PC gamers have typically cast a questioning eye towards gaming laptops. A lot has changed in recent techstalky years, however, as computer hardware has advanced to the point where today’s best gaming laptops can hold their own against desktop PCs thanks to mobile GPUs that can run the latest games with the settings cranked up.
Most modern gaming laptops even boast features like vertical sync and enhanced refresh rates now, which are technologies that you used to only find on desktop monitors. You no longer have to empty your savings account to score a good portable gaming machine, either, and our roundup of the best gaming laptop deals proves it. Read on if you’re looking for a new on-the-go battle station and want to keep some cash in your pocket:
Asus TUF 15 RTX 3050 Gaming Laptop — $650, was $800
Asus isn’t as well-known for gaming as names like Alienware, but this brand has some pretty solid gaming machines under its umbrella. The Asus TUF 15 notebook is one of them, and this 15-inch laptop is a highly affordable gaming battle station that you can fold in half and put into your backpack or shoulder bag. And with an HDMI port, you can even hook it up to an external monitor when you’re back at home for a desktop-like gaming setup.
Under the hood, this gaming laptop combines the speed of an Intel i5-11400H processor, 8GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card with 4GB of VRAM. That’s enough power to enjoy modern games at decent settings while also delivering plenty of juice for work — this would be a fine laptop for a student who likes to kick back with some gaming after a day of class. The full-size backlit keyboard is also ideal for working on comfortably, and you even get a numeric keypad.
The chassis has a nice-looking design that’s not too garish, too, making it suitable for classroom and workplace environments. This multimedia machine can be yours for a great price, and it’s easily one of the best cheap gaming laptop deals on the market right now.
Acer Nitro 5 RTX 3060 Gaming Laptop — $729, was $1,000
Acer is a value leader in the world of laptops, and gaming laptops are no exception. The Acer Nitro 5 is one of the best budget laptops on the market for gaming if you want a solid machine for work and play that won’t set you back more than a grand. This one pairs a Ryzen 5 5600H processor with a GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card, one of Nvidia’s RTX 30-series GPUs, which has 6GB of GDDR6 video RAM. It comes with 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD as well.
That hardware is more than capable of playing new games at good settings, and it’s helped further by the 1080p display’s smooth 144Hz refresh rate. This higher refresh rate allows you to game comfortably at 60 frames per second without annoyances like visual stutter or screen-tearing. The 15.6-inch screen is surrounded by slim bezels, too, giving the laptop a nice gamer aesthetic that’s suitably modern without looking too chunky.
You can often expect to pay nearly a grand for a gaming laptop sporting a GeForce RTX 30-series graphics card, but a nice discount knocks this machine down to a very affordable price right now.
