If you are a game developer or a game design student, you will need a strong and capable laptop for game development. See cost, CPU, RAM, battery life, dimensions, and portability factor as you consider one. For a laptop, the bare minimum you’ll need is an Intel Mobile Core i5 7th Gen CPU paired with an NVIDIA GTX 965M, AMD RX 460M equivalent or better. As for the screen, it can be 4K or FHD. It’s also worth having an SSD, since programs load faster and can perform tasks much faster than on a conventional hard drive. If you consider a traditional hard drive, a 7200 RPM is better for loading data. Here are the best laptops for game development.
See also: The best student desks.
Mid-tier laptop for game developers
Lenovo legion Y720, 15.6 inch
It is powered by 7th Gen Intel Core i7-7700 processor running at 2.8 GHz combined with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 dedicated graphics card and hybrid storage. The graphics card is powered by NVIDIA Pascal, capable of offering three times the performance compared to previous versions so it can handle the most intense tasks of game developers. The RAM is 16 GB with 128 GB SSD and the memory speed is 2400 MHz with a 1000 GB hard drive that has a rotation speed of 5400 RPM. It runs on Windows 10 Home 64-bit operating system.
As for audio, it is the first Dolby Atmos laptop to offer next-generation audio, even without headphones. It is efficient for game development, since it has all the necessary tools for the virtual reality world. Graphics are powerful; It offers VR support and has HDMI / USB 3.0 ports. The keyboard is backlit with various colors. Dimensions are 15 x 1.1 x 10.9 inches and weight is 7.04 pounds. It is available in black color. As for the ports, there is a USB Type-C Thunderbolt 3.0 port, a mini DisplayPort, 2 USB 3.0 ports and an HDMI 2.0. The screen is 15.6 inches with a 1080 pixel resolution.
It also comes with a built-in wireless adapter for Xbox, which is useful for game developers. The battery life is about 6 hours and stays cool under normal conditions.
Who should buy this?
- It is for those who want a laptop for game development, which has all the necessary tools for the world of virtual reality.
- For those who want a gaming laptop that can be used to play in high settings and VR mode.
Impressive dual screen for game development
Asus Zenbook Pro Duo, 15.6 inch
The aesthetics of this laptop are brilliant with its high-quality design and the extra multipurpose screen. It is a laptop designed for productivity and multitasking. The second large screen is flexible, which means you can customize it. The main screen size is 15.6 inches OLED 4K UHD touch screen with HDR support. The secondary plus screen is a 14-inch, 4K matte touchscreen with a 3840 x 1100 pixel resolution, which is also a 4K panel. You can use it as an additional display status or an additional display for multitasking. This helps improve productivity, as you can use the additional screen to access settings and editing, while game developers can use it to view long lines of code while adjusting the game they’re working on.
It is powered by the latest quad core Intel Core i9-7H 9750th Gen processor with 12M cache. It registers a maximum of 4.5 GHz, combined with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card. The palm rest is detachable and comes with an active stylus. RAM is 16GB DDR4 with 1TB PCleNVMe SSD memory. It comes with a built-in IR camera with facial recognition capabilities. The cooling system is optimized and has excellent audio performance. As for connectivity, it has an HDMI port and a USB Type C with Thunderbolt. Dimensions are 14.1 x 9.7 x 0.94 inches and weighs 5.5 lbs. It works on Windows 10 Pro OS.
Who should buy this?
- Game developers and professionals who want an amazing, capable, and engaging laptop that can tackle tasks efficiently.
- For professional game developers who want to multitask, multi-layered photo and video editing, 3D graphics rendering, and live game streaming.
Luxurious and opulent laptop for game development
ASUS ZenBook Pro, 15.6 inches
It is opulent and luxurious on the outside and powerful on the inside. The screen is bright, the design is impressive, and the graphics performance is solid. It comes with two displays, one 15.6-inch with a 4K UHD touchscreen with an 83% screen-to-body ratio and one Nano
Edge bevel, with a screen resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels. The second display is the 5.5-inch Asus ScreenPad display seen on the touchpad, Super IPS + with a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. The dimensions are 14.4 x 9.9 x 0.7 inches and it weighs 4.2 lbs. There are many pre-installed apps available on ScreenPad, such as Calendar, Calculator, Spotify, launcher for Windows 10, etc.
It is powered by 8th Gen Core i7-8750HK chipset with 8M Cache and 2.2 GHz timing with a maximum of 4.8 GHz. The processor is combined with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX1050Ti graphics card for perfect 4K video playback, photo editing work and much more. The RAM capacity is 16GB LPDDR42133MHz and it has 512GB PCleNVMe SSD storage. It also comes with a 60% fast charge function in 49 minutes. It is compatible with Windows 10 Pro operating system.
It has a high-capacity 71Wh lithium polymer battery with thermal engineering, offering around 9.5 hours of battery life.
Who should buy this?
- It is suitable for most games and the graphics card is specifically suitable for facilitating creative applications such as Adobe Photoshop.
Strong graphics performance for game development
Dell XP S9570-5632SLV-PUS, 15.6 inch
It is powered by 8300th Gen Intel Core i8-5H chipset, with an 8M and 4 core cache, with a maximum clock speed of 4.0 GHz. The screen is a 15.6-inch FHD with a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, with InfinityEdge and anti-glare. It has 8GB 2666 MHs DDR4 RAM with 4GB 2 cores and 256GB M.2 2280 memory, PCle, SSD. The hard drive rotation speed is 5400 RPM. It is compatible with a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 4GB GDDR5 graphics card. As for the ports, there is a Thunderbolt 3.0, 2 USB 3.0 with Power Share, a headphone jack and an SD card reader.
The InfinityEdge display is virtually borderless with only a 5.7mm bezel. The processor and graphics card combination can help users easily perform intensive tasks. Memory is fast and allows quick access to content. Storage is plentiful and applications run quickly. The powerful graphics card offers great game development and gaming opportunities. This laptop is truly a great gaming platform loaded with innovative NVIDIA technologies that are game ready.
Dimensions are 9.27 x 14.06 x 0.66 inches and weighs 4.5 lbs. It is compatible with Windows 10 Home operating system.
Who should buy this?
- Those who want a rugged laptop with good power, great graphics performance, and a vibrant, yet dated, design.
- For gamers who want to experience all the latest game titles in all their glory and for game developers.
Spectacular OLED screen for game development
Alienware 13 Inches
It is powered by 7th Gen Intel Kaby Lake processor and paired with NVIDIA 10 series GPU, making the Alienware laptop the smallest laptop that is VR ready. Plus, it has a captivating 13.3-inch FHD OLED display, with a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution and an anti-glare finish.
Dimensions are 10.59 x 12.99 x 0.95 inches and it weighs 5.8 lbs. The display is fascinating with a vibrant output. It is powered by quad-core Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor with 6MB cache, clocked at 3.8GHz with Turbo Boost. The RAM is 16 GB DDR4 at 2400 MHz, 2 x 8 GB and the memory of the hard disk is 512 GB PCle SSD. The graphics card is an NVIDIA GTX 1060.
The system is virtual reality ready as it has passed the Oculus and Vive Optimized certifications. All the necessary tools for gamers and game development are present, with an excellent wireless connection, a Thunderbolt Type C port, support for graphics amplification and an SSD that allows faster loading of games. The audio output has been enhanced with an impressive speaker box, offering a dramatic experience for gamers and developers. It is compatible with Windows 10 Home HighEnd 64 bit operating system.
Who should buy this?
- For those who want a VR-ready, powerful portable gaming laptop at a reasonable price.
- It is for those who want to experience unstoppable immersive games while on the go.
Portable laptop for game development
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Series Gaming Edition, 15.6-inch
The Dell Inspiron 15 7000 series is slim and lightweight with a 15.6-inch Full HD display that has a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, anti-glare and LED-backlit with IPS, HDMI technology. Dimensions are 10.8 x 15.2 x 1 inches and weighs 5.78 lbs.
All standard ports are present with 3 USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI connection, an Ethernet jack, a headphone jack, an SD card reader, and a Kensington lock slot. It is powered by 7th Gen Intel Quad-Core i5-7300HQ 2.50 GHz which has turbo boost technology up to 3.50 GHz. The RAM is 8 GB DDR4, 2400 MHz memory, and it has a hard drive size of 1 TB, 5400 RPM with an 8GB cache. This is paired with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050, 4GB GDDR5 graphics card that has a RAM size of 8, but no optical drive is included. The laptop is compatible with Windows 10 Home, 64 bits. As for the ports, there are 8 USB 2.0 ports and 8 USB 3.0 ports.
The Intel core processor ensures effective reproduction of intense action game titles, and the graphics card and anti-glare display also ensures immersive visuals during development and gaming. NVIDIA GeForce GTx 1050 Ti’s discrete graphics come with its independent video memory, making it possible to play games in high settings. The cooling design is excellent, leaving no room for hot spot formation. Battery life is also great with a 74 Wh battery.
Who should buy this?
- Those who want a well-designed and reasonably priced laptop with a holistic aptitude for game development and gaming.
- Those who want a combination of superior build quality with performance and good battery life on a budget.
Popular, powerful and reasonably priced gaming development laptop
Acer Predator Helios 300, 15.6 inch
The Acer Predator Helios 300 is powered by Intel Core i7-8750H, which is a 6 core processor with a maximum speed of 4.1 GHz. It is compatible with Windows 10 Home 64 bit operating system. The graphics card is a dedicated 6GB GDDR5 VRAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060, which is powered by the latest NVIDIA Pascal architecture.
It comes with a 15.6-inch LED-backlit Full HD IPS display that has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and a refresh rate of 144 Hz with a 16: 9 aspect ratio. RAM size is 16 GB DDR4 DRAM memory. 2666 MHz and the hard drive is 256 GB PCleNVMe SSD, with an additional and optional slot for an SSD or 2.5-inch hard drive. The battery capacity is 3320 mAh and offers up to 7 hours of battery life. For audio, it has two built-in stereo speakers with Dolby Audio Premium optimized for an improved sound system and uses Acer True Harmony Plus technology. It has a USB 3.1 Type-C port, a USB 3.0 port, two USB 2.0 ports, and an HDMI 2.0 port.
It features two metallic AeroBlade 3D fans and excellent audio capabilities for intense gaming and game development sessions. The games control panel offers customization options for functions such as system temperature, fan speed, etc. The dimensions of the laptop are 10.47 x 15.35 x 1.05 inches and it weighs 5.51 lbs.
Who should buy this?
- Those who want a powerful yet affordable laptop for game and gaming development.
- Those who want a laptop with upgradeable memory and storage.
Stunning display and solid audio for game development
Asus ROG Zephyrus S, 17.3 inches
It offers incredibly powerful performance in a slim, nimble, premium package with innovative construction. It is powered by 8th Gen Core i7 chipset, Intel Core i7-9750H Hexa Core processor combined with a dedicated graphics card and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 8GB GDDR6 graphics card. The RAM is 32 GB DDR SDRAM and the processor runs at a speed of 2.6 GHz capable of boosting to 4.1 GHz when needed. The size of the hard disk is 1 TB PCleNVMe SSD. It runs on Windows 10 Pro operating system. The screen size is 17.3 inches with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and an aspect ratio of 16: 9. The screen is also Pantone validated and features a frequency of 144Hz refresh on an FHD IPS display screen.
It is an ultrathin laptop with a narrow bezel and 18.7mm thickness, for game development. Its dimensions are 15.7 x 10.7 x 0.7 inches and it weighs 5.95 lbs. It has 2 USB 3.1 Type C ports, 3 USB 3.0 ports, 1 HDMI 2.0b port and a headphone jack. The portable gaming power on offer is so powerful that users can play the most demanding games as the system can run it in the best settings. However, it comes at a price!
Who should buy this?
- Those who want a well-designed laptop with an impressive display, powerful performance, powerful graphics, and immersive audio for game and gaming development.
- Those who want a powerful laptop with a slim design. But this highly portable laptop comes at a very high price.
Fast, smooth and productive for game development
Asus ROG Strix G, 15.6 inch
It is powered by the latest 9750th Generation Intel Core i9-7h Hexa chipset. This is paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, 4GB GDDR5 graphics card with a 1395MHz base and a 1560MHz boost. The RAM size of the graphics card is 4GB.
The screen is a 15.6-inch IPS Full HD display with a 1920 x 1080 pixel screen resolution and a high refresh rate of 60 Hz that delivers smooth, sharp and responsive images. The bezel is slim and has a 79.6% screen body ratio, resulting in a deeply immersive experience. The RAM is 16GB DDR4 with a memory clock speed of 2666MHz at a speed of up to 4.5 GHz with a 1TB PCle SSD hard drive. It is compatible with Windows 10 Home operating system. The dimensions of the Asus ROG Strix G are 14.2 x 10.8 x 1 inches and it weighs 5.28 lbs.
Who should buy this?
- For game developers and gamers who want smooth frame rates and great graphics for content creation and for regular multitasking purposes.
Strong and durable laptop for game development
Razer Blade 14 inch
It’s a gaming and gaming developer laptop and is powered by 7th Generation Quad-Core, Intel Core i7-7700HQ, a quad-core processor that runs at a speed of 2.8 GHz and ups to 3.8 GHz with Turbo Boost. The chipset is paired with the graphics card, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060, 6GB GDDR5 VRAM, Intel HD 630, with VR-ready graphics. The RAM is 16 GB DDR4 with dual channel and a memory speed of 2133 MHz.
The screen is 14-inch matte FHD, LED-backlit, with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and a 16: 9 ratio. Hard drive storage is 512 GB PCle SSD. It has a USB-C Thunderbolt 3 port, 3 USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI 1.4 output and a 3.5mm port for headphone and microphone jack.
It is ultra-thin at 0.70 inches and the dimensions of the Razer Blade laptop are 9.3 x 13.6 x 0.7 inches, weighing in at 4.25 lbs. The gaming keyboard is fully customizable and works with Razer Chroma. The laptop is compatible with Microsoft Windows 10 Home operating system. Online gaming is much smoother with Killer Wireless AC 1535. It is ready for immersive VR Ready games, which is 3x times faster than previous generation GPUs.
Who should buy this?
- Game developers who attach importance to the longevity and build quality of a laptop.
- It’s for those who want the perfect balance of power and portability with optimized performance, fast, smooth gameplay, and powerful graphics.
- For work, play and creativity purposes with desktop performance.
Light and powerful for game development
Gigabyte Aero 15x, 15.6 inch
It’s a lightweight gaming laptop that offers the perfect combination of performance with portability and excellent battery life. This is a 15.6-inch laptop with a slim 5mm bezel and a FHD 144Hz refresh rate, IPS Pantone X Rite LCD display, and a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution with anti-glare features. Gigabyte Aero 15x presents the new Intel 8 6th Gen core processor.
It is powered by Intel Core i7-8750H, registering at a speed of 2.2 GHz and with a maximum speed of 4.1 GHz. This is combined with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 GDDR5 8 GB Max Q graphics card, using NVIDIA Optimus technology for graphics . The RAM is 16GB DDR4 2666MHz and the memory is 512GB M.2 NVME PCle Gen3 x 4 SSD. It is compatible with Windows 10 Home operating system. The battery is 94.24 Wh which supports 10 hours of battery life. It also features various loading modes such as Express, Quality and Customize for customization.
Dimensions are 14 x 9.8 x 0.78 inches and weighs 4.62 lbs. Its GPU offers the most immersive virtual reality experience combined with efficiency and smooth gaming at high resolution. The images and graphics are captivating on this laptop. In short, it strikes the perfect balance that offers portability and power in a classic, lightweight design.
Who should buy this?
- Those who want a lightweight laptop with high-end graphics for game development, gaming, and graphic work.
- Suitable for professionals who want to focus on creativity on the go. Also suitable for the latest in gaming, content creation, and premium VR.
Super fast exceptional performance for game development
Microsoft Surface Book, 13.5-inch, Multi-Touch 2 in 1
The Microsoft Surface Book has a 13.5-inch LCD screen with a PixelSense touch screen with a resolution of 3000 x 2000 pixels. The screen is a detachable type. It is compatible with Windows 10 Pro operating system. The screen has a high resolution and low glare calibrated to offer realistic colors. The touch screen allows multi-touch gestures. You can use it as a laptop and a tablet.
It can be used for both work and play, packing top-notch hardware under the hood. The keyboard part of the laptop has an optional NVIDIA GeForce secondary graphics card, which is activated when users dock the tablet part to the keyboard. When undocked, it uses the lower powered Intel HD graphics to run. The Surface Pen is included, offering a natural writing experience.
The Surface Book is powered by the 6th Generation Skylake processor, Intel Core i7-6600U. Dual cores can reach a speed of 2.6 GHz and with the Intel Turbo Boost, it can reach a single maximum core speed of 3.4 GHz and a dual core speed of 3.2 GHz. There is a dedicated L3 cache with 16 GB RAM, per what is capable of offering efficient multitasking functions. This is paired with a dedicated NVIDIA GPU and a 1TB SSD hard drive. The size of the hard disk is 128 GB SSD.
Dimensions are 10.95 x 16.46 x 1.93 inches and it weighs just 3.48 lbs. As for the ports, there are 2 USB 3.0 ports, a headphone jack, a Mini DisplayPort and an SD card slot, and a proprietary charging socket.
Who should buy this?
- It is portable and can be used both for work and play, by professionals, game developers and also for games.
- Useful for those who want a pen for marking presentations and for art applications.
conclusion
More and more game developers are using laptops to create professional-level games. In case you want to create casual 2D games, you can buy a laptop with lower settings. But if you want a high-end laptop for game development, it’s a good idea to invest in a high-end laptop. This will help even fans to develop games without much hassle. Check every aspect of the laptop, including the CPU, memory, graphics card, and available storage, to make sure there’s no lag. It is important to select a processor that can handle all of these tasks efficiently.
