I’ve already mentioned what to expect in terms of gameplay in this guide to the best gaming laptops for Guilty Gear Strive, so I’ll jump straight into my research methods. If you want to find out how to find the best deals on new pre-built systems, I recommend you read this article instead.
- there are not many laptops that can run Guilty Gear Strive, so if you want one, buy it right now
- in 2021, I expect more laptops to be able to run Guilty Gear Strive, so it’ll be easier to find a good deal on a new laptop that can run GG
Requirements for a Guilty Gear Strive laptop
Major Deciding on a processor
The importance of a processor for Guilty Gear Strive is dependent on the requirements you have. If you need more than i5-10210U, I recommend the following processors:
- i5-10310U – Recommended CPU for Guilty Gear Strive
- i7-10675H – Processor that can be overclocked
- Ryzen 9 5900HS – Best CPU for playing Guilty Gear Strive on 4K and high refresh rate displays
Requirements
To play Guilty Gear Strive, you’ll need at least an Intel Core i5-10210U processor. If you’re playing on medium settings or lower, this should be enough to meet your needs. You’ll also need a good graphics card. To improve framerate on higher settings, you may want to upgrade to an Intel Core i5-10310U or an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS processor.
- Guilty Gear Strive can be played on medium settings or lower
- If you need more than i5-10210U, I recommend the following processors: i5-10310U, i7-10675H, and Ryzen 9 5900HS
Major Memory
Minimum (4-8 GB)
Firstly, I should mention that 4GB is the minimum for playing Guilty Gear Strive. That’s about all it can handle. Sure, it will run on a 4GB laptop – but that’s not what I’d call comfortable. As soon as you want to do anything more, your game starts slowing down.
Recommended (16 GB)
Now, I would say that 16GB is the sweet spot for the amount of RAM you need to play Guilty Gear Strive. You’ll be able to keep your game open and stream it without too much trouble. Heck, you might even be able to keep other tabs open in Chrome or watch an episode of TV show while playing. But if you really care about streaming your gameplay – go for 32GB instead!
Best (32 GB)
At this point, if you’re looking for a new laptop – just go with 32GB. It’s just enough for any kind of work or gaming scenario, and it will have no problem whatsoever with video editing or streaming games. It’s future-proofed for whatever else comes up in the future.
- you need at least 4GB to play Guilty Gear Strive
- 16GB is a good choice if you’re going to do more than just play games
- 32GB is a good choice if you’re going to stream your gameplay or do video editing
Major Graphics card
Graphics cards are a key component of a computer’s hardware for playing Guilty Gear Strive. With a demanding, fast-paced fighting game, the video card is what brings everything together. I have a list of recommendations for each budget bracket and a summary at the end to let you know what to expect from each price range.
Minimum graphics (under $800)
Integrated graphics are not an option for playing Guilty Gear Strive, but you can make do with an entry-level GPU such as GeForce MX330 if you’re on a tight budget. It won’t be very smooth at all and expect to make significant compromises in visual settings to keep framerates stable. For the same money, you could get a Radeon RX 550 with roughly equivalent performance that will play games like Guilty Gear Strive more comfortably.
Recommended graphics ($800 – $1600)
I would recommend getting at least GeForce MX450 graphics card if you’re on a budget of $800 or more. For about $1200, we can go up to GeForce GTX 1660 Ti and enjoy 60 FPS on the highest settings without breaking a sweat. At this point, it’s difficult to go wrong as we’ll be looking at only minor gains in performance over our last category with everything else remaining mostly unchanged.
Best graphics ($1600 and up)
At this point, I recommend going for the best possible video card your budget will allow – RTX 2070, RTX 2080, or RTX 3070. Even though they’re more expensive than previous options, these cards deliver superior performance with high refresh rate panels that supports 240+ Hz refresh rates. For example, RTX 2080 delivers over 100 FPS on ultra settings at 1440p resolution while only consuming around 150 watts of power under load. And that’s not all! Nvidia G-Sync ensures that framerates are synced with your monitor’s refresh rate – it’s pretty much guaranteed to eliminate any juddering during gameplay even if your frame rates drop below the monitor’s refresh rate range.
Optional requirements for a Guilty Gear Strive laptop
Optional Storage
The best storage for Guilty Gear Strive is the one that fits your needs.
Picking an SSD
No matter what, your laptop needs to have an SSD, so you don’t need to worry about picking one out. But what size should you get? That depends on how much storage space you need and how much money you want to spend. If all you care about is having enough space for your game, then go with the cheapest option. But if you’re like me and don’t want to worry about deleting things off your hard drive because there’s no more room, then go with a 1 TB or larger SSD.
Price
A good rule of thumb is that the bigger the SSD, the more expensive it will be. So if you want a smaller one that will only last a year or two before filling up – pick up a 128 GB SSD for around $50-$80. But if you want something big enough to last 10 years – go with a 2 TB SSD for around $400-$600. You’ll save some money in the long run by getting a bigger one – but make sure it has enough room to fit all of your games!
Upgrading
For laptops without an upgradeable M2 slot, buying another 512 GB SSD can be just as easy as popping in another SD card into your camera. Just take out some screws and pop it in! For laptops with an M2 slot, just remove any screws securing the bottom panel and unscrew the existing M2 slot cover before installing the new M2 slot cover with screws from inside of laptop case. Be careful not to lose any screws while inside your laptop case! Remember, if upgrading your storage doesn’t void warranty – do it!
- the best storage for Strive is the one that fits your needs
- if you want to upgrade your storage, make sure it doesn’t void warranty!
Optional Display
If you’re looking for the best laptop for Guilty Gear Strive, it’s not so simple. It’s difficult to tell which display is best for this type of game – there are too many variables.
Resolution
I don’t recommend spending your hard-earned money on a laptop with a higher resolution than FHD. It won’t make the game run any smoother or look any better. You’ll need to spend money on an upgrade elsewhere if you want something better. But what about 4K? Sure, if you want a supreme laptop – go ahead and get it. But note that resolutions above FHD don’t make much of a difference in gaming experience and you’ll need a lot of cash to back it up.
Refresh rate
It’s been proven that refresh rates have little impact on performance in games, especially for competitive ones like Guilty Gear Strive. And while I wouldn’t write off high refresh rate displays entirely – they’re not really worth it for this type of game. In the end, just go with a Full HD monitor if you’re not going to buy a high-end graphics card or play on a console – I can assure you that the difference will be minimal.
- higher resolution doesn’t make much of a difference in gaming experience and you’ll need a lot of cash to back it up
- high refresh rate displays are not really worth it for this type of game
5 Best Laptops for Guilty Gear Strive
MSI GF63035
Pros and cons
- Competent processor (i5-10200H)
- Great graphics card (RTX 3050)
- Average memory amount (8GB)
- Weighty (4.1 lbs)
Alternatives
Acer Swift3 Light
- Mighty 1TB SSD
- Backlit keyboard
- Mediocre processor (i7-1165G7)
- Ordinary graphics card (Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs)
Lenovo IdeaPad 5
- Fair processor (Ryzen 7 5700U)
- Competent memory amount (16GB)
- Mediocre graphics card (Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 40005000))
Dell XPS 9710
Pros and cons
- Awesome processor (Ryzen 7 5800H)
- Splendid graphics card (RTX 3050 Ti)
- No IPS Panel (worse contrast)
Alternatives
ASUS Powerful TUF Dash
- Very good graphics card (RTX 3050 Ti)
- Competent display (15.6 144Hz IPS)
- So-so processor (i7-11370H)
- So-so memory amount (32GB)
Dell XPS 9710
- First-class processor (Ryzen 7 5800H)
- Very good memory amount (128GB)
- Heavy (5.4 lbs)
- No IPS Panel (inferior color reproduction)
Acer Predator Helios 300
Pros and cons
- Exceptional processor (i7-11800H)
- Adequate graphics card (RTX 3060)
- Weighty (5.1 lbs)
Alternatives
Eluktronics Prometheus XVII
- Exceptional display (17.3 240Hz IPS)
- Great memory amount (64GB)
- Average graphics card (RTX 3060)
Eluktronics MECH-15
Pros and cons
- Terrific display (15.6 240Hz IPS)
- Solid memory amount (64GB)
- Ordinary processor (i7-12700H)
- Substandard graphics card (RTX 3060)
Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen
Pros and cons
- Superb processor (i9-11950H)
- Awesome graphics card (RTX 3080)
Alternatives
ASUS ROG 16
- Splendid processor (i9-11900H)
- Fair graphics card (RTX 3060)
Acer Nitro 5 AN515-45-R9QH
- Excellent processor (Ryzen 9 5900HX)
- Solid graphics card (RTX 3080)
- Underwhelming memory amount (32GB)
Table of Best Laptops for Guilty Gear Strive
Laptop | Price (approx) |
MSI GF63035 | $650 |
Dell XPS 9710 | $1140 |
Acer Predator Helios 300 | $1840 |
Eluktronics MECH-15 | $2800 |
Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen | $3650 |