Different laptops are made for different uses and, even if you are a gamer, the laptop you get for home use will be different from the one you get to take on trips. There will be some overlap through, but you will need to think differently about a few things if you want to get the best gaming laptop for travelling. Knowing all this, here are a few things you need to look for and consider when choosing one.
Weight
Weight is a key consideration because you will be carrying your laptop with you all or most of the time. Gaming laptops have a reputation for being heavy mainly because of the cooling systems required for their beefier components.
While some gaming laptops can be classified as such, several companies now make gaming laptops that are thin and light. Lenovo, for example, has a great budget gaming laptop that is just 1.8 Kg, which is much lighter than some gaming laptops with its charger included.
Battery and Display
Because you will be taking the laptop to places where you might not have charging options, it needs to have a sufficient battery. Many gaming laptops start at about 70Wh and some go as high as 99Wh, which is the maximum battery capacity you can have on a plane.
Just know that a bigger battery means more weight and more time to fully charge, although you get more screen-on time. Ensure that the battery is good for at least 8 hours of content, although this might be a lot less when gaming.
A key determinant of battery life is the display. A brighter screen with a higher refresh rate and a higher resolution will consume more power. For best results, look for a display that has about 400 to 600 nits of brightness and a resolution of 1920 by 1080, and that is an LED panel.
CPU and GPU
Because you are constrained by weight, battery capacity, and cooling, many laptops for travellers will have decent but not high-end CPUs and GPUs. For the CPU, you want to get a 10th, 11th, or 12th gen Intel H CPU. These H CPUs are optimized for performance and low power consumption. Avoid U (ultra-low power) CPUs unless you only play casual games. These CPUs are meant for notebooks and business machines.
For the GPU, you need to check that the GPU is designated as having Max-Q graphics. These GPUs will perform well while consuming a little power. The 1660 TI Max-Q and the 2060 Max-Q GPUs are excellent options here. Going with 3000 series cards will not give you a lot of benefits.
If you are not a fan of Intel and Nvidia, AMD has some amazing CPU and GPU options for laptops. These perform similarly to those from the other two companies and have very good power consumption.
These are the key considerations to keep in mind when choosing a gaming laptop to take on your travels. A good laptop that ticks these boxes will be light, have good battery life, and a usable display as well as great performance.