Like the best gaming PCs, the best gaming laptops aren’t just for gaming. Competent machines powerful enough to play the best PC games are more than capable of everyday work. If a gaming laptop can handle Red Dead Redemption 2, it can handle your spreadsheets.
Investing in a gaming machine that doubles as a work laptop is a smart choice if you plan to do both. While you can use almost any gaming laptop to get work done, there are a few factors to consider beyond specs.
If you’re self-conscious, you might not want to use something as ostentatious as an MSI Cyborg 15 in the office. A display with a wider aspect ratio is also useful when scrolling through documents and websites. Battery life is also something to consider, though gaming laptops are notoriously short-lived and can’t hold a candle to the best laptops for battery life.
With that in mind, here are 3 gaming laptops I recommend that are also great for work — along with an honorable mention.
3 best gaming laptops that are great for work
Razer Blade 14 (2023)
The latest Razer Blade 14 has everything you’d want in a gaming laptop that can also double as a work notebook. As we said in our Razer Blade 14 review, this workhorse of a gaming laptop has a small footprint and solid construction. It packs the latest in laptop hardware from the likes of AMD and Nvidia, as well as a crisp display and under-the-hood gaming features from Razer.
The Razer Blade 14 doesn’t disappoint when it comes to gaming, but it’s also great for productivity due to its excellent performance and design made for travel. Whether you take it to the office or use it around your home, the compact laptop fits into any environment. It’s effectively a gaming laptop for people who’ve always dreamed of a Lenovo Thinkpad powerful enough to run Cyberpunk 2077.
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2023)
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is another excellent gaming laptop that’s great for work thanks to its high-end performance and discreet design. This laptop’s screen resolution complements its beefy specs, resulting in gaming experiences that feel as smooth as they look sharp.
When it comes to high-end performance, few competitors put together such a compelling package as this latest version of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. This is hardly an affordable unit, but in terms of high-performance gaming laptops, it’s as appealing as any similarly-priced alternative I’ve seen this year.
Alienware m18
The Alienware m18 delivers tremendous power in an equally tremendous chassis. We’ve included this big-ass laptop since it makes for a credible desktop replacement due to its giant 18-inch display and beefy performance.
While you could lug Alienware’s m18 to class or work if you really wanted to, it’s hard to imagine you’d enjoy the experience. Still, the Alienware m18’s top-of-the-line components mean it can handle modern games without breaking a sweat — which also gives it more than enough power to handle multiple open windows and apps. The Alienware m18 is also worth considering if you’re an audio or video editor.
Honorable mention
Dell XPS 15 (2023)
This is somewhat cheating since the Dell XPS 15 OLED isn’t marketed as a gaming laptop. But as I said in my I review laptops for a living — and this is the one I’d buy article, this year’s XPS 15 OLED provides everything I’m looking for in a notebook.
Like its predecessors, the XPS 15 delivers a near-perfect balance of style, performance and portability. The new MacBook Air 15-inch also has these qualities, but I prefer Windows 11 to macOS Ventura — and I want a laptop I can play most modern games. The XPS 15 gives me that, and more. You can read my full Dell XPS 15 OLED 2023 review for a detailed rundown, but suffice it to say it’s an all-around winner — and the one I’d buy for myself.
