No laptop is a true gaming machine unless it comes with a dedicated graphics processor (GPU), as opposed to the integrated graphics built into most laptops' main processor (CPU). For us—and for sellers of laptops—that's the bright line that divides a gamer from a pretender.
While this is true, Intel's 11th Generation "Tiger Lake" CPUs changed the calculus on this position somewhat, as they introduced notably improved integrated graphics, which have persisted in generations since. The latest processors can run some "real" games at low settings, as shown in our integrated graphics testing.
Ultimately, though, they too are still well short of the performance of a discrete GPU found in a gaming laptop. The traditional $1,000 line that defined budget gaming systems has gotten a bit blurrier in 2023, with costs rising, but we'll run down what to look for, sticking as closely to that figure as possible. Read on for a breakdown of our current best budget gaming laptops for 2023, all given PCMag's thorough testing regimen, followed by a guide to what to look for in the right laptop for you.
So, ready to buy a gaming laptop? We assume you want to do more than play games at low settings—you have a Steam account, and you ache to play some of the latest AAA games in all their glory. That's where a dedicated graphics processor (GPU) comes in. It's the starting point for getting serious about gaming on a notebook.
If you're truly serious and insist on playing all your games at very high detail settings and the highest possible screen resolution (for most entry-level laptops, that's 1,920 by 1,080 pixels, assuming you're playing on the laptop's screen and not an external display), you're just going to have to shell out some bucks, especially if you want that laptop to stay game-viable at those settings for more than a couple of years.
(Credit: Molly Flores)High-end future-proofing like that demands top-end graphics silicon: Nvidia's mighty GeForce RTX 3070 and 3080 were the latest and greatest by the end of 2021, and the RTX 3070 Ti and 3080 Ti launched on laptops in early 2022. You will likely still find these in some systems in 2023, but now the newest GeForce RTX 40 series defines the high end in gaming laptops. Getting one of those GPUs mostly still means big spending, though, and at current prices, they are well outside of the budget range, with most models containing them closer to $2,000 than $1,000. You're more likely to find the RTX 30 family at this price level, though the lower-end RTX 40 Series GPUs are becoming more common—you'll find more detail on this in the GPU section below.
Take comfort, though, that times have changed. You don't necessarily need one of the top-line GPUs for solid gaming performance. With scarce compromise, you can enjoy some very respectable gaming at 1080p in machines a notch or two down from the GeForce RTX elite. Pricing fluctuates considerably in 2023, but these machines are available for just under or just above $1,000, depending on the retailer and any sales. Budget-priced gaming laptops are now an established category, not outliers, and have been embraced by the major players. We've tested models from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and MSI, as well as a few others.
Here's how to make sense of their components—and get the most for your money.
Components in Cheap Gaming Laptops: What to Look For, Part by Part
Our first bit of advice? If gaming's your primary focus and your budget really does dead-stop at $1,000, get the best GPU you can for the money, and let everything else follow from there. That may be at the expense of another spec or two—a little less storage, say, or a Core i5 processor instead of a Core i7.
(Credit: Molly Flores)That said, most notebooks aren't upgradable, apart from their primary system memory (RAM, not to be confused with the graphics memory) and in some cases, the storage. You're going to be stuck with the screen, the graphics chip, and the processor you buy now, so evaluate these parts wisely. If you can stretch your budget a bit to get the next-tier-higher component, it can pay dividends in terms of usable life.
Which CPU Should You Get in a Cheap Gaming Laptop?
Some of today's games, especially in the strategy and simulation categories, tend to hammer the processor. Dual-core processors are a thing of the past, for good reason: Some AAA games call explicitly for quad-core CPUs as a minimum.
That said, a maxed-out Core i7 or Core i9 CPU is less crucial for gaming than it is for processor-intensive tasks such as video editing and media-file production work. With the 11th and 12th Generation Intel CPUs that dominate budget gaming laptops at the moment, you'll get plenty of pep even from Core i5 CPUs. Intel's 13th Generation chips launched this year, but we've mostly seen Core i7 and Core i9 chips in more expensive laptops so far; eventually, Core i5 systems will roll out in this tier. A Core i7 from these generations would be a super-efficient processor that we'd argue, while helpful to have and a marked performance difference, is overkill for casual gamers allocating a tight budget. A modern Core i5 chip will more than likely serve you just fine in a budget gaming laptop.
(Credit: Molly Flores)Intel's 11th Generation "Tiger Lake" processors took over in 2021 models, but these have mostly been phased out by now, with the 12th Generation "Alder Lake" mobile processors taking over through 2022. We're now in the process of repeating that cycle with the 13th Gen chips, but as mentioned, those haven't hit most laptop lines around $1,000 quite yet. For now, plenty of the laptops you see in our recommendations will still use 11th and 12th Generation chips (that is, Core processors whose number designation starts with "11" or "12"). But 13th Gen chips will take over as 2023 progresses.
Meanwhile, on the AMD side of the fence, things are looking up, big time. Previously, AMD CPUs and GPUs were rarely seen in midrange and high-end laptops, but they were good fits for budget laptops (because the components were generally cheaper value plays, to begin with). Even then, there weren't too many laptops with AMD chips. That started to change in 2020 across all price tiers with the release of laptop chips based on the company's Zen 2 microarchitecture. As the Zen 2 processors did on desktops, these Zen 2-based "Renoir" processors challenged Intel on laptops in 2020.
AMD upped the ante in 2021 with the launch of its Zen 3-based Ryzen 5000 mobile CPUs, and roughly kept pace with Intel with its Ryzen 6000 platform last year. In 2023, Zen 4-based Ryzen 7000 laptops have launched as well, but like Intel's 13th Gen chips, these won't be seen in budget systems for a while. Long story short, we now see more laptops with AMD's Ryzen 5 or 7 mobile CPUs than ever, but Intel is still more common overall.
How Much Memory Is Enough for Gaming?
Given an around-$1,000 budget, 8GB is the minimum memory you should settle for. (We haven't seen less in a machine with dedicated graphics for some years now.) Some sub-$1,000 machines with dedicated graphics won't have any more than that, but 8GB is adequate for most moderate use and mainstream gaming. It used to be that 8GB of RAM was far more common than 16GB, but even in the budget tier these days, you'll find many of our picks include 16GB.
Whether the laptop's RAM is user-upgradable later on, and what the ceiling is, are further facets to investigate. That said, even if you can upgrade the memory, the laptop may come with memory modules occupying both slots, which would mean replacing them both when upgrading later. It's best to get what you need up front.
How Much Storage Is Enough in a Cheap Gaming Laptop?
Even in the budget tier, laptops now default to using solid-state drives (SSDs) as opposed to hard drives (HDDs) in 2023. The occasional 17.3-inch-screen model might offer a small-capacity SSD boot drive alongside a secondary-storage platter hard drive, but by and large, standalone SSDs now reign supreme. (Note that most budget gaming laptops under a grand will be 15.6-inchers.)
(Credit: Molly Flores)You can still opt for this dual-drive approach if you can find it and afford it, but it isn't the norm any longer. If you can find such a laptop, the smaller, faster SSD would be home to the operating system and a few favorite games, and the larger, more economical hard drive would host the rest of your games and other programs that don't need quick loading times. (It's possible to split your Steam and other game libraries across drives.) Some larger-bodied budget gaming laptops let you add the second drive yourself inside an empty 2.5-inch bay inside. That can be the most economical choice, since 2.5-inch hard drives of significant capacity are easy to find for well less than $100.
In a gaming laptop, an SSD plus a hard drive is the best of both storage worlds. This is especially recommended given how large modern game installations have become, ballooning over 100GB at times. Your small SSD will fill up quickly, so 512GB is the minimum you should aim for in a gaming laptop.
In terms of gaming performance, the storage subsystem affects game load times and in-game level changes. It can be of special importance in open-world games, where huge environments are loaded in real-time. Thus, having at least some fast, SSD-based storage is desirable. To our eyes, you should only opt for an SSD boot drive at this point. The difference in performance "feel" between a hard drive and an SSD boot drive is too big to ignore. (See our picks for the fastest SSDs.)
Optical drives are extinct on new gaming laptops at any screen size these days. Even if you have lots of games on disc, know that you can always use an external USB DVD/CD drive in a pinch, and they cost just $20 or so.
What Kind of Display to Get in a Cheap Gaming Laptop?
You should keep four specs in mind when looking at a given gaming laptop's display panel: the screen size, the native resolution, the refresh rate, and the panel type.
As we noted earlier, 15.6 inches is the general screen-size rule for most gaming laptops that cost around $1,000. This size is a good compromise in ways that extend beyond cost. Sometimes, gaming on the biggest laptop screen possible—there is a spread of 16-, 17-, and 18-inch machines these days—is the way to go. They aren't as portable, though (many of these notebooks weigh six pounds or more), and the lightest ones tend to be far from the cheapest.
(Credit: Molly Flores)A 15-inch gamer still won't be an ideal daily traveler, but most are a lot more manageable than their larger kin. Also, today's 15-inch gaming rigs are better suited for use in true mobile fashion—that is, off an AC power plug—than those of past years. We've seen a few hit six or more hours of battery life, albeit in everyday productivity use or playing back video; gaming will trim that number considerably. (See our picks for the laptops with the best battery life.)
As for the screen's native resolution, 1,920 by 1,080 pixels (commonly called 1080p) is the norm in budget-priced and mainstream gaming machines. The more pixels you need to push, the more graphics power you need, and a savvy maker of gaming laptops won't outfit a laptop with a screen whose native resolution the GPU can't do justice. So the scarcity of higher-than-HD screens in budget gaming machines is no accident. Not only do such screens cost more and sap more battery life, but the graphics chips found in under-$1,000 gaming rigs wouldn't power gameplay on them very well. (Screens with resolutions much higher than 1080p tend to look small and squinty at the 15-inch size, anyway.)
How to Adjust Windows Settings for Best Laptop Battery LifeDisplay Details: Refresh Rate and Panel Type
Like the native resolution, you should take note of the panel's refresh rate. If the refresh rate (which is measured in hertz, or Hz) is being called out as a feature on a given laptop, that means it's likely higher than the baseline 60Hz. Most ordinary laptop screens stick to 60Hz, which means they redraw the onscreen image 60 times per second and thus can display up to 60 frames per second (fps) of in-game performance. (In other words, if your graphics chip can produce 90fps in a given game, you'll see only 60 of those frames.)
Just about all new gaming-notebook screens these days, though, can display at 144Hz or more. This feature originally arrived only in costly gaming laptops, but by now, it's standard fare even in budget models. All our picks offer at least 120Hz, and most go to 144Hz or beyond. These high refresh rates can be beneficial for some extremely fast-paced games, particularly titles played competitively online, including stalwarts such as CS:GO, DOTA 2, and Overwatch, as well as Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Call of Duty: Warzone.
(Credit: Molly Flores)Still, unless you're attempting to become a professional gamer or get ranked globally in a particular popular title, a fast screen isn't strictly necessary. Plenty of gamers are still "stuck" with 60Hz displays, after all, if they haven't bought a new PC in the last few years, or if they're playing on a non-gaming laptop. Still, with high-refresh panels now the norm even in budget gaming machines, the lack of one now indicates an older model to avoid.
Another spec to watch for is panel type. You'll want to go for an in-plane switching (IPS) panel if possible, as they generally offer the best off-center viewing angles and colors. Some gamers are content with cheaper twisted nematic (TN) panels, which make you settle for narrower viewing angles—but then, you're probably seated directly in front of the screen, so that's not an issue. TN panels can offer slightly faster response times.
A final note about touch input. Despite the undeniable convenience of touch screens for Windows, they are not the norm on gaming machines, and we don't know of any GeForce- or Radeon RX-based gaming models in the under-$1,000 class with a touch screen. (See our picks for the best touch-screen laptops.)
What Is the Best GPU to Get in a Cheap Gaming Laptop?
The dedicated graphics chip is the backbone of any gaming computer. Even in budget gaming machines, Nvidia's GeForce RTX line has supplanted its GTX predecessor; you will find these in the vast majority of new gaming laptops.
In the recent past, the company's GeForce GTX 1600 series, or "Turing" family, were the most common in the least expensive gaming laptops: the GeForce GTX 1650, GTX 1650 Ti, and GTX 1660 Ti. But thanks to new additions to Nvidia's stack, GTX GPUs are now fading away.
(Credit: Molly Flores)Nvidia has since introduced the RTX 3050 and 3050 Ti, bringing its previously higher-end RTX line into the budget tier. RTX 3060-based laptops have also fallen in price since the launch of that GPU. This means gaming at high settings (or even maximum, depending on the game) on an entry-level laptop is more attainable than ever. With the superior technology and power in the RTX platform, though, it's no coincidence that budget gaming laptop costs have risen too.
Nvidia's laptop versions of the GeForce RTX 40 Series desktop GPUs debuted in early 2023, rolling out to the high-end, expensive part of the market first, in machines like the beastly MSI Titan GT77 (2023). We're only now in mid-2023 seeing and testing the budget-minded RTX 4050 in gaming machines as well as a few non-gaming laptops like the Samsung Galaxy Book3 Ultra.
You should expect to see mostly RTX 3050, 3050 Ti, and the new RTX 4050 GPUs in this price range, plus a few RTX 3060 and RTX 4060 models. Despite initial guidance that some RTX 3060 and RTX 4060 models would be available for less than $1,000, current prices see most of them above that mark. That said, hunt around for a good enough deal or sale, and it's possible to find a handful of RTX 3060 or 4060 machines for under a grand, now and then.
So, what can you expect from these GPUs? The RTX 3050 Ti comes much closer to 60fps gaming on average than past entry-level GPUs. It will struggle to meet that mark in the most high-fidelity games, at least on higher settings, but can achieve this if you're willing to lower some visual settings. In less-demanding competitive multiplayer titles, like Rainbow Six Siege, the RTX 3050 Ti can push frame rates into the hundreds of frames per second. Laptops with this GPU can occasionally cost under $1,000, but can easily go up to $1,200. The jury's still out on the RTX 4050; we've tested just one so far in a gaming machine.
(Credit: Molly Flores)If you can snag an RTX 3060- or RTX 4060-based budget laptop in this range, know that it's a marked step above the lower GPUs. This GPU cruises over 60fps in most games, and can meet that mark even in demanding AAA games. Most of the time, it won't even require you to lower settings, though the most straining titles may need some compromise. If you can find a laptop at the "60" level for a similar price to others, it's worth making it the priority in your decision.
Additionally, as far as GTX vs RTX goes, ray tracing is an advanced lighting technique that only GPUs with the RTX moniker carry the hardware to pull off. The GPUs at the top of the hierarchy (the RTX 3080 and RTX 4090, for example) are superior for performing this technique, as it will drag down your frame rates, but any RTX machine is technically capable. This is especially true with DLSS, an Nvidia visual feature that helps relieve the graphics burden at higher resolutions. Being able to pull this off on budget laptops at all is an impressive feat, and shows how this category is healthier than ever in terms of performance.
Naturally, the performance potential of the full-size GeForce RTX 30 Series and 40 Series desktop graphics cards is such that the mobile versions of the same name can't hope to keep up given the space and thermal discrepancies. (See our examination Laptop vs. Desktop GeForce RTX 4090: How Much Do Nvidia's Top GPUs Differ in Performance?) Additionally, manufacturers can outfit a given laptop GPU at a variety of wattages to fit a specific laptop's design and thermal needs, often resulting in differing real-world performance from that given GPU.
(Credit: Molly Flores)This can even apply to the same GPU in two different laptops; one may push the power ceiling because the laptop is larger, while another may limit its performance to fit in a smaller chassis. You can read about these complicated performance nuances if you want to learn more, but know that looking at individual performance testing for laptops is more important than ever.
As for Nvidia's competitor AMD, its dedicated graphics chips are less common in budget gaming laptops (or higher-cost ones, for that matter), even as its Ryzen processor success rises against Intel. Some laptops do offer AMD CPUs paired with Nvidia GPUs, and you'll occasionally find a few among our picks. The most recent Radeon RX 6000M Series GPUs are decent, but the few laptops these have shown up in have been premium offerings, not budget models. AMD announced its newest mobile GPUs, the Radeon RX 7000 Series, at CES 2023, but we've tested only a few samples of them so far, and none in cheap laptops.
Don't Forget the Keyboard: Lighting and Layouts
One of the typical features that sets apart a gaming laptop is a colorful, backlit keyboard. These vary quite a bit from model to model, with more elaborate backlighting going hand-in-hand with higher prices and a higher general level of other components.
Most budget gaming laptops will employ single-color backlighting (most often, red or white) to keep costs down. The next step up is lighting programmable by zone, with three or four blocks of the keyboard independently customizable in different colors, but this is not common in budget machines. Keyboards with per-key, individually programmable lighting are the province of high-end machines only.
(Credit: Molly Flores)Also, look at the key layout. Models with an isolated cluster of arrow keys or well-defined WASD keys get bonus points, in our book. Also, because most budget gaming laptops are 15.6-inch models, check for a dedicated number pad to the right of the main key area, if you prefer to have one—or not, for that matter. Some machines of this screen size will have one, some won't. (A 17-inch laptop almost invariably will, however.)
So, What Is the Best Cheap Gaming Laptop to Buy?
At the top of this article and below, we've mapped out our top-rated models to investigate. As mentioned, some of the configurations sent to us for testing were above $1,000; this is virtually unavoidable given the market in 2023. Some remain under that mark, while others raise and fall below that line depending on availability, deals, and generally fluctuating costs.
Also, note that most of these models are a single version of a machine in a varied line. So use the linked reviews as guidelines, not absolutes, when assessing each laptop family. You may not get quite the level of performance we did if key components were downgraded to get the price below $1,000. But you should get a solid idea of the various laptops' screens, build, and input quality from our reviews.
In addition to poring over our reviews and checking out the vendors' sites, using the price filters at a reseller like Newegg.com can help you see different configurations at different price points. Some manufacturers offer lots of differently weighted versions of the same laptop (say, more storage in one config, a better GPU in another). Playing with the filters on these sites can be an illuminating exercise in give-and-take.
Want to round out your PC gaming experience? Also check out our picks for the best gaming mice and top gaming headsets, as well as our picks for the best gaming laptops overall, price aside.
