Serious gamers require serious laptops for gaming. You don’t want to just throw your money at any old product.

That’s why it’s important to shop around and weigh all your options. Or, you know, glean a few reviews and see what the experts have to say.

The reviews for the best gaming laptops of 2014 (thus far) are in and there were a couple of standouts

Alienware 17: Best Overall

Dell’s Alienware was the most consistently best reviewed laptop of all gaming laptops. It is pretty much considered to be the gold standard. It has gorgeous keyboard lighting effects, an anti-glare 1920 x 1080 screen, and peerless sound quality.

The computer is packed with features like a 256GB solid-state drive and a 1TB hard drive capable of 5,400-rpm. With a 2.9-GHz Intel Core i7-4910MQ GPU with 16GB of RAM, lagging images or a lack of space won’t be a problem.

Alienware 14 and 17 review: Dell's new gaming laptops are fast, … – http://t.co/g2ePDwBgZL pic.twitter.com/yoZTOz8eK5

— Luxury Art (@LuxuryArt2) August 8, 2014

The downsides?

Well, the starting price of the Alienware 17 is $1400 and so some people may be reluctant to pay that much for a laptop. Nevermind the fact that getting the best out of this gaming laptop requires “add ons”, the kind that drive the price up to about $4000.

Battery life could be longer (you get about 4 hours off the charger) but with so many options available to make this the ultimate pc gaming experience, it’s the most sound investment you can expect to make.

Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p: The Bargain Hunter’s Gaming Laptop

If you’re just now waking up after fainting dead away at the idea of spending four grand on a laptop, then I submit to you the Lenovo IdeaPad.

This “budget” gaming laptop will cost you considerably less than the pricy Alienware.

This 15.6 inch screen laptop comes with a 1920 x 1080 screen and Dolby Home Theater-certified JBL speakers. The images are amazingly sharp and the sound quality is enough to ring ears from across the room.

A laptop that can match your gaming console? Look no further than the Lenovo Y510p. http://t.co/xGNBI7rXcB pic.twitter.com/XzRFs2mV7E

— Lenovo India (@Lenovo_in) May 16, 2014

As a gaming laptop, it isn’t anywhere near as badass as Alienware (just being honest …), but at a starting price of $800 with upgrades taking it to just shy of $1300, it’s definitely good enough for bargain-hunting gamers.

And with bargains come downsides: Weaker battery (3 hours), tendency to lag when playing more demanding games, and slightly slower than the competition when it comes to booting Windows 8.

All that considered, it’s still an amazing laptop for the price. And if you’re looking for a gaming laptop “for less”, this is about the best you can expect to do.

Otherwise, what’s the point?