7 Great Cheap Gaming Laptops Under $1,500

Some of the most critically acclaimed gaming laptops can easily run upwards of $3,000 — hardly pocket change for the average Joe. There’s no denying that these machines are standout performers, but such a steep price tag is not everyone’s idea of ​​fun. While they might not steal headlines, there are plenty of cheap gaming laptops on the market that are great alternatives for budget-minded shoppers, with all the features you need and none of the bells and whistles you don’t. There are also gaming laptops that double as excellent everyday laptops if you’re looking for a value-packed purchase.

Unless you plan on playing the latest AAA titles with maxed out settings, a mid-range laptop is perfectly capable in most scenarios. Their CPUs and GPUs still provide smooth performance, especially in well-established titles like Final Fantasy XIV and Grand Theft Auto V. To save you time (and money), we’ve collected some of the best gaming laptops under $1,500 that are available today. Read on for our recommendations, plus essentials to consider before you shop.

Best Cheap Gaming Laptops

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  Best Overall

  Predator Triton 300SE
  Acer

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What to Consider

Shopping for a more budget-friendly laptop without lots of fancy extras can even be a challenge, with product pages filled with manufacturers’ technical specifications. This is especially true for gaming laptops, where specs like graphics cards and refresh rates are extra important. While there are too many considerations to fully list here, keep your eye on these key specifications when browsing for a gaming laptop:

GPU: The “grand processing unit” is the main component powering your games’ graphics. For cheap gaming laptops, we recommend at least an NVIDIA RTX 3050 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 6600M.

RAM: This stands for “random-access memory” and is another key component in overall computer performance. For gaming laptops, we recommend 16GB of RAM.

Storage: If you play a lot of games — particularly those that require more than 100GB of space — you’ll need a good amount of storage for your files. We recommend at least 512GB of SSD storage. Older HDD storage should be avoided.

Refresh Rate (Hz): The refresh rate refers to the frequency that a screen can display a new image — a major differentiating factor between gaming and non-gaming laptops. We recommend a screen capable of at least a 120Hz refresh rate.

How We Selected

Many of these recommendations come from hundreds of hours of in-house use. For the products we couldn’t test ourselves, we perform intensive research, reviewing content from expert sources like Wirecutter, The Verge, CNET, Tom’s Guide, DigitalTrends, and others, as well as thousands of consumer reviews from online storefronts like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. As for the products themselves, we evaluated them on performance, design, build quality, and price.

Looking for more gaming accessories? Check out our stories on the best cheap gaming mouse options, the best cheap gaming chairs, and the best gaming desks.