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Best Gaming Laptops of 2014

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As far as gaming laptops are concerned, the platform of choice goes to consoles, but there are many people who wish to experience gaming at the best quality, and this means investing in the best laptop. Gaming laptops are also suitable for rendering, photo manipulation and video editing because they have powerful processors, a lot of memory and the best graphic cards with dedicated memory. Granted, Desktop computers might give you the extra oomph, but the fact that they are not portable is extremely inconvenient (no more LAN parties *sadface* ). Before you even phantom the idea of purchasing a gaming laptop, you should learn how to buy a gaming laptop.

The best gaming laptops are tweaked specifically for game performance, and this means the best graphic card on the market (at the moment the Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M or the AMD Radeon HD 8870M). Battery life should not be one of your concerns, especially considering that games will instantly drain it, but you should worry about screen size and resolution: the bigger, the better. Here are the top 10 Gamin laptops, sorted from luxury to moderate, which can still command respect in the gaming field:

1. Alienware 18 

Overview:

The Alienware 18 is one of the best, if not the best, gaming laptops on the market. It will also suck your wallet dry because it costs approximately 4000 euros. Nevertheless, if you aren’t willing to make any compromises, this 18-inch monster is the best choice on the market. One of the best features of the Alienware 18 laptop is the fact that you can customize it. In other words, you can chose from

different components if you want to increase, or decrease performance. The cheapest Alienware is approximately 2200 euros, and the most expensive one is 4260 euros. For this amount of cash you will receive the immensely powerful Core i7-4930MX CPU, 512GB mSATA SSD and the GTX 780M SLI graphic card.

Full Reiew: NotebookCheck Alienware 18

The Good: highly costumizable, dual video cards, lots of RAM and storage space, beautiful design, powerful.

The Bad: quite bulky, primo parts are expensive, battery life is poor (which is not so bad considering it’s a gaming laptop)

Processor: Intel Core i7-4930MX 3 GHz (Intel Core i7)
Mainboard: Intel HM87 (Lynx Point)
Memory: 16384 MB, 4x 4096 MB SO-DIMM DDR3-RAM PC3-12800 (1600 MHz), 4 slots, up to 32 GB
Graphics adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M SLI – 4096 MB,
Core: 823 MHz, Memory: 1250 MHz, GDDR5, ForceWare 326.45
Display: 18.4 inch 16:9, 1920×1080 pixel, Samsung XJY7J_184HL, Super PLS, WLED, FHD,
Harddisk: Samsung SSD SM841 512GB, 512 GB mSATA + Western Digital WDC WD7500BPKT-75PK4T0, 750 GB, 7200 rpm
Soundcard: Realtek ALC668 @ Intel Lynx Point PCH – High Definition Audio Controller
Connections: 4 USB 3.0, 1 HDMI, 1 DisplayPort, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: 1x out, 1x in, 1x headset, Card Reader: 9 in 1,Networking: Qualcomm Killer e2200 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (10MBit), Broadcom 802.11ac (n ac), 4.0 Bluetooth
Optical drive: HL-DT-ST DVDRWBD CA40N
Size: height x width x depth (in mm): 58 x 457 x 328
Weight: 5.5 kg Power Supply: 1.33 kg
Battery: 86 Wh Lithium-Ion, 8-cell, 14.8V
Price: 4260 Euro
Additional features: Webcam: 2 MP (Full-HD) with microphone, Speakers: 2.1 (Klipsch, Dolby Home Theater v4), Keyboard Light: yes, PSU: 330 Watts, Applications DVD, Resource DVD, Recovery DVD, Quick Start Guide, Safety information, CyberLink Power DVD 9.6, Command Center, 12-48 Months Warranty

Purchase Link:

2. Origin EON17-SLX

Overview:

If you are searching for a high-end gaming laptop that has the best of everything in it, you will love the Origin EON17-SLX gaming laptop. It is equipped with an overclocked quad-core processor and SLI graphics. Just forget about the money for a second (even if we are talking about 4000$ for full specs) and concentrate on the specs: the NVidia GeForce GTX 680M graphic card combined with the overclocked Intel Core i7-3940XM quad-core processor will offer you the best gaming experience in the world.

If you’re planning on taking it somewhere with you, know that it weights 13 pounds. Unlike other contenders it looks amazing, and it sounds pretty good.  Origin has inserted not one, but two NVidia GeForce GTX 680M GPUs, which made games like Alien vs. Predator work superbly, even in full HD quality.

The Good: beautiful for a gaming laptop, powerful, superb graphics, excellent customer service

The Bad: large, heavy, difficult to carry around, short battery life

Specs: 
Processor:  Intel Core i7-3940XM, 3000.0 MHz
Display:  17.3 inches, Glossy LCD with LED Backlight, 16:9 aspect ratio, 1920×1080 px resolution
Display type Glossy LCD with LED Backlight
Graphics: SLI, Chipset NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M
Storage: Drives included 3.0, RAID o, 1240.0 GB, 5400 RPM speed
Drive type: SSD
Ports and Connections: Gigabite Ethernet, HDMI, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, eSATA
Wireless connection: 802.11n, Bluetooth, wireless
Memory: 16384.0 MB, GDDR3, 1600.0 MHz speed, max. memory 32.0 GB
Dimensions: 16.5 x 11×5 x 2.1 inches, 9.4 pounds, with accessories 13.2 pounds
Optical Drive: Included Drives Blu-ray Drive
Sound: speakers stereo
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8
Additional features: backlit keyboard, built-in microphone and webcam, fingerprint reader.

Purchase link: here

3. Alienware M17x – max. 2800$

Overview:

We are not Alienware fanboys, but we did say that we will sort the laptops according to their price & performance, and, well, the Alienware 17 is the second most expensive gaming laptop on the market right now. If money is no concern, you might want to purchase this 1080 full HD, 17.3 inch laptop.

In many ways it is similar to its larger counterpart, the Alienware 18, which means that it is not the most portable device in the world. (aprox. 11.25 pounds). Nevertheless it’s a powerful and imposing gaming rig which you can customize and amaze with. On top of all this, it is beautiful, durable and reliable. If I had the cash I would definitely purchase an Alienware 17, especially after seeing how it works.

The Good: impressive 3D performance, Quad core Haswell processor, HD screen

The Bad: bulky, difficult to carry around, low battery life.

Specs:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9300 2.53 GHz @ 3.06 GHz(Intel Core 2 Extreme)
Mainboard: Nvidia nForce 730i
Memory: 4096 MB, DDR3 PC3-10700, 2x2048MB, max. 8GB
Graphics adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M SLI – 1024 MB,
Core: 583 MHz, Memory: 950 MHz, GDDR3, 7.15.11.7985
Display: 17.0 inch 16:10, 1920×1200 pixel, WUXGA, glossy: yes
Harddisk: 2x 500 GB – 7200 rpm (RAID 0), 500 GB 7200 rpm Nvidia Stripe 1000GB
Soundcard: HD Audio
Connections: 1 Express Card 54mm, 4 USB 2.0, 1 Firewire, 1 VGA, 1 HDMI, 1 DisplayPort, 1 Kensington Lock, 1 eSata, 
Audio Connections: Headphones, microphone, surround, Card Reader: 8in1 Media Card Reader,
Networking: NVIDIA nForce 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet (10/100/1000MBit), Broadcom 802.11a/b/g/n (a b g n ), 2.1+EDR Bluetooth
Optical drive: HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GA10N ATA Device
Size: height x width x depth (in mm): 54 x 406 x 320
Weight: 5.75 kg Power Supply: 1.08 kg
Battery: 85 Wh Lithium-Ion, 11.1V
Price: average 2500 Euro
Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64 Bit
Additional features: 12 Months Warranty

 Purchase Link: 

4. Samsung Series 7 Gamer

Overview:

The Samsung Gamer Series 7 may not be the Prince Charming of gaming laptops, but it does its job well. Yes, it is huge and unnatractive, but it is full of high-end technology, like the Ivy Bride Core i-Series CPU and Nvidia GeForce GTX675M graphic card. The best feature, however (which many other laptops lack), is the 1920×1080-pixel-resolution 17-inch display which creates spectacular images.

The keyboard is huge, spacious and it has the gaming keys lighted in different colors. So if you are planning on playing a lot, especially in the dark, you should know that the keyboard is extremely comfortable.

The Good: amazing performance for an acceptable price, fantastic screen quality, many ports, excellent for gaming

The Bad: quite heavy (nearly 9 pounds), a little ugly and bulky, and hard to move around

Purchase Link: 

Specs:
Processor: Intel Core i7-3610QM 2.3 GHz (Intel Core i7)
Mainboard: Intel HM65, 16384 MB, 4 x 4096 PC3-12800 (800MHz)
Graphics adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M – 2048 MB, Core: 620 MHz, Memory: 750 MHz
Display: 17.3 inch 16:9, 1920×1080 pixel, Samsung 173HT02-C01 , TN LED, glossy: yes
Harddisk: Hitachi Travelstar 7K750 HTS727575A9E, 750 GB 7200 rpm 2 x Hitachi HTS 727575A9E364 750GB, SanDisk iSSD P4 8GB
Connections: 2 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0, 1 VGA, 1 HDMI, 1 Kensington Lock, 1 eSata, Audio Connections: line-out, microphone-in, Card Reader: MMC, SD Memory Card, SDHC, xD-Picture Card, Memory Stick
Networking: Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller (10/100/1000MBit), Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 (a b g n ), 4.0 Bluetooth
Optical drive: Blu-Ray BD-ROM / DVD+-RW
Size: height x width x depth (in mm): 53 x 410 x 285
Weight: 4 kg
Battery: 89 Wh Lithium-Ion, 8 cell
Price: average 1800 Euro
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
Additional features: Webcam: 2 Megapixel, Speakers: 2.1 sound system incl. subwoofer, Keyboard Light: yes, 24 Months Warranty

 

5. CyberPower FangBook X7-200

Overview:

Finding a good gaming laptop is not difficult, but finding a good one for less than 2000 dollars, now that’s a challenge. Granted, there are plenty of decent gaming laptops on the market at the moment, for less than 2000 dollars, but most of them lack certain ceatures.

The CyberPower FangBook x7-200 has made no compromise in the performance department. It is equipped with an 2.4 GHz Intel Core i7-3630QM and a Nvidia Gefore GTX 675MX graphic card.

As far as appearance is concerned, you can imagine that it’s not the best looking laptop on the market. It’s not the lightest either. Together with its adapter it weights approximately 11 pounds. While we do not like the ugly design and short battery life, considering its price, the CyberPower FangBook is one hell of a contestant, especially for gamers on a budget. The average price ranges from 1300$ to 1500-1600$ depending on the specs.

The Good: great performance for a decent amount of money, excellent storage, sounds good and has a good display quality

The Bad: ugly design, heavy, short battery life, no blu-ray and weird USB ports

Purchase Link: 

Specs:
CPU: Intel Core i7-3940XM Mobile Processor 3.00 GHz 8M Smart Cache, Max Turbo Freq. 3.90 GHz or
Intel Core i7-3840QM Mobile Processor 2.80 GHz 8M Smart Cache, Max Turbo Freq. 3.80 GHz or
Intel Core i7-3740QM Mobile Processor 2.70 GHz 6M Smart Cache, Max Turbo Freq. 3.70 GHz or
Intel Core i7-3630QM Mobile Processor 2.40 GHz 6M Smart Cache, Max Turbo Freq. 3.40 GHz
Core Logic: Intel HM77 Express Chipset Mainboard
Display: 17.3″ 43.94cm Anti-Glare Full HD (1920×1080) 16:9 Display
Memory: Dual channels DDR3, Four 204pins SODIMM sockets, support for DDR3 1333/1600 MHz
Expandable memory: up to 32GB, depends on 1GB/2GB/4GB/8GB SODIMM module
Video Controller: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX 4GB DDR5 VRAM Video
or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M 4GB DDR5 VRAM Video
Storage: Two changeable 2.5″ 9.5mm(H)HDD, SATA interface (RAID support)
Optical Drive Bay, SATA Interface, Interchangeable with DVD±R/RW Combo
Keyboard: Red Backlite Chiclet 102 Keys w/ Gaming Icons
Sound System: High Definition Audio – Realtek ALC892-GR Built-in two speakers Built-in one sub woofer
Additional Features: 3x USB 3.0 ports, 2x USB 2.0 ports, 1x HDMI output port, 1x VGA port, 1x e-SATA port, 1x S/PDIF output jack, 1x Headphone jack, 1x Microphone jack, 1x Line-in jack, 1x RJ-45 LAN port, 1x DC-in jack, High Definition type (30fps @ 720p) Webcam
Communication: Killer LAN E2200 Network Interface
Intel N2230 (WLAN802.11b/g/n + Bluetooth4.0) Wireless Combo Card Module
Power; Full Range AC adapter 180W, AC in 100~240V ~ 2.5A 50~60Hz, DC output 19.5V, 9.5A
Battery: Removable 9-Cells Lithium-Ion battery pack 11.1Vdc 7800mAh 87Wh
Battery life: 120 minutes
Operating System: Supporting Windows 7 / Windows 8
Dimension: 16.85″ x 11.34″ x 2.17″ (W x D x H), 7.9 Lbs. (13.85 Lbs. with Battery)

 

6. Maingear Nomad 15 Ultimate

Overview:

Maingear Nomat 15 Ultimate makes an interesting addition to an otherwise unremarkable chassis: its beautifully colored (black, plum, purple, white, vertigo, red, green etc) lids. As is the case with most gaming laptops it is difficult to move around (it is nearly 10.5 pounds heavy), but it packs quite a strong punch. The display has a 1920×1080 resolution, and matte-finish to prevent glare.

The Nomad 15 is also equipped with two 128GB solid-state drives (SSD) in SuperRAID. As far as the processor is concerned, it benefits from a 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7-3840QM quad-core processor, 16GB of RAM and the invidia GTX 680M graphic card, with an outstanding 4GB dedicated storage.   Bottom line, whatever your game of choice, this laptop can run it with every little eye-popping detail.

The Good: screaming fast processor, decent graphic performance, beautiful display, interesting design

The Bad: very heavy,  hard to move around, single graphics processor, short battery life

Specs:
Processor: Intel Core i7-3840QM 2.8 GHz (Intel Core i7)
Mainboard: Intel HM77 (Panther Point)
Memory: 16384 MB, 800 MHz DDR3 PC3-12800 10-10-10-27
Graphics adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M – 4096 MB, Core: 757 MHz, Memory: 1800 MHz, 306.97, Optimus
Display: 15.6 inch 16:9, 1920×1080 pixel, LG Philips LP156WF1-TLF3, TN, glossy: no
Harddisk: 2x Crucial RealSSD M4-CT128M4SSD3 (RAID 0), 256 GB
Soundcard: Intel Panther Point PCH – High Definition Audio Controller
Connections: 1 USB 2.0, 3 USB 3.0, 1 HDMI, 1 Kensington Lock, 1 eSata, Audio Connections: 1x 3.5 mm headphone, 1x 3.5 mm mic, 1x 3.5 mm stereo line-in, 1x 3.5 mm 7.1 surround sound, Card Reader: 7-in-1 (SD/SDHC/SDXC/XD/MSPRO/MS/MMC),
Networking: Qualcomm Killer e2200 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (10MBit), Intel Centrino Wireless-N 2230 (b g n ), 4.0 Bluetooth
Optical drive: TSSTcorp CDDVDW SN-208AB
Size: height x width x depth (in mm): 55.0 x 380.2 x 260.1
Weight: 3.5 kg Power Supply: 1.01 kg
Battery: 87 Wh Lithium-Ion, 7800 mAh 11.1 V
Price: $2599 USD, ~1965 Euro
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
Additional features: Webcam: 2.0 MP 720p, Speakers: Dynaudio Premium w/ subwoofer, Keyboard Light: no, Mouse pad, Windows 7 Installation disc, Maingear drivers disc, 12 Months Warranty

Purchase Link: here

7. Eurocom Scorpius Clevo P370EM

Overview:

As far as the Eurocom Scorpius gaming laptop is concerned, everything is possible. Like the Alienware flagships, the Scorpius is also 100% costumizable, and this means that prices may vary vrom 1800$ to a wooping 7500$. We will review a laptop with the specs listed below. So it has one of the best processors, the Intel Core i7-392XM Extreme edition processor, the dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M graphics card, and the SSD dual capacity drives. To be completely frank, we consider that the prices are a bit too much for a normal gamer, and the battery is a joke, it only lasts one hour and 10 minutes during a standard run.

The Good: high-resolution display, amazing performance, back-lit keyboard, well-placed ports and expansion options

The Bad: not very appealing hollow, plastic feel, useless battery, noisy fan, large and heavy

Specs:
Processor: Intel Core i7-3820QM 2.7 GHz (Intel Core i7)
Mainboard: Intel HM77 (Panther Point)
Memory: 8192 MB, 2x 4096 MB SO-DIMM DDR3-RAM PC3-12800 (1600 MHz), 4 Slots, max. 32 GB
Graphics adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M SLI – 4096 MB, Core: 720 MHz, Memory: 1800 MHz, GDDR5, ForceWare 302.77
Display: 17.3 inch 16:9, 1920×1080 pixel, AU Optronics B173HW01 V5 (AUO159ED), TN LED, Full-HD, Diagonal: 43.94 cm, glossy: no
Harddisk: Corsair Neutron GTX SSD, 240 GB + Seagate Momentus 7200.5 HDD (ST9750420AS), 7200 rpm, 750 GB, two 2.5-inch slots (SATA III)
Soundcard: Realtek ALC892 @ Intel Panther Point PCH – High Definition Audio Controller
Connections: 1 USB 2.0, 4 USB 3.0, 1 HDMI, 1 DisplayPort, 1 Kensington Lock, 1 eSata, Audio Connections: Headphones, Microphone, Line-in, S/PDIF (7.1 out), Card Reader: MMC,RSMMC,MS,MS Pro,MS Duo,SD,Mini SD,SDHC,SDXC, 1 Fingerprint Reader, TPM 1.2, mSATA port (SATA II)
Networking: Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller (10/100/1000MBit), Bigfoot Networks Killer Wireless-N 1102 Network Adapter (a b g n )
Optical drive: Sony Optiarc BD ROM BC-5550H
Size: height x width x depth (in mm): 54 x 419 x 293
Weight: 4.252 kg Power Supply: 1.544 kg
Battery: 89.20 Wh Lithium-Ion, 5900 mAh, 15.12 V, 8 Cells, 0.45 kg, P370BAT-8
Price: 3300 Euro
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
Additional features: Webcam: 2.0 Megapixel, Speakers: 2.1 (Onkyo, Sound Blaster X-Fi MB2) , Keyboard Light: yes, Power Supply: 300 W (210 x 115 x 50 mm), 24-48 Months Warranty

Purchase Link:    this version or     upgraded version 

8. Novatech Elite N1724

Overview:

The Novatech Elite N1724 is an absolute beast, with insanely high spec for a decent price. Unlike other gaming laptops it is actually beautiful, and manufacturers take pride in offering everything gamers will ever need in order to enjoy a seamless playing experience. Storage options come by way of a dual SSD/HDD with 128GB and 1TB respectively, which means more than enough space for media and games.

You can even customize it yourself for extra features, and the sound quality is excellent. Novatech is an award winning manufacturer with over 20 years of experience, so you can rest assured that your laptop will be of excellent quality. Also, if you have problems with it the tech support team will help you with everything you need.

The Good: insanely powerful, great price, extensive storage, great customer support

The Bad: bulky, difficult to transport