A few years ago, buying a gaming laptop meant you had to spend thousands of dollars for a big and bulky thing that could barely play most video games for more than an hour. Luckily, that has changed drastically in the past two to three years, and you can now get some really excellent laptops, even at budget prices. That said, gaming laptops do remain expensive compared to non-gaming laptops, especially if you want to play some of the best PC games, which is why we’ve gone out and found our favorite gaming laptop deals for you. We’ve picked several choices at different prices and performance brackets, so you can pick something that fits your needs best, and if you’re not totally convinced and might want something else, you can check out these laptop deals.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 is an excellent budget option, and while it won’t be able to play the latest games at max settings, it’s still pretty good. Under the hood it has an RTX 3050, which is an entry-level GPU that will handle most free-to-play games relatively ok with lower graphical settings. It also comes with an AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS processor, which is a mid-range option and will handle most games just fine, plus will let you get some productivity work done as well. As for the screen, it’s 15.6 inches big and runs at FHD at 120Hz refresh, which won’t massively stress the RTX 3050, which is good.
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 — $800, was $1,200
Acer
If you want something with a bit more power and yet still budget-friendly, this Acer Predator Helios Neo is the perfect match, especially since it runs an RTX 4050 under the hood which, again, is an entry-level GPU, but it does give you access to DLSS 3.0. You also get a larger 16-inch screen with a whopping 165Hz refresh rate, although the resolution sits at FHD, which actually isn’t a bad thing considering you’re more likely to hit a higher refresh rate with the lower resolution. Luckily, even for being a budget gaming laptop you get 16GB of DDR5 RAM, so you won’t have trouble running lots of windows an apps, although the 512GB of storage could be a bit bigger in an ideal world.
The Acer Nitro 5 is a good gaming laptop to consider if you’re looking for some value. It has internal hardware that’s hard to find at such a great price, including a 12th-generation Intel processor with eight cores, 16GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card, which is an entry-level GPU. These work together to make your gaming experience immersive and smooth, and a 512GB solid-state drive makes for a lot of space to store your favorite PC games. You also get an impressive 17.3-inch screen that runs at FHD and a 144Hz refresh rate, although the RTX 3050 might struggle with that without graphical setting compromises.
Dell G16 gaming laptop — $1,000, was $1,200
Dell
From one of the best laptop brands, the Dell G16 gaming laptop is a tempting proposition. It has a 13th-generation Intel Core i7 processor paired up with 16GB of memory and 1TB of SSD storage. Already onto a good thing with the storage and memory, there’s also an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics card, which is great for the majority of the latest games. Perhaps the biggest highlight is its 16-inch QHD+ screen with 2560 x 1600 resolution and 165Hz refresh rate ensuring everything looks super sharp. It all fits into a shell that’s the same size as a 15-inch laptop so it’s more portable than you’d expect.
Lenovo Legion Slim 7i gaming laptop — $1,340, was $1,770
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Packing a 13th-generation Intel Core i7 processor with 16GB of memory and 512GB of SSD storage is a good start for the Lenovo Legion Slim 7i. It also has an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card so it’s all up to date. Paired with that is a 16-inch WQXGA screen with HDR 400 support, 100% sRGB, 500 nits of brightness, 240Hz refresh rate, and 2560 x 1600. That means whatever you play will look gorgeous. Other useful extras include a per-key RGB backlit keyboard, a fingerprint reader, and 1080p full HD webcam. It’s sleek and lightweight as you’d expect from the maker of some of the best thin and light gaming laptops. It’s ideal if you have ambitions to stream your gaming time.
Alienware m18 gaming laptop — $1,410, was $1,770
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
From one of the best gaming laptop brands, the Alienware m18 is a great gaming laptop if you want a desktop replacement. It has a 13th-generation Intel Core i7 processor paired with 16GB of memory and 1TB of SSD storage. There’s an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card, too, but the true highlight here is the huge 16-inch full WQXGA screen with 2560 x 1600 resolution, 240Hz refresh rate, and 3ms response time. It means it isn’t the most portable of laptops but it’s perfect if you don’t have the room (or inclination) for a desktop gaming PC. Alienware Cryo-tech advanced cooling gives you plenty of system stability while there’s Dolby Vision support, Dolby Atmos, a great keyboard and much more.
Alienware x14 R2 00 $1,500, was $1,900
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
While there is a lot of focus on bigger screens, there are a lot of great smaller gaming laptops that pack a punch. For example, the Alienware X14 R2 has a 14-inch display, but it runs a 2560 x 1600 resolution and can hit an impressive 165Hz refresh rate. It also comes with an RTX 4060, which should be powerful enough to do a hundred frames or so at medium settings at this resolution, although that can be increased if you play a game that runs on DLSS 3.0. You’ll also be happy to know you get 16GB of DDR5 RAM, an impressive 1TB SSD, and an Intel Core i7-13620H processor, which will easily knock most games and productivity tasks out of the park.
ASUS ROG Zephyrus M16 — $1,600, was $1,950
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends / Digital Trends
If you want one of the best bangs for your buck when it comes to gaming laptops, then the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 is probably it since it balances all the specs really well. It runs an RTX 4070, which is a solid 2K GPU, while also running a 16-inch 2K monitor, so neither is overpowered or underpowered. The monitor can also hit a 240hz refresh rate which, granted, you’ll struggle to hit without serious graphical compromises, but at least you have the option to prioritize what is important for you. It also comes with an Intel Core i9-13900H, one of the most powerful CPUs on the market, so you could even potentially stream to Twitch or YouTube with this laptop, which is neat.
More gaming laptop deals we love
We’ve only touched the surface when it comes to great gaming laptop deals. While we’ve highlighted the very best options, there are many more. This includes some cheap deals as well as some high-end gaming laptops. Brands include HP Omen, Alienware, Lenovo Legion, Asus, and many others. Take a look below at what’s out there.
As recently as a decade ago, you would most likely be using an HDD, which tends to be quite slow and takes up an absolute tone of space, even the smaller form factor ones made for laptops. If you wanted something a bit more fancy, like a modern M.2 SSD, you'd be paying a huge premium even for smaller sizes like 256GB and 512GB. Luckily there have been huge leaps in technology and manufacturing, and these days you can get your hands on the best SSDs for a pretty good price. Not only does that mean that you can save space, but you can also load Windows and your applications a lot faster, something we expect to see in the best gaming PCs and gaming laptops.
Our favorite SSD deal
If you're looking for something that's top-of-the-line and won't break the bank, then the Samsung 990 PRO is probably the way to go. It has the newer PCIe 4.0 standard, which makes it a great PS5 SSD if you can get it a heatsink, and it has a read speed of 7450 Mbps and a write speed of 6900 Mbps, so it's lightning fast. The 2TB model here has been discounted down to just $190 from the original $250, so you're saving a pretty solid $60 in the process. There is a 1TB version that's cheaper if you don't think you need that much, as well as a 4TB model that's great for those who have a tendency to hoard data.
Best RAM deals: Discounted 16GB and 32GB from Corsair, Crucial
While a lot of focus tends to be put on things like the GPU and CPU, the truth is that the RAM is also quite important for performance, especially if you want to have a smooth day-to-day experience where opening several tabs doesn't crash everything. Of course, if you aren't very sure what sort of RAM to get, then it's worth checking out our guide on how to choose the best RAM for your PC as well as our guide on knowing how much RAM you need for a laptop, gaming PC, or tablet, both of which will give you a good sense of how much you should be spending.
To that end, if you're thinking of upgrading, we've collected some of our favorite RAM deals below, both for DDR4 and DDR5, so you can pick the RAM that best fits your needs.
Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 16GB (2x8GB) -- $56, was $65
Lenovo ThinkPad deals: Save over $1,000 on the classic laptop
Lenovo has long been one of the best laptop brands, and a major reason for that is its ThinkPad lineup. The ThinkPad is a great lineup to turn to if you’re in search of something that can compete with the best laptops yet remain affordable at the same time. Lenovo is constantly offering up savings on ThinkPad models, and right now we’re seeing ThinkPad deals that will give even the best laptop deals a run for their money. We’ve rounded up all of the best Lenovo ThinkPad deals to make shopping for one more convenient. Below you’ll find the best ways to save on a new Lenovo ThinkPad, as well as some information on why each model might be right for you.
Lenovo ThinkPad L14 (Gen 3) — $600, was $1,839
Affordability isn’t always front and center with the ThinkPad L14, but this deal sees its price dropped into the range of many of the best budget laptops. This makes it a bit of a steal, as you’ll be getting an Intel i5 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of super speedy solid state hard drive capacity. The ThinkPad L14 comes with Windows 11 pre-installed, and it has a fingerprint reader for security. You’ll also get all-day battery life with the L14, and it even has built-in 4G LTE connectivity so you can always stay up and running like a smartphone.
