If you are keen on diving deep into the wonderful world of Overwatch, you're going to need some of the best laptops for Overwatch around to fully immerse yourself and play Overwatch, without worrying about framerates and your graphic settings.
In the ever evolving Pro Gaming circuit, the players aren't the only ones competing to be top dog. Game companies are spewing out video games, with the hope that their special formula would hit true to a wide variety of gamers and enthusiasts. In this day and age, a game's popularity is dictated by streamers and Pro gamers who drive everyday gamers to have interest in the game and its mechanics. One such prime example, is Blizzard's very own take on a team-based first person-shooter, Overwatch.
What is Overwatch?
Overwatch originally released back in 2015 and took the world by storm, innovating with new ideas and mechanics that had never been explored before; combining a FPS with MOBA mechanics and class systems.
Further bolstering the complete Overwatch package was a great sense of world building, memorable, well balanced characters and frequent updates, adding even more to the already overwhelming character roster and gameplay events. Overwatch is definitely one of the OGs that spurred a lot of clones, games embodying the Overwatch models, gameplay mechanics and further evolutions. Most recently, games like VALORANT with over 100k viewers daily was heavily inspired by Overwatch's model. Paladins: Champions of the Realms is another one of the games like Overwatch, but the major differentiator here is the free-to-play model.
But honestly, to me, both games didn't have as much of a cultural impact that Overwatch did when it originally released. Games like Overwatch was already a saturated market not taking into account the monstrous presence the original still had at the time. But as time passes, gamer attention spans have shifted away from Overwatch, opting for newer releases and the latest 'hot' game for the month.
Since Overwatch is a relatively old game now, we don't have to worry about having the absolute best, high-end graphics card and processors. To get a better understanding of what this exactly means, let's take a look at the minimum system requirements as well as the recommended system requirements.
Minimum System Requirements
Based on the minimum system requirements on Blizzard's support page, we can see all you really need is the bare essentials to start playing Overwatch. Firstly, they mention that to run Overwatch, you're going to need a CPU Intel Core i3 or AMD Phenom X3 8650 as a base. An Intel Core i3 definitely isn't all that powerful, so we'll be able to manage this requirement fairly easily. The operating system your laptop should be running ranges from Windows 7 to Windows 10. In all honesty, you should probably upgrade to Windows 10 by now as it's very well supported, gets frequent updates and security patches, making it the best OS Microsoft has released so far.
The other specs you need to be aware of include the GPU, RAM and storage capacity. Respectively, a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460, ATI Radeon HD 4850 or Intel HD Graphics 4400 for the graphics card, at least 4GB of RAM and 30GB of storage for installation and additional downloadable content. This might be a bit confusing for beginners looking to get into gaming, but it's pretty simple once you understand what this means. For the most part, RAM and Storage are pretty straight forward with a rather low 4GB RAM capacity and 30GB onboard storage. The laptop brands we'll be featuring on the list will undoubtedly match up to these specs.
Now that we understand what the base specs we should look for, let's take a gander at what Blizzard recommends to run Overwatch on a laptop.
Recommended System Requirements
To get the very best gaming experience in Overwatch, the specs above will be just what you need to start playing matches, get into a screaming match with your teammates, and rage quite while playing Overwatch. Firstly, the OS at this point should really be Windows 10, as Microsoft is already in the process of slowly phasing out older Windows versions. You'll have no problems running pretty much any game or application on your laptop as long as you're running Windows 10. Now, to the more pertinent specs for your laptop. Comparing this to the minimum system requirements, we can observe a slight upgrade in processing and computing power.
For the CPU, the best gaming laptops for Overwatch would need an Intel Core i5 or AMD Phenom II X3, a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 600 or AMD Radeon HD 7950 for the graphics card, and 6GB of RAM. Based on the spec sheet here, the laptop we're looking for clearly doesn't need the best, high-end processors and GPUs for this game. It would be a nice to overpower the best laptop for Overwatch, but if you were looking for something a little more budget friendly, this is good news for you. You can get away with a relatively dated 8th Gen/ 9th Gen Intel Core i7 processor such as; 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8750H processor or 9th Gen Intel core i7-9750H.
You'll also need an upgrade in both RAM and graphics card department which honestly, isn't that hard to match up to. As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, Overwatch originally released back in 2015. This means that even a slightly dated laptop will be able to run Overwatch, but you should be up-to-date with the latest gear for when you eventually want to venture out into more modern, graphic intensive games. For the RAM, you're going to need 2 extra GB from the originally stated 4GB RAM to get 6GB of RAM in total. Most laptops, even the best budget laptop for Overwatch will probably house larger RAM variants like 8GB or 16GB.
Lastly, arguably the most important spec when it comes to gaming; the graphics card. Blizzard mentions you're going to need a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 600 or AMD Radeon HD 7950. Nowadays however, we're seeing powerful, affordable GPUs like the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070. You could also opt for NVIDIA's flagship lineup, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX series GPUs like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070. This will most likely cost you a bit more, but it pays off in the long run as games become more graphic intensive. Any of the graphics cards I've mentioned so far will heighten and ensure a steady gaming experience in Overwatch.
Now that we've fully understood what we need to look for in the best gaming laptop for Overwatch, let's go a little more in-depth regarding features that will definitely affect the overall gaming experience.
Important Features To Look For
1. Display
One super, duper important spec that many gamers will know not to skimp on is the laptop display. Simply because the display is what you're looking at and interacting with on a daily basis regardless of what program, application, or game you're using on your laptop. The laptop display can be segmented into three various categories: display size, display resolution and refresh rate.
In relation to the display size, those who want to play Overwatch don't really need to consider much as the current gaming laptop trend is 15.6-inch displays and bigger. This screen size will undoubtedly be more than sufficient to handle Overwatch and other similar games. Some gaming laptop brands will equip their laptop with a ginormous 17-inch display, which can be a great additional value but might hinder how portable the laptop is in the long run. Nowadays, gaming laptop brands are also looking to incorporate the most screen real estate possible with a generous screen to body ratio. Which means, with a better screen to body ratio, you're getting more screen in a smaller laptop body.
Next up, the most important display spec; the resolution. Most often you'll see a variation of display resolutions, ranging from HD to Full HD (1920 x 1080) to 4K QHD+ displays. The norm as of now for a laptop is a crisp and clear Full HD IPS display which you will find across most gaming laptop brands as the base variant.
Another staple for gaming laptops that greatly enhances the gaming experience is a speedy refresh rate. You might be asking yourself, what is refresh rate? What does it do? Lucky for you, I'm here to answer that important question. The refresh rate on your laptop display will dictate how fast your display 'refreshes' and shows things on screen. This would often be seen in various refresh rates such as 120Hz, 144Hz or higher. At the end of the day, your display spec will look a little something like this: "15.6-inch Full HD 144Hz IPS display (1920 x 1080)". With a higher refresh rate, movement and effects in game will look that much smoother and clearer, resulting in a better viewing experience.
Since we've already disseminated what each of these mean, you should have no problem finding a gorgeous, smooth gaming laptop display.
2. RGB Backlit Keyboard
Another staple that the best laptop for Overwatch will have is a fantastic, tactile, comfortable keyboard. But of course, since we are talking about gamers here (famous for adorning any and everything with RGB lighting), you're going to need a versatile and dependable backlit keyboard. Preferably, an RGB enabled backlit keyboard. This is in no way essential for Overwatch, but it does make it a more complete, positive gaming experience. The first essential function that you get from a backlit keyboard is the ability to use it confidently in poor lighting conditions and various different environments. Trust me, trying to fidget around to find a key in a dark room without a backlit keyboard is not a fun time.
The other 'function' a backlit keyboard has is the aesthetic value. Bright flashy neon lights has been a staple in gaming for so long that you're bound to find it anywhere you look. A cheaper, more affordable gaming laptop may opt to put in just a single-color keyboard like red or green. High-end gaming laptop companies however, will push it to the max with a RGB enabled backlit keys that are capable of changing to a variety of patterns, functions, and colors.
It's just a very cool feature that greatly adds to the gamer aesthetic and gaming experience. Well, the gaming experience on the outside, anyway. Another great feature you get with these kinds of RGB keyboards is the ability to configure it to a certain color or pattern. For example, you could set the keyboard to light up as you type with a ripple effect, or a wave pattern constantly refreshing the keys in various colors. This small addition can make a gaming laptop that much more superior to another similarly specced laptop that left out on a properly equipped backlit keyboard.
3. Storage
Installing and playing Overwatch is one thing, but storage affects more than just that one game. The space you have on your laptop on-board storage will also be filled up with your personal documents, files, pictures, videos, music, and any number of programs and software. Not to mention even more games when you're off the Overwatch train for a bit. Therefore, we're going to need to talk about the kind of storage capacity you could hope for in a gaming laptop. One of the best capacities you could hope for is a 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD which is a great balance of plenty of storage with a fast load time. A PCIe NVMe SSD should be our base for SSD storage as it's one of the faster storage units around.
Having a PCIe NVMe SSD would result in faster load and start up times which improves the overall gaming experience for playing Overwatch, as well as any other game you might want to pickup. A laptop with a storage 256GB SSD will probably be the lowest we can hope for in a gaming laptop without sacrificing too much in performance. A storage 256GB SSD capacity would do well for just a few games installed, along with any other files and data stored on a laptop. But for the power user, I'd suggest looking into an external HDD or SSD.
Either way, having enough storage is integral for any device you own. A gaming laptop truly shines when it comes with speedy performance all around, including the SSD, so keep a lookout for how much storage the laptop brands we feature have, and figure out if it matches to your personal needs.
And now that we've finally gone through everything you need to know, let's get straight into the search to find the best laptops for Overwatch!
Best Laptops For Overwatch
1. Predator Helios 300 by Acer
The Predator Helios 300 gaming laptop is a solid choice for those looking to up their Overwatch prowess. Acer comes out swinging with an absolute beast of a laptop with some great internals and add on features. For the rather high price, you're getting a gorgeous 15.6-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) display with a super speedy 240Hz refresh rate. The display also comes with an almost instantaneous 3ms response time to add on to the crisp and clear gameplay. So far, the Acer Predator Helios 300 gaming laptop has been impressive from the display tech alone, but it's packing even more under the hood. Before that, let's take a second to talk about the aesthetics you can find on this laptop.
Par the course for gaming laptops, the Acer Predator Helios 300 actually comes in a rather standard, 'futuristic' design. You've got this sort of stealth black on the chassis, complemented by the RGB backlit keyboard and RGB lighting on the rear logo and strips. It's as 'gamer' as you can get really. But one of the best parts about the laptop is the power hidden underneath. Powering the Acer Predator Helios 300 gaming laptop is a 1oth Generation Intel Core i7-10750H processor, 16GB RAM and a decent 512GB SSD. This laptop features one of the latest Intel Core i7 processor, so you can be assured on its performance. On the graphics side, the laptop is packing a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 GPU with 8GB Dedicated GDDR6 VRAM.
All in all, a fantastic gaming laptop with some premium features, design, and build quality. The laptop comes with some additional gamer features that are sure to make Overwatch an even better experience like the backlit 4-zone RGB keyboard. The keyboard features concave-shaped keys and highlights the WASD keys with a see-through cap. There's also certain built-in software like Killer DoubleShot Pro and PredatorSense to fully control the gaming experience. This laptop comes with some really great features and performance but for a higher price. If you wanted to invest in something for the long run, the Acer Predator Helios 300 might just be the right laptop for you.
2. Legion 5 by Lenovo
The Legion 5 is a great choice for those looking for that sweet spot of power and value all in one. Some corners have been cut to make it come down in the price, but otherwise, the laptop is still a very solid performer with dependable internals. The Lenovo Legion 5 comes with a 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display with a 144Hz refresh rate. Not the fastest refresh rate we've ever seen, but will still perform admirably when you're in an intense firefight in Overwatch. Otherwise, around the laptop we're met with an industrial, blocky, simplistic look that doesn't do too much. Still attractive, but definitely not as attractive as some of the other lookers on the list.
But humble looks isn't the focus here, being a gaming laptop and all. The laptop comes with some dependable performance starting off with an AMD Ryzen 7 4800H mobile processor, 16GB RAM and a sizable 512GB SSD. With the AMD Ryzen 7 4800H mobile processor, we can liken this to a 10th Generation Intel Core i7 processor, so it should be more than capable of handling Overwatch and any other games you've got your eyes on. Complementing the capable SoC is a mid-high range NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with 6GB GDDR6 VRAM. This will get Overwatch running like a dream, with no lag, slowdowns and freezes while you're duking it out in game.
Other than that, the laptop comes with some additional great features making for a more complete package like Legion TrueStrike keyboard for accurate inputs, Legion ColdFront 2.0 for heat management and up to 5 hours of battery life. All together a compelling package at an affordable price point with just the right hardware to get games running smoothly. You're not getting all the bells and whistles of truly premium, high-end gaming beasts, but it's impressive in its own right.
3. Pavilion Gaming 15 by HP
For the truly budget conscious gamer, the Pavilion Gaming 15 is a capable performer for less. The laptop comes with a hefty discount compared to some of the other premium laptops on the list, but if you were looking to play Overwatch and start your PC gaming journey, it's going to give you reliable power for the money. Starting things off we've got a standard 15.6-inch Full HD Anti-Glare display with a simple 60Hz refresh rate. From here, we can already see some of the downgrades HP took to get the laptop to a lower price tag. That missing fast refresh rate isn't integral, but is a definite game changer when you do see it in person.
However, to make up for the display short comings, we've got some decent internals that'll get you running Overwatch relatively well. Powering the laptop is a 9th Generation Intel Core i5-9300H, 8GB RAM and a paltry 256GB SSD. While these aren't the most powerful internals, it will still be more than sufficient to handle Overwatch and some last gen games. Just don't expect to run the latest and greatest on the highest graphic settings without running into some crazy framerates and crashes. Speaking of crashes in games, the laptop comes with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 with dedicated 3GB GDDR5 VRAM. Not the best, but all these specs working together should get you stable performance for day-to-day tasks and gaming.
Some other standout features the HP Pavilion Gaming 15 comes with includes enhanced thermal cooling, green backlit keyboard, an alien looking display frame, audio by B&O, and up to 10 hours of battery life. While it doesn't outright scream 'gamer', the consistent performance and subdued gamer aesthetic is great value when you consider the price tag.
4. ROG Zephyrus S by ASUS
Another heavy hitter in the gaming laptop scene, the ROG Zephyrus S by ASUS brings a lot to the table; from a decidedly unique form factor, sleek frame, to the capable performance. The first thing you'll notice about the laptop is cramped up keyboard at the bottom of the chassis and the trackpad on the right, doubling as a number pad. It's unconventional and might take some getting used to, but ASUS has done it for a reason. Mainly this form will allow for better heat management by automatically adjusting fan speeds and to accommodate anti-dust tunnels and fans. Besides the unconventional form factor however, we're met with a 15.6-inch Full HD display with a speedy 144Hz refresh rate.
A pretty standard display panel, but effective nonetheless. For a gaming laptop, the display frame has some pretty thin bezels, so I'll give it that. On the screen, you also get a 3ms response time, 100% sRGB color gamut and a 178º wide viewing angles. Powering the laptop under the hood is a 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8750H processor, 24GB RAM and a generous 1TB SSD. The Intel Core i7-8750H may seem a bit outdated, but rest assured it will be more than capable of handling Overwatch. To bolster the graphical fidelity of the laptop, the ROG Zephyrus S packs in the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 with dedicated 8GB GDDR5 VRAM. I will add however, if these specs aren't all that exciting for you, there are various upgrades you can get that will make the laptop an even better performer.
Besides the internals, the laptop does a few extra things that makes it a better purchase like the AuraSync backlit keyboard, slim gaming chassis measuring in at just 0.62" thin, military grade durability, and up to 6 hours of battery life. This laptop truly is a unique one in this list, and is up there in being one of the best laptop packages as a whole that we've seen so far. If you were looking for something a little different, but still very capable in performance, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus S is a stellar laptop to choose.
5. MSI GS65 Stealth
While the MSI brand might not be as well known as ASUS ROG, Acer or HP, the MSI GS65 Stealth is a fantastic performer coming in a sleek form factor. First off, let's talk about the overall aesthetic and design language on the MSI laptop. We've got a fairly simple black color adorned throughout the chassis with a orange-gold accent trim and MSI's logo on the rear panel. On the front, we've got a 15.6-inch Full HD Anti-Glare display with a quick 144Hz refresh rate. The laptop also features thin bezels on the sides and top of the display, with a noticeable chin on the bottom. Overall though, very attractive, simplistic and daunting looks further enhanced by the SteelSeries RGB back-lit keyboard allowing for per key configurations.
Under the hood, unsurprisingly we've got capable performance starting off with the 9th Generation Intel Core i7-9750H processor, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. The Intel Core i7-9750H is actually the upgraded version of the processor we saw on the ASUS ROG Zephyrus S, so do what you will with that information. The supporting specs are equally impressive, and is further bolstered by the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU with 6GB of GDDR6 VRAM. So far, I'm honestly impressed with MSI's design and power embedded on the laptop, making for a very compelling package for even the power-user.
The laptop comes with some other great supporting features like Cooler Boost Trinity+ for heat management, 8 hours of battery life, Dragon Center, and a premium smooth glass touchpad with multi-gesture support. As I mentioned earlier, this laptop actually is very compact considering it is a gaming laptop, and the 15.6-inch display is actually fitted into a 14-inch laptop body. That should underline how impressive this laptop is as a whole, with powerful performance, a sleek form factor, and eye-catching design language.
Conclusion
We've seen a lot of gaming laptop brands so far, but only one laptop can come out on top as the best out of all the best laptops for Overwatch.
This time around, our champion is going to be the Predator Helios 300 by Acer!
This gaming laptop truly came out ahead of the competition with a potent combination of aesthetics, unmatched performance, and gamer-centric features. It is also one of the highest-specced laptops on the list, and at similar price tags to most of the other entries to the list. This laptop towers above all, trouncing almost every other laptop, spec-for-spec, and still manages to come in at a somewhat reasonable price point. A worthy companion to get you through the wondrous world of Overwatch.
