The only thing I would change about this thin and light RTX gaming laptop with powerful graphics is to add a larger SSD.

$1,599.99 Best Buy: $1,199.99 (Save $400) This thin, light, and powerful laptop has a few hiccups, but it's still a great deal. You get a 120W RTX 4070 with a 10 core Intel chip (six performance and four efficiency) and 16 GB DDR4. The 512 GB SSD may be small, but it has two M2 slots, so you can easily add more storage. And even though the screen is only 1080p it is still vibrant and fast.

Price check: Newegg $1,599

" data-widget-type="deal" data-render-type="editorial">

What makes a good gaming laptop, to misquote Conan The Barbarian? It needs to be able balance between being able to slip it in your bag and take it to work and also be a laptop that you feel comfortable playing the latest gaming titles on without feeling as if you are missing out.

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 is a great option for this. I found it at Best Buy for a very affordable $1200. It's not the OLED-equipped 2024 version, but it is still a thin and light machine that is impeccably balanced. It's beautiful enough to be used in public without raising eyebrows, but powerful enough to hit high frame rates when playing demanding games.

This is thanks to a 120W RTX 4070 combined with a screen that's 1080p. It's true that 1440p is better for a gaming laptop. However, 1080p on a 16-inch screen will still look good and you have a better chance to shift 165 frames onto the 165 Hz panel.

We're looking at a Core i7-13620H, a 10-core CPU with six Performance cores, and four Efficient cores. This is a powerful mobile gaming processor, and when paired with 16GB of DDR4 it makes for an attractive little machine.

One major caveat is the tiny SSD. In 2024, 512 GB will be a small amount of storage for a laptop. While it is enough to start with, you may run out of space if you want to install more than just a few apps and games.

There's a spare slot for M2, so it's easy to remove the back and install a larger model. The Lexar NM790 is a great choice. There's also a spare SO DIMM slot, so you can upgrade that DDR4 memory to 32 GB if you wish.

Even if you ignore the upgrade options, this is a great little laptop that balances portability with power. Gaming laptops are a lot more powerful and portable than they used to be. If you choose wisely, you can get the best of both worlds. You can get a 1 TB secondary SSD for about $80.