5 Best Gaming Laptops in 2017

Razer Blade Stealth - $899

The Razer Blade Stealth goes in a very different direction in trying to be a great gaming laptop. Most device makers have aired on the side of stuffing all the internals that gamers need inside the chassis of the notebook. This makes them heavier and thicker. Razer Blade Stealth splits the difference. The notebook itself is a thin, high-end ultrabook. When you’re ready to game, you have to connect the machine to an enclosure that’s sold separately.

Razer Blade Stealth comes in two models, one with a 12.5-inch 2560 x 1440 display and another that has 4K resolution. This 4K model includes touch technology, whereas the less detailed display only offers touch as an add-on. The cheapest models come with 128GB solid state drives and 8GB of RAM. These can be upgraded to Intel Core i7 processors. There’s a Thunderbolt 3 port for fast transfers, 2 USB ports, a webcam and an HDMI jack. Every Razer laptop comes with the company’s Chroma backlit keyboard technology.

Your back will like this machine; it only weighs 2.84 pounds. Unfortunately, you’ll need the Razer Core add-on accessory for $499 before you can game on this notebook. Note that this price doesn’t include a graphics card to go inside the Razer Core, which you’ll need to add.

The positioning makes sense. Most of the time you don’t need a powerful gaming PC with you. Instead, you can leave all that extra heft and battery drain at home.

[ Buy the Razer Blade Stealth for as Little as $899.99 ]