Best Laptop for Minecraft – Reviews

Minecraft has been taking the world by storm since its release in 2011. The pixel-art 3D sandbox game has captured the imagination of kids and adults alike through its focus on building and survival. One of the key reasons for Minecraft’s success and popularity over the years is that it is extremely accessible and easy on hardware due to its flexible system requirements.

Minecraft can be played on almost all platforms, from PCs to consoles; however, we believe the best way to play is on a laptop due to its portability and ease of use. We’ll walk you through which laptop best suits your needs while still being within the recommended specifications. Though Minecraft is not the most demanding PC game on the market, your laptop will need to have certain specs and capabilities to be able to play the game at a good frame rate and without any crashes or performance issues. We’ll mainly be looking at laptops that have adequate integrated graphics or dedicated GPUs for gaming, along with adequate RAM and good battery performance as gaming does use a lot of battery when not connected.

We’ll be focusing on the best laptops available online that are best suited for getting the best out of your Minecraft experience no matter where you are!  We aim to have a list of budget laptops and mid-range gaming laptops to cover both the Ray-tracing version and the normal version of Minecraft – the RTX version being more graphically demanding than the normal game. Before we start it’s always good to know the minimum and recommended system requirement for Minecraft to better inform you whether your laptop is able to run the game the way it is intended or not.

Minimum requirements

Maximum requirements

CPU

Intel Core i3 3210 | AMD A8 7600

Intel Core i5 4690 | AMD A10 7800

Storage

180 MB to 1 GB available space

4 GB (SSD recommended) available space

RAM

4GB RAM

8GB RAM

GPU

NVIDIA GeForce 400 Series

NVIDIA GeForce 700 Series | AMD Radeon Rx 200

Display

15.6-inch FHD

15.6-inch FHD IPS

Battery

Up to 5 hours

Up to 8 hours

Minecraft with Ray-Tracing System Requirements for Minecraft

  • OS: Windows 10 64-bit
  • GPU: DirectX hardware ray tracing capable GPU like NVIDIA GeForce® RTX 20 Series and higher, and AMD Radeon™ RX 6000 Series and higher
  • CPU: Intel Core i5 or equivalent
  • RAM: 8 GB of RAM and more
  • A version of Minecraft: 1.16.200 or higher

Now that we have the minimum, recommended and the Ray-tracing version of recommended settings out of the way, let’s go through our top picks for the best laptop for Minecraft in no particular order!

1. Lenovo IdeaPad 3 – The budget option for playing Minecraft

The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is a great laptop that will be able to run Minecraft without issues. It neatly fits in between the minimum and recommended requirements of Minecraft. The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 features the 10th Generation Intel Dual-Core i3-1005G1 Processor, up to 3.5GHz, 8GB of RAM with a 256 GB SSD for storage. More importantly, it boasts an integrated graphics solution in the form of AMD Radeon R5 that runs modern games at lower to medium settings with ease. Though you won’t be able to play the Ray-Tracing version of Minecraft – with this entry-level gaming and productivity laptop you’ll be running Minecraft without any hitches while on the go! The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is a sleek laptop featuring a 15.6” screen suitable for productivity and light gaming.

Pros
  • Great value for money
  • Good for kids and teens
Cons
  • Small storage of only 256 GB
  • Average battery life

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2. HP 15 – An all-round mid-range option for gaming

2. HP 15 – An all-round mid-range option for gamingThe HP brand of Laptops is known for creating reliable products over the years and the HP 15 is no exception. If you’re looking to take your laptop gaming performance a bit further in terms of higher resolutions for experiencing Minecraft then look no further. With a max resolution of 1920×1080 and an integrated Intel Iris Graphics processor along with 8GB of DDR4 RAM and an i5-1135G7 Processor – you’ll be playing Minecraft with buttery smooth frame rates at HD resolutions. The HP 15 also boosts the long battery life of up to 7 hours and 15 minutes and fast charging of 0% to 50% in 45 minutes! This is a great mid-range laptop for productivity and playing Minecraft within the recommended system requirements. 

Pros
  • Lightweight and Sleek
  • Great for the budget to mid-range gamers
  • Lightning-fast startup and load times due to SSD storage
  • Long battery life and quick charging feature
Cons
  • No DVD Drive
  • Low storage of only 256 GB

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3. Dell G5 SE – For the serious gamers

3. Dell G5 SE – For the serious gamersThe Dell G5 SE is a solid entry to mid-range gaming PC that ticks all the correct boxes for a solid gaming experience and is one of the best laptops for Minecraft. Featuring the AMD Radeon RX 5600M graphics solution paired with 8GB of SD Ram and 3GHz of AMD 4th Gen Ryzen 6 Core Processor. While not top of the line – this gaming laptop is adequate enough to run most AAA games including Minecraft with ease around the 60FPS range at medium to high settings. This being an AMD system you won’t have access to RTX features of Minecraft however what you do get is a solid deal. The only drawbacks are small storage space and a heavyweight that can be cumbersome for those who like to game on the move.

Pros
  • Lightweight and sleek
  • Backlit Keyboard
  • Great battery performance
  • Mid-range PC for AAA games
Cons
  • A bit pricey for most budget gamers
  • Runs very hot when gaming
  • No support for RTX graphics

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4. 2020 M1 MacBook Pro – For Apple enthusiasts

4. 2020 M1 MacBook Pro – For Apple enthusiastsIf you’re a die-hard Apple user and are looking for the best laptop for Minecraft in the Apple ecosystem then look no further. The M1 MacBook Pro is a great option for casual pc gamers and fans of Minecraft who also prefer the macOS over Windows. Other than its great processing performance and memory bandwidth this particular MacBook is amazing for its battery performance with up to 20 hours of battery life! You’ll be able to go for long stretches of Minecraft gameplay with this best laptop for Minecraft and other similar games. One of the upsides of the M1 and other MacBooks over other non-apple laptops is its sleek design, fast OS, and cooling performance. So, if you’re looking for the best laptop for Minecraft other than Windows-based options then this one is for you.

Pros
  • Amazing design and looks
  • Extremely light and portable
  • Fast OS and usability
  • Great for macOS users
  • Good for gaming at respectable framerates
Cons
  • A bit pricey for most budget gamers
  • Not the best for those unfamiliar with macOS

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5. GIGABYTE G5 GD – The top-of-the-line gaming laptop

5. GIGABYTE G5 GD – The top-of-the-line gaming laptop Want a top-of-the-line gaming laptop to experience Minecraft with Raytracing graphics? We believe the Gigabyte G5 GD is the best option for you at the best price! The Gigabyte G5 GD has a dedicated GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU 4GB GDDR6 which features RTX Raytracing support which should be able to run all RTX-enabled games including Minecraft. The processor is no slouch either – 11th Gen Intel Core i5-11400H

The processor (2.7GHz~4.5GHz) will make sure your gaming experience is as smooth as ever. One other feature that sets the G5 GD apart is its amazing screen. A 15.6″ Thin Bezel FHD 1920×1080 IPS-level Anti-glare Display LCD that is of a higher refresh rate of 144HZ. This means that you won’t see any screen-tearing for a smoother visual experience. For those willing to spend more the Gigabyte G5 GD is the best gaming laptop on a decent budget for playing Minecraft with RTX.

Pros
  • RTX support for amazing ray-tracing graphics
  • High Refresh Rate for smooth frames and no screen-tearing
  • Plays games above 60 FPS
  • Great for macOS users
  • Amazing performance for a good price
  • 512 GB SSD
Cons
  • Gets very loud when gaming
  • A bit over-kill for Minecraft

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Conclusion

We hope you got some help in choosing the best laptop for Minecraft! Keep in mind that Minecraft is very easy to run and thus if you’re on a budget you can opt for a budget-friendly laptop like the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 for example. If you have the cash to spend you can go for a mid-range or enthusiast laptop – the choice is yours! When making your decision the main aspects to consider are processing power, RAM, and graphics capabilities. Make sure to refer to the recommended and minimum system specs when considering buying a laptop for Minecraft.

FAQs

What kind of laptop should I buy for playing Minecraft?

This solely depends on your budget and whether you will use that laptop for other programs and applications. If its solely Minecraft that you will be playing and you don’t care about the RTX version of the game then go for a laptop that meets the recommended system requirements. Luckily Minecraft is a very low-spec game and thus you won’t be breaking the bank if you follow the recommended requirements when picking your laptop for Minecraft gaming.

How important is the graphics card/integrated graphics in a laptop for Minecraft?

You don’t require the top-of-the-line laptops that feature next-gen graphics hardware to play Minecraft. If you’re on a budget a laptop with integrated graphics will do just fine. We’ve listed the best budget laptop for Minecraft in the article above.

Does Minecraft work on macOS?

Yes! Minecraft is available for download on macOS as well so if you’re an Apple user you too can play Minecraft. Refer to the list above as we do highlight the best laptop for Minecraft in macOS as well.

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