Is a gaming laptop better than a regular laptop?

Gaming laptop vs regular laptop: what's the difference?

Aaron Ritchie

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So, is a gaming laptop better than a regular laptop? Well this may come as quite the shock to you, but a gaming laptop is definitely better for playing games on than a non-gaming laptop.

Besides this though, regular laptops are often better in every other way than gaming laptops are, at least if you’re considering what you get for the money.

Read on for a more detailed comparison of the two device types.

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Gaming laptop vs regular laptop: what’s the difference?

Gaming laptop Pros

• Gaming laptops are more powerful, and not just for gaming: One of the main two characteristics of a gaming laptop is that it has a powerful enough CPU and dedicated graphics card to play games at a high enough FPS to be enjoyable, though how high obviously depends on how much you’re willing to spend.
  If you’re looking for a machine that can make short work of any editing rendering workflow (be it for video, audio, or still graphics) or nail any computation-heavy workstation task, then gaming laptops are a solid bet, and in this context have the advantage of being good dual-use machines for work and play.
• Gaming laptops have higher refresh rate displays: The second major defining characteristic of a gaming laptop is the higher refresh rate displays. If you’re gaming you’ll want at least a 90Hz display in order to appreciate an effective 90FPS, though the vast majority of laptops above 60Hz have a 120Hz or 144Hz maximum refresh rate, which are both ideal for the majority of gamers, though if you’re interested in true competitive fast-paced gaming, then 240Hz, 300Hz or even 360Hz options are available.

Regular laptop Pros

• You can get a non-gaming laptop for less money: This sort of encompasses all the other points below, as all these features are more likely to be present in a normal gaming laptop for the same price as they are a gaming variant. Alternatively, you can get a regular laptop of a similar general quality to a gaming variant (minus the gaming power) for substantially cheaper.
• Regular laptops have better battery life: Less powerful core components (namely the GPU and CPU) mean non-gaming laptops take less power to run and so can have substantially higher battery duration.
• Regular laptops can be much lighter: As they don’t have to come with the same powerful CPUs and GPUs (often they don’t come with dedicated graphics cards at all) then non-gaming laptops are capable of being much lighter, including ultrathin, ultralight devices.
• Regular laptops are more likely to have OLED/AMOLED/mini-LED/matte displays: Higher tech screens like these are better for viewing media on than the IPS displays you’ll typically find in a gaming laptop. The first three are ideal for creatives due to the improved contrast and brightness they bring, whereas matte displays (usually matte IPS) are better for those after an office machine that has less screen glare so is better suited for outside work / viewing near a bright window.
• Regular laptops are more likely to have better color replication: Similar to the above, non-gaming laptops are more likely to have better color gamut and color accuracy in their displays for the same price, and therefore are usually the superior option for those doing color-accurate work.
• Regular laptops are more likely to have better speakers: Gaming laptops are notorious for having poor speakers as manufacturers typically assume gamers will be wearing headsets, so they’re of the lowest priority. ASUS gaming laptops do typically have fairly decent speakers however.

Is a gaming laptop better than a regular laptop? Final Word

We hope this brief guide has helped you answer the question Is a gaming laptop better than a regular laptop? At least as far as your needs are concerned. Do be sure to check out our various best gaming laptop guides (organized by price point in the mega menu), as well as our best OLED laptop, best touch screen laptop, and best 4K laptop pages.