And since you’re going to be using it for double duty, you might as well get one that excels. That doesn’t mean of course that you need to get the most expensive model or spring for the top tier machine. But it’s not a bad thing if you do.
Best gaming laptops for back to school – summary
Best gaming laptops for back to school – summary
Best gaming laptops for school – list
Best gaming laptops for school – list
You can view all of your selections above in the summary table. But if you want a little bit more information about each gaming laptop, you can view the list below which includes additional details. As well as price information and links on where to buy each laptop.
Razer Blade 14
Razer Blade 14
We’re starting things off with what might be the best option on this list. The Razer Blade 14. To be clear, this may not be the best option for everyone. Because everyone has different wants and needs when it comes to hardware like this. But, it is an amazing gaming laptop. Why should you want this for school? For one, it’s lightweight. Not as light as say, the Razer Blade Stealth, which is also on this list, but it does get the balance right. It offers a lightweight design that’s thin and portable, and powerful enough to run games at high settings and beyond. You can get this laptop in multiple configurations, with Full HD or 4K resolution screens, multiple options for storage, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 and 3080 GPUs. Plus, this is Razer’s first laptop with a Ryzen CPU inside. Which is going to give you better battery life than Razer’s other models. All of that in a laptop that comes with a reasonable 14-inch display, and you’ve got a great laptop option for school. Tote it around to all of your classes and game when you have some free time. What’s not to love?
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14
You can still snag a gaming laptop with the 30 series GPUs from NVIDIA and save a couple hundred bucks in the process. Simply go with the latest model of the ROG Zephyrus G14 laptop from ASUS. Now ASUS sells quite a few different configurations of this laptop. Including models with the GeForce GTX 1650 Ti and RTX 20 series. Although the one we’re recommending here comes with the RTX 3060. The laptop also features a 14-inch screen size with various resolution options, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and a Ryzen 9 5900HS 8-Core CPU. It also features the really cool AniME Matrix lighting on the lid which you can customize with designs. It comes in white or black, and offers up to 12.5 hours of video playback. Though, don’t expect to get that much battery life when gaming.
MSI Stealth 15M
MSI Stealth 15M
If you want something that’s both capable of gaming with decent performance and visuals but costs a little bit less, the MSI Stealth 15M is a great option. It’s $1,399 for the model that comes with an NVIDIA RTX 3060, which can handle your most demanding games with little effort. It’s also portable, making it yet another one of the best gaming laptops for school thanks to the lightweight build and thin chassis design. Inside you’ll find an 11th Gen Intel Core-i7 CPU, while outside it features a 144Hz refresh rate display. As far as weight goes, it only weighs about 3.7 pounds. So it won’t be heavy. And that’s fairly impressive considering the performance specs and the 15-inch display. It also comes with a huge collection of ports. So you will have no shortage of connectivity options.
Razer Blade Stealth
Razer Blade Stealth
The Razer Blade Stealth is one of the best gaming laptops if you want something that is as light as possible that can still perform when gaming. In the most recent model of this laptop Razer is using the NVIDIA GTX 1650Ti. Which is a big step up from the Intel integrated graphics it used in the Stealth for years. Razer no longer sells this laptop through its own online store, but it can still be found elsewhere. While you may not be getting the most powerful graphics of Razer’s offerings, it is certainly the lightest. So it’s the best option for someone that is prioritizing something portable over how much performance power it will deliver. It also comes with an 11th Gen Intel Core-i7 CPU, 512GB of storage on an SSD, 60Hz and 120Hz refresh rate options, and 16GB of RAM. So it’s more than capable of handling games, as long as you’re ok with tuning the graphics down a tad. And at 3.11 pounds, it’s easy to carry around just about everywhere.
Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 15
Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 15
Price: From $1,349.99Where To Buy: Lenovo
Lenovo hasn’t quite released its newest version of the Legion Slim 7, but the current model is still a really good option due to the specs. Lenovo is also selling this laptop at a doorbuster price, likely cause it’s the last of its kind and Lenovo is probably trying to get rid of stock. Which means you get a really awesome deal for a great laptop that will perform well. It comes with an NVIDIA RTX 2060 Max-Q GPU, 16GB of RAM, a 15.6-inch Full HD display, a 1TB SSD for storage, and it weighs about 3.9 pounds so it’s fairly portable too. As mentioned above, all of these selections were made based on how well they could do in a school environment. And whether you’re carting this back and forth to school or around campus if you live on campus, the last thing you want is a massive gaming laptop weighing you down. The Lenovo Legion Slim 7i 15 won’t weigh you down and you can play games on it with good performance. Normally this would retail for $1,819, but you get an instant savings that brings it down to $1,549. You can bring the price down even further by entering a special coupon code on the Lenovo buy page, so the ending price is $1,279. That’s a steal for a laptop with these specs.
Alienware X15 R2
Alienware X15 R2
Alienware’s X15 R2 gaming laptops is the latest and greatest from the brand in the 15-inch space, and it offers significant improvements over the previous model that are well worth a look. First, it comes with an RTX 3070 Ti GPU or an RTX 3080 Ti GPU, and can have multiple configurations of storage. Including up to 4TB. It also features an Intel 12th Gen Core i7-12700H or Core i9-12900H CPU. Alienware has also improved the cooling so the laptop doesn’t get to as high of temperatures on the R1. So it’ll perform better for longer. You can get it with an FHD screen at either 165Hz or 360Hz, or you can up the resolution to QHD with a 240Hz display. All models are non-touch enabled. Which should be just fine since you don’t want fingerprints and smudges all over your display anyways. For a 15-inch laptop it’s a bit weighty and slightly larger than your standard 15-inch laptop. But that’s more than worth the tradeoff for the power and performance you get here.
Dell XPS 15
Dell XPS 15
This isn’t exclusively a gaming laptop, but because it comes with some really good specs you can definitely use it for gaming and expect decent performance to boot. The main thing here is that the XPS 15 is a pretty slim laptop that is also lightweight, in addition to being powerful. Making it one of the best gaming laptops for back to school if you want something that is capable of gaming. When it comes to the actual specs, you’re looking at an NVIDIA GTX 1650Ti GPU, as well as 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. You can bump the GPU up to a 2060 Max-Q design but that also bumps the price up by a significant amount.
Origin EVO15-S
Origin EVO15-S
Price: From $2,306Where To Buy: Origin
The Origin EVO 15-S is one to consider if you want a little more choice in your configuration of the components. You’ll have to buy direct from the Origin website but you get a lot of options in terms of how to customize your laptop. From the GPU to the CPU to the display resolution and RAM capacity. You can even add other personalized touches to make it extra unique. If you like that kind of thing. You can get the Origin EVO15-S with the latest NVIDIA 30 Series GPUs, or you can save a little bit of cash and for the 20-series models which should be a little bit cheaper now that the 30-series models are out. You can also get up to 32GB of RAM, up to 4TB of internal storage (wow), and you’re looking at up to 6 hours of battery life. Though that will certainly vary based on how much of the RGB and other battery draining features you use. All of these configurations do come at a cost. But if you want a really good gaming laptop that is also made personal so it’s not quite like anyone else’s, this is prob ably the best option.
Dell G15
Dell G15
When it comes down to it, for some it isn’t about having the best possible gaming laptop out there for your school needs. While that would be nice, school can be expensive. And if you need to save a few bucks, the Dell G15 is a good laptop to consider. For starters, the latest model now comes with an RTX 3050 GPU. Dell also sells a 3050 Ti model, which is the one we’re suggesting. You can find it in all sorts of configurations, and the price starts at $849. So you can spend under a grand and get a good laptop that will perform when you decide to kick back and take a load off with some gaming. For $849, you’re getting the Dell G15 with an RTX 3050 Ti GPU, a 15.6-inch FHD screen, an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 120Hz refresh rate, and 512GB of storage. All around this is a solid gaming laptop choice for back to school if you aren’t looking to spend as much.
Acer Predator Triton 300 SE
Acer Predator Triton 300 SE
Price: From $1,499Where To Buy: Best Buy
Rounding out this list is the Acer Predator Triton 300 SE. Acer’s Predator line used to be slept on but Acer clawed its way to the top and proved that it could produce a really good gaming laptop. The Triton 300 SE might be one of its best gaming laptops, especially for school thanks to the lightweight design for ease of portability. This model comes with an 11th Gen Intel CPU as well as an NVIDIA RTX 3060 GPU. In addition, you get 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD inside. So there’s plenty of memory for running programs and plenty of storage for all of your games, thesis papers, and any other schoolwork you might need to save. It also comes with a 144Hz refresh rate display so you get those fast frames. It may not be the lightest or thinnest laptop on here, but it is still both light and thin so it’s a great option for anyone who needs to bring their PC with them wherever they go.
