5 Best Laptops For League of Legends 2026 (October Patch)
It’s been 9 years since I started playing LoL and it’s still one of the most played games in 2026.
The company aims to reach as many players as possible so yeah the hardware rquirements will always remain low.
Even laptops with integrated graphics are good enough for 60-80 FPS.
Now…
If you want very high framerates at very high settings, then yeah you’ll need a laptop with a dedicated GPU.
The above laptop has a 2050RTX. Plenty fast for LoL.
Due to stock issues, the 2050RTX can be just as expensive as the 3050RTX which is a lot faster (though the extra power is not so useful for LoL) and can get you 140fps (as opposed to 100fps with 2050RTX) even during intense team fights where everyone is popping their ults.
If you add a hundred more or so dollars, you might get a 4050RTX laptop which sometimes sells for 850 (the 3050RTX is around 780 at its lowest price in 2026):
We’ll go over all options (cheaper and slightly more expensive) but before let’s talk about the hardware requirements in depth. You are welcomed to skip this section though.
Best Laptop Specs For League of Legends
To get similar performance, all you need to do is to find a laptop with a 4GB vRAM GPU.
Then your only problem will be dealing with the amount afkers and rage quitters as you reach level 25.
League of Legends Hardware Requirements
Before we go over the best laptops for league of legends, let me elaborate a bit more on the hardware:
- CPU:LoL is very single-threaded. That means you need to focus on single clock speed (GHz) performance over # Cores.
- You can get a sense of which CPU is ‘faster’ for lol…using the single-thread benchmarks in this post.
- RAM: 8GB RAM is enough for LoL unless you want to play at higher resolution (QHD) then you want 16GB RAM.
- If you lack a dedicated GPU, then you want 16GB RAM to give your iGPU a boost as explained here.
- GPU: can run on any GPU but 4GB vRAM GPUs (2050RTX, 1650GTX, 3050RTX) will unlock super high framerates at super high settings. No need to worry about wattage or MUX Switch, the game doesn’t really use dedicated GPUs as much.
- Storage Speed: Makes zero difference for framerates.
Now Prices…
If you’ve got 600 dollars or more:a laptop with a dedicated GPU. Only choose from these:
If you’ve got 500 dollar or less:you are stuck with integrated GPUs. They can run the game at low-med settings np though. Make sure to check my Integrated GPU performance comparison to see which of your options has the fastest one.
Top 5 Best Laptops for League Of Legends (LoL)
Most of the laptops listed here, however, are tailored for competitive gaming (150+ FPS at high settings). Sure, they’ll be more expensive, but I’ll also include a few budget-friendly options further down the list.
1. Acer Aspire 5
Budget Laptop for League of Legends – RTX 2050
This is pretty much all the GPU power you need for League of Legends. The RTX 2050 is still an entry-level dedicated GPU but LoL is so easy to run that you’re looking at very high framerates even with the graphics cranked up.
The only problem this year is PRICE. 2050RTX laptops aren’t as cheap as they used to be. This Acer is around $699 and you’ll sometimes find 3050RTX laptops for only another $50 or so.
So before buying this, check the price of the 3050RTX models too. If the difference is tiny, obviously get the 3050RTX. Otherwise, this is already WAY more than enough for League.
2. Acer Nitro V 15
Best Laptop for League of Legends – RTX 4050
Laptops with a 3050RTX, 4050RTX and pretty much any modern dedicated GPU are OVERKILL for League of Legends. They’re useful if you also want to play games like CS2, Fortnite, Overwatch, WoW, etc., but for League itself you really only need an entry-level dedicated GPU.
So why am I putting a 4050RTX here? Because depending on prices, it can still be a good deal. The Acer Nitro V is around $900 right now, which is roughly $200 more than some 2050RTX laptops. That’s a noticeable difference, so if League is literally the ONLY game you play, save your money and get the 2050RTX.
However, CHECK prices before buying. 2050RTX and especially 3050RTX laptop prices have been pretty weird lately. Sometimes a 3050RTX laptop is only $50-$100 cheaper than a 4050RTX. If that’s the case, I’d just spend the extra money and get the 4050RTX because you’re getting MUCH better performance for other games.
League of Legends – RTX 4050 6GB vRAM
As expected, the 4050RTX is absolutely OVERKILL for League of Legends. You’re already way past the framerates most people actually need.
GPU: RTX 4050
When buying a GPU this powerful, especially if you’re also playing other games, you should still pay attention to GPU wattage.
Higher-wattage versions generally perform better, although for League of Legends this barely matters because the game is already running at ridiculous framerates on basically ANY 4050RTX configuration.
Wattage becomes much more important if you’re buying this laptop for more demanding games. That’s where spending extra money on a 4050RTX over a 2050RTX or 3050RTX actually starts paying off.
The rough performance hierarchy is:
4050RTX > 3060RTX > 3050Ti > 3050RTX > 2050RTX > GTX 1650
Again, for League the difference is kind of pointless because even the weaker GPUs are already pushing very high framerates. The 4050RTX starts making sense when League ISN’T the only game you’re going to play.
CPU: Intel Core i5-13420H
The Core i5-13420H is also more than enough for League of Legends.
League relies heavily on CPU performance when you’re trying to push extremely high framerates, but once you’re already sitting around 200-300 FPS the differences between recent Core i5/Core i7/Ryzen 5/Ryzen 7 CPUs aren’t something I’d spend hundreds of dollars chasing.
Display: 165Hz
The 165Hz display is actually much more useful for League than having some ridiculously powerful GPU.
You’re easily going to push past 165 FPS, so the display can actually show a lot of those extra frames. Going from a regular 60Hz display to 165Hz is VERY noticeable in a game like League.
If you find a cheaper model with 120Hz or 144Hz though, by all means grab it. The difference between 120Hz, 144Hz and 165Hz is much smaller than the jump from 60Hz.
RAM: 8GB DDR5
The only thing I don’t like here is the 8GB RAM. League itself doesn’t need much RAM, but in 2026 I’d upgrade this to 16GB anyway.
That gives you more room for Discord, browsers, streaming software and whatever else you’re running in the background while playing.
Alternatives
Before buying the Acer Nitro V, check the prices of 2050RTX and 3050RTX laptops.
If a 2050RTX laptop is around $700 and this Acer is around $900, save the $200 if you only care about League. If a 3050RTX laptop is $800-$850 though, I’d probably just move up to the 4050RTX. You’re already spending enough money that the extra performance starts becoming worth it.
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| Link | GPU | CPU | Refresh Rate | Storage | Price |
| Acer Nitro | 4050RTX | R5 7640HS | 165Hz | 512GB | $710 |
| Acer Nitro | 4050RTX | Core i7-13620H | 144Hz | 512GB | $799 |
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| Acer Nitro V 15 | |
| PROS | CONS |
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3. MSI Crosshair 18 HX AI
High-End Laptop for League of Legends – RTX 5070
This laptop is obviously OVERKILL for league of legends. However, if you want to play the game at QHD resolution (1440p) pretty much all day or even 4k (with an external monitor) then this is what you want. Though it’s overkill it’s only selling for 1700 dollars through this vendor, that’s a STEAL if you think about the usual price of other models : 2300-2500 dollars!
League of Legends – RTX 5070 8GB vRAM
My benchmarks for this laptop (obviously I had to buy this deal) are on youtube. Not only for LoL but for pretty much every AAA game. Below you can see this laptop running lol at QHD resolution. The FPS remains as high as laptops just running the game at FHD resolution.
That’s pretty much the performance of every FULL power 5070RTX laptop out there. Speaking about power, in case you want to dwelve into other 5070RTX, you need to know the differences between wattages and if they’re any useful for LoL.
GPU: RTX 5070 8GB GDDR7 – Up to 115W
This laptop’s 5070RTX pretty much goes up to the maximum which is 115W while higher wattages are possible +130W they just give diminishing returns be it for LoL or any other game.
Unlike thin laptops, the power here is not capped at 80W or 90W, 115W is pretty high up there ESPECIALLY for a 5th generation RTX GPU which doesn’t need as much power as previous generatons. However as you can see in the video for LoL it makes little difference whether you get the GPU running at 50W or 115W, there’s not a super high difference in framerates theyre pretty close.
Balanced Mode vs Extreme Performance
The MSI laptop here has two modes. Balanced Mode and Extreme Mode (which I call performance in the video). Both performance and balance mode give the same framerates at QHD resolution. Balanced mode is supposed to cap the power at 70W or so and extreme performance places no limit at the cap….still same framerates because this game isn’t nearly as graphically demanding.
CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX or Ryzen 9
This model (CrossHair A18 HX) comes with several choices for CPUs. From 7th gen Ryzen 9 to the latest Core ultra 9. If we are talking about LoL specifically and you’re nitty picky about framerates and want as much framerates as possible. I’d learn towards the Core Ultra 9 because it has better single-thread performance than Ryzen 9 counterparts and LoL is mostly single-threaded because it doesn’t need to render heavy images if it did it would make it more multi-threaded and the Ryzen 9 would be come the ideal choice.
Display: 18-inch QHD+ 240Hz
This is the highlight of the 5070RTX, what makes it different, what drew my attention and the entire reason I bought it: the display is 18 inch. This thing is huge and if you pair it up with the QHD it feels like a desktop. That’s not the only advantage of course. You also get WAY more space for
RAM & Storage
They’re all upgradeable and I would advice to buy the bare minimum (16GB & 1TB) to get this laptop at the cheapet price possible (the link I posted allows you to configure the specs) and if you need more later you can do the upgrade yourself. I advice against buying extra RAM and storage unless you want to preserve warranty. Adding extra ram and storage adds A LOT to the total price and it can make it as highi as 2500 if you want 32GB with 4TB!
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| MSI Crosshair 18 HX AI | |
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3. MSI GF63 Thin
Cheap Laptop for League of Legends – GTX 1650
A GTX 1650 laptop should only be an option if you’re on a VERY low budget but still want high framerates in League of Legends at high settings.
There’s a problem in 2026 though: GTX 1650 laptops are basically obsolete, stock is low and the remaining new models are often ridiculously overpriced. The MSI GF63 Thin featured here used to be one of the cheapest GTX 1650 laptops you could buy. Right now, however, I’m not seeing it regularly available on Amazon below $700.
At that price you should NOT buy it. RTX 2050 laptops are already around that price and give you a newer GPU with DLSS and ray-tracing support. A GTX 1650 laptop only makes sense now if you find one refurbished or new at a genuinely low price. I’d definitely want it below $700, and preferably quite a bit below the price of an RTX 2050.
The button above now takes you to the available GTX 1650 laptops in general since the old MSI GF63 configuration comes in and out of stock.
GPU: GTX 1650 4GB vRAM – Optimus vs No Optimus
When you shop for GTX 1650 laptops for League of Legends, it’s also important to understand the concept of MUX Switch & Optimus if you want to get the BEST performance possible out of a GTX 1650.
Don’t get me wrong, pretty much any GTX 1650 is still enough for competitive League of Legends. The game isn’t very demanding and these laptops can still push very high framerates.
However, if a GTX 1650 laptop has either Optimus disabled or a MUX Switch enabled, you’ll usually get higher framerates because the dedicated GPU can send frames directly to the display. That extra performance can also make a bigger difference in more demanding games.
The MSI GF63 Thin was one of the cheapest GTX 1650 laptops back then, so naturally it did NOT have a MUX Switch.
GTX 1650 – League of Legends Benchmark
CPU: Core i5-11400H
The Core i5-11400H is obviously old now, but that’s not really a problem for League of Legends. As you can see from the benchmark numbers above, it still has enough CPU performance to keep the GTX 1650 running the game at high framerates.
You definitely do NOT need a current Core i5/Core i7 just to play League. Newer CPUs will push higher maximum framerates, but once you’re already above 100 FPS the difference isn’t nearly as important as it would be in a more demanding CPU-heavy game.
RAM: 8GB vs 16GB – Dual Channel
If you want to increase performance even further, upgrade the RAM to 16GB in dual-channel mode. If the laptop you’re buying has one 8GB stick installed, adding another matching 8GB stick is one of the cheapest upgrades you can make.
Dual-channel memory allows the CPU to access more memory bandwidth. Think of it like changing from one traffic lane to two lanes: more data can move at the same time.
You can read more about dual-channel RAM and gaming here.
Display: 144Hz
One of the nicest things about the old MSI GF63 Thin configuration was the 144Hz display. League of Legends can easily push enough FPS on a GTX 1650 to actually make use of it.
If you upgrade the RAM and use the right settings, framerates can go well beyond what a normal 60Hz display can show, so having 120Hz or 144Hz is definitely useful.
Back when GTX 1650 laptops were widely available, finding a cheap model with a 144Hz panel was a pretty good deal. That’s one of the reasons I originally recommended the MSI GF63 Thin.
Price in 2026: Be VERY Careful
This is the most important part now. Do not pay $700+ for a GTX 1650 laptop.
These laptops are old and low stock is actually making some remaining listings MORE expensive instead of cheaper. That doesn’t suddenly make the GTX 1650 worth more.
If you find one refurbished for a few hundred dollars, then yeah…it can still be an excellent cheap League machine. The same applies if you somehow find a new GTX 1650 laptop well under $700.
But always compare the price against RTX 2050 laptops first. The GTX 1650 should be noticeably cheaper because the RTX 2050 gives you similar or better performance plus DLSS support and newer RTX features.
And obviously if you find an RTX 3050 anywhere near the same price, get the RTX 3050 instead.
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| MSI GF63 Thin | |
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5. Dell 15.6-inch Touchscreen
Cheap Laptop for League of Legends – Intel Iris Xe
This is the cheapest laptop on the list and the only one that doesn’t have a dedicated GPU.
That’s perfectly fine for League of Legends though. The game is light enough that a recent Core i5 + Intel Iris Xe can still give you very good framerates at FHD without having to spend another $150-$300 on a gaming laptop.
At around $549, this is the one I’d look at if League is basically the only game you play and you also want something more useful for school/work than a bulky gaming laptop.
Core i5-1334U + Intel Iris Xe Benchmarks
Unfortunately, there aren’t League of Legends benchmarks with this exact same Core i5-1334U configuration.
The closest benchmark I’ve used before is a Core i5-1240P + Intel Iris Xe laptop. It uses the same general class of Intel integrated graphics and gives us a good idea of what to expect.
GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Intel Iris Xe is MUCH faster than the old Intel UHD graphics you’ll find on older cheap laptops.
And for League of Legends, it’s honestly enough. You can play at FHD without needing a 2050RTX, 3050RTX or 4050RTX.
Obviously those dedicated GPUs are much faster, but the difference doesn’t matter nearly as much in League because the game already runs well on integrated graphics.
CPU: Core i5-1334U
This Dell uses the 13th-gen Core i5-1334U, which has 10 cores and 12 threads.
League doesn’t need some expensive Core i7 or Core Ultra CPU. What matters more here is having decent per-core performance, and the Core i5-1334U is already WAY beyond what League requires.
The older Core i5-1235U laptop I used to recommend is also still worth buying if you find it significantly cheaper. The 13th-gen CPU is faster, but we’re not talking about some huge difference in League.
RAM: 8GB vs 16GB
This Dell comes with 8GB RAM. That’s enough to run League, but it’s not ideal for an integrated GPU.
Remember, Intel Iris Xe doesn’t have its own dedicated vRAM. It uses system RAM for graphics, so Windows, League and the iGPU are all sharing that same 8GB.
If this particular configuration allows a RAM upgrade, moving to 16GB should be the first thing you do.
And if you can run the RAM in dual-channel mode, even better. Integrated graphics benefit A LOT more from memory bandwidth than laptops with dedicated GPUs.
Display: 15.6-inch FHD Touchscreen
You get a regular 15.6-inch FHD touchscreen.
It’s not a high-refresh gaming display like the 144Hz/165Hz panels on the gaming laptops above, but that’s expected at this price.
For casual League it’s fine. If you’re trying to play seriously at 120+ FPS and actually SEE all those frames, then obviously you’ll want a 120Hz/144Hz external display or one of the gaming laptops above.
Battery: Up to 9 Hours
One advantage of NOT having a dedicated GPU is battery life.
This Dell is rated for up to around 9 hours, which is obviously much better than the 2-3 hour estimates you’ll see on some of the gaming laptops above.
Don’t expect 9 hours while actually gaming though. That’s normal-use battery life.
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How To Buy The Best Laptop For League Of Legends
League of Legends still has some of the lowest hardware requirements among popular competitive games. Riot’s recommended requirements are so low that pretty much any decent modern laptop can run the game.
Obviously, even if you’re on a budget, you don’t want to aim for the bare minimum. Framerates can drop during group fights when everyone starts popping their ults, so you want some extra headroom.
The good news is that even laptops around the $350-$450 range have FAR more power than LoL officially requires.
So the real question is:
At what point do you stop getting useful performance and start paying for hardware that’s overkill for League?
1. GPU
The GPU still matters, but LoL is light enough that you have two perfectly good options:
- Integrated graphics: enough if you’re on a tight budget and are okay lowering a few settings.
- Dedicated graphics: easily gets you very high framerates at maximum settings.
The important thing in 2026 is that you absolutely do NOT need an expensive RTX 5060 or RTX 5070 just for League of Legends.
1.1 Integrated Graphics
Integrated GPUs have gotten MUCH faster since the Intel HD days.
LoL is light enough that even regular integrated graphics can run it. Our Core i5-1334U + Intel Iris Xe laptop, for example, is in roughly the 70-80 FPS range at FHD Low.
That’s already perfectly playable.
If you’re shopping for an iGPU laptop today, these are the relevant ones:
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| CPU | Integrated GPU | LoL |
| Core i5-1334U | Intel Iris Xe | ~70-80 FPS FHD Low in our reviewed configuration |
| Core Ultra 5 125H / 225H | Intel Arc Graphics | More than enough for LoL without a dedicated GPU |
| Ryzen 5 8645HS / Ryzen 5 240 | Radeon 760M | Strong iGPU option for FHD LoL |
| Ryzen 7 8845HS / Ryzen 7 260 | Radeon 780M | Very strong integrated graphics for LoL |
| Ryzen AI 7 350 | Radeon 860M | Way more iGPU power than LoL actually needs |
| Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M | Among the fastest iGPU options; overkill for LoL alone |
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Don’t obsess over whether the CPU says Core i5, Core Ultra 7 or Ryzen 7. Look at the actual integrated GPU.
You can use my integrated GPU performance comparison to see how they stack up.
Also remember that integrated graphics use system RAM. Going from a poor 8GB configuration to 16GB with enough memory bandwidth can make a noticeable difference. I explain this in my 8GB vs 16GB integrated graphics comparison.
1.2 Dedicated Graphics Cards
Dedicated GPUs have their own VRAM and MUCH more graphics power than the average iGPU.
But here’s the deal with League:
You hit diminishing returns VERY quickly.
We’ve now reviewed laptops ranging from GTX 1650 graphics all the way to current RTX 40 and RTX 50 hardware. Even the cheaper dedicated GPUs are already enough for high-refresh-rate LoL.
League of Legends Laptop GPU Benchmarks
Here are some useful numbers from the laptops we’ve gone over:
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| GPU | CPU | Settings | Observed FPS |
| Intel Iris Xe | Core i5-1334U | FHD Low | ~70-80 FPS |
| GTX 1650 | Core i5-11400H | Very High | ~120 FPS normally / ~111 FPS team fights |
| RTX 3050 Ti | Core i5-12500H | Very High / Max | ~135-145 FPS |
| RTX 2050 | Core i5-1240P | Highest Settings | ~200 FPS during group fights |
| RTX 4050 | Core i5-13420H | Very High | ~313 FPS average / ~243 FPS 1% lows |
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That’s also why the RTX 2050 result can look faster than the RTX 3050 Ti result. League becomes increasingly CPU-sensitive once the GPU is already fast enough.
Which Dedicated GPU Should You Buy?
Forget the giant list of every NVIDIA laptop GPU made since 2016. These are the ones actually worth knowing about now:
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| NVIDIA GPU | VRAM | LoL Recommendation |
| GTX 1650 | 4GB | Still plenty fast, but only worth buying used/refurbished or extremely cheap. |
| RTX 2050 | 4GB | Excellent cheap option. Already enough for very high FPS at max settings. |
| RTX 3050 / 3050 Ti | 4GB-6GB | More than enough. Good only if priced close to RTX 2050 laptops. |
| RTX 4050 | 6GB | Overkill for LoL alone, but often a very good overall gaming-laptop buy. |
| RTX 4060 | 8GB | Complete overkill for League. Buy it for other games or QHD gaming. |
| RTX 5050 | 8GB | Current RTX 50 entry model. WAY more GPU than LoL needs. |
| RTX 5060 | 8GB | Buy it for demanding games/QHD+, not because of League. |
| RTX 5070 | 8GB | Ridiculous for LoL alone. Makes sense only if you’re buying the laptop for much heavier games too or QHD+. |
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Blue GPUs: This is basically all you NEED for League. A GTX 1650 or RTX 2050 can already push high-refresh-rate displays.
Green GPUs: More power than LoL needs, but these can be the better buy if the price difference is small. This is especially true with RTX 4050 laptops.
Pink GPUs: Overkill. Buy these because you play Cyberpunk, Warzone, newer AAA games, QHD/QHD+ or you need the GPU for work. Do NOT buy them just to get more LoL FPS.
GPU Wattage and MUX Switch
For something like Cyberpunk, GPU wattage can make a huge difference.
For League of Legends? Much less so.
The game simply does not push a modern dedicated GPU hard enough for TGP to be the first thing I’d worry about.
A MUX Switch can still improve FPS, especially when you’re chasing 200-300+ FPS, but I would NOT spend hundreds of extra dollars just to get one for LoL.
AMD Dedicated GPUs
There’s no special reason you need NVIDIA for League of Legends.
If you find an AMD laptop with something like a Radeon RX 7600S or RX 7700S at a good price, go for it. Both are 8GB dedicated GPUs and both have WAY more graphics power than LoL needs.
NVIDIA is simply much easier to find in gaming laptops.
2. CPU
The CPU becomes more important than people think once you’re already using a decent GPU.
This is especially true in LoL because once the GPU can easily render the game, the CPU starts determining how many frames can actually be prepared.
That’s why you shouldn’t look at our RTX 2050, RTX 3050 Ti and RTX 4050 FPS numbers and assume the differences come entirely from the GPUs. The CPUs are different too.
Single-Core Performance vs Number of Cores
League relies heavily on fast individual CPU cores.
That does NOT mean you should simply pick whichever CPU has the highest GHz number though.
A newer 4.6GHz CPU can easily beat an older 5GHz CPU because architecture, cache and instructions-per-clock have improved.
If you’re comparing laptops with the same GPU, use CPU benchmarks instead of comparing GHz alone.
Relevant Laptop CPUs in 2026
You don’t need a table with 50 old CPUs anymore. These are enough to give you an idea of what you’re likely to see:
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| CPU | Cores / Threads | Up To | Where We’ve Seen It / Use |
| Core i5-1240P | 12 / 16 | 4.4GHz | RTX 2050 laptop; already fast enough for ~200 FPS-class LoL performance |
| Core i5-1334U | 10 / 12 | 4.6GHz | Budget iGPU laptops |
| Core i5-12500H | 12 / 16 | 4.5GHz | RTX 3050 Ti gaming laptop |
| Core i5-13420H | 8 / 12 | 4.6GHz | RTX 4050 gaming laptops; easily fast enough for LoL |
| Core i5-14450HX | 10 / 16 | 4.8GHz | Higher-performance gaming laptops |
| Core Ultra 5 225H | 14 / 14 | 4.9GHz | Current Core Ultra laptops |
| Ryzen 5 7535HS | 6 / 12 | 4.55GHz | Budget gaming laptops |
| Ryzen 7 260 | 8 / 16 | 5.1GHz | Newer high-performance laptops |
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Once you’re already above 150-200 FPS, a faster CPU can be more useful than moving to an absurdly powerful GPU.
Streaming + Heavy Multitasking
For regular LoL + Discord + Chrome + YouTube, basically any modern Core i5/Ryzen 5-class CPU is enough.
If you’re streaming, recording and running a bunch of programs at the same time, then six or more fast cores are useful.
Modern RTX GPUs also have dedicated video-encoding hardware, so OBS does not have to dump the entire encoding workload on the CPU.
3. RAM
8GB vs 16GB
8GB: Enough to run LoL, but I would only accept this on a very cheap laptop.
16GB: This is what you want in 2026. It gives Windows, League, Discord, browsers and background software plenty of room.
32GB: Completely unnecessary for League itself. Useful if you’re streaming, editing videos or using much heavier software.
Integrated GPUs Need Fast RAM
A dedicated GPU has its own VRAM.
An integrated GPU has to share system memory with the CPU. That’s why RAM configuration matters MUCH more on an iGPU laptop.
If you’re buying an Iris Xe or Radeon iGPU laptop for League, I would go for 16GB RAM whenever possible.
Dual-Channel RAM
On upgradeable DDR laptops, two matching memory modules can increase available memory bandwidth:
This matters especially for integrated graphics. I have another post explaining dual-channel RAM if you want the technical explanation.
4. Storage
Size
LoL itself does not require much storage. Riot currently asks for roughly 16GB of free space.
The problem is everything ELSE you’re going to install.
256GB: Fine for Windows, LoL and a few programs.
512GB: What I recommend for most people.
1TB: Worth it if you’re also installing several modern AAA games.
SSD vs HDD
Virtually every modern laptop has an SSD now, so there isn’t much to discuss here.
An SSD will make Windows, the Riot client and loading screens faster, but it will NOT increase your framerate.
5. Display
FHD vs QHD/QHD+
FHD (1080p) is still perfectly fine for League and it’s the resolution I’d stick with on cheaper laptops.
QHD/QHD+ looks sharper and is now common on more expensive gaming laptops, but it also increases the GPU workload.
An RTX 4050 has more than enough power for LoL at higher resolutions. Once you’re looking at RTX 5060/5070 laptops with QHD+ displays, you’re buying that hardware for OTHER games, not because League needs it.
Refresh Rate vs FPS
This matters much more for League than buying an unnecessarily powerful GPU.
60Hz: Fine for casual play. If your GPU outputs 150 FPS, the panel still only refreshes 60 times every second.
120Hz / 144Hz: Huge improvement over 60Hz and already enough for most people.
165Hz: Probably the sweet spot. Our RTX 4050 gaming laptop uses a 165Hz display and the GPU has no problem producing enough FPS to take advantage of it.
240Hz: Makes sense if you’re genuinely competitive and buying a higher-end gaming laptop. Our RTX 5070-class example comes with a 240Hz QHD+ panel, but that entire system is obviously massive overkill if League is your only game.
You can still benefit from FPS above your display refresh rate because newer frames can reduce input latency, but once you’re already running League at 150-200+ FPS, I’d rather spend money on a better 144/165Hz display than chase an even bigger GPU.
Bottom Line
For League of Legends alone, you really don’t need much:
- Cheapest option: modern Core i5/Ryzen 5 laptop with decent integrated graphics + 16GB RAM.
- Best cheap dedicated GPU: RTX 2050 or a cheap RTX 3050.
- Best overall gaming-laptop buy: RTX 4050 if it isn’t much more expensive.
- RTX 5050 / 5060 / 5070: unnecessary for LoL. Buy them for other games, QHD gaming or GPU-heavy software.
- Display: 144Hz or 165Hz is much more useful for LoL than throwing extra money at an RTX 5070.
Comments?
If you have any comments, suggestions, questions or recommendations about how to find the best laptop for League of Legends, let me know in the comments below!
