Here is the promised top list of my own picks when it comes to the best and most powerful high-end laptops for AI this year. Read on to see which parameters are most important when it comes to the best AI model training and inference performance on your laptop computer!
Check out also: 6 Best Free & Fun Local AI Tools For Your PC! (Easy Setup!)
This web portal is reader-supported, and is a part of the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, AliExpress Partner Program, and the eBay Partner Network. When you buy using links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission!
The Most Important Laptop Parameters For AI & LLMs
When picking a laptop for hosting local AI software, training models, model inference be it generating responses from an LLM or generating images with the aid of Stable Diffusion, one of the most important things is a powerful GPU.
But what does “powerful” really mean in this context? Well, the first thing you need to care about is the amount of VRAM your chosen GPU has. Video memory is one of the most important (if not down right the most important) parameters here.
If you have more VRAM on board, you can for instance, while training AI models, choose larger training batch sizes and oftentimes finish your training process faster. Loading an LLM for local inference means having to load the whole model into your GPU VRAM for the best performance, so for running larger, higher quality models you need as much VRAM as you can get. Video memory is also very important if you’re trying to generate larger batches of images at once, for instance when using the Stable Diffusion Automatic1111 WebUI.
Another important thing is the max GPU clock speed – the maximum speed at which the graphics card is able to make calculations, which in most if not all cases is higher in newer GPU models. The general rule of thumb when buying GPUs is: the newer the better when it comes to overall performance, but the latest model is almost certainly overpriced. That’s just how it is.
Other than that, you want a capable CPU (which all of the laptops in this line-up have), and ideally at least 32GB of RAM if you ever plan to off-load some model data into your main system memory. If your budget cannot cover it, 16GB of RAM is also acceptable – it is pretty much a standard amount these days.
Also, as I always say, remember to keep in mind your chosen laptop’s cooling system before making a purchase. You don’t want to end up with a powerhouse of a laptop that cannot really utilize its processor and GPU to the fullest because of the cooling issues and thermal throttling. There aren’t many devices which are not able to cool themselves properly at the price range we’re talking about here, but in my honest opinion this is still important to note. If you’re not sure, always check trustworthy YouTube reviews of the device you’re aiming to buy.
As you might have seen, there are no laptops with AMD graphics cards here, and for a pretty good reason. If you want to know why, you might want to check out my main article about the best graphics cards for AI and LLMs this year. I go into much more detail there.
How Much VRAM Do You Need? – The “Best” Laptop GPU For AI
With regular GPU units made for desktop PCs and graphics cards used by laptops the current upper limit of the available amount of VRAM on consumer hardware considering using a single GPU configuration is 24GB. This is the amount you should go for if you’re more serious about locally hosted LLMs, however as of now, there are no consumer laptops available with this much video memory on board.
There also exist cards with 16GB and 12GB of VRAM on board, which will be of interest to you if you’re hard pressed on hosting and utilizing large language models, and for now are also more than enough for most AI-related tasks you throw at them, including efficient medium-sized model training and fine-tuning. These ones are more commonly placed in high-end gaming laptops.
Then, there are oftentimes much older (and almost always significantly cheaper) cards with 8GB of video memory which you don’t really want to take into consideration if you want to really get into running LLMs on your hardware. Even with smaller 7B models it can be quite limiting (although it’s not impossible to fit a small language model in 8GB of video memory with pretty annoying limitations). While for things like Stable Diffusion image generation 8GB VRAM GPU is just enough, getting a brand new laptop with such a card for AI software use doesn’t really make much sense nowadays.
For your convenience the GPU model alongside with the amount of VRAM it has on board, will be present in brackets next to each laptop model listed.
Are There Any More Affordable Options?
Some of these prices may be downright scary for some of you. And that’s totally understandable. After all, the high-end laptop market is well-known from overblown pricing of the top-notch high-performing devices.
Are there any budget options here? Well, actually there are. The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15r for one, while definitely not cheap, is one of the most affordable laptops featuring the NVIDIA RTX 3080 GPU with 16GB of VRAM for nearly two times less than the models you can see in the beginning of this list (it’s present at the very end).
Also, if you want to reduce the price of any of the listed models quite a bit, consider choosing a 16GB RAM variant with a smaller capacity drive when you get to the product listing. This way you can save quite a bit when still getting the same laptop model, just with a little bit less storage space and a lower amount of system memory.
1. ASUS ROG Strix Scar (RTX 4090 16GB)
The top performer - can't get much better than this.
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar with an Intel i9-14900HX CPU and the NVIDIA RTX 4090 featuring 16GB of GDDR6X VRAM on board and the truly maxxed out specs is the top pick on this list for a reason. And the reason is: it’s expensive, and it’s one of the top performers here. Also, the ROG Nebula 2k HDR display is a really nice bonus.
There is also a version of this laptop with an RTX 4080 12GB available, which is roughly $1k cheaper than this model. It really goes to show that getting the latest and most powerful hardware most of the time requires a solid investment, however trust me, if you get it, you won’t be disappointed.
2. HP Omen 17 (RTX 4090 16GB)
Another device with a 4090 on board, this time from HP.
The HP Omen 17 RTX 4090 is another laptop with the latest NVIDIA RTX 4090 16GB GPU with 16GB of fast video memory paired with the Intel i9-13900HX CPU. When it comes to sheer performance it’s directly comparable with the ASUS ROG, and it also does feature a QHD display.
Although this might seem unimportant for many, I really like the user-assignable macro key row on the left hand side of the keyboard. Really nice to see on a device like this. And did I mention it comes with 64GB of DDR5 RAM? Definitely worth looking into.
3. HP Omen 17 (RTX 4080 12GB)
The second HP Omen configuration with the 4080, and a smaller amount of VRAM.
If the price of the previous model was a little bit much for you, the HP Omen 17 RTX 4080 is pretty much the exact same device, just featuring the previous version of a 4th generation NVIDIA GPU – the RTX 4080 with 12GB of VRAM. 4GB of video memory less and a little hit in performance, and you can get this laptop essentially for half the price, and the device still uses the very same i9-13900HX chipset.
Is it worth it? Well, in my book, if you don’t have money laying around to get the absolute latest hardware, this HP laptop will still be more than enough for you. It doesn’t fall behind much when compared to its version with 4090 on board, and the 4GB of VRAM will only make a difference for you if you absolutely need them for instance for loading larger language models you may have in mind. Overall, still a great pick.
4. Acer Predator Helios (RTX 4080 12GB)
Another great option, this time from Acer.
Acer Predator Helios featuring the i9-13900HX CPU and the RTX 4080 with 12GB of VRAM with the 64GB RAM configuration paired with a 2TB NVMe drive is a real monster. This one, featuring better thermals than its predecessor and a pretty sleek design is yet another laptop that’s really worth considering in this lineup.
In terms of performance, really close to the HP Omen 17 RTX 4080 mentioned before. In terms of looks, well, it’s up to you to decide whether the cooling radiators in the back are something you can work with. Another great device worth considering here.
5. Lenovo Legion Pro 7i (RTX 4080 12GB)
A great pick from the Lenovo Legion series.
It wouldn’t be a high-end laptop line-up without a laptop from the Legion series. Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is here with the RTX 4080 12GB and Intel i9-13900HX. Once again, similarly, in terms of performance it goes head-to-head with the two previously mentioned devices.
Still it’s impossible not to mention one particular design choice here, and that is – most of the ports placed in the back of the device. If you’re alright with that, you should be more than happy with this one. Oh, and it features a QHD+ 240Hz display for all of you gamers out there. You won’t be disappointed.
6. Gigabyte AORUS 17H (RTX 4080 12GB)
One of the highest performing models from Gigabyte.
Gigabyte AORUS 17H is the first model on this list that is under $2000, and surprisingly it’s still quite close to the other 4080 laptops shown earlier in terms of sheer processing power. The RTX 4080 12GB paired with the Intel i7-13700H processor make this device a real performance powerhouse.
All in all, if you’re looking for a sub-2k laptop with a 12GB VRAM GPU, this is a really good choice. The design is also a thing that I have to mention here, as it is one of the gaming-tier laptops with reasonably plain and elegant looks. Pretty good overall!
7. ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15r (RTX 3080 16GB)
The budget option with 16GB VRAM.
Finally, the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 is our budget choice here. Featuring an NVIDIA GPU from the previous, 3rd generation – the RTX 3080 with 16GB of VRAM and an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU, it gives you all you need for working with local AI software, without breaking the bank.
Still, I don’t know how do I feel about the touchpad-numpad combo gimmick this one has going on. If you’re able to look past that, it is a laptop fully capable of not only running some mid-sized local LLM models, but also some more serious triple A gaming. And with this one, this list has finally concluded!