We reviewed the lightest gaming laptops available on the markets currently and came up with some interesting findings. First – long gone are the days when a good rig had to be huge and monstrous. Besides that, we realized that the physical size of a machine does not entirely define its gaming abilities.
With those facts in mind, below is a detailed run-down of highly rated but ultra-compact machines. Picking the perfect one is only a matter of skimming through a few specs, pros, and cons.
Contents
| Laptop Model | Weight | Storage | GPU | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acer Nitro 5 | 5.95 lbs | 1-2 TB | GTX 1050Ti | |
| HP Omen 15 | 5.56 lbs | 1 TB | GTX 1060 | |
| Gigabyte Aero v8 | 4.41 lbs | 512 GB | GTX 1070 | |
| Microsoft Surface Book 2 | 4.20 lbs | 512 GB | GTX 1060 | |
| MSI GS65 Stealth | 4.14 lbs | 256 GB | GTX 1060 | |
| ASUS Zenbook Pro | 4.20 lbs | 512 GB | GTX 1050Ti |
1. Acer Nitro 5 15-Inch Display Laptop
The Acer Nitro may not be the lightest machine on the pack but it’s certainly one of the easiest to carry around. It weighs a paltry 5.95lbs which is almost 2lbs heavier than the lightest gaming machine listed in this write-up.
Nonetheless, its compact design and the ability to bring on board some award-winning features makes the Nitro an awesome pick. For instance, it comes with a beefy Intel Core i5-7300HQ processor. The processor is quite powerful and capable of dealing with all manner of tasks thrown at it.
Its keyboard is backlit and boasts impressive responsiveness. All the keys have great travel time as well. We, however, wish the keyboard was an RGB one. Otherwise, the current one isn’t as customizable.
As far as gaming performance is concerned, the Nitro clearly goes out of its way to deliver a smooth performance. It delivers a neat performance particularly on optimized games such as CS:GO, Overwatch and Fortnite.
That’s probably because it doesn’t come with a lot of bloatware – meaning its processor is capable of attaining its fullest potential. That said, this system comes with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card. The card provides you with a dedicated VRAM of 4GB GDDR5.
What’s more, you can always choose from 8GB/12gb/16GB/24GB/32GB RAM (DDR4) depending on your budget. The same case applies to the main storage whose capacity ranges from 128GB all the way to 1TB SSD. As if that’s not enough, here’s the option to insert an optical drive to boost performance and add even more storage capacity.
Pros
- Not too heavy
- Great performance
- Awesome storage capacity
- Well-built keyboard
Cons
- Not ultra-lightweight
- Comes with GTX 1050 which is quite limited compared to 1060, 1070, and 1080
2. HP Omen 15-Inch Gaming Rig
At the fifth position of this run-down is this cute kid from HP. It weighs 5.56lbs and has a 15.6-inch display. Unlike the Acer Nitro, this one comes with a GTX 1060 card which is superior in performance. As such, you can use this machine to enjoy games like PUBG and Fortnite without any hiccups.
That’s probably because this unit packs an 8-th generation Intel Core i7 processor. In fact, the processor operates at 2.2GHz ordinarily although you can always turbo-charge it to 4.1GHz to deliver a superior gaming performance.
To back up the awesome processor is a 16GB SDRAM which also comes with 2 accessible memory slots – for future updates. Its built-in memory spans 128GB SSD plus 1TB HDD.
That means you can comfortably use this machine to perform all your gaming activities as well as enjoy some movies, music and so forth. In fact, the laptop’s power means that it can also be used for other demanding activities such as video and music production.
Another plus with this relatively light unit is that it comes with an RGB keyboard. That’s in addition to a set of outlined WASD keys which allow for instant recognition.
And with a battery life of 6 hours, we think the Omen presents a fairly competitive deal. However, at its price, we think the machine should offer more in terms of functionality.
Pros
- Compactly designed
- Powerful graphics card and processor
- Customizable keyboard
- Reasonably good display
- Can comfortably take on some AAA games
Cons
- Its battery life is sub-par under wireless streaming
3. Gigabyte Aero v8-BK4 Gaming Laptop
The Gigabyte Aero v8-BK4 is one of the truly lightweight gaming rigs in town. Weighing in at a paltry 4.41lbs, it’s slightly lighter than the MacBook Pro. Most importantly, it’s quite a powerful laptop all thanks to the fact that it packs a GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card.
Indeed, the Gigabyte is quite compact since it only measures 14 x 9.8 x 0.78 inch. As you can see, it’s quite thin – which is a far cry from the gaming laptops of yesterday which used to be huge and monstrous.
Actually, the only major downside we could pick with this machine is that it’s pretty expensive. Its price is well above the 2 grand mark. But in terms of value for money, we think its value is unbeatable. What’s more? The machine provides you with a 10-hour battery life.
To this end, we’d confidently tout this laptop as the best fit for anyone with a busy schedule. You simply need to put it in your backpack and you won’t even notice that it’s there. So, you can take it with you to class, the library, gaming parties, and so forth.
Pros
- Excellent IPS LCD display
- Powerful battery with long life
- Reliably strong GTX 1070 graphics card
- RGB customizable keyboard
Cons
- The screen has a bit of a bleed
4. Microsoft Surface Book 2
If you thought the Gigabyte was light then the Microsoft Surface Book 2 will dazzle you with what it has in store for you. The GTX 1060 powered machine packs a lean 4.2lbs.
In fact, it’s possible to disconnect the keyboard surface from the screen end. And because the screen has touch sensitivity, you can go ahead and use it as a tablet.
Yet you can imagine that the 4.2lbs weight is inclusive of the keyboard. As such, the tablet alone is even lighter.
So, you don’t really need to be a computer expert to see that this Surface Book is made with portability in mind. And to top up all that, you get a generous 16GB RAM and 512GB worth of storage.
Powered by an Intel Quad Core i7, this is the fastest Surface Book yet. In fact, it has up to 4X more power than its most powerful sibling.
What about battery power? Well, no other machine reviewed so far in this list comes close to what the Surface Book has to offer. In fact, you can use it to play videos for 17 hours without the need for a recharge. That’s 2.5 hours more than what you’d get under its older sibling the Surface Laptop.
So, if you have the power to cough out a few more dollars, we think this would be such a great gaming laptop to invest in. It, however, may not be as hardy as the Acer Nitro or HP Omen for that matter.
Pros
- A classy and sleek body of machined aluminum
- Loads fast even when handling multiple programs
- The battery lasts nearly the whole day
- Really, really light in weight
Cons
- Pricey
5. MSI GS65 Stealth Gaming Laptop with GTX 1060
Welcome to the ultra-featherweight category where the likes of the GS65 from MSI reign supreme. Its dimensions 9.75 x 14.08 x 0.69 inches speak volumes of the kind of machine you’re likely to find here.
In other words, the Stealth is as thin as thin can get. And believe it or not, it weighs 4.14 pounds. Sounds unrealistic for a fully-fledged gaming rig?
The machine offers no compromise all thanks to its powerful GTX 1060 graphics card and an i7 Intel Core Processor. That’s in addition to an RGB keyboard which boasts an impeccable travel time.
The Stealth further packs 2 8GB DDR4 RAMs amounting to 16GB. And despite that being more than enough for modern-day gaming, this unit presents you with 2 extra RAM sockets that you can use to achieve a 32GB RAM capacity. Alternatively, you can go for the GTX 1070 32GB machine which goes for nearly $500 more.
In our opinion, no other fully-fledged gaming machine is as stable as the MSI Stealth at the moment.
Pros
- Extremely light in weight
- Reasonably priced
- Great display
- Rugged and compact
- Powerful processor and RAM
- Powered by an NVIDIA GeForce GTX1060 graphics card
Cons
- A subpar battery
6. Asus UX550VE ZenBook Pro
It’s one thing for a gaming rig to be light but another for it to weigh 4lbs. The Asus UX550VE ZenBook currently holds the record as the lightest laptop that can be used for professional gaming.
The machine comes with a GTX 1050Ti graphics card which makes it a boon for loading all FHD games. On top of that, it offers a 15.6-inch display which comes complete with a 178-degree wide angle view.
Under the hood is an awe-inspiring 7-th generation Intel i7 quad-core processor. This processor is capable of clocking 2.8 GHz although it can always be turbo-charged to attain an elusive 3.8GHz.
And don’t let this machine’s ultra-thin design worry you. The fact of the matter is that it presents you with a wide variety of ports for enhanced connectivity. These include two USB 3.1 Type-C ports, two USB Type 3.0 Type-As, Thunderbolt, SD Card as well as 802.11ac connectivity.
This reasonably priced machine presents you with a whopping 512GB SSD storage. That’s quite some storage room given the fact that the UltraBook is also pretty reasonably priced.
Pros
- Powerful, fast storage capacity
- Extremely light in weight
- Fast and reliable processor
- Sleek machined aluminum case
Cons
- Best suited for entry-level gaming
Final Words
Playing HD games on thin and light rigs was a utopia a few years gone by. But, as we’ve seen from the reviews above, it’s possible to access all the power needed to nail AAA titles on an ultrabook. So, go ahead and enjoy an immersive gaming experience from the thinnest of all gaming rigs seen in the history of computing.
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