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Behind us are the days when most gamers turned up their noses at laptops, which couldn’t hold a candle to the desktop PCs of the time. Today’s mobile GPUs can easily handle the latest titles at high settings, and there are even some very solid gaming laptops for casual players and gamers on a budget. So whether you play less demanding games like Fortnite or Minecraft or you’re after a beefy battle station that can run AAA releases like Assassin’s Creed and Halo Infinite, our hand-picked list of the week’s best gaming laptop deals can scratch that itch and save you some money.
Today’s best gaming laptop deals
With rebate
This 15-inch MSI gaming laptop comes with a powerful RTX 30-series graphics card and a 144Hz refresh rate display. That’s a winning combination for gaming laptops, all for a solid price. more
For under a grand, this laptop will easily push through modern games. It sports Nvidia’s new RTX 30-series graphics to handle all your gaming needs. more
The HP Pavilion is a great mid-level gaming laptop. With this CPU and GPU combo, you’ll be able to play today’s games while also easily tackling projects for school or work. more
With what might be the best new higher-range GPU for the money, this gorgeous Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop will handle the latest games for years to come. more
The MSI GF63 is the perfect entry-level laptop for gamers on a budget. It boasts superior graphics, fast performance, and hi-res audio in a thin and light package. more
With rebate
Score a very worthy discount on the high-end Gigabyte G5 15-inch gaming laptop. With hardware like this and a 144Hz display, this thing could be the last PC you’ll need for years to come. more
HP has built some serious gaming rep, and this laptop backs that up with its superb hardware and solid build. With a high-end GPU, CPU, and 16″ QHD display, laggy gaming will be a thing of the past. more
Along with nice specs, this Lenovo Legion 5 laptop sports a 17-inch 1080p display with a buttery smooth 144Hz refresh rate, making it a great gaming desktop replacement. more
16:10 Touch Display
With its solid specs and 13.4″ 16:10 120Hz touch display, gamers will find themselves completely immersed in the Asus ROG laptop. Enjoy vivid graphics and great performance in a sleek package. more
This laptop is built for serious gaming. From Minecraft to the latest AAA titles, the new RTX-equipped Lenovo IdeaPad can tackle it all with ease. more
MSI’s 14-inch Prestige laptop takes everything up a notch. The dedicated Nvidia GPU will be a great boost for games, and content looks superb on its 4K display. more
This new HP Victus 16-inch gaming laptop is a fantastic mid-level option for the price, offering all the performance you need with a RTX 3000-series GPU and a 144Hz display at an affordable price. more
This true 15-Inch gaming laptop has the hardware to back it up, along with great build quality, an understated design, a 120Hz display, and thermals to help keep it cool while you play hard. more
Use eCoupon MERRYSAVING
Lenovo’s new 16-inch ThinkBook pairs a gorgeous 1600p 16″ display with beefy hardware that can even handle gaming. It’s all the laptop you’ll need for years to come. more
Use eCoupon WSHOLIDAY21
The classically inspired ThinkPad T15 isn’t made to win visual design awards. It’s made to work; boasting great hardware that can easily handle heavy workloads and even gaming. more
Effortlessly play the latest games on the highest settings with this gaming laptop, which packs cutting-edge hardware and a smooth 300Hz display to match. more
Equipped with fantastic hardware, this beefy ROG Zephyrus 14 gaming laptop will handle all your gaming needs with ease. more
Want a gaming laptop that won’t hold you back? The Razer Blade 15 is a great choice. With its great specs and premium build quality, it’ll give you the edge and last for years. more
Featuring an 11th-generation Core CPU and one of Nvidia’s newer RTX GPUs, this gaming laptop delivers desktop-caliber gaming you can take wherever you go. more
The Gigabyte Aero 15 Creator gaming laptop pairs fantastic hardware with a gorgeous 4K OLED display. It’s the last gaming laptop you’ll need to buy for a very long time. more
MSI’s high-end gaming laptop packs a real punch thanks to its cutting-edge GPU, speedy performance, and spacious storage for all your games and apps. Great power from a great brand. more
4K Display
Bring your games to life like never before with this Gigabyte Aero gaming laptop, featuring a gorgeous 17-inch 4K display and superb hardware to match. more
Whether it’s editing videos or playing high-end games like Red Dead Redemption 2, the 16-inch Asus ROG Strix gaming laptop has you covered. more
This laptop is all about letting you work and play in comfort without sacrificing performance. It’s lightweight for its size but still packs a punch with its beefy CPU and RTX 30-series graphics. more
It’s not as gaming-focused as its larger siblings, but if you want a sleek and powerful duty-grade laptop that can still game, the 13-inch Razer Blade Stealth gives the MacBook a run for its money. more
It’s well-known that MSI makes gaming laptops that punch well above their weight, and the excellent MSI Sword is one of the best ways to try one of the new RTX 30-series GPUs. more
How to choose a gaming laptop
The two main considerations when choosing a good gaming laptop are naturally going to be what you’re willing to spend and which graphics card you want (considering the GPU is what actually makes a laptop a “gaming laptop”), and these two are closely linked as your budget is going to determine what graphical performance tier you can afford. However, don’t overlook some of the smaller things that you might personally want in a gaming laptop – convenience features such as programmable button macros, customizable RGB keyboard backlighting, and so on – so that you don’t jump on that great deal only to end up with something that doesn’t actually meet your needs. For more detailed hardware analysis, read on.
What makes a good gaming laptop?
A good gaming laptop should first and foremost be affordable, but you don’t want to go for the first deal you find that simply happens to meet your budget. You can expect to pay at least $600 (usually closer to $700) for a gaming laptop with a dedicated graphics card, although you can find a few that have AMD APUs with built-in Vega graphics for less than that. Also bear in mind that Nvidia recently released its new line of 16-series GPUs which have completely replaced the older 10-series graphics cards as the entry-level and midrange GeForce GPUs. In 2020, you’re better off avoiding older laptop models with these 10-series cards and sticking with the best modern GPUs ones, as the price is about the same and they will generally come with more up-to-date CPUs as well.
In the budget-friendly price brackets, the most powerful graphics card you’re likely to find in a gaming laptop right now is arguably the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 or AMD Radeon RX 5600M, although you can expect to spend nearly your full budget for a laptop with this kind of graphical horsepower. If you’re going cheaper, though, then you’ll see cards in the GTX 16-series and RX 5000-series, pretty much all of which are still very capable of running modern titles at 1080p/60fps at good to high in-game settings.
For memory, 8GB of RAM should be the bare minimum (unless you’re going really cheap), and 16GB is a better mark to aim for in a modern gaming system. A higher refresh rate of 144Hz on the laptop display will also ensure a smoother experience when playing at higher framerates, but that’s something that you’ll typically find on gaming laptops sporting nicer GPUs like the GTX 1660 Ti or RTX 2060. That’s one of the sacrifices you’ll make with a gaming laptop, but if you know what to expect, you shouldn’t end up disappointed.
Should I get a gaming laptop or a gaming PC?
The primary difference between a gaming laptop and a gaming PC is portability. If you want a gaming computer to set up at a battle station, never to be moved again, then you should probably spring for a gaming PC deal instead. Since gaming PCs are bigger, they can hold more hardware, use bigger fans, and be easily customized. Laptops have the advantage of moving with you. To that end, a gaming laptop can be more than just a gaming laptop. You can take it to lecture classes for notes or use it as a work computer.
Are gaming laptops good for work?
A gaming laptop is still a laptop and can do everything that a laptop computer can do — that includes work. In fact, even a gaming laptop can offer some advantages: Faster processors and increased RAM will make all of your non-gaming software run noticeably faster, and graphical work such as video editing and rendering will go much more quickly with a dedicated graphics card. Even if you mostly use your PC for work first and only light gaming, it might be worth it to shell out a little more cash for a gaming laptop for the better hardware you’ll be getting.
We strive to help our readers find the best deals on quality products and services, and we choose what we cover carefully and independently. The prices, details, and availability of the products and deals in this post may be subject to change at anytime. Be sure to check that they are still in effect before making a purchase.
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