1. The list in brief ↴
2. Best overall
3. Best budget
4. Best AMD
5. Best 30-series
6. Best handheld gaming
7. Best premium handheld
8. Benchmark comparisons
9. How to find the right laptop
10. FAQs
11. How we test
12. Why trust Laptop Mag
Budget gaming laptops, at least those of higher quality, have become increasingly difficult to find. But snatching up one of the best cheap gaming laptops isn't impossible. Just be prepared to make some calculated trade-offs to stay within your budget.
We had to extend our budget category to under $1,199 because everything is getting more expensive. However, that doesn't change the fact that you can find gaming laptops with an RTX 4070 for under $1,000. So, the key here is to be patient and cognizant of which gaming laptops are worth buying.
Plenty of gaming laptops can run AAA titles on a budget. A great example is the Acer Predator Triton 300 (more on that below).
My hand-picked list of the best cheap gaming laptops is below, but if you don't need to buy today, consider waiting for Amazon Big Deal Days, October 8-9, or Black Friday in November.
We review over 100 laptops yearly, covering every price point and use case. When it comes to cheap gaming laptops, we evaluate several criteria, including gaming and overall performance, display, battery life, and, of course, value.
Here are the best cheap gaming laptops under $1,200.
Rami loves a great cheap gaming laptop. You shouldn't have to sacrifice everything outside of power just to be able to afford to game with your friends. Rami has spent years reviewing dozens of the best cheap gaming laptops, and he can spot a cheap one from a well-priced one. Extensive testing and hands-on experience have taught Rami how to ensure that you will get the most for what you're paying for.
The Quick List
Best overall
With powerful performance and a bright, colorful display, the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 charges to the top of the best cheap gaming laptops list with ease. It's a stellar example of what you can get on a budget.
Best budget
With potent, perky specs, elegant design cues, and a solid FHD display the HP Victus 16 is an excellent entry-level gaming laptop that won’t deplete your bank account.
Best AMD
Get yourself a big package for a small price with the Acer Nitro 17, packing in some of the more powerful AMD CPUs to back up your budget gaming experience. Add some great audio, and you're set.
Best 30-series
The Acer Predator Triton 300 SE is proof that you don’t have to choose between performance and affordability. The laptop delivers strong gaming and overall performance in a sleek 14-inch chassis.
Best handheld gaming
The Asus ROG Ally is our favorite handheld gaming device. Its AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, comfortable ergonomic grip, and convenient Armoury Crate app make it feel snappy and powerful all at once.
Best premium handheld
The Asus ROG Ally X is a massive improvement over the original Ally between its ergonomics and battery life to its additional RAM and Thunderbolt 4 port. At double the price of its predecessor, it's still better than some cheap gaming laptops.
The best cheap gaming laptops you can buy today
Why you can trust Laptop Mag Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
It's rough out here for cheap gaming laptops. Gaming laptops that cross over into the sub-$1,000 territory aren't always the best, and those that are can be a bit older than new models. However, given that prices keep raising, we've expanded our list to include gaming laptops under $1,200. These are the best cheap gaming laptops based on our extensive testing and hands-on experience.
Best overall
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 is an exceptional gaming laptop that I hesitate to call "cheap." Not only does it support incredible graphics and performance but its gorgeous 16-inch display rivals even some premium gaming laptops in brightness and color. Its additional ports also carve a unique space for it as a creator laptop.
✔️ You're looking for RTX 4060-level performance for an affordable price: With an RTX 4060, you get enough performance to run Cyberpunk 2077 at a playable 32 fps when its graphics are set to the maximum setting. That means you can skyrocket the fps if you play at lower settings.
✔️ You want a beautiful 16-inch display to experience your favorite content: I've seen premium gaming laptops with duller and dimmer displays, so the high benchmark results for the Neo 16 make it an absolute killer for a budget gaming laptop. Despite a lower 1200p resolution, its 120Hz refresh rate can get you far with its GPU.
✖️ You want immersive speakers while gaming: Unfortunately, the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16's top-firing speakers are quite shrill. Running around in Elden Ring's Limgrave, the background music sounded hollow. When we listened to music, we found that the vocals were piercing and percussion fell flat with the lack of bass.
✖️ You want long battery life: Believe it or not, some gaming laptops feature excellent battery life. The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 does not. With a battery life of 4:09, it fell flat on its face against other gaming laptops on this page that scored over 7 hours.
We reviewed a slightly beefed up version of the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16, but both the model we reviewed and the Core i7 model at Acer share the same RTX 4060 GPU, so you're still getting the best cheap gaming laptop for a desirable price. Let's break it down.
The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 pops off in the benchmarks with its RTX 4060, scoring 84 frames per second on the Borderlands 3 (Badass, 1080p) benchmark. It was even capable of capturing Cyberpunk 2077 at max settings (1080p) with an average of 32 fps. Making that game playable on a budget gaming laptop is impressive.
Now let's talk about the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16's 16-inch, 1920 x 1200, 120Hz display. It rocked up with 92% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and emitting 370 nits of brightness. Seriously, that's more color than I've seen on some premium gaming laptops. You're blessed with greatness on this front, especially for the price.
Apart from its sturdy chassis, we also enjoyed the massive array of ports included. There's everything from Thunderbolt 4 ports to a microSD card slot. Seriously, not many gaming laptops include those particular ports.
However, not everything is sunshine and rainbows. Unfortunately, the speakers left a lot to be desired, they're quite sharp and uncomfortable to listen to. I recommend checking out the best gaming headsets.
Then there's the battery life. We don't tend to expect much out of gaming laptops, but coming in at just 4 hours and 9 minutes is pretty bad. Some gaming laptops have reached close to and above 10 hours.
Despite that, and some touchpad issues that may not interfere with the gaming experience, the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 is a model gaming laptop that belongs in your shopping cart.
See our full Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 review.
Best budget
HP Victus 16 offers a powerful RTX 4060 for a price so low that it makes me question if it's a real deal. Well it is. With that performance, a colorful display, and a great set of speakers, the HP Victus 16 makes its mark.
✔️ You want to spend as little as you need for the most you can get: An RTX 4060 at this price is nothing to mess around with. The HP Victus 16 was capable of running Borderlands 3 on the highest settings at 66 fps. Great power at a great price.
✔️ You want an elegant design: While this is not something you may need in a gaming laptop, an office-acceptable design is great for those that want a laptop for work or school that can also game. You'd never guess this was a gaming laptop.
✖️ You want a bright display: While the HP Victus 16 supports a decently colorful display, it's just not bright. Gaming in a bright space may be problematic, and games with dark lighting may be tough to see through.
✖️ You want loud speakers: The HP Victus 16 captured our attention with its distinct tonal separation between highs, mids, and lows, but it's just not loud enough and doesn't offer enough of a thump to reproduce a deep bassline.
Awkward — we reviewed last year's version of the HP Victus 16, but this year's model offers a better deal and comes in a similar package. This HP Victus 16 offers an AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD.
We loved last year's HP Victus 16 for its office-like design and colorful 16-inch display, which this Victus seems to share if the specs are any indication. It also impressed us with its performance benchmarks, averaging 66 frames per second on the Borderlands 3 (Badass, 1080p) test.
The HP’s 16-inch, 1920 x 1080, 16:10 display also impressed us — that’s not the usual praise we’d give to a budget gaming laptop. It registered 75.2% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, which is decently colorful, but that’s not what struck us. It averaged 313 nits of brightness on our tests — enough brightness to combat well-lit spaces.
What I don’t see or hear enough of is great speakers. The HP Victus 16 doesn’t have that problem. Its Bang & Olufsen speakers excelled with a depth that captured highs, mids, and lows without a flicker of distortion. There’s not a lot of bass, mind you, but the HP Victus is one hell of a loud machine.
Where the HP Victus 16 plants a flag in my heart is the battery life. You get 7 hours and 26 minutes before you have to tether yourself to a wall. That’s almost enough time to finish an entire work or school day.
We can advocate for the HP Victus 16 we reviewed, and the latest model will likely land in the same place. However, we cannot guarantee that. What I can say is that it's a good deal.
See our full HP Victus 16 review.
Best AMD
Acer Nitro 17 features incredible AMD Ryzen 7 performance paired with a powerful RTX 4060. What distinguishes it further is its low price for its large size, offering a full 17-inch display.
✔️ You want to get the most out of AMD CPU features: The Acer Nitro 17 offers excellent AMD performance, but what sets it apart is the battery life that AMD provides. At 7:23, it's the longest lasting gaming laptop on this page.
✔️ You want a big display: It's rare to find a cheap gaming laptop with a 17-inch display. The Acer Nitro 17 not only provides the size but also a wide color coverage and decent brightness.
✖️ You want a slim gaming laptop: A big display comes with a chunky chassis. The Acer Nitro 17 is heavy and thick, so dragging it around may prove more trouble than it's worth.
✖️ You want a sturdy gaming laptop: The Acer Nitro 17 is not only large but it also features a cheap plastic chassis. It may not be as durable as you'd like during longer travels.
It can be tough to find a cheap gaming laptop with a big display, but the Acer answers the call with the Nitro 17. There's an RTX 4050 and RTX 4060 model, but you can find the latter for under $1,000 at Micro Center. We tested the RTX 4060 model, so let's jump into what that looks like for you.
The Acer Nitro 17 jumped onto the Borderlands 3 (Badass, 1080p) benchmark at 84 frames per second. It even managed to run Cyberpunk 2077 (Ultra, 1080p) at a clean 30 frames per second. Taking on AAA threats is what makes a cheap gaming laptop shine among the rest.
Don't worry about the display, either. With its 17.3-inch, 1920 x 1080, 165Hz display, the Acer Nitro 17 covered 84.3% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and averaged 348 nits of brightness. Despite packing some cheaper materials, the Nitro manages to offer a strong display that's more akin to a mid-range gaming laptop.
We were also impressed with the audio quality, its bottom-firing speakers producing a pleasant surround-sound effect. When we played Starfield, we noticed how clear and present the dialogue and audio cues were.
Its 7 hours and 22 minutes of battery life will also support your non-gaming endeavors.
However, since this is a cheap gaming laptop, it does come with a cheap, bulky plastic chassis. It stacks up to 6.8 pounds and 15.76 x 11.55 x 1.14 inches. It's not going very far in terms of portability, which clashes with its decent battery life.
We also didn't like that there wasn't a Ctrl key on the right-hand side of the keyboard, as it may be critical for some gamers to use.
But overall, the Acer Nitro 17 is a great catch for its large display and epic performance
See our full Acer Nitro 17 review.
Best 30-series
Acer Predator Triton 300 SE offers powerful graphics for a much cheaper price than its 40-series counterparts (depending on the deal). And if you're looking for something small, this is a great choice.
✔️ You want a portable gaming laptop: The Acer Predator Triton 300 SE is the smallest gaming laptop on this list, offering a 14-inch body at 3.8 pounds and 0.7 inches thick.
✔️ You want a big display: It's rare to find a cheap gaming laptop with a 17-inch display. The Acer Nitro 17 not only provides the size but also a wide color coverage and decent brightness.
✖️ You want a modern gaming laptop: The Acer Predator Triton 300 SE is old. You're not getting the best performance and this laptop won't last as long as the others on this list, so be mindful of that.
✖️ You want a bright display: The Acer Predator Triton 300 SE features the dimmest display on this list, dropping below 300 nits of brightness.
The Acer Predator Triton 300 SE debuted for over $1,000, but now it's in the best cheap gaming laptop range. When it initially launched, it was one of my favorite affordable gaming laptops. Now, it's a steal at its current price. This Predator is a 14-inch gaming laptop sporting a bright 1080p screen with a 144Hz refresh rate.
Yes, the Triton's RTX 3060 GPU is a slightly older model. Still, it consistently beat the average mainstream gaming laptops on AAA titles such as Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. During the Far Cry New Dawn benchmark, the Triton nailed 73 fps, which matched or beat the competition.
For a gaming laptop, the Predator Triton 300 SE offers decent battery life. It ran for 6 hours and 41 minutes on a single charge. It's not enough to get through a workday, but it'll last for at least two Avengers: Endgame rewatches.
Don’t count out its display, either. Packed with a 14-inch, 1080p at 144Hz display, the Predator Triton 300 clocked nearly 300 nits of brightness, which is remarkable for such an affordable laptop. It also covered 80.6 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut — again, that’s more colorful than some laptops that cost thousands of dollars.
At this price point, we also expected to find a chunky 4~5-pound gaming laptop with a thick deck and thicker bezels. We didn’t get any of that. The Triton clocked in at 3.8 pounds and 12.7 x 9.0 x 0.7 inches. A gaming laptop that’s affordable and compact? Almost unheard of.
Between its size, performance, and battery life, the Acer Predator Triton 300 SE is the perfect laptop for gaming and bringing to work or school. It’ll last you a good while before you have to reach for a charger.
See our full Acer Predator Triton 300 SE review.
Best handheld gaming
Asus ROG Ally is a handheld gaming PC. It's similar to the Nintendo Switch in regards to the design, but this gives you access to Windows 11 and all of your PC games. If you game on a controller, this might be for you.
✔️ You want a comfortable gaming experience: There's nothing quite like snuggling up in bed or on your couch while playing your favorite PC game. Overwatch? Play of the Game. Fortnite? Victory Royale, baby.
✔️ You want to save the most: Yes, you're on the cheap gaming laptops page, but handheld gaming PCs are the most affordable gaming devices that you can buy right now. So if you want a true entry-level price, go with the Ally.
✖️ You want strong performance: You won't be playing AAA games on the highest settings. There's a lot of potential here, with it scoring 29 fps on Assassin's Creed Valhalla on High. You'll need to play on lower settings with most games.
✖️ You want to play with a keyboard and mouse: PC games that don't offer controller support will not be playable on the Ally. And the games that do may not offer the best gaming experience.
You're probably thinking, "this isn't a gaming laptop." Well, I'm here to tell you that it's arguably better. Handheld gaming devices are cheaper than your average gaming laptop and have quite a bit of power backing them.
The Asus ROG Ally is a classy entry into the handheld gaming scene post Steam Deck. One of your greatest advantages with the ROG Ally is the display. Yes, it's smaller than a gaming laptop, but it looks way better. The 7-inch, 1920 x 1080p AMD FreeSync touch panel sports a 7-millisecond response rate with a 120Hz refresh rate. It averaged 465 nits of brightness, brighter than some premium gaming laptops.
As far as performance goes, you won't play games on high settings, so put that out of your mind. But considering the size, the Ally pushed hard on our testing. For example, with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the ROG Ally scored 29 fps at 1080p on High. Turn that to low, and you'll likely get over 60 fps.
Regarding portability, the ROG Ally weighs only 21.4 ounces and measures 11 x 4.4 x 0.8 inches. You can practically throw this thing in a purse (I did). Unfortunately, its portability doesn’t extend to the battery life. Unlike the other products on this list, you’re getting 1 hour and 43 minutes — that is persistent gaming. If you’re not gaming, it lasts 5:51, but something tells me you won’t be using this Switch-like device for anything but.
The Asus ROG Ally may not be what you're looking for, but you should consider it between the price and what you get. This is great for controller-based gaming and playing on the go, whether on your daily commute or traveling across the skies.
See our full Asus ROG Ally review.
Best premium handheld
Asus ROG Ally X is an improved version of the Asus ROG Ally. It's more expensive but it offers a more ergonomic chassis and double the battery life. This is the handheld gaming PC to buy if you can afford it.
✔️ You want the best ergonomics for PC gaming: Gaming on the go is one thing, but gaming with a comfortable controller is an entirely different beast. This is the best of both worlds, offering satisfying new ergonomic features.
✔️ You want the most of gaming on the go: Another wild improvement to the Asus ROG Ally X is its battery life. With double the time, the Ally X lasts a good 2:15. That makes most work commutes infinitely more tolerable.
✖️ You want strong performance: Yes, you get additional RAM with the Asus ROG Ally X, but the overall performance is no different than the Ally, as they feature the same APU.
✖️ You want to budget properly: While the Asus ROG Ally is a great cheap alternative, the Ally X is roughly double the price. It's harder to argue for, especially since it's less powerful than its gaming laptop alternatives.
Yet another cheap gaming solution that isn't a gaming laptop. While it's not technically cheap compared to its predecessor, the Asus ROG Ally X is still less expensive than most gaming laptops.
What's so different about the Asus ROG Ally X? The most notable difference is the ergonomics. There's a springiness to the bumpers and triggers, there's more tension in the joysticks, the grips are more comfortable, and the back buttons are positioned better.
The battery life also gets a sizable increase, jumping from the Ally's 1 hour and 1 minute to the Ally X's 2 hours and 15 minutes. Both times are relatively short, but doubling the play time puts it further in line with gaming handhelds like the Nintendo Switch.
Other updates include the 24GB of RAM and a Thunderbolt 4 port, which are capable of increase performance and charging speeds, respectively.
The display is the same 7-inch, 1920 x 1080, 120Hz panel as the original, but it scored slightly higher marks. It hit an average of 523 nits of brightness (from 465 nits) and covered 80% of the DCI-P3 color gamut (from 76.1%).
It does feature the same performance, which is decent, but a bit disappointing considering the increase in price. Playing Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree at maximum graphics with ray tracing turned all the way up produced anywhere from 27 to 35 frames per second.
However, the Asus ROG Ally X is a bit chunkier, coming in at 1.5 pounds and 11 x 4.4 x 1~1.5 inches versus the Ally at 1.3 pounds, 11 x 4.4 x 0.8 inches. We also found that the D-pad is a little too close to the screen, which is a miss in terms of its revamped ergonomics.
Overall, the Asus ROG Ally X is a great option for those that seek the best out of a gaming handheld. If you want a gaming laptop with high-tier portability, just get the Asus ROG Ally X. It's cheaper, too.
See our full Asus ROG Ally X review.
Benchmark comparisons
Click to view chart data in table format
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 | HP Victus 16 | Acer Nitro 17 | Acer Predator Triton 300 | Asus ROG Ally | Asus ROG Ally X |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 (Higher is better) | 16730 | 14125 | 12358 | 5211 | 10,614 | 11255 |
| Handbrake time (Lower is better, (MM.SS)) | 3.1 | 5.31 | 4.18 | 11.36 | 4.56 | 6.45 |
| Borderlands 3 benchmark (Higher is better) | 84 | 66 | 84 | 57 | Row 2 - Cell 5 | 31 |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark (Higher is better) | 99 | 79 | 94 | 61 | Row 3 - Cell 5 | 22 |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 benchmark (Higher is better) | 65 | 52 | 64 | 48 | Row 4 - Cell 5 | 17 |
| Helldivers 2 benchmark (Higher is better) | Row 5 - Cell 1 | Row 5 - Cell 2 | Row 5 - Cell 3 | Row 5 - Cell 4 | 42 | 44 |
| Doom Eternal (Higher is better) | Row 6 - Cell 1 | Row 6 - Cell 2 | Row 6 - Cell 3 | Row 6 - Cell 4 | 60 | 60 |
| SSD Transfer rate (Higher is better, MBps) | 2121 | 1808 | 1845 | 993 | 769 | 1346 |
| Battery life - Web surfing (HH.MM) | 4.09 | 7.04 | 7.23 | 6.45 | 5.51 | 8.19 |
| Battery life - Gaming (HH.MM) | 1.36 | 1.41 | 2.48 | 1.29 | 1.43 | 3.04 |
| DCI-P3 Color Gamut (Higher is better) | 92.4 | 75.2 | 84.3 | 80.6 | 76.1 | 79.8 |
| Display Brightness (Nits) | 370 | 313 | 348 | 292 | 465 | 523 |
| Hottest temperature (Lower is better, 95 degree comfort threshold) | 122 | 121 | 92 | 125 | 115 | 95 |
How to Choose One of the Best Cheap Gaming Laptops
When shopping for a gaming laptop, there's a lot to consider. We wrote a detailed piece about the nine most important factors. But to simplify the process of choosing a system, here are seven key points to keep in mind.
Budget: How we split cost categories
Money is getting tight. There was a time when you could find a good gaming laptop for under $1,000, but those are few and far between. If you're looking for a quality gaming laptop and are trying to budget yourself, try aiming for at least $1,300. But let's try to keep you under $1,000 to get the most out of your budget.
Remember that the bigger the GPU, the bigger the gaps in price points. So, list the games you play and start checking the PC requirements. Almost any gaming laptop with a 40-series GPU can play an indie game, but if you're dabbling in AAA titles, you have to decide which settings you're comfortable playing on.
Screen Size: 14 and 16 inches are the go-to
You'll rarely find a 13-inch gaming laptop nowadays, and 15.6-inch laptops have taken a backseat to the hyped-up 14-inch and 16-inch laptops. Those 17-inch gaming laptops also feel like a thing of the past. Well, now we have 18-inch gaming laptops. Yeah, they're beasts, but what all these sizes have in common is that they're getting more compact.
If you're looking for a gaming laptop to take on the go and even use as a school or work laptop, 14-inch gaming laptops are the perfect fit. Smaller gaming laptops also tend to have longer battery life. 16-inch gaming laptops are more manageable in size than 17- or 18-inch machines without sacrificing any power.
Under $1,000, you probably won't get an 18-inch powerhouse, but you can still get portable machines in the 14-inch category.
Screen Resolution: 1080p with high refresh rates or 1440p if you're lucky
Regarding gaming laptop displays, you want to balance frame rates and aesthetics. And if you're planning to get a truly mobile system, battery life also deserves consideration. A 1080p resolution is the bare minimum you'll find, which isn't great unless you're trading resolution for a high refresh rate. Panel makers now serve up screens with a 360Hz refresh rate and a three-millisecond response time, but you might not find that at this price range. Try to aim for 144Hz at least.
Forget about 4K screens, they're overpriced. However, you might be able to find a 1440p screen if you're lucky. And they usually offer at least a 120Hz refresh rate. Remember that laptops with lower resolutions tend to have longer battery life overall.
Refresh rate: 120Hz is a minimum
Depending on the kind of games you're playing, particularly first-person shooters and MOBAs, you'll take anything that enhances accuracy. Surprisingly, the higher a display's refresh rate is, the more accurate your shot becomes. We've experienced this firsthand during many demos. At this point, 60Hz is unacceptable for a gaming laptop (even if it's cheap), so we recommend investing in a panel with at least a 120Hz refresh rate.
You also have to balance graphics performance with resolution and refresh rate. Sometimes, a laptop is paired with a low-performing GPU and a high resolution and refresh rate. The math doesn't add up. If your gaming laptop cannot take advantage of the sharp screen or high refresh rate, then what's the point? Make sure you check the benchmarks.
Intel or AMD?
A couple of years ago, the answer to this question would have been undoubtedly Intel. However, AMD has made a furious comeback with its new Ryzen CPUs, which deliver outstanding overall performance and battery life. Thanks to the new Ryzen chips architecture, they're super power efficient without sacrificing productivity. The Ryzen 8000 series CPUs have consistently impressed with its performance versus battery life.
Not to be outdone, Intel's 14th-generation chips are nothing to sneeze at. Laptop manufacturers have started rolling out systems with Intel's Core Ultra chips. These chips are extremely powerful and are catching up to AMD with their battery life game.
Gaming laptops have been balancing performance with battery life, and it's changing the use case for these rigs for the better.
Battery Life: At least 5.5 hours
Unless it's plugged in, gaming laptop battery life tends to be very short, especially when gaming. However, the battery life of gaming laptops has increased over the years. So much so that anything under 5.5 hours is considered below average. We've reviewed several gaming laptops that last a whole workday and jump into the double digits. With results like that, we expect gaming laptops will match their non-gaming counterparts sooner rather than later. Our most recent power-efficient gaming laptop is the Razer Blade 14, lasting over 8 hours.
Specs: 1080p / Core i5 / 16GB are a minimum
You can spend a lot of time delving into specs, but here are the key components. If you want decent mainstream performance, go for a Core i5 CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a 1080p screen.
FAQs
Should I buy a handheld gaming PC instead of a cheap gaming laptop?
That depends. If you're someone consistently on the go, and would like to game on the go, then yes, you should buy a handheld gaming PC. Even if you don't travel often, it's nice to snuggle up in bed and play on a way more comfortable gaming device.
However, handheld gaming PCs prioritize a controller experience. You won't get the most out of PC gaming without a keyboard and mouse. Listen, I've played Baldur's Gate 3 on controller, but a keyboard and mouse is infinitely superior.
Then there's the performance and price. Yes, a handheld gaming PC is cheaper but it's also weaker. If you're someone just starting out their PC gaming journey, you might be okay with lower graphics for the sake of affordability. But if graphics and performance matter to you, get the cheap gaming laptop instead.
What feature can I cheap out on to get the best affordable gaming laptop?
Again, that depends. But I have a few options for you.
Battery life: You get the most out of gaming laptop's performance when it's plugged in, so this is something you generally shouldn't worry about. However, if you're someone who needs a laptop for school that can also game, then this may not apply.
Touchpad: No one uses a touchpad to play video games. Get the best gaming mouse.
Build quality: Most cheap gaming laptops don't look like sleek premium machines, so I wouldn't prioritize that aspect unless you have enough money to not be on this page. It's a plastic chassis for us.
How We Test the Best Cheap Gaming Laptops
When we bring a laptop into our laboratory, we aim to see how it would work if you brought it into your home or office. While we use industry-standard benchmarks such as Geekbench and 3DMark, we focus heavily on real-world tests that we have developed in-house.
To test endurance, the Laptop Mag Battery test surfs the web at 150 nits of brightness until the system runs out of juice. We use a giant spreadsheet macro that matches 65,000 names with their addresses to judge pure processing power, a video transcoder that converts a 4K video to 1080p, and the Geekbench 5/6 synthetic test.
We ramp up our 3DMark testing to also include Fire Strike Ultra and Time Spy Extreme, which determine how well the laptop copes with DX11 and DX12 4K graphics workloads. If the laptop is equipped with a graphics card that supports DirectX ray-tracing, we also use the 2560 x 1440 Port Royal test. (We don’t bother with Night Raid here—who cares about integrated graphics on a gaming laptop?) For the best-equipped laptops on the market, we may also run Speed Way, which plies the deepest and most demanding features of DX12 Ultimate.
We run all of gaming benchmarks in full-screen mode with vertical sync disabled, always at least at 1920 x 1080 (1080p) resolution, as well as the laptop's native resolution. Games include: Red Dead Redemption 2, Assassin's Creed Mirage, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Borderlands 3, Far Cry 6, and more.
We use a colorimeter to measure screen brightness and color gamut, while other instruments help us determine a laptop's key travel and ambient heat. See this page on How We Test Laptops for more details on our benchmarking procedures.
Why Trust Laptop Mag
Laptop Mag reviews over one hundred different laptops every year, from paperweight ultralights to everyday workhorses to lumbering gaming notebooks that scorch the frame rates of even the hottest AAA games. We're not just experts in the laptop field, as we go one step further by meticulously testing smartphones, tablets, headphones, PC accessories, software, and even the latest in gaming.
We are 100% independent and have decades of experience to help you buy with confidence. In fact, Laptop Mag has been testing and reviewing products for three decades, and we continue to deliver trustworthy reviews you can rely on.
Our experienced team of writers and editors scour the available information about the laptop and put it through its paces to determine which is best for you. But before they start, the testing team subjects each system to a rigorous regimen of synthetic and real-world tests to see how a system handles the type of work and games you’re most likely to throw at it.
Our editorial trustworthiness is enforced by one of the world's largest technology publishers, Future Publishing. As a company, we have unrivaled experience across every tech sector — and we're the group's specialist for all things mobile tech.
