Best laptop for The Last of Us Part I in 2023

As a passionate gamer and laptop enthusiast, I understand the importance of finding the best laptop for The Last of Us Part 1. This critically acclaimed action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog has captivated players with its immersive narrative, detailed environments, and intense gameplay. To fully appreciate every aspect of this masterpiece, you'll need a laptop that can not only run the game smoothly but also enhance your overall gaming experience.

To help you find the perfect machine, I've reviewed an extensive laptop spreadsheet of recent releases, comparing specs and reviews from both professional and user-generated sources. By focusing on the unique requirements for playing The Last of Us Part 1, such as high-quality graphics, fast processing speeds, and immersive audio, I've narrowed down the top laptops within various price ranges. This will allow you to enjoy the emotional journey of Joel and Ellie without compromising on performance or breaking the bank.

While browsing forums like the dedicated subreddit, /r/thelastofus, or discussing with fellow fans, it's evident that having a powerful laptop can make a world of difference when enjoying this incredible game. By following this guide, you'll be well on your way to finding the best laptop for The Last of Us Part 1 that not only enhances your gaming experience but also fits your budget and personal preferences.

Table of Contents

Processor Power

Apple and AMD have both released cutting-edge laptop processors recently, with Apple's own ARM-based M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max and M2 system-on-chip modules offering exceptional single-core performance and battery life, and AMD having managed to take 20% of the CPU market with their 6th generation Ryzen processors. Meanwhile, Intel's 13th generation of processors is yet to make its way to laptops, with 12th generation being the latest available right now. In addition, both Intel's and Apple's silicon chips adopted a hybrid performance/efficiency core design, which allows them to offer both power and battery life at the same time.

The Last of Us Part 1 is a PS4 exclusive, so we can disregard Windows laptops from the equation. As the game is not very demanding, we can focus on the CPU performance which is best measured by PassMark and Cinebench R20 (R23). The goal is to get the best value for money when it comes to processors for The Last of Us Part 1; a high-end CPU is not necessary, as an H-series processor would be best if you're looking for a long battery life or you want to play games other than The Last of Us Part 1, but it's not worth the extra cost if you're playing on a budget. We'll use PassMark and Cinebench R20 (R23) to compare CPUs since they are more relevant for gaming laptops than 3DMark or other synthetic benchmarks.

If you're looking for a gaming laptop under $1,000 – don't expect to get a top-tier processor; AMD Ryzen 5/Intel Core i5-U series would be ideal in this case; anything higher will require spending more money than intended. Here are our recommended processors according to budget:

Price Range	Recommended Processor
Under $500	AMD Ryzen 3 3200U
$500 – $1,000	Intel Core i3-10110U
Over $1,000	Intel Core i5-10210U

In conclusion, you can rest assured knowing that the processors listed above will ensure an enjoyable experience while playing The Last of Us Part 1 without breaking the bank.

GPU for TLOU1

With Nvidia continuing to dominate the laptop GPU market, you'll need a good GPU if you want to play The Last of Us Part 1 at high framerates. The game's recommended requirements are a GeForce RTX 20 series card or a Radeon RX 500 series card. Although Nvidia has recently released RTX 40 series cards, these are not yet available for laptops. Currently, their latest notebook cards are in the RTX 30 series (like the RTX 3070 Ti).

In the past few years, desktop GPUs have become much more power-hungry; as a result, the gap between the limited performance of notebook graphics and the power of desktop graphics cards has widened. Additionally, Nvidia has done away with their Max-Q label for RTX graphics cards, meaning that a laptop's exact GPU wattage is determined by the manufacturer. This could result in a wide variance in graphics performance in laptops with the same GPU chipset.

If you're looking for a good laptop graphics card, it's important to pay attention to benchmarks, as they give you an accurate indication of how the graphics card will perform. 3DMark benchmarks are usually more representative than synthetic tests like Firestrike and Heaven. Of course, a more powerful graphics card will come with a heftier price tag, so if you're on a budget, check how well the GPU is supported by the manufacturer (RATIO).

To help you choose the best laptop graphics card for The Last of Us Part 1 depending on your budget, here is a table of our recommended GPUs:

Budget	Recommended GPU
Minimum	GeForce GTX 1650
Recommended	GeForce RTX 3050
High-end	GeForce RTX 2060

RAM Essentials

RAM is one of the most important components in a gaming laptop. Most mid-range laptops come with 16 GB of RAM and high-end – 32 GB or more. If you're looking for the best gaming laptop, you'll want to get at least 16 GB of RAM.

The latest generation of DDR memory is available in laptops, and it's no surprise that it offers better performance than DDR4 from a few years ago. Intel and AMD CPUs support DDR4 and DDR5, though DDR5 is still quite expensive and needs time to mature as a technology.

If you're looking for an upgradeable laptop, make sure it has an accessible M.2 slot or an empty DIMM slot so you can add more RAM down the line. When shopping around, you should also consider latency, frequency, and other features, as they all impact performance.

So, what can you expect at each price point? Here are our recommendations:

Price range	Memory
Minimum	8 GB
Recommended	16 GB
High-end	32 GB

6 Best Laptops for The Last of Us Part 1

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$660

i5-12400F | GTX 1650 | 512 GB RAM | 500 GB SSD | |

1.Acer Nitro 50 N50-640-UA91 Desktop

The Last of Us Part 1 laptop

Pros

Solid memory amount (512GB)

Cons

No IPS Panel (inferior color reproduction)

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Alternatives

$668

HP Victus 15 I

Pros

Strong entry-level gaming
Solid productivity performance

Cons

Display and webcam could be better
Too much preinstalled software

$880

2.HP Victus 15

HP Victus 15: A budget gaming laptop that delivers good performance at an excellent price.

Pros

Excellent price
Good gaming performance
Can double as a work laptop
Three color choices

Cons

Bad battery life
Rather plain design
Weak GPU yields unsatisfactory frame rates
Screen only so-so despite 144Hz refresh rate

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Summary

The HP Victus 15 is a budget gaming laptop that offers solid gaming performance for its price. While it lacks in battery life and design, it is a great option for price-conscious buyers who need a laptop that can handle high-end titles and also double as a work laptop.

Reviews

TechRadar

4/5

HP Victus 15

PCMag

3.0/5

HP Victus 15 Review