Virtual reality (VR) demands anything-but-virtual hardware. The immersive, interactive worlds of today’s VR games and apps takes considerable processing and graphics power. With one notable exception—the standalone Meta Quest 2, our Editors’ Choice pick for cable-free virtual reality—your VR headset must be plugged into a high-end PC. (Yes, Sony’s PlayStation VR plugs into a PlayStation instead of a PC, and an optional cable lets the Meta Quest 2 access PC-based games and apps, but we’ll get to that in a minute.)
Beefy gaming desktops are a common option for VR, but not everyone has the space or the desire for a bulky tower. Being able to move your VR machine from room to room—or take it on the go, if you need to show off VR demos—is more appealing.
This is where a VR-ready laptop comes in. Unfortunately, the average consumer laptop is not suited to the requirements of virtual reality—chances are, it doesn’t have a sufficiently potent graphics processing unit (GPU), or it has an HDMI port for an external monitor when most VR headsets dictate a DisplayPort connector instead. Below, we’ve selected the best laptops for VR in 2023 from our stable of thoroughly tested laptop reviews, which is followed by a detailed buyer’s guide for additional buying advice.
The Best Laptop Deals This Week for VR*
*Deals are selected by our commerce team
Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
Lenovo Legion 7 Gen 7
Best Overall Performance for VR
Bottom Line:
Lenovo’s all-AMD Legion 7 Gen 7 gaming laptop combines excellent performance, helpful features, and long battery life.
PROS
- Powerful gaming performance
- Bright FreeSync screen
- Metal chassis
- Comfortable keyboard
- Long battery life
- Extensive connectivity, including USB 4
CONS
- Not that portable
- Pedestrian looks without system lighting
MSI Katana GF66
Best Budget Gaming Laptop for VR
Bottom Line:
MSI’s Katana GF66 is a well-priced, well-rounded budget gaming laptop that cuts competing models down to size.
PROS
- Aggressive price for the component mix
- Solid 1080p gaming performance
- 144Hz display
- Roomy 1TB SSD
CONS
- Display isn’t overly bright or colorful
- Middling CPU performance
- Brief battery life
Alienware x14
Best Small Gaming Laptop for VR
Bottom Line:
The brand-new Alienware x14 joins the upper echelon of 14-inch gaming laptops, delivering a sound gaming experience and fast overall performance in a super-portable design.
PROS
- Impressively fast Core i7 “Alder Lake” processor
- RTX 3060 unit delivers a consistent 60fps-plus gaming experience
- Compact design
- Long-lasting battery
- Wide range of connectivity, including three USB-C ports
CONS
- Expensive
- 14-inch screen size may be too small for some hardcore gamers
MSI Titan GT77 (2023)
Best 17-Inch Gaming Laptop for VR
Bottom Line:
A next-gen gaming laptop at a sky-high price, MSI’s Titan GT77 comes in fast and loud with 13th Gen Intel Core i9 and Nvidia RTX 4090 power.
PROS
- Blistering performance
- Brilliant 4K 144Hz display
- Respectable battery life for its category
- Understated design makes this big laptop look sleek
CONS
- Prohibitively expensive
- Quite heavy, especially when you add the huge power brick
- Loud fans, under normal use, rise to ear-splitting under heavy load
- 4K gaming requires DLSS 3 and frame-generation technology
- Still just a 720p webcam
Asus ROG Strix Scar 18
Best Gaming Laptop for VR if Cost Is No Object
Bottom Line:
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is one of the most powerful gaming laptops right now, showing off the latest flagship CPU from Intel (13th Gen Core i9) and GPU from Nvidia (GeForce RTX 4090). It’s big and expensive, but the body feels reasonable for everything it’s packing.
PROS
- Extreme performance
- Excellent gaming display
- Semi-reasonable size and weight
- Decent battery on iGPU
CONS
- Plastic construction
- Expensive
- Can become loud under intense work loads
Razer Blade 18
Best 18-Inch Gaming Laptop for VR
Bottom Line:
The Razer Blade 18 is a pricey premium gaming laptop hopping on the 18-inch-screen trend. Its build is superior, and its performance is mighty, but you can get more power for your dollar elsewhere.
PROS
- Beautiful 18-inch QHD 240Hz display
- Latest parts inside
- Thin all-metal design retains premium feel
- Robust port offering
CONS
- Competitors are superior performers at a similar price
- So-so battery life
- Heavy, despite thin build
- Condensed keyboard for the chassis size, despite lack of a numpad
MSI CreatorPro X17
Best Laptop for VR Content Creators
Bottom Line:
The MSI CreatorPro X17 workstation laptop packs unmatched, ISV-certified performance for the most demanding projects. It’s pricey and too big to be portable, but if you want unbridled power, this is it.
PROS
- Category-leading performance
- Delightful 17-inch 4K display
- Eye-catching RGB keyboard
- Huge port selection
CONS
- Massive design limits portability
- Expensive in every configuration
Buying Guide: The Best Laptops for VR in 2023
What Do I Need for VR on Laptop? It’s All About the GPU
Laptops that rely on their processors’ integrated graphics are useless for VR applications. (Check the specs: If your laptop uses Intel’s HD Graphics, UHD Graphics, Iris Graphics, or Xe Graphics, it’s integrated.) Just as when shopping for a gaming laptop or a mobile workstation, your first priority must be a discrete or dedicated GPU, and a good one. Even avid gamers are often satisfied with a GPU capable of showing 60 frames per second (fps) on a laptop screen or desktop monitor, but on a headset that frame rate can at best look choppy and at worst cause nausea—a sustained 90fps is more comfortable.
(Credit: Molly Flores)
The two major pioneering (and now discontinued) VR headsets, the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, recommended at least an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 or an AMD Radeon RX 480 for tolerable performance in VR. Officially, things haven’t changed much—the newer, pricey Valve Index(Opens in a new window) specifies the GeForce GTX 1070.
You won’t find those exact chips in modern gaming laptops, though; they have been succeeded. Nevertheless, our advice is to aim higher, at the very least to the neighborhood of the mobile GeForce GTX 1660 Ti on the Nvidia side and the Radeon RX 5500M for AMD-based laptops—or, better yet, a GeForce RTX or a Radeon RX 5600M/RX 6600M series solution.
(Credit: Zlata Ivleva)
This probably means you won’t get away with spending much less than $1,000 on a gaming laptop. In the $1,000 to $1,300 ballpark, you’ll likely be torn between the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti and the RTX 3050 or RTX 3050 Ti, with a relative smattering of Radeon RX 5500M and 5600M machines tempting those on Team Red. (You might see some models based on Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1650, but don’t bite; that GPU is not suited for VR.)
Of course, if you can spend more, you can get a truly powerful GPU. Among Nvidia’s offerings, stepping up to a GeForce RTX 3070, RTX 3080 Ti, RTX 4070, RTX 4080, or RTX 4090 will help you run games at much higher frame rates, even at maximum settings, which may make the difference between a dizzying experience and avoiding motion sickness altogether. For games that are particularly demanding outside of VR, an upper-tier 30 Series or newer RTX 40 Series GPU is recommended.
What Processor and Memory Do I Need for VR?
Outside of the graphics card, component hardware requirements for VR are somewhat easier to hit. As far as the CPU goes, the Vive Cosmos (the successor to the original Vive) says you’ll be okay with a Core i5-4590 or equivalent. That’s a quad-core desktop processor that Intel introduced in 2014 (and that, needless to say, you won’t find in any new desktops or laptops today). The Valve Index requires a dual-core CPU as a bare minimum, but recommends four cores or more.
The same goes for the Oculus Link cable that connects an Meta Quest 2 headset to a PC to play games like Half-Life: Alyx. The minimum for AMD CPUs is equally undemanding—the Ryzen 5 1500X, a desktop quad-core that dates back to 2017.
(Credit: Molly Flores)
What to know when looking at CPUs: While four processing cores are really a necessity (and six or eight cores naturally better still), any modern (from 10th Generation on) Intel Core i5 laptop chips, or AMD Ryzen 5 4000 or 5000 series ones, will be fine for even the latest VR apps. A Core i7 or a Ryzen 7 will give you ample headroom for future software, and the latest generations of these chips will run games smoothly when paired with the right GPU.
What’s nice: You’d be hard-pressed to find a current- or previous-generation gaming laptop that won’t meet those CPU minimums. Gaming laptops almost universally use one of Intel’s or AMD’s H-series CPUs, which are higher-powered processors than the U-series silicon in most thin non-gaming laptops, and a minimum of four cores. Any late-model Core i5, i7, or i9, or a Ryzen 5 or 7 H-series chip, should do the job nicely for VR. (For a much deeper dive, see our guide to understanding laptop CPUs.)
As for system memory, the Vive Cosmos asks for 4GB, while the Meta headsets require 8GB or more. Since every current gaming laptop comes with at least 8GB of RAM and plenty offer 16GB, you won’t have to go out of your way for sufficient memory or processing power, unless you’re shopping for a used laptop.
Which Ports Does My Laptop Need for VR?
Modern VR headsets don’t hog three USB ports as the original Oculus Rift did (it required cables for the headset, as well as two wired sensors), but you’ll still need to be careful about your new laptop’s selection of ports. Being able to plug in all of your headset’s connectors is the main concern here, and knowing which ports you’ll need requires checking the fine print. One laptop may be a good fit for one VR headset, but not have what you need for another, so make sure to check the laptop against the specific cabling needs of the VR headset you’re using.
(Credit: Molly Flores)
The Meta Quest 2’s optional Oculus Link is basically a fancy USB Type-C 3.2 cable, but other headsets like the Vive Cosmos and the Valve Index(Opens in a new window) require both a USB 3.0 port and a DisplayPort video connector to work with a PC. The DisplayPort is critical because some laptops, as mentioned, have an HDMI output but no DisplayPort. An adapter that links a full-size DisplayPort to a mini DisplayPort will work (and is sometimes included with the headset), but an HDMI-to-DisplayPort adapter—and this is very important to note when shopping—will not. (We haven’t tried a Thunderbolt-to-DisplayPort adapter, but we wouldn’t count on it. You want the “real deal” ports to match.)
Fortunately, a number of gaming laptops and some content-creation laptops do have DisplayPort connectors, but triple-checking the necessary mix of ports before you buy a laptop for VR is essential. If you have ports left over beyond what’s required, you can chalk that up as a win, since it will allow you to keep other peripherals plugged in alongside the headset without swapping cables.
Other VR Laptop Concerns: Screen, Storage, and Battery
After meeting the VR hardware requirements, other factors come down to your personal preferences and needs. You’ll find both 15.6-inch and 17.3-inch laptops compatible with popular headsets (with some 14-inch and 16-inch models emerging), but of course you’ll be wearing your headset while playing, not looking at the screen. The display size you pick should depend on how you use your laptop when you’re not using VR.
(Credit: Molly Flores)
Our laptop buying guide will walk you through the pros and cons of different screen sizes. If your work is mostly confined to your desk, a 17.3-inch notebook is a plus, though some can weigh a barely luggable 8 to 10 pounds. (Also see our guide to the best 17-inch laptops, VR-ready and not.) If you’ll often take your laptop on the go, a lighter 15.6-inch system makes sense. (Again, check that it has the ports you need; the more compact the machine, the fewer ports it’s likely to have.) In addition to the screen size, you’ll want to assess the display characteristics, notably the peak refresh rate; modern gaming laptops use panels with faster refresh rates than most older models. (See our guide to whether you really need a high-refresh screen.)
All laptops have their own visual styles, as well, ranging from businesslike bland to gamer garish. The difference is totally subjective, but you don’t want to be stuck looking at something you don’t like. For example, Alienware machines tend toward flashy; most Gigabyte machines look much more conservative.
(Credit: Zlata Ivleva)
VR games and applications take up a lot of storage space, so you’ll want a machine that can at least hold your favorite titles while letting you rotate others out. Teaming up a speedy solid-state drive (at least 256GB, preferably 512GB) with a 1TB or larger hard drive is a popular solution. If the laptop of your dreams has room for only one SSD without a supplemental hard drive, buy the highest-capacity SSD you can afford.
Battery life is generally less of an issue for gaming and VR laptops than for ultraportables and convertibles, because gaming laptops are usually plugged in. Playing on battery rather than AC power usually diminishes performance, and VR is so power-hungry that you’ll rely on a wall outlet for all but the shortest explorations.
Which Laptop Should I Buy for VR?
The systems below represent the best VR-ready laptops we’ve reviewed. Also check out our roundups of the best gaming laptops (VR abilities aside)—or, if you decide to keep things wholly at home, the best gaming desktops, most of which can easily handle VR duties, so long as they’re equipped with at least the minimum recommended GPU for the VR headset you have.
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