Best Laptops with AMD FreeSync
While powered by an Intel processor, the HP Omen 17t is a great gaming machine.
Best overall
HP's Omen series of laptops is a solid family of notebooks for those who enjoy playing games on portable PCs. The battery life, as expected, isn't brilliant but the portability allows you to enjoy games at various locations should an outlet be available. This model ($1,099.99, in particular, with 16GB of RAM, 128GB solid-state drive (SSD) (with 2TB HDD), and a 17.3-inch display, makes for quite the specifications sheet. And, for course, there's FreeSync technology, too!Bottom line: It's a great gaming laptop with some capable internals.One more thing: AMD's GPU is paired with one of Intel's latest Core i7 processors.
Why the HP Omen 17t is the best AMD FreeSync laptop
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There aren't many options available for FreeSync gaming laptops, which is set to change once portable PCs with AMD and Intel's upcoming combined chips are launched — instead of packing in separate processors for computing and gaming, Intel and AMD decided to work together to take on NVIDIA. For now, we only have a limited number of notebooks with AMD GPUs. This Omen 17t packs in an RX 580.
This laptop won't be able to power the latest games at full settings, though it will be able to run various titles at settings that will allow you to full appreciate the inclusion of FreeSync. Just like NVIDIA's G-Sync, this synchronization technology is becoming the norm in the latest laptops and monitors, both allowing for stutter-free and enhanced gaming experiences.
While AMD's RX line of GPUs aren't exactly powerful when compared to the GTX family, HP included a powerful quad-core i7 processor from Intel, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and tons of storage. When you're not gaming, the HP Omen 17t is a workhorse of a machine and when you're ready to have a little down time, it's possible to enjoy a whole library of installed games.
Here's a quick and dirty spec list:
- CPU — Intel Core i7-7700HQ (2.8GHz).
- GPU — AMD Radeon RX 580 (8GB GDDR5).
- RAM — 16 GB DDR4.
- Storage — 128GB SSD, 2TB HDD.
- Battery — 86 Wh Lithium-ion.
Best portable
This laptop (priced at $429 is powered entirely by AMD, with the dual-core A9-9420 processor and Radeon R5 handling everything you or Windows throws at the notebook. You don't have Ryzen technology, nor do you get powerful graphics for gaming, but the 256GB SSD and 8GB of RAM with the addition of FreeSync make it a unique laptop. It's also incredibly portable and perfect for someone who's always on the go.Bottom line: It's thin, capable and budget-friendly, and a great choice for those looking for a portable PC.One more thing: This ASUS VivoBook 14 features a number of ports for hooking everything up.
Best Value
Dell laptops are among the best in terms of quality, and the 5000 series is a solid example of why. This model, in particular, includes an AMD FX 9830P quad-core processor, which isn't brilliant. In fact, it's not that great at all when compared to Intel offerings, but at $599.99 it's a pretty good value. The APU is joined by 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, and a 74 WHr battery. Overall, that's good for the price.Bottom line: It's an OK laptop priced well considering the mediocre internals.One more thing: It sports an AMD APU but more expensive configurations can pack Intel chips.
Conclusion
Choices for AMD-powered laptops are slim when it comes to FreeSync and Radeon graphics. We'll revisit this guide once those new combined chips from Intel and AMD arrive to take on NVIDIA .
Best overall
HP's Omen series of laptops is a solid family of notebooks for those who enjoy playing games on portable PCs. The battery life, as expected, isn't brilliant but the portability allows you to enjoy games at various locations should an outlet be available. This model ($1,099.99, in particular, with 16GB of RAM, 128GB solid-state drive (SSD) (with 2TB HDD), and a 17.3-inch display, makes for quite the specifications sheet. And, for course, there's FreeSync technology, too!Bottom line: It's a great gaming laptop with some capable internals.One more thing: AMD's GPU is paired with one of Intel's latest Core i7 processors.
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Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.