Best Gaming Laptops

Razer Blade: world's first gaming Ultrabook

Most gaming laptops aren't really all that portable. Sure, they beat hauling your desktop computer around, but at more than 10 pounds and 2 inches thick, many are inconveniently and unapologetically huge. Traditionally, the excuse has been that hardcore gaming demands hardcore hardware: powerful graphics processors (sometimes two), dedicated RAM to make on-screen motion look natural, batteries to power it all and fans to keep things cool. You just couldn't cram all that into a teeny frame -- until now.

The latest Razer Blade (Est. $1,800 and up) is the first gaming laptop that really can double as your everyday laptop. As the world's thinnest gaming model at 0.66 inch, it weighs just 4 pounds yet manages to pack true gaming prowess into a wafer the size of an Ultrabook. Finally, experts say, a real gamer that you can toss into your backpack on a daily basis.

Not surprisingly, the lightweight Razer Blade gets top scores in reviews. "The definitive gaming Ultrabook," says AnandTech.com; "there simply isn't anything else out there like it." It racks up awards at PCMag.com, PC World, Maximum PC, Wired, Engadget.com and TheVerge.com, too. The Blade also makes a great Ultrabook, even for non-gamers, experts say. It checks all the right boxes: up-to-the-minute Intel Core Haswell processors, speedy SSD and all-day battery life.

Let's not forget the Nvidia GeForce GTX 765M graphics that annihilate ordinary Ultrabooks. The Razer Blade will play any game at max settings, but only at the 14-inch screen's native 1,600 by 900-pixel resolution. Critics don't mind that it's not full HD, but they do wish it had better viewing angles, which is the Razer's main flaw. You can play on a 1,080p external display, but not at max settings.

On the other hand, the CyberPower FangBook Evo HX7-200 (Est. $1,580 and up) has a 17.3-inch full-HD screen. It also packs 16 GB of RAM, twice as much as the Razer Blade, plus step-up Nvidia GTX 770M graphics and a Blu-ray Disc drive. The catch? It's huge.

With its clunky power brick, the FangBook "tips the scales at more than 10 pounds and looks about as elegant as a water buffalo," PC World says. Laptop Magazine says it looks like RoboCop's notebook, with its armorlike silver panels and glowing red logo. Unlike the Blade, which could almost pass for a MacBook, you won't be sneaking the 2-inch-thick FangBook into any board meetings. But if you don't plan to carry it around much, the FangBook is a great buy, experts say. You won't find a more powerful, full-featured gaming laptop for less than $2,000.