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You won’t find a true gaming laptop much under $700, try as you might. At least, not the current gen. Luckily, there are plenty of models and brands to choose from. The guiding principle remains simple: compromise. Plenty of choices mostly circle around the $1000 USD mark, a baseline for gaming laptops. Perhaps the question here isn’t “what’s the best value gaming laptop” but rather, what are you trying to compromise on. And not necessarily in a negative way. For gamers who switch between playing on different platforms, like from native PC titles to console titles, and then mix work or student tasks from time to time, a versatile machine is a must-have. All considered, let’s get right into it.
Acer Chromebook 516 GE
Cloud streaming means you don’t have to necessarily run a Windows machine in order to play PC games. To prove the point, just look at the Acer Chromebook 516 GE, a $500 USD laptop with a fantastic 120HZ display and plenty to offer. It’s also one of the first gaming Chromebooks, an interesting “cloud gaming niche” that deserves more attention. This little thing has a good number of ports, and a great RGB keyboard with anti-ghosting and will stream perfectly thanks to Intel Core i5-1240P CPU. If you’re really on a budget but still want a decent gaming laptop that can stream AAA titles but also run Android games natively, consider something like Chromebook 516 GE.
MSI Cyborg 15
Sitting squarely at $999, Cyborg 15 offers a satisfying combination of all the right features. You’ve got the Intel Core i7, not the latest 14th Gen, but the 13th, which is practically just as good for most gamers. Paired with the RTX 4050, which won’t win medals at esports tournaments but will let you run games at 1080p with the sort of grace one hopes for in such devices. The build quality doesn’t inspire awe, but it doesn’t disappoint either, which says a lot for a laptop under a grand. The battery life is decent as well. All in all, for the price, MSI Cyborg 15 feels like a really good choice.
Lenovo LOQ 15
Those looking for entry-level gaming laptops will have to shortlist the Lenovo LOQ 15 at some point. Holding it in your hands and feeling the heavy, all-plastic construction might leave you with the impression this is a cheap laptop, while in fact it starts at around $1000 USD. Luckily, the first impression will fade away once you start gaming. The base model comes with AMD Ryzen 5 7000-series which should pack a hefty punch for the money. If the budget allows, you can upgrade to Ryzen 7. All in all, LOQ 15 has the right balance of good and bad so if you can look past the generic design and cheap heavy plastic construction, this might be the right choice.
Acer Nitro V 15
You’ll find many reviews calling the Acer Nitro V 15 the best buy of this year. And looking at the price of around $700 USD, you would understand why. The lower-end price compared to some other suggestions from this list means you’ll have to compromise a bit, sure, but the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU coupled with Intel 13th Gen Core i5 allows for a steady 1080p gaming experience. Most gamers should be fine with that. Ports are generous and battery life is great as well. The only downside is perhaps the storage of only 512GB and sure, we could argue more is needed for modern games.
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16
Sixteen-inch laptops were “born” as an answer to expensive 17 and 18-inch models, and compact 15-inchers. They sit somewhere in between, and Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 is a good budget representative with its Intel Core i5-13500HX and RTX 4050, which should be enough to raise an eyebrow or two. Coming at around $1200 USD, the performance is rather impressive. It’s a hefty, bulky laptop though. You wouldn’t carry it lightly to a café, but with that bright, expansive 165Hz display, it’s worth lugging around once in a while. It’s not perfect, but if you’re looking for great performance and don’t mind a slightly higher price tag, go for it.