More and more OEMs (Original equipment manufacturer) like DELL, Acer and Asus are offering cheap gaming laptops at affordable prices in portable packages while not disappointing on great audio, gorgeous displays and powerful graphics. Let’s check out the best affordable gaming laptops that will satisfy your gaming needs wherever you go.
Acer Predator Helios 300
Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 630; Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB GDDR5)
RAM: 16GB DDR4 (2,666MHz)
Ports: 1 x USB-C 3.1, 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.0, HDMI 2.0, RJ-45 Ethernet, SD card reader, 3.5mm headphone jack
Connectivity: Intel 802.11ac Wi-Fi; Bluetooth
Camera: HD webcam (1,280 x 720) with 2 x mics
Weight: 5.95 pounds (2.7kg)
Size: 15.4 x 10.5 x 1.1 inches (39.1 x 26.7 x 2.8cm; W x D x H)
Screen: 15.6-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) ComfyView IPS (144Hz refresh rate)
Storage: 256GB PCIe SSD
One of the cheapest gaming laptops available in the market, the Acer Predator Helios 300 offers great gaming performance with Nvidia GTX 1060 onboard. The Helios 300 is available in 17-inch and 15-inch versions and is very similar to the Asus TUF Gaming FX504G. The chiclet-style keyboard layout, along with the plastic surfaced touchpad offers great bounce-back action that is perfect for competitive gamers (keep in mind that there are no left and right clickers). With three speakers (left, right and underside), the sound outputs on the laptop are decent. The matte 1,920 by 1,080 pixels IPS screen is perfect for bright conditions. At its price, the Helios 300 sports an entry-level 2.3GHz, quad-core Core i5-8300H (for 15-inch) and Core i7-8750H processor (for 17-inch) along with the GeForce GTX 1060 graphics makes it a compelling midrange laptop in a quality suit.
Lenovo Legion Y530
CPU: 2.3GHz Intel Core i5-8300H (quad-core, 8MB cache, up to 4.00GHz with Turbo Boost)
Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 630; Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (4GB GDDR5)
RAM: 8GB DDR4 (2,666MHz)
Ports: 1 x USB Type C, 1 x mini DisplayPort, 1 x USB 3.0, 1 x HDMI, 1 x RJ-45, 2 x USB 3.1, 1 x 3.5mm combined audio jack
Connectivity: 802.11 AC (2x2 MIMO) + Bluetooth 4.1
Camera: 720p HD webcam
Weight: 5.1 pounds (2.3kg)
Size: 14.37 x 10.24 x 0.95 inches (365 x 260 x 24.2mm; W x D x H)
Screen: 15.6-inch, FHD (1,920 x 1080) IPS (anti-glare, 250 nit)
Storage: 128GB SSD (PCIe); 1TB HDD (5,400 rpm)
Well, if you are not so keen about gaming and looking out to play some less demanding games on-the-go like online casino games from Omnia Casino In UK and many others, The Legion Y530 is a budget-friendly and sleek laptop that has been built, keeping people like you in mind. This premium notebook has enough graphics to power your gaming desires at low settings. Despite this, the 1050 Ti maintains its performance for a prolonged period of time. Don’t expect to play AAA games at high settings on this machine. The non-touch IPS 15.6-inch full-HD display fails to deliver on spectacular performance due to the middling brightness and overly muted colours. If you are over the performance issues of this machine, this laptop delivers on portability by offering an intriguing hinge that allows the entire screen to open and bend back to 180 degrees. Sad, it does not sport a touchscreen display. If you can get past the limited display colour gamut the slow SSD, lack of card reader and ports, the Lenovo Legion Y530 is an excellent gaming laptop which oozes portability with less than an inch thick form factor.
You can certainly go for Lenovo Legion Y530 if gaming is not your sole focus.
HP Pavilion Gaming 15t
CPU: Intel Core i7-8750H
RAM: 16GB DDR4, 2666 MHz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q (3GB GDDR5)
Display: 15.6”, Full HD (1920 x 1080), IPS
Storage: 128GB SSD + 1000GB HDD
Weight: 2.30 kg (5.1 lbs)
This latest entry in the market, the OEMs are heavily in the pursuit of delivering entry-level gaming laptops to the general consumers. With lines and curves at the right places, this gorgeous beast sports a black brushed aluminium chassis along with a strategically placed power button between the keyboard ad the speaker. The Chiclet-style keys and the long 4.5 x 2.3-inch touchpad allows the users to manipulate the laptop with ease. The Pavilion Gaming 15t sports a great selection of ports such as power port on the right side, a Gigabyte Ethernet connection, 3-in-1 card reader, an HDMI, USB Type-C port and USB 3.1 port. The Pavilion Gaming 15t checks all the right boxes to compete as a formidable gaming notebook and sports a 1366 x 768 pixel HD resolution screen (which is not only impressive but also comes with a responsive capacitive touch screen). Despite the mid-range pricing, the Pavilion Gaming 15t does not disappoint on graphical performance as the 2.5-GHz Intel Core i5-7300HQ processor and 16GB DDR4 offers smooth performance without any noticeable lag. The laptop battery lasts for 6 hours and 27 minutes on the Laptop Mag Battery Test. HP had to cut a few corners in the pursuit of a budget-friendly laptop but if you are looking for a sturdy powerful laptop at this price range, this is your best bet.
Dell G3 15
CPU: Intel Core i5-8300H (quad-core, 8MB cache, up to 4.0GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (4GB GDDR5); Intel UHD Graphics 630
RAM: 8GB DDR4 (2,666MHz)
Ports: 1 x USB 2.0, 2 x USB 3.1 Type-A, 1 x HDMI, 1 x ethernet, 1 x SD reader
Battery: 56 Whr, 4-cell Battery (Integrated)
Connectivity: Intel Wireless 9462AC card (802.11ac + Bluetooth 5.0)
Camera: Widescreen HD (720p) webcam; dual array digital mic
Weight: 5.57 pounds (2.53kg)
Size: 14.96 x 10.16 x 0.89 inches (380 x 258 x 22.7mm; W x D x H)
Screen: 15.6-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) anti-glare LED-backlit
Storage: 128GB SSD: 1TB HDD @ 5,400RPM
This is one of the best laptops that you can afford in the market if you are looking for performance and great battery life. Among the other competitors, this is the thinnest entry-level gaming laptop, Sad, it lacks in delivering a USB Type C port and a Mini DisplayPort but does not disappoint in delivering a headphone/microphone combo jack, two USB 3.1 ports, a drop-jaw RJ-45 port, an HDMI 2.0 port and the power jack. However, the 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080 display is excruciatingly boring and dark. If you can get past that, you will be impressed with the soft keyboard keys and the blue backlighting(it’s a personal taste!). The audio is good enough for a mid-size room and the graphical performance is astounding - delivering a consistent 45 frames per second on very high settings for Shadow of War! We tried out Rise of the Tomb Raider and got around 24 fps on very high settings. Despite the initial drawbacks, the Dell G3 15 checks all the right boxes with the 8GB of RAM, 2.3-GHz Intel Core i5-8300H processor, 6 hours and 37 minutes battery backup, a 128GB SSD, and a 1TB 5,400-rpm HDD. If you want a laptop that can handle most of the mainstream games seamlessly, then this is it!
Dell G5 15 5590
Display size/resolution: 15.6-inch 1,920x1,080 display
CPU: 2.4GHz Intel Core i5-9300
Memory: 8GB DDR4 SDRAM 2666MHz
Graphics: 4GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
Storage: 256GB SSD + 1TB 5,400rpm HDD
Networking: 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.2
Operating system: Windows 10 Home (64-bit)
If you drool on red and black styling and modern looks, then, the Dell G5 15 5590 is a keeper especially with the awesome battery life and upgradeability factor. If you can ignore the thick bezels, the laptop loos stylish from every angle. Don’t expect to carry this laptop for long as it is heavy at 6.1 kgs. The dual-channel 8 GB RAM, SSD + HDD and the GeForce GTX 1650 allows users to play games at optimum settings smoothly. This is a great bargain for a gaming laptop and offers solid value for money. The only places where the laptop fails to make a mark is with its loud fans and middling display quality. Despite the compromises, this laptop will surely captivate you with its other offerings.
Other considerations
Lenovo Ideapad L340 Gaming
Asus ROG Zephyrus G GA502
Acer Nitro 5
Gigabyte Aero 15
Acer Aspire E 15
MSI GL63 8RC
HP Omen 15t
MSI GF63 8RD
ASUS TUF FX505
Acer Nitro 5
MSI GF63 8RC
Asus TUF Gaming FX504