This year, the best gaming laptops are getting better and better, with great new CPUs from AMD's Skunkworks and Nvidia showing off its superstars with the latest mobile graphics cards. Intel is also still releasing CPUs.

AMD and Nvidia have obviously announced their next generation CPUs and GPUs for desktops, with the Ryzen 9 5900X and RTX 3080 being the flagship products. However, new mobile hardware from the Red and Green team will not be available until next year or later.

It also means that as this generation matures, there will likely be great deals on these machines later this year.

However, a gaming laptop does not necessarily mean sacrificing frame rates altogether. Of course, a huge desktop replacement machine can rival the frame-for-frame of the best gaming PCs, but a sleek, quiet, and efficient gaming laptop has long been considered the holy grail. These days, there are quite a few of them. Performance is a little less, but you can get something far more practical for carrying around and actually using on your lap.

In PC gaming, small does not mean cheap. Laptops, especially thinner ones, are more expensive, but the gap is closing, and the fact that AMD, Intel, and Nvidia are focusing so much on power and thermal efficiency means that the best gaming laptops are at the cutting edge of what is possible. [AMD's 4000 series CPUs are taking the fight to Intel and its 10th generation processors, resulting in very competitively priced AMD laptops. Meanwhile, if you want to handle real-time ray tracing on the go, Nvidia RTX 20 series models are on this list, along with Super variants in several premium laptops. If you don't want to max out your credit card, we frequently look for inexpensive gaming laptops as well.

Even if you don't have a high-performance gaming laptop, we have a list of the best laptop games that can be played on lower-spec machines.

The new 2020 Razer Blade 15 model improves on one of our favorite gaming laptops. It has the same gorgeous CNC machined aluminum chassis as its predecessor, this time with Nvidia's latest graphics chip, namely the RTX Super card, and a new Intel 10th generation CPU.

We recently checked out the new Razer Blade 15 Advanced Edition with its 300Hz screen, octa-core processor, and RTX 2080 Super Max-Q Design graphics silicon. And we fell in love all over again.

One of the best things about the Blade 15 is the number of configurations Razer offers for the Blade 15: from the GTX 1660 Ti Base Edition to the RTX 2080 Super Advanced with OLED 4K panel, there is something for almost everyone. One of the most beautiful gaming laptops and still quite powerful.

Whatever configuration you choose, the Razer Blade 15 is the best overall gaming laptop on the market today.

Read our full review of the Razer Blade 15 Advanced Edition (2020).

Frankly, trying to find a decent gaming laptop on a budget can be a chore. Compromises must be made in terms of performance, design, and battery life. Thankfully, the Dell G3 15 offers decent 1080p gaming in a sub-$1,000 configuration and the battery is actually good.

The biggest improvement over the previous model is a slimmer, sleeker design: the bezels surrounding the 144Hz display are thinner, and the sleek design has a more high-end feel. If you want a gaming laptop that doesn't scream "gamer" as soon as you pull it out of the bag, this is a welcome toned-down look. The only drawback is the display, which is not as richly colored as the other gaming laptops on this list.

The new Asus TUF A15 is one of the best gaming laptops of the year so far, thanks largely to the AMD 8-core Ryzen 7 4800H APU beating at its heart. With a fast 1TB NVMe SSD and RTX 2060 graphics, it is the best non-workstation gaming laptop available.

In our review, we called the TUF A15 "an incredibly versatile and affordable gaming laptop with almost unprecedented battery life at this price point and performance level."

The only slight downside is the price, especially when there are so many $999 RTX 2060 machines on the market; the TUF A15's gaming performance, CPU power, and great battery life make it an excellent laptop for work and play. Even at its current price, it outperforms expensive mid-range gaming laptops.

Read our review of the Asus TUF A15.

The GS65 Stealth Thin continues to be one of the best gaming laptops year after year. It's a great all-rounder that packs a punch with its specs and design. It's as versatile as a laptop, yet light and sturdy, making it easy to pop in a bag and carry around all day. The matte black aluminum body with gold accents gives it a sturdy, high-end look.

And best of all, the slim 18mm thickness and 5mm thin screen bezel make the chassis size about an inch smaller than most 15-inch laptops, despite the same screen area.

The GS65 has other nice details that make it a great laptop: the SteelSeries keyboard is solid and responsive (with RGB lights), the touchpad is responsive, and the webcam is positioned above the screen. The webcam is positioned above the screen.

The only gaming feature missing is G-Sync, but this allows for both a low price and battery life for all-day e-mail, web browsing, and streaming video.

Read the full MSI GS65 Stealth Thin review.

We loved Acer's Predator Helios 300 during the "GTX 10 Series" era and found that the current generation Helios punches above its weight class when compared to other $1,500 laptops. 2020 model Helios returns with an RTX 2070 Max-Q GPU and a more refined form factor without a significant price increase.

The new and improved Helios 300 has a 240Hz IPS screen and smaller bezels, making it closer to a sleeker, thinner, and lighter product than its bulky predecessor. The only real drawback is the small SSD, but the laptop itself provides slots for two SSDs and an HDD, making upgrading storage as easy as getting a screwdriver.

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Not everyone has the thinnest or strongest Not everyone needs a gaming laptop. Sometimes you just need something lightweight and powerful. A healthy balance between portability, performance, and price is the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14, an RTX 2060 Max-Q notebook.

The G14 is a great notebook, especially with Metro Exodus running at an average pace of 40 fps with ray tracing on at the highest settings. Although loud, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is a reliable 14-inch system with high-end graphics that rival some gaming desktops.

Read the full Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 review.

Buying a laptop usually means choosing between price, performance, and portability. While thin and light laptops like the GS65 offer the latter two of these three, the Asus ROG Strix GL503VS-DH74 Scar Edition checks the first two boxes instead.

The GL503VS has a regular (not Max-Q) RTX 2060 GPU in exchange for a heavier body for its size. It uses a previous-generation quad-core CPU, which is not much of a problem for most games; the GL503VS also offers G-Sync on its 144Hz panel, but the trade-off is that it misses Nvidia's Optimus battery technology. Therefore, do not expect more than 2 hours of battery life. Don't forget your charger.

What makes one laptop more attractive than another in the eyes of a gamer: It's lightweight enough to carry between LAN parties; it's not too expensive, but it's not too expensive. What about high-end hardware that delivers the fastest frame rates? Connectivity is certainly important. External displays, gaming peripherals, and direct-attach storage can make you forget you're even using a laptop. Or perhaps most important is value. For a lower price, it is acceptable to compromise on graphics quality. Yes, of course.

Of course not. That is why the best builders pack in as much processing power as possible, even when money is tight. And the top-of-the-line models put desktop-class components in a mobile chassis, setting new performance records with each generation.

The following tests have been conducted to measure the performance and productivity of gaming laptops:

For gaming, built-in benchmarks are used:

Tests are conducted to determine if the laptop in question has a higher-resolution display (and higher resolution), unless the laptop in question has a higher resolution display (and hardware that supports playing at the higher resolution), in which case the tests are run at 1080p with V-sync and G-Sync disabled and using the best available graphics presets. In that case, testing is usually done at FHD and QHD or QHD and 4K. All tests are run multiple times to ensure that thermal throttling does not occur and to eliminate outliers and false results. If a subsequent test results in a lower score, a lower (throttled) score is used.