Thanks to the best thin and light gaming laptops, portable gaming doesn’t have to mean lugging around a big and heavy machine anymore. Not too long ago, buying even the best gaming laptop meant having a laptop that wasn’t much more portable than a desktop PC. But, in 2020, gaming laptops can be almost as thin and light as standard laptops.
The best thin and light gaming laptops are powerful enough to handle the most demanding PC games. With modern advancements in technology, which has seen smaller, more power-efficient, mobile components being made, we longer need to make a choice between power and portability. Nvidia’s Max-Q design technology, for example, allows laptop makers to create thin, light and powerful gaming laptops that make use of the company’s best graphics cards.
However, thin and light gaming laptops can be a bit more expensive than regular gaming laptops, due to the complex parts and careful construction they require. That’s where we come in. We’ve put together a list of the very best slimline gaming laptops in 2020, alongside our price comparison tool to help you make your decision easier and also save money at the same time.
1. Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
The best thin and light gaming laptop
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS – 9 4900HS | Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 | RAM: Up to 32GB | Screen: 14-inch Non-glare Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS-level panel, 120Hz – 14-inch Non-glare WQHD (2560 x 1440) IPS-level panel, 60Hz | Storage: 512GB / 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 | Dimensions: 12.76 x 8.74 x 0.7 inches (32.4 x 22.2 x 1.79cm; W x D x H) | Weight: 3.75 pounds (1.7kg)
Best battery life in a gaming laptop
Excellent performance
Thin and light
No webcam
Fans can get loud
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 may be missing a webcam and a Thunderbolt 3 port, but it’s damn near close to perfection, garnering our coveted yet rarely given five-star rating. This is an absolute beast of a gaming laptop, delivering an incredible performance with its AMD Ryzen 4000 processors and Nvidia RTX 2060 graphics card while touting best-in-class battery life that will last you all day long, a fast display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a lightweight, ultrathin design. This is definitely the best thin and light gaming laptop in 2020. For a laptop this impressive, we’re surprised Asus isn’t asking for more.
Read the full review: Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
2. MSI GS65 Stealth
Thin. Beautiful. Powerful.
CPU: Intel Core i7 | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 (8GB GDDR5X VRAM, Max-Q) | RAM: 16GB | Screen: 15.6-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) anti-glare, wide-view 144Hz panel | Storage: 512GB M.2 SSD | Dimensions: 14.1 x 0.7 x 9.8-inches (358.1 x 17.8 x 248.9mm) | Weight: 1.9kg
Beautiful, subtle design
Excellent performance
Underside gets very hot
At just .7 inches thick and featuring beefy Coffee Lake processors, the MSI GS65 Stealth isn’t just one of the best thin and light gaming laptops ever made, it’s one of the best devices you can currently game on full stop. It features an Intel Core i7-8750H CPU and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 graphics, which gives you plenty of power for playing the latest games with the graphical settings set to ‘high’, and it all comes in a brilliantly thin and gorgeously-designed body.
Read the full review: MSI GS65 Stealth
3. Razer Blade Stealth
Thin, light, powerful
CPU: Intel Core i7 | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 620 – Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 16GB | Screen: 12.5-inch UHD (3,840 x 2,160) – 13.3-inch QHD+ (3,200 x 1,800) | Storage: 256GB – 1TB PCIe SSD | Dimensions: 2.6 x 8.1 x 0.54 inches (32.1 x 20.6 x 1.38cm) | Weight: 2.98 pounds (1.35kg)
Larger, brighter display
Subtler aesthetics on gunmetal version
Shorter and shorter battery life
No 4K display option in sight
The latest Razer Blade Stealth is an absolutely brilliant thin and light gaming PC. It’s a brilliant demonstration of just how far gaming laptop technology has come, with Razer fitting some seriously impressive components into the slimline body of the Blade Stealth. The 2018 version comes with some of the most up-to-date hardware money can buy, and it benefits from a brighter (and larger) display and a new, more subtle, design.
Read the full review: Razer Blade Stealth
4. Gigabyte Aero 15
Another thin and light gaming beast
CPU: Intel Core i7 8750H | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB GDDR5) | RAM: 8GB – 16GB | Screen: 15.6-inch, FHD (1,920 x 1,080) LCD anti-glare | Storage: 512GB SSD | Dimensions: 14 x 9.8 x 0.7 inches (35.6 x 25 x 1.8 cm) | Weight: 4.4 pounds (2kg)
Super thin bezels
Deceptively thin and light
Unfortunate webcam placement
The Gigabyte Aero 15 proves that you don’t need to be big and bulky to be a brilliant gaming laptop. It packs a 6-core 8th-generation Intel Core i7 CPU and a GTX 1060 into a slimline body that you’d expect from an Ultrabook. And, thanks to that beefy processor, the Gigabyte Aero 15 isn’t just one of the best gaming laptops – it’s just as good when you need to get some work done.
Read the full review: Gigabyte Aero 15
5. Dell XPS 15 2-in-1
Making power portable
CPU: Intel Core i5-i7 | Graphics: Radeon RX Vega M GL Graphics with 4GB HMB2 Graphics Memory | RAM: 8GB | Screen: 15.6-inch, 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) InfinityEdge anti-reflective touch display | Storage: 512GB PCIe SSD | Dimensions: 13.9 x 9.2 x 0.36-0.63 inches (35.4 x 23.5 x 0.9-0.6cm) | Weight: 4.36 pounds (2kg)
Impressive power
Ultra-thin design
Kind of expensive
Okay, so the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 isn’t billed as a gaming laptop, but within its thin and light frame are components that will give you a brilliant gaming experience. Packed with an Intel Kaby Lake G-series processor, this gaming laptop can keep up with its competitors. While you may not be able to play the very latest games at the highest graphical settings, with a bit of tweaking you’ll find that this thin-and-light laptop is brilliant for gaming. Plus, it has a gorgeously-thin design from Dell that makes it stand out from the crowd.
Read the full review: Dell XPS 15 2-in-1
6. Razer Blade 2019
The sharpest Blade yet
CPU: Intel Core i7-8750H – Intel Core i7-9750H | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB GDDR6 VRAM) – Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q (8GB GDDR6 VRAM) | RAM: 16GB | Screen: 15.6-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) 144Hz – OLED 4K (3,840 x 2,160) Touch 60Hz | Storage: 256GB – 512GB SSD | Dimensions: 13.98 x 9.25 x 0.70 inches (355 x 235 x 17.8mm; W x D x H) | Weight: 4.63 pounds (2.10kg)
Incredibly powerful
Svelte looks
Very expensive
The Razer Blade has consistently been one of the best thin and light gaming laptops on the market. rocking some powerful components and boasts a stunning display in its elegant chassis. That’s true for the 2019 model as well, which now rocks up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080. That is, frankly, a ton of power, especially for a laptop with this light and thin. If that’s not enough graphics power for you, you can use the Razer Core for future expansion. Make no mistake: it is pricey; but it might be worth it if style and power are equally important to you.
Read the full review: Razer Blade