Best Gaming Laptop for Stellaris
Stellaris laptop compatibility: can you play Stellaris on your laptop?
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- 01Best gaming laptop for Stellaris @ 1080p
- 02Best gaming laptop for Stellaris @ 1440p
- 03Best gaming laptop for Stellaris @ 4K
This guide will help you locate the best gaming laptop for Stellaris which fits your requirements and help you to decide whether playing Stellaris on a laptop is worthwhile in the first place.
In the guide, we will discuss the laptop system requirements for playing Stellaris and provide information on multiple laptops capable of running Stellaris at different settings and resolutions.
A game such as Stellaris is not graphically demanding, so you don’t need a top-performing laptop that will break the bank, though if you want to game at 4K it’s never especially cheap.
Can my laptop run Stellaris?
Paradox Development Studio, the developer behind the game, has officially released the recommended system requirements for Stellaris, and we have listed them below. But there’s a catch.
The listed requirements only refer to desktop components. Specific desktop components, such as graphics cards and processors, are far superior compared to what is available in laptops. Even if the CPU and GPUs have the same name, the performance is inferior compared to its desktop counterpart. The laptop components are designed to be underpowered due to the thinner chassis of the laptops and relatively limited cooling solutions. We recommend going one step higher than the recommended requirements to get the desktop equivalent performance from a laptop.
Minimum system requirements will only let the game run at the lowest settings with low FPS, so we’ve dispensed with them alltogether and just gone with the recommended requirements, which give a better idea of what you need to play on medium settings.
Further down this page, we have suggested multiple laptop models of different power levels, resolutions, and prices that will run the game.
Stellaris recommended specifications (desktop)
- OS: Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
- Processor: Intel iCore i5-3570K or AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia® GeForce GTX 560 Ti (1GB VRAM) or AMD Radeon R7 370 (2 GB VRAM)
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 10 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card
- Additional Notes: Controller support: 3-button mouse, keyboard and speakers. Special multiplayer requirements: Internet Connection
Best gaming laptop for Stellaris @ 1080p
MSI GF65 Thin (15.6″, 144Hz)
CPU
Intel i7-9750H / i7-10750H
Graphics Card
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 / RTX 3060
RAM
8GB
Max Refresh Rate
144Hz
Resolution
1920 x 1080
Screen Size
15.6”
The best gaming laptop for running Stellaris at 1080p is the GF65 Thin from MSI. The MSI GP65 Thin is one of the best-performing, affordable laptops with a few good years behind it. Two iterations of the laptop are available in the market–one with the RTX 3060 GPU and another with the older RTX 2060 GPU, both of which have featured in our best gaming laptop under $1,000 guide.
We’d advise purchasing the variant with the Intel Core i7 CPU, however the Core i5 version will still run the game reasonably if you are within a budget. The one issue is the laptop is still limited to 8GB of RAM, which is suitable for strategy games but nothing more. So, consider upgrading it yourself to 16GB. However, if you don’t want all the hassle, get the ASUS TUF DASH.
Best gaming laptop for Stellaris @ 1440p
ASUS ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition (165Hz 1440p)
CPU
AMD Ryzen 9 5980HX
GPU
AMD Radeon RX 6800M
RAM
16GB
Storage
512GB SSD
Screen Size
15.6″
Max Refresh Rate
165Hz
If you are looking forward to enjoying playing Stellaris at 1440p with the highest settings, ASUS ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition should be your pick. Great deals are available on this laptop; the best part is this laptop has an all-AMD configuration. Meaning the gaming laptop comes with an AMD CPU and GPU, solidifying the harmony between the components. This is an excellent gaming laptop with a relatively cheaper price tag and the RTX 3070 equivalent performance. However, the Strix G15 falls short when it comes to Ray-Tracing performance, though this doesn’t matter at all for a game like Stellaris.
Overall, the Strix G15 is an excellent laptop for a game like Stellaris. Some might consider the G15 an overkill for a strategy title, but the fact is, when you are getting a good deal on a great gaming laptop, just snatch one.
The only issue with the Strix G15 is the webcam or the absence of a webcam. If a webcam is necessary, you can get one separately however. Otherwise, you can look at our best gaming laptop under $1,500 guide for an alternative option, but you won’t find a better-performing laptop for the price. Lastly, there’s a 300 Hz refresh rate variant of G15, which you should avoid as it’s only 1080p resolution.
Best gaming laptop for Stellaris @ 4K
MSI Creator 17 (120Hz UHD, i7-11800H, RTX 3060)
CPU
Intel Core i7-11800H
Graphics Card
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
RAM
16GB RAM
Storage
512GB NVME SSD
Max Refresh Rate
120Hz
Resolution
4K (UHD)
If you want to play Stellaris at 4K resolution, MSI Creator 17 is one great option. The Creator 17 is a 4K laptop with an RTX 3060 graphics card and a 120Hz 4K display. Do not fall for the Creator 15 due to its cheaper price tag: a 4K resolution would be a waste on a 15-inch display. While the MSI Creator 17 is great, the laptop will struggle to run demanding tiles at 4K. So, if you also want to play the latest fast-paced shooters on your gaming laptop while playing Stellaris on the side, you need to choose a more powerful gaming laptop. We have a few recommendations, such as the ASUS Zephyrus S17, MSI Raider GE76, or the Razer Blade 17, but they will be considerably more expensive.
Best Gaming Laptop for Stellaris : Final Word
All being well, you should now know the answer to the question can my laptop run Stellaris? and if the answer was no, then you should have seen all the best options for the best gaming laptop for Stellaris. Why not also have a look at our myriad other gaming laptop guides in the mega menu above, organised by price point and brand.
