The Best Gaming Laptops of 2022 at CES!

These are the best gaming laptops coming out in 2022 from 9 different companies!

We’ll go through the news from each company at CES 2022, or skip ahead to a specific company with the index below:

• ASUS
• Lenovo
• Alienware
• MSI
• Razer
• XMG
• Acer
• HP
• Aorus

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ASUS

ASUS had the biggest changes to their gaming laptop lineup at CES this year, so we’ll start with them.

Zephyrus G14

This 14″ gaming laptop receives countless improvements this year. Along with updates to AMD’s latest Ryzen 6000 processors, it’s also moving to Radeon RX 6000S graphics rather than Nvidia. New CPUs also means new DDR5 memory and faster PCIe Gen 4 storage this year.

The G14 also gets a camera above the screen, and the screen is taller now with a 16:10 aspect ratio. The taller screen means slightly more depth, so a larger touchpad can now fit. The front facing speakers have also been pushed to the back so now there’s no chance of your hands covering them.

The keyboard now has RGB lighting rather than white only, so the keys can be a bit easier to see if you’ve got the white model. The lid lighting is also clearer now, with both more holes and more LEDs for a sharper image.

The G14 keeps the same port layout as last year, but also manages to add in a MicroSD card slot on the right hand side too.

Zephyrus Duo 16

This is an update to the dual screen Duo 15, but as you can probably tell by the name it’s using a larger 16″ 16:10 main screen this year. The lower secondary screen also moves back when you open the laptop now, increasing immersion as the gap between the two screens is much smaller now.

The screen also supports 4K 120Hz, which isn’t new in itself, however for the first time you can increase the refresh rate up to 240Hz if you lower the resolution down to 1080p – a feature that hasn’t existed in gaming laptops before. This means you get the best of both worlds, higher 4K resolution with a reasonable refresh rate for creators and more responsive screen when it’s time to play a game.

Flow Z13

The Z13 is a 13″ tablet like device. The keyboard can be completely disconnected and it’s got the XG Mobile port for direct PCIe connection to ASUS’s eGPU solution for even more power. This thing uses Intel 12th gen processors, so even an i7 means up to 14 cores and 20 threads in a tiny space!

MUX Switch

Every single gaming laptop from ASUS gets a MUX switch this year. This is a huge update, as it allows us to disable Optimus and get a performance boost in games. Popular models like the Zephyrus M16 and G15 get this update too. This even includes the more budget friendly TUF series as well, hopefully this doesn’t affect price too much as this is generally considered a more premium feature!

Lenovo

Lenovo had some of the best mid range gaming laptops last year, so it’s not too surprising to hear that they didn’t change much this year – don’t fix what’s not broken!

Legion 5

The Legion 5 will still be available with both Intel and AMD processor configurations, however it’s been updated to Intel 12th gen and Ryzen 6000 CPUs this year with DDR5 memory. According to Lenovo, the cooling has been improved despite it now being 15% thinner. The keys are meant to be 33% quieter too, and the screen gets updated from last year’s 1080p 165Hz panel to a 1440p 165Hz option.

The port selection is very similar, basically one of the USB Type-A ports is now a Type-C. I think this is fine given going forward we should see more peripherals making use of Type-C, and hey it’s still got 3 Type-A ports anyway.

Legion 5 Pro

The 5 Pro also gets updated to latest processors and DDR5 memory, and the 16″ 16:10 screen also gets a boost from 165Hz to 240Hz this year. Otherwise there are similar changes to the cooling and keyboard here too. Both the Legion 5 and 5 Pro apparently have new RGB management software called Spectrum. I’m very interested to see if this finally resolves the battery drain issues that have existed with the Legion 7 for a couple of years now.

Legion 7

Unfortunately there wasn’t any news at CES 2022 with regards to their top end model, the Legion 7. I have been informed that this will be updated later though, so stay tuned for news – follow me on Twitter for updates.

Alienware

Alienware are claiming to have the most powerful all AMD gaming laptop this year!

Alienware m17 R5

This new model uses up to AMD Ryzen 9 6980HX processor and Radeon RX 6850M XT graphics, so literally the most powerful CPU and GPU on offer from AMD for laptops in 2022. There will also be Nvidia options too, but so far this is the only laptop using the 6850M XT that I’ve heard of so far.

Alienware x14

This year Alienware are also entering the 14″ gaming laptop arena, which was previously only filled by the ASUS Zephyrus G14 and Razer Blade 14. The x14 is based on Intel 12th gen processors with up to RTX 3060 graphics, and like this year’s G14 and Blade 14 it’s also got a MUX switch, so I’m very interested to compare all three.

MSI

MSI are introducing the Stealth GS77 this year, a brand new gaming laptop chassis.

GS77

This is basically the next iteration of the GS76 from last year, so it’s a thinner 17″ gaming laptop. Of course it gets the latest specs including Intel 12th gen processor and up to Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti graphics, but expect lower power limits due to the slimmer design. It’s also got some other interesting updates such as some of the ports are now on the back, which I personally prefer as it keeps bulky cables out of the way.

MSI claim that the hinge of the GS77 is 2 times stronger than before, however the hinges are closer to the center compared to last year, so it will be interesting to see how this holds up long term compared to previous designs.

MSI otherwise have refreshed their entire lineup with the latest specs from Intel and Nvidia, however at this time they haven’t announced any updates to their AMD Ryzen & Radeon gaming laptops, though I’m told news in this area is yet to come.

Razer

Razer have made some nice improvements this year, particular to their Blade 14 gaming laptop.

Blade 14

The Blade 14 launched just a year ago in 2021, now this year it’s already been refreshed to include a MUX switch. The internals also get an update to AMD’s Ryzen 9 6900HX processor and Nvidia RTX 3060, 3070 Ti or 3080 Ti graphics. New CPU also means DDR5 memory and faster PCIe Gen 4 storage this year too, and the camera also gets a boost from 720p to 1080p.

Unfortunately the maximum system memory is still limited to just 16gb for some reason. While I’m happy to admit this is still perfectly adequate for gaming today, it’s hard to predict how things may change in the future. Considering the RAM is soldered to the motherboard and can never be upgraded, I find it disappointing that there isn’t a 32gb option available as this is an expensive machine.

Blade 15 & 17

The larger Blade 15 and 17 receive improvements to the hinge, get larger keys and finer cut speaker grills. The Blade 17 also gets double the speakers compared to last year as well as a 17% larger battery.

XMG

XMG, a reseller of the Tongfang chassis in Europe, are introducing water cooling this year!

This interesting design will be available to all of their Neo 15 gaming laptops this year. This means any customers have the potential to upgrade to liquid cooling in future which I think is a great expansion option and not something other companies are offering.

Of course there’s a reason for that, mixing liquid and electronics certainly comes with an increased risk. The Neo 15 isn’t any different, as it needs to be drained prior to transport, a task that must be done in a careful way to prevent liquid entering rear I/O ports or air vents. You can see a demonstration in the above video!

Acer

Acer have refreshed the popular Nitro 5 and Helios 300 chassis this year with a redesign.

Nitro 5

The Nitro is still available with either Intel or AMD CPU options, but it’s been updated to Ryzen 6000 or Intel 12th gen processors. Interestingly, this means the Ryzen model takes DDR5 memory while the Intel version takes DDR4 memory. Intel 12th gen can technically support either DDR4 or DDR5 memory, however Acer have chosen to base it on the older and in theory cheaper DDR4.

Helios 300

The Helios 300 gets a bit of a new look this year too. Like last year, it’s an Intel only model but with the latest 12th gen processors. It’s also making use of liquid metal this year, something the Helios lineup hasn’t offered before. Acer didn’t explicitly note whether or not these gaming laptops had a MUX switch, so I would assume this means that they don’t given it’s a great feature to advertise. At least they added an RGB light bar to the front this year.

Considering other companies such as ASUS, Alienware, and Razer are including the MUX switch with their new 2022 models while others like Lenovo, MSI and XMG already have, it feels like Acer is getting left behind by the competition despite their refreshed chassis deisgn.

HP

Unfortunately HP had even less updates at CES 2022. At this time, they’re simply refreshing their existing gaming laptops such as the Victus and Omen with latest CPUs and GPUs. This means AMD’s Ryzen 6000 or Intel’s 12th gen processors, but no other noteworthy differences – at least early in 2022.

Aorus

The Aorus gaming laptop lineup for 2022 includes the Aorus 5, Aorus 15 and Aorus 17. Honestly there’s not a whole lot to talk about apart from the 15 moving the camera to the top of the screen – no more nose cam!

The Aorus 5 seems to use the same chassis as the new Aero 5 creator laptop, just with a faster refresh rate screen and the critical RGB keyboard. The Aorus 15 and 17 are a higher tier model and can be specced higher. My Gigabyte video starts with a focus on the Aero series, but gets into the Aorus lineup too.

Best Gaming Laptops 2022 Summary Video

Prefer video over text? Check out my more 2022 gaming laptop roundup here:

Let me know which gaming laptops you’re most interested in down in the comments so I know what you want me to review on the Jarrod’sTech YouTube channel!