The Best Laptop for Baldurs Gate 3 | Buyers Guide
All year round we’ve had stellar titles come to PC. From games like Resident Evil 3 Remake to ports of popular games like Death Stranding. The realm of PC gaming has been stronger than ever. And while all of these games are very much worth looking into and experiencing for yourself, there’s one title that has been eagerly anticipated for a while now. Baldur’s Gate 3, by Larian Studios is the next entry into the beloved CRPG series and it has just been released into early access. Learn about the hardware you’ll need to play it in our Best Laptop for Baldurs Gate 3 Guide.
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Best Laptop for Baldurs Gate 3
And this is a game that has a lot of people talking. Since the last entry into this series was all the way back in 2000. 20 years in the making, this is a game that you don’t want to miss out on. But what if you don’t have a gaming PC just yet and you don’t really want to mess around with the costs involved. Well that’s where a really good gaming laptop can come in and save the day. The only problem is that there are so many to choose from that it could be a little difficult to find the right one for you. Which is why we’ve put together a list of some of the best gaming laptops that you can get right now!
Acer Nitro 5
- Resolution – 15.6” 1920 x 1080
- Memory – 8GB DDR4 RAM
- Processor – Intel i5-9300H
- Graphics Card – NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
- Battery Life – Around 8 hours
We’re starting this list off with a mid-range laptop that is great for those that don’t want to break the bank on a gaming machine. We’ve gone for this laptop from Acer for its good specs at a reasonable price. Straight away we’re starting this list off with an option that should appeal to those gamers out there that appreciate colorful aesthetics. We haven’t quite reached the point where we’ll see RGB lighting on these laptops just yet. So we’ve just got a keyboard with a red backlight. But it still looks great and adds that little bit of color that makes the laptop look less boring. That, combined with the cool angular design on the corners, helps the laptop stand out.
Taking a closer look at the internals of the Acer Nitro 5, we’ve got a great machine here that sits in the mid-range. Starting with the screen we’ve got a 15.6”, 1080p screen that looks great and provides a great viewpoint for the action. We’ve got 8GB of RAM which is the bare minimum that we want for gaming nowadays. It has an Intel i5 processor that is made specifically for laptops in the mid-range and it does a good job.
You might notice some stutter in heavier moments but as long as you keep the graphics on low for more modern games you should be alright. The GPU in this laptop is a GTX 1650 which can handle most games fairly well on medium settings. Just be sure you don’t push the graphics settings on this laptop too far because then you will notice performance issues. But for those that are looking for a great mid-range laptop, this really is not a bad choice to go for.
Pros:
- Affordable
- Great Design
- Great Battery Life
Cons:
- Struggles with Intensive Games
- No RGB
ASUS TUF FX505DT
- Resolution – 15.6” 1920 x 1080
- Memory – 8GB DDR4 RAM
- Processor – AMD Ryzen 5 R5-3550H
- Graphics Card – NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
- Battery Life – Around 5 hours
Next up on the list, we’ve got another mid-range PC that will appeal to those gamers working on a budget: the ASUS TUF FX505DT. We’ve gone for this ASUS laptop for its great specs at a suitable price point. Now immediately you’ll notice that this laptop is losing some of the vibrance that we had with the previous choice. And that’s because this laptop strips out all of that color for something that’s a lot more subtle. This laptop opts for a simple black color scheme with a white backlit keyboard. Which might seem a little boring to some of you. But for those that want a laptop that looks good for gaming and work, this is a great choice.
Now let’s take a closer look at what this laptop can do. First up we’ve got a 15.6”, 1080p display that looks great and is big enough to navigate your laptop with ease. It also outputs at 120Hz so it looks smooth and has a great response time. For our RAM we have 8GB to work with which is really the minimum amount you want when you’re gaming on a laptop. Otherwise, you tend to get stuttering and it’s not a fun time.
The CPU here is an AMD Ryzen 5 that is designed for laptops. And as such won’t be as powerful as the higher-end CPUs that you can get. Though it still does a great job and should get you through most modern games with relative ease on medium to high settings. The GPU is a GTX 1650 which is a great mid-range graphics card that should get you through most games on medium to high settings. Overall this is another great laptop for gamers on a budget.
Pros:
- Affordable
- Great Display
- Good Build Quality
Cons:
- Struggles with Intensive Games
- Looks a Little Boring
Lenovo Legion 5
- Resolution – 15.6” 1920 x 1080
- Memory – 16GB DDR4 RAM
- Processor – AMD Ryzen 7 4800H
- Graphics Card – NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660Ti
- Battery Life – Around 5 hours
Next up we’ve got a gaming laptop that will appeal to those gamers that want a little more power out of their machine. We’ve gone for this laptop from Lenovo for its great build quality and great specs. Immediately you’re going to notice that, visually, this is pretty boring to look at. Especially from the point of view of it being a gaming laptop. But this kind of design is really what Lenovo is known for. That clean professional look that still packs a ton of power. So if you’re looking for a laptop that is good at both gaming and working on a professional level, look no further.
Taking a closer look at what the Lenovo Legion can do. It’s pretty impressive for this price point. Let’s start with the display which is a 15.6” screen that has a 1080p resolution with a 144Hz refresh rate. Which makes it fantastic for gaming and provides a great way to view the action. We’ve got 16GB of RAM in this laptop which is the optimal amount for a gaming laptop. Especially for larger games that demand a lot of resources from your PC.
For our CPU we’ve got an AMD Ryzen 7 which is a great CPU that sits around the high-end for laptop CPUs. It’ll give you a great experience that should be lag-free, depending on how far you push the laptop. For the GPU we’ve got a GTX 1660Ti, which is a fantastic GPU for the mid-range and one that’ll give you enough juice to make your games look great. Just be sure to not push it too far so you can get those high frame rates. All in all this is another great laptop for gamers that don’t want to spend a ton of money on their next gaming device.
Pros:
- Great for Modern Gaming
- Great Display
- Good Build Quality
Cons:
- Average Battery Life
- Boring Aesthetics
Acer Predator Helios 300
- Resolution – 15.6” 1920 x 1080
- Memory – 16GB DDR4 RAM
- Processor – Intel i7-10750H
- Graphics Card – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
- Battery Life – Around 6 hours
Alright, this is where we’re starting to approach the higher end of gaming laptops on this list. We’ve gone for the Acer Predator Helios 300 for its great design and great functionality as a gaming machine. Right away you can tell that this is a laptop geared specifically toward gamers. We finally have a laptop with RGB lighting on this list and it looks great. It gives this great vibrance to both the keyboard and the panel on the back of the display which just adds that extra bit of color. That angular look is also back here and makes this laptop stand out in a subtle but substantial way at the same time. Though the general build here is quite stocky and large, so if you want a thinner laptop you might want to look elsewhere.
But let’s take a closer look at what this thing can do. The display on this laptop is a 15.6”, 1080p screen that has a 144Hz refresh rate and it looks fantastic. It keeps the action looking smooth and as long as you’re running a game that makes full use of that refresh rate, it’s going to look amazing. We’ve got 16GB of RAM to work with which is again, kind of what you’re aiming for on a serious gaming machine.
The CPU is an Intel i7 which is a really good high-end processor. It’ll hopefully keep your laptop running smoothly when your game gets a little hectic. And the GPU here is an RTX 2060 which is a fantastic graphics card. It should be able to run most modern games on high settings easily while keeping that 60FPS for smooth gameplay. All in all, this is a fantastic gaming machine to get, provided you aren’t afraid to shell out the extra money.
Pros:
- Great Mid-Range Laptop
- Great Display
- Good Build Quality
Cons:
- Expensive
- Bulky Design
MSI GL65
- Resolution – 15.6” 1920 x 1080
- Memory – 16GB DDR4 RAM
- Processor – Intel i7-10750H
- Graphics Card – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070
- Battery Life – Around 5 hours
Our final option on this list is for those gamers out there that want the absolute best from their gaming laptop. We’ve chosen this laptop from MSI for its great design and fantastic specs. So this is a laptop that combines the gamer aesthetics of RGB backlighting with the simplistic design of a more professional laptop. What this creates is a laptop that can blend seamlessly in either environment. Whether you’re playing games from home or taking this thing to work, you should find it works in either situation.
Now let’s take a closer look at what this laptop can do and this is a really beefy machine. First up let’s check out the screen and what we have here is a 15.6” display that outputs a 1080p resolution and has a 144Hz refresh rate. And like the other displays on this list, this is a great way to play your games. It offers smooth gameplay on games that will be able to run at frame rates that take advantage of it. We’ve got 16GB of RAM here which again is the optimal amount of RAM that you should aim to have when gaming on a laptop.
The CPU is once again the Intel i7 processor that is built for high-end laptops and it does a great job again here. It’ll give you great performance for games that are a little more demanding on your CPU. The GPU is the RTX 2070 which is a fantastic high end card that offers stunning visuals at high frame rates. And for modern gaming, this is really the GPU that you want to be using on a laptop. Ultimately this laptop is a fantastic option. Especially if you can afford that expensive price tag.
Pros:
- Great for Modern Gaming
- Excellent Display
- Great Build Quality
Cons:
- Expensive
- Average Battery Life
Buying Guide
If you’ve come this far into the list and you still aren’t sure which laptop you should get, don’t worry! In this section, we’ll be giving you some extra information to help you out with your purchase.
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The System Requirements for Baldur’s Gate 3
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a stunning game to look at. Especially in comparison to other CRPGs that often trade graphical fidelity for the scale of their games. And as such the system requirements needed to run this game at an acceptable frame rate are going to be on the higher end. And it’s also worth mentioning that as of the time of writing this, the game is in early access. So performance issues are best to be expected so be sure to make sure you have the minimum requirements to run Baldur’s Gate 3. Here are the minimum specs and ideal system requirements for Baldur’s Gate 3:
Minimum:
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 / AMD Radeon RX 480 (4GB+ of VRAM)
- CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 / AMD FX 8350
- RAM: 8GB
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit
- Storage: 150GB available space
- DirectX: Version 11
- SSD: required
Recommended:
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super / AMD Radeon RX 5700 xt (8GB+ of VRAM)
- CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K / AMD Ryzen 5 3600
- RAM: 16GB
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit
- Storage: 150GB available space
- DirectX: Version 11
- SSD: required
It is worth noting that the suggested operating system has changed over time. During the beta release, Windows 7 was the minimum required. That has been upped to Windows 10 at final release.
Pick a laptop that fits in with your lifestyle
One of the most important aspects when deciding to buy a new laptop, or any bit of tech really, is how it’ll fit in with your day-to-day. Spending your hard-earned cash on something that’s actually making your life harder is a little bit backward, isn’t it? So you need to pay careful consideration to whether a new laptop will fit in with what you do.
For instance, if you travel a lot and use a laptop on the go, you don’t want anything big and bulky. You want to aim to get a laptop that is light and portable with a good bit of battery life. But if you need a machine to work from home but don’t want to be stuck at a desk with a PC you can be a little more free with your choice. Aim to get a laptop that packs a lot of power and don’t be afraid to get something with a bigger screen. Battery life is less of an issue here if you’ll be home since you can charge it anytime.
Tips:
- If you’re going to be mainly using the laptop at home, make sure you get a laptop with a big screen. The bigger the screen the easier the game will be to play. But if you’re looking for something that is more easily portable, aim to get a smaller laptop that still has a good screen.
- Baldur’s Gate 3 is currently in early access so expect some technical issues and bugs to be present when you play the game.
- It’s a wise choice to invest in a gaming mouse for your laptop since gaming on a trackpad isn’t that much fun.
- Make sure to get a laptop with a large screen to play Baldur’s Gate 3. There are a lot of menus and a lot of reading to do, so a larger screen will help out a lot.
Verdict – The Best Laptop for Baldurs Gate 3
That’s been our list for ‘The Best Laptop for Baldur’s Gate 3’. This game is one of the best offerings in the Dungeons & Dragons line of all time. If it helped you out at all be sure to let us know in the comments below! Thanks for reading.
