Buying a Gaming Laptop Not Using a GPU?

Everything you see on your laptop screen is made possible by the computer’s graphics processing unit. Your laptop can’t work without it, which is why the GPU is an important consideration when buying a gaming laptop.

Most laptops have an integrated GPU, which isn’t a separate chip but a feature of the CPU or main processor. This keeps costs, complexity, and size down while allowing the CPU to handle its graphics duties. This is perfectly fine for laptops used for basic tasks like web browsing, office applications, and video streaming, but it’s less than ideal for most gamers looking to get a good experience on the go.

The more expensive and better-performing laptops use a discrete GPU, which is a dedicated graphics processor that is separate from the CPU. It runs at higher speeds, draws more power, and provides a more robust set of features than an integrated GPU. It’s also capable of handling heavy graphical workloads, such as content creation and gaming, more efficiently than a CPU-only solution. This allows a laptop with a high-end GPU to outperform one with a lower-end GPU, even if both have the same core count and clock speed.

For gaming, the best laptop GPUs are Nvidia Geforce RTX models, although it’s worth noting that Max-Q variants are available to keep heat, noise, and power consumption down while still offering impressive performance. A good example is the RTX 4070, which offers playable framerates in Assassin’s Creed Mirage at native 2560x1600p resolution and offers superior intelligent upscaling (DLSS) to reduce blurring and artifacts.

AMD’s top-of-the-line RX Vega GPUs are also very capable, but rely on a higher level of system integration to achieve their performance goals. They’re often paired with 8GB of VRAM, which gives them enough room to run current games at comfortable settings at 1080p resolution.

The least expensive gaming laptops use a combination of AMD and Nvidia GPUs, which typically have 4GB of VRAM. They can’t handle the demands of modern titles at full HD resolution or above, but they’re capable of delivering playable framerates in most popular games at 1080p resolution.

It’s important to remember that a GPU’s power rating is more important than the number of cores or clock speed it has. This is especially true when comparing two laptops with the same ostensible discrete GPU inside: Different implementations of the same GPU can have very different power levels, which drives performance more than anything else. That’s why it’s important to look at the laptop maker’s power designation, which is based on its design and thermal headroom. You’ll find that the more robust designs with more space for cooling hardware are able to support higher power levels than slimmer, lighter laptops that prioritize portability.