We’ve seen some top-notch laptops debut in 2025 so far, with AI-powered processors that extend battery life without sacrificing performance and sharp display technology that’s slowly becoming more affordable. In the gaming laptop world, specifically, we’re spying new 50-series GPUs that show off incredible power and still-capable 40-series GPUs with healthy discounts.
Multiple 2025 gaming laptops have been launched already this year, but we want to highlight three particular models that impressed us more than the others. These three portable powerhouses are easily the best gaming laptops with Nvidia GPUs this year — at least for the time being.
Right before the holidays, around October and November, we expect to see more 2025 models of fan-favorite gaming laptops launch. When they do, we’ll stack them up against the three gaming laptops we’ve awarded winning titles to here in mid-2025 and see how they compare.
Best overall: Razer Blade 16
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
Our sister publication, PCMag, had plenty of positive things to say about the new 2025 Razer Blade 16, the gaming laptop we think shines brightest so far this year. PCMag’s Matthew Buzzi says, “With the 2025 Blade 16, Razer proves once again that it can deliver powerhouse performance and stunning design in one sleek, high-priced package.”
At its steep starting price of $2,399, the new Blade 16 features an AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 CPU, 16GB of RAM, an Nvidia RTX 5060 GPU, and 1TB of SSD storage. Doubling the RAM and storage and upgrading to a Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU and an RTX 5090 GPU bumps the price up to a whopping $4,499.
We never said this was a cheap gaming laptop, but it’s definitely one of the best gaming laptops with an Nvidia GPU you can shop right now. Having “crowned the RTX 5090 the new fastest mobile GPU (as you’d expect),” it’s no surprise that PCMag’s 5090-powered Blade 16 thoroughly impressed in all its performance tests, from daily productivity use to intense gaming benchmarks.
Despite incredible performance capabilities, Razer’s new Blade 16 isn’t slacking in the battery department. Most gaming laptops don’t last too long on video rundown tests, simply because their internals demand too much power. However, the $4,499 configuration PCMag used in its video rundown test lasted a whopping 10 hours and 12 minutes, nearly three hours longer than its predecessor.
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Considering this laptop’s internals and its gorgeous 16-inch, 2560 x 1600-pixel OLED display, that’s a jaw-dropping battery life result. With a 10+ hour battery life and a “svelte, premium metal build” that’s luxurious and not overly flashy like many gaming rigs, the Razer Blade 16 is a well-rounded laptop that you can easily bring to work or class during the day and shuffle home to play games at high settings to relax at night.
Best price-to-performance ratio: Acer Predator Helios 16
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
If you’re trying to get the best bang for your buck with your next gaming laptop, the Acer Predator Helios 16 is the one to get. In my Predator Helios 16 review, I said it was “equipped with internals that’ll keep you sailing smoothly through heavy gaming pressure and everyday tasks” — all at a worthy price.
Inside, our review unit featured an Intel Core i9 14900HX as the brains of the whole operation, an RTX 4080 GPU that handles AAA games beautifully, and a plentiful 32GB of RAM and 2TB of SSD storage — all for just $2,299 at the time of review. It doesn’t look like you can buy our exact review unit anymore, but you can snag even better next-gen value with a 50-series Nvidia GPU.
For just $1,549 at full price, the Predator Helios Neo 16S AI features half the RAM and storage of our review unit at 16GB and 1TB, respectively, but upgrades the processor to Intel’s latest Core Ultra 9 275HX and swaps in a more powerful Nvidia RTX 5060 graphics card. Its 16-inch, 2560 x 1600-pixel, 240Hz display we loved in our review is also getting a gorgeous OLED upgrade, which means it’ll deliver richer contrast and more vibrant colors.
This newer configuration even ditches the “strong gamer aesthetic” we noted in our review, making it a more inconspicuous rig to bring along to work or class. With an AI-powered processor, we’re also hopeful this means it’ll have better battery life than our review model.
Best timeless design: HP Omen 17
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
Technically, our HP Omen 17 review unit launched in 2024, but the latest 2025 model looks just as sleek, with a minimalist chassis that’ll have you guessing whether it’s a gaming laptop or not. The 2025 HP Omen 17 keeps the same beautiful, matte black chassis with a simple Omen logo on the top lid, while upgrading the internals to keep up with modern AAA games.
Like our review unit, this 2025 Omen 17 configuration comes with 1TB of SSD storage and 32GB of RAM, perfect for those who love to have multiple apps open in the background while gaming or for tab-hoarding research enthusiasts. It also shares the same sharp 17.3-inch, 2560 x 1440-pixel display with a buttery smooth 240Hz refresh rate we loved on the 2024 model.
The HP Omen 17 proved to be an incredible performer, whether tackling basic productivity tasks or fighting terminids in Helldivers 2 at high settings — and that configuration only had an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS processor and an RTX 4070 graphics card.
This updated 2025 model features an even more powerful AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 CPU and one of Nvidia’s new RTX 5070 GPUs, first announced at CES 2025. Despite more powerful internals, it’s only $200 pricier than the 2024 HP Omen 17 at full price.
In short, the HP Omen 17 is our top pick for anyone wanting a powerful gaming laptop that can double as an inconspicuous laptop for school or work. You can certainly play around with customized RGB lighting if you want, or keep things plain and simple.