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5 Best Budget Gaming Laptop of 2023 Reviews | To Have Fun at Low Cost!

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1 Reviewers

22 Hours of Research

17 Options Considered

Every gamer craves for a robust and powerful laptop that can satisfy his hunger for games. However, the financial situation may not be a perfect fit for a high-class gaming laptop. In that case, how about a budget gaming laptop? Well, cut off your worry, because we are here to solve your problem with a review on the budget gaming laptop in 2023.

3 Top Budget Gaming Laptops

1. [Best Overall]

 ASUS TUF

5/5

When it comes to gaming, the powerful internal plays a role of smoothing even the most substantial game, no crashing, or interrupting issues.


Besides video games, ASUS TUF can be an ideal partner for studying and working. Thanks to its speed, multiple works can be done in a blink of an eye.

  • Breakneck speed
  • Large storage memory
  • Quick and versatile

Well-built structure: thin and lightweight

2. [Best For The Money] MSI GF63

4.9/5

MSI GF63 covers all of the best functions that a gaming laptop should deliver. You can have all of the best configuration settings, including GTX 1050Ti graphics, max memory exceeding up to 64GB, and the most realistic 3D sound system. Despite serving all of these features, its battery storage does not defect easily. It lasts for roughly 7 hours without charging.

  • Great display resolution
  • Fantastic gaming life
  • Well-built structure: thin and lightweight

 HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop 15.6

3. [Best For The Great Performance]

HP Pavilion Gaming

4.8/5

For an extremely affordable budget, this HP Pavilion Gaming can serve you well. With its level of strength about speed, storage, RAM, this is the cheapest option you can get.

GTX 1050Ti graphics preserve a stable processing speed while multitasking. Let the gaming be a real lifelike journey!

  • Performing games well

  • Affordable
  • Alternative LED screen lights

Best Budget Gaming Laptops

[Best Overall]

5/5

Wanting your gaming and working experience to run like a champ? ASUS TUF is a laptop solely made for that purpose!

Thanks to its solid AMD Ryzen Quad-Core with the quick and versatile capability, this laptop can fasten any given process.

Pictures and sound are displayed impressively with massive approved color and clarity.

Multitasking comes at ease due to the extravagant memory of up to 64GB.

When it comes to gaming, the powerful internal plays a role of smoothing even the most substantial game, no crashing, or interrupting issues.

Besides video games, ASUS TUF can be an ideal partner for studying and working. Thanks to its speed, multiple works can be done in a blink of an eye.

The touchpad can be quite noisy once you tap it hard. Purchase an individual mouse for a quieter experience. Also, a cooling pad is advised to maintain the coolness of the surroundings.

Hence, ASUS TUF can be your next favorite gaming laptop. With all of the great given features offered in such a budget, this gaming laptop priced under $1500 is of great value.

 2019 ASUS TUF 17.3" FHD Gaming Laptop

Pros

  • Breakneck speed
  • Large storage memory

Cons

  • Loud noise from the touchpad

[Best For The Money]

4.9/5

MSI GF63 covers all of the best functions that a gaming laptop should deliver. You can have all of the best configuration settings, including GTX 1050Ti graphics, max memory exceeding up to 64GB, and the most realistic 3D sound system. Despite serving all of these features, its battery storage does not defect easily. It lasts for roughly 7 hours without charging even though it's a really thin laptop.

Compiled with the latest 9th Gen Intel 6-Core Processors, it's your pleasure to enjoy the rendering speed boosting up to 10% compared to previous Intel core generation. This laptop is a real gaming weapon!

Cooling is one of the advantages we find on this laptop. It occurs to cool down in overloading situations, blending into any environment.

One more good thing about MSI GF63 is it is well-built. This is a lightweight laptop and can be carried anywhere at any time, which expands your gaming diversity in time and location. While most gaming laptops tend to be heavy and situated, this one is preferably differentiated.

The camera installation on this laptop can frustrate you somehow. If this device is a must-have item in your criteria, consider this factor carefully before purchasing this.

MSI GF63 is guaranteed to exceed your expectations in a budget gaming laptop around $600. You can enjoy an incredible gaming experience without having to spend a fortune.

Well-built structure: thin and lightweight

Pros

  • Great display resolution
  • Fantastic gaming life
  • Well-built structure: thin and lightweight
  • Full configuration settings

Cons

  • Camera systems go wrong easily

[Best For The Great Performance]

4.8/5

For an extremely affordable budget, this HP laptop can serve you well. With its level of strength about speed, storage, RAM, this is one of the cheapest gaming laptops you can get.

GTX 1050Ti graphics preserve a stable processing speed while multitasking. Let the gaming be a real lifelike journey! Under gaming conditions, this laptop can perform satisfactorily, however, make sure you plug it in or else the battery will drain so fast that you won't even notice.

Heat can arise shortly after heavy-duty games; that is why a cooling pad is a must to minimize the laptop malfunction caused by overheating.

The keyboard is approachable, yet includes LED green lights for nighttime, suitably made for gamers.

While functioning, HP Pavilion Gaming can make a noise, especially with combat games. Consider before purchasing this if your surrounding environment requires quietness. Also, the screen resolution is not HP's best advantage as it may malfunction when processing large images.

Hence, for the budget of around $700 it offers and the strength, it provides an appropriate gaming experience, you can take this gaming laptop into account.

 HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop 15.6

Pros

  • Affordable
  • Performing games well
  • Alternative LED screen lights

Cons

  • Heavy

If you are looking for an affordable gaming laptop under $800 with the best quality images produced, then this Acer Nitro 5 AN515-42-R5ED is the one to die for!

The 15.6" Full HD (1920 x 1080) widescreen LED-backlit IPS display screen will bring your gaming experience onto a whole new level. To be fully immersed in your own visualized world, isn't it delightful?

Well, this laptop can’t leave you with magnificent graphics only. Be ready to dig in the combat with the excitement of every sound action as the Dolby Audio Premium and Acer TrueHarmony Plus bring to you. Acer Nitro 5 is here to bring you the best combat ever!

Your gaming can be executed precisely sharp due to the help of the powerful administration given, great storage alongside the latest Mobile Processor included. All of these features compromise to lead you to victory! With no more crashing interrupted, gaming with Acer Nitro 5 will be extremely satisfactory.

You may worry that the laptop may overpower after a long time using it. Well, this Acer laptop covers the Nitrosense, which is a long-term managed system to control the laptop's overall working condition, maintaining its productivity and efficiency. Nitrosense will solve your worry in no time.

If you don't plug in for games, we're afraid that your gaming experience may not be well performed. Remember to provide an electric connection towards the laptop for no unexpected shutdown.

Consider this laptop for a great time playing with little money!

 Acer Nitro 5 AN515-42-R5ED Gaming Laptop

Pros

  • Sleek, modern design
  • Excellent screen resolution, high-quality images delivered
  • Large memory storage
  • Quality sound system
  • Best for multitasking

Cons

  • The SAMSUNG 55-Inch Class Crystal UHD TU-8000 Series is expensive.

Dell has manufactured high quality yet affordable laptops for decades and this Dell G3 Gaming laptop is not an exception. Its powerful core consists of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 with 4GB GDDR5 graphics memory.

This configuration allows gaming to be produced at higher settings from the image resolution on the 15-inch screen to the sound system of Waves MaxxAudio Pro. Realistic gameplay visualized from every angle is what you will get from this Dell G3.

The backlight of the keyboard aims to help you focus once you start gaming in the nighttime.

The one thing I didn't like about Dell G3 is that its weight is significant. If you have to carry your laptop around all the time, be ready for extra weight.

To conclude, with a reasonable price point under $1000, Dell G3 has done its job perfectly fine, especially when it comes to gaming.

 Dell G3 Gaming Laptop

Pros

  • Strong configuration
  • High-quality settings for gaming
  • Great sound system

Cons

  • Cooling issues

What Needs To Be Considered When Buying A Budget Gaming Laptop?

Get A High-quality Gpu

If you intend to buy a gaming laptop, it's best to choose a mid-high-end laptop to make sure that you can use it for a couple of years. Most games depend on GPUs for graphics. Lower budget options might not last long and can't play all games.

For that reason, choosing a good GPU is vital as it will eventually determine whether your games can be played in high settings for a long time.

Radeon vs nvidia

GPU, or as the graphic card, is the core element whose mission is data processing, followed by the signal transmitting to the monitor, and finally delivering images on your laptop display. Depending on how cumbersome your gaming process may be, you may have to purchase a VRAM.

The budget laptop nowadays is found to be assigned with Nvidia GPUs or AMD. Due to your preference, you are welcomed to select which laptop brand that comes at your expectation.

Anti-ghosting and n-key rollover: Anti-ghosting is a must-have feature in gaming laptops. This feature allows you to hit several buttons at a time to release that kick-ass move and ensure all of them still function correctly, maintaining your game result.

Cpu And Ram: Operation Is The Key!

No matter how dedicated you have considered before buying a GPU, without the processor and RAM, your laptop still cannot come into life.

The central processor unit (CPU) is the main chip handling the non-graphic details, including calculating the game's physics, controlling the game's characters, etc. It is also responsible to render all the non-gaming applications in your laptop such as your web browsers.

Here are some tips for you to pick the right CPU and RAM:

Choose at least 6th-Gen Core Intel. Search for a quad-core chip instead of dual-core. You can identify if a chip is dual-core or not by investigating the last letters of its model number. They probably end with HQ or HK.

Clock Speed Matters: Remember to check the clock speed when you purchase a CPU, higher numbers equal higher speed8GB Is Enough: Do not think of getting a gaming laptop that has a RAM less than 8GB. 16GB is excellent, but trust me, you won't need that much to play games smoothly.

Three rams

Display

Most gaming laptops come in size 15 - 17 inches. This size is perfect for both gaming and in events when you want to take the notebook out. Smaller 14-inch size is not compatible with good gaming experience, while the 18-inch panel is not portable at all.

Resolution

Do not save your money by choosing a laptop with its display less than 1920 x 1080. You don't want to spend another fortune on broken images. On the chance you own an RTX 2070 or RTX 2080, a 2560 x 1440 display is a better choice.

The most accepted standard of a laptop's refresh rate is 1080p resolution and a 60Hz display. In our opinion, these criteria are enough for gamers to rock. A higher resolution is not a wrong choice. However, it tops out the frequency.

Avoid touch screens

Touch screens are not necessary for gaming laptops. It also costs extra money and battery usage.

Laptop's Keyboard

Key travel is a measuring term to calculate how deep you press a key on the keyboard. Key travel approximately fluctuates from 1.5 - 2 millimeters to keep you from typing onto the keyboard frame or mistyping. These spaces are enough for your fingers to lay down typing effortlessly.

On the other hand, n-key rollover operates oppositely, with each key solely works and will be active no matter which other keys are being pressed.

Backlighting: The lighting on laptops with backlit keyboards often comes in either red or white. Depending on your preference, you can customize which, when, and how the keyboard's color shows.

Keyboard of a laptop

Sound

A good gaming experience, as we have said before, includes vision and hearing also. A good sound system from the laptop will bring your gaming experience to the A-game.

Most of you may prefer headphones to observe the sounds, while some others prefer live-action beats coming directly from the speaker.

Nahimic audio software is the one software you should take into account as it brings out the most precise, natural combat sound.

Second ranks go to Alienware's Dell Audio software, followed by Dolby Home Theater v4 in Lenovo laptops, these two softwares serve high-quality soundcheck verification.

Gaming laptop

Frequently Asked Questions 

Q: How Long Can The Battery Last In A Gaming Laptop?

Cheap gaming laptops that are unplugged can be in use for roughly 3-4 hours. In case you tend to move around, it is best to bring along a charger to make sure that your laptop stays alive, ready for your game set anytime!

Q: What Laptop Brand Should I Choose To Purchase A Budget Gaming Laptop?

There are a variety of laptop brands in the market. However, in this article, we will focus on the offer of 5 most well-known technology names for budget gaming laptops:

Asus - Gaming laptops produced by Asus are sleek and modern. Depending on the notebook you choose, it may include ROG Gaming Center software, which shares information throughout devices, or the Aura Core can help you to customize RGB backlighting.

Acer - Hardware from Acer is affordable, contrary to the costly innovation it has brought to the market, such as the curved display or mechanical keyboard. Purchasing a gaming laptop from Acer equals the chance of observing CPU and GPU status regularly and customizing fan mode.

HP - HP recently outgrows in the gaming laptop industry, but you know what they say, the later, the better. With the installation of an app called Omen Command Center, you can see in detail how your CPU and GPU functioned, how your RAM utilized and how your network was built.

Lenovo - For gamers to adapt to Legion (Lenovo's gaming lineup) more effectively, it has been redesigned to become more minimalistic. Legion is an update from the Vantage app whose main focus is GPU, processor, and storage capability.

MSI - You may find these big, black and red, dragon-trademark laptops familiar. MSI laptops are also known for their famous Dragon Center software, which is responsible for system investigating, multiple tasks performing, and adjusting keyboard backlighting.

Conclusion

A gaming laptop is not something too fancy to be dreamt of. For a low budget, we guarantee that you can find the laptop that suits your gaming needs in the best way.

Out of the five options for budget gaming laptops we present, our recommendation goes to the MSI GF63. This gaming laptop offers every technological detail to the finest point, ensuring every single minute of your gaming experience is worthy and delightful.

Through this review, we sincerely hope you can find the most suitable options for yourself. A laptop is an indispensable device in modern lives, and you must take things into consideration and select the best budget gaming laptop. Thank you for reading our article.

About Dusan Stanar

I'm the founder of VSS Monitoring. I have been both writing and working in technology in a number of roles for dozens of years and wanted to bring my experience online to make it publicly available. Visit https://www.vssmonitoring.com/about-us/ to read more about myself and the rest of the team.