Best RTX 3070 laptop buyer’s guide

The XMG Neo 15 / Eluktronics MECH-15 G3 is proof of how important TGP is when determining which gaming laptop you should by, as the 125-140W RTX 3070 laptop monster in either of these mostly identical machines actually beats many a low TGP RTX 3080, and often for slightly less money. These are true enthusiast gaming laptops, with great upgrade options in both RAM and SSD size and type (up to a max of 64GB and 2x 2TB respectively of different brands and speeds). You can also choose whether to go Intel or AMD, with the former giving slightly better gaming performance and a Thunderbolt port, the latter giving a better battery life and superior multi-core rendering performance. Whichever option you pick you’ll have unbeatable performance in games.

Other features include an SD card reader, a great quality trackpad, and a responsive optomechanical keyboard with nice sizable keys and a numpad included that is a pleasure to use either in-game or for general typing. The onboard software is some of the best we’ve ever seen, giving easy access to the MUX Switch to get a massive additional performance boost, as well as superb granular control of the fan speeds and battery usage.

In terms of the display, the 165Hz 1440p version is the one that will probably be of interest to general gamers who enjoy a mix of single-player titles, and who desire a higher-res screen for watching films on and maybe doing some multimedia productivity workflows. At a 98% sRGB color gamut you can do reasonably accurate work in this color space. It also has a great contrast ratio and superb color accuracy. The real grey-to-grey response time comes in at about 7ms grey to grey, which is almost fast enough for no ghosting to occur at this refresh rate, though not quite. The 240Hz 1080p version likely has a slightly improved response time (though we haven’t tested this one), and is the option most suitable for those who prioritize squeezing maximum performance out of fast-paced online shooters.

Build quality of the metal chassis laptop is generally good, though not quite up there with the most premium options from better-known brands. The lid of the laptop has slightly more flex than we would like for instance, but besides that there are no complaints. In terms of aesthetic appeal, the machine won’t be winning any prizes, though it’s a fairly inoffensive black that would be good for an office machine.

Battery life is middling for the AMD specced version (about 5 hours) and slightly below for the Intel option. Besides this though, there isn’t much to complain about with this high-powered RTX 3070 laptop, and we heartily recommend picking one up.

The MSI GP66 is another great choice for an RTX 3070 laptop that will tear through the latest games whilst being (relatively speaking) affordable compared to some of the competition. The 125-140W TGP of the RTX 3070 version is up there with the best, and the Intel Core i7-11800H CPU certainly does the job (though more powerful options are also available).

The display has a 240Hz refresh rate and a fast 3.5ms grey-to-grey response time, which is among the very best that money can buy, making it ideal for fast-paced competitive gaming. It comes with solid peak brightness and contrast, and 99.5% sRGB gamut coverage (effectively 100%), meaning you could easily use this laptop for color work in this space.

Besides the screen and the actual ability to generate high FPS in-game, most of the rest of the Leopard’s features are middling. The membrane keyboard and trackpad are in no way bad, but don’t match up to the more responsive examples that come with the MSI Raider or the mechanical keyboard of the XMG Neo 15 as listed above. The 720p webcam and internal mic are both serviceable, but nothing to get excited about, and the array of ports could be better.

Battery life is pretty poor, certainly below average, coming in at between 3 and 4 hours during general usage and web browsing with brightness set to half. Much of this can be attributed to the smaller battery size when compared to the MSI Raider series, which is again done to save money.

Nevertheless, we think this stripped-back 15-inch RTX 3070 laptop offers great value if you’re primarily interested in the most FPS performance for your money. You can pick up the 17.3” version of this machine, called the MSI GP76 as well if you’re looking for a bit more screen real estate, though obviously this will cost you a bit more.

The MSI GE76 Raider has the same high TGP RTX 3070 option as its more affordable brother, the MSI GP76 Leopard, or the 15-inch MSI GP66 listed above. You also get the option for the more high-end Intel Core i9-11900H CPU if you want it, though if you opt for the same core specs the in-game FPS performance is very similar between both models.

The 15-inch variant of the Raider is known as the GE66, but in our opinion the 17.3” is the more premium offering, helping to maximize your in-game immersion and enjoy the lush display the most, particularly at those higher resolutions. 1080p, 1440p, and 4K panel options are all available at different refresh rates. We’d definitely avoid the 60Hz 4K option, but if you’re lucky enough to find the 120Hz 4K version on sale anywhere then this could be an excellent choice for someone looking for a machine that can do both creative workstation tasks and is quick enough to game on. For the average gamer, we’d suggest the 1440p/QHD 240Hz option which is plenty quick enough whilst having the advantages of higher resolutions, or the 360Hz 1080p/FHD option for hardcore competitive gamers. Response times differ depending on which display you choose, though the 240Hz 1080p option will perform at around 3.5-4ms grey-to-grey, which is up there with the best.

The MSI Raider, particularly the 17-inch variant, carries a steep price tag, but for that money you get all the trimmings. The 1080p webcam is of a superior quality, and the microphone is better than average, you also get a full-sized SD card reader and great port coverage, as well as a Wi-Fi 6e card. Even the speakers are half decent – certainly better than you’d usually expect in a gaming laptop, actually having some bass to them, though not up there at MacBook level. Battery life is not amazing but you get an additional hour compared to the cheaper MSI Leopard, totalling at around 4 – 5 hours of general usage at half brightness, which is just about average for a gaming laptop with these specs.

As you’d expect, the build quality and aesthetics of the machine are both superior compared to cheaper models, with more of the chassis being made of metal and the fetching RGB light strip along the lower front of the laptop being a nice touch.

Everything considered, this is a superb high-end RTX 3070 gaming laptop from MSI if you’re looking for a product of the highest quality.

Lenovo Legion gaming laptops have been some of the consistently best rated gaming laptops of 2022. The Legion Pro series are the premium-build range of gaming laptops, with the Legion 5 series being equipped with the latest AMD Ryzen 6000 series CPUs, and the 5i Pros coming with Intel 12th gen series processors. If you’re after pure gaming/workstation performance at the expense of everything else, we’d go for the Intel Core i7-12700H version. If you don’t mind trading some power for a couple of hours extra battery life, then opt for the Ryzen 7 6800H model.

The Legion Pro differs from the regular Legion in that it has a higher proportion of its build made up of metal, which gives it a more durable feel, whilst only adding to the weight slightly. They also come with a higher resolution 16:10 2560 x 1600 display which is similar to a 16:9 1440p panel except with extra vertical size, which gives you additional headroom for viewing media/reading web pages or documents, as well as gaming, and it’s a laptop panel size we’re quite big fans of here at WePC. The TGP on the Pro variants is also higher than the standard Legion, and although the TGP of the RTX 3070 in this laptop isn’t quite as high as in our other top 2 selections, it’s still a powerful graphics card, and the overall performance of the machine is comparable, thanks to its later gen CPU options.

The screen has good colors, contrast, and caps out at 165Hz maximum refresh rate. All variants come with a MUX Switch for that all important boost to gaming performance, and G-Sync is enable once you use the MUX Switch to turn Optimus off.

Overall this is a superb all-round laptop with little to criticise. At full price it may go for slightly more than machines of equal FPS-generating power, but the larger high-res display makes this worth it, plus there are often good deals on at the Lenovo Store.

The Alienware m15 R4 is still the most powerful option in the m15 series, and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 version of this laptop is a great model for gamers. The graphics card it packs isn’t the most powerful on this list in terms of TGP, but it’s still pretty good, and though the 10th gen Intel Core i7-10870H CPU is a bit older now, it’s still capable of pumping out a solid FPS in-game.

In any laptop here you’ll struggle to reach anywhere near 300FPS on a newer game, however if you’re a competitive online shooter who likes to turn down their settings on games like CS:GO and Call Of Duty to get the maximum edge over your opponents, then 300Hz is a very attractive refresh rate, certainly high enough for any needs you may have. The response time of 7ms is pretty good for a laptop, but some ghosting will be visible at a refresh rate this high. Looking past the refresh rate, you get a color gamut of around 95% sRGB and 71% Adobe RGB: not quite good enough for sRGB color-work, but more than enough for gaming. The contrast ratio is also good, though we would have liked to have seen the peak brightness a little higher than the 300 nits it manages.

As with most Alienware laptops you get good upgrade options: 16GB RAM is adequate for now though you may want to upgrade it to 32GB to future proof the machine a bit. The respectable 1TB SSD should be quite sufficient, though again you can add in an additional SSD should you wish. As is often the case with Alienware laptops (though less so with the newest releases), the battery life of the m15 R4 is not good – around 2.5 hours is the best you can expect in battery saver mode in non-strenuous general use. Fan noise is louder than average, yet despite this, the body of the laptop does have a tendency to get warm under stress.

The build quality and aesthetics of the m15 R4 are what you’d expect from an Alienware laptop i.e. some of the best around. The membrane keyboard and touchpad are both of a good quality and a pleasure to use. Though not the lightest, the machine is fairly slimline and portable.