Ray Tracing is the current hottest and heaviest in graphics technology. It’s a near-perfect simulation of light physics in a digital space. Such technology isn’t just limited to desktop computers and is thankfully available in Ray Tracing Texel eXtreme or RTX gaming laptops. It’s all thanks to Nvidia.
Needless to say, if you want the best of the best when it comes to graphical eye candy in gaming, you need to have an RTX graphics card or an RTX gaming laptop (basically a laptop with an RTX graphics card). AMD Radeon cards can handle Ray Tracing, but at poorer performance.
Of course, when you’re already aiming for the full Ray Tracing or RTX experience, you’ll want the most complementary configurations. That would be a screen that’s bigger than 15.6 inches, and the corresponding screen resolution that will put the graphics card to maximum use.
On top of that, you also have to consider budget tiers and categories. That’s a lot of dizzying work but consider yourself lucky since we’ve already compiled the best RTX gaming laptops in 2022. We’ll be dividing them based on their graphics card tier namely the 3080 Ti, 3080, 3070 Ti, 3070, and the 3060.
We don’t recommend an RTX 3050 Ti for Ray Tracing due to its poor performance.
Razer Blade 17
PROS
- Top-of-the-line Intel and Nvidia laptop hardware
- Sleek and minimalist design
- UHD display with 144Hz refresh rate
- You can pick less powerful components to reduce cost
- Generous RAM
- Infrared webcam
- Light
- 17-inch screen
CONS
- More costly than other brands
- No numpad
- CPU/Processor: Intel Core i9 14-Core (12th Gen)
- GPU/Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (16GB GDDR6)
- RAM/Memory: 32GB DDR5 RAM
- Storage: 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD
- Display: 17.3″ 3840 x 2160 UHD 144 Hz
Sure enough, Razer Blade is at the tippety top again. It’s the cream of the crop when it comes to gaming laptops though when it comes to price, that’s a different competition altogether. It has everything you could expect for a top-of-the-line laptop.
You can run the most intense Ray Tracing video game at the moment (currently Cyberpunk 2077) at 4K smoothly with a bit of Ray Tracing. Also, if you’re budget-conscious but still want Razer, then you can choose a lower specification all the way down to RTX 3060.
Razer Blade 17
Acer Predator Triton 500 SE
PROS
- Top-of-the-line Intel and Nvidia laptop hardware
- Affordable considering its specs
- QHD display with 240Hz refresh rate
- Generous RAM
- Generous Storage
- You can pick less powerful components to reduce cost
CONS
- Screen is 16-inch, meaning its aspect ratio is more square than widescreen
- Might get hot and noisy
- No numpad
- CPU/Processor: Intel Core i9 14-Core (12th Gen)
- GPU/Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (16GB GDDR6)
- RAM/Memory: 32GB DDR5 RAM
- Storage: 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD
- Display: 16″ 2560 x 1660 IPS Display at 240 Hz
Things got a little too out of control with Razer in the cost department, so let’s scale back a bit with the Acer Predator Triton 500 SE. It sports identical components; same CPU, same GPU, same RAM, and more storage, but the cost? It’s about $1,300 lower give or take or even without the current discount, around $1,000 more affordable compared to the Razer Blade.
That’s quite a steal already for a laptop with this kind of specification. There were some compromises to be made and that’s with the screen. It’s no 4K beast but it runs at a QHD with eSports-level refresh rates. Best part? It won’t break the bank.
Acer Predator Triton 500 SE
MSI Vector GP76
PROS
- Intel i7 and RTX 3080 at an affordable cost
- Sleek and minimalist design
- Generous RAM
- 17-inch screen
- 360Hz refresh rate
CONS
- Native resolution is only FHD
- CPU/Processor: Intel Core i7 14-Core (12th Gen)
- GPU/Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (8GB GDDR6)
- RAM/Memory: 32GB of DDR4 RAM
- Storage: 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD
- Display: 17.3″ 1920 x 1080 360 Hz IPS Display
The RTX 3080 might be a bit weaker than the RTX 3080 Ti, but it’s still a capable 4K gaming machine. If not 4K, then perhaps a 1080p gaming machine that runs at a staggering 360Hz will still amaze you. Because that’s more than adequate for the needs of a professional eSports player.
So that display pairing with this kind of RTX power isn’t wasted at all. In fact, you don’t lose much since you can still upscale any game’s resolution to 4K or QHD using Nvidia’s Dynamic Super Resolution or DSR through its driver’s control panel. That way, you can still game at non-native 4K with a refresh rate of 360Hz.
MSI Vector GP76
HP OMEN 17
PROS
- 1440p display with 165Hz refresh rate
- Has an RTX 3070 Ti that runs at maximum power (150 watts)
- 17-inch screen
- Sleek and minimalist design
- Bang & Olufsen speakers
CONS
- No numpad
- CPU/Processor: Intel Core i7-12700H
- GPU/Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
- RAM/Memory: 16GB DDR5
- Storage: 1TB PCIe SSD
- Display: 17.3″ QHD 165Hz
Sliding down a tier to the lower high-end category (which is still plenty powerful, by the way), we have the HP Omen 17. It provides a good balance between specs and pricing with an RTX 3070 Ti to boot. That’s certainly not a 4K graphics card but the manufacturers know this so they paired it with a QHD display.
That’s perfect as it is since QHD or 2560 x 1440 (1440p) is considered by many as the sweet spot resolution for laptops. 4K is a bit wasted, while 1080p is starting to get outdated (outside of eSports). Regardless, you won’t find much fault or dissatisfaction with this particular laptop. It also looks good appearance-wise.
HP OMEN 17
HP OMEN 16
PROS
- 1440p display with 165Hz refresh rate
- Sleek and minimalist design
- 12th-Gen i7 CPU at this price point
CONS
- No numpad
- 720p webcam
- Storage could be better
- CPU/Processor: Intel Core i7-12700H (12th Gen)
- GPU/Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070
- RAM/Memory: 16 GB 4800 MHz DDR5
- Storage: 512 GB M.2 NVMe PCIe
- Display: 16.1″ QHD 165 Hz
We have HP Omen yet again for the RTX 3070 tier and it’s considerably more affordable compared to its bigger brother, the Omen 17. As far as performance goes, there really isn’t much of a difference between the RTX 3070 and the 3070 Ti, both are still high-end 1440p graphics cards. That’s what the Omen 16 came with.
Some compromises were had with the smaller screen but somehow, HP managed to make the aspect ratio widescreen (16:9) with a 16-inch display instead of 16:10. That’s quite impressive. Also, you’ll be forced to buy a storage upgrade here (which is thankfully cheap) since it only comes with half-a-terabyte of space.
HP OMEN 16
Lenovo Legion 5i
PROS
- RTX 3060 that runs at maximum power (140 watts)
- Decent storage
- 12th-Gen i7 CPU at this price point
- Sleek and minimalist design
CONS
- Not much at its price and specs category
- CPU/Processor: Intel Core i7-12700H (12th Gen)
- GPU/Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (6GB GDDR6)
- RAM/Memory: 16GB DDR5
- Storage: 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD
- Display: 15.6″ 1920 x 1080 @ 165 Hz IPS Display
When going for RTX gaming laptops, the bare minimum you’d want to stick with will be RTX 3060, because RTX 3050 Ti and lower are disappointing entries. Also, there are lots of “hidden” variations of the mobile RTX 3060 that are practically neutered with lower maximum wattage or TGP, meaning they’re weaker in order to reduce price or heat output.
If you want to avoid these variants of the mobile RTX 3060, then you’d do well to stick with Lenovo’s Legion lineup. The Legion 5i doesn’t cheap out on its RTX 3060. As far as gaming performance goes, you can expect to play your latest video games at High or even Ultra settings with a bit of Ray Tracing involved.
Lenovo Legion 5i
A Word of Warning on Ray Tracing
The visual appeal of Ray Tracing on your gaming machine and video games depends on how expensive your RTX GPU is. The more expensive and higher-tier they are, the more you can increase the Ray Tracing quality. And even then, you might not notice Ray Tracing’s graphical effects on the games you play; consider this when buying into the hype or promotions.
Also, Ray Tracing is one of the most costly settings in video games these days. They can easily halve your framerate and make gameplay choppier or jankier. More powerful RTX graphics cards might find a way around this by brute-forcing the tech with their wattage, but again, they’re more expensive. Consider this when purchasing an RTX gaming laptop.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is Ray Tracing worth it?
It's a bit more complicated than "yes" or "no." Currently, there are only a few dozen games that utilize Ray Tracing and only a handful of them do it well. The best example is Metro Exodus and Cyberpunk 2077. Check those games to see if you find Ray Tracing appealing. -
Are RTX gaming laptops more expensive?
Generally, computers with Nvidia RTX graphics cards are more expensive compared to their AMD counterparts. The same goes for laptops.