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Good picks for Windows laptops in the gaming 'n' creating sweet spot [1]

['Rob Beschizza']

Date: 2025-06-28

Looking to consolidate multiple computers into a single device that's portable but does it all? This inevitably suggests a Windows laptop: I don't have time to play recent video games, but I might! The problem, of course, is that Windows is such a mess for anything other than games. So it's inconceivable that I would purchase anything other than a MacBook! At The Verge, Antonio G. Di Benedetto reviews the latest high-end "gaming" laptops and persuades me that it wouldn't be horrible to do some real work on one of them.

The most important part of any gaming laptop, just like desktop PCs, is the graphics card. Laptop GPUs can't stack up to full-size cards that reach much higher wattage in desktops, but that doesn't stop the likes of Nvidia from making things a little confusing with the naming scheme on its RTX brand of GeForce cards. So keep in mind that, for example, an RTX 5090 laptop card doesn't come anywhere near the performance of a desktop 5090. Desktops may always win out in raw performance, but gaming laptops are a simpler turnkey solution that can easily go places (yes, even the ones that feel like you're toting around a cinderblock).

NVidia's GPU branding system is inconsistent and AMD's is incomprehensible. Looking up how much energy the chips dissipiate is a clue, but you really have to get into the benchmarks to know what's what. Di Benedetto recommends the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14, which comes at various levels of grunt and is well-reviewed by other sources. Despite the teen gamer branding, the newer models look sleek and professional. Moreover, it's very popular, so there's likely an open-box return knocking around at your local Best Buy and plenty of discussion online.

I think, though, that I like The New York Times' pick better: the Asus ProArt 16, which also comes in a more-my-size 13-inch form. It has the nice GPU options, but is otherwise designed squarely for doing the creative tasks I tackle. It stands out as a MacBook Pro alternative rather than "gaming laptop that isn't too embarassing." I also like that you can irritate people by pronouncing "Proart" as it were an Irish surname, rhyming with "sort." "Hey, you brought a Proart!"

The Asus ProArt P16 is the first Windows laptop to beat Apple machines' performance when exporting large 4K videos, and it's an all-around great laptop for media editing. It has an accurate 4K OLED display, a nice keyboard and speakers, and a control wheel on the trackpad that you can assign to scrub through your Premiere timeline or control specific sliders in other editing software. Its display also has a 120 Hz refresh rate, so motion will seem smoother, and it's better for some gaming on the side, if that's your bag. The P16 has more ports than the MacBook Pro as well, adding two extra USB-A ports.

Two big drawbacks hold me back: the battery life is nowhere near Apple Silicon tier, and the 13-inch model has only a 60hz display. I'm fine with that on games (if its 4060 gets 60fps on Ultra at 3200×1800 I'll be happy) but once you've got used to 144hz on the desktop it's hard to go back. Inmates not gaming or boiling lakes might be interested in the 13-inch ARM model, whose battery life is much better. But I'm not sure I'd take it over a similarly-priced MacBook Air.

Previously:

• Nvidia hopes 5050 GPUs are an affordable hit

• Nvidia's RTX 5070 continues to disappoint

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[1] Url: https://boingboing.net/2025/06/28/good-picks-for-high-end-windows-laptops.html

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