Best RTX 3060 laptop buyer’s guide 2023

The Lenovo Legion 5 has great performance in (almost) every area that matters for gamers. The only real criticism we can level at it, is that if you go with a previous generation Intel 11th gen / AMD Ryzen 5000 series machine, it will probably come with fairly slow stock RAM, as do many laptops released in 2021, which has a bit of a bottlenecking effect on its performance. The difference this makes to FPS in-game is up to around 10% difference in a few titles, but the average across all games is only around 3%, meaning it’s not really worth an upgrade for most people, depending what games you play. The latest versions of these laptops equipped with Intel 12th gen CPUs or AMD Ryzen 6000 series processors do not have this problem though, and are more powerful besides (though obviously cost more money).

Ultimately though, if you want to opt for the cheaper previous-gen models, upgrading the RAM isn’t particularly difficult (click the link to read our handy guide), and even with the slow stock memory the Legion 5 still performs better than most RTX 3060 laptops in most titles. This is thanks to the high 115-130W TGP of the graphics card, which is the highest power limit you’re likely to find. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800H or Intel Core i7-10750H processor, depending on if you pick the Legion 5 or Legion 5i, aren’t the latest models, but both perform respectably. The AMD variant offers better multi-core performance if you’re interested in any rendering or other workflow tasks as well as better battery life, whereas the Intel option gives slightly better gaming performance. The inclusion of a MUX Switch is a big plus for any gaming laptop and this gives a further, substantial boost to the performance of the Lenovo Legion 5.

In terms of the battery life, you can expect around 8 hours for general usage, YouTube and web browsing with the AMD variants, and around 7 or less with the Intel, both of which are well above average. This assumes you have Optimus switched on, brightness set to 50%, and battery saver mode enabled.

The 1080p IPS display has a refresh rate of 165Hz and a real grey-to-grey response time of around 7ms, which is not quite good enough to completely eliminate ghosting, but not far off. These specs are certainly good enough for the majority of gamers, and if you’re after something capable of replicating more FPS on screen then you’ll likely need a more powerful graphics card anyway to reach this frame rate. FreeSync is a welcome edition and if you disable Optimus using the MUX Switch for extra performance (which we’d recommend) then you also get G-Sync, which is even better for reducing screen tearing.

In terms of its color gamut, the Lenovo Legion 5 covers 98% of sRGB, making it suitable for color-accurate work in this space. You also get 70% Adobe RGB and 72% DCI-P3 coverage, all of which means games look colorful and vibrant. The contrast ratio is also good, and though the peak brightness could have been better, it’s not exactly bad either.

Regarding the other features, the speaker quality, 720p webcam, and inbuilt mic are all about average for a gaming laptop at this price point: not great, but serviceable. The membrane keyboard and the trackpad are both above average, they lack the quality of some more premium options but they are reasonably responsive and nice to use. The laptop chassis is made entirely of plastic, so again feels cheaper than a premium metal design, though build quality is okay, though the plastic build doesn’t compare to the more metal designs of more premium laptops.

Everything considered, the Lenovo Legion 5 / Legion 5i is the best 15-inch RTX 3060 laptop available right now.

The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 is the best mid-range 14-inch gaming laptop that money can buy, and has various attributes that mark it out from the crowd. For a gaming laptop, the battery life is second to none, coming in at around 10 hours of non-strenuous, non-gaming use on battery saver mode with the brightness set to 50%, making it a great option for a dual-use office machine. The speakers are similarly surprisingly good – not up to the likes of the champion of this area, the MacBook Pro, but well above average, with decent bass replication, volume, and overall sound quality.

The Zephyrus G14 is thin, light, and easily portable with a respectable keyboard and trackpad. Although it doesn’t have Thunderbolt support (being an AMD-powered machine), besides this, the selection of ports is good for such a small machine. One drawback which may put some people off the cheaper Ryzen 5000 series version, which is the only thing that hinders its ability to be used as an office notebook, is the lack of a webcam. Although the 2022 version of the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 rectifies this issue, they are all-AMD machines and don’t come with the option for an RTX 3060 GPU.

On the subject of the graphics card, this RTX 3060 laptop is not the highest TGP option available, as is common for smaller-sized machines, so don’t expect it to perform as well in-game as the other selections on this page; conversely the powerful AMD Ryzen 5900HS CPU does negate this somewhat, as it’s a superior processor than any other of our top selections. Outside of gaming, the strong multi-core performance makes it a great choice for rendering workflows or other light workstation tasks.

Looking to the display, the 100% sRGB color gamut and respectable color accuracy of the screen make the G14 suitable for colorwork in this space, further adding to its utility as a workstation machine for creatives. The peak brightness and contrast ratio are also both solid. 120Hz is among the lower refresh rates on this page, but definitely still good enough for the vast majority of gamers outside of hardcore competitive players.

Summing up then, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 is the best compact RTX 3060 laptop currently available: a nice-looking, well-built gaming machine that can also be used as a great light workstation machine, providing you don’t mind the lack of webcam.

The HP Victus gaming laptop range is a new line from HP that offers a cheaper alternative to their HP Omen range for mid-range gaming. The maximum specced version is a tasty 1440p RTX 3060 laptop that performs to a decent standard in games and is cheaper than you’d normally expect for a 16-inch laptop with a display resolution this high.

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800H CPU is the same as what you’ll get with most selections on this page, and though the RTX 3060 in question doesn’t have the highest TGP (95W) it’s not the lowest either, and will generate decent performance in-game. The AMD processor also gives good multi-core performance for rendering and other workstation tasks, not to mention a solid 7 hours battery life, which is above average compared to the competition.

Looking in more detail at the display, 165Hz is quite fast enough for most users, and pretty high for a 1440p/QHD model, plus the 3ms response time which HP claims the QHD is capable of is very good. Although you can expect the actual real grey-to-grey response time after testing to be around 6ms, this is still a very respectable score. In terms of color and contrast, you get a surprisingly high 99% sRGB coverage, which is very good and makes it possible to do color-accurate work in the sRGB space on this machine. Peak brightness is nice and high and the contrast ratio is pretty decent.

The main sacrifice made to get these laptops down to a cheaper price is build quality, with the lid of the Victus 16 in particular being very wobbly and bendable, although not enough to be a nuisance when gaming so in our opinion. The overall build is very plasticy and it’s far from the most robust feeling laptop around. Having said this, the keyboard on the laptop is surprisingly good, feeling quite tactile and clicky for a membrane keyboard, although it does have a lot of flex due to the aforementioned build quality. The touchpad is decent enough though. The speakers on the high-end version we have picked here are also respectable for a gaming laptop, though cheaper versions of the HP Victus 16 reportedly come with lower quality ones.

In summary, though the HP Victus 16 isn’t the best gaming performer on this list and you do sacrifice a bit on build quality, the range of features you get for the money is great, not to mention the larger 16-inch display. Like many HP laptops, you will often find the Victus 16 on sale for a reduced price on the HP website, and if you snap one up for a couple of hundred dollars off, it’s certainly a superb value machine.

The Dell G15 5515 is a great alternative for a 15” RTX 3060 gaming laptop, with some powerful core components, particularly the GPU. The 110-125W TGP of the RTX 3060 isn’t quite as high as the Lenovo Legion 5, but it’s still up there with the best you’ll find and performs very well in games. In terms of the processor, it packs an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H, which is the same as our top pick machine.

The same slow RAM issues plague the G15 5515 as do many other laptops released in 2021 (though hopefully, later models won’t have this). Still, the performance hit isn’t as substantial as with other machines, and you’ll still get well above average FPS performance in-game even without upgrading it, though we’d recommend you do if you want to get the best results.

The 1080p 165Hz display certainly has a fast enough refresh rate for the vast majority of gamers, although the response time is a bit lacking. At a response time of only 13ms grey-to-grey, you will likely see some ghosting at higher FPS, which may be irritating to players of competitive online shooters. The display does have good color replication however, coming in at around 99% sRGB; if you opt for the 120Hz version the gamut is a lot closer to 60% sRGB, however so we advise avoiding this one.

This highly charged RTX 3060 does mean that the laptop runs hot in terms of internal temperature, but, unlike most Dell machines, you don’t really feel this under your hands when gaming. Again, unusually for Dell, the battery life on this G15 is superb, coming in around 10 hours in general usage, which is one of the best you’re likely to find in a gaming laptop with this amount of power. Unfortunately, the standard of the internal software is very typical for Dell, in that it’s extremely poor and annoying to navigate.

The overall build quality of the laptop is good, though the keyboard and trackpad could be better. If you’re not committed to Dell solely, you may want to consider the Lenovo Legion 5 as an alternative, which performs similarly in-game but has a superior keyboard, trackpad, and onboard software, though it does have a worse battery life and is more expensive than the Dell G15. Ultimately, if these latter features are more important to you, then the Dell G15 5515 would be a great choice.