Key Points
- Our choice for the #1 Best Overall Gaming Laptop is the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro Gen 6.
- Gaming laptops can be an easier and more cost-effective way to get some of the best PC hardware on the market, especially when it comes to newer graphics cards.
- When you’re shopping for gaming laptops with the best battery life, you should keep in mind factors like battery capacity, charging time, screen size, and the power consumption of critical components such as the CPU and GPU.
Gaming laptops are a popular choice for many gamers who want to enjoy their favorite titles on the go. But compared to gaming desktops, mobile gamers have an added foe to contend with — short battery life. Many gaming laptops often have a trade-off between performance and battery life.
A gaming laptop with a powerful CPU, graphics card, and display can quickly drain the battery, limiting your portability and overall gaming time.
Therefore, when looking for a gaming laptop with a good battery life, you should consider several factors, such as the laptop’s battery capacity, the power consumption of the hardware (especially the GPU), display type and resolution, and in-game settings.
We’ve gone ahead and done the appropriate research to find the gaming laptops with the best battery life on the market in 2023. This article will take you through our favorite picks, as well as offer some tips on how to optimize the battery life of your gaming laptop.
Gaming laptops are not usually known for their superb battery life. In fact, quite the opposite. Gaming laptops often have atrocious battery life, especially compared to some of the most portable laptops on the market, like the Microsoft Surface or the MacBook Air.
But the laptops you’re about to see break the trend and show us that decent battery life on a gaming laptop is actually possible. So, let’s see what we’re working with. Take a look at our roundup of the top gaming laptops with the best battery life.
- Best Overall: Lenovo Legion 5 Pro Gen 6
- Best for Gaming and Productivity: ASUS TUF A15
- Best for Esports: Razer Blade 15
- Best 17-Inch Gaming Laptop: GIGABYTE G5 KF
- Best Budget Option: Acer Predator Helios 16
#1 Best Overall: Lenovo Legion 5 Pro Gen 6
- AMD Ryzen 7 5800H CPU
- 16" screen (2560x1600)
- 3200 MHz DDR4 32 GB high-bandwidth RAM
- Windows 10 Home
- Q Control 4.0 for full-throttle control and extended battery life
If you’re looking for a gaming laptop that can handle demanding games without compromising on battery life, you should consider the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro Gen 6. This laptop has a lot of features that make it stand out from the crowd, and one of them is its impressive battery performance.
The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro Gen 6 Gaming Laptop is powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 graphics card. There’s also 16GB of DDR4 RAM and a 1TB SSD for fast loading times.
Display-wise, you get a beautiful 16-inch, 2560 x 1600 IPS panel with a 165 Hz refresh rate and a 3 ms responsive time for liquid-smooth graphics in fast-motion sequences. Underneath the display is a backlit keyboard with a full-size numeric keyboard.
There’s also the standard 1080p webcam in the top bezel of the display, a fingerprint reader down by the keyboard, and a dual-array microphone. What makes this laptop so good for battery life, though?
Well, there are several factors that contribute to its efficiency in battery life. One of them is Lenovo’s smart power management system that optimizes the performance and power consumption of the CPU and GPU.
The laptop also comes with a rapid charge feature that can boost the battery life from 0 to 50% in around 30 minutes. The battery itself lasts up to 8 hours on a single charge, depending on usage. Check out the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro Gen 6 on Amazon.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The 16-inch QHD display is one of the highlights of the Legion 5 Pro, with a 16:10 aspect ratio. | Lenovo’s design choices aren’t always the best, and the Legion 5 Pro comes with a gray color scheme with a thick bezel around the display. |
| The Legion 5 Pro may not be the most stylish gaming laptop, but it has a sturdy and durable chassis that can withstand daily use. | The trackpad on the Legion 5 Pro is located slightly to the left of the center of where your palms rest, which can be difficult for some users. |
| The Legion 5 Pro delivers excellent performance in both gaming and productivity tasks thanks to the combination between the AMD Ryzen 7 and RTX 3070. |
Best Laptop for Gaming and Productivity: ASUS TUF A15
- 15.6-inch FHD 144Hz display
- MUX Switch with Advanced Optimus optimizes the battery life
- AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS CPU
- Windows 11 Home
If you’re looking for a gaming laptop that can also handle productivity tasks with ease and has a good battery life, you might want to consider the ASUS TUF A15. This laptop is powered by the AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS processor, which is based on the new 6nm Zen 3+ architecture, offering high-end performance and efficiency.
This laptop also features Nvidia’s RTX 4050 graphics card for crisp 1080p graphics with entry-level ray tracing. The ASUS TUF A15 features a 15.6-inch IPS display and is available in both 1080p (1920 x 1080) and 1440p (2560 x 1440) resolution.
Both resolutions have a high refresh rate, making this a decent laptop for competitive gaming. The display features a matte coating which helps to reduce glare while offering true-to-life color accuracy and contrast.
Upgradability is an ease with the ASUS TUF A15. ASUS has made sure everything is easy to reach, and the DDR5 RAM and Gen 4 PCIe SSD are both user replaceable but come with 16GB of DDR5 RAM and a 1TB SSD out of the box.
While upgradability is a great feature to have in a gaming laptop in 2023, let’s jump into this laptop’s main selling point, the battery life. The TUF A15 comes with a 90Wh battery that lasts on average about 5 hours when using productivity applications, web streaming, and even with video playback.
This is impressive for any gaming laptop, but especially for a laptop with such powerful hardware. There’s also fast charging with this laptop via USB Power Delivery, meaning you can use any compatible USB-C charger to charge the TUF A15.
The laptop comes with a 200W AC adapter out of the box, but higher-end configurations will include a 240W AC adapter. Check out the ASUS TUF A15 on Amazon.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Great gaming performance with the Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU and a 165 Hz refresh rate. | AMD Ryzen 7’s processing power is slightly lacking compared to Intel 13th Gen CPUs. |
| Surprisingly strong battery life thanks to the AMD Ryzen 7 CPU. | The design and screen feel awkward, with a mix-match of sturdy qualities and cheap feeling quality. |
| Great value pricing for an RTX 4000-series laptop. | There’s no Windows IR facial recognition. |
Best for Esports: Razer Blade 15
- 12th Gen Intel Core i7 14-Core CPU
- 15.6-inch QHD 240Hz display
- 16 GB RAM
- Vapor Chamber Cooling
If you need a laptop with a high refresh rate for seamless esports play, check out the Razer Blade 15. This laptop is designed to deliver high performance and smooth graphics while also offering a long-lasting battery that can keep up with your competitive gaming sessions.
The Razer Blade 15 features an 11th Gen Intel Core i7 processor alongside an NVIDIA RTX 3060, 3070 Ti, or 3080 Ti. There’s 16GB of speedy DDR5 RAM, which, paired with the i7 processor, will allow you to multitask and game seamlessly.
Esports titles such as Valorant, League of Legends, and Overwatch perform at high settings and frame rates. The Blade 15 comes with a 15.6-inch display with a resolution of 1440p (2560 x 1440), and the display features a 240 Hz refresh rate, allowing for liquid-smooth graphics on the screen.
Where the Razer Blade 15 really shines when compared to other gaming laptops is both the battery life and the fast refresh rate on display. The Blade 15 has an 80Wh battery that can last, according to Razer, for up to 10 hours.
However, your performance will vary greatly depending on how often you are gaming, what games you are playing, and what settings you are playing those games at.
This allows you to game for longer without having to plug in a charger, but when you do need to plug in the charger, Razer has included fast charging as a feature of the Blade 15 which allows for the battery to be replenished in just under 1-hour of charging time. Check out the Razer Blade 15 on Amazon.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Sleek and sturdy design with an all-black chassis made of CNC aluminum. | It’s an expensive laptop. |
| It offers high performance and fast graphics with a 240 Hz refresh rate. | The fans can be quite loud. |
| A good cooling system complements the battery life. | The port selection is limited. |
Best 17-Inch Gaming Laptop: GIGABYTE G5 KF
- 12th Gen Intel Core i5-12500H
- 15.6" FHD 144Hz display (1920x1080)
- Windows 11 Home
- DTS:X Ultra Audio Technology
Our favorite 17-inch gaming laptop with the best battery life was the G5 KF laptop from GIGABYTE. It can handle most games without breaking the bank and comes with a suite of features catered to gamers who care about battery life and performance.
Plus, it is one of the largest gaming laptops you can get. So, if you want tons of screen real estate, this is the one for you. Powered by an Intel Core i5-12500H processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card, the GIGABYTE G5 KF delivers smooth and fast gameplay on a 17-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS display with a refresh rate of 360 Hz.
There’s adaptive sync technology with NVIDIA’s G-Sync, which helps give you an even smoother gaming experience. The GIGABYTE G5 KF comes with a 73Wh battery that, according to GIGABYTE, should last the average user around 8 hours on a single charge with everyday tasks.
For gaming, you’re more likely to get around 3 hours of battery life for a single charge, which for all things considered, for a gaming laptop with next-gen hardware, is on the higher end of battery life timings.
There’s also a GIGABYTE Control Center software package which is helpful in optimizing and adjusting the power settings so you can get the best possible battery life out of the laptop.
Everything comes together in a sleek and sturdy design with a black aluminum chassis and a blue backlit RGB keyboard. It’s a relatively portable machine, weighing a little over 5.0 lbs. The GIGABYTE G5 KF is an excellent value gaming laptop that offers stellar performance and battery life for its price point. Check out the GIGABYTE G5 KF on Amazon.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| It features a powerful processor and graphics card that can handle demanding games. | The power adapter for the battery is very bulky. |
| The 15.6-inch IPS display features color-accurate graphics. | The dual-fan cooling system can be loud. |
| The dual-fan cooling system helps keep the battery cool under heavy loads. | The keyboard is of mediocre quality. |
Best Budget Gaming Laptop: Acer Predator Helios 16
- 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700HX
- Optimized for maximum 140W MGP usage
- Windows 11 Home
- 16 GB RAM
- 165Hz refresh and 3ms overdrive response time
If you’re looking for a reasonably priced gaming laptop that offers both good battery life and solid performance, it might be worth considering the Predator Helios 16 from Acer. This laptop offers powerful performance in a sleek package with a battery that can rival some of the most expensive gaming laptops on the market.
Coming up first, the Predator Helios 16 has a 16-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) display utilizing Mini-LED technology to deliver top-of-the-market color quality and contrast. The display also has a 165 Hz refresh rate and a 3ms response, which allows you to enjoy fast-paced content smoothly with responsive gameplay.
The Mini-LED display also helps battery life, as the LED backlighting consumes less power from the battery when compared to more traditional LCD displays.
The Predator Helios 16 has a powerful processor in the Intel Core i7-13700HX paired with the RTX 4060 graphics card, both being ideal for 1080p and 1440p gaming.
All of these components, when working together, are optimized for battery life, as they use the Intel Evo platform and the NVIDIA Optimus technology drivers that automatically switch between performance and power-saving, depending on the task.
The 90Wh battery can last up to 10 hours in everyday tasks, while gaming sessions can range from 2-5 hours. Acer has included fast charging capability with this laptop, so you can charge up to 50% in a half hour with a USB-C cable.
Cooling is great on the Predator Helios 16, which helps the battery life survive longer, but it can also get pretty loud; this is especially noticeable in turbo mode. Check out the Acer Predator Helios 16 on Amazon.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Beautiful Mini-LED display with a high refresh rate. | Turbo mode is very loud. |
| Excellent port selection and connectivity options. | Bulky with a heavy design. |
| Multiple configurations at multiple price points. | Awkward keyboard shape. |
How to Pick a Gaming Laptop with the Best Battery Life: Step by Step
When choosing a gaming laptop, there are four main aspects you should take into account first:
- Processor
- Graphics Card
- Memory
- Portability
Let’s review each of these criteria in more detail.
Processor
The processor is going to be a central piece of hardware in determining how games run on your laptop, only second to the graphics card. A good processor will ensure smooth gameplay and avoid lag or stuttering in games.
You should look for processors that come with a clock speed of 3.0 GHz or higher, with multiple cores — we recommend a minimum of 6 cores or more.
©Daniel Barbutti/Shutterstock.com
Graphics Card
The second most important consideration is the graphics card. It will affect the quality and realism of your games.
A good graphics card will allow you to play games at higher resolutions and settings while supporting features such as ray tracing and VR. You should look for a graphics card with a high amount of memory or VRAM. We recommend going with nothing lower than 6GB of VRAM.
Memory
The third consideration should be the memory of the laptop or RAM. The RAM is the component in your laptop that stores the data and instructions that are sent to your processor and graphics card.
Good RAM will improve the overall performance and responsiveness of your laptop, helping you to run multiple programs or games at once. You should look for a laptop that has a high capacity of RAM with a high speed and a low latency.
For example, most laptops come with 16 or 32GB of DDR4 RAM with a speed of 3200 MHz or higher, but you will also see newer laptops that come with 16 or 32GB of DDR5 RAM, which is faster than DDR4 with a speed of 4800 MHz.
©Sunshine Seeds/Shutterstock.com
Portability
Battery life is one of the most important factors for portability. Gaming laptops have a tendency to consume a lot of power, especially when running high-end games.
This means that you might need to plug in your laptop frequently, which will limit your mobility and gaming experience. To avoid this, you should look for laptops with solid battery life or at least one that supports fast charging.
You should also optimize your settings to favor battery performance. You can do this by lowering the brightness, closing unnecessary apps, and using power-saving modes.
Ultimately, getting a laptop with decent battery capacity and energy-saving components to begin with will give you the best chance for success. All of the laptops on our list are some of the most portable models on the market thanks to their best-in-class battery life and fast charging capabilities.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©La Famiglia/Shutterstock.com.
