Every laptop we have figures for

Frame rates measured by Notebookcheck.

What it asks of a laptop

The Last of Us is a fairly demanding laptop game at 1,920 x 1,080 on the High preset with upscaling off. Notebookcheck’s measured figures cover six laptops, which is enough to show a useful performance range but not enough to make sweeping claims about every configuration using these GPUs. Those six machines range from 45fps to 109fps, with a median of 70fps.

That is a wide 64fps gap between the fastest and slowest result. Only four of the six measured laptops reached 60fps or better, one reached 100fps, and none reached 144fps. In other words, High settings at native 1080p are not a route to very high-refresh-rate performance on the laptops represented here, even when moving well beyond entry-level gaming hardware.

The GPU-tier averages show a clear climb in performance: the single RTX 4090 laptop recorded 109fps, the three RTX 4070 laptops averaged 74fps, and the two RTX 4050 machines averaged 54fps. That makes this a title where GPU class matters, but the individual results also show that the GPU name alone does not settle the matter.

Most notably, the RTX 4070 results are not tightly grouped. The MSI Stealth 16 Studio, with an RTX 4070 rated at 105W, recorded 86fps, while the Acer Nitro 16 with a 140W RTX 4070 managed 78fps. The Aorus 15X ASF, also listed with a 140W RTX 4070, returned 57fps. Those are measured outcomes from three specific laptops, rather than a dependable rule for all RTX 4070 systems, but they are a strong reason not to assume that every laptop carrying that GPU will deliver the same experience.

At this tested setting, then, The Last of Us is best treated as a game that benefits from a reasonably powerful gaming laptop if a consistent 60fps-plus result is important. The figures do not support calling it easy to run at High settings without upscaling.

What runs it

RTX 4090: the only measured route beyond 100fps

The Aorus 17X AZF, equipped with an RTX 4090 at 175W, was the fastest laptop in the data set at 109fps. It is the only one of the six measured machines to clear 100fps at 1080p High with upscaling disabled.

That result makes the RTX 4090 system the clear performance leader among these laptops, but it still did not reach 144fps. Anyone buying specifically for a 144Hz-or-higher display should note that none of the supplied results hit 144fps under these conditions.

RTX 4070: usually above 60fps, but not uniformly so

The three RTX 4070 laptops averaged 74fps, which places this tier in broadly 60fps-capable territory in the sample. However, the individual figures matter more than the mean here:

• MSI Stealth 16 Studio, RTX 4070 at 105W: 86fps
• Acer Nitro 16, RTX 4070 at 140W: 78fps
• Aorus 15X ASF, RTX 4070 at 140W: 57fps

Two of the three RTX 4070 laptops exceeded 60fps, while one fell just below it. None came close to the RTX 4090’s 109fps result, and none reached 100fps. The practical conclusion is not that an RTX 4070 cannot run the game well—it plainly can in the Stealth 16 Studio and Nitro 16 figures—but that prospective buyers should seek results for the exact laptop rather than relying on the GPU badge.

RTX 4050: mixed results around the 60fps line

The RTX 4050 laptops averaged 54fps. The Schenker XMG Apex 15 (Late 23), with an RTX 4050 at 140W, recorded 62fps, clearing the 60fps mark. The Gigabyte Aero 14 OLED BMF recorded 45fps.

That means one of the two measured RTX 4050 machines handled the tested High preset at above 60fps, while the other did not. With such a small sample, it would be wrong to describe RTX 4050 laptops as a guaranteed 60fps choice for this game at these settings. The measured data instead suggests that this tier sits around the boundary where individual laptop behaviour becomes particularly important.

The cheapest laptop that handles it

No laptop prices are included in the supplied fact sheet, so it is not possible to identify the cheapest measured machine or quote a GBP price without inventing information.

If “handles it” means achieving at least 60fps in Notebookcheck’s 1080p High, no-upscaling run, four named laptops met that threshold: the Aorus 17X AZF at 109fps, MSI Stealth 16 Studio at 86fps, Acer Nitro 16 at 78fps, and Schenker XMG Apex 15 (Late 23) at 62fps.

Of those, the Schenker is the lowest-performing machine that still cleared 60fps, but that does not establish it as the cheapest. Price, availability and configuration would need to be checked separately.

What this means if you’re buying

For this particular 1080p High test, an RTX 4090 laptop delivered the only measured triple-digit result, at 109fps. That is the choice represented by the data for buyers prioritising the highest performance, although even it did not produce 144fps.

RTX 4070 laptops are the more complicated tier. The three measured examples span from 57fps to 86fps, despite two being listed at 140W. Buyers targeting a dependable 60fps-plus result should therefore look for benchmark evidence for the precise chassis they are considering. The MSI Stealth 16 Studio and Acer Nitro 16 both cleared 60fps comfortably in these figures; the Aorus 15X ASF did not.

RTX 4050 laptops can run The Last of Us at the tested settings, but the supplied results do not make them a safe blind purchase for a 60fps target. The Schenker XMG Apex 15 (Late 23) reached 62fps, while the Gigabyte Aero 14 OLED BMF managed 45fps. If native-resolution High settings with upscaling off are non-negotiable, the measured results point towards checking individual RTX 4050 reviews very carefully, or moving to a laptop with stronger demonstrated performance.