Gaming desktops allow you to improve your graphics quality beyond what gaming consoles offer. With advanced capabilities, superior components, and unmatched horsepower, you can play 4K games and experience virtual reality from your gaming desktop.
Gaming laptops offer similar capabilities but can move around the house with your PC or even take it with you on your travels. RTX 30 Series laptops are increasingly available and more pocket-friendly. And, with lots of games to play, ranging from Monster Hunter Rise to Final Fantasy XIV, it’s time to upgrade your gaming PC.
The best 3000 Series laptops come packed with slick graphical capability – with Ultra and ray tracing features enabled. You can play the most graphic-intensive games on your gaming laptop. This explains why the laptops in this series are in high demand.
Built on NVIDIA’s powerful Ampere graphics architecture, 3000 series laptops pair the most recent AMD’s Ryzen 5000 series mobile processors or 11th Gen Intel chipset with NVIDIA’s mobile GPU to deliver exceptional gaming experience.
In this article, we review some of the best 3000 series laptops for creative projects, serious gaming, and any other need for great computational power.
Short on time? Check out the editor’s choice:
- Asus TUF Dash F15 – (Editor’s Recommendation) Fast performance, futuristic design, and quiet.
1) MSI GS66 Stealth Gaming Laptop – RTX 3080 – Supports 2K Games
The GS66 Stealth laptop features NVIDIA’s RTX 3080 mobile GPU to support 2K gaming. You can upgrade this system with a 240Hz fast refresh rate, Intel Core i7-10870H processor, 1440p QHD G-Sync screen resolution, and 16GB RAM for enhanced computing power. With Ultra 1440p settings, the laptops can perform to 100 fps.
The 3080 mobile GPU is an upgrade of the RTX 2080 mobile processor and enables the GS66 to play games at 60 frames per second (fps) at a 2K display resolution. Some games you can play smoothly on this gaming PC include Death Standing, Zero Dawn, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
However, Cyberpunk 2077 plays 56 fps at 1080 p or 40 fps at 1440p. You need gaming headphones to mask the problematic fan noise and ensure you can hear all the gaming details.
Pros
- Fast performance
- 2K gaming
- Fast refresh rate
Cons
- Problematic fan noise
2) Alienware m15 R4 – RTX 3070 – a Super Upgrade of RTX 2080
NVIDIA’s RTX 3070 is handy if you don’t need the computing power of RTX 3080 mobile GPUs and you’re working on a budget. Built with competitive 1080p and solid ray tracing performance, Alienware m15 R4 is handy if you don’t want to spend more on an RTX 3080 machine.
The RTX 3070 mobile chipset laptop runs games at 90 fps 1440p to deliver 50% faster performance than RTX 2070. You can upgrade your PC with an Intel Core i7-10870H processor, a GeForce RTX 3070 GPU, and a 60Hz 4K OLED display for enhanced gaming performance.
With regular and medium settings at 1080p, the Alienware m15 R4 can play Rise of the Tomb Raider and Far Cry 5 at 120 fps. It can also play the same games at 123 fps and 1080p on Ultra and high settings.
However, the laptop struggles to play Metro Exodus – a demanding game – at 60 fps 1440p with a 4K display. Gamers should choose either a 4K display or ray tracing to experience the laptop’s maximum capability.
Pros
- High gaming performance
- More cost-effective
- Fast refresh rate
Cons
- Struggles to play demanding games
3) Asus TUF Dash F15 – RTX 3070 – FHD Display Resolution
The TUF F15 laptop runs on RTX 3070, and unlike Alienware m15 R4, it comes with a balanced combination of hardware compatible with its graphics card. The laptop’s 15.6-inch screen with FHD resolution performs at a 240Hz refresh rate with a 3ms G-Sync response time to deliver fast performance.
The gaming laptop’s futuristic design encompasses a plastic-clad casing and modern, white TUF branding (stylized) on the cover. Despite resembling the Alienware look, TUF features a modern, 10nm architecture quad-core Intel Core i7-11375H processor.
TUF Dash F15 has a similar frame rate to the Super Max-Q NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080. However, its thermal design card power rating makes its gaming performance superior to that of Alienware m15 R4. It runs Far Cry 5 at 85 fps on ultra-setting and 89 fps on regular setup.
Although TUF doesn’t deliver the best mobile gaming performance on its TDP card, it gives a perfect balance of performance, power, and affordability. It also features an amazing keyboard and supports cool, quiet operations.
Pros
- Fast performance
- Futuristic design
- Quiet operation
Cons
- Plastic casing is less durable
4) Gigabyte Aorus 15G – RTX 3070 – 240Hz Refresh Rate
The Aorus 15G laptop comes in a subdued design with a metal lid and a black body. The slim chassis renders the laptop ultraportable. The laptop features NVIDIA’s RTX 3070, a 240Hz refresh rate, Intel Core i7-10870H processor, and a 15.6-inch screen with FHD resolution for e-sport gaming.
The gaming laptop delivers 60 fps at 1080p on maximum settings. It plays games like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey at 62 fps 1080p, a rate higher than most gaming machines. You can also play games, such as Red Dead Redemption 2, Far Cry New Dawn, and Borderlands 3.
However, Aorus 15G tends to peak at 179 nits only, resulting in a dim display. Moreover, the keyboard isn’t as responsive as you’d expect of a solid gaming laptop.
Pros
- Ultraportable
- Powerful performance
- Fast refresh rate
Cons
- Dim display
5) Gigabyte Aero 15 – RTX 3070 – 4K OLED Display
The Aero 15 laptop offers some features similar to the m15 R4 device. However, it offers a more premium strategy with slim bezels, a 4K OLED screen, and a responsive keyboard in an aluminum design.
The laptop combines 32GB RAM, RTX 3070 graphics, and Intel Core i7-10870H processor chip to deliver high performance. The large 15.6-inch OLED 4K screen and 60Hz refresh rate make the laptop ideal for creative designers and gamers.
With a low weight of just 4.4 pounds, the machine is easily portable for gaming on the go. The webcam on the keyboard deck results in weird video angles. Therefore, you need to buy a separate webcam if you intend to stream games on your laptop.
Whereas the laptop delivers similar gaming performance to the Alienware at 65 fps when playing the game Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, it’s more powerful than TUF Dash F15’s 51 fps on the same game. Other games you can play on this machine include Far Cry and Grand Theft Auto V.
Pros
- Responsive keyboard
- Aluminum design
- High performance
Cons
- Expensive
6) RTX 3060 – Entry Level RTX 3000 Series Graphics Silicon
Although NVIDIA released over 70 laptops with its RTX 3000 series GPUs, RTX 3080 and RTX 3070, the entry level GPU, RTX 3060, will be released later at an unknown date. The company stated that RTX 3060 mobile gaming laptops will outperform the RTX 2080, delivering gameplay at 90 fps 1080p.
Conclusion
The NVIDIA RTX 3000 series mobile GPUs promise solid gaming performance. However, laptop manufacturers choose specific specifications, configurations, and features for their laptops.
Other factors, such as temperature, noise, clock speeds, and TDP also affect the performance of gaming laptops. With lots of options for gamers and creative professionals, there’s a gaming laptop for every use, game, and budget out there.
Our editor’s top pick is the ASUS TUF Dash F15 because it offers a perfect balance of performance, power, and affordability. The best 3000 series laptops are designed to enable smooth gaming experience from the comfort of your home or wherever you go.
