The 10 Best Laptops for Fortnite in 2021

Best Overall: MSI GS65 Stealth Thin

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The MSI GS75 Stealth is everything you want and need out of a laptop if you’re looking to dominate in Fortnite and other competitive online games. The GS75 Stealth is an evolution of the older GS65 line, replacing the smaller displays found in those machines with a big, beautiful 17-inch screen that really helps the graphics pop in a game like Fortnite. The hardware under the hood is also more than powerful enough to support high fps gameplay, with a powerful Intel Core i7 CPU and a beefy Nvida GeForce RTX 2060 video card that packs in 6GB of dedicated RAM.

While the MSI GS75 Stealth is available in a variety of configurations, the more affordable version we looked at was a bit light on storage with a 512GB NVMe SSD. That’s really the only issue with this beast of a laptop though, as 512GB is unlikely to satisfy if you play a lot of games. If you’re focused mainly on Fortnite, it’s plenty. Otherwise, you might want to upgrade to the version of the MSI GS75 that comes with a 1TB SSD instead.

Aside from the minor issue of storage, this laptop is nearly flawless. It runs a little hot, and the battery life isn’t anything to write home about, but what do you expect from an ultra-portable 17-inch laptop that outpaces a lot of desktop gaming rigs? This laptop is all about overperforming while looking good, and it’s fantastic at both.

Runner-Up, Best Overall: Acer Predator Helios 300 Gaming Laptop

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The Acer Predator Helios 300 is a strong contender for our best overall laptop for Fortnite. It’s only held back by a couple of little issues, so it’s still a very strong option depending on your priorities. This is a 15.6-inch gaming laptop, with an option to upgrade to 17-inch, powered by a beastly 10th-gen Intel Core i7 processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 video card with 6GB of dedicated memory, 16GB of RAM, and a 512MB NVMe SSD.

The main things keeping this laptop from taking the top spot are fairly minor, like the fact that it only packs in 16GB of RAM. It’s still a fantastic machine for playing games like Fortnite though, and the inclusion of W-Fi 6, or 802.11ax, is a killer move. This laptop actually has the ability to connect to the internet via both a high-speed Ethernet connection and Wi-Fi 6 at the same time, automatically prioritizing the most important data over the fastest available connection. Momentary issue with your lightning-fast Wi-Fi 6 connection? No problem, the wired Ethernet connection is right there to back it up.

Best Lightweight Powerhouse: Acer Predator Triton 500

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The Acer Predator Triton 500 is a highly portable gaming laptop that still packs in all the powerful hardware you’ll need to stay competitive at home or wherever you feel like playing. This laptop features a bright, beautiful 15.6-inch display powered by an impressive Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 video card. Rounded out with an 8th gen Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 512MB NVMe SSD, this is some impressive hardware that’s ready to run Fortnite or just about any other game you like.

The best thing about this laptop is that it’s impressively thin and light, weighing in just 4.6 lbs and just 0.7-inches thick. You’ll do your best gaming at home, hooked up to the internet via a wired Ethernet connection, but the powerful onboard 802.11ac Wi-Fi card found in the Triton 500, coupled with the portability of this rig, lets you jump into a game wherever you can find a solid Wi-Fi connection.

The battery life could stand to be better, but that’s just the price you pay for this kind of portability. If you really want to game unplugged, we’ve got some better options. Onboard storage is also on the light side, but the inclusion of an additional M.2 slot means you have the option of adding a second SSD later. Other than that, and the annoying Predator boot up sound that can be switched off once you get sick of it, this is a solid machine all around.

Best Eye Tracking: Dell Alienware M15 R2 Gaming Laptop

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The Alienware M15 R2 is a mild update of the original M15, with a very similar design and some decent hardware improvements. It’s not quite as powerful as our top picks, but the 9th generation Intel Core i7 processor and GeForce GTX 1660 Ti video card with 6GB of dedicated memory form a one-two knockout punch that’s ready to tackle Fortnite along with most other games you might care to throw at it.

The killer feature here is a built-in Tobii eye tracker that’s able to actually track your eye movement when playing games. Some games have built-in functionality that allows you to perform in-game actions using just your eyes, but this tech is useful in training sessions in any game to help prioritize eye movement and make sure you’re looking at the right things. In a game like Fortnite where you have to remain constantly aware of your surroundings, eye tracking might provide just the edge you need to move your skills up.

The biggest issue with this laptop is battery life, which is further impacted any time you have the Tobii eye tracker running. That isn’t an issue if you game plugged into power, which you should be doing most of the time anyway, but it does impact portability. 

Best Splurge: Razer Blade 15 (2021)

4.2

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The Razer Blade 15 is another strong competitor for the best overall Fortnite laptop, and it’s only really held back by price and a few really minor issues. Strong overall gaming performance, a beautiful minimalist design, and great battery life all combine to make this a fantastic choice if you’re looking to splurge a little.

This compact gaming rig packs in some impressive hardware, including a 10th gen Intel Core i7 CPU, GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD, all in a sleek 0.78-inch thick CNC aluminum unibody frame. The overall effect is just as visually stunning as it is powerful, with an impressively thin bezel and a beautiful 15.6-inch display with a 144 Hz refresh rate.

While the Razer Blade 15 is available in a variety of configurations, each of them quite powerful, they’re all on the pricey side. You’ll save some money going with other options on this list, but this kind of power, coupled with great battery life, makes this one worth a look if you’re ready to open your wallet and splurge a bit.

Best Max: Apple 16-inch MacBook Pro (i9, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD)

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The Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch) is our pick if you’re deep in the Mac ecosystem but still want to dominate in Fortnite. You can expect to pay the Apple tax with this one, with a hefty price tag and hardware that doesn’t compare to our other top picks, but the powerful 9th generation Intel Core i7 processor and AMD Radeon Pro 5300M are still more than enough to crush a game that’s been out for a few years like Fortnite.

As a gaming rig, the main issue with the MacBook Pro is that the video card isn’t up to snuff compared to the best gaming laptops on the market. You get an AMD Radeon Pro 5300M with 4GB of onboard memory, which is a decent card, but it just can’t go toe to toe with cards like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 or even the GTX 1660 Ti. You won’t have any trouble playing Fortnite, and the MacBook Pro is also great for a bunch of non-gaming applications, but going with a Mac does force you to accept a weaker video card.

Aside from expense and slightly weaker hardware, the MacBook Pro is a fantastic machine, with an absolutely beautiful display, excellent onboard audio, and a comfy keyboard that will come in handy if you need to use your gaming rig to do some work when you aren’t parachuting out of buses and building insane structures.

Best Lightweight 17-inch: Eluktronics MAX-17 Notebook

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The Eluktronics Max-17 is an impressively lightweight gaming rig with an equally impressive IPS display and some excellent hardware packed away under the hood. Weighing in at just 4.71 lbs despite its slick aluminum frame and big 17.3-inch display, the Eluktronics Max-17 features an Intel Core i7 processor, impressive GeForce RTX 2070 Super (Max-P) video card with 8GB of onboard RAM, and a generous 2TB of store on dual NVMe SSDs.

Most gamers who are concerned with portability tend to stick with 15-inch laptops, but the 17-inch Eluctronix Max-17 makes a very strong case for itself as an eminently portable rig with a big, beautiful display. You might need to clear out a bit of room in your bag or backpack for its 15.39 x 10.23-inch frame, but it’s light enough that you’ll barely notice until you pull it out and get to enjoy its massive display.

This laptop has so few downsides that it’s a bit difficult to pinpoint them, aside from the obvious reality of price. This one is a bit of a splurge, but its price tag is more than made up for by impressive hardware specifications and the fact that it packs all that power into such a lightweight package.

Best Budget: HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop 15t-dk100

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The HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop 15t-dk100 is an easy pick for our best budget laptop for playing Fornite, with solid hardware, decent overall gaming performance, and an enticing price tag. Packing in a 10th generation Intel Core i5 processor, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 video card with 3 GB of dedicated RAM, and 256GB of SSD storage, and all for a very affordable price, this laptop is a budget gamer’s dream.

While this laptop features decent gaming performance overall, its somewhat lackluster hardware is more than enough to run Fortnite smoothly. It also has a pretty good battery life for a gaming laptop. The screen is a bit dim though, so you’ll want to stick to playing Fortnite indoors with this one. It also lacks physical mouse buttons, but it isn’t like you’re going to play Fortnite with the trackpad anyway, right?

If the only game you’re interested in is Fortnite, then don’t look any further than this laptop. The other rigs on this list all offer better performance, but for playing Fortnite the HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop 15t is the best bang for your buck, hands down. It might struggle with some newer games, but it has your Fortnite needs handled without even the shadow of a doubt.

Best Mid-Range: ASUS TUF FX505DT-AH51

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The Asus TUF Gaming Laptop is a great compromise between price and performance that doesn’t tip too far in either direction, making this an easy pick for our best mid-range gaming laptop for playing Fortnite. With an AMD Ryzen 7 3750H processor and GeForce RTX 2060, this affordable gaming laptop is more than equal to the task of running Fortnite well enough to give you an edge.

While this is a mid-range laptop with good pricing and decent hardware, it doesn’t scrimp in the monumentally important graphics processor category. The GeForce RTX 2060 is a great card. The build shows its price in other ways, being much bulkier and heavier than a lot of the other laptops on this list, and it also runs quite hot. The fans also run really loud whenever you’re gaming, so you may want to invest in some headphones.