Gaming Notebooks: Buyer’s Guide, Mobile GPUs and Market Overview

The prices for graphics cards have fallen sharply since the beginning of the year – during the high-price phase they were twice, sometimes even almost three times the release price of the respective graphics card series. Therefore, gaming notebooks are a kind of insider tip for gamers – although there were price increases here too, they weren’t quite as drastic. Because of the exorbitantly high graphics card prices, a laptop often offered better value for money. At least that was the case for those who wanted to buy a whole new PC anyway.

However, depending on the user profile, a notebook can also currently be an option that is not pure luxury, but rather acceptable in terms of price-performance ratio. From around 800 euros you can get laptops that offer acceptable performance for gaming from our point of view, namely at a level that roughly corresponds to an AMD Radeon RX 6600 or Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060. Our special is about the advantages and disadvantages of gaming notebooks, the performance of mobile graphics cards and a market overview of notebooks and notebook series with display sizes from 14 to 17.3 inches. We also have some general thoughts and tips ready. We start with the advantages of notebooks.

The pro side of gaming notebooks

When it comes to the advantages of gaming notebooks, it’s almost exclusively about the advantages that notebooks have in general compared to desktop PCs. Of course, the most important thing is mobility: you can use the notebook anywhere, as long as the environmental conditions allow it.

It doesn’t matter whether you use it on a normal desk, at the kitchen table, on your lap in the living room or in the garden: Thanks to the size, the battery and the built-in screen, there are no restrictions. The notebook is also ready when you are on the go, on the bus or train, or when you are not at home but somewhere else or on vacation.

Asus TUF Gaming A15 series

Source: ASUS




A notebook is also ideal for those who only want to use a notebook at home but do not want to use a PC with a monitor for reasons of space or the look:

After use, it folds away into a cupboard or bag that can be placed inconspicuously.

Anyone who likes to work or play on a larger monitor can of course connect the notebook to a corresponding monitor or LCD TV and does not necessarily have to use the notebook display.

You can also use a different keyboard – you can basically wire the notebook up just like a desktop PC and tuck it away out of sight while it’s running.