Gone are the days when gamers and their collective misconception– borne out of denial, that the human eye can only see 60Hz is rampant. Because years ago tests have proven that higher monitor refresh rates give you an advantage in seeing and processing on-screen information. Thus, higher refresh rates have made their way into eSports gaming laptops.
But first, let’s set a clear line here. What counts as a high refresh rate these days? Technology moves fast, after all. With Dell releasing an Alienware X17 R2 laptop that sports a whopping 480Hz refresh rate— the first of its kind, the bar has gone higher. So, for eSports gaming laptops, a refresh rate of 360Hz is what we can consider high.
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What Hardware Works Best at That Refresh Rate?
The thing about high-refresh-rate displays is that you need corresponding hardware to actually take advantage of that. After all, 360Hz allows you to see a maximum of 360 frames per second. This lets your screen show information more smoothly and more accurately. It also gives less image ghosting and blurriness because of the higher framerate allowance.
The closer your framerate is to the refresh rate number, the smoother the gameplay will be, and more split-second information will be shown to you so you can react faster.
For this kind of dizzyingly high framerate target– even for light eSports games like CS:GO or Valorant, you’d want high-end hardware.
Anything above an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 (or the AMD equivalent) will do for the GPU.
Meanwhile, you’d also need a high-end CPU since high refresh rate screens are usually locked at 1080p to make the framerate target more achievable. At a resolution of 1080, the game relies a lot on the CPU to crank out more frames for a higher framerate. As such, you’d want a recent-generation i7 or Ryzen 7 at the very least.
Anything less than that combination is a waste and you should have just bought a laptop or screen with lower refresh rates in order to save money. After all, there are graphically demanding eSports titles like Apex Legends.
These eSports gaming laptops offer the best for your competitive needs right now, next to the latest Alienware X17 R2 480Hz (which is still way too expensive).
MSI Vector GP76
PROS
- RTX 3070 Ti and a 12th Gen i7 at this price point
- Generous RAM
- 17-inch display
- Relatively light and thin
- Minimalist design and branding
- Good cooling
CONS
- Loud fans
- DDR4 RAM (DDR5 helps with stutter and framerate)
- Display: 17.3″ FHD 360Hz
- CPU/Processor: Intel Core i7-12700H
- GPU/Graphics card: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
- RAM/Memory: 32GB
- Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD
Pound-for-pound or more specifically, price-to-performance, the MSI Vector GP76 offers the best deal right now if you’re looking for a capable eSports gaming laptop. There are better and shinier options from MSI, but all of them cost a lot whereas this one has a more manageable cost thanks to a sale (at the time of writing).
The RTX 3070 Ti and the 12th Gen i7 combo will ensure some consistent framerates that are as close to the 360Hz screen refresh rate as possible.
One big advantage is also the fact that the screen is 17.3 inches diagonally. Because apart from high refresh rates, eSports gamers will also want a relatively big screen so they can see information better. You squint a lot less with this laptop compared to something with a 15-inch display.
MSI Vector GP76
Razer Blade 17
PROS
- Has other variants if you want better performance at a higher cost
- DDR5 RAM
- 17-inch screen
- Sleek and minimalistic design
- Hinge doubles as additional cooling mechanism
CONS
- Expensive
- No numpad
- Display: 17.3″ 1920 x 1080 FHD 360 Hz
- CPU/Processor: Intel Core i7-12800H (12th Gen)
- GPU/Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
- RAM/Memory: 16GB DDR5
- Storage: 1 TB M.2 NVMe PCIe
If you do have lots of money to spare, then you can always go with Razer’s 17-inch flagship. This one does sport an RTX 3070 Ti, but you can select higher configurations for better performance and a higher price.
The i9 and RTX 3080 Ti variant gives you all the framerate advantage you could ever need in a gaming laptop, though that will increase the price by around a thousand dollars.
This particular setup is the more considerate budget option (as far as budget goes in Razer products). What it does better compared to your other options here is the DDR5 RAM which gives a considerable increase to framerate and reduces stutter (which can be deadly in competitive games).
Razer Blade 17
Alienware - m17 R5
PROS
- 17-inch screen
- Beautiful Alienware chassis
- DDR5 RAM
- Top-of-the-line AMD CPU
- More affordable than other Alienware variants
CONS
- A bit thick
- Display: 17.3″ 360Hz FHD
- CPU/Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX
- GPU/Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
- RAM/Memory: 16 GB DDR5
- Storage: 1 TB SSD
If the latest 480Hz Alienware x17 is a bit too expensive or a bit too out-of-stock, then you can’t go wrong with its smaller cousins. The Alienware m17 R5 is still highly capable of providing you with some winning hardware when it comes to your eSports exploits.
Oh, did we also mention that this particular Alienware model only goes for around $2,300 (give or take) at the time of writing? It’s an Alienware laptop that won’t break the bank, relatively speaking.
The savings do come in part from employing an AMD CPU instead of Intel. But the Ryzen 9 6900HX is still a good competitor against its Intel counterparts. Besides, the 1080p resolution means more multi-threaded processing will benefit your games.
Alienware - m17 R5
Asus ROG Strix Scar 15
PROS
- Durable keyboard
- RTX 3080 at this price point
- Beautiful chassis and RGB
- Good cooling
- Affordable
CONS
- Screen is only 15.6 inches
- 300Hz "only"
- DDR4 RAM
- Last-gen AMD CPU
- Display: 15.6″ 300Hz IPS Type FHD
- CPU/Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX
- GPU/Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
- RAM/Memory: 16GB DDR4
- Storage: 1TB SSD
For the previous models, you can opt for an RTX 3080 but that would make the price soar high. Asus, however, managed to keep a sub-$2000 price tag for this marvel of a deal. This particular Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 sports an RTX 3080 and a Ryzen 9 processor for a price that’s just half of the usual laptops in the same hardware tier.
There were lots of compromises to achieve this, however. The most glaring is the 300Hz refresh rate, which is 60Hz lower than what we consider “high.” But the difference isn’t really that noticeable, it’s only 60Hz or 60 frames well above 240. Good luck trying to spot the difference.
Other compromises come in the form of DDR4 memory, a 15-inch screen, and the AMD CPU being last-gen. Still, the RTX 3080 will make up for some of those.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 15
Gigabyte Aorus 5 SE4
PROS
- Mid-range price, high-end hardware
- Compact Gigabyte chassis with a full keyboard
- RTX 3070 runs at max wattage (no compromises)
CONS
- Plastic can feel cheaper on this model
- Storage could be better
- DDR4 RAM (can't complain at this price, however)
- 15-inch screen (again, can't really complain for the price)
- Display: 15.6″ Thin Bezel FHD 1920×1080 360Hz
- CPU/Processor: Intel Core i7-12700H
- GPU/Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070
- RAM/Memory: 16GB DDR4
- Storage: 512GB SSD
“Budget” usually doesn’t go well together with “i7” and “RTX 3070” but here we are thanks to Gigabyte Aorus 5 SE4. It’s currently on sale but even after the sale, it still falls within the budget category (only a couple hundred dollars more expensive).
If you want to be competitive in eSports without spending too much or spending only for a mid-range price point, then there’s no better deal than this.
Heck, even in the mid-range category, it’s hard to find a gaming laptop that has a 360Hz display below $1,400. There are other variants if you want a 17-inch screen, a 16-inch AMOLED, or an RTX 3070 Ti paired with DDR5 RAM, but this configuration is a good starting point.
Gigabyte Aorus 5 SE4
Your Skills are Still the Best Factor in eSports
Now, as a final parting thought, you can’t really rely too much on the refresh rate and the most responsive hardware to carry you to victory.
Don’t feel too frustrated about the hardware if you don’t get the wins you expected. You still need to put in some practice (especially for FPS games) if you want to win in competitive eSports titles. Technology and high refresh rates can only take you so far.
If you do feel that you have the skills already and that the hardware is the only thing holding you back, then that’s a good time to upgrade or consider higher refresh rates.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Are higher refresh rates better?
Yes. They allow you to see more split-second visual information differences on the screen, allowing you to react faster. -
Is 480Hz worth it?
Probably not. There is a constant debate in the gaming community and among pundits that going past 360Hz is a bit overkill. Some claim that higher refresh rates offer diminishing returns but that depends on how sensitive you are to refresh rates.