The Best Budget Gaming Laptops Right Now

While $1,400 might stretch the definition of "budget," I think you'll agree that the MSI Crosshair 16 HX is a fantastic value for what you're getting. It's designed to offer outstanding performance, great battery life, and overall impressive specs, making its asking price quite reasonable for what you're getting.

Truth be told, I was surprised to find that MSI priced this laptop so affordably for what it's packing. It comes with a 14th Gen Intel processor, complete with 16 cores and 24 threads for killer multitasking performance. It also features a top clock speed of 5.2GHz, which directly translates to more frames per second.

This goes hand in hand with its RTX 4070 GPU. In conjunction with its FHD screen, this graphics card and processor combo is custom tailored to keep your frame rate in the triple digits (at least in many games). The RTX 4070 is designed to offer great performance in the mid-range and is often found in gaming laptops with higher resolution screens; 1200p still looks great here and is easier to run, allowing the RTX 4070 to shine.

And don't forget: Because it's running an RTX 40-series GPU, it can also leverage DLSS and frame generation to push performance even further. While multi-frame generation is limited to the RTX 50-series, you aren't likely to need it here with how well-matched its hardware is.

Its potent component combo doesn't end there. MSI has also equipped it with 16GB of fast DDR5 memory and a 1TB NVMe SSD. This system offers snappy performance even while multitasking and is even up to the task of streaming if you dream of becoming the next Twitch all star. On top of all that, it also comes with a 90Wh battery to keep you up and running all day long (though for the best gaming performance, you should still plan on plugging in like any other gaming laptop).

The trade-off here is weight. Coming in at 5.51lbs, the Crosshair 16 HX isn't light and is also fairly bulky at 1.1 inches thick. In other words, it hews much closer to a traditional gaming laptop than the thin and light designs that have been in vogue lately. Still, in virtually every other way, it blows the competition out of the water and well earns its $1,400 price point.

For less than $1,500, it doesn't get much better than the XPG Xenia 15G. This laptop offers a killer combination of processor, RTX graphics, and fast memory to ensure your games always run smoothly, even with the graphics dialed up. Factoring in its other features, it offers an impressive value that over-delivers for its asking price – which can sometimes drop as low as $1,000!

Despite its affordability, it doesn't make many sacrifices in performance. You're getting 14th Gen Core i7 processor that's more than up to the task of running any modern game at high graphics. The real star of the show, however, is the GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile graphics card. This GPU is able to drive 1440p displays with ease, so the 1080p display in the 15G is no challenge. You'll be able to turn the graphics up and still enjoy high frame rates that can push even higher with the help of advanced features like DLSS and Frame Generation.

This system is also surprisingly upgradable. It features a whopping three SSD slots to expand its built-in storage. The memory can also be upgraded to 64GB with its easily accessible slots. It’s one of the most upgradeable laptops I’ve come across this year and makes it an even better investment in my book.

The biggest downsides are its weight and battery life. At 4.96lbs, it's not the heaviest gaming laptop out there, but it's far from the lightest. Add in its AC adapter, and you will definitely feel it in your bag or backpack. You'll need to carry it, too, because it's 53.35Wh battery isn’t large enough to last the whole day without severely limiting your brightness.

Making its debut this year, the laptop to beat under $1,000 is the Acer Nitro V ANV16-41-R5K2. This laptop features a stellar CPU and GPU combination to deliver great gaming performance on its high refresh rate 1200p display. There are some sacrifices with this one, but its gaming performance definitely makes up for its limitations.

Here's the thing: This is the laptop you choose if performance is your top priority and you're on a tight budget. It packs an 8-core Ryzen 8845HS processor, fully capable of driving the latest games to the full potential of its RTX 4060 graphics card. It's not common to see such a combination at this price, but between the two, you can count on running most games at high settings on its FHD screen.

On top of this, it also has 16GB of fast DDR5 memory to ensure you can run multiple apps at a time with snappy performance and won't find yourself bottlenecked even in the most demanding games this year. Acer was generous with storage too, outfitting this laptop with a 1TB NVMe SSD so you can install multiple games and enjoy speedy loading times.

But here's how Acer pulled this combo off: It pared back on its port selection, offering only two USB-A ports and a single USB Type-C around the back. Thankfully, it follows the USB 4 protocol for power delivery and video, so you can swap its bulky charger with a smaller GaN charger and matching USB cable.

And you will definitely need that chargers. This laptop only comes with a 59Wh battery. Acer rates it at only offering 7 hours of uptime, which seems optimistic from my experience with this hardware. If you plan on gaming over battery, it will almost certainly run dry in less than a single hour.

So you'll need to carry the charger with you, but in exchange, you can count on much better frame rates on its 165Hz screen and better graphics in the process. If you don't mind carrying the charging brick, this laptop is a killer pick for the price.

I know, I know: The Steam Deck OLED, which we reviewed a 9/10, isn't actually a laptop. But for just north of $500, it's still one of the best ways to get into PC gaming on the go. The OLED version brings a massively upgraded screen to the Steam Deck, making games look better than ever, even without turning on ultra settings.

The Steam Deck OLED isn't about sheer power. Its been out for a while and isn't running the latest hardware, but when it comes to value, it's hard to beat. Because it's so popular, it has a wide library of games that run well on it. Some games like Cyberpunk 2077 even have dedicated graphics modes specific to the Steam Deck. Valve also helps with this process with its own compatibility rating that you'll find on the product page of most games available on the Steam store. With a click, you can easily tell how well a game should be expected to run and any potential issues that you may encounter.

Because the Steam Deck OLED runs on SteamOS, you can count on a clean user experience that's designed specifically for the Steam Deck. It feels much more unified and intuitive than most competing PC handhelds, which run Windows and emulate a mouse cursor to navigate. This does mean that not every game is compatible, which is something worth considering before committing to a purchase. Hundreds upon hundreds of games are, however, and that list is growing all the time.

If you're looking to play the latest games at high settings, this probably isn't the choice for you, but then that would be the case for any gaming laptop around this price point. If you're willing to spend a bit more, the ROG Ally X and Lenovo Legion Go are excellent alternatives with newer, faster hardware. Neither offer the Steam Deck's beautiful OLED screen, however.

If you're looking for lots of memory and storage on a budget, look no further than the Gigabyte G6X. When I reviewed this laptop, I remarked that it wasn't the thinnest or lightest but that it offered plenty of RAM and storage space and pretty great gaming performance at a reasonable cost. If you don't mind that bit of extra weight – a common theme among budget gaming laptops – this is a portable gaming PC that won't force you to upgrade because you’re multitasking too much or too hard, or downloading too many games.

With 32GB of system memory, it offers more than most gaming laptops around this price. You'll be able to play games with the browser open in the background or stream without the system becoming sluggish in the process. A 2TB SSD means that you can download twice as many games before you need to pick and choose compared to most of the competition in this budget range. It also comes with a slightly larger 16-inch screen that runs at 165Hz for smooth gameplay with less motion blur.

All of those features do come at a cost, however. It's not exactly ligh,t coming in at 5.64lbs, and is on the thicker side at 1.13 inches toward the hinge. Screen brightness also leaves something to be desired, topping out at 250 nits, which makes gaming in direct sunlight out of the question. For indoor use, its combination of specs is hard to beat without paying substantially more, which makes it a solid recommendation.

Where to Get the Best Cheap Gaming Laptops in the UK

It is definitely possible to game on a budget, and these laptops will certainly help you get there. Thankfully, the vast majority of laptops on this list are also available to purchase in the UK. Take your pick: