Over the past few years, gaming handhelds have exploded in popularity. And with each new iteration, we are seeing performance and ergonomic improvements that have pushed them as a serious alternative for gaming on the go. After all, if you can carry a portable device like the Lenovo Legion Go S for casual gaming indulgence, why bother lugging around a bulky laptop?
A few of my friends have even tried the idea of using these Windows-powered handhelds as a stop-gap PC for getting work done. But let’s be real. As convenient as they are, handhelds won’t be able to match what a gaming laptop can deliver in terms of raw performance, immersiveness, and, of course, overall value for your money.
What to keep in mind?
If you’ve been eying the Legion Go S, for instance, there are a few things worth keeping in mind. As Digital Trends highlights, paying $760 for a quad-core silicon intended for playing PC games is a bottleneck in itself. Then there are Windows optimization challenges for handhelds, and the battery life caveat.
Now, if you’re planning to look at laptop alternatives, there are a few aspects you should keep in mind for the best experience. First, try to pick an option that offers a faster display. Even a 120Hz or 144Hz panel will lift your gaming experience discernibly.
Game files take up quite a lot of space. So, if you’re picking up a machine, make sure it offers at least 1TB of SSD storage. I know, configurations often come with an upsell, but you should aim higher, regardless. And most importantly, don’t splurge on a flashy new graphics card just because it’s new.
You can save a lot of money by going with an older-generation silicon, but still fairly capable GPU, instead of splurging on the latest that Nvidia has to offer. Of course, where possible, explore the options between Intel and AMD, as well. That’s a lot of technical considerations to remember. To ease things up for you, consider these three gaming laptops that don’t fall too from the Legion Go S budget:
Acer Nitro V15
Playing closest to the price of Legion Go S is the Acer Nitro V15, an AMD-powered budget laptop that is quite well-received, as well. If your budget can’t go beyond the handheld’s range, but you’d still like a fairly competent package, this Acer laptop is a compelling choice.
The base configuration at $749, which is lower than the Lenovo handheld itself, offers the hexa-core AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS processor clubbed with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4050 mobile graphics. That combination is decent for 1080p gaming, and at medium to high settings, you can play AAA titles such as Far Cry 6, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Borderlands 3 in the 45-60 fps range comfortably.
You also get a 15.6-inch full-HD display with a 144Hz refresh rate, which is a pleasant surprise in this price bracket. As far as the memory configuration go, you get 16GB of DDR5 RAM and 512GB of onboard SSD storage. Unlike the older iterations, the keyboard is backlit on this one. The port situation is not too bad either, as you get plenty of them, including a Thunderbolt port.
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Dell G15 (5530)
Consistently ranked among the best laptops you can buy on a gaming budget, the Dell G15 sets the starting price at a thousand dollars, but delivers a fantastic package. It’s one of the best-looking gaming laptops in its segment, especially from a thermal design perspective.
This one offers a 15.6-inch full-HD display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Powering the machine is the 14-core Intel Core i7-13650HX processor, paired with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD. It is one of the only few laptops in the price bracket that offer a higher-end 13th Gen Intel processor, and that reflects in the performance, as well.
On the graphics side, you get Nvidia’s RTX 4060 mobile GPU that can tap into 140 watts of peak output. At benchmarks, it performs in the same league as laptops with a capped GeForce RTX 4070 mobile graphics. In titles such as Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 1080p and the highest graphics preset, the output is comfortably above the 100fps range. Cyberpunk 2077 easily manages over 60fps at the same resolution, which is quite impressive.
Port selection is also fairly diverse and spaced across all sides, but the only miss is just one USB-C port on the laptop. Irrespective of the configuration you pick, you get two fans, four heat pipes, and plenty of external vents for heat management. Overall, this is a solid pick, if getting the best gaming performance for the price is your top priority.
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Gigabyte G6X KG
If the Dell machine caught your fancy, and you were wondering if it could somehow offer a little extra oomph for future-proofing, the Gigabyte G6X offers just that. This one doubles the amount of RAM to 32GB, the storage is boosted to 1TB, and you get an extra USB-C port, as well.
It offers a large 16-inch full-HD display with a 165Hz refresh rate. Running the performance show is a 14-core Intel Core i7-13650HX processor that offers a peak frequency of 4.9 GHz and boost mode output worth 157W. On the graphics front, the Gigabyte G6 KF offers Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4060 GPU with 8GB of graphics memory.
With ray-tracing enabled, it can handle Cyberpunk 2077 at high graphics settings and resolutions up to 1200p with a respectable output close to 30fps. In titles like Horizon Zero Dawn and Metro Exodus Enhanced, it can manage over 60fps with ease. Playing games at moderate to high FPS presets can take you above 100fps on this one.
The only downside of this laptop is a slightly dull screen compared to the rivals, and the overall build doesn’t feel nearly as premium as the competition. However, if those are aspects you can live with, the Gigabyte G6X 9KG will serve you just fine.
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