It is officially 2024 and while some might feel an air of uncertainty regarding technology, mostly thanks to artificial intelligence, we’re certain of a few things: choosing a gaming laptop isn’t going to get any easier this year, and it’s going to take a while before adding a ‘4’ to the ends of dates doesn’t feel weird.
We can’t do much about the second thing except suggest you avoid writing dates as far as possible.
We can certainly make choosing a gaming laptop easier but that’ll have to wait because we first need to make it harder by highlighting some of the new portable gaming powerhouses we expect to see this year.
We’re using the term ‘portable’ loosely here because some of these machines are portable in the same way that non-folding chairs are portable. You can technically carry one around with you but most people don’t because it’s a ball ache.
A better term would be ‘desktop replacement’ or ‘Johnny’s university fund’ because if previous models are anything to go by, these will be big, heavy, and cost as much as a year of tertiary education. But that’s partly why they’re able to offer the power they do.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 18
The ROG Strix Scar 18 is the most powerful gaming laptop available from Asus. The highest-specced 2023 model came packing an Intel Core i9-13980HX CPU, Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4090 laptop GPU, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and two 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe drives configured in Raid 0 for extra speed. It was also the first ROG laptop to feature an 18in QHD+ ISP display capable of hitting 240Hz and an eye-watering R88,000 price at launch.
Those specs were impressive (and still are) but we’re sure the company has been hard at work in the months since cooking up something even more impressive. We’re not just talking about slotting in the latest generation of CPUs and GPUs, that’s a given. We’d also love to see display improvements like one of Asus’ OLED screens. If that’s not fiscally feasible then we’ll settle for a Mini-LED display as seen on the ROG Flow x16.
MSI Titan GT
In terms of raw power, this year’s MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI was unmatched. It shared similar specs to other high-end gaming laptops, with its i9-13980HX CPU and RTX 4090 GPU but managed to push up to a combined 250W of power through them for a slight performance bump. The top-specced model also came with a 17.3in UHD 144Hz Mini-LED display.
Those specs don’t leave much room for MSI to develop. Aside from swapping out the old Intel and Nvidia chips for faster ones, maybe upgrading the Mini-LED display to OLED is doable. The 2023 model sold for north of R100,000 in SA so increasing it further doesn’t really matter at this point. MSI is one of the companies that likes to show off its new wares at CES so we shouldn’t have to wait long.
Dell Alienware m18
Dell debuted the Alienware m18 at CES 2023 so it’s unlikely to see a massive change this year. However, it is one of the only gaming laptops in this round-up that offers high-end CPU options from both Intel and AMD. We expect that to continue with a refreshed model touting either a new Intel Core Ultra or Ryzen 8000-series CPU.
We might have to wait a while to hear anything from Nvidia on its RTX 5000-series chips but maybe Dell can squeeze more performance out of the RTX 4090 and bring the Alienware m18 closer in line with the competition.
HP Omen 14 Transcend
Where others have gone big, HP is shrinking things down. The company is set to announce what will be the world’s lightest 14in gaming laptop at CES this year if the leaks hold any truth. The new device will fall under HP’s ‘Omen’ gaming sub-brand and will potentially be called the HP Omen 14 Transcend. It follows on from the Omen 16 Transcend that launched midway through last year except it’ll be smaller and feature new tech.
One of Intel’s Core Ultra processors will be among the new tech. It’ll probably be joined by a familiar RTX 4000-series GPU unless Nvidia pulls a fast one and much of the other internals are likely to remain the same. There was also mention of an upgraded OLED display but the Omen 16 Transcend already features an OLED screen so a better panel that costs more might prove to be a hard sell.
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16
Asus’ ROG Zephyrus range can’t reach the performance output of the ROG Strix Scar family but that’s by design. Of the two, it’s the closest to being a laptop — it can fit on your lap and won’t cook your thighs, it’ll fit into most laptop bags, and you won’t look like a huge knob if you pull it out in a meeting. It won’t make as big of a dent in your power bill either.
The line hasn’t seen much movement lately, apart from a refresh or two so we reckon it’s probably time for a fresh lick of paint and a new feature or two. It might make a good candidate for one of those pretty OLED screens we keep going on about and with the way things went last year, we expect it will feature AI in some description. As with MSI, we won’t have to wait too much longer to find out more with Asus set to unveil its new stuff at CES 2024.
