When sifting through the best laptop deals, or even some of the best gaming laptop deals, specifically, there’s always going to be that question in your mind. Can it run your favorite game? From the latest Call of Duty to Fortnite, some laptops will perform better than others. Sure, it has everything to do with the hardware packed inside the laptop, like the processor, RAM capacity, and GPU, but that’s the entire point. Most manufacturers don’t list compatible game titles, except under rare, sponsored circumstances, and it’s up to you to figure out the best settings when the laptop arrives. So, if you’re looking for the best laptops for Fortnite, so you can dive in and play almost immediately after unboxing, you’ve come to the right place. We did the research to find the best laptops that will work with the game, offering excellent performance and visual fidelity — it’s gonna look good. And if you want to know how to win, step one is to make sure you have a good system.
The best laptops for playing Fortnite
- Buy the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 8 if you want one of the best gaming laptops overall.
- Buy the Acer Nitro 5 AN515-57-79TD if you care about aesthetics and style.
- Buy the ASUS TUF Gaming F15 if you want a GeForce RTX 40 Series laptop at a great price.
- Buy the Alienware x16 if you want a truly premium build quality.
- Buy the MSI Raider GE78 HX if you want no compromises whatsoever.
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 8
Best overall
| Pros | Cons |
| Runs the game at highest settings | Thick and heavy |
| Quad HD display with 240Hz refresh rate | Poor battery life |
| Legion Coldfront 5.0 thermal cooling |
At the time we published the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i review, it was much more expensive, but there is just so much to love about it. Digital Trends Mark Coppock praised it for many things, including its excellent gaming performance, superior productivity and creative performance, conservative aesthetics, excellent gaming display, and great touchpad and keyboard. The price has come down considerably, so it’s far more reasonable now, which is great for Fortnite players.
Specs differ depending on the model you choose, but even the starting model will play Fortnite on all settings cranked up to high or above. You get a 13th Gen Intel Core i9 processor, or better, a GeForce RTX 4070 with 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM and up to 32GB of DDR5 system RAM. The 16-inch WXGA display runs at a 240Hz refresh rate for smooth motion and the exclusive Legion Coldfront 5.0 thermal cooling technology helps vent all of the internals and keep the performance steady.
Acer Nitro 5
Best unique design
| Pros | Cons |
| Runs the game at highest settings | Bulky |
| Full HD display with 144Hz refresh rate | Average battery life |
| Efficient cooling system |
The Acer Nitro 5 has had several updates at this point, and this particular model features an Intel Core i7, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, 8GB of DDR4 system RAM, and a 512GB solid-state drive. Plus, the 15.6-inch full HD display running at 144Hz is nothing to snub. Killer WiFi 6 means you’ll have a stable, fast connection while playing, and you shouldn’t experience much lag while playing Fortnite as long as you’re connected to a stable internet source.
Meanwhile, the slick aesthetics with a fully backlit keyboard, excellent Acer cooling technology, and Acer’s NitroSense UI software with a dedicated keyboard button will all work together to enhance your gaming experience.
ASUS TUF Gaming F15
Best bang for your buck laptop
| Pros | Cons |
| Runs the game at highest settings | Bulky |
| Full HD display with 144Hz refresh rate | Average battery life |
| 16GB of DDR5 system RAM |
While the model we chose has an Intel Core i5 processor with Nvidia RTX 4050, you should never be afraid to dream a little bigger. In fact, one of the reasons we chose this laptop is that there are a ton of customization possibilities when it comes to the hardware. For example, you could splurge on a model that comes with more system RAM and a bigger solid-state drive. But don’t worry, if you don’t have the money to go for a big upgrade, the base model will run Fortnite just fine.
It’s also equipped with military-grade toughness, meeting the MIL-STD-810H military standard, and offers three USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, USB-C, and Thunderbolt 4 with DisplayPort compatibility, a fully backlit keyboard, excellent cooling, and much more. You’ll also get a free 90-day pass, or three months, to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
Alienware X16
Best premium option
| Pros | Cons |
| Runs the game at highest settings | Fans are loud and it can run hot |
| Quad HD display with 240Hz refresh rate | Limited USB-C power delivery |
| Premium build quality |
Powerful hardware. Check. Amazing design and slim chassis. Check. Full RGB for lots of customization and fun. Check. Will it run Fortnite at its highest settings? Definitely. The Alienware x16 has everything you could ever want in a gaming laptop and more. The gorgeous quad-HD display runs at a 240Hz refresh rate for smooth motion, even during intense firefights. You can choose up to 16GB of RAM, and it starts at 8GB. Moreover, you get plenty of storage, starting with a 1TB solid-state drive.
You can read the Digital Trends’ Alienware x16 review to see some of the finer details about the laptop. It offers fantastic gaming performance, has a solid build quality, and is still compact enough to travel — so you can game anywhere you want. Oh, and check out that sleek design. You can’t beat that.
MSI Raider GE78 HX
Best and biggest display
| Pros | Cons |
| Runs the game at highest settings | Bulky |
| Quad HD display with 240Hz refresh rate | Expensive |
| 64GB of DDR5 system RAM |
With a large 17-inch quad-HD display at 240Hz, an Intel Core i9, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080, this laptop will rock your socks off, both in real life and in Fortnite. It’s also packed with 64GB of DDR5 RAM, the fastest out there today, but also that’s a ton. You could multitask like crazy on this little machine, but also you’ll never be hungry for more performance. This laptop is the definition of “go big or go home,” and if you have the money for it, it’s certainly worth the splurge.
How we chose these laptops for playing Fortnite
Before spending your hard-earned money, you have every right to ensure it meets your demands, and that’s true of any new gadget you buy. Will it perform to the standards you want? Will the battery last as long as you need? Are there other features you should be concerned about? Of course, when it comes to laptops to play Fortnite, there’s a lot more to factor in than just whether or not it will run the game. Here’s everything you should look at when researching and choosing a new laptop for yourself because we certainly did:
Fortnite system requirements
Every PC game has a list of system requirements, and the hardware you need to reasonably run the game. There are minimum system requirements, the bare minimum and base level, and recommended requirements, a better configuration that will give you the developer’s intended experience.
Here are those lists for Fortnite:
Recommended
- GPU: Nvidia GTX 960, AMD R9 280, or equivalent DX11 GPU
- GPU VRAM: 2 GB VRAM
- CPU: Core i5-7300U 3.5 GHz, AMD Ryzen 3 3300U, or equivalent
- RAM: 16 GB RAM or higher
- Hard Drive: NVMe Solid State Drive
- OS: Windows 10/11 64-bit
Minimum
- GPU: Intel HD 4000 on PC; AMD Radeon Vega 8
- CPU: Core i3-3225 3.3 GHz
- RAM: 8 GB RAM
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit or Mac OS Mojave 10.14.6
Rest assured, every laptop on our list meets the minimum system requirements, while most surpass that and meet the recommended requirements.
Price
You are going to have to pay a little more to play, at least if you want top-notch performance, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should take out a 30-year loan to get it. We chose laptops that are reasonably priced compared to the hardware and performance you get in return. If it’s more expensive, then you’re getting a reasonable trade-off with better performance, and the laptop should last you for quite a few years, meaning you won’t have to upgrade every year to meet new hardware requirements. Still, it’s worth considering your budget and finding a system that matches your financial needs.
Extra features
Liquid or thermal cooling, RGB lighting with full customization, extra USB-C or Thunderbolt ports, and a high-resolution and high-framerate display are all extra features that you might look for when choosing a gaming laptop. Of course, most of the laptops on the list do include these features, which is why we selected them. When you’re looking, you should rank each of the extra options in order of importance and then look for laptops that best match what you want in your price range. You may have to overlook certain features if you want something cheaper, but also that’s why you should rank your wants. You’ll know what you’re more comfortable with giving up and what features you absolutely must have.
Where are you playing?
Yes, these are laptops, which technically means you can play them anywhere, like at a coffee shop, while visiting a friend’s house, or even at school. But sometimes, the battery drains so fast because of high-performing hardware that it’s necessary to stay relatively close to an outlet — that way, you can plug in the adapter and charge the battery anytime. We tried to choose laptops that offer reasonable battery life, but when you’re playing games like Fortnite, that’s not always possible.
This article is managed and created separately from the Digital Trends Editorial team.
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