Best Budget Gaming Laptops in 2023: (Reviews & Guide)

Being broke is the degree to which getting a gaming notebook is no longer an option. However, if you’re low on money, the best budget gaming laptops can help if you really need one.

It’s also a stupidity to spend thousands of dollars on a gaming laptop that you don’t actually need but rather having expensive stuff is a thing for you.

Back in the day, I did the same and spent most of my savings on gaming notebooks that were lying on shelves for no reason. I played some AAA games with it and that’s it.

However, I also got a budget gaming laptop that I will share with you today. These notebooks are ready to kill and don’t have to pay tons of money for them.

Being a videographer, these gaming laptops also help me edit my videos like a charm. Let me give you the list of these beasts first and then you can decide which one you should get.

Best Budget Gaming Laptops in 2023: (Recommended)

Best Budget Gaming Laptops Reviewed in 2023

1. Asus TUF A15 – Best Budget Gaming Laptop With RTX 2060

Below the flagship level, the Asus TUF A15 welcomed me with its unique configurations and design.

Gaming is something that I’ll love the most among all the activities I do in my daily life. I also have a console but I also wanted freedom from my couch sitting all day in front of a TV screen playing games on my Xbox one S.

This is when I aimed for the best low budget gaming laptop that is comparatively better than my console.

Asus TUF A15 is the one that caught my attention and my experience with it is flawless.

ASUS TUF Gaming A15 Configurations:

I am not going to brag much about the A15 graphics card because of the RTX 2000 series.

However let me tell you this, the GeForce RTX 2060 on this budget friendly gaming laptop delivers the deal frames per second at 1080P for modern AAA titles.

Besides the actual 16GB of RAM, the GPU is also equipped with 6GB of dedicated memory to cover a wider range of apps and games.

The storage on the other hand stores tons of data on a 1TB SSD and yes it adds extra value to the performance.

It runs on an AMD Ryzen 7 4800H processing chip that has an 8MB cache alongside a max CPU speed of 4.2GHz.

Moreover, the battery span is good, on performing some basic tasks, this gaming laptop lends a long lasting battery life of 12 hours.

Whereas, doing stuff like live streaming reduces the battery span to 8.7 hours. This is more than the average battery life for a gaming laptop because if we look at the flagship level beasts, they only breathe for 4-5 hours.

ASUS TUF Gaming A15 Design:

When the design of the A15 is taken into consideration, the laptop looks incredibly attractive with its slim and compact nature. It weighs only 5.07 pounds which is easy to carry around without getting exhausted.

Being a frequent traveler for my videography stuff, I had the ASUS TUF A15 with me several times and I never felt tired because of it.

On the other hand, the aesthetics look cool and sound for a budget gaming laptop. There isn’t something fancy here but rather a decent exterior is put together to form the TUF A15.

The keyboard looks good and typing makes no sound. However, I use a gaming mouse for gaming instead of using the TouchPad as it’s not that convenient for me.

Conclusion:

Top-notch budget gaming laptops like the TUF A15 are released once in a hundred times after a few years. I am lucky that this laptop exists while I am still alive.

It helped my video editing and gaming at the same time when I was traveling.

I never found a single space for a complaint when dealing with the ASUS TUF A15.

If it’s the start of your career and you also have some decent money to afford this gaming laptop, I would permit you to go for this notebook.

It’ll satisfy your gaming and all other needs.

Also read: Best gaming laptops under $1000

2. Dell Flagship G15 Ryzen – Best Budget Gaming Laptop With RTX 3050

A best budget gaming laptop under the budget of $1000 with a 4GB RTX 3050 graphics card is rare to find. The Dell G15 is the ultimate budget machine that I finally found with powerful hardware.

It was back in January 2023 when I started hunting for a game-changing gaming laptop that doesn’t dig a hole in my pocket.

I needed it to compare it with my other expensive notebooks.

I must say that the Dell G15 is a performance delivery machine for AAA games at low-medium settings.

These are some of the factors that get me going using this budget friendly laptop for gaming.

Configurations:

I am not happy with the storage capacity because of the 256GB space where I have a couple of games including Elden Rings and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

However, the SSD is dope enough to keep games and other applications startups super fast.

It’s comparatively better than the TUF A15 on the graphics side because of the latest architecture GPU named GeForce RTX 3050.

The graphics are dedicated to the 4GB memory which reduces the consumption of the 8GB RAM installed on the Dell G15.

Since it’s a Ryzen edition, the G15 is equipped with the 6-core Ryzen 5 5600H chip that beats the intel CPU with the same price tag.

This concludes the peak CPU speed of 4.2GHz that this gaming laptop in the low budget range is offering.

The display is rich enough for a stutter-free gameplay delivery with a low response time and 120Hz refresh rate.

I am not happy with the battery span of 5 hours because it keeps me charging it up more often. Other than that, the configurations are on top of the line for the price tag that it’s holding.

Design:

The Dell G15 is a little bulky for carrying around. However, the design is dope and relates to gaming.

Whereas, the Keyboard is having RGB lights that glamour up things in dark conditions.

However, for games like Elden Ring, I am using a gaming mouse instead of a touchpad.

The overall aesthetics look appealing and decorating your gaming setup is all you can expect from this budget gaming flagship.

Conclusion:

Are you extremely low on budget and still need a gaming laptop that can do some finest gaming?

If this is the case the Dell G15 Ryzen Edition is the one to deal with your problem.

This beast comes cheap and handles everything for you as it does for me. I must say, this laptop is the right investment for anyone out there who can compromise on battery life.

Also read: Best gaming laptops under $800

3. Acer Nitro 5 – Best Budget Gaming Laptop With GTX 1650

The gaming laptops like Acer Nitro 5 are a masterpiece for needy gamers especially if it stands with holding a price tag of $700.

I became a fan of this beast when it first touched my hands as it gave me the configurations that I aimed for.

A budget gaming laptop under $700 is what was craving back in 2022 and guess what? I bought it straight away the day I heard about it.

When it comes to my experience with it, it’s completely flawless till now on low-medium settings.

With a tear and stutter-free gameplay, the Acer Nitro 5 keeps everything keep everything up to the mark.

Why it shouldn’t as it comes with the following hardware details:

Configurations:

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is what compliments my graphics settings and touches the ideal FPS.

Whereas, 4GB memory on a GPU takes good care of all the graphics-related tasks without compromising the 8GB RAM of the Acer Nitro 5 that has the 2666MHz speed.

256GB SSD is not huge but it does give me space to install some good AAA games and basic video files. However, the multi-tasking is amazing with the SSD.

The CPU chip on the Acer Nitro 5 is from the 9th gen that accelerates to 4.1 GHz as soon as the heaviest of tasks are thrown at the gaming laptop.

More specifically, it’s an Intel Core i5-9300H processor that beats its predecessors.

Moreover, the Screen is rich enough to cope with complex graphics.

Speaking of the battery, the 8 hours span is what it delivers to the users of Acer Nitro 5 users.

On the other hand, the ports are limited to 1 USB 2.0 and 2 USB 3.0 which is pretty much on the fair side for a best budget gaming laptop like Acer Nitro 5.

Design:

Aesthetics on a laptop gives an impression of whether a laptop is made for gaming or normal use. Whereas, the Nitro 5 design screams gaming as it has the ergonomics that make it different from a normal laptop.

Its keyboard is backlit and of course, you must avoid the touchpad when playing games because I use a gaming mouse for that specific purpose.

Overall the Acer Nitro 5 stands in the lightweight gaming laptop category with a 5.07 pounds weight. This allows you to carry it from place to place with ease.

Conclusion:

Without an unbiased thought, there’s no way that you’ll walk away without having this cheap gaming laptop.

The way the Acer Nitro 5 delivers performance and holds onto beautiful aesthetics is just phenomenal.

You can give this gaming laptop a try without being followed by regret by investing in it.

Also read: Best gaming laptop under $700

4. MSI Sword – Best Budget Gaming Laptop With GTX 1660 Ti

I came across many gaming laptops from MSI and I had experience with them also.

Since I am putting forward some of the best budget gaming laptops in front of you, MSI Sword is the one worth mentioning here.

The MSI Sword came into my life one year ago. it was more a trying thing than to fulfill my needs.

Whereas I got it after reading some MSI Sword reviews online and after a week of that, it arrived.

The first glimpse first of the design made me a fan of MSI Sword and the performance for games in medium settings is flawless.

It also falls under the $1000 gaming laptops category and comparing the performance with the price tag is completely worth it.

Modern games like Elden Ring are not a problem for the MSI Sword. On top of that, it also gave me a glitch-free experience with video editing.

This all got possible because the laptop equips some tremendous components inside. Here’s what it got!

Configurations:

Speaking of the graphics, the GTX 1660 Ti is the companion of this beast that never says no to graphically complex games.

Whereas, the processor is an intel i7 chip that aims for the highest processing speeds peaking at 2.4GHz.

I also have a 512GB SSD on the MSI Sword and it stores a limited number of games. It combines with the 8GB RAM to make execute multiple tasks simultaneously like a pro.

The tear and stutter-free gameplay is what I admire the most and yes, the MSI Sword has a feature-rich display to keep my games run smoothly.

Sadly, the battery span is ridiculously low with overall 3 hours of survival time.

Design:

The aesthetics of the MSI Sword are the same as the MSI katana. It’s good-looking and sadly a little bulky but lightweight for carrying around with 3.70 pounds of weight.

Everything is organized, however, don’t use the touchpad for gaming.

Conclusion:

I won’t call the MSI Sword a top-notch budget gaming laptop but it does a great job to take on some serious graphically complex games.

The FPS that it achieves on the medium setting is above ideal for some AAA titles.

On the other hand, it also does well for streaming. So if your budget is low, MSI Sword is one of these 5 options for you.

Also read: Best gaming laptops under 500

5. HP Omen Laptop 16 – Best With RTX 3070

After all those cheap options, let me give you a $2000 budget gaming laptop that works like a monster on the gaming side.

HP Omen 16 is way better than all the laptops on this list because of its phenomenal configurations and slim design.

I had this gaming laptop for under $2000 a week ago and so far it doing great. I played some games on it and at the same time, edited some of my videos.

The performance never blinked once.

All the new components are housed inside the HP Omen Laptop 16 that directs it to lend the perfect blows on demanding games.

Configuration:

The first admirable thing about the HP Omen 16 is the 12-gen CPU chip.

It’s an Intel Core i7-12700H processor giving me a max 4.7GHz speed to keep things butter smooth on the screen.

Whereas, the RAM stands at 16GB memory alongside a 512GB SSD that can take on some heavy tasks without hesitation.

Moreover, the required ideal FPS for games is achieved easily with this RTX 3000 series powerful graphics card.

You can actually play games at high settings and the gameplay is going to be smooth.

Design:

The RGB lights on the keyboard are the first thing that appealed to me when I turned on the HP Omen Laptop 16.

It differentiates the portions of the keyboard allowing you to identify the buttons easily.

Whereas, the overall design is not that aesthetic but rather a slim design is given to the Omen 16.

From the design of this gaming laptop, I have the impression that this laptop is made for all purposes.

If you want to use it as a gaming laptop or for office use, the laptop can fit all professions.

Conclusion:

HP Omen 16 is indeed an expensive option for a $2000 budget but I can guarantee its reliability on everything.

It can run games with pride and also help you with your job no matter what type of job it is.

My recommendation is that if you have this specified budget, sure you can get this beast tomorrow.

FAQs

To clear your doubts, let me break down some of the questions about the best low budget gaming laptops and answer them for you.

What is the most affordable gaming laptop?

Acer Nitro 5 is a gaming laptop that offers configurations enough for low-medium settings gaming at an affordable price. If getting a flagship is not possible for you at this very moment, the Nitro 5 is the one that can get the job done. The gaming laptop can also be used for many purposes like photo and video editing. Whereas, if you’re a programmer, it can execute the code without thinking much about it. Similarly, you it says no to other tasks if you’re planning to perform them on the Acer Nitro 5.

Is Omen 16 Good For Gaming?

Yes, the HP Omen 16 is built to achieve the ultimate gaming experience in high settings. It’s equipped with the most reliable hardware that can deal with demanding games and live streams. Whereas, you’ll never regret anything once this beast touches your hands.

What laptop is best for gaming under $1000?

There are many gaming laptops under $1000 but my own favorite is the Dell Flagship G15. It has gaming aesthetics and the hardware is promising. It’s way below $1000 and anyone with an $800 budget can afford it. The gaming experience that you’ll get from the G15 is out of the box in this era of modern games.

Also read: Best gaming laptop under $1300

Conclusion

Guys, the budget gaming laptops on this list will perform according to your expectations. It doesn’t matter if you play games on it or perform some other tasks.

Whereas the HP Omen 16 is my own favorite and I’ll recommend this one to you guys if you can afford it.

Nitro 5 can also move the needle in medium settings but in low settings, it turns out to be a beast.

If you have any other low budget gaming laptop in mind that you’re wishing us to review for you, do let me know. Your thoughts are always appreciated here.

Also read: Best gaming laptops under $1200