9 Best Cheap Gaming Laptops in 2024 (Budget Gaming Laptops)

Last Seen: Aug 4, 2024 @ 3:53pm 15AugUTC

Aditya Agarwal
@adityaagarwal

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In this cyber age, online gaming and esports have become the talk of the town among teenagers. But they can’t afford super-expensive gaming laptops. But finding a cheap gaming laptop that nails every spec is not a breeze. It should achieve optimal equilibrium between performance, battery, weight, and thermals.

My educational background and experience in this field have helped me become your guiding light in this forest full of laptops with plenty of features. I have created a list of versatile, cheap gaming laptops that check most boxes on a gamer’s wishlist. While reading this article, look for a 2-in-1 gaming laptop with a detachable keyboard that will amaze you with its performance.

Cheap gaming laptops you can choose from include the HP Victus 15, Acer Nitro V, and ASUS ROG Strix G16. These laptops serve a platter full of features ranging from an excellent processor to dedicated cooling technology combined with AI-powered features that enhance one’s gaming experience.

Best Cheap Gaming Laptops

1) HP Victus 15

HP Victus 15 is the best gaming laptop with expendable RAM and NVIDIA graphics coprocessor, making it ideal for gaming. Positioned at a very reasonable price, I vouch for this gaming laptop as it is powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 processor for smooth game performance. Its 15.6″ display with 144Hz refresh rate allows me to execute deadly tackles or spot enemies far away like a hawk.

This cheap gaming laptop offers a white backlit keyboard that enlightens my mood for a gaming marathon. I recommend this cheap gaming laptop as an excellent entry-level laptop for noob gamers like me. Want to show off your gaming skills in front of your fans cum family is a piece of cake as this cheap gaming laptop is integrated with an HDMI port to cast my laptop’s screen.

Features:

• Screen: HP Victus 15 provides a 15.6″ anti-glare screen with 1920×1080 resolution, perfect for longer gaming sessions with friends with no or minimal strain on the eyes.
• Peripherals: This cheap gaming laptop boasts several ports ranging from USB Type C to an SD Card Reader that connects peripherals like joysticks or racing rigs.
• Graphics: HP has integrated this laptop with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 graphic coprocessor to provide high-quality graphics while gaming or during media consumption.
• Upgradability: Those looking to upgrade in the future are in luck, as it supports up to 64GB DDR5 RAM for heavy games, extending its life for many years.
• Ray Tracing: This cheap gaming laptop is integrated with Ray Tracing technology, which provides lifelike graphics to gamers with no minimum latency, thus enhancing your gaming experience.

Pricing:

2) Acer Nitro V

Acer Nitro V is a gamer’s nirvana comprising Ray Tracing and DTS:X Ultra Audio for your seamless gaming experience. I added this to my list because it is a go-to #CheapGamingLaptop that can also be used for media consumption. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 transmits high-definition graphics, giving me the main character vibe.

My gaming performance has improved drastically with this laptop’s 144Hz refresh rate display, making it an ideal cheap laptop for games like Minecraft. While conducting my evaluation, I found that the two built-in stereo speakers create an immersive environment and give an easy excuse for not hearing my mother’s voice while engrossed in my game.

Features:

• Connectivity: The laptop has Killer WiFi and Killer Ethernet to stay connected with the outer world with high-speed wireless and wired networking. This allows you to play games smoothly with minimum latency.
• Keyboard: It is among the best gaming laptops, with control over the inner workings of the Backlit keyboard through the Nitro Sense Key.
•  MUX Switch: When casually surfing the internet, you can turn off dGPU with the MUX Switch, or during gaming sessions, you can use it to its full potential, thus optimizing device performance.
• Max Q Technology: This cheap gaming laptop is integrated with NVIDIA’S AI-powered Max Q suite that automatically optimizes various device parameters, giving optimum performance.
• Cooling Technology: Acer has incorporated dual intakes and dual fan cooling to keep this laptop for gamers relaxed when working to its full potential with no excessive humming noises.

3) ASUS ROG Strix G16

ASUS ROG Strix G16 is the best laptop for gaming and streaming purposes, offering a MUX Switch with Advanced Optimus and a display with a 240Hz refresh rate. I discovered this laptop to be a paradise for me as it is equipped with an Intel Core i9 processor that is compatible with every game that has just been released.

This laptop has been integrated with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070, which is suitable for me to play games at high FPS and graphic detail. It has a 240Hz display, so the gamer inside me can’t miss a single movement of my enemy, making my aim laser-sharp sharp. I particularly appreciate the Tri Fan cooling technology as it omits the need of plugging in an additional cooing device with the laptop.

Features:

• Mux Switch: A MUX Switch with Advanced Optimus is provided in this laptop, which makes the transition between GPUs automatic and optimizes the battery life of this gaming laptop.
• Connectivity: The WiFi 6 connectivity ensures that users can play games over wireless networks without worrying about connectivity issues.
• CPU Cooling Technology: ASUS has provided this laptop with Thermal Grizzly’s Conductonaut Extreme liquid metal, which keeps the CPU cool during marathon gaming sessions.
• Keyboard: The keyboard is integrated with 4 zone RGB color lightning, with the travel distance of keys being 1.9mm. You can also create game-specific layouts with the help of Armoury Crate.
• Screen: Strix G16 offers a 16:10 Full HD panel with a 240Hz refresh rate, which is ideal for gaming. Also, the screen is integrated with Dolby Vision, providing users with rich colors.

4) Acer Chromebook 516 GE

Acer Chromebook 516 GE is the best entry-level laptop for naive gamers. As per my research, it has DTS Audio with Smart Amplifier for super crisp sounds and an RGB backlit keyboard. It is an ideal #BudgetGamingLaptop with an Intel Core i5 processor, helping me sail through any game smoothly. I discovered that this laptop weighs 4 pounds, allowing me to take it anywhere and play wherever I want.

It offers me an almost bezel-less WQXGA screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, providing smooth game functioning with minimal eye strain. Along with gaming, I don’t have to purchase a new device to sharpen my editing or designing skills. As this cheap gaming laptop is integrated with Intel Iris Xe Graphics.

Features:

• Cooling Technology:  Its advanced cooling solution comprises four heat pipes and multiple air vents, making this gaming laptop cool while giving optimum performance.
• Sound: This affordable gaming laptop boasts DTS Audio, making a distortion-free environment for gamers to sense every sound of their enemy and always be a step further than the competition.
• Keyboard: It has a 4-zone RGB keyboard with full customization, increasing your gaming accuracy. Also, the travel distance of just 1.5mm combined with anti-ghosting keeps your control razor sharp, along with options for customization.
• Chrome OS: This gaming laptop is built for multitasking as it runs on Chrome OS, facilitating tasks like surfing, writing, and designing. Also, it is ideal for students who want to play games on the cloud and use the laptop for their school assignments.
• GeForce NOW: Acer has integrated this laptop with NVIDIA GeForce NOW, allowing users to stream their gameplay at up to 1440p resolution and 120 frames per second, making it a device high on features and low on your pocket.

5) MSI Cyborg 15

MSI Cyborg 15 is the best laptop for a novice and a pro gamer, offering an NVIDIA AI-powered suite and rich sound quality with commendable aesthetics. It boasts an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, providing me with top-of-the-class graphics. While examining this cheap gaming laptop, I noticed that its 15.6″ display with a 144Hz refresh rate lets me move my in-game character freely and smoothly.

Want a handsome laptop always lying on your workstable rather than an ugly-looking piece of hardware? My review is that this laptop is an apt choice as its slim and sleek design will become a showstopper, making it an ideal #LaptopsInABudget. It offers me an AI-powered advance NVIDIA suite comprising Ray Tracing and DLSS3, giving me the feel I am in the game.

Features:

• Aesthetics: This gaming laptop has translucent parts in RGB Backlit keyboard and chassis, elevating your style statement. Also, highlighted WASD keys help you in efficient gaming.
• Sound: Your sound quality gets elevated with Nahimic Audio and sound sharing via Bluetooth. This feature creates a spatial 3D environment for you, giving you the feel of playing the game in real life.
• Cooling Technology: This cheap gaming laptop is equipped with MSI thermal grease, ensuring maximum performance under extreme gaming conditions. Also, its design increases heat dissipation.
• Max-Q: It is also equipped with NVIDIA Max-Q, which automatically optimizes your system for maximum output depending on your executing task and reduces latency.
• Body: This gaming laptop is encased in an aluminum outer shell, providing this device with the required strength and making it resistant to damage if it falls off accidentally.

Pricing:

6) ASUS ROG Flow Z13

ASUS ROG Flow Z13 is the best 2-in-1 gaming laptop with a detachable keyboard that allows the device to be in different configurations. Also, this feature is very rare to see in a gaming laptop. While reviewing, I found that this laptop has textured lines across its chassis to strengthen its structure and add some aesthetics. The fast charging technology gets this laptop charged up to 50% in 30 minutes. 

Being an elder brother to an artistic sister, it is a joy that I don’t have to buy a separate tablet for my sister as she can draw and sketch on this cheap gaming laptop’s 13.4″ touchscreen display, saving me money. I discovered that its WiFi 6 connectivity ensures that the device is always connected to the internet, allowing me to play games anywhere and eliminating the need for a physical connection.

Features:

• MUX Switch: This feature, when turned on, provides optimum performance by switching into GPU mode, boosts performance by 9%, and also reduces latency. When doing other work rather than gaming, this can be turned off.
• Screen: The laptop comprises a 16:10 13.4″ FHD touchscreen with Corning Gorilla Glass. This screen is also Pantone-validated for reproducing accurate colors.
• Stylus Support: Consumers can also operate the screen of this 2-in-1 gaming laptop with a stylus. This feature is handy when someone needs to take notes or likes to draw.
• Cooling Technology: This cheap gaming laptop is equipped with ROG Intelligent Cooling, comprising slimmer heat pipes and a couple of ARCFlow fans, which move 13% more air than traditional fans while making less noise.
• Anti-Dust Tunnels: This gaming laptop also offers anti-dust tunnels that prevent dust buildup, thus ensuring the extended life of the device.
• XG Support: ASUS’s laptop is compatible with XG Mobile eGPU; smaller than traditional eGPU, it does not lack power and performance. It turns your convertible setup into a properly functioning workstation.

7) Acer Predator Helios Neo 16

Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 is the best gaming laptop that delivers ultra-rich graphics on a 165Hz refresh rate G-SYNC display and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, providing users with a smooth gaming experience. The high value for money in terms of gaming performance makes it an ideal cheap laptop for gamers. I would say, “It is a steal deal” throughout my assessment.

It is also fitted with NVIDIA DLSS3, which uses Artificial Intelligence to create realistic graphics,  providing a gamer like me with an immersive environment. The 15.6″ WUXGA display, a 165Hz refresh rate, and NVIDIA’s G-SYNC technology make my every movement in the virtual world lifelike and smooth as butter.

Features:

• Ray Tracing: Acer has equipped this gaming laptop with RTX Ray Tracing that provides ultra-realistic graphics and high-speed performance- a gamer’s paradise.
• Thermal Design: This laptop incorporates an advanced thermal design, which makes it a gaming laptop with the best cooling systems, including 5th Gen AeroBlade Fan technology and liquid metal grease on the CPU to push it to its maximum potential.
• Keyboard: It has a 4-zone RGB keyboard that has its Predator typeface. Also, for competitive gaming, it has specially designed concave-shaped keycaps for WASD Keys. The RGB lighting can be controlled by pressing the PredatorSense key.
• PREDATORSENSE: This laptop comes with the PREDATORSENSE utility app that allows you to adjust your device’s settings according to your usage for maximum performance.
• Connectivity: It has a couple of connectivity modes, namely Killer Ethernet and Killer Wifi 6E, that do not stop your fun no matter where you are. You get the option of wired or wireless connectivity in this device.

8) Gigabyte G6X

Gigabyte G6X is the best dream come true laptop for every gamer who wants to start streaming their gameplay. It has an NVIDIA suite for a lifelike gaming experience. This gaming laptop has a 4-sided slim bezel 165Hz WUXGA display that does not let me miss any movement of my rival, thus giving me an edge.  From competitive gaming to live streaming, it is an all-rounder.

WiFi 6E connectivity allows me to be connected to the virtual world every time without any physical connection. This user-friendly gaming laptop comprises a 13th Gen Intel Core i7 processor with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, providing this machine with the necessary power and graphic quality to play and stream my gameplay.

Features:

• Thermals: This gaming laptop is equipped with a WINDFORCE cooling system, comprising dual fans and a 3D VortX channeling to maximize airflow, making this cheap gaming laptop cooler.
• NVIDIA AI Suite: The laptop has various NVIDIA’s AI-powered technologies that optimize the device’s performance and give you a smooth and comfortable experience. These technologies are DLSS3, MAX-Q, Ray Tracing, etc.
• Sound: Gigabyte has incorporated this laptop with Nahimic audio combined with Doby Atmos, which creates a 3D environment that helps the gamer hear the opponent’s sound cues with utmost clarity.
• Keyboard: This gaming laptop boasts a RGB keyboard. It has a key travel distance of just 1.5 mm, making all the difference in a competitive scenario.
• MUX: It is also integrated with a MUX Switch that helps you optimize the performance of your device by switching on or off the GPU based on your requirements. This is a power-efficient method, too.

Pricing:

9) ASUS TUF Gaming A15

ASUS TUF Gaming A15 is the best laptop for gaming, equipped with an AMD Ryzen 5 processor and NVIDIA Suite. It is a powerful, reasonably priced #GamingLaptopUnder$1000, offering NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 enough to support the graphics of any game I play on the device.

It has WiFi 6 connectivity that prevents the need for any physical to gain access to the internet. This laptop’s fast charging technology enables me to charge this device to 50% in just 30 minutes. It has been fitted with Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res Audio to deliver crisp game effects sound.

Features:

• MUX Switch: This gaming laptop boasts a MUX Switch with Advanced Optimus, which automatically transits between iGPU and dGPU, thus providing minimum latency and optimum performance to the user while playing games.
• Cooling Technology: A pair of 84-blade Arc Fans keep this beast cool. Also, the variable thickness design increases pressure while reducing turbulence, making this device cooler without making any extra noise.
• Keyboard: It has an RGB backlit keyboard with WASD hotkeys, aiding gamers in making seamless movements in the game. Also, the key travel distance of just 1.7mm reduces vital seconds in competitive gaming scenarios.
• Screen: This laptop has an FHD display with a 144Hz refresh rate, making every movement in the game crystal clear. Also, Adaptive-Sync technology reduces lag, eliminating visual tearing of pixels.
• Durability: The laptop has survived tests that exploited the device to vibrations, extreme temperatures, falls, etc., and it has earned the Military Grade Toughness standard- MIL-STD-810H, which ensures consumers of its durability.

Pricing:

What should you look for in a cheap gaming laptop?

Some of the key parameters to consider while looking for the best budget laptops for gaming are:

• Display: The larger the screen, the better the game experience. Also, the refresh rate of the display and its resolution are essential for gaming purposes.
• Graphics: A graphic coprocessor is a basic necessity in a gaming laptop. Usually, laptops use NVIDIA GPUs, which are tried and tested to give high-resolution graphics.
• Keyboard: During gaming, the keyboard plays an important role. The smoother the typing experience, the better your gaming experience will be. Also, the keyboard improves the aesthetics of the laptop.
• Sound: The device’s sound system should create an immersive environment for the gamer to observe sound cues from their opponent.
• Thermals: Gaming is a performance-heavy task, which makes the device hot. So, good thermal technology is the minimum that keeps a gaming laptop excellent without creating too much noise.
• Upgradability: A necessary feature for any gaming laptop is knowing what upgrades to do and how many upgrades one can make in the initial configuration. Upgradations are for the future when the storage gets full or the RAM is insufficient to support any game.
• Ports: To play different games, one needs to connect other peripherals like a joystick or a gaming wheel—gamers like to cast their screen. So, an ideal laptop should have sufficient ports for all these requirements.

Are desktops better than gaming laptops?

Below are some parameters that contrast the working of a desktop with a gaming laptop.

FAQs

The Verdict

In this article I have discussed the best cheap laptops for gaming available in the market. We have seen that each gaming laptop is a power-packed device, and it all depends on which functionalities the gamer wants to prioritize over others. Here is a concise version listing the best features of gaming laptops to aid the consumer.