2023's best low-cost gaming laptop

There are more ways to game in 2023 than ever before. Consoles and desktop PCs may appear to be the logical alternatives, but their power requirements limit your options.

A specialized gaming laptop is the way to go for the best blend of power and mobility. These can play all of the AAA titles you’d expect while yet being portable and lasting a few hours away from a charger.

However, many of the most well-known gaming laptops are not inexpensive, with top-of-the-line machines sometimes costing more than $2,000/£2,000. However, a good gadget may be had for half that price, or even less in some cases. While certain concessions are unavoidable, a fantastic gaming experience is still well within grasp.

Asus TUF Gaming A15 (2023) – Best overall

The 2023 TUF Gaming A15 hasn’t changed much, but it’s still the greatest inexpensive gaming laptop you can purchase.

As one would anticipate, gaming performance is a major feature. Even though the CPU isn’t quite a top tier, a combination of AMD’s Ryzen 7 7735HS with the Nvidia RTX 4060 is quite effective for 1080p gaming. AAA titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Far Cry: New Dawn and Rainbow Six Siege operate flawlessly.

Battery life is sometimes sacrificed on gaming laptops, but not here. You may expect at least two hours of game time, or roughly nine hours in regular use.

There’s a lot to appreciate here, with plenty of ports and inexpensive pricing.

Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Gaming Chromebook – Best Big Screen

Lenovo’s cloud gaming Chromebook isn’t nearly as excellent as Acer’s, but it’s also less expensive.

However, there is still a lot to enjoy here, including good everyday performance that converts into a top-tier AAA gaming powerhouse through the cloud. To take benefit of this, you will need to pay for a membership.

However, when paired with the fantastic 16, 120Hz display, the experience is outstanding. You also get a good selection of connectors, a long battery life, and some excellent speakers.

However, there are certain trade-offs to be aware of. The plastic design feels cheap, and the keyboard, trackpad, and 720p resolution should all be improved. It’s also significantly more expensive in the UK than in the US, with increased internal storage being the main benefit.

MSI GF63 Thin (2022) – Best design

If mobility is the primary reason for purchasing a gaming laptop rather than a desktop PC, the newest GF63 Thin is an excellent choice. On a 15.6-inch laptop that weighs 1.86 kg and is only 0.5 inches thick, MSI has crammed all of the necessary components for an excellent gaming experience.

The Nvidia RTX 3050 in this laptop ensures that most mid-range games are well within reach, especially when paired with 12th-generation Intel CPUs. Most lightweight laptops are limited to discrete GPUs. However, if demanding titles are your thing, you will suffer.

Other benefits include a solid range of ports and a nice keyboard, indicating that you may easily use this Windows 11 laptop as your primary laptop. However, while having a 144Hz refresh rate, the Full HD IPS display falls short of our expectations.

Acer Chromebook 516 GE – Best Chromebook

Playing games on a Chromebook? It is now feasible, but only through cloud streaming providers. And the finest of the bunch is Acer’s Chromebook 516 GE.

While the specifications aren’t spectacular, the combination of the Intel Core i5-1240P CPU, Iris Xe graphics, and 8GB of RAM is sufficient for excellent everyday performance. Then, using services like Nvidia GeForce Now, you can play a variety of AAA games with surprising ease.

The main catch is that you’ll have to pay a monthly subscription charge to have access to them. The battery life and speakers aren’t terrific, but they’re not dealbreakers for most people.

The combination of a wonderful gaming experience, a beautiful 16-in 120Hz display, and a plethora of connectors makes it an excellent choice.

Excellent all-arounder: Acer Nitro 5 (AN515)

The Acer Nitro 5 is one of the least expensive gaming laptops on the market, yet it still has high-quality components.

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800H is a superb CPU for multitasking and productivity, while the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 is a great standard graphics card that can handle anything at 1080p.

Neither is from the most recent generation, but it doesn’t really matter; they’ll be OK for a long time.

Despite its high performance, the laptop is usually cool and silent. In fact, typing on the comfy keyboard will likely cause you to make more noise.

Of course, the low price comes with certain drawbacks. The screen, while being 144Hz, is slightly washed out, and the battery life is inadequate. There aren’t many of them.