The Best Gaming Laptops To Play Starfield

Starfieldis one of the most well-received PC game releases of 2023. Bethesda’s first original IP in 25 years comes with somewhat beefier system requirements when compared to other titles likeBaldur’s Gate 3,if one intends to game on a PC. With over a thousand planets to explore,Starfieldshould keep Bethesda fans busy for a while, but players need a PC that can handle the game.

Alienware m16

Playing Starfield On A Gaming Laptop

Gaming laptops have come a long way over the past few years, packing in serious hardware and cutting down on size to the point that some of them can be truly considered portable gaming consoles. For a title likeStarfield, based on the CPU and GPU requirements, it seems that both are middle-of-the-road if one wishes to go about it on the recommended settings. However, gaming laptops are slower than their desktop counterparts, and Steam’s specifications do not address laptop requirements.

This means that users should be willing to punch higher in terms of CPU and GPU picks to get a smooth experience. With RAM requirements remaining 16 GB across both the minimum and maximum hardware specs, in addition to sizable SSD space requirements, most modern gaming laptops should be able to handleStarfield’sstorage and memory needs with ease. That being said, extra storage and more memory are never a bad thing when dealing with games that tend to grow in size and ambition over time.Starfieldalready has planned DLC, for example, and users might be tempted to use mods as has been the case with multiple Bethesda titles lately.

Acer Nitro 17 Gaming Laptop AN17-41-R7G3

The Acer Nitro 17 Gaming Laptop is a large 17-inch gaming laptop powered by an efficient, but potent octa-core AMD Ryzen 7 CPU and Nvidia’s mid-range RTX 4060 GPU. The display features Quad HD resolution and a high 165 Hz refresh rate for fast-paced gaming. That is all topped up with a large 1TB SSD and 16 GB of DDR5 memory, making it an ideal desktop replacement for those looking to grab one.

The Acer Nitro 17 Gaming Laptop (AN17-41-R7G3) is one of the best laptops on the market for gaming. This is thanks in part to its relatively affordable price tag, coupled with a cooler and more efficient CPU than the competition, which still holds its own in games. Thanks to its large 17-inch form factor, it leverages the added space for both an excellent QHD 165Hz screen and cooling under the hood.

This, in tandem with a middle-of-the-road RTX 4060, makes it a decent gaming laptop that can keep thoseStarfieldsessions going for long hours without needing breaks. It also comes with 16 GB of DDR5 memory (which meets the recommendations from the publisher) and a large 1 TB SSD drive that allows the Nitro to account for any future content updates toStarfield.

It does get slightly loud. Plus, the 17-inch screen size on a laptop is not for everyone, especially when considering portability, making it a slightly mixed bag for gamers on the go. That being said, it is a stellar gaming laptop that can easily handleStarfield, meeting or exceeding all of its hardware requirements without exception.

MSI Katana 15 Gaming Laptop (B12VGK-082US)

The MSI Katana 15 gaming laptop comes with a 12th-generation Intel Core i7 CPU and a power RTX 4070 GPU with decent memory and storage, as well as a 144Hz IPS panel. With plenty of networking options and a price that is hard to beat when on sale, the Katana 15 happens to be the cheapest RTX 4070 gaming laptop available for purchase at the time of writing.

The MSI Katana 15 Gaming Laptop (B12VGK-082US) is the cheapest gaming laptop one can find that sports a full RTX 4070 under the hood and manages to run it without any meaningful thermal throttling. It also manages to offer excellent specs across the board while staying below $1400, making it the most cost-effective gaming laptop in consideration on the list.

With 16 GB of DDR5 memory and 1 TB of SSD storage, it covers the requirements forStarfieldhandily even as its 12th-generation Core i7 CPU, while slightly dated compared to the rest of the components, holds its own for gaming. Thanks to its well-tuned cooling system, the Katana does not easily thermally throttle, performing optimally in most games.

While the 15.6-inch FHD 144Hz screen does not impress, it gets the job done. User qualms with the Katana are generally focused on it getting loud fast and featuring a lackluster webcam. This makes it a powerful, GPU-heavy option that should outperform most (if not all) gaming laptops in its price range, earning it a strong recommendation from the Game Rant team.

ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 14”165Hz Gaming Laptop (RTX 4070)

The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 14”165Hz Gaming Laptop is one of the most well-respected compact gaming laptops in the business, throwing in impressive CPU and GPU combinations in a tight form factor while exacting a significant amount of performance out of them.With an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS and an Nvidia RTX 4070 in tow, the G14 comes equipped to take on games at its target display resolution of 2K with a refresh rate of 165Hz which offers an IPS panel and up to 500 nits of brightness as part of its feature set.

The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 14" WQXGA Gaming Laptop packs some serious tech under the hood while trading at a considerable discount versus most of its competition. With an updated Ryzen 9 CPU and a high-end RTX 4070 GPU under the hood, it comes ready for gaming. It is more than capable of runningStarfieldwhile leveraging the game’s FSR (and upcoming DLSS) support to allow for better performance.

With 16 GB of fast DDR5 memory and a large 1 TB SSD under the hood, the G14 coversStarfield’s RAM and storage requirements with ease. The gorgeous and bright 14-inch display is sharp enough to game on, but it might not be everyone’s cup of tea. That’s especially true if moving from a larger gaming laptop or a dedicated desktop, as it does take getting used to.

While the G14 is more than capable of holding its own while gaming, it does double as a very hot operator when under load, making it somewhat uncomfortable to game on the go, especially in a constrained space. This makes it a tradeoff that some gamers might be unwilling to accept even as it doubles down on its promise as the best compact gaming laptop forStarfield.

MSI Thin GF63 15.6" 144Hz Gaming Laptop

The MSI Thin GF63 15.6" 144Hz Gaming Laptop comes with a 12th generation Intel Core i7 processor, the new RTX 4050 GPU that is a better, more efficient replacement to the RTX 3060 from the last generation, and a 512GB NVME SSD in tow to give users an excellent gaming experience at a price that nobody will balk at.

The MSI Thin GF63 15.6" 144Hz Gaming Laptop sports a 12th-generation Intel Core i7 CPU and a capable entry-level RTX 4050 GPU, which should be able to playStarfieldwith ease. While it does have its limitations in the GPU department, it is a more price-conscious purchase than its direct competitors while still packing a relatively impressive CPU.

It meets the RAM and SSD requirements, but unlike most of the other options on the list, it makes do with a smaller 512 GB SSD. This seems like a somewhat odd choice,especially since SSDs are considerably cheaper in 2023. Nonetheless, it is an acceptable but somewhat unnecessary compromise on the Taiwanese company’s part.

It does have thermal issues and an average battery life, however. That puts a damper on this even as the RTX 4050 will possibly be a limiting factor in visual fidelity for gamers looking to max out theirStarfieldexperience. That being said, while it isn’t the fastest laptop on the block by any measure, it holds its own while offering good value for gamers on a budget.

As one of the most solid options under $1000 for playingStarfield, it offers impressive hardware while trading at just under $900 on Amazon at the time of writing.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 Gaming Laptop

The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 16 Gaming Laptop comes packed with features including a Mini-LED 2K display, the best Intel laptop CPU money can buy, and plenty of storage and RAM in a neat 16-inch package that still allows you to get the performance you need versus competing 17-inch laptops.

The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 16 Gaming Laptop is a gaming PC that is as capable as it comes in a portable offering. With the fastest Core i9 laptop processor on offer coupled with Nvidia’s fastest mobile gaming chip, the RTX 4090, it comes with some of the best components that money can buy for gaming in 2023.

The onboard RTX 4090 comes with up to 175W of TGP unlocked and cooling to match its thermal needs. The laptop ships with a large 330W power brick to ensure it can always run at peak performance when plugged in with Thunderbolt 4 support built-in. This allows for multi-monitor setups to be plugged in if the Scar is being considered as a desktop replacement, even as it clocks in a surprisingly low weight when accounting for its internals.

RELATED:The Best PCs to Play Starfield

While it is prohibitively expensive to simply playStarfieldalone, it does happen to be well-priced for an RTX 4090-based gaming laptop with maxed-out specifications for gamers, including the 32 GB of DDR5 RAM and 2 TB of Raid 0 configured SSD storage. In tandem with its exceptional 2K 240Hz mini-LED display, this makes for one of the best ways to experienceStarfieldat a sub-$3500 price. In short, it is a hard-to-justify but arguably superior alternative to all the other gaming laptops on Game Rant’s recommendation list.

It is currently trading for a decent sub-10% price cut compared to its other RTX 4090-touting peers, making it a better value-centric purchase, albeit one that has an older 13th-generation Intel CPU. Users can opt for asimilarly configured but faster CPU offering in the Scar’s larger 17-inch offeringthat leverages AMD’s 3D V-Cache technology to offer significantly better gaming performance, but at a further $500 premium.

Alienware has decided to get competitive with its pricing to performance this year, partially thanks to Intel’s 13th generation CPUs as well as low demand for the RTX 4080 chipset. The m16 features a 13900HX, RTX 4080, 16 GB of RAM, and a 240 Hz, QHD+ display for a truly beautiful and smooth gaming experience.

The Alienware M16 is an interesting alternative if the SCAR 16 feels like it is too much to spend on just playingStarfield. It offers a similarly capable 2K 240Hz display, a slightly lower-end Core i9 processor, and an RTX 4080 instead, all while costing $800-900 cheaper than the SCAR 16. It comes with great cooling, a decent SSD, and dedicated audio buttons as part of its offerings as an alternate premium gaming laptop candidate forStarfield.

With great build quality backing the M16, it does have a bit of a heft issue, with many of its competing laptops being considerably lighter than Alienware’s 16-inch offering. The fact that a sub-$2700 gaming laptop has only 16 GB of DDR5 memory is also aslightly disappointing but inexpensive fix.

While the M16 is unlikely to beat the ASUS offering above, it does have a better value proposition generally and should easily max outStarfieldwith its powerful CPU and GPU combination. The M16 is a great product but does leave one wanting more storage and memory at its current price point.

Starfield’s PC Spec Requirements

Thanks to its Steam page, one can get a fairly good idea of what PCs are equipped to playStarfieldwithout any issues with the developer publishing both minimum and recommended specs that include both AMD and Intel CPUs as well as AMD and Nvidia GPU options as spec guides.

Recommended Specs

Starfield’s system requirements (Source: Steam Client)

It is important to consider the fact that the Xbox page indicates that as much as 140 GB of free storage (SSD space) is required to preload the title even as Steam’s hardware requirements have not changed yet, but it could be a sign of things to come.

FAQ

Q: When did Starfield launch on PC?

Starfieldlaunched on PC on the 6th of September 2023. Players who had purchased Premium Edition copies received Early Access which started on the 1st of September 2023.

Q: Does Starfield require an SSD?

Yes,Starfieldexplicitly states that an SSD is required. While the developer has stated a requirement of 125GB for the game in terms of free space, preload copies currently weigh in at 140GB, making a larger SSD purchase a more viable, future-proof solution to an increasingly large-sized problem in terms of storage.

Q: Does Starfield Support DLSS?

While Starfield does not officially have a patch for DLSS currently, it does have one in the works with DLSS 3.5 support already integratedin the latest beta patchthat also includes native Frame Generation support.