Grab one of these laptops and enjoy Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition

Best
Laptops for Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition
Windows Central
2020

If you’re a veteran real-time strategy (RTS) fan, you might be looking at picking up one of the best laptops for Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition ahead of its expected October 15, 2020 release. It doesn’t take a whole lot to run the game, but you can still benefit from something modern, whether you’re looking to play other more demanding games or just want something that will double as a productivity machine during the day. Here are the best laptops for Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition.

Editor’s Choice

With up to an AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS processor (CPU), 16GB of DDR4 RAM, 1TB M.2 PCIe solid-state drive (SSD), and NVIDIA RTX 2060 Max-Q graphics card (GPU), you’re going to have no issues enjoying Age of Empires III: DE with settings cranked right up. The 14-inch display has accurate color, there are lots of ports, and it’s available at an excellent price for what you’re getting.

Staff pick

The Dell XPS 15 9500 isn’t a gaming laptop, but its configurable NVIDIA GTX 1650 Ti GPU can certainly handle Age of Empires III: DE. This is a thin laptop with almost no bezel at all, available with powerful supporting CPUs, RAM, and storage. Choose from myriad display options and take advantage of Wi-Fi 6, enormous Precision touchpad, and comfortable keyboard. If you need to work during the day, this is a great pick.

Those who want to go all-in with portable PC gaming (and those who have the supporting budget) should check out the Razer Blade 15. It’s available in Base, and Advanced builds depending on how much power you want, with the latter going up to an RTX 2080 Super Max-Q GPU, 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10875H CPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD. Plenty of high-end 15.6-inch display options are available, and despite having all that power, the laptop is relatively thin and light.

HP’s redesigned 15.6-inch OMEN gaming laptops bring understated style and plenty of hardware options. Choose from Intel or AMD CPUs, add up to an NVIDIA RTX 2060 GPU, and complement it with up to 32GB of RAM and a 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD. The FHD display can be had with up to a 300Hz refresh rate, and there are lots of ports for connecting accessories. All this starting at an excellent price for a config that’ll easily handle Age of Empires III: DE.

Acer’s refreshed Nitro 5 comes with either AMD or Intel CPUs, backed up by an NVIDIA GTX 1650 or 1650 Ti GPU that will take care of modest gaming needs. The red keyboard backlight adds some style, and there are lots of ports for accessories. Starting at a bargain price, this is an excellent option for anyone who doesn’t want to go all-in on an expensive gaming laptop.

Lenovo’s Legion 5i 15 brings 10th Gen Intel Core CPUs, up to an NVIDIA RTX 2060 GPU, 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD coupled with 1TB SATA hard-disk drive (HDD), and 16GB of DDR4 RAM, all for a reasonable price. This is rock-solid mid-range performance that doesn’t suffer from thermal throttling, perfect for more games than just Age of Empires III: DE. Choose from multiple different 15.6-inch display options, up to FHD with 240Hz refresh rate.

Age of Empires III: DE recommended specs and laptops

The best laptops for Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition don’t need to be particularly powerful. Microsoft recommends 16GB of RAM, at least 4GB of VRAM from a dedicated GPU (like an NVIDIA GTX 980), and a CPU with a 3.0GHz clock speed (like a 3rd Gen Intel Core i5 or AMD FX-8350). However, investing in something with more hardware than is required for the specific game will let you enjoy a lot more titles without worrying about low framerates and stuttering play.

As a top pick, we recommend checking out the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14. Its AMD Ryzen 4000 CPU options deliver outstanding performance without breaking the bank, and otherwise the laptop is finely made with a lot of style. Go with Ryzen 7 or Ryzen 9 chips, enjoy a 15.6-inch FHD display with 120Hz refresh rate, and use Wi-Fi 6 for fast wireless speeds. Add up to an RTX 2060 Max-Q GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD to absolutely crush Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition and many more games.

And if you are looking for a laptop that can easily split time between hard work and RTS fun, Dell’s XPS 15 9500 is an ideal choice. Models with dedicated NVIDIA GTX 1650 Ti GPU, coupled with up to a 10th Gen Intel Core i9 CPU, 64GB of RAM, and a 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD, will handle Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition even if the laptop isn’t necessarily made for gaming. The rest of its plentiful features, like comfortable keyboard, enormous touchpad, and bezel-free display, make it a great work companion.

If these aren’t quite what you’re looking for, be sure to have a look at our collection of the overall best Windows laptop picks for plenty more multipurpose options. And if gaming is what you’re looking for, our roundup of best gaming laptops should have something you need.