I have a budget of $2300 USD after tax and currently i have a 4-year-old laptop with 16 gb of ddr4. I want a laptop that has a 5070 or 5070ti, 1 tb of storage, at least 16 gb of ram and I don’t really care about the weight of the laptop.
Im open to any recommendations from gamers with experience with gaming laptops.
Hi there! What kind of games do you play?
- Do you play first-person competitive shooters like Fortnite (
) or Arc Raiders?
- Do you play mostly older games (older than around 2019 - 2020) or newer games that are less graphically demanding (like indie games)?
- Do you play newer AAA games that are more graphically intensive like the recent Capcom games (Resident Evil Requiem, etc), Forza Horizon 6, Clair Obscur Expedition 33, Marvel Spider-Man 2, or Cyberpunk 2077?
Here is my advice as somebody who got into gaming during the GTX 10 series days, is very happy about more and more games releasing on PC, but is very angry regarding Nvidia’s essential monopoly over the laptop dGPU market:
- First, do not consider Macs if you are gaming, especially Apple Silicon Macs. Yes, Apple Silicon is a big improvement on their MacBooks performance wise over the MacBook Airs and smaller MacBook Pros of the Intel days, but software-wise, it still is way behind even Linux based options like Steam OS n terms of unofficial game support, Vulkan support on macOS is still MIA, meaning games might not work at all or work worse than on Windows 11, Apple Silicon Macs aren’t really well supported by other OSs like Asahi Linux (and Windows doesn’t work at all), and the hardware itself, while much more powerful than the Intel days, is still behind Windows alternatives that cost less, even at the M5 Max MacBook Pro level (the 16 inch MacBook Pro with Apple’s currently top of the line M5 Max SoC is only around RTX 5070 12 GB to RTX 5070 Ti Mobile levels of performance, and that’s at best in Apple Silicon native titles, of which there are still fewer than on Windows or via Proton on the Linux-based Steam OS).
- As for the hardware itself, it depends on what games you play like I mentioned above.
- If you are playing games that are indie games or older, then to be honest, even Intel Arc B390 iGPU equipped laptops should be fine (basically the Intel Core Ultra X7 or X9 equipped laptops). Even some modern AAA games can be fine on these laptops as long as they aren’t super CPU heavy, the laptop isn’t severely thermal or power limited you are okay with using FSR and XeSS upscaling, as well as okay with turning down graphical settings a lot.
- Now, if you playing games that are CPU heavy like first-person competitive shooters, you’ll want a higher refresh rate screen and more of a focus on an Intel or AMD HX CPU over a more powerful GPU. At that point, the GPU can be less of a focus; an RTX 5070 12 GB or an RTX 5070 Ti is probably going to be fine, along with a 165 hz screen or higher (if you are a competitive player, I’d go with a 240 hz screen or higher). Generally, a desktop replacement laptop in the bigger part of the 16 inch or higher (such as 18 inch) range of gaming laptops are good for these. You also might want to look for a laptop with Advanced Optimus or at least a MUX Switch to bypass the Intel or AMD iGPU. (Advanced Optimus is an automatic MUX Switch that doesn’t require a reboot to swap the laptop’s screen’s GPU output. Just because a laptop doesn’t have Advanced Optimus doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a MUX Switch, such as on the 2025/2026 Tongfang laptops, or MSI’s laptops, but it often means that you’ll have to use the laptop’s control center software to change the laptop’s screen’s GPU output or the laptops BIOS/UEFI and then reboot the laptop to apply the change.) This isn’t as big of a deal with newer versions of Windows 11, as the performance difference is less than 5% thanks to updates to Windows (for once
), but if you are a competitive gamer, it may be worth noting. Also, if you want to use an external display or VR with your laptop, make sure to look what GPU the laptop’s HDMI, USB-C, DisplayPort, and Thunderbolt ports go to (VR afaik requires a direct output to USB-C or DisplayPort). Do note that using the dGPU can increase heat and fan noise and lower battery life when in use over the laptop’s iGPU.
- If you are playing graphically demanding single-player games, then I’d look for a laptop with a Mini-LED or OLED high refresh rate screen higher-tier GPU over more power to the CPU (though don’t neglect the CPU completely). In this case, I would go for an RTX 5070 Ti laptop or higher, and preferably one with more vRAM, specifically, 12 GB of vRAM or higher, and a higher GPU power limit. Again, don’t neglect the CPU completely, as this can affect 1% lows and .1% lows, but it’s not as important in this case.
- If you are in the former camp, I’d go for the Asus ROG Strix G16 with an RTX 5070 Ti. It is normally outside of your budget, but it’s currently on sale for just $100 over your budget. It has a lot of the benefits of the higher end Strix Scar 16, like the newer design that makes upgrading the RAM and SSDs extremely easy and also a powerful Intel Core Ultra 9 Arrow Lake HX CPU (it also had a 2 TB SSD and 32 GB of RAM). The screen is IPS, but it still is 2560x1600 and 240 hz with good response times and a MUX Switch & Advanced Optimus. It also has Windows Hello IR Camera Face Unlock.
However, you’ll need to travel to a Micro Center to pick it up, as it’s one of the Micro Center exclusive “Platinum Collection” laptops.
- If you want a similar laptop but are more focused on GPU performance, I’d look at the MSI Raider 16 Max HX. Like the Asus model above, it has easy access to upgrades (two screws, not tool-less like the 2025 & 026 Asus ROG Strix models, but still better than most other laptops), high CPU & GPU power limits, and also a good port selection (but a better port layout as it has some ports on the back to keep out of the way of your mouse hand). The RTX 5070 Ti version is the same price as the Asus model I mentioned, while the RTX 5080 model is just $300 more and quite honestly, one of the best prices on an RTX 5080 laptop in 2026 I’ve seen this year period (pre Black Friday 2026 of course). It’s screen is the same resolution and refresh rate as the Asus laptop, but its OLED, meaning true HDR, higher contrast, higher color gamut and accuracy, and the fastest response time on a laptop < 1 ms.
However, it has a few weakness over the Asus laptop. First, only the HDMI 2.1 port goes to the dGPU, meaning if you want VR or use the laptop docked a lot, it won’t be as good of an option because USB-C and Thunderbolt 4 go to the iGPU first (and for VR, it won’t be an option afaik for that reason). Like pretty much all MSI laptops, It only has a manual MUX switch, meaning no Advanced Optimus and a reboot is needed to change over the laptop’s screen (again, not a big deal, but it isn’t as seamless as other laptops). It also doesn’t have as good build quality as the Asus laptop (though still better than a lot of cheaper laptops imo, I did test it in a store). It’s keyboard layout is pretty bad as it has a squished and non standard number pad on the side, while the 16 inch Asus ROG Strix has it via the light up touchpad.
Finally, availability is worse on the MSI laptop, because as of 2026, all configs of the MSI Raider HX 2026 are Micro Center Platinum Collection exclusive laptops, meaning that (at least in the US) you won’t be able to buy one unless you can at least pick it up there. (Despite being very popular, they don’t sell out likely because of the exclusivity.)
- If you want something a bit thinner and lighter but with better GPU performance, there is the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI with the RTX 5070 Ti and 32 GB of RAM. (Yes, Acer put AI in the product name
.) It is normally outside of your budget, but it’s currently on sale for just $100 over your budget. It has an OLED screen like the MSI Raider, it is thinner than either laptop I mentioned, and unlike many thinner gaming laptops from Asus or Razer, it has upgradable RAM (and isn’t heavily overpriced). It also is available online or in store at Best Buy, making availability a lot better than the Asus or MSI laptops especially the MSI). Do note that it can get a lot warmer than the other options because it is thinner and the power limit may not be the maximum for an RTX 5070 Ti, meaning GPU (and thus gaming) performance might not be as good as the other two options, although it still has the equivalently similar Intel Arrow Lake HX CPU as the other two options. (The Intel Core Ultra 275 HX and Core Ultra 290 HX Plus are the same laptop; the latter is just better binned from Intel, which isn’t that much better in raw CPU performance).
Yes, you will need to add at least $100 to your budget, but I really would suggest allowing for that, because there are all great laptops. Unfortunately, Lenovo has nothing at this price point right now in the US, Dell’s Alienware is completely not worth it (And significantly more expensive), and these deals come and go.
Personally, for you, I’d go for the Asus Strix G16 or one of the MSI Raider 16 models (even the RTX 5080 model). Again, you will need to take a ride to a Micro Center at least to pick up the laptop, but that just seems to be the nature of 2026 gaming laptop deals unfortunately.
I play mostly fps games like valorant and cs2. Should I wait until black Friday and could there be a bigger deal? Thanks for the recommendations
I think it depends on what you’re really looking at. If you can’t wait till Black Friday, get a 2026 Legion 5i with 5060 since it prioritises CPU performance which is suitable for FPS games. A 5070 or 5070ti is usually out of your budget so I would give up trying to look for one. If you can wait till Black Friday, there will be a possibility of a deal with a decent CPU and the 5070 that you’re looking for (but I can’t be certain if it will happen, so you’re testing your luck on this one, plus who knows if RAM and storage prices will increase before Black Friday).
The problem is that in the US, the Legion 5i is actually extremely overpriced when on sale and just average in terms of value when on sale.
And the RTX 5070 Ti is not out of their budget unless they are solely looking at Lenovo, which given the extreme overpricing, I wouldn’t. I gave several options above that are just $100.
@AidenZheng You could wait for Black Friday, although I’m not sure if deals will be very good or any better than now because of the whole RAM shortage issue going on this year. I’d probably lean towards the Asus ROG Strix G16 I mentioned or something like it with a powerful CPU.
(Also I personally don’t allow anything with Vanguard into my house, but I heard it leads to very inconsistent fps performance in games with it.)
alright thanks for the information.
