The year 2017 has many laptops that have been upgraded from their previous versions.
The VR laptops have gone cheap than what we had seen in the previous year and it is all due to the introduction of NVIDIA 10- series graphics card that gives the laptops all the power needed to run our favorite PC VR headsets like the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive.
The gaming laptops in this post are by far the best ones that I have come across and most of them range in the $1000-$1600 range which is pretty great for a gaming laptop that is VR ready.
There are a few laptops that can cost you around $1,100 and contain some powerful graphics card like the NVIDIA GTX 1060 which would be an expensive laptop if we went back to the same date last year.
However, without any further ado, let’s get started-
Table of Contents
1. Acer Predator Helios 300
Specifications
Screen Size: 15.6 inches
Max Screen Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels
Processor: 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7
Graphics Coprocessor: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 with 6 GB of dedicated GDDR5 VRAM
Weight of the laptop: 6 pounds
Average Battery Life: 7 hours
Memory: 16 GB
Storage: 256 GB SSD
View Price: www.amazon.com
The Acer predator Helios is one of the best gaming laptops that you can get around $1000. It is VR ready and has one of the best hardware combination making the laptop powerful enough to run all the graphics demanding games at ease.
The laptop is light in weight as well making it portable and easy to carry around.
Usually, we think that if a laptop is powerful then you need to compromise the weight because the battery that powers it is usually huge making the laptop heavy but that is not the case with the Acer Predator Helios.
The battery lasts for around 6.5 hours when idle and can go up to 4 hours while watching videos and gaming.
The battery life is pretty amazing for a gaming laptop and with the new NVIDIA GTX 1060 graphics card, you can easily run games on ultra settings including the graphics demanding games like The Witcher and Tomb Raider.
The laptop with a 16 GB RAM and NVIDIA GTX 1060 will be able to run all the VR games smoothly without any issues. The gaming laptop is really a beast and it is worth the money for all the features that it offers.
If you want a gaming laptop that can be used to play all the titles on the Rift and the Vive on some average screen resolution settings then this is one of the best laptop investments. Imagine playing almost every game title without having to feel the pain of lag during gameplay. If you are up for a smart investment which you take you a step ahead on gaming then Acer predator is definitely worth the purchase.
2. Acer Aspire V 15 Nitro
Specifications
Screen Size: 15.6 inches
Max Screen Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels
Processor: 7th Generation Intel Core i7-7700HQ
RAM: 16 GB
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 with 6 GB of dedicated GDDR5 VRAM
Storage: 256 GB + 1 TB
Weight: 5.5 pounds
View Price: www.amazon.com
The Acer Aspire V 15 Nitro is a pretty amazing laptop and comes with an ample storage space, although there are a few laptops that come with the SSD, you need more storage to play games but this laptop has it all. You do not need to add or expand the storage since it has got everything with it.
The graphics card is pretty amazing and another thing that I would like to point out is that the NVIDIA GTX 1060 with 6 GB VRAM is a powerful graphics card but that is not the case with the NVIDIA GTX 1060 with 3 GB VRAM.
There have been many complaints that the one with 3 GB VRAM has a lower performance and it is not good to use with VR headsets.
So, be careful and choose the one with the 6 GB VRAM because many places laptops have been tagged as VR ready but you should double check before getting one. Coming back to this laptop, the keyboard and touch are amazing along with the display.
The laptop has the right graphics card needed to play games in VR and the battery life is pretty good as well. The battery life lasts around 5 hours during normal usage. DO check out this amazing VR ready laptop on Amazon!
3.MSI VR Ready GE72VR Apache Pro-024
Specifications
Screen Size: 15 inches
Screen Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels
Processor: 2.6 GHz Intel Core i7
RAM: 16 GB
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 with 6 GB of dedicated GDDR5 VRAM
Storage: 256 GB+ 1 TB
Weight: 5.3 pounds
View Price: www.amazon.com
MSI has a lot of options when it comes to VR ready laptops but one of the interesting ones is the Apache Pro as it is light in weight and even relatively cheaper than most of the VR ready laptops.
The laptop is around 5.5 pounds making it light and has a 1080HD display along with the GPU which is again the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060. This laptop is VR ready and has a pretty average battery life. Unlike the Asus laptop, it has a much better touchpad quality and the former has not that great speakers but this laptop has it all.
This laptop takes relatively longer to heat up and that is because of the attention which was given by the makers at MSI to improve the cooling system of the laptop which makes it remain at an optimum temperature which does not make it uncomfortable while gaming. Most of the setbacks faced by the other laptops are nowhere to be found on this one, although I wish the battery could be great making it a perfect gaming laptop choice in the given price range.
4. Alienware 15 R3
Specifications
Screen Size: 15.6 inches
Max Screen Resolution: 1920X1080 pixels
Processor: Intel Core i7-6700HQ (Quad-Core, 6MB Cache, up to 3.5GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
Operating System: Windows 10 Home (64-bit) English
Memory: 16GB DDR4 at 2400MHz (2x8GB)
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 with 6GB GDDR5
Hard Drive: 128GB M.2 SATA 6Gb/s SSD (Boot) + 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)
View Price: www.amazon.com
Alienware 15 has a revamped version which just got way better than the previous laptop. The new Alienware 15 laptop is pretty impressive with all the new features that make it powerful and lighter(relative to the older Alienware 15 version).
The NVIDIA GTX 1060 can easily run games on ultra setting and maximum display resolution for lighter games.
In the case of lighter games the frame rate is around 100 fps and in the case of the demanding games it is around 60 fps which are pretty good, however, you might want to play on the high settings in the case of the graphics demanding games.
The Alienware laptops have a pretty good battery life and the one on the Alienware 15 can easily last for 7 hours when Idle. While watching movies and videos online, it could last for 5 hours and the battery time would g down while playing games depending on the settings.
The laptop is powerful and compact and has a lower price tag than the previous Alienware laptops.
The Alienware 15 laptop has a much better specs, performance and price /feature balance than the Alienware 13 laptops and that is one of the reasons you should consider buying this laptop.
Alienware couldn’t get a better laptop than the one right here, it is an ace when it comes to gaming and would play all the Rift and Vive titles with ease.
If you want to have a smooth gameplay without having the frame rates to fall down then you should definitely go for the this best Alienware brand laptop here!
5. Gigabyte Aero 14
Specifications
Screen Size: 14 inches
Max Screen Resolution: 2560×1440 pixels
RAM: 16 GB
Weight: 4.2 pounds
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060
Storage: 512 GB SSD
Available Colors: Green, Orange, and Black
View Price: www.amazon.com
The laptop is available in a few different colors like green, orange, and black. The laptop is pretty light in weight(around 1.5 kgs) which makes it portable. Among most of the new NVIDIA GTX 10 series this laptop is so far the lightest and at the same time one of the powerful laptops in the lot.
You could play the lighter games easily in this laptop on ultra settings and honestly, I don’t get to say this quite often but even the games heavy on graphics can be played on acceptable frame rates on the highest settings.
The GTX 1060 gives the laptop an immense gaming power and makes all the graphics look really beautiful on the laptop screen.
Usually, when you have a powerful battery, the system is expected to be heavy but that is not the case with this laptop. The battery life of the laptop is almost 7 hours while gaming which is pretty amazing and way better in comparison to the other gaming laptops.
Gigabyte has one of the best powerful laptops available and the battery life is the most impressive things about these laptops.
They have a much better battery life than more than half of the gaming laptops available in the market and are even lighter in weight making it worth the money. If the laptop comes within your price range then do go ahead and get one for yourself.
Well if you ask for my personal favorite then I would really recommend the GigaByte Aero 14 because it is truly one of the lightest and most powerful laptops.
Usually, gaming laptops come with the weight but GigaByte has been one of the best VR ready laptops this year and this laptop can be taken to work as well since it is light and does not sport a fierce gaming laptop look. Definitely, the GigaByte Aero is worth every penny and more!
It is something that you can travel around with since it is extremely light in weight. However, it totally depends on your budget and be sure you get the right laptop for yourself.
If you are interested in building a PC for VR then do check out our post on how to build a PC for VR Gaming.
Investing in a laptop can be a big step but honestly, you cannot go wrong with these laptops and if you have any questions, let us know in the comments sections and I would try to get back to you ASAP.
In the case, experiences to share about any of these laptops then share them with us!
This was a great read and very informative, Thank you! I had just been talking with my wife this evening about what all we will need to get a smooth running VR set up, and this helped out a lot. The topic of proper computer equipment can be intimidating, so it was awesome to have an article help simplify it like this.
Thanks again,
Gabe G
Yes, choosing the right laptop can be a bit tricky since they are really expensive and you have to think a lot before getting the right one for yourself. Let me know if you have any specific product related question.
Wow, this like great stuff. I’m like a kid in the toys store. I love all this laptop, they all have a great specification. If I have to choose, I will choose Alienware. Compare to all this laptop include an operating system and ready to use. I think Asus Rog is also deserved in this list. Thanks for the review.
Asus Rog is pretty good and it was there on my previous list but since they discontinued the product which was mentioned and there were better options this year, I thought of considering other laptops.
Really enjoyed reading about all the gaming laptops. I personally just have a gaming desktop but I want a gaming laptop just for the convenience of it. I went to the Alianware website and it scared the heck out of me because the price was so high but I really could afford these. I’ll be saving this site for future reference! Keep up the good work! 🙂
Thanks.
I am a gamer but I have never play games in the PC, some friends tell me that playing games in the PC is much better than consoles because the quality of the graphics. Now VR technology has been advancing very fast. How long do you think one of these laptops can last before it became obsolete for the increasingly advance of technology?
These are going to stay for quite a while and since the VR headset requirements might decrease in future, I think these might last for a really long time and you can easily use them for 5 years without any change in laptop.
Hi Shrey
Thanks for your post on this. I like the fact that you’ve put a heavy focus on the weight and battery life as these are the two most important things to me after the graphics card. Does the game performance vary depending on what you’re playing or are they fairly consistent across the range of gaming laptops you’ve outlined here?
Cheers
James
The gaming performance does vary, mostly if you ask me the best performance among all the laptops mentioned then I would definitely say it is the Gigabyte laptop. The individual performance can be checked by reading individual reviews, just type the laptop in the search bar to find specific reviews related to the laptop.
I am planning to buy the Alienware R15 for the gaming purpose. Please tell if it is the good laptop for playing games and also tell the features and specifications of this laptop.