The Top 5 Laptops for Minecraft Reviewed
Whether you want to battle the Ender Dragon or rebuild Minas Tirith block for block, Minecraft offers the opportunity for endless entertainment whether you are looking to play on your own or with friends.
What you don’t want, however, is your laptop to crash when you and your squad have finally reached the Nether.
In this article, we’ve put together a list of the best laptops for playing Minecraft on. We’ve also put together a FAQ section for those who are new to the game.
There is also a laptop buyer’s guide that we’ve put together to help you discover the perfect laptop for you.
Continue reading to find out what are the best laptops to play Minecraft on right now.
Best Laptops for Minecraft
1. Asus Rog Strix Scar III
Our top pick is the Rog Strix Scar III from Asus. This really is the best of the best when it comes to gaming laptops.
It only has two minor flaws, poor battery life, and its weight.
Let’s start with the big question – does this laptop meet the specs required to play Minecraft (for more information on what these are check out our buyer’s guide below)?
Put simply – yes! In fact, this laptop not only exceeds the minimum requirement but it also exceeds our recommended requirements for a smooth-running game.
This laptop has a lot of screen space for you to enjoy your marvelous creations on – it comes with a 240Hz 15.6” 1920×1080 IPS Type Display. The bezels on the edge of its display are so small, you really get to make the most of all 15.6″ of the display.
This laptop comes with a 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750h Processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 8GB GDDR6. It also comes with 1TB SSD storage. The one downside of all this power is that it drains the Strix Scar III’s battery very quickly. You’re looking at about 3.5 actual hours of battery life.
To maintain the insane amount of power that this laptop offers it comes with a few built-in devices. The Strix Scar III comes with Rog intelligent cooling Thermal system with dual 12V fans, these fans come with adjustable modes.
It has a set of built-in triple radiators and anti-dust technology built-in too.
There is no shortage of ports on this laptop as it comes with 7 – made up of a combination of HDMI, USB, and ethernet ports. The laptop runs off both ethernet and wifi – it includes a Gigabit wave 2 Wi-Fi connection.
The side effect of having all this power and built-in technology is that this is a very heavy laptop – weighing in at over 5 and a half pounds. We’re more than happy to drag this beast around because of the amount of power it can offer us.
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 8GB GDDR6 (base: 1215 MHz, Boost: 1440 MHz; TDP: 115W)
- 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750h Processor
- 240Hz 15.6” 1920x1080 IPS Type Display
- 16GB DDR4 2666MHz RAM | 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD | Windows 10 Home | Gigabit wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 (802.11AC)
- ROG intelligent cooling Thermal system with dual 12V fans, Triple radiators, anti-dust technology, and adjustable fan modes
2. Lenovo Legion Y540
Choice number 2 is the Lenovo Legion Y540.
This is a high powered, well-priced gaming laptop, with a high-quality screen, however, this machine does lack in the RAM department.
A lot of the talk about what a great gaming laptop this machine is has been surrounding the fact that you can overclock the GPU and CPU. If you’re looking to play games that require a greater processing power than Minecraft, then this overclocking has a huge appeal.
Be aware that this feature is really useless, if you want to play Minecraft, overclocking will only drain your battery without improving your gameplay.
This laptop comes with a large 15.6-inch screen, with small bezels that allow you to take in the full glory (or horror) of the Nether. It offers 1080P (HD). It is a backlit LED screen
This laptop runs on a 9th Generation Intel Hexa-Core i7-9750H Processor, which has 6 Cores, 12M Cache, and runs up to 4.50 GHz. It has an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5 graphics card.
It goes above and beyond in the RAM department – with a 24GB DDR4 2400 and a 1TB HDD, as well as 512GB PCIE SSD. The machine has built-in daily backups of your gaming files.
This combination of power and memory allows for the laptop to smoothly multitask between different programs.
This machine comes with a built-in fast charging system and claims to last for over 5 hours per charge. A few users have claimed that whilst running games this laptop does not live up to the 5 hours claim, however, running a game like Minecraft won’t drain your laptop as much as other MMOs will.
This laptop also comes with 7 different types of ports.
Like most other gaming laptops, this one is a heavy machine. It just comes with the territory when you’re looking for a powerful laptop. It isn’t the heaviest machine on this list, weighing 5.1 pounds.
With the right size laptop case or backpack, this won’t be hugely difficult to move around, but it won’t be easy.
- Powered by latest 9th Generation Intel Hexa-Core i7-9750H Processor @ 2. 60GHz(6 Cores, 12M Cache, up to 4. 50 GHz), Powerful 6-core, twelve-way processing performance.
- 15. 6” FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS anti-glare display: The 1920 x 1080 resolution boasts impressive color and clarity. IPS technology for wide viewing angles. Energy-efficient LED backlight. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5 dedicated graphics
- 24GB DDR4 2400 SDRAM Memory for full-power multitasking; 1TB HDD + 512GB PCIE SSD offer enough storage for your files. Pci-e SSDs are great for major gaming applications, multiple servers, daily backups, and more.
- 802. 11 AC (2 x 2) + Bluetooth 4. 1; 3 x USB 3. 1 Gen 1, Mini DisplayPort 1. 4, HDMI 2. 0, RJ45 Ethernet, Kensington Wedge Lock slot, 1 x USB 3. 1 Gen 2 Type-C, 3. 5mm microphone/headphone combo, NOVO hole
- Windows 10 Home; White-backlit Keyboard; Up to 5 hours of battery life
3. Dell Gaming G5587
This laptop had to make its way onto our list because everything about this machine is designed with nothing but gaming in mind.
This laptop boasts a 15.6-inch LED screen with crystal clear graphics. It does suffer from the affliction of having incredibly thick bezels, however, the images on the LED screen are so crisp that it is really easy to ignore the bezels.
As we said this is a machine designed for gaming, and boy is it a powerful one – Minecraft will be no struggle for it as well. This machine has the 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8750H Processor – 6-Core and 9MB Cache with up to 3.9GHz w/Turbo Boost installed.
It’s storage capabilities are 128 GB (SSD) Boot and an almighty 1 TB 5400 RPM HDD Storage.
The supercharge function on this laptop allows you to increase the battery of the machine by 25% with only 15 minutes of charging. Dell describes the battery life on this machine as ‘stretch’ and that it lasts through many hours of gaming – up to six on the go.
However, users disagree with this. Most users claim the battery life looks more like 1.5-2 hours whilst gaming.
This is the heaviest machine on the list, weighing in at a hefty 6.28 pounds. If you’re looking to play Minecraft on the go, then you’re really going to struggle with the Dell Gaming G5587 as it is really heavy and has short battery life.
This laptop does come with 7 ports (including an HDMI port), this is as good as any other laptop on this list. 7 ports give you a lot of flexibility with extras you can plug in, but these accessories will drain your battery even faster.
- 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8750H Processor (6-Core, 9MB Cache, up to 3.9GHz w/Turbo Boost)
- 16GB 2666MHz DDR4 up to [32GB], (additional memory sold separately)
- 128 GB (SSD) Boot + 1 TB 5400 RPM [SATA] HDD Storage
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with 4GB GDDR5 Graphics memory
- Be more productive. Windows 10 is the best for bringing ideas forward and getting things done.Turbo Frequency: up to 4.10 GHz
4. Huawei Matebook X Pro Signature Thin
This is a very good looking piece of kit, that is powerful enough and equipped with enough RAM to run Minecraft well.
This laptop comes with a full view (bezel-free), 3K display. However, the screen is only 13.9-inches and therefore is the smallest screen on this list. This machine still has the power and display quality to do the highest graphics settings of Minecraft justice.
This computer comes with an 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U processor and NVIDIA GeForce MX150 – that boosts performance up to 40% over its predecessor but puts it just below most of the other machines in this list.
This machine comes with an astonishing 12-hour + battery life, this is quite impressive considering the power this machine is packing.
This machine is 0.57-inches thin and weighs less than 3 pounds. It claims to have a 91%-screen-to-body ratio. It is so slim and by far the most portable laptop on this list.
This machine even comes with a free year of Office 365 – maybe you could use Excel to track your favorite world seeds.
The major let down of this laptop is that it barely comes with any ports – severely limiting your options when it comes to using extra monitors, or accessories.
- World's First FullView Display: Immersive 13.9-inch 3K touchscreen with 91% screen-to-body ratio, only 0.57-inch thin and weighs only 2.93 lbs., perfect for at-home or on-the-go computing
- Powerful Inside: Windows 10 Home Signature Edition with no bloatware. 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U processor + NVIDIA GeForce MX150 - boosts performance up to 40% over its predecessor
- Home Theater: 3K touchscreen with 3, 000 x 2, 000 resolution, 1500:1 contrast ratio and 260 PPI allow you to see vivid details when viewing HD content. 2nd Gen Dolby ATMOS for immersive audio
- One Touch Power Button: Enabling users to power on the notebook, finish identity authentication through Windows Hello and access the desktop in less than 8 seconds. Bluetooth - Bluetooth 4.1
- Includes compact Mate Dock 2.0: USB-A port, USB-C port, HDMI port and VGA port. Includes 1 year Office 365 Personal and 1 year manufacturer warranty.60Hz refresh rate
5. Asus Vivobook S15 Thin
Our final choice is the Vivobook S15 Thin by Asus. This is a machine that meets all of our recommended requirements for running Minecraft well.
It has one of the best screens on the list and is completely bezel-less.
Where the Vivobook really shines is the RAM department. It has an Intel Core i5-8265u Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.9 GHz), as well as an 8GB DDR4 RAM and 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD.
It also has the capability to add more RAM if you want to. Its battery does not cope awfully well with this amount of RAM and power, it runs low very quickly. It does have a fast recharge function, however.
It comes with 7 ports, made up of a mixture of HDMI and various USB ports, as well as an ethernet option.
This is a slim, lightweight machine that weighs in at under 4 pounds.
Unfortunately, this machine has a really poor trackpad which means you have no choice but to play with a mouse or controller. It also makes doing activities on your computer rather tricky. Without this, it would have placed much higher on our list.
- 15.6 inch Full HD 4 way NanoEdge bezel display with stunning 87% screen-to-body ratio
- Powerful Intel Core i5-8265U Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.9 GHz)
- 8GB DDR4 RAM and 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD and Windows 10 Home
- Metal chassis and 18mm z-height
- Ergonomic backlit chiclet keyboard with fingerprint sensor activated via Windows Hello
Buyer’s Guide For Minecraft Laptops
Below is a breakdown of everything you need to consider before purchasing a laptop to play Minecraft on.
These include the minimum requirements to run the game on your computer, and elements you want to consider like screen resolution, trackpad quality, and the weight of your machine.
Requirements
Below we have listed the basic system requirements for the game, and what we recommend to run the game smoothly.
| Minimum System Requirements | Recommended System Requirements | |
|---|---|---|
| RAM |
8GB |
24GB |
| GPU |
Dedicated GPU |
Dedicated GPU with minimum 4GB VRAM |
| OS |
Windows 7 |
Windows 10 |
| Storage |
1TB HDD |
1.5 TB HDD + 128GB SSD (at least) |
| CPU |
Intel Core i5 |
Intel Core i9 |
| Display |
14-inch (HD) |
16-inch 4K |
Battery Life
Minecraft can really eat away at your battery, so if you want to be able to play on the go or just don’t want to be plugged into your mains the whole time – look for a machine that comes with good battery life.
We recommend looking for machines that can offer over 12 hours of battery life and have a durable battery that won’t wear out quickly.
Weight & Portability
If you want to play Minecraft on the go or take part in Lan-parties in the game with your friends then you want to look into finding a machine that is lightweight and easy to move around.
You don’t want to lose out on on-screen space when it comes to Minecraft, so your best bet is to look for slim, lightweight laptops.
However, a heavy laptop is usually the sign of a powerful one – you may find all that extra power worth the inconvenience of something less portable.
Amount of Input and Output Ports
As with all laptops, it is important to make sure your machine has enough input and output to meet your needs.
In our opinion there is no such thing as too many ports, however, there is definitely such a thing as too few. Many laptop companies will use this as a method of cost-cutting so make sure you check the port situation before finalizing your choice.
Quality of Trackpad
If you don’t want to play Minecraft with a controller or mouse, then you will need a laptop that has a high-quality trackpad.
Without a functioning trackpad, the game will be virtually unplayable.
Screen Resolution
Although the graphics of Minecraft aren’t the most advanced in the world it doesn’t mean that you can get away with having poor screen resolution.
Being able to see what is happening around you and enjoying your beautiful creations in their full glory are key components of the game.
Frequently Asked Questions
Diving into a new game can sometimes be overwhelming so we have gathered the answers to all the FAQs for Minecraft beginners.
What is Minecraft?
‘If you can dream it, you can make it.’
Minecraft is a multiplayer, online sandbox game designed by Mojang Studios. The game has a few play modes including survival and creative. Released in 2009, Minecraft still has over 120 million monthly active users in 2020.
The game allows the players to mine for materials and then use them to create whatever they set their heart to, whilst fighting off zombies, wolves, and eventually the Ender Dragon.
Notable Minecraft creations include The Shire (from Lord of the Rings) and Notre Dame Cathedral.
How much does Minecraft cost?
On average Minecraft costs $26.95, and there is no subscription fee to use the online features (which is very unusual in 2020).
The game will often be offered on sale by suppliers, so keep an eye out for bargains.
Can you play Minecraft on a laptop?
Absolutely you can, you just need to find the right one.
Check out this video below for more guidance:
Is Minecraft multiplayer only?
There are many modes of Minecraft and not all of them are multiplayer.
It is possible to enjoy all of the features of the game whilst playing on your own – although, many enjoy the collaborative side of the game.
Is Minecraft suitable for children?
Minecraft is rated 7+ by PEGI – this means that it contains unrealistic violence, and it is possible to play in a mode with no fighting at all.
The game is fairly complex and does require players to discover a lot for themselves, children younger than 7 may struggle with this.
We would not recommend letting your child play on many of the online worlds as there is no way for you to filter who they interact with or what they will see.
However, playing offline or on a closed server with their friends can be a great alternative, and there is practically nothing that they would find upsetting.
Is Minecraft still popular?
As we mentioned Minecraft still has over 120 million active monthly users.
It is actually more popular than Fortnite.
There is no shortage of people to play and collaborate with on the servers.