The Best Budget Gaming Laptops
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gaming laptops aren't what we'd call cheap. Still, they're often more cost-effective than building your own gaming PC, peripherals and all, with the added benefit of being much more travel-friendly. Yes, you can spend well more than $2,500 for a fully kitted-out laptop, but there's still strong value to be found at the lower end of the market (around $1,000). We've played all sorts of games on a range of budget gaming laptops and whittled the list down to the best.
We prioritized laptops with Nvidia's RTX graphics cards, at least an 11th-gen Intel or 5000-series AMD Ryzen chip, and 16 GB of RAM. These specs aim for a benchmark of around 60 frames per second (fps) at a 1080p pixel resolution in graphically rich titles, and upward of 120 fps in competitive games.
Check out our Best Gaming Laptops, Best Laptops, and Best Cheap Laptops guides for more computing recommendations. Our How to Choose a Laptop guide may also come in handy.
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- Photograph: Acer
Best Overall Gaming Laptop
Acer Nitro 5The Nitro 5 epitomizes everything you'd want in a budget gaming laptop. It looks a little simple, but the 144-Hz screen with its 1080p resolution is ideal for almost all kinds of gaming. Despite the relatively low price (for a gaming laptop), the keyboard is competitive with the best; there's plenty of key travel and satisfying clicks. The Nitro gets the most out of its specs, often slightly topping rivals with similar configurations—it comfortably hit 60 fps in low to medium settings in graphically demanding titles, and stretched further to 144 Hz in less visually intense games. It doesn't get too hot or loud either.
It's also just portable enough to take on trips, but this is still a nearly 5-pound machine. It's best for moving around the house. There's strong port selection, with an HDMI, a dedicated charging port, a Thunderbolt 4 USB-C, a headphone jack, an Ethernet, and three USB-A ports. There are very few flaws here—the trackpad could offer a little more feedback, but that’s it.
Specs to look for: Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 7, 16 GB of RAM, 512-GB SSD, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti or 3060
- Photograph: Dell
Best Battery Life
Dell G15The G15 is easily the ugliest laptop here, and it's quite thick. But what makes it special is the efficiency of its AMD processor, which helps this machine get roughly eight to nine hours of battery life with typical productivity tasks and some gaming on the go. For the best performance, you’ll always want to stay plugged into a wall outlet, but being able to run off the battery for several hours is a big plus when you need to join the weekly game night but aren't near a power source. The downside is the included charger—it's massive and doesn't make this machine travel friendly.
The keyboard is nice, the 1080p 120-Hz screen performs well, and with our preferred specs (see below), you'll be able to hit 120 fps at medium graphics settings in most games. For titles that need more power, you can expect around 60 fps at high settings. This laptop is one of the more cumbersome on this list, but it distributes heat well and doesn't sound annoyingly loud. Where it can’t keep up with rivals is with its small trackpad and a build that scuffs up relatively easily.
Specs to look for: AMD Ryzen 7 5800H or 6800H, 16 or 32 GB of RAM, 512-GB or 1-TB SSD, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti
- Photograph: Asus
Top-Notch Quality And Design
Asus TUF Dash F15Whether you opt for a cheaper RTX 3050 Ti or go up to an RTX 3070 graphics card, the Asus TUF Dash F15 makes the most of its components. It has one of the best gaming keyboards around on a laptop, period, with a joyful combo of nice key travel and tactile feedback. The display is crisp and detailed, especially when compared to rivals. It’s super thin, at under 20 mm, yet manages to offer a great number of ports, including a headphone jack, an HDMI, three USB-A ports, an Ethernet, and a Thunderbolt 4 USB-C. If the design of most budget gaming laptops makes you wince, the Dash F15 adds some class too.
It rarely gets too loud, but the top section of the keyboard can get a bit warm under heavy load. For a slight drop in performance but better battery life, consider the equivalent AMD version—the TUF Gaming A15.
Specs to look for: Intel Core i7, 16-GB RAM, 1-TB SSD, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti
- Photograph: HP
If You Want a Big Display
HP Victus 16Bigger displays are harder to find at a cheaper price, and, admittedly, a jump from a 15-inch to a 16-inch screen isn’t a huge difference. But the HP Victus 16 is a strong choice if you desperately want the bigger screen real estate. Like the TUF Dash F15, the Victus 16 offers more style than other budget machines, so it doesn't look gaudy. This laptop prioritizes keyboard feedback over travel, meaning the keys are shallow, but they offer a pleasing crunch.
The big display is the winner. It’s a 1080p panel with a 144-Hz refresh rate accented by thin bezels around the edges, and the 16 inches of space comes in handy more often than not, for gaming and productivity. When sporting our recommended specs (see below), you'll be able to hit 144 fps in Apex Legends at 1080p with low graphics settings, and visually demanding games like Borderlands 3 will get you around 60 fps at high settings.
Specs to look for: Intel Core i5 or i7, 8 or 16 GB of RAM, 512-GB SSD, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti
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