Finding the right gaming laptop for can be a minefield of brand names and high price tags. Looking through thousands of laptops is boring, time consuming, and oh-so-very confusing. And most of the time, you'll end up feeling like an Asus laptop is your only choice. 

But what if we told you it's not?

We love Asus as much as the next PC gamers, but sometimes it's good (and kinder to your wallet) to look at rigs outside the Asus ROG name. So we've done the legwork for you and found 13 great gaming laptops that don't come from the Asus line. From portable 12-inchers to hulking 17-inch beasts, we've covered just about every size and style of laptop you could ask for. And all of them will handle games like an Asus. 

12-14" Laptops

These are the tiny powerhouses that are ultraportable, so you can game while literally flying.

Dell Inspiron 14"

The latest model from Dell, this Inspiron has an Intel i7 5500U, 1TB of space, 8GB RAM, and a NVIDIA 920M under the hood.

While it's going to knock your gaming socks off, it is still ultra portable at only 14". It will play almost every game at 30FPS when set to the lowest settings -- it even plays Crysis.

It may not be the best graphics-rendering machine, but you gotta sacrifice something to game on the go.

Lenovo Ideapad 510s 14.0"

Another surprise for this list is Lenovo's Ideapad series. It comes packed with an Intel i7 7500U processor that's slightly weaker than the Dell, and also has 8GB RAM. The much smaller 256GB SSD (rather than a HDD) will feel a little faster, though.

It also has an AMD Radeon R7 M460 GPU -- which like the 920M, won't be running games at top spec. But most games will run at least 30FPS.

[Editor's Note: I used a Lenovo Ideapad for 2 years of great gaming. It's worth it if you need the ultra-portability.]

MSI GS43VR

MSI make some of the best gaming laptops around -- only you will have to fork out some cash for one. But with an Intel i7 6700HQ, 128GB SSD and 1TB HDD, 16GB RAM, and a NVIDIA GTX 1060 with 6GB VRAM....it packs a punch.

No game will be unplayable at 1080p on this 14" screen. Even if you will have to drop some settings to keep a solid 60FPS, the GS43R will run perfectly while you play anywhere.

Razer Blade Stealth 12.5"

The Razer Blade Stealth is the smallest laptop on the list, at only 12.5". But it still packs a massive punch with its Intel i7 7500U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, and an Intel HD Graphics 620.

Like with the previous laptops, you will find yourself playing at 30FPS with low settings selected, but with a chassis that looks like this you won't care too much.

15 - 16.9" Laptops

These mid sized laptops are both portable and powerful, while gliding through the air, while gaming one handed is out the question, you will be able to take these everywhere.

MSI Ghost Pro Gaming Laptop 15.6"

With an Intel i7 6700HQ, 8GB RAM, a 1TB HDD, and a NVIDIA GTX 960M (with 2GB GDDR5 VRAM) you are not going to have to ask "can I run this?"

The answer will be yes -- just don't try to run anything at 4K.

[Editor's Note 2.0: I traded my Lenovo Ideapad for an MSI and couldn't be happier.]

Lenovo ThinkPad E560 15.6"

Featuring a powerful Intel i7 6500U, 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD, and an AMD Radeon R7 M370, you will be able to run any game at a minimum of 30FPS.

Just don't expect to be playing at over 60FPS for more demanding games, and you are set.

Dell Gaming Laptop 15.6"

With a powerful Intel i5 6300HQ, 8GB RAM, and a 256GB SSD, you will be zipping all over the shop. Then with the extra 8GB memory module, you won't be stumped with a random lack of RAM.

Powered by a Nvidia GTX 960M, this laptop is among the best for price and power.

MSI GE62VR

Filled to the brim with power, this laptop pack an Intel i7 6700HQ, 16GB RAM, a 1TB HDD and a NVIDIA GTX 1060 you will be able to play VR on the go. Then with a 256GB M.2, you will booting your laptop completely in 30 seconds tops.

Dell Inspiron i7559-3763BLK

Housing an Intel i7-6700HQ, 16GB RAM, and 1TB HDD, you will never be lacking with this Dell. The NVIDIA GTX 960M will keep you playing at good frame rates.

If you want value for money, then this is it (alongside the Dell Gaming Laptop 15.6").

17"+ Laptops

These are the monsters of laptop gaming. While they are not the most portable, 17" laptops are your stop if you want the best specs and the best viewing experience.

MSI GT73VR

4K gaming on the go will cost you a pretty penny, but you can do it all and then some with this MSI rig.

With the Intel i7-6820HK, 64GB RAM, a 1TB HDD and a 1TB SSD, plus the NVIDIA GTX 1080 GPU and a 4K screen, you will get stunning images on the go.

HP Pavilion 17t Gaming Laptop

You don't often see HP in a list of gaming laptops, but with an Intel i7 6700HQ, 16GB RAM, a 512GB SSD and a 1TB HDD -- all propped by by the wonderful NVIDIA GTX 960M -- HP is not messing around.

And for those wondering, yes -- it is a 1080p 17.3" IPS display. So HP definitely didn't cut any corners there.

MSI GE72

MSI continues to have a bunch of great laptops, with the Intel i7-6700HQ powered, NVIDIA GTX960M quality you know. Then with 16GB RAM and a 1TB HDD, you are not at a loss with power.

It's even one of the better priced MSIs on this list, giving you slightly better power fpr the high cost.

Razer Blade Pro

Announced only very recently, the Razer Blade Pro has a lot going for it -- and it needs to with a price that high.

This rig packs a 17.3" LED backlit multi-touch screen, an Intel i7 6700HQ, 32GB of RAM, and 512GB (and up to 2TB) of SSD space, all topped off with a NVIDIA GTX 1080. On top of that, it has the world's first ultra-low-profile mechanical keys.

The high cost makes a bit more sense with that considered, but if you take a look at its full specs, you'll get a better picture of all the great stuff you're getting at that cost.

While Asus has certainly got some quality builds that have dominated the market for some time, these 13 gaming laptops are great alternatives if you're looking for a different brand. They're packed with power, and there's something here for every price range.

And if you're thinking that you might be better off getting a full-blown desktop rig with the money you'd spend here, we've collected lots of great gaming-ready PCs for under $1,000.

What gaming laptop do you love the most? Let us know in the comments!

MSI has recently revealed a bizarre and unique personal computer that's perfect for any of the virtual reality headsets available. This PC can actually be carried around in backpack form wherever people wander in their virtual lands. This means it is perfectly compatible with a multi-green screen set up for full, immersive virtual reality 3D experiences.

Packed with serious power, it contains an Intel Core i7 processor and an NVIDIA GTX 980 graphics processing unit. Memory wise, it is slated as containing 16 GB of RAM. For its HDD, it will contain a solid state drive of unknown size. The weight of the unit is reported to be over 5kg, around 12 pounds, although MSI has mentioned they are planning to release a retail version below the 5kg mark.

The Backpack PC, as it is portable, will have a battery life of around an hour and a half if the processor and graphics processing unit is pushed during intensive virtual reality gameplay sessions. During a relatively light session, however, with the processing load being light, it will last for around five hours.

Perhaps developing as a trend, there are currently systems being manufactured of this type -- including one from Hewlitt Packard (HP) -- to capitalize on the growing popularity of virtual reality headsets.

The above image clearly shows the PC functioning with the HTC Vive virtual reality technology, although, MSI has indicated it is also fully compatible with the Oculus Rift.

The above image shows that there appears to be plenty of support from the system's chunky-looking straps, for safely carrying the computer around.

The above image shows there is plenty of ventilation for the powerful components within, minimizing the chances of overheating.

The MSI Backpack PC is currently scheduled for a mid-to-late 2016 release. The pricing of the unit is currently unannounced. Upon release, the graphics card will likely be upgraded to the most prominent and powerful, the NVIDIA GTX 1080.

Will this PC be a hit? Do you believe this will become a trend involving many more of the largest personal computer manufacturers? Let me know in the comments!

The League of Legends MSI is heading into the knockout stage, where the top 4 teams will battle it out to see who will be the new MSI champions. If you haven't been keeping up with everything, you can read my last post on MSI to get up to speed.

My Predictions 

In my last post, I gave my predictions for each of the 6 teams and where they would end up. Through the group stage my predictions have been correct -- as I suspected, the four teams remaining are:

• SKT T1
• CLG
• Flash Wolves
• RNG

The two teams that finished outside of the top 4 are Super Massive, who ended 1-9 and in 6th place. G2 ended in 5th place with a record of 2-8. Most people thought this team could have done a lot more, but they fell flat.

Knockout Stage 

With group stage behind us, we move into the knockout stage where the 4 remaining teams fight for the championship title. RNG, who finished on top with a record of 8-2, will now go up against SKT T1, who tied for 3rd with a record of 6-4. CLG finished in second place with a record of 7-3, and will go up against Flash Wolves who tied SKT at 6-4. 

The first teams to go at it on May 13th will be RNG vs SKT T1. When they faced off previously in the group stage, they split their games 1-1. RNG made Game 1 in that stage look really easy, and in many people's eyes they were the team to beat. SKT T1 won the second game, but they let RNG get back into the game a few times when they could/should have closed it out.

But in a best of 5, things are much different than in a best of 1. SKT T1 said they really want to win this tournament, because it's the only one the team hasn't won. Also, SKT T1 always seems to play on a higher level during a best of 5. RNG, on the other hand, is coming into the knockout stage looking really hot, and seems to be the team to beat. 

The next series is CLG vs Flash Wovles on May 14th. These two teams had a different story in the group stage, where CLG took both games from Flash Wolves. In both of those games, Flash Wolves had chances to take the upper hand, but CLG never let that happen. In a best of 5. both teams will be put to the test and will have to learn what each team wants to play and how to play around it.

Who will win?

In my last post about MSI I said SKT T1 would win, RNG 2nd place, CLG 3rd place, and Flash Wolves 4th. But some things worked out differently, so RNG and SKT have to do battle in semifinals. My new prediction is that RNG will beat SKT and then go onto the finals. CLG will beat Flash Wolves and then will face RNG in the finals. In the finals I think RNG will take CLG 3-2, with Mata being the MVP on the finals. 

In the battle for 3rd place, SKT T1 will go against Flash Wolves. After losing to RNG in the semifinals, SKT will not want to end up 4th at MSI. SKT T1 will take down Flash Wolves in 4 games 3-1. 

Make sure you tune in starting on May 13th to see who wins MSI 2016.

In my last post  I was talking about if TSM was ready for MSI. I found it only fair to then talk about their EU counter parts Fnatic. 

Is Fnatic ready for MSI?

Fnatic beat Unicorns of Love in the EU spring finals in a very close best of 5 series, going all the way to game 5. Fnatic is a team that likes to find fights around the map and against UoL they showed this with many of their games having 20+ kills. This amount of kills isn't normally seen at the LCS level of play. You can just point to the fact that they were playing another team in UoL that also likes to find fights maybe even more than Fnatic.

With this aggressive play-style they then can turn into a snowball and can be very effective. But also they need to be more careful against higher caliber teams at MSI. With the team being so young (with 4 members being new to the LCS and Yellowstar the only guy that stayed around) this team still has a lot of room to improve and the success they have already is a huge step into the right direction.

Young and Ready?

Like I was saying before this Fnatic team is very young and doesn't have a lot of experience on the international stage. How much will this effect the teams performance? We have to wait and see how they play at MSI and then we can give a true review on this team on the international stage. But not every person on this team is brand new to the pro League scene. Yellowstar, the teams support, has been on this team for many splits and has experience on the biggest stage League has to offer, the World Championship.

Last year, even though his team didn't go far at Worlds, Yellowstar still has the experience that comes from going to Worlds. This knowledge and experience can help prepare his team for MSI and not go into it only thinking about how big it is and focus more on their gameplay.

Player Performance

One of the most important parts in League is player performance. How well does Fnatic stack up against other League talent? Huni, Fnatics new top laner, has shown that he has some real skill at the game and has carried his team in many games over the spring split and the playoffs. He is the key piece for them to win games at MSI and maybe upset teams. If Fnatic can get Huni champs like Rumble or Hecarim, he can carry games for them.

Huni isn't the only piece of the puzzle that the team needs to get going to really try and make an impact at MSI. Fnatics jungler Reignover also is a huge piece of the Fnatic puzzle to become successful on the international stage. With getting MVP during spring finals he has shown that he is a top tier jungler in EU and maybe can show his worth to the world at MSI. Reignover showed us how good he can be on a champ like Rek'Sai with getting a quadra against the Unicorns of Love and that if the team needs him to help carry a game that he can step into the role and perform. 

Last Thoughts

This Fnatic team has the tools to become competitive on the international stage with additions like Huni and Reignover. This team just needs more time to get experience under their belts and more time to get to know one another. 

At the end of the day, I still think Fnatic will have some trouble at MSI with some of the better teams. But this will be a great learning tool for them to grow and learn what they need to improve on to become a world class team.

Follow me @LeagueNewz  

Are you a PC gaming freak? Do you go into constant debt every summer after the Steam Summer Sale? Do you wish that you had all that desktop power in a semi-quasi-portable platform? Then look no further. We offer you up a few of the best gaming laptop rigs out in the market today. You better have deep pockets because you can't get phenomenal cosmic powers in an itty bitty living space for cheap.

To start out, let us go over some of the basics that you will need to consider when shopping for your rig. Most high-end gaming PCs or laptops let you build your own right on the manufacturer's website. This lets you put in the components you want for ultimate performance, power and price. Now I won't get into the lengthy explanations about how the components work or what they are for. I am assuming that most hardcore PC gamers know what they are looking at. However, for the newbies out there looking to break in, let me refer you to an article by GameSkinny's own Queen of the Nerds, Venisia. Here, she goes into the ins and outs of PC components. So if you need help please feel free to give this article a gander.

Graphics Card: Nvidia or AMD?

First and foremost for any hardcore gaming rig is the graphics card. This is the pure muscle behind what you want to do with your gaming. As of right now the best cards on the market for laptops are either the Nvidia GeForce GTX 880M or the AMD Radeon HD 8870M.

The choice between the two is purely personal. They both are so close performance wise it basically comes down to the old argument of Coke vs Pepsi. Now on both of these cards you will most likely be able to choose how much memory they have as well. You will want to get the most memory on your graphics card that you can afford to get. You will want to go for at least a 1GB card to start with but the more memory it has the better.

Processor: Intel for gaming

Now the next thing on the list is the actual brains of the operation--the processor. Hands down you will want to go with either of the top Intel processors available. Those would be the Core i5 or i7 processors in whatever speed you can afford (speeds will range between 3.0 to 3.8 GHz).

Now when I shop for processors I don't go all out for the highest speed. I save a few hundred and go for the middle road clock speed. To me, I really don't think .2gHz in processor speed is gonna kill my gaming. I would rather put the money I save here into any graphics card upgrades or into getting more RAM.

RAM: How much do I need?

Speaking of RAM, this one is pretty self explanatory. Get as much RAM as you can afford to get. The more RAM you have overall the more programs and stuff you can run at the same time. RAM is one of the cheaper components you can upgrade as well. You can even take advantage of certain promotions that exist where you can double your RAM for free. The more, the better. About 16 GB will serve most average gamers.

Hard Drive

The last major component to choose for your gaming rig would be the hard drive. There are two choices out on the market now to consider. Traditional hard drives and solid state drives. If you want to get the fastest performance from your hard drive, consider getting a solid state. These drives forgo spinning drives for flash-based memory technology like that found in USB memory sticks. They are much faster and contain no moving parts so that there is less room for mechanical failures.

The down side to SSDs is that they don't really come in the higher GB range that traditional hard drives come in and they are much more expensive. Some options available to certain higher end laptops is the ability to have multiple drives. In this case one could have a smaller size SSD for whatever you play and a large size HDD for everything else.

Other options to consider like screen size and battery life are worthy of note. Battery size for instance is not going be of huge importance in a high-end gaming laptop. You'll want to be near an electrical outlet when you're in the middle of a high stakes Battlefield or Guild Wars 2 match anyways. As far as screen size, yes bigger is better here as well. However, the bigger the screen the bulkier and heavier the laptop becomes. Is it still portable? Absolutely. Just consider the size and bulk as compared to the portability. Another thing to think about here is that most laptops, high-end or not, are coming with HDMI output ports. Now this can be used as a second screen experience or you can use it to throw something like Skyrim on a 50" flat screen. At that point, who cares how big the laptop screen is.

Now without any further interruptions let us look at three of the top gaming laptops out on the market today. As well as giving some brief information on each brand, I will also give you an example of a custom build from each manufacturer to show which hardware each has as well as the price you can expect to pay. Now remember this is totally customizable and in no way do you have to get the build I put down. These builds will only represent the top-of-the-line models that each one can put out.

MSI GT70 series

The GT70 series of laptops offer the technical specs and features that are the very latest in gaming and computing technology. What this series lacks is the full customization options that are offered by other manufacturers; it is not a simple build-your-own type of laptop, but offers limited customization. Some people may not miss the options to upgrade certain things because you are already getting the best hardware.

The highlight of the GT70 series is the number of hard drive options. Within the series you can get four hard drives - three 128GB SSDs and a 1TB HDD. This feature is currently unmatched in the gaming laptop industry. THere are other models within the series that do offer different combinations of SSDs and HDDs as well. These laptops are only available with a 17" screen which is a plus for a great gaming laptop. This series also has the most USB ports to be offered with a total of six. That is one to two more than the competition. Other features that are standard for this series include built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, webcam, mic, memory card reader, and HDMI port. They also come with a Blu-ray drive as the standard option.

The top-of-the-line MSI GT series laptop offered is the GT72 Dominator Pro-007 which is priced at $2999.99. Here are the specs:

• Intel Core i7-4710HQ at 2.5GHz (3.4GHz w/Turbo Boost)
• 17.3" full HD Anti-reflective w/ a 1920x1080 resolution
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 880M w/ 8GB of DDR5
• 32 GB DDR3L RAM @ 1600MHz
• 4 x 128GB SSDs + 1TB HDD @ 7200RPM
• Blu-Ray
• Bluetooth
• 6 x USB 3.0 ports
• 1080p FHD webcam
• HDMI
• SD card reader

Although there is no build-your-own options on these laptops, the sheer number of hard drives offered as well as USB ports included put this series in the top.

Origin EON series

The Origin series of laptops are designed with the hardcore gamer in mind. Unlike the MSI GT70 series, the laptops from Origin are fully customizable. The multimedia features are also calibrated not only for gaming, but for creative tasks and everyday computing as well. This makes the Origin series a great system for gamers and graphic artists alike.

There are also 13" and 15" models available if you are looking for something a little smaller. But hey, we're gamers, it's go big or go home right? There are fewer USB ports on the Origins as compared to the MSI series. That being said, you still get four ports which will definitely get the job done. The hard drive options are also plentiful with the choice to install up to three separate drives. Now being fully customizable you have the option to go all SSD, all HDD, or a combination of both. A memory card reader, webcam and mic, built in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth make this a great gaming laptop with easy to use features. You also get the option while building your own to choose between all versions of Windows 7 as well as Windows 8.

The biggest laptop available for customization is the EON17-SLX. This particular build will run you around $6300 and here are the specs:

• Intel Extreme Core i7 4940MX Quad-Core 3.1GHz (4.0GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
• 17.3" SLX LED Backlit display w/ a 1920X1080 resolution
• 2 x 8GB Nvidia GTX 880M (yes that's right DUAL 8GB 880Ms)
• 32GB Kingston HyperX Impact RAM @ 1600MHz
• 3 x 1TB Samsung 840 Evo series SSDs
• 6x BD-R Slim Blu-ray burner
• Bluetooth
• 3 x USB 3.0 ports
• Built-in 1.0M user facing and 5.0M front facing video cameras
• HDMI
• SD card reader

Now a few things to note on this particular build. Yes it is MAD expensive but that's because I maxed out most everything available. Each 1TB SSD was an extra $700. Also there is the matter of the dual Nvidia cards. Do you need all that graphical muscle? No. Should you have it just because? Hell yes! The only other item to bring up here has to do with the 32 GB of RAM. In order for them to build the machine with that much RAM you need to upgrade the OS to at least Windows 7 Professional. Home Premium will not support RAM over 16GB. 

Alienware 

If you are looking for the ultimate gaming laptop upgrade, then look no further than Alienware. Labelled by many PC hardware sites as the best out there, the Alienwares bring the best in performance, design and features. As with the Origin series, the Alienwares are fully customizable.

These laptops are some of the few that have the complete 3D technology option. All you need to do is plug your Alienware into a 3D TV or monitor to amplify your gaming experience. However, a Blu-ray drive is not a standard option on all models and may require you to upgrade to one during customization. The Alienwares also come in different screen sizes offering a 14", 17", and even a whopping 18" beast. The other standard features apply as well. Webcam and mic, memory card reader, HDMI, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and three to four USB ports are all offered stock. Also a feature of note is the ability to customize the illumination on your entire machine. The keyboard, touchpad, speaker vents and Alienware logo can all be their own unique color or all the same. The choice is yours.

For the Alienware, I will go with the 18" screen size model. Now this is not the highest 18" model but does give you more customization options. The reason for this is that the highest model already comes with most of the beefiest hardware to begin with so there is nothing to upgrade to. The price of this build will set you back around $4800. So here it is:

• 4th Generation Intel Core i7-4940MX Quad Core (up to 4.0GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
• 18.4" WLED full HD TrueLife display w/ a 1920 x 1080 resolution
• 2 x Nvidia GeForce GTX 880M w/ 8GB DDR5 RAM (again that is a DUAL set up that is Nvidia SLI enabled)
• 32GB of DDR3L RAM @ 1600MHz
• 512GB SSD Boot drive + 1TB 5400 RPM HDD
• Slot-loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader
• Bluetooth
• 4 x USB 3.0 Superspeed ports (1 w/ Powershare technology)
• Webcam
• HDMI
• 7-in-1 Media Card reader

With several model options in each screen size category each with different customization options, you really can't go wrong with Alienware. These laptops are also universally accepted as some of the top gaming laptops out today. With the extreme hardware offered as well as the personalization options given put these rigs at the top of everyone's list.

So, there you have it. The top laptops for all your gaming needs. Yes, the builds offered here are going a bit overboard but, like I said, go big or go home. Only if your wallets allow it of course. But even if your pockets aren't that deep, you should still be able to find a kick ass rig to fit your budget.