Best cheap gaming laptop in January 2024

Cheap as chips (relatively speaking) these good value laptops are the ideal options if you're interested in mobile laptop gaming

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If you’re on the lookout for the best cheap gaming laptop in 2024 then we’ve got you covered. This guide will include a range of different options, spanning from the truly budget devices to those in the lower-mid tier price range, and covering the different resolutions available at this price, plus some different screen sizes and panel types.

This guide will essentially be picking the best options from our individual price guides, between best gaming laptop under $500 and best gaming laptop under $1,000 (you can see the rest in the dropdown menu at the top of this page). We will be updating this page regularly as new models come out that we think are worthy of inclusion. If you’re pressed for time, we suggest either the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 or the Acer Nitro 5 for 1080p models, the HP Victus 16 if you want a 1440p device, or Lenovo Legion 5 with RTX 3050 Ti if you’re after something particularly cheap.

What constitutes a cheap gaming laptop?

Cheap is obviously a relative term and there’s no technical definition of what constitutes a cheap gaming laptop, however ‘budget’ gaming laptops are generally considered to be up to around the $1,000 mark. For the purpose of this guide then we’ll be using $1,000 as a loose upper ceiling, though if we consider a laptop to be worth spending a bit more on because of the value it brings then we may include it.

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Best cheap gaming laptop 2024

Best cheap gaming laptop with 1080p resolution

Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3 (Ryzen 7 7735HS)

CPU

AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS

Graphics Card

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050

RAM

16GB DDR5 RAM

Storage

1TB PCIe SSD

Max Refresh Rate

120Hz

Resolution

1920 x 1080

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Pros

• Good budget gaming performance
• Powerful CPU option for the price
• 16GB DDR5 RAM & 512GB SSD
• Solid battery life

Cons

• Screen could be brighter

The Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3 ranks as our top selection in our best RTX 4050 laptop guide, which makes it an ideal pick for the best cheap 1080p gaming laptop overall. This GPU is paired with one of the latest Ryzen 7000 series laptop CPUs, specifically the Ryzen 7 7735HS, which is pretty powerful for the price. The combination of these two components makes a formidable affordable gaming machine.In addition to this, you get 16GB of DDR5 RAM and a 512GB SSD for storage.

The screen has a 120Hz maximum refresh rate, which is adequate for most users – serious competitive gamers will likely want something considerably faster, however you’d also likely want to spend more money if this is the case than this guide covers. The peak screen brightness is a bit disappointing, and the color replication is also pretty poor (covering approximately 50% sRGB) but these is pretty much the only downsides of this laptop.

Even the battery life of this IdeaPad Gaming 3 is good considering the budget, lasting around 6 hours during general usage (e.g., web browsing), which is a solid performance for a gaming laptop in this price range.

The next best cheap 1080p gaming laptop

Acer Nitro 5 (144Hz 1080p, i5-12500H)

CPU

Intel Core i5-12500H

Graphics Card

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050

RAM

16GB LPDDR5

Storage

512GB SSD

Max Refresh Rate

144Hz

Resolution

1920 x 1080

How We Review

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Pros

• Good performance for a budget laptop
• 144Hz display
• 16GB DDR5 RAM & 512GB SSD
• Good contrast
• Decent build quality for a cheap machine

Cons

• Could be brighter
• Battery life could be better

This particular Acer Nitro 5 with RTX 4050 GPU and Intel i5-12500H CPU, may not quite match the CPU power and energy efficiency of our top pick with a Ryzen CPU, however, it does have the edge in a couple that could appeal to certain consumers.

We tested and benchmarked the laptop in our in-depth Acer Nitro 5 2023 review, and found it to be a surprisingly powerful in-game performer, particularly in those games that can leverage FSR/DLSS 3.0. 

The machine also has the advantage of a faster 144Hz display refresh rate, which might not be a significant improvement but can benefit those interested in playing older, less demanding games like CS:GO in competitive play, offering an extra 24Hz for an additional 24 effective FPS. This laptop also boasts superior build quality and a higher contrast ratio (1700:1), well above the average in this price range. However, issues with a dim screen and less than stellar color replication persist. The battery life is also relatively at around 4 hours of non-strenuous use. Still, this is a great cheap gaming laptop.

Best cheap gaming laptop with 1440p resolution

HP Victus 16 (240Hz 1440p, Ryzen 7 7840HS)

CPU

AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS

Graphics

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

RAM

16GB

Storage

512GB SSD

Screen Size

16.1”

Max Refresh Rate

240Hz

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Pros

• High-powered CPU & GPU for the price
• 240Hz max refresh rate
• 1440p display
• 16GB DDR5 RAM & 512GB SSD

Cons

• Cheap build quality & screen wobble

The HP Victus is the brand’s budget range of gaming laptops, with cheaper construction than the more well-known HP Omen range, but for this trade-off you get more impressive specs than you’d normally be able to for some of the lowest prices around.

This particular HP Victus 16 is no exception, coming with a 16-inch high-res QHD display than has a very impressive max refresh rate of 240Hz – a very rare sight at this price point.

On top of this, the laptop also comes with an Nvidia RTX 4060 graphics card and AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS processor. Although the graphics card might be relatively underpowered compared to other RTX 4060s, it’s still a great performer when looking at this price point, and when paired with the processor it can really produce and impressive performance/price.

Best cheap gaming laptop with 1600p resolution

Acer Nitro 16 (165Hz 1600p, Intel i5-13500H)

CPU

Intel i5-13500H

Graphics Card

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 / 4060 / 4070

RAM

16GB LPDDR5

Storage

512GB – 1TB SSD

Max Refresh Rate

165Hz

Resolution

2560 x 1600)

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Pros

• Solid performing GPU & CPU combination
• 165Hz display
• 1600p display with G-Sync
• 512GB SSD
• Decent build quality for a cheaper device

Cons

• Only 8GB RAM

The Acer Nitro 16 is a newer entry to the Acer Nitro range, which used to include just the Acer Nitro 5 – a true budget device. Instead the Acer Nitro 16 offers a slightly better quality of device, particularly in terms of the display, whilst still being very affordable. If you’re after a 16:10 aspect ratio 1600p display, then this is one of the cheapest you’ll find on the market.

The combination of the Nvidia RTX 4050 and Intel 13th gen Core i5-13500H provide good gaming performance, and the 165Hz display has a better brightness and color replication than some of the cheaper options on this page (although still definitely not good enough for visual creatives). It even has G-Sync to reduce screen tearing – not something you commonly see on cheaper devices.

The main downside of this gaming laptop is that its often listed with only 8GB of RAM at this price point, which we’d recommend upgrading yourself to 16GB.

A truly budget-friendly gaming laptop

Lenovo Legion 5 (RTX 3050 Ti, Ryzen 5 5600H)

CPU

AMD Ryzen 5 5600H

Graphics Card

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti

RAM

8GB DDR4

Max Refresh Rate

120Hz

Resolution

1920 x 1080

Screen Size

15.6″

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Pros

• RTX 3050 Ti laptop GPU option for cheap
• 120Hz refresh rate for cheap
• Good battery life
• Good build quality

Cons

• only 8GB of RAM

This Lenovo Legion 5 is an excellent affordable choice from a brand that frequently appears in our best gaming laptop recommendations. This particular model is equipped with a GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics card. While it’s not one of the highest-performing GPUs available, for the money you’ll get solid performance that will allow you to play some older or less demanding titles on high settings, or newer games on the lower graphical pre-sets. 

The processor is an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H, which delivers solid performance. It also offers great battery life, lasting approximately 7 hours during non-gaming use when all power-saving settings are enabled, which is significantly above average for a gaming laptop.

The build quality of the device is impressive, despite its affordable price tag. It feels more robust with less of a plastic-like texture and screen wobble than other ranges from different brands. The keyboard quality is also commendable.

Best cheap OLED gaming laptop

Gigabyte AERO 14 (90Hz OLED 1800p)

CPU

Intel Core i5-12500H / i7-13700H

Graphics Card

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050

RAM

16GB LPDDR5

Storage

1TB SSD

Max Refresh Rate

90Hz

Resolution

2880 x 1800

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Pros

• 90Hz OLED display
• Good price for a 1800p OLED laptop
• Good brightness, color replication &accuracy (below calibrated brightness)
• Good keyboard
• 16GB LPDDR5 RAM and 1TB SSD
• Solid battery life

Cons

• Relatively low TGP RTX 4050
• Color accuracy drops on higher brightness settings

If you’re looking for a laptop that can handle both entry-level gaming and creative visual workflows, then Gigabyte AERO 14 OLED is an ideal choice thanks to its superb 3K OLED screen which still manages a 90Hz refresh rate. For the standard MSRP its outside of the price range of this guide, but it’s regularly on offer for less than $1,300. This might still be more than the other selections on this page, but it’s is rare to find a screen like this at this price point.

The screen boasts an excellent brightness, fantastic color gamut coverage (100% sRGB and 99% DCI-P3), and good color accuracy, making it perfect for color-centric tasks. Although one should note that the color accuracy drops substantially at brightness levels above 161.348 cd/m², which may affect outdoor color grading.

You have two CPU options: an Intel 12th gen 12500H or a newer, more powerful 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700H for an additional cost. The laptop comes with 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and a generous 1TB SSD. It offers a decent selection of ports, a high-quality keyboard, and respectable build quality. Impressively, it provides around 7 hours of battery life.

The main drawback compared to other laptops in this category is the RTX 4050 graphics card’s lower TGP (Total Graphics Power), resulting in slightly inferior performance, but it’s still a capable machine.

An older gen 1080p gaming laptop

MSI GF65 Thin (15.6″, 144Hz)

CPU

Intel i7-9750H / i7-10750H

Graphics Card

Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 / RTX 3060

RAM

8GB

Max Refresh Rate

144Hz

Resolution

1920 x 1080

Screen Size

15.6”

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Pros

• Decent CPU & GPU performance for the price
• 144Hz screen

Cons

• Only 8GB of RAM
• Not as thin as the name would suggest

The MSI GF65 Thin with RTX 3060 is a bit of an old girl now, but she still has some decent specs for the price if you don’t mind opting for an older-gen machine.

RTX 3060 laptop GPUs generally hit harder than RTX 4050 laptop GPUs do (excluding the additional frame-generation performance of the newer cards), though the one in this GF65 is admittedly a relatively underpowered one. Still, when paired with the Intel Core i7-10750H it will perform about as well as most of the other laptops on this page in FPS terms in-game. 

You can expect around 5 hours battery life at most for non-gaming usage, which is about average for a gaming laptop. The 1080p display features an impressive 144Hz refresh rate, and while its color gamut is narrow and peak brightness less than impressive, its adequate for gaming.

Unfortunately, the RAM included with this variant is only 8GB (DDR4), but it can be upgraded if you’re comfortable doing it yourself. The laptop’s speakers, keyboard, and trackpad are functional but basic. Finally, despite its name, the MSI GF65 isn’t extremely thin or lightweight, though it’s not heavy either.

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Things to consider when buying a cheap gaming laptop

If it’s been a while since you bought a gaming laptop, or you’re new to the game, keep in mind the following before you pull the trigger.

What laptop graphics card do you need to run the latest games?

Gaming laptops that we’d consider to be ‘cheap’ will cap out at around an RTX 3060 / RTX 4050 / RTX 4060 GPU, with higher SKU devices costing more money.

If you’re buying a cheap gaming laptop, you have to settle for the fact that you’re not going to be able to play the most demanding games on high graphical settings, particularly at the higher resolutions. This is not to say that you won’t be able to play new games with the hardware here, just that notoriously poorly optimised games like CyberPunk 2077 will need their settings turning down if you want to run them on these laptops. You can take a look at the benchmarking performance we saw in our Acer Nitro 5 with RTX 4050 review to get a good idea of what kind of FPS you can expect in a variety of games.

How much RAM & storage do you need for gaming?

In previous years, 8GB was just about enough RAM to meet the minimum requirements of all games, however these days some titles require 16GB as a minimum. Generally 16GB is the standard we recommend everyone aim for in terms of gaming laptop memory. More than this is useful for workstation software and for opening a lot of tabs in your browser, but won’t really improve your gaming performance.

Cheap gaming laptop FAQs

Can I use a cheap laptop for gaming?

As along as you’re okay with not playing the latest, most demanding games on the highest settings, then you can use a gaming laptop that’s cheap by gaming laptop standards (i.e. under $500), but this will still set you back a fair bit of money.

Standard, non-gaming laptops without dedicated graphics cards are cheaper, but they will struggle to play games unless they’re very old and/or non-demanding (e.g. The Sims 4 or similar titles). Always check out the recommended system requirements of a game you’re interested in to see if a laptop can play it.

What’s the best cheap laptop for gaming?

There are multiple cheap laptops that are good for gaming, though the particular model that you should get depends upon your specific needs.

We recommend particular models from the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming range, the Acer Nitro 5, and HP Victus. Read within for all the details.

Best cheap gaming laptop 2024: Final Word

We hope this has helped you find the best cheap gaming laptop for your needs in 2024. Do be sure to take a look at our other gaming laptop guides, including our main best gaming laptop page, if you didn’t find what you were looking for here. We’ve got selections covering every price point and use case.