Gaming laptops are usually considerably more expensive than regular laptops. However, there are some affordable gaming laptop models you should know about . These machines are fantastic and allow you to play the best AAA titles smoothly, without breaking the bank.
Guide Index
Best cheap gaming laptop brands
Regarding the best brands of cheap gaming laptops you can find on the market, here are our recommendations:
ASUS TUFF
ASUS TUF (The Ultimate Force) is the name of the Taiwanese company ASUS's budget gaming product line, which includes inexpensive gaming laptops. This brand is aimed at gamers who don't want to invest large sums of money in their equipment, unlike the high-end ASUS ROG (Republic of Gamers) products.
Despite their affordable price, these laptops shouldn't be mistaken for low-quality machines. On the contrary, they boast a premium finish, top-of-the-line components from leading hardware brands , and quite good performance. Furthermore, they are designed to offer everything a gamer could want, including a large screen, powerful performance, RGB lighting, and more.
MSI
The Taiwanese company MSI (Micro-Star International) is also one of ASUS's serious competitors. MSI has several series of affordable gaming laptops, such as the Bravo, Leopard, and Stealth. This company specializes in high-performance equipment , and that's evident in every detail of their machines.
A company you can trust when it comes to gaming equipment, as it is a world leader in this sector , putting its expertise in motherboards and hardware, as well as its partners (Intel, NVIDIA,…), within your reach with these affordable models.
HP Omen
The American brand HP has also ventured into the gaming world with its own brand, OMEN . This company is well-known as one of the world's leading laptop manufacturers, offering not only laptops for home and professional use, but also affordable gaming laptops (though some are more expensive).
Furthermore, these Omen devices are ideal for combining work and play in a single unit . A highly regarded, versatile device that could be a great addition for the whole family.
Acer Nitro
The Taiwanese brand Acer has always been known for offering laptops with excellent value for money . This has allowed them to carve out a niche for themselves and become one of the largest sellers of this type of equipment worldwide. In addition, the company launched the Nitro brand, a line of laptops specifically designed for gamers.
The Nitro models are gaming laptops with a fairly ambitious hardware configuration , delivering the performance you need for your AAA titles, such as a powerful CPU and a dedicated GPU. However, their price isn't too high, making them ideal if you're looking for something within a moderate budget.
Lenovo Legion
The Chinese tech giant acquired IBM's ThinkPad division, and the resulting patent portfolio provided it with valuable experience in business laptops. However, it has also expanded into other market segments, such as gaming, under its Lenovo Legion brand.
Despite being a leader in computing and supercomputing, Lenovo has kept its equipment prices competitive, so you can find a Legion at a price that fits your budget. However, a lower price doesn't mean second-rate hardware; quite the opposite . You'll find excellence in every detail.
Razer
Singaporean company Razer specializes in manufacturing high-end hardware specifically designed for gaming. Initially focused on peripherals, they later expanded into gaming laptops to suit all tastes and budgets. It's true that this brand isn't synonymous with low prices; quite the opposite, in fact. However, it's also true that some more affordable models are available.
To give you an idea, some of their Razer Blade laptops are reasonably priced. But you'll find that every euro spent is worthwhile, as they strive to maximize the performance of each component, using the best of the latest generation hardware, and with exceptional quality.
How is a cheap gaming laptop
To choose a good, affordable gaming laptop , you need to keep some important considerations in mind. Among the most important are:
Screen
It is important, when choosing the laptop, that:
- The screen is at least 15″ or larger, such as 16 or 17″ ones, since that will help you view the game in a more pleasant size than equipment with small screens.
- The screen resolution should be like minimum FullHD (1080p). You shouldn't get too obsessed with a 4K either, especially not for those prices. The ideal would be between FullHD and QHD (1440p).
- El panel type or technology it is also important for gaming. Each one has its pros and cons:
- TN or Twisted Nematic: It's a cheap type of LCD display, with very fast response times, however it doesn't offer the best colors, and has limited viewing angles.
- VA or Vertically Aligned: these types of panels have low latency, very fast response times, and very rich colors. Fantastic qualities for gaming, but it also has its pros, such as possible blurring issues with fast images.
- IPS or In-Plane Switching: It is a more modern LCD panel technology, and very widespread. It has very rich and bright colors, very wide viewing angles, and good overall performance. However, they do not have as fast response times as the previous ones and they are somewhat more expensive. However, when in doubt, IPS may be the best choice for everyone.
- The refresh rate, that is, the updating speed of the images on the screen, must be high. of at least 90Hz or higher. You should also not look for equipment with too high clocks, since being a cheap gaming laptop, the GPU probably cannot generate a commensurate FPS rate…
- The response time has to be as low as possible. The ideal thing for gaming is to always look for screens less than 5ms. The lower the number, the faster the pixels will switch from one color to another.
- If the screen has support for technologies such as NVIDIA G-Sync or AMD FreeSync, this can be ideal for preventing the panel refresh rate and GPU FPS from being mismatched.
Processor
Regarding the processor, the budget gaming laptop you choose should have at least an Intel Core i5 or an AMD Ryzen 5. Obviously, you can't expect a Core i9 or Ryzen 9 at that price, and you won't notice a significant difference compared to Core i7s and Ryzen 7s, since games aren't as well optimized to take advantage of a higher number of cores, but rather benefit more from single-core performance.
The most important thing is that they are processing units with a high clock frequency , as that improves single-core performance and will make video games run better.
On the other hand, avoid laptops with older generation processors , as their performance may be lower and they could become obsolete sooner when it comes to meeting the minimum recommended requirements of a game.
Graph
Avoid iGPUs (integrated graphics) at all costs . These are not a good option for gamers. If the computer you buy has an iGPU, it's not a major problem as long as it also has a dGPU (dedicated GPU). dGPUs offer higher performance and have dedicated VRAM, which is much more beneficial for gaming.
Keep in mind that when a laptop has an integrated GPU (iGPU), even if it has a dedicated GPU, the image will pass through the iGPU, since it's connected to the screen, and this can slightly reduce performance. Some modern laptops have technologies like MUX Switch that avoid this by directly linking the dedicated GPU (dGPU) to the screen's video input.
Don't expect to find cheap gaming laptops with high-end dedicated graphics cards, as these are quite expensive. What you might find, and this is an important point, are laptops with an older generation of high-end GPUs, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 or AMD Radeon RX 6800. These graphics cards are still exceptional today and more than enough for any AAA title. That said, if you have the opportunity to choose a lower-end Radeon RX 7000 Series or GeForce RTX 40 Series, all the better.
RAM
Regarding RAM, it's important that it has a capacity of at least 16 GB . Don't worry too much about whether it's DDR4 or DDR5. With DDR4, the performance is quite good, and there isn't as much difference as many might think.
Some people think that for gaming, a computer with 32 GB or more of RAM is better, but this isn't true . You won't find a noticeable difference that justifies the investment in RAM. With 16 GB, all AAA titles run quite well (with some exceptions like Microsoft Flight Simulator). However, if you use streaming programs while running the game, then a little more memory might be beneficial.
Storage
Last but not least, you should always choose an SSD over an HDD. Furthermore, when it comes to SSDs, you should select budget gaming laptops that feature an NVMe PCIe drive, as these are faster.
Some might think that an SSD doesn't affect video games, but it does. In most titles, it will make them load faster, and in open-world games, it can also affect the frame rate (FPS ). These games need to load large amounts of data from the SSD, and if it's fast, it will accelerate the FPS, which, as you can see, isn't only affected by the CPU, GPU, and RAM.
Is a gaming laptop for less than €1000 good?
You don't need to spend €2000, €3000, or more to own a gaming laptop , as many people think . These machines are a luxury, but they aren't essential for enjoying AAA titles. Gaming laptops in the €700-€1500 range can be quite good options.
Don't expect a huge difference between an €800 PC and a €3000 one. The performance gains from the more expensive PC don't justify the €2200 price difference. Keep in mind that today's most demanding gaming PCs are easily met by these budget gaming rigs. For example, here are a few cases:
- Forza Horizon 5:
- Intel Core i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT processor
- Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
- RAM memory: 16 GB
- Cyberpunk 2077:
- AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel Core i7-6700X processor
- Graphics card: AMD Radeon 6800 or NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
- RAM
- The Witcher III: Wild Hunt:
- Intel Core i7-3370 or AMD FX-8350 processor
- Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 or AMD Radeon R9 290
- RAM: 8GB
- Dying Light 2:
- Intel Core i5-8600K or AMD Ryzen 7 3700X processor
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 or AMD Radeon 6800XT graphics card
- 16 GB RAM
Where to buy a cheap gaming laptop
Finally, it's also important to know the trustworthy stores where you can buy a cheap gaming laptop :
- Amazon: The American online sales platform has a large number of cheap gaming laptops among its products. You will be able to choose from a wide range of them, but keep in mind that you should always make sure that they have a keyboard in Spanish. On the other hand, it is a secure platform, with all purchase and return guarantees. And if you have Prime, you will have fast delivery and no shipping costs.
- El Corte Inglés: ECI is also another alternative to buy cheap gaming laptops, although they do not have the most competitive prices. This Spanish chain offers, however, the possibility of buying it in person from any point of sale or buying it online from its official website.
- Media Markt: The German chain of technology products also offers the double purchase modality. On the one hand, you can order your laptop from their official website so that they can send it to your home or go to any of the nearest Mediamarkt centers you have.
- PC Components: The Murcian PC Componentes also has a very wide repertoire of cheap gaming laptop models, and with good prices. In addition, it is a safe shopping site and deliveries are usually fast if they are in stock. In this case, there is only online modality, unless you live in Murcia and can go to the store to pick up the order.
Is a cheap gaming laptop worth it? My opinion
In conclusion, if you still have doubts about whether it's worth buying a cheap gaming laptop, the truth is, it is . Why?
- It allows users or gamers who do not have a large budget to also enjoy gaming like anyone else.
- You can save hundreds of euros on the purchase and get good results on the latest AAA titles, since the differences between cheaper equipment and extremely expensive ones are not high enough to be worth it.
- It is preferable to invest about €1000 in a laptop and renew it after 2 years, instead of spending €2000 or more, and having to put up with that equipment for longer to amortize that price. Keep in mind that it is preferable to have a new generation of CPU or GPU, than to have an outdated high-end model. For example, an RTX 4060 has better performance than an RTX 3060 Ti, and it is also compatible with new versions of technologies such as DLSS 3.0, etc.
