Magazine

8 Best Laptops For Game Development Of 2021

Posted on the 13 May 2021 by Ricky Smith @TheTechLunch

There are multiple aspects connected to being a game developer. You need one of the finest machines that are capable of running some of the high-end software such as Unity, Game Maker, Develop, and others you might be aware of. No matter if you are a professional developer or simply a newbie looking to learn more about it, you can pick your choice from the list of best laptops for game development.

Some of the basic specifications you need for your system to run the best software to design not just 2D but also 3D games. Well, you can look for either an i7 or i9 processor that might give the machine the power it needs. Moving on, the system requires a high-end GPU with at least 4GB RAM or anything that gives the best performance.

Another aspect that you need to look at is a high-resolution display for your game development. Furthermore, having at least 16GB of RAM might be enough to get started with, you can perform multiple tasks at once. These are some of the minimum requirements you can vouch for. Let us now skip to the list of the best laptops for game development.

Quick Overview Of Best Laptops For Game Development

Best Laptops For Game Development – Top 8 Picks

1. Acer Nitro 5 – Best Budget Laptop For Game Development

Quick Overview Of Hardware Specifications
Acer Nitro 5 - Best Laptops For Game Development
  • Intel Core i5-10300H Processor
  • 8GB RAM
  • 256GB SSD
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650Ti 4GB
  • 15.6 Inch Full HD Widescreen IPS LED-backlit Display
  • Up to 9 Hours Battery Life
View On Amazon

If you are looking for the best laptops for Game Development on a budget, there isn’t anything better than Acer Nitro 5. It is well under budget, in fact among the lowest priced machines here on our list. To get started with, we have the latest and very powerful 10th gen intel core i5-10300H processor with a clock speed up to 4.5GHz.

Along with this, you also have NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti graphics unit with 4GB VRAM. It is capable of handling high-powered software such as Unity as well as its great qualities for rendering games. To further support multiple functionalities from such game development software, 8GB RAM might just be enough for newbies. To add to this, we have a decent 256GB SSD storage that works on the boot time of the system and allows it to start up within seconds.

Speaking of the display, you will come across a brilliant 15.6-inches full HD screen with a 144Hz refresh rate. This is helpful in terms of game development as it allows for a good frame rate as well and gives a dynamic picture performance. Also, with the use of Acer CoolBoost Technology, your system always remains cool and gives the best performance.

Check Latest Price On Amazon

2. MSI GL65 Leopard 10SFK-062 – Best Value For Money

Quick Overview Of Hardware Specifications
MSI GL65 Leopard 10SFK-062 - Best Laptops For Game Development
  • Intel Core i7-10750H Processor
  • 16GB RAM
  • 512GB SSD
  • NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 8GB
  • 15.6 Inch Full HD IPS Display
  • Up to 5 Hours Battery Life
View On Amazon

MSI GL65 Leopard 10SFK-062 is yet another brilliant machine that has all the specifications you are looking forward to developing some of the best games. It features a 15.6 inches full HD screen with a 144Hz refresh rate that brings in the best performance for your GPU. The display has a very thin bezel allowing you to bring in the most of the visual performance.

Speaking of the processing power, it runs on a very powerful Intel Core i7-10750H processor. You can achieve a maximum clock speed of up to 5.0GHz that speaks of multi-tasking and unleashes the true potential of the software you are working on. Adding to this, you can get the greatest graphics performance of all times with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070. It has an 8GB VRAM capacity that enables super-fast ray tracing, AI integration, and much more.

It features 16GB RAM which is enough for both professionals and newbies to begin working on their game development software. Moreover, you can also expand the memory to a max of 64GB. Furthermore, with 512GB SSD storage, you can easily store all the data files and other multiple game files.

Check Latest Price On Amazon

3. Acer Predator Helios 300 – Best 15 Inch Laptop For Game Development

Quick Overview Of Hardware Specifications
Acer Predator Helios 300 - Best Laptops For Game Development
  • Intel Core i7-10750H Processor
  • 16GB RAM
  • 512GB SSD
  • NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 6GB
  • 15.6 Inch Full HD IPS Widescreen LED-backlit Display
  • Up to 6 Hours Battery Life
View On Amazon

Acer Predator Helios 300 is known to be one of the most powerful gaming laptops there is in the market. If you haven’t laid your hands on it, you do not need a second thought on this. It is powered by an Intel Core i7-10750H processor that features six cores in its architecture. All the cores can easily gain a turbo clock speed up to 5.0GHz.

Coupled with this, it features NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 that is one of the best graphics units you may find in any other system. You can also find 6GB dedicated VRAM along with NVIDIA GPU Boost that gives a reliable and superior gaming quality. This laptop comes with a 15.6 inches full HD IPS display with a 144Hz refresh rate and 3ms response time. It can even get 300-nit brightness for a breakthrough performance.

Heading over to the memory and storage, it features 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD storage. It is faster and ensures multi-tasking in multiple forms. You can keep up with your design and even work on other aspects of the projects with ease.

Check Latest Price On Amazon

4. Apple MacBook Pro 16 – Best MacBook For Game Development

Quick Overview Of Hardware Specifications
Apple MacBook Pro 16 - Best Laptops For Game Development
  • Intel Core i7 Processor
  • 16GB RAM
  • 512GB SSD
  • AMD Radeon Pro 5300M 4GB
  • 16 Inch True Tone Retina Display
  • Up to 11 Hours Battery Life
View On Amazon

If you are an Apple fan, you might either be using the brilliant Apple MacBook Pro, or now is the chance to get one for yourself. Apple devices are the finest yet have higher functionalities than other brands. To start with, it runs on the 9th gen i7 processor featuring six cores. You can expect an astonishing performance with AMD Radeon Pro 5300M graphics card.

Above all, this laptop has a massive 16 inches retina display that produces 500-nits of brightness. Also, the P3 Gamut brings in much sharper images and life-live images that are perfect to bring your games to reality. Initially, you get 16GB RAM memory and 512GB SSD storage allows the high-end software to load quickly on your system. You can choose to upgrade the units up to 64GB and storage up to 8TB.

Furthermore, you will love the brilliant build quality and sturdiness of this machine. You can easily get up to 11 hours of massive backup that can keep you through all day. Also, the highlight of this machine is the Touch Bar that has multiple functionalities and brings the best out of it.

Check Latest Price On Amazon

5. MSI GE75 Raider 10SF-286 – Best 17 Inch Laptop For Game Development

Quick Overview Of Hardware Specifications
MSI GE75 Raider 10SF-286 - Best Laptops For Game Development
  • Intel Core i7-10875H Processor
  • 16GB RAM
  • 512GB SSD
  • NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 8GB
  • 17.3 Inch Full HD IPS Display
  • Up to 5 Hours Battery Life
View On Amazon

Here we have another machine by MSI GE75 Raider 10SF-286 that is medium-priced and the functionalities speak for themselves. It features a massive 17.3 inches full-HD display with a 240Hz refresh rate and a 3ms response time. The screen has pretty thin bezels and looks highly vibrant with a great visual performance.

Moving ahead, this laptop runs on an Intel Core i7-10875H processor with a clock speed up to 5.1Ghz. Assisting this, we have NVIDIA GeForce RTX2070 with 8GB VRAM capable of running high-end software to develop 3D games with utmost ease. With the 16GB and 512GB storage capacity, your system might perform in the best manner. It is much faster and easy to upgrade up to 64GB depending on your requirements.

It has amazing build quality and is highly durable. Since this is a gaming laptop, all the features do match as might be looking for. The most interesting aspect of this machine is the RGB keys that look brilliant especially in the dark. Also, the laptop weighs only 5.7 pounds which might not be the lightest but highly sturdy and easy to manage in the long run.

Check Latest Price On Amazon

6. Razer Blade 15 – Powerful Workstation For Game Development

Quick Overview Of Hardware Specifications
Razer Blade 15 - Best Laptops For Game Development
  • Intel Core i7-10875H Processor
  • 32GB RAM
  • 1TB SSD
  • NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 16GB
  • 15.6 Inch 4K OLED Touch Display
  • Up to 3.5 Hours Battery Life
View On Amazon

Razer Blade 15 is a limited edition machine with tons of features that is beyond anyone’s reach. This laptop runs on the powerful 10th gen Intel Core i7-10875H processor and features eight cores in its units. You can give it a turbo boost up to 5.1GHz known to the highest one can get to for enhanced performance.

It is clubbed with powerful NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 and has whopping 16GB of VRAM perfect to manage all the high-end software. Speaking of the memory, it is equipped with 32GB RAM which is more than enough to handle all these software and their game development functionalities. For faster response time and boot-up speed, you can use 1TB SSD storage that can also save all your files with no upgrades required.

This laptop features 15.6 inches 4K display with a 1ms response time. You can even ensure deep blacks and vibrant colors on the screen. The entire design of this laptop matches somewhat of the Apple laptops that are made of Aluminium. It remains cool at all times with the help of innovative cooling technology by the system.

Check Latest Price On Amazon

7. ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo UX581 – Best 4K UHD Laptop For Game Development

Quick Overview Of Hardware Specifications
ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo UX581 - Best Laptops For Game Development
  • Intel Core i9-10980HK Processor
  • 32GB RAM
  • 1TB SSD
  • NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB
  • 15.6 Inch 4K UHD Touch Display
  • Up to 3.5 Hours Battery Life
View On Amazon

This is one of our personal favorites not only because it can help highly professional and skilled developers for game development. But also brilliant design. To start with, ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo UX581 brings to you an Intel Core i9-10980HK processor with Octa-Core architecture. You can give it a turbo boost and grow the power to an impossible clock speed up to 5.3GHz.

It is simply coupled with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 for a much wider performance. You might love the amazing design that features a 15.6 inches 4K nanoedge touchscreen display that helps to expand your horizon. With this, you will find an additional 14 inches touchscreen display just above the keyboard helping to expand your horizon.

You can either use it for multiple tasking or simply combine both of the screens and use it as one. For faster storage and memory, you can grab 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD storage. They give much faster performance and also give this massive space for your saved data and other gaming files. Other than this, they have a built-in IR camera for face recognition or sign-in with Windows Hello.

Check Latest Price On Amazon

8. MSI GS66 Stealth 10SFS-032 – With 32GB RAM

Quick Overview Of Hardware Specifications
MSI GS66 Stealth 10SFS-032 - Best Laptops For Game Development
  • Intel Core i9-10980HK Processor
  • 32GB RAM
  • 1TB SSD
  • NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 8GB
  • 15.6 Inch Full HD Anti-Glare Wide View Display
  • Up to 4 Hours Battery Life
View On Amazon

Lastly, we have another MSI machine that is equally brilliant and probably the highest priced on the list here. This MSI GS66 Stealth 10SFS-032 laptop features the latest Intel Core i9-10980HK processor that can gain a clock speed up to 5.3GHz. It is one of the most powerful CPUs currently and has the capability to run some high-end software with Zero lags.

Also, you get NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 GPU and 8GB VRAM for the best in class performance overall. Moving on, the laptop features 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD storage. These devices are perfect for every professional and highly skilled game developer who can manage all the software and enjoy multitasking. Well MSI GS66 Stealth features a 15.6 inches display with a 300Hz refresh rate and 3ms response time for good rendering capabilities.

Game developers might love this machine that has a decent battery performance. Furthermore, the laptops look a bit heavy so not suitable for traveling purposes, rather you can set up your own at home and enjoy every aspect of it. It also has RGB keys that have great aesthetic value too.

Check Latest Price On Amazon

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What is a good laptop for game development?

Well, after going through all the options here, you can choose based on what you need. If budget is your criteria to filter out other options, you can choose to go with Acer Nitro 5 as a beginner.

Moving ahead, we have multiple mid-range options and can be highly suitable in terms of all those where budget is not an issue. The same goes for higher-priced machines such as ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo and MSI GS66 Stealth that show massive potential.

2. Are gaming laptops good for development?

We have no doubt in accepting the fact that Gaming Laptops are perfect for game development. All these laptops are made keeping all the gamers in mind and have all the best specs to meet the needs. They have the perfect combination of CPU and GPU coupled together. And the same goes for RAM and storage bringing in the best of both worlds.

3. How much RAM do I need for game development?

As we have earlier mentioned, you need to have at least 16GB of RAM for the smooth development of the best games you can think of. However, if you are a newbie you can go for 8GB and start with it before you can step up your capacity. The best ones are those with 32GB and for the best performance.


Final Verdict

Here is everything you need to know about the list of the best laptops for game development. We have been searching the entire market with over 20 products we have tried personally and reviewed. It took us weeks to finally pick out these specific laptops that are the best among all. If you have a low budget, there are multiple options with which you can go with.

The same goes for a person that might not be concerned about the budget, make sure to read through and understand every aspect of it before taking any step. Also for smooth functioning, there are tons of aspects that need to be checked off your list. Such as powerful CPU, GPU RAM, Storage, and everything else.

If at all you are still stuck, let us know in the comment section below.


Back to Featured Articles on Logo Paperblog