These are the best new gaming laptops coming out in 2024 from each brand.
Let’s start out with MSI, as I think they’ve got the most updates coming out this year!
MSI have redesigned their top end gaming laptop for 2024 with the new Titan 18 HX. It’s
using a brand new 18” 4K 120Hz Mini-LED panel which looked great in person.
Along with Intel’s latest Core i9-14900HX processor, MSI have boosted the combined CPU
and GPU power limit from 250 watts up to 270 watts this year, so more performance. And
I'm expecting it to be one of the most powerful laptops of the year.
It gets the extra power from a new 400 GaN watt charger, which is actually smaller compared
to the 330 watt brick used in last year’s model.
More power means more heat, but the new Titan also has a vapor chamber cooler now, and it’s
gone down to 2 fans instead of the 4 in last year’s version, which means ports have returned
to the back. Oh and perhaps most importantly of all, it has an RGB haptic touchpad now.
MSI also has their new Raider 18 HX, just below the Titan, again with a new 14th gen
HX CPU. Compared to last year’s Raider GE68 or GE78, this new model increases memory support
from 2 to 4 slots. They also teased an AMD version coming in April with the Ryzen 9 7945HX3D
- the only other laptop to get AMD’s top-end chip I’ve heard of apart from the ASUS Scar
17.
MSI also has a new Stealth 18, which they say is the lightest 18 inch gaming laptop
at 2.9kg, but that’s about what ASUS’s Scar 18 weighs, so it wasn’t quite as impressive,
considering the Scar is one of ASUS’s most powerful laptops.
On the budget side, the new Cyborg 14 was interesting. Yeah, it’s a little thicker
compared to other 14 inch gaming laptops, but this means it’s the only one with an
ethernet port, and it’s also going to be the cheapest 14 inch gaming model available.
All the other options like the G14, Blade 14, Stealth 14, Omen 14 or Alienware x14 are
more premium and cost more. So it’s nice to have a smaller and cheaper option.
Moving onto ASUS, and their big news was their newly redesigned Zephyrus G14 and G16 gaming
laptops, now thinner than ever and with OLED screens. I’m a big fan of OLED screens because
they just look excellent with deep blacks and have the fastest possible response times.
And OLED gets better in 2024 because at long last it can finally support G-Sync.
The new G14 maxes out with RTX 4070 graphics, and it has all RAM soldered, so that’s the
compromise of going thinner. But the thicker 2023 G14 design with one memory slot and up
to RTX 4090 is still available for those that want it.
Along with new designs, the speakers in both the G14 and G16 sound amazing, much better
than last gen. Ports are also further to the back now, because there aren’t any air exhaust
vents on the left and right sides this year, a trend we’ll see from a few brands this
year - going thinner and maxing out at RTX 4070. I can’t wait to test out thermals
in depth, make sure you’re subscribed for the upcoming full reviews!
Overall the designs are a bit cleaner and less “gamery”, which I can appreciate.
Unlike MSI, who updated most of their lineup to 14th gen, ASUS are only giving Intel’s
14th gen HX processors to their top-end ROG Strix and Strix Scar models. They’re sticking
with 13th gen for everything else because they decided the extra cost wasn’t worth
the small performance difference.
The Scar 18 also gets a new 240Hz Mini-LED screen with over 2000 backlight zones, probably
the same panel MSI are using in the Titan 18 HX if I had to guess.
The popular TUF A16 also gets an upgrade to AMD’s Dragon Range processors with up to
12 cores now thanks to the Ryzen 9 7845HX, and there’s also going to be an A16 with
Nvidia graphics, up to RTX 4070, but don’t worry, the popular Radeon RX 7600S config
isn’t going anywhere!
There’s also an Intel version this year too, the TUF F16, but that maxes out with
RTX 4060 graphics.
HP’s main announcement was that they’re joining the 14 inch gaming laptop club with
their new Omen Transcend 14 - HP’s lightest gaming laptop ever.
The Omen 14 has up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor, Nvidia RTX 4070 graphics,
32 gigs of RAM and a 14 inch 120Hz OLED screen, and it looks great - depending on how you
feel about the translucent edges of the keys of course. I think they looked a bit better
on the black version.
GPU power maxes out at 80 watts because it’s using a 140 watt Type-C charger, but based
on my own testing, a full powered 4070 is only 10% faster, so it should still be quite
capable despite the smaller size.
The big changes at XMG were the redesigned Neo 16 chassis. Instead of having a water
pipe for the liquid cooler soldered to the air cooler, it’s now integrated inside the
cooler. The increased surface area increases thermal efficiency, and the liquid pipe now
covers the CPU as well as the GPU - last year it was GPU only.
I did a 10 minute Cinebench run with the early engineering sample and scored 25% higher in
Cinebench multicore compared to last year’s version - quite a big difference between a
single generation. Otherwise it has a number of design improvements, including less bottom
chin below the screen, less screen wobble, and an improved keyboard layout to list a
few.
The bigger Neo 17 also gets an update to the liquid pipe. It’s not as integrated as the
Neo 16, but it goes over both the CPU and GPU now, instead of GPU only like last year.
XMG also has the Fusion 15 coming in late March or early April, and it’s basically
a smaller version of the Neo 16, but without water cooling. The all aluminum chassis feels
nice, but it tops out at RTX 4070 due to the tinner design.
Also I think they were the only brand to not mention AI once, so they get bonus points
for that.
Meanwhile Gigabyte has two new laptops, the Aorus 16X and Gigabyte G6X.
The Aorus brand is higher tier compared to Gigabyte, which is why the Aorus 16X has more
features and costs more. We didn’t cover the Aorus 15X last year, so I’m not too
sure how the new 16X compares, but it seems like the main difference is that they have
a 16 inch screen option now and translucent Q W E R A S D keys. The 16X also doesn’t
have ports on the back, but the 15X does, so perhaps more cables getting in the way
with this one.
The G6X on the other hand has some nice improvements compared to last year’s G6 and G5, granted
it will probably cost more too. The improvements include a MUX switch, a HX processor with
more cores and threads, Type-C charging, and a smaller bezel below the screen, which I
think looks a bit nicer. Unfortunately it’s still using a 45% NTSC screen, so colors don’t
look great, but that seems to be the compromise they’ve chosen to hit a lower price segment.
They’ve also swapped the Aorus 15 and 17 over to Intel’s new Meteor Lake processors,
so more multicore and AI performance, but at the expense of single core performance.
The Aorus 17X moves from 13th gen to 14th gen HX processor, but that’s it. The Aero
series did not change.
Lenovo was a bit confusing at CES, from what I could work out, they had 2 or 3 different
locations to check out products and we only got an invite to one that had one gaming laptop.
The Legion 5i and Legion 7i are back this year, and basically they made them thinner,
which is why they max out with RTX 4070 graphics.
They only had the new Legion 7i on display where we were, and from what I can tell this
is replacing the Legion Slim 7i and is the same thickness. Based on the spec sheet, the
Legion 5i is a bit thicker.
Otherwise the Legion 9 also gets an update to Intel 14th gen, and the software also has
an update with a further AI FPS boost option. They claim it scans on-screen FPS data and
uses this while optimizing CPU and GPU power to boost it as high as possible. Sounds good
if it works, but honestly it’s getting a bit confusing having a checkbox under a checkbox,
just one check box for magic AI boosting would be enough.
Lenovo’s LOQ has also been refreshed this year, and I’ve actually had it for about
a month and finished a full review of it before leaving for CES. It’ll be up next week,
so make sure you’re subscribed for all the details.
The main takeaways are it’s still a great entry level option. The keyboard has easier
to see black keys now, the power button light is bigger and brighter, and the air exhaust
vents on the left and right sides have been removed. The new design means they’re not
needed anymore, so no hot air blowing on your mouse hand.
Unfortunately the launch prices are a bit expensive, but considering sales we’ve had
on the gaminglaptop.deals website, link below, last year’s version still offers excellent
value.
The big news at CES from Alienware / Dell is the redesigned Alienware M16.
Basically they made it more portable by redesigning the thermal solution, it doesn’t have the
bit sticking out the back anymore.
The new thermal solution also means there aren’t as many vents above the keyboard,
so the keyboard gets moved up a bit, giving you more palm rest room and a bigger touchpad.
It also has a new stealth mode which quickly turns off RGB lighting so no one knows you’re
a pro gamer and lowers performance and fan noise.
The new M16 R2 uses Intel’s Meteor Lake processors with 45 watts of power and up to
Nvidia RTX 4070 graphics, so it’s more of a mid-range option compared to the rest of
Alienware’s premium offerings.
Alienware’s bigger m18 has also been refreshed with an R2 version, but apart from Intel 14th
gen 14900HX processor there’s not much difference. Apart from a new 360 watt GaN charger, which
allows a combined 270 watts of power. 175 for the GPU and 95 for the CPU, which is also
what MSI’s new Titan 18 HX offers this year too.
The thinner x16 also gets an updated R2 version this year with 14th gen. The chassis looks
the same, but the processor changes to Intel’s Meteor Lake chips now, which also means faster
LPDDR5X-7467 RAM in the top-spec config. The screen also gets a boost to 240Hz, up from
165Hz, I just hope it’s not 300 nits like last year, because that was ridiculous from
a premium laptop. The cooler is updated, the storage maxes out with 8TB in RAID 0 now,
and it gets Wi-Fi 7.
Interestingly the x16 R2 also has an option for the new 360 watt GaN charger, but I’m
not sure why it needs so much power as the specs say up to 220 watts of power - 175 for
the GPU and 45 for the CPU. Maxed out laptops had no issues with 300 or 330 watt chargers
last gen, so I’m assuming the new charger is bigger in wattage but physically smaller
and this is their way of making the total weight lower, even if the x16 R2 doesn’t
need that much juice. Unfortunately no images of the charger were provided, and Dell wasn't
present at CES.
No news about Dell gaming laptops, so they’re probably staying the same and sticking with
last year’s Intel 13th gen to keep them cheaper.
As for Acer, they’re releasing the Predator Helios Neo 18 this year, which will exist
alongside the Helios 18.
Last year we had the Helios Neo 16, which was a cheaper version of the Helios 16, so
basically this means Acer is giving us a cheaper 18 inch option in 2024.
All Helios models, so 16 and 18 inch, Neo and non Neo versions also get Intel’s latest
14th gen HX processors, right up to the Core i9-14900HX.
Only the higher tier Helios 16 and 18 get Wi-Fi 7 and the top-end RTX 4080 and 4090
graphics though, the cheaper Neo versions are limited to RTX 4070. The Neo versions
also don’t get the Mini LED screen options available to the higher tier non-Neo models.
The higher tier Helios 16 and 18 also get Acer’s MagKey 3.0. Basically the WASD keys
can be swapped for a different switch, with two types included with the laptop, MagClick
and MagSpeed. MagClick keys are tactile and responsive keys with that distinct mechanical
switch sound, while MagSpeed keys have more vibrant LED lighting underneath. They didn’t
confirm, but I think they had MagSpeed installed here because in person the RGB looked brighter
and there wasn’t a mechanical feel.
The backs and lid logos of all Helios models have also been updated. The higher tier 16
and 18 have an infinity mirror effect which looks kind of cool, as well as an RGB predator
logo to the right of the touchpad below the keyboard. The cheaper Neo versions don’t
have that, and the rear is just clear plastic.
The Nitro 17 also gets the newer Intel 14th gen processors, but they didn’t have that
on display. The Triton Neo 16 that launched in December with Meteor Lake was there, which
is meant to be a thinner option.
Razer has some welcome updates, but they’re mostly minor changes to their existing lineup.
The Blade 16 joins the OLED club with the same 16” 240Hz OLED display as the ASUS
Zephyrus G16, but the dual display from last year that can swap between 4K 120Hz and 1080p
240Hz with a reboot is still available.
The processor gets bumped up to Intel 14th gen with the Core i9-14900HX, so only a minor
difference which will mostly affect single core performance. They’re also giving it
Wi-Fi 7 this year, just like many other models in 2024.
The bigger Blade 18 will get a new 18 inch 4K 16:10 165Hz display, so UHD+, last year
it maxed out at QHD+. The only other thing Razer mentioned was that this will be their
first laptop featuring Thunderbolt 5 and up to 240 watts of power delivery over USB Type-C.
These are two things we’ve been waiting for laptops to add for years now, so I can’t
wait to see this in action. The only problem is they haven’t said when it’s coming,
so for now we’ll have to wait. I asked other brands when to expect Thunderbolt 5, and it
sounds like it was a few months away.
The Blade 14 gets the smallest refresh, with AMD’s top-end Ryzen 9 8945HS processor,
but that’s basically the same as the 7940HS from last gen, just with more AI performance.
Otherwise I think everything else is the same, but I think the price is a little lower this
year with a starting price of $2200 USD.
So overall, MSI seems to be leading the way this year, at least in terms of updates and
overall improvements to their 2024 gaming laptop lineup. A few other brands didn’t
really make any changes this year.
I’m particularly interested in trying out HP’s new Omen Transcend 14, and we’re
getting that to review in a few weeks as well as reviews on the other new gaming laptops,
so make sure you’re subscribed for those!
Until then, you can find out more details in the rest of my CES 2024 coverage, so I’ll
see you in one of those videos next!