Affordable gaming laptops became better and more popular than ever. several sub-$1,000 rigs offer a mix of chic design and top-notch specs that was previously unprecedented during this price point. lately, one can purchase a decently equipped gaming laptop for as low as $500!
Best Cheap Gaming Laptops
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Best Overall: HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop
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Runner-Up: ASUS TUF505 Gaming Laptop
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Most Affordable: Acer Nitro 5 Gaming Laptop
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The Big-Screen Option: MSI GF75 Thin Gaming Laptop
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Best for Daily Use: Lenovo Ideapad L340 Gaming Laptop
Today's latest affordable gaming laptops, additionally to the mandatory increases in graphics and processing power over their predecessors, pack superior display panels with higher maximum refresh rate, better keyboards with customizable features, more entertaining speakers, and battery performance you'll believe beyond gaming, among many other things.
As always, the foremost important hardware bits to think about when buying a replacement gaming laptop are the processor and therefore the graphics card. The latter is especially crucial because it is the component that sets a gaming rig aside from a daily laptop. an honest graphics card, additionally to delivering an upscale gameplay experience, will make sure that you won’t need to worry about upgrading your PC for a short time.
The above-mentioned components aren't only instrumental for delivering a strong gaming experience, but also upgradeable. you'll prefer to strengthen the memory and therefore the storage of all products I picked without breaking the bank down the road.
Most products on this list are powered by NVIDIA’s excellent GTX 16 series chips. The entry-level GPU sports a model number of 1650 while the range-topping variant carries a moniker of 1660ti. Besides being able to deliver a solid gaming experience with full HD resolution, they are also able to power the headset of a computer game.
Believe it or not, the simplest gaming laptops under $1,000 also feature a display board with a high refresh rate. The feature was previously unavailable during this price point — it brings smoother and overall more entertaining gameplay.
HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop
CPU: Ninth-generation Intel Core i5-9300H (quad-core)
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 GPU
Display: 15.6-inch Full HD (1,920 by 1,080 pixels) IPS display with 144 Hz maximum refresh rate
Memory: 12 GB of RAM, 512 GB SSD
1. The 15-inch HP Pavilion is the best gaming laptop for fewer than $1,000. Priced below $900, the gaming rig features a cool design, headlined by a sleek metal chassis that’s surprisingly thin and stylish. I just like the notebook’s contrasting green accents, the matching keyboard backlighting, also because of the cool geometric patterns of the speaker grille. Its ultra-thin top and side bezels also are quite impressive.The Pavilion is additionally worth your attention for offering solid hardware specs, robust gaming performance, and top-notch battery life (more than 8 hours of mixed-use). A Laptop Mag editor rightfully praised the notebook for offering “stellar performance and battery life at a reasonable price.”The 144 Hz maximum refresh rate of the HP Pavilion’s screen is that the highest on this list. Its B&O-tuned speakers on the opposite hand, are crisp, loud, and among the simplest in school, too. an equivalent goes for its fantastic set of wired and wireless connectivity features.In case you're trying to find a much bigger screen, you're in luck! HP offers an HP Pavilion gaming notebook with a 17-inch screen for fewer than $1,000.
ASUS TUF505 Gaming Laptop
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 (quad-core)
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU
Display: 15.6-inch Full HD (1,920 by 1,080 pixels) IPS display with 120 Hz maximum refresh rate
Memory: 16 GB of RAM, 256 GB SSD, 1 TB HDD
2. While the ASUS TUF505 gaming laptop features a more capable NVIDIA graphics card and more RAM out of the box than the HP listed above, it's lacking during a few key areas.The HP Pavilion features a display with a higher maximum refresh rate, better speakers, longer battery life, bigger SSD storage capacity, and more connectivity features (the TUF505 is bizarrely lacking a USB-C port). Its design is additionally more characterful and you'll order a version with the bigger display board.But, adding to the exceptional graphics card and more RAM, the ASUS TUF505 notebook is additionally crafted to satisfy military standards for durability.You can order a variant of the notebook with a less powerful AMD processor and NVIDIA graphics card for fewer than $700. An Intel-powered TUF505 with Core i7 processor is additionally available.
Acer Nitro 5 Gaming Laptop
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 (quad-core)
Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 560x GPU
Display: 15.6-inch Full HD (1,920 by 1,080 pixels) IPS display
Memory: 8 GB of RAM, 1 TB HDD
3. If you're buying a transportable gaming rig on a very tight budget, this sub-$500 Acer Nitro 5 variant is your best bet. Equipped with AMD Ryzen processor and Radeon graphics card, the gaming laptop will deliver a good gaming experience fully HD, goodbye as you manage your expectations accordingly.To form the device so affordable, Acer opted to equip it with a tough drive rather than a faster solid-state drive. We highly recommend that you simply consider upgrading the component when your budget permits. it'll end in a clear performance increase.The notebook has a superb set of connectivity features and a spacious keyboard with red backlighting. Its chassis has an edgy design and funky red accents also. But we wish that the display bezels of the gaming rig weren't so gigantic.The Acer Nitro 5 features a high-quality cooling system with a fanatical software suite. Its retail package includes a handy carrying sleeve.
MSI GF75 Thin Gaming Laptop
CPU: Ninth-generation Intel Core i7-9750 (six-core)
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 GPU
Display: 17.3-inch Full HD (1,920 by 1,080 pixels) IPS display
Memory: 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB SSD
4. The MSI GF75 Thin is incredibly sleek for a big-screen gaming rig. The notebook’s 17.3-inch screen has insanely thin bezels, which end in a screen-to-body ratio of 88% a tremendous number for a gaming laptop. We only wish that it had a better maximum refresh rate.The big notebook’s brushed aluminum finish is additionally impressive. Overall, you'll be hard-pressed to seek out a more elegant big-screen gaming laptop during this price range.MSI has equipped the GF75 Thin well for a sub-$1,000 product offering. The notebook’s CPU is the most powerful on this list. There are many RAM and fast SSD storage out of the box, too. you'll easily upgrade both if you would like.In case you wish the planning of the GF75, but don't need a screen this big, consider the MSI GF63 Thin instead. it's an equivalent design and similar specs, but a more compact 15.6-inch screen.
Lenovo Ideapad L340 Gaming Laptop
CPU: Ninth-generation Intel Core i5-9300H (quad-core)
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 GPU
Display: 15.6-inch Full HD (1,920 by 1,080 pixels) IPS display
Memory: 8 GB of RAM, 512 GB SSD
5. The Lenovo Ideapad L340 is a well-equipped laptop that, unlike many competitors, is additionally great for daily use beyond gaming. it's a beautifully understated design with cool blue accents and solid hardware specs for its tag.We really like that the notebook features a built-in physical shutter for its webcam. The device’s Full HD display panels is additionally impressive for a sub-$700 gaming rig. it's a flexible 180-degree hinge and dedicated eye care mode. The latter will assist you avoid eye strain by reducing the panel’s blue light emission.The Ideapad L340 features a duo of usage modes. Users can choose from a fast mode that optimizes the device’s hardware for a strong gaming experience, or a quiet mode that’s better fitted to work and casual use.