Gaming on a budget? We’ve got you covered. Our top ten list runs through the best gaming laptops under $1000. Take your pick — they’re all budget-friendly. Some People generally believe that expensive laptops are powerful, but this is often completely wrong when it involves buying a gaming laptop. The output of the gaming laptop depends almost solely upon its hardware specifications.
Therefore, a perfect gaming laptop is one with powerful hardware which may output performance like the gaming desktop, and allow for mobility on the go! If you are ready to spend $1000 for your new gaming laptop, then there are a lot of such powerful and reliable sub-$1000 gaming laptops available in the market for you.
However, arranging a sufficient amount to shop for a gaming laptop is an attempt-seeking task and on the opposite hand, gathering proper information to shop for the simplest gaming laptop is again an arduous task. We here at My smart tech choice, are always making our efforts to scale back your efforts in buying a laptop. We have thus, come up with a full-fledged buying guide for the simplest mid-range gaming laptops which incorporates our regularly revised and latest list of ‘top 10 best gaming laptops under $1000 price tag’.
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Tips on what to consider before buying the best gaming laptop under $1000 in 2022
Although the most powerful gaming laptops will cost you a bit more than $1,000, there are plenty of ways to maximize your budget and get the most from your gaming experience. Before we look in-depth at the best gaming laptops under $1,000, let’s look at some of the critical factors you should consider in your search
1. Lookout for enough RAM & storage.
RAM is very important for maximizing your gaming performance. That’s why we recommend at least 8GB for a solid experience. In talking about storage, SSD ensures the fastest load times, but it’ll likely cost you in terms of space. Want the best of both worlds? We recommend an SSD + HDD combo, which provides quick boot times and many rooms for your game library.
2. Choose a powerful CPU & dedicated GPU
For around $1,000, you should be able to get a new Intel Core i5 or i7 (or AMD equivalent) processor and dedicated graphics cards such as a GeForce GTX 1050 or 1050 Ti. With the exclusion of one or two less expensive models, all the laptops on our list of best gaming laptops have at least an i5 processor and dedicated GPU.
3. Buy from a reputable brand.
There are numerous electronics makers out there, and they all like to think they’re the best. But this simply isn’t the case. Buying a laptop from top brands like Dell and HP ensures quality control, and additionally, these models come with excellent warranties against defects. Still not sure? Check out the rating section on popular E-commerce sites like Amazon to see how each laptop measures up.
Top 10 best gaming laptops in 2022 (Top affordable ones)
1. Acer Predator: best Acer gaming laptop under $1000
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU: Intel Core i7-10750H
GRAPHICS: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Laptop GPU
RAM: 16GB
STORAGE: 512GB SSD
| REASONS TO BUY | REASONS NOT TO BUY |
|---|---|
| Has a good cooling system | RTX 3060 Model is better |
| Lots of port | |
| Inbuilt overclocking features |
Acer Predator Helios 300 is the best gaming laptop from Acer and comes in a matte finished blue-and-black colored outer chassis, and accordingly, has a subtle look for gamers. The laptop comes with a well-engineered chassis design, which not only adds to the form factor but also provides excellent thermal efficiency with its huge air dissipating vents on the back.
On the inside, the laptop is housed with the latest 10th Generation Intel Core i7-10750H processor, which can reach up to 5 GHz of clock speed. The laptop comes with 16GB of RAM, meant to handle multitasking and ensure a robust gaming performance. On the storage side, it comes with 512GB of SSD storage, and there’s empty storage space inside if you wish to put in an extra HDD/SSD.
Talking about the Graphics on this gaming machine, it is bolstered by an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 with 6GB of dedicated GDDR6 VRAM. The laptop with its great blend of specifications and features provides an outstanding all-around performance with a compelling gaming experience. Considering the gaming experience, the laptop comes with a 144Hz refresh-rate 15.6-inch IPS display and houses the company’s proprietary Acer TrueHarmony, and Dolby Audio Premium Sound meant to deliver smooth visuals and immersive audio during gameplay.
Aside from this, the laptop also comes with a great thermal management system. It houses dual aero-blade cooling fans which allow its CPU and GPU to perform more efficiently. Additionally, it has a customizable RGB backlit keyboard, which complements its overall gaming design. All these amazing sets of features and such powerful hardware for a price tag that’s almost $1000 make the Acer Predator Helios 300 one of the best value-for-money gaming laptops you can buy out there.
2. ASUS TUF A15: best ASUS gaming laptop under $1000
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 4800H 8-core
GRAPHICS: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card
RAM: 8GB
STORAGE: 512GB SSD
| REASONS TO BUY | REASONS NOT TO BUY |
|---|---|
| Long battery life | Noisy fans |
| Superb AMD processor | Not the most appealing design |
| Great 1080p performance |
ASUS, a well-known computer hardware manufacturing brand also has a very well-established portfolio in the best gaming laptops sector. One such laptop from the company is the ASUS TUF A15, this is one of the most value for money options from ASUS’s portfolio of budget gaming laptops out there right now.
The laptop has a 15.6-inch full HD display which is a 60Hz panel so it’s not the best you can get at this price range, but it’s manageable considering the overall package and the price. It’s made with a solid build chassis, which makes every bit of the laptop look and feel like it is built to last. As far as the specifications of the laptop are concerned, it is powered by the newest AMD Ryzen 7 4800H 8-core processor coupled with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD. Although the laptop comes with very little RAM out of the box, it is easily upgradable.
The star of the show is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card, which handles the run on the graphics and is well synchronized with the first processor to deliver exceptional gaming performance for the price. Overall, the ASUS TUF A15 is no doubt one of the best gaming laptops for game lovers on a budget. It doesn’t compromise in raw performance and offers all the newest and absolute most powerful set of specs you’ll get for the worth. That is why it is among our picks of best gaming laptops under $1000 right now.
- Read also best ASUS laptops in the market
3. Dell G5 Series 15-inch Gaming Laptop: Best Dell gaming laptop under $1000
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU: Intel Core i5
GRAPHICS: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
RAM: 8GB
STORAGE: 256GB SSD
| REASONS TO BUY | REASONS NOT TO BUY |
|---|---|
| Robust, fast keyboard | Could be faster |
| Fantastic battery life | Chassis is relatively big and heavy |
| Sturdy design | An underwhelming 120Hz display |
The G series of Dell’s gaming laptops are some of the best budget gaming laptops available to buy in the market right now. Realistically, the Dell G5 is a great gaming laptop with a perfect gaming-hued design and high-performance hardware.
Speaking about the internals of the laptop, it is powered by a quad-core comet lake Intel Core i5 processor paired with an 8GB of DDR4 RAM. As far as the graphics on the device are concerned, the laptop is equipped with a 6GB of Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics processor, which remains as one of the flagship graphics processors at the $1000 price range.
The laptop comes with a 15.6-inch 144Hz Full HD display to ensure the gaming experience and provide rich yet eye-friendly views while gaming. The laptop keyboard is also comfortable to type, and it has backlit keys to enjoy games at night. Although storage on the laptop is of less capacity with just 256GB of SSD, it can easily be upgraded as there are two slots inside for the storage drives. The laptop sports a higher than usual number of ports and can be paired with a wide range of gaming accessories from Dell.
- Take a look at the best Dell laptops right now
4. Lenovo Legion 5: best gaming laptops from Lenovo
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7
GRAPHICS: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU
RAM: 16GB
STORAGE: 512 GB M.2 NVMe
| REASONS TO BUY | REASONS NOT TO BUY |
|---|---|
| Great build quality | Subpar speakers |
| Good keyboard and trackpad | Lousy webcam |
| Lots of upgrade options | Potential issues with the included Realtek WiFi chip |
| Decent battery life, especially the 80Whr model |
Lenovo, although, being famous for providing business classwork and performance-based laptops, has come out this time with a very strong and able set of gaming laptops. The Legion 5 is one of their recently released gaming laptop under 1000 dollars which from most angles doesn’t look like a gaming laptop, but it bolsters very powerful internals inside.
It comes with a 15.6-inch full HD display with a 144Hz refresh rate, and it covers a full sRGB color gamut, making it a good taste for both content creators and gamers. Talk about the innards of this laptop it is powered by the latest gen 2.8GHz eight-core AMD Ryzen 7 processor and has a powerful Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU accompanying it. This is a very reliable CPU & GPU combo for playing games. The Legion 5 can run all the latest games at decent framerates in high settings.
For a better multimedia experience, it’s equipped with a dual Harman Kardon loudspeaker fine-tuned by Dolby Atmos sound to supply an immersive audio experience. All these are just a few of the highlighting features of the Lenovo Legion 5, and we are sure there’s far more than this laptop offers to please gamers.
- Read our full Lenovo Legion 5 review
5. Best 17-inch Gaming laptop under $1000: MSI GF75
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU: Intel Core i7
GRAPHICS: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650
RAM: 8GB
STORAGE: 512GB SSD
| REASONS TO BUY | REASONS NOT TO BUY |
|---|---|
| Thin bezels | No Thunderbolt 3 port |
| Well-spaced keyboard | No SD card reader |
| Less noisy than most gaming laptops | Weak battery |
MSI GF75 17 may be a complete gaming stationed laptop that is supposed to supply an uninterrupted gaming experience. For a price of about $1000, it offers all the most recent set of specifications which incorporates the newest 10th Gen Intel processors.
The laptop is powered by a 6-core Intel Core i7 processor clocked at 2.6GHz, and gaming on the laptop is enhanced by Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 graphics. The CPU and GPU are paired with 8GB of RAM and 512GB SSD, both of which can be easily upgraded. By watching its specs, it’s quite lucid that the specs aren’t the strongest point of this laptop. Though it can run all the new games, it won’t be at high settings like most laptops mentioned here on the list.
Although it doesn’t make noise, even when pushed to the limits, it’s an efficient work machine. Plus, it has a great build quality overall. Its chassis does flex in certain areas, which is quite a common thing with 17-inch laptops, but overall it feels tough, and it’s not going to break easily.
Overall, the MSI GF75 is a superb option if you’re trying to find a 17-inch gaming laptop for under $1000. It might not be easy to hold around a machine thanks to its large dimensions and weight, but if it’ll be sitting on tabletop mostly, then it’s a superb desktop replacement machine for both works and play.
6. HP Pavilion 16″ Gaming Laptop: best HP gaming laptop under $1000
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU: 10TH GEN Intel Core i5
GRAPHICS: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti
RAM: 8GB
STORAGE: 512GB SSD
| REASONS TO BUY | REASONS NOT TO BUY |
|---|---|
| Great design | The display is a bit dull |
| The keyboard is quite tactile | Thermal management is average |
| Performance is up to the mark | No biometric authentication |
If you’ve got to always think that the 15-inch laptops are too small to play games and 17 inches are too bulky to hold around, then the HP Pavilion 16 is for you. It is the sole gaming laptop that comes in a 16-inch size and offers an ideal balance of large-screen entertainment and portability within the best gaming laptop list.
It sports a 16.1 inch full HD IPS display. However, it is not a high refresh-rate panel, so the gaming experience on this laptop will not be as great as other gaming laptops mentioned here, but it’s a decent panel overall for everyday tasks. Inside, it’s got the newest 10th Gen Intel i5 processor with 8GB RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. To handle gaming, it’s a fanatical Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti GPU, so it’ll be ready to run all the new games with no problems. However, you would possibly need to play some games at medium settings to achieve playable framerates.
Apart from that, the build quality of this HP Pavilion 16 is great, and with its chassis made up of polycarbonate, it’s also a fairly lightweight laptop weighing just 4.7 pounds despite its large size. On the opposite hand, its black and green color scheme may be a subject of private interest.
- We also made a list of the top best HP laptops
7. MSI GF65 15-inch Gaming Laptop
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU: Intel Core i5
GRAPHICS: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060
RAM: 8GB
STORAGE: 512GB SSD
| REASONS TO BUY | REASONS NOT TO BUY |
|---|---|
| Lots of graphics power | Limited lighting options |
| Affordable price | Rather plain design |
| Simple configuration tool |
Speaking about the inner structure of the laptop, it is powered by an Intel Core i5 processor paired with 8GB of RAM. The laptop sports a 120Hz display which is superb for gaming and it delivers a higher color range, better contrast, and excellent viewing angles. Coming to the first niche of the laptop; gaming on this beast is bolstered by a strong Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 graphic card, which makes it capable enough to run almost every new game at high settings.
As far as storage on this laptop is taken into account it comes with a 512GB of SSD for faster and better file transfers. Apart from all the aforementioned interesting set of specifications, the RAM of this laptop is further expandable up to 32GB and storage is additionally easy to upgrade.
It comes with a chiclet red-backlit keyboard with customizable dedicated gaming keys and far more. With all that has been said, if you’re a lover of MSI laptops and wish for an ideal machine to satisfy your gaming hunger, then we bet it’s the simplest buy for you under $1000 currently.
8. Acer Nitro 5: Best Budget gaming laptop
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU: Hexa-core AMD Ryzen 5
GRAPHICS: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650
RAM: 8GB
STORAGE: 256GB SSD
| REASONS TO BUY | REASONS NOT TO BUY |
|---|---|
| Good battery life | Speakers produce painful highs |
| User controllable fans | Thick display bezel |
| Decent gaming performance for the price | Too much travel on the trackpad |
Acer has built some of the best gaming laptops and has its footprints set up in the gaming arena. The Acer Nitro 5 is Acer’s best budget gaming notebook, which isn’t as powerful as other gaming laptops mentioned here, but it also sells for a lot less money. For a price below 800 dollars, it offers a Hexa-core AMD Ryzen 5 processor and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 GPU with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD. That’s a lot of power for the money.
Although, Acer is not offering these powerful specs without cutting corners. Its sub-par 15-inch full HD display is one of its biggest caveats, which however considering the worth still feels justifiable. The laptop also sports a chunky design with a rather dull red and black color scheme.
All in all, it’s still a great deal. One cannot go wrong with its performance and what it has to offer for the money. So, if you are looking for an absolute bargain for the gaming laptop, then Acer Nitro 5 is an excellent pick for a lot less than $1000.
9. Lenovo Ideapad 3i 15″: best gaming laptop with 120Hz
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU: Intel Core i7
GRAPHICS: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti
RAM: 8GB
STORAGE: 512GB SSD
| REASONS TO BUY | REASONS NOT TO BUY |
|---|---|
| Affordable | Dim screen |
| Powerful mid-range gaming laptop | No USB-C or Wi-Fi 6 |
| Can upgrade RAM and SSD | Loose, small touchpad |
The gaming laptops market, which was once ruled by only one or two brands now features a wide portfolio of brands and models, offering top-of-the-road specifications and features. Accordingly, our current contender, the Lenovo IdeaPad 3i gaming laptop not just offers specced internals, but also comes with a relatively lightweight chassis, gaining it a plus over other laptops within the best gaming laptops list.
The laptop is built with a professional-looking external chassis, which is well-engineered to supply excellent ergonomics. The laptop sports a 15.6-inch 1080p display with a 120Hz refresh rate and it gets reasonably bright and features wide viewing angles, which makes gaming and usefulness easy.
Speaking of the internals of the laptop, it is powered by an Intel Core i7 processor, paired with an 8GB of DDR4 RAM for multitasking. Moreover, the laptop has a superb thermal management system that helps the processor turbo boost its clock frequency up to five .0 GHz and run calmly for prolonged periods, to provide impeccable performance and user experience. This beautifully crafted gaming laptop is given a 4GB of Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti video card to handle gaming and graphics-related tasks. On the storage front, the laptop is backed by a 512GB of a solid-state drive, which is a smaller amount but it’s upgradable.
- Do you know the right Lenovo Laptop for you?
10. HP Omen 15: best non-hot gaming laptop
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 4800H eight-core
GRAPHICS: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
RAM: 8GB
STORAGE: 512GB SSD
| REASONS TO BUY | REASONS NOT TO BUY |
|---|---|
| Fantastic 165Hz QHD display | No USB-C charging |
| Great cooling, doesn’t run hot | Flimsy-feeling chassis |
| Strong gaming performance | The power button is precariously placed |
Another gaming laptop from the house of HP, and this one is for pro-gamers who expect nothing but the simplest from their gaming laptops. The HP Omen is among the leading brands in the gaming sector, and our current contender the Omen 15 packs all the most recent and powerful hardware and is additionally rich in terms of features.
It is powered by the foremost recent AMD Ryzen 7 4800H eight-core processor and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU. Multitasking on the laptop is managed by the 8GB onboard memory which can be upgraded up to a whopping 32GB with the extra RAM slots provided. As far as storage cares, the laptop comes with a spacious and fast 512GB of PCIe based NVMe M.2 SSD. If you think that that won’t cut it for you, then storage is additionally easily upgradable on the laptop.
The laptop delivers great performance to play most of the newest games at high settings, and because of its excellent cooling system, the laptop always stays at comfortable temperatures so you can enjoy gaming for hours on this gaming beast. It also sports a customizable four-zone RGB keyboard with deep traveling keys which makes typing and gaming both pleasurable on this machine.
Apart from gaming, the laptop is additionally the perfect pick for color-accuracy tasks using professional software because its 15.6-inch display covers full sRGB color gamut and it’s also a 144Hz refresh-rate panel so it’s equally great to enjoy games also. HP successfully has hit two birds with a single stone.
The HP Omen 15 is among the only a few “flagship gaming laptops” with AMD’s newest 4000 series processor. So, if you’re curious about purchasing the AMD gaming laptop, then HP Omen 15 offers the simplest build quality and features under the $1000 tag.
We would like to inform our dear readers that all the best gaming laptops mentioned here have been through some series of tests and checks to creep on this list, so they are the simplest options available call at the market and are an entire value for money purchases immediately.
Take your time and go through the review of every laptop and buy the one which suits your gaming taste. We hope that this gaming laptop buying guide helps you in buying the best gaming laptop under $1000 for yourself.