How to buy the best budget gaming laptop for you
What makes a good budget gaming laptop?
As long as you’re prepared to downsize your screen resolution in research for that magical 60fps frame rate, you can happily battle it out on a laptop with integrated Iris XE graphics.
However, a discrete GPU is still essential if you want to play AAA titles at smoother frame rates and higher detail levels.
Which GPU is better?
As it stands, you won’t see a bare minimum of more than Nvidia GPUs in gaming laptops , so the vote will be between which series to opt for and which particular mannequin to nominate within that series.
The RTX series GPUs are the most powerful and can handle the latest RTX or Ray Tracing technology. Lesser GTX-series GPUs can’t handle ray tracing or take a huge performance hit, but they tend to show up in more affordable machines.
Nvidia’s MX-series GPUs are sometimes found in hybrid productivity/gaming laptops , but performance tends to be on par with the best integrated graphics and won’t be for serious gamers.
It boils down to you wanting to see the further series of GPUs, which I’ve listed in descending order of performance:
Best GPUs for mobile gaming:
Nvidia GeForce 30 series: 3080, 3070, 3060
Nvidia GeForce RTX 20 series: RTX 2080, RTX 2070, RTX 2060
Nvidia GeForce GTX series: GTX 1660 Ti, GTX 1650 Ti, GTX 1650
What about the RAM and the CPU?
CPU and amount of RAM are still important, but since most games rely more on the GPU than the CPU these days, it’s not as critical as you might think. For the military, a budget gaming laptop can get away with 8GB of RAM and many prefer cheaper CPUs over more expensive, long-lasting units.
That said, a more powerful CPU will make a difference if your gaming choice leans in the direction of MMO titles or logistics-intensive games like Total War: Warhammer 2.
In this case, you want to look at manufacturers’ high-end performance series CPUs, which are typically denoted with an “H” or “HK” suffix, rather than low-power CPUs designed for long-row life, which are denoted with a » U ” or a “ Y ” suffix.
In this case, opt for latest generation laptops or two. With Intel laptops, those are currently the 11th and 10th-playing chips (for example, the Intel Core i7-10 370H ). With AMD, those are currently the Ryzen 5, 7, and 9 5000 or 4000 series chips (for example, the Intel Ryzen 5 4600 H). Expect laptops with newer CPUs inside to cost more.
What kind of screen do you need?
With budget laptops, you want to keep the load on the GPU unnoticeable to make sure you keep your frame rates as high as possible, and that means keeping the resolution higher than 1080p, regardless of screen size.
It’s also worth having a built-in screen refresh rate on a gaming laptop. Most normal laptop screens go higher than 59 or 60Hz, but thoroughbred gaming machines push it to 144Hz, 165Hz, or even 240Hz. Having a fire-breathing GPU that can churn out 120fps doesn’t make sense. if your screen can only manage the middle of that.
Remember, Hz refers to the number of times a display can render an image per second, so a 60Hz display can only render games at 60fps, no matter the level of GPU performance.
What other features should I find out?
A keyboard optimized for the unique demands of gaming is another feature to consider. I’ll leave you to ponder the value of a keyboard that lights up in all the colors of the iris curve, but a design that highlights the old faithful WASD movement keys has a solid bag and is certainly worth having a judicious amount of itinerary. of the keys.
You may still want to consider the cooling system: Gaming can make a laptop hard, so you don’t want to struggle with thermal throttling or end up with a machine so hot it can fry an egg on the palm rest. Most gaming laptops have custom control panels that let you turn up the fan speed to keep things cool.
Lastly, you’ll need a judicious amount of storage. You can satisfy a 256GB SSD with less than half a dozen AAA games, so you really need at least 512GB and ideally 1TB with the option to install more capacity when needed.
Best budget gaming laptops to buy in 2022
1. Asus TUF Dash 15: The best gaming laptop bar none
Price: €1,300 ($1499) | Buy now on Amazon
The combination of an 11th-play i7 processor, Nvidia’s impressive RTX 3070 GPU, and profuse memory (16GB system and 8GB graphics) make the new Asus TUF Dash 15 an incredible gaming rig. Until relatively recently, the original price of €1,299 would not have given you a minimum as powerful or capable of reproducing the latest Ray Tracing technology in effective time.
The Dash 15 is still the only machine here to offer 1TB of storage as typified, a useful thanks to the ever-enduring size of variety-building game titles. And there is still a slot for a second M.2 SSD yet. Add to that a very sensible 240Hz display, a good quality sound system and a sensible string duration and you’re in for a winner. It also looks perfect, especially in the striking Moonlight White jacket.
The only real drawbacks are the ditching of a webcam and the creepy congruous aquamarine keyboard backlight. For the silver, I would have appreciated a configurable RGB backlight. However, the translucent WASD keys are a nice visual and practical touch. At a dead 2kg, it’s still fairly fast for a arcade machine.
Secret Specifications – Asus TUF Dash 15
Processor: Intel Core i7-11370H
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX3070
Screen: 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080 RAM: 16 GB
Total storage: 1 TB SSD
Dimensions: 360 x 252 x 20 mm (round)
Weight: 2 kg
2. Medion Erazer Crawler E10: The most trade-in gaming laptop worth buying
Price: €700 ($799)| buy on ebuyer
You might get a quick whiff of Aldi’s aisle over the Medion brand, but at just £700, the Erazer E10 is one of the cheapest gaming laptops on sale in the UK and offers a discrete Nvidia GPU wrapped in a sleek design. reasonably solid and elegant. case.
Some means of the package are perhaps a little too chrematistic basement; the speakers are sorely lacking, while the IPS screen is dull and monotonous and only refreshes at 59Hz. But the keyboard has an arithmetic keyboard and is mechanically impressive, on top of that, there are many options to update after the transaction has occurred. With just 256GB of storage on offer, an additional SSD should be first off your tape.
To continue the low price, Medion has used a 10th-play Core i5 processor, but it still has the balls to run basic productivity tasks with reasonable speed and efficiency, while the GeForce 1650Ti GPU keeps most AAA games running smoothly. problems. Row length isn’t even that bad.
Secret Specifications – Medion Erazer Crawler E10
Processor: Intel Core i5 10300H
GPU: Nvidia GeForce 1650Ti
Screen: 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080
RAM: 8GB
Total Storage: 256GB SSD
Dimensions: 360 x 240 x 23mm
Weight : 2.2kg
buy on ebuyer
3. Acer Nitro 5: A solid proposition at a tempting price
Price: €999 ($1199)| Buy from Acer
The prototype gaming laptop with a red backlight and red-highlighted keys, the Nitro 5 is a perfectly wise package for silver. Our review dummy consisted of the AMD Ryzen 5 4600H machine in an Amazon-exclusive bundle with a Nitro-branded headset , gaming mouse, and mouse mat for €999. Forgo the accessories and the same silver gives you the Ryzen 7 4800-based reading which is slightly more powerful but uses the same GeForce 1650Ti GPU.
The Nitro is faintly let down by a drab and inaccurately color-consistent screen, albeit with a 144Hz refresh rate, and less-than-stellar speakers. On a more positive note, there are plenty of upgrading opportunities for the user, including two M.2 SSD mounts, a 2.5-inch SATA3 bay, and an bypassed RAM slot. As typified, the Nitro has 512GB of storage and 8GB of RAM, so you’ll probably need those expansion ports sooner rather than later.
The keyboard is mechanically sound and comes with a full arithmetic keyboard which I always like to see in a gaming setup. Acer’s Nitro Sense system control panel is a matter of simplicity, allowing you to easily modify fan settings to best suit your needs. The length of the row is solid and the DC input connector is very neatly hidden in the back of the machine. All in all, the Nitro 5 is a solid option.
Secret Specifications – Acer Nitro 5
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 4600H
GPU: Nvidia GeForce 1650Ti
Screen: 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080
RAM: 8GB
Total Storage: 512GB SSD
Dimensions: 363 x 255 x 24mm
Weight: 2.2kg
Buy from Acer
4. HP Omen 15 (2020) review: The best all-rounder
Price: €1,000 ($1199)| Buy now from HP
Thanks to an AMD Ryzen 7 4800H processor, 8GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660Ti GPU, the HP Omen 15 packs quite a punch for a laptop that costs just €1,099. It’s also a sleek machine, the aluminum palm rest and keyboard surround offsetting the plastic construction.
We were also impressed by the amount of detail produced by the Bang & Olufsen-branded speaker system and the variety of ports and connectors the Omen boasts. And the screen is still congruo wise; bright, although a bit lacking in color rendering. The keyboard is solid and sleek with four-zone RGB lighting features, but there’s plenty of wasted space on the right.
Spin duration was a bit disappointing considering the 70.9Wh capacity, and the fans are consistently loud when running at full speed, but those are the only real criticisms we can make of a machine that manages to be funky and capable recreation. machine and a smart and powerful productivity laptop at the same time.
Secret Specifications – HP Omen 15
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 4800H
GPU: Nvidia GeForce 1660Ti
Screen: 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080
RAM: 8GB
Total Storage: 512GB SSD
Dimensions: 358 x 240 x 22.5mm
Weight: 2.3kg