Gaming laptops occupy a special place among other categories of laptops with their strong components, great design and pricing, which are usually "peppery". In the article below I will mention the most important criteria to consider when choosing a gaming laptop.
Why a gaming laptop rather than a PC?
I think the most important aspect is mobility. With a laptop you can play anywhere. Try to do this with your PC at home. Only when I move the 1m unit further I get the back pain.
Then, convenience. For older gamers, assembling a new PC would be a chore. Easier to take a laptop - it's done, you do not mount anything (just the mouse) and much easier to remove dust. Wives think they are most pleased, because they do not see the big PC that occupies half the room.
From the point of view of performance, there is not much difference! Until a few years ago, gaming laptops had much to recover, and today the same configuration you have on your PC can be almost identical on a laptop.
Those would be the benefits. As a major disadvantage, it is the price. An identical laptop configuration is far more expensive than one on your PC.
9 things to be careful about choosing a gaming laptop
Video card - without a decent video card there is no gaming, point. Because games consume lots of resources, you'll need a dedicated memory card. For mainstream, we need at least one GTX 1050 or 1060 and better. The games will run fluid at 1920 x 1080 with enough detail (fewer in 1050).
For those looking for more performance, we can choose a GTX 1070 gaming laptop with which we can expect to get great results in Full HD and 4K.
For maximum performance we have GTX 1080 and even SLI. Nothing will stand in our way.
The processor - and here's the big deal. Those pixels on the screen do not move on their own and have to be put to work. If the video card is in a graphics game, the CPU is the rest of the processor. It also determines the performance of other laptop applications (browsing, office, etc.)
We do not have many variants here - Intel, minimum one i5 core, preferably core i7. That's ok, a quad core. And speed is important. How many Mhz!
RAM - at least 8 GB of RAM, 16 are better, but the difference is not massive.
Storage - We need something fast for gaming. The SSD can not be matched in this respect, but the space problem remains limited. It's ideal if we manage to take a model with SSD + HDD, benefiting from the "best of both worlds". For those with more limited budgets and HDD, it is ok after all, but preferably at 7,200 RPM.
The display - is 2017, so there must be at least a Full HD (1920 x 1080), so we can enjoy a clear and detailed picture. If it is QHD (2560 x 1440) or 4K (3840 x 2160) it is even better.
Screen glossy or mat? Here is a matter of preference, the colors are more vibrant on a glossy screen, but reflections are stronger in strong light conditions.
Portability - the lower the screen diagonal, the more portable the laptop is. The ratio of computing power is inversely proportional and the stronger the laptop is, the less mobile.
Maximum portability - laptops with a diagonal of 13-14 inches. They are the easiest, the most autonomous, but the video card and processor will be weaker because the available space is low.
Average portability - 15 inch diagonal laptops fit best in this category, being a compromise between mobility and power.
Minimum portability - here we have laptops with a diagonal of 17 - 18 inches. They are not the easiest to carry, but they are the most powerful, with the internal space being generous.
Keyboard - For a true gamer the keyboard is very important, as it is the main way of transmitting instructions to the game. A mechanical keyboard is boss when it comes to gaming, but only the most expensive models benefit from such goodies. A good keyboard must have anti-ghosting function (meaning you can press multiple keys at the same time and all will be recorded) and feel responsive when you press it and not like a plasticine that does not come back on time.
All new models also benefit from lighting. I do not really see the point, but I have to admit it looks good!