Reddit recommends these gaming laptops — here are my thoughts as a reviewer of 5+ years

Tom's Guide

7 hours ago

Up front, I want to say that I'm not a Reddit user, or Redditor. To be quite frank, I find the site confusing to navigate. But that's a 'me' problem, as Reddit reportedly has more than 1 billion monthly active users.
Given those numbers and the fact that Google loves linking to Reddit posts whenever I search for something, I figured I'd take a look at what the Reddit community thinks about a subject that's near and dear to me: gaming laptops.
It wasn't very complicated. I simply typed 'Reddit best gaming laptop' and clicked on the first few links that Google suggested. The thing I immediately noticed is that Reddit seems to prioritize value above all. That makes sense given how the best gaming laptops are generally expensive. It's a good snapshot of what actual customers think, which is something even I can lose sight of when reviewing expensive machines.
To that end, here are some of the gaming laptops that Reddit recommends at specific price ranges, and what I think of said recommendations as a professional gaming laptop reviewer.
First impressions are everything, and this Reddit post by user afficone instantly won me over when they vehemently advised other users not to buy a gaming laptop for under $500. I always tell folks to avoid sub-$500 gaming laptops, so I endorse this advice.
'There's seriously NOTHING good,' said afficone, 'they're all cheap garbage and finding one with a discrete GPU is like finding a needle in a haystack. If you have a budget of $500, either get a PS5 or a used laptop off Facebook Marketplace or eBay.'
The user recommended the Lenovo Legion LOQ 15 for those who are on a super tight budget, since you can get it for as low as $799. This is a gaming laptop we reviewed, and we said it's a budget-friendly gaming option with an impressive price-to-performance ratio. That said, the creaky plastic construction and heavy weight are hard to ignore.
Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
With the Lenovo LOQ 15, you're getting exactly what you pay for — a budget-friendly gaming laptop with an impressive price-to-performance ratio. There are other surprises too, such as the seriously slick typing experience. But with a creaky plastic construction and a heavyweight feel, some compromises are hard to ignore.
So far so good! Let's see the other recommendations.
Okay, now we're getting to the good stuff! Admittedly, finding a good gaming laptop for under $1,000 isn't easy, but it's at least possible. Here are the gaming laptops Reddit recommends at this price range.
Also, note that some of these selections (and the ones in the rest of this post) might differ from the ones in the Reddit post, though I did my best to get the closest possible configurations.
We haven't reviewed these at Tom's Guide, but given those specs, I say these recommendations are pretty solid. And as the Redditor says, you'll want at least an RTX 4060 for these laptops. Of the ones listed, I'd get the Asus TUF Gaming A16 since it has comparable specs to the others listed, only this machine has a display with a 165Hz refresh rate.
The Asus TUF Gaming A16 packs some respectable specs under the hood. This configuration comes in black and is powered by the formidable GPU/CPU pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS and Radeon RX7700S (respectively). This 16-inch laptop has a sharp IPS screen with a max refresh rate of 165Hz, making it an ideal option for fans of first-person shooters.
Reddit says this is the sweet spot value, and I agree. Sure, more expensive laptops will get you better performance (and we'll cover those soon), but laptops in the $1,500 range can offer great performance without destroying your wallet. Here are the laptops Reddit recommends:
This is yet another set of excellent recommendations. I like that even though the components aren't the latest and greatest, they're not too old.
We've recommended laptops with similar specs in the past, such as the Dell G16 listed above, so this looks good to me. Of these recommendations, I'd get the MSI Katana 15 since it is an overall solid value.
The MSI Katana 15 comes in several configurations, but this is the one to buy. With its NVIDIA RTX 4070, Intel Core i7-13620H, 16GB DDR5-5600 RAM, and a 1TB SSD, it offers incredible value and performance and is the best bang-for-your-buck gaming laptop for under $1,000.
Now we're getting into the price range of the gaming laptops I usually review. Here's what Reddit recommends:
Yet another fantastic set of laptop recommendations. Of these, I like the Omen Max 16, which was the first RTX 50-series gaming laptop I reviewed. The Asus ROG Strix G16 is another great choice. If you haven't already noticed, I really like Asus laptops as much as Reddit does.
The HP Omen Max 16 is an exemplary gaming laptop thanks to its powerful RTX 50-series performance, vibrant 16-inch OLED display, and elegant design. Though it costs a lot and is heavy to carry around, it delivers a fantastic gaming experience.
Lastly, we have the most powerful gaming laptops Reddit recommends. If money is no object, then here are some laptops that are arguably the best of the best in terms of performance, display quality, and overall build.
Here, I'll pick the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, which we also reviewed. If you want to go big, the Alienware M18 R2 from last year is another nice choice, as is the Razer Blade 16.
The 10th Gen Lenovo Legion Pro 7i takes the company's 16-inch gaming laptop line to new heights thanks to the power of Nvidia's RTX 50-series GPUs. The 240Hz OLED display makes everything you do on it look great, and when you factor in the elegant design and plentiful port array, you see why we think this is one of the best gaming laptops of 2025 so far.
Honestly, you won't go wrong with any of these recommendations. These are expensive machines, but well worth their respective prices.
Checking out what Reddit thinks are the best gaming laptops was a fun exercise. I want to commend user afficone for their choices, which generally provide great value for other users. You might do well as a computing writer, as it's clear you know your stuff! Kudos to you!
So, will I now start using Reddit? When it comes to checking the pulse of what folks think of the tech I review, I think I will. Seeing people's thoughts has been enlightening, and it should help me make better recommendations.
Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.