These are the top 3 best budget gaming laptops this year!
We’ll start out with the best and work our way down the list.
Then afterwards I’ll share the worst models that you should avoid!
First up we’ve got the LOQ 15 and 16 from Lenovo, which are the best budget gaming laptops
right now.
The build feels sturdier compared to the others we’ll cover, and you’re getting premium
features that are normally found in much more expensive gaming laptops, like the MUX switch
and advanced optimus, which automatically boosts FPS in games.
The screens even have G-Sync for smoother gameplay.
The RTX 4050 version with 8 core Zen 4 processor has gone on sale for just $750 USD.
This is very competitive compared to other brands, and is why we’ve got it listed on
the gaminglaptop.deals website.
The link is below to save money on your next gaming laptop.
There’s also a cheaper LOQ with RTX 3050 graphics, but honestly, I think the 4050 is
worth spending 20% more money on if you can afford it, because the 4050 is 38% faster
in games and supported games can use frame generation with the 4050.
The next best budget gaming laptop this year is Acer’s Nitro 5.
We’ve also had this laptop with RTX 4050 graphics listed on the gaminglaptop.deals
website for $750, just like Lenovo’s LOQ.
The Nitro is a nice gaming laptop overall, especially compared to some of the others
we’ll get to later, but it’s not as good compared to the LOQ if they’re available
for the same price.
The Nitro has more of a gamer aesthetic, but also a last gen processor, and it does not
have advanced optimus or G-Sync.
It still has a MUX switch, the full powered 4050 runs modern games well, and overall build
quality is still decent considering it’s all plastic, just like the LOQ.
It’s pretty much the same as the Nitro 5 from last year.
All they’ve really done is put the latest Nvidia RTX 40 series graphics inside, whereas
the LOQ is a new design this year.
Just before we get into the models you should avoid, we’ve got HP’s Victus in third
place.
The RTX 4050 Victus is too expensive compared to the previous laptops covered, and the overall
build quality isn’t quite as nice compared to the LOQ and Nitro in my opinion.
Where the Victus really shines is with the lower tier RTX 2050 for just $500 USD on sale.
This is $250 cheaper compared to the previous options, so I wanted to include it for those
with a tighter budget.
This is as cheap as you’ll find a brand new entry level gaming laptop today.
The RTX 2050 performs the same as the RTX 3050, despite the different name and the 3050
usually costing more, so it’s quite good if you’ve only got 500 bucks to spend and
can’t extend the budget.
I’ve chosen to focus on gaming laptops with RTX 4050 graphics, as that came out this year.
And I’ve also favored models that tend to have good sales.
You can definitely save more money on cheaper RTX 2050 or 3050 gaming laptops, but with
just 4 gigs of VRAM compared to 6, well I just don’t think they’re going to age
as well with future games.
So the 4050 has an edge.
Alright so which laptops should you avoid?
The last thing you want to do is make a mistake when spending your hard earned cash on a new
gaming laptop.
ASUS’s TUF series is hard to justify at the moment.
Whether we’re talking about the A15 with AMD processor, or F15 with Intel processor,
it’s just too expensive.
Fortunately, this can change, and price aside it is a good laptop.
I mean the RTX 2050 version with a CPU from 2 generations ago is still $700.
You’d be way better off getting one of the earlier RTX 4050 laptops for just $50 extra,
which will destroy it in games.
Or that HP Victus is $200 less for the same GPU but a better CPU.
Now that said, overall I think the current gen TUF laptops are better than current gen
Victus laptops, but the RTX 4050 TUF is just a rip off at the moment.
Hopefully we see some nice Black Friday sales soon.
ASUS also has the TUF A16, which is basically a TUF A15 but with a slightly bigger 16:10
screen and Radeon RX 7600S graphics instead of Nvidia.
Best case, so far the A16 has gone on sale for $800 USD, so 50 bucks more expensive compared
to some of our RTX 4050 laptops.
Based on our testing, the 7600S is pretty similar in games compared to the RTX 4050,
so if you have to spend more for the A16 then it doesn’t seem worth it.
Dell generally isn’t a great option in the budget segment because they don’t really
have lower end options.
Their G15 and G16 gaming laptop range is closer to what I consider mid-range.
Even with a good sale, the G15 with RTX 4050 is still $900.
I mean it’s possible to get a Gigabyte G5 with RTX 4060 and double the RAM for the same
price, granted with a lower tier CPU, and the Dell has better build quality.
To be fair, Gigabyte’s lower powered RTX 4060 ends up performing close to full powered
RTX 4050 laptops in games.
But the 4060 has more VRAM, which will be useful as games start getting more demanding.
Gigabyte’s G5 is kind of hard to recommend as well though.
Again the main problem is there are RTX 4050 laptops for $150 less like the Lenovo LOQ
or Acer Nitro 5 which perform similarly in games, but also have better build quality
and more features like the MUX switch, and even advanced optimus in the case of the LOQ.
Again the 4060 with the G5 does get you more VRAM, but it’s hard for me to recommend
when it’s worse in most other regards.
MSI certainly has a lot of cheaper gaming laptop options, but their build quality just
feels the worst compared to all the other brands.
The GF63 in particular is often one of the cheapest gaming laptops available, but that’s
because the chassis hasn’t changed in what must be more than 3 years.
It just feels super cheap with a low quality screen, but if it’s all you can afford,
well, it will still play games.
This is an older screenshot from a few weeks ago, but we had the RTX 4050 version on the
gaminglaptop.deals website for $669, which is the cheapest we’ve seen a 4050 laptop
so far.
The catch is its RTX 4050 is lower powered, so it doesn’t perform anywhere near as good
compared to other laptops with full powered 4050s, which in the case of Acer’s Nitro
5 is just $80 extra, or 12% more money for 20% to 40% more FPS in games.
Not to mention a much higher quality feeling design and better features.
There’s way more to picking a gaming laptop than just getting the best graphics you can
afford.
Check out this video next to find out everything you should consider before spending your hard
earned cash.
Otherwise I’ve got full reviews on all of these laptops covered in more detail with
the links below.