Minecraft has become quite a popular game since it was officially released in 2011, and thanks to the variety of mods and variations, it has a solid fan base around the world. Since it doesn't have any set goals or instructions, it is often described as a game with no rules, making it perfect for individuals across age groups to enjoy. Best of all, Minecraft is available on almost every single platform you can think of, including Windows, Mac, Linux, phones, tablets, consoles, and even the Raspberry Pi.

While you might think that practically every good laptop should support the game, the answer is not as straightforward, especially if you want to enjoy ray tracing. Despite its blocky look, Minecraft can take up a lot of PC resources. So if you want to play, check out the laptops below for options.

Our picks for the best laptops for Minecraft in 2023

Angled front view of the Acer Nitro 5 facing right
Acer Nitro 5
Best overall gaming laptop for Minecraft

Plenty of good features

The Acer Nitro 5 is a very capable gaming laptop for playing Minecraft. It has solid specs out of the box, including 13th-generation Intel CPUs, and a Nvidia GPU that supports Ray Tracing to make your Minecraft worlds more realistic.

Pros
  • Super easy to find and is relatively affordable
  • Has a great 12th-generation Intel CPU
  • Has a modern Nvidia GPU
Cons
  • Still has a FHD screen

Topping our list is the Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop. This is quite a popular gaming laptop for mainstream gaming. It comes with everything you'll need to play Minecraft, along with games like Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. Just be warned, it's not a cheap gaming laptop, and just a little bit over $1,000.

On the inside are the 12-generation Intel processors — specifically, an Intel Core i7-12650H CPU with 10 cores and 16 threads. The CPU can also boost up to 4.7 GHz for gaming. That's then paired up with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 16GB of RAM, and 1TBB SSD. This is all well beyond the suggested specs for Minecraft, so you can enjoy ray tracing and stutter-free gameplay. You also can push this laptop beyond the basics and use it for video editing, and other more intense games thanks to that GPU.

The display is another reason why we love this laptop. It has a 144Hz refresh rate, ensuring that your in-game movements, like breaking bricks and picking up objects, will look and feel smooth. It only has FHD resolution, but that's typical for this price range and is still more than good enough for a game like Minecraft, which isn't too graphically demanding. For more screen resolution, you always can connect to an external monitor.

Finally, we love the way this laptop looks. There are red accents on the corner of the laptop, four-zone RGB lighting on the keyboard, and transparent edges on the keycaps. You definitely can play Minecraft in style on this laptop, and showcase your laptop to your friends with plenty of pride.

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HP Chromebook Plus x360 14-inch
Best Chromebook for Minecraft

Not over the top

You don't always need a regular gaming laptop for Minecraft. If you want to spend less than $1,000 on a laptop for Minecraft, you can enjoy the HP Chromebook Plus x360 14-inch, which runs the Android version of the game.

Pros
  • Runs Android version of Minecraft just fine
  • Under $1,0000
  • Convertible with a touch screen
Cons
  • ChromeOS has learning curves

When you don't have $1,000 to spend on a gaming laptop just for Minecraft, you might want to consider a Chromebook instead. Chromebooks run the Android version of the game just fine. The Android version of Minecraft is compatible with cross-play with the other PC version of the title. This particular Chromebook is also one of the newest from Google's partner, HP, and it packs a touch screen for enjoying the game without a keyboard and mouse.

HP Chromebook Plus 14-inch is one of the Chromebook Plus models announced by Google. It packs in a CPU that's twice as fast as what's found on budget Chromebooks. It also has a display with better resolution, and a great webcam, too. It even supports pen input. All of these things combine to end up great for playing Minecraft. The device has an Intel Core i3-1215U CPU, which is well above the CPUs suggested for the Android version of the game. It also has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Specs like this ensure you not only can play Minecraft but also any other Android game you can think of, and enjoy multitasking, too.

The display on this Chromebook, a 14-inch 1920x1200 resolution screen can also bring your Minecraft worlds to life. It has a brightness of 250 nits, and the high resolution means you can see more of the world on your screen. Generally, this Chromebook is fancy, too. Since it has a mineral silver aluminum cover and feels premium. You're not cheating out if you want to play Minecraft in style without over-the-top features like an RGB keyboard.

Front view of the Acer Swift Edge 16 (2023)
Acer Swift Edge 16 (2023)
Best productivity laptop

For work and play

The Acer Swift Edge 16 is a fast laptop with solid specs for playing Minecraft. It's not a gaming laptop, but with Minecraft being a lightweight game, this laptop can play it on lower settings without many issues. It has a great design, lots of ports for accessories, and a sleek OLED display with super slim bezels.

Pros
  • Has a great OLED screen
  • Has fast integrated graphics
  • Great design and connectivity
Cons
  • Can get expensive

Sometimes, you don't need a laptop with a dedicated GPU to play Minecraft. If you need a laptop for work tasks and don't mind playing on lower settings, the Acer Swift Edge 16 is a great option. This laptop is powered by the AMD Ryzen 7 7840U, which is an eight-core processor. It also comes with 16GB of RAM and 1TB SSD. These specifications are well within the suggested range to run Minecraft, and thanks to the new RDNA3-based Radeon 780M integrated graphics, you shouldn't run into any issues.

The more important thing we want to mention is that this is a productivity laptop, so you can take it with you to school or work. It comes in a basic black color without the bells and whistles you usually see with gaming laptops. It also has a large 16-inch OLED display with slightly slim bezels. OLED panels are more vibrant than regular IPS and LCD panels, so it means your Minecraft worlds will end up looking more life-like.

The ports are what we love about this laptop, though. If you plan to use it at home for gaming or for extra screen space, there's a full-size HDMI port, for connections to an external display. That's in addition to USB-C, USB-A, a microSD card slot, and even a 1440p webcam.

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Lenovo Legion Slim 5 16 (Gen 8)
Portable 16-inch gaming laptop

Thin but powerful

Lenovo's Legion Slim 5 (Gen 8) is a great laptop for Minecraft. It is under $1,500 and features AMD CPU options, and it has a great design and features like RGB lighting on the keyboard. Most importantly, it's thin but powerful.

If you need a quality but portable 16-inch gaming laptop to play Minecraft look no further than the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 16. This laptop sits under Lenovo's Legion Pro devices, but it's still plenty powerful for playing games. It's an AMD-powered laptop, too, that's upgradable. And, it packs in the power of RTX 4060 laptop graphics.

When it comes to the weight and dimensions, this is where this gaming laptop will win out. It comes in at 14.16 inches in length, 10.25 inches in width, and about 0.78 inches in thickness. It's also under 5 pounds. You can easily lug this laptop around, mainly because it's made of plastic. The laptop also has sleek design elements like plastic accents, an intake grille, and an aluminum lid cover.

As for what's under the hood of this laptop, it's AMD Ryzen CPUS. You can go up to an AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS Processor and can add as much as 16GB RAM, and a 1TB SSD. That's also paired with up to an Nvidia RTX 4060 laptop GPU. All of his is above and beyond for a simple game like Minecraft. When we reviewed it, we got up to 79 FPS in games like Red Dead Redemption 2. The display is a huge win, too. It goes up to as much as QHD+ resolution at up to 240 Hz. Such a fast refresh rate means you can stay in the action as you build your worlds and unleash your creativity.

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HP Omen Transcend 16 (2023)
The most powerful gaming laptop

All the speed you need

The Omen Transcend 16 (2023) is one of the most expensive gaming laptops, but it's the best at gaming> It also has a 16:10 mini-LED display option and strong CPU performance for games like Minecraft.

Pros
  • Has mini LED display
  • 13th-generation Intel CPUs
  • Great design
Cons
  • Still has a chin on the display
  • Crazy expensive

Our last pick is actually one of the best possible laptops for playing games and for any task, but especially for Minecraft. You'll get the very best gaming experience, and so much more, especially if you're planning to use your laptop for other creative tasks.

For starters, the HP Omen Transcend 16 has one of the higher-end CPUs from Intel. It is up to the Intel Core i9-13900HX which has a crazy 24 Core CPU count. That's paired up with up to 32GB of RAM, and also Nvidia RTX 4060 graphics. When we tested this laptop, we got superfast framerates in all the games on our test library, Advancements in Nvidia's next-generation GPUs like the newer Nvidia Lovelace Architecture only helped the performance of this laptop.

Other than the CPU, you'll really display on this device. The 16:10 aspect ratio, as well as the 2560x1600 resolution panel, will help content look crisp and clear. It shouldn't be an issue for running Minecraft, either. In fact, this is one of the higher-resolution displays on any of the laptops on our list. You can even pick a mini LED panel, which offers more accurate colors.

The overall non-gaming style design, as well as the ports, cap off the reasons why we suggest this device. The HP Poem Transcend 16 has a great keyboard with RGB lighting, but a simplistic toned-down black exterior that's similar to a productivity laptop. As for ports, there are ports on the left and right side of the laptop, as well as the rear. You can easily connect this up to a display or any peripherals you might own thanks to the Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMU ports, Ethernet ports, and USB-A ports.

What you need to know about Minecraft on PC

There are technically three editions of the game for PC. There is the classic Java Edition of the game, the Bedrock Edition, which expanded support to platforms that don't support Java and Minecraft for Windows. Note that as of June 2022, the Bedrock Edition and the Java Edition have merged into one version, which you'll find on the Microsoft Store on Windows. These are still two separate Minecraft editions, but the only difference is that you get one or the other when buying Minecraft, and can access both from the launcher.

Best laptops for Minecraft: The bottom line

As you can see, you don’t necessarily need a high-end laptop to play Minecraft, but the more powerful your laptop is, the more you can experience Minecraft. The best laptop for this is the Acer Nitro 5. It strikes the perfect balance of performance and specifications without being too overly expensive. It also has gaming aesthetics, like an RGB keyboard and a fast 144Hz screen.

Angled front view of the Acer Nitro 5 facing right
Acer Nitro 5
Best overall gaming laptop for Minecraft

Plenty of good features

The Acer Nitro 5 is a very capable gaming laptop for playing Minecraft. It has solid specs out of the box, including 13th-generation Intel CPUs, and a Nvidia GPU that supports Ray Tracing to make your Minecraft worlds more realistic.

And if you're not into a gaming laptop and want to play Minecraft on a productivity laptop, the Acer Swift Edge 16 will get the job done for you thanks to the AMD Radeon graphics. And we can't forget the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 16 Gen 8 either, which is a portable 16-inch gaming laptop. Or, one of the best gaming laptops we reviewed, the HP Omen Transcend 16, with a great display, and a crazy fast CPU and GPU.

Regarding downloads, Java and Bedrock Edition of Minecraft can be downloaded from the Minecraft website while the Windows 10 Edition can be installed from the Microsoft Store or through Xbox Game Pass. If you are interested in more use cases than just playing Minecraft, here is our list of the best laptops that look out over a wider variety of options. And if you are looking for solid mobile connectivity, we've got you covered in our list of the best 5G laptops.