the largest solid state drive you can find (ideally 1TB or larger). These components are often difficult to upgrade in the future, so it’s worth investing what you can up front to get the most out of your PC gaming experience in the long run. Also, don’t forget basics like a webcam, which will probably be necessary for the homework portion of your activities.
The big downside to choosing a gaming laptop is portability. For the most part, we recommend 15-inch models for the best balance of size and price. They typically weigh around 4.5 pounds, which is significantly more than a three-pound ultraportable. However, today’s gaming laptops are still much lighter than older models, so at least you won’t have to lug around a 10-pound brick. If you’re looking for something lighter, there are plenty of 14-inch options these days. And if you’re not into LED lights and other gamer-focused gems, keep an eye out for more discreet models that still feature essentials like a webcam (or make sure you know how to turn off those lights).
