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Minecraft laptop gaming is something the majority of people can easily accomplish, thanks to the relatively low system requirements of the game; you don’t even need what would be classified as a gaming laptop, many regular, general use laptops will run it. Read below for advice on what sort of hardware you’ll need to run the game at different settings, and some suggestions on cheap laptops that can run Minecraft.
Can you play Minecraft on a laptop?
It’s very easy to run Minecraft on most laptops, even office laptops can usually run the game on the lower graphical settings and resolutions, though a dedicated graphics card is generally a good idea, rather than integrated GPUs (iGPUs) like the Intel Iris Xe or AMD Vega series. If you want to play the game on the higher resolutions and/or with Ray Tracing (RTX) switched on, you will also need something a bit more powerful. See below for our suggestions on laptops that can run Minecraft at different settings.
Minecraft recommended specifications (desktop)
The below system requirements for Minecraft are for those looking to play the game at 1920 x 1080 resolution on a desktop PC. Generally speaking, gaming laptop graphics cards are underpowered compared to their desktop components, and so if you’re looking to play the game on a laptop you’ll need to add a bit more on top. Higher resolutions will require more powerful components. See below for some of our suggestions. For more detail on the desktop requirements, read our Minecraft system requirements page.
Minecraft Minimum System Requirements
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit
- CPU: Intel Core i5-2400 / AMD Ryzen 3 1200
- Memory: 4GB RAM
- GPU: Intel HD Graphics 4000 / AMD Radeon R5 series or HD 7000 series / NVIDIA GeForce 400 Series
- Storage: 1GB
Minecraft Recommended System Requirements
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit
- CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz / AMD A10-7800 APU 3.5 GHz or equivalent
- Memory: 8GB RAM
- GPU: Nvidia 700 Series / AMD Radeon Rx 200 Series with OpenGL 4.5 (excluding integrated GPUs)
- Storage: 1GB
Minecraft Ray Tracing (RTX) System Requirements
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit
- CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz / AMD A10-7800 APU 3.5 GHz or equivalent
- Memory: 16GB RAM
- GPU: DirectX hardware ray tracing capable GPU like NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20 Series and higher, and AMD Radeon™ RX 6000 Series and higher
- Storage: 1GB
Cheap laptops that can run Minecraft at 1080p at high settings
If you want to play Minecraft on a laptop at 1080p on the highest settings (without ray tracing) then you can pick up a laptop for just over $700 which will comfortably be able to do so. The selection we’ve gone with is the Acer Nitro AN515 Gaming Laptop with Intel Core i5-9300H CPU and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 GPU, though the HP Pavilion gaming laptop with the same core components would be another good choice. Be aware that these laptops both have a maximum refresh rate of 60Hz, which means the effective maximum FPS you will be able to enjoy on screen is 60FPS. This isn’t particularly an issue for a slow-paced game like Minecraft, but if you’re after something with a smoother refresh rate then consider spending around $100 more on the 144Hz Lenovo Legion 5 2020 version with GTX 1650 Ti and Ryzen 7 4600H.
Acer Nitro AN515 Gaming Laptop
CPU
Intel Core i5-9300H / i5-10300H
Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 / RTX 3050
Lenovo Legion 5, 2020 (GTX 1650 Ti, Ryzen 7 4600H)
Graphics Card
Nvidia GTX 1650 Ti
Best laptop for Minecraft at 1440p, 4K & best laptop for Minecraft Ray Tracing
Minecraft laptop for 1440p gaming
There aren’t very many 1440p / QHD laptops that come with core components massively above what you’d need to play Minecraft, so whatever Minecraft laptop you buy that supports this native resolution will likely be complete overkill in terms of power (unless you want ray-tracing support). Playing the game on a 1080p native display laptop (such as the ones above) and simply turning up the in-game resolution would be a better idea for most people. That being said, if you really want a QHD/1440p laptop and don’t mind spending the extra money, then the HP Victus 16 is one of the cheapest out there, and a great value laptop (just make sure you don’t get the 1080p one by mistake).
Minecraft laptop for 4K gaming
The same is true, but even more so, for UHD / 4K laptops – you’d be far better buying a cheaper 15-inch or 17-inch 1080p laptop and just turning the in-game resolution settings up to 4K (the core components should be able to handle it). That being said, if you want to buy a native 4K laptop, have a read of our best 4K laptop guide.
Minecraft laptop for Ray Tracing
The best Minecraft laptop models for Ray-Tracing are those with Nvidia graphics cards. Whilst the latest AMD Radeon GPUs support the technology they do not match Nvidia GPUs in their support of it. Anything including and above an Nvidia 20-series graphics card will support Ray-Tracing, but Nvidia 30-series GPUs (with RTX in front of their name, which stands for Ray Tracing) are the best for it (though the very cheapest RTX 3050 & RTX 3050 Ti laptops don’t support it in all games). We’d generally recommend going with an RTX 3060 laptop, and once again the HP Victus 16 is the best value choice which makes the most sense.
HP Victus 16 (RTX 3060, 1440p, 165Hz)
Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (6GB) 90-95W
Final Word
We hope this guide has helped you find the best Minecraft laptop for your needs and budget. Be sure to also have a look at our other gaming laptop articles and price guides, including our best gaming laptop guide.
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