As much as I adore PC tech, weirdly, I’ve only owned four laptops in my life. And for context, I’ve existed on this spinning rock for 40 years. Holy moly, does my back ever hurt. The last couple of years have made me massively appreciate portable PCs, and even though I bought my current model for gaming purposes, it’s suddenly turned into my main workstation in improbable fashion.
I won’t lie: my current laptop cost an eye-watering amount. My battered credit card balance is going to be weeping for years to come. Yet as much as I love my high-end, portable Windows 11 device, for those times I want to unwind with my favorite Steam games, I actually appreciate it just as much for being a surprisingly robust workstation.
Yes, that gaming laptop you might currently own genuinely can be a viable productivity machine. Give me a chance to try and make my point.
A great laptop for work and gaming
The Zephyrus G14 can do it all
In terms of my current laptop, gaming or otherwise, the stats speak for themselves. A mobile RTX 5080 isn’t just superb for playing modern Steam titles on; 16GB of GDDR7 VRAM make this card an oh-so credible option for users who need to render large 4K video files in a jiffy.
The addition of an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, 12-core CPU and 32GB of DDR5 RAM also ensure this ROG model has the compute and memory capacity to juggle high-end image editing while also being able to handle 30-odd browser tabs at any given time. Believe me, I should know. I have a real problem when it comes to limiting my Google Chrome windows.
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That the latest G14 also has a 2.8K (2800 x 1800) OLED panel means it’s a great option for prosumer users who need a laptop display capable of supreme color accuracy. I do a lot of image editing for my role on MUO, and I can honestly say using Photoshop on my G14 is a delight thanks to the undeniable quality of its incredible OLED screen.
Why gaming laptops make great workstations
Making the case for gaming devices as productivity devices
Regardless of the cost bracket you’re working within, gaming laptops often have shared qualities that make them a good fit for work purposes.
If you can’t push the boat out for a 50-series gaming laptop, far more affordable variants (whether they be Nvidia or AMD) can still make for perfectly good workstations. Indeed, going for a halfway house option that can run modern PC titles at 1080p/60FPS while also being able to handle video rendering and photo editing tasks is a great bet if you’re a casual gamer who also wants to work on their laptop.
Many semi-modern gaming laptops boast a svelte, lightweight form factor. This makes them ideal for both commutes and also for home office work, where they’ll take up less space than thicker, all-round laptops. Just bear in mind your next laptop should have this RAM spec.
A lot of gaming laptops also look pretty elegant. I’m not saying aesthetics are going to make that 7,000-word report you need to get in first thing Monday morning any easier to pen. Of course not. Yet in my experience, of the gaming laptops I’ve owned, they have all sported the sort of responsive trackpads and tactile keyboards that make browsing for research purposes and typing a little more friction-free.
High refresh rates also matter. My G14 tops out at 120Hz, which makes desktop navigation and web browsing feel silky smooth compared to 60Hz displays. Yet some gaming laptops get far higher than that, maxing out at 240Hz and above.
Even if you’re not a budding eSports champ in the making and just want to edit spreadsheets, anyone can feel and appreciate the benefits of a higher refresh rate screen. And don’t forget, in certain circumstances, laptops can beat dual-monitor setups.
- Operating System
-
Windows 11 Home
- CPU
-
Intel Core i7-1260P
- GPU
-
NVIDIA GeForce MX550
- Storage
-
512GB SSD
The ASUS Zenbook 14X is another lightweight option perfect for travelers. With its stunning 2.8K OLED display, media content looks fantastic. Its powerful specs and handy ScreenPad make it a good choice for multitasking, too. Having a primary display and a secondary display to assign less critical applications to is extremely useful for travelers and nomads looking to enhance their productivity on the go.
Maybe gaming laptops shouldn’t be for work
The cases against a gaming machine for productivity
There is an almighty “BUT” when it comes to using a gaming laptop as your primary workstation. Normally, and especially with high-end portable machines, battery life absolutely sucks. Take my RTX 5080 Zephyrus G14. Even in performance mode, at not unreasonably bright screen levels, I can’t even squeeze two hours of use out of my laptop once it’s unplugged from a wall socket.
If you regularly commute, and as such, find yourself often depending on public sockets in coffee shops and the like that may not be easily accessible, the limited staying power of gaming laptops can be a major issue. If you don’t do the vast majority of work from either a normal or home office where a socket can be depended on, you’d be far better off with a long-lasting MacBook for work duties than a power-draining gaming laptop.
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Another major downside quickly rears its head when using my RTX 5080 gaming device for work. Demanding gaming laptops get incredibly hot, incredibly quickly. Even when my Zephyrus isn’t handling the most demanding Steam games, for those times I have Photoshop and all the Chrome windows open at once, the eardrum-imploding might of its fans can suddenly kick into incredibly distracting effect. If laptop fans are driving you crazy, change this one setting.
Gaming laptops can be great all-rounders
Despite those last couple of (non-significant) negatives I just listed when it comes to gaming laptops acting as productivity machines, I wouldn’t let that overly let that put you off. Even if my Zephyrus G14 wasn’t so high-end in terms of its GPU and CPU, such is the quality of its screen, I’d argue any OLED laptop should make for a terrific workstation.
Granted, the main fact I’m using my gaming laptop as my main workstation is because I upgraded my monitor for a TV, in turn meaning I transported my RXT 5090 desktop into my living room to exclusively play games on it. Such a switch now means I use my G14 for both gaming, and more importantly, work. And I’ve never been happier with it. Give gaming laptops a chance in terms of productivity tasks; they may well surprise you.