Gaming computers have come a long way in the past few years, and if you haven’t bought or updated yours recently, you’ll be surprised how cheap and powerful they have gotten and how competitive they can be with the best gaming desktops. In fact, you don’t have to grab one of the best gaming laptops to get good use out of it, and even some of the more budget-friendly options in the mid-range can play the latest and best PC games. That said, if you don’t care so much about playing the newest AAA games out there, you can absolutely get a pretty good gaming laptop for less than $1,000.
- MSI Bravo 15 — $775, was $1,000
- Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop — $850, was $1,100
- Alienware x14 R2 00 $1,200, was $1,900
- ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 — $1,200, was $1,600
- Acer Predator Helios 18 — $1,502, was $1,700
- Dell G16 gaming laptop — $1,500, was $1,950
- Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9 gaming laptop — $1,710, was $2,290
- Alienware m18 gaming laptop — $1,950, was $2,550
- More gaming laptop deals we love
- How we chose the best gaming laptop deals
To help you with picking something great, we’ve found deals from some of the best laptop brands and include Lenovo laptop deals, Acer laptop deals, Dell laptop deals, and HP laptop deals, although if you’re looking for some more general deals, these laptop deals have some good options, too.
MSI Bravo 15 — $775, was $1,000
The MSI Bravo 15 is probably one of the cheapest laptops you’ll find that gives you access to DLSS 3.0 since it comes with an en RTX 4050, which is a very entry-level graphics card from the latest generation of Nvidia GPUs. The screen is 15.6 inches and runs an FHD resolution as well as a 144Hz refresh rate, which is perfect for the RTX 4050 and shouldn’t push it too far past its limits. You also get a really solid 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, which is a bit on the lower end for a gaming laptop, although it’s expected, given how budget-oriented the laptop is.
Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop — $850, was $1,100
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 4060 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 15.6-inch screen that runs at FHD and a 144Hz refresh rate, although the RTX 4060 might struggle with that without graphical setting compromises.
Alienware x14 R2 00 $1,200, was $1,900
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 4050, which should be powerful enough to do a bit under 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 a whopping 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 G16 — $1,200, was $1,600
If you want one of the best bangs for your buck when it comes to gaming laptops, then the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 is probably it since it balances all the specs really well. It runs an RTX 4070 mobile, which is an excellent FHD GPU, and a 16-inch FHD monitor, although it doesn’t have the gorgeous OLED panel of higher-end models. The monitor can also hit a 165hz refresh rate, which shouldn’t be too hard to hit with the RTX 4070, even if you have to make a couple of minor graphical compromises. It also comes with an Intel Core i7 13620H, a middle-to-upper-level CPU, so you could even potentially stream to Twitch or YouTube with this laptop, which is neat.
Acer Predator Helios 18 — $1,502, was $1,700
If you want something with a bit of power, this Acer Predator Helios Neo is the perfect match, especially since it runs an RTX 4060 under the hood, which gives you access to DLSS 3.0. You also get a larger 18-inch screen with a whopping 240Hz refresh rate with a 2560 x 1600 resolution. There is also a very solid 16Gb of DDR5 RAM, so you won’t have trouble running lots of tabs and apps, although the 1TB of storage could be a bit bigger in an ideal world.
Dell G16 gaming laptop — $1,500, was $1,950
From one of the best laptop brands, the Dell G16 gaming laptop is a tempting proposition. It has an Intel Core i9-13900HX processor paired up with 32GB of memory and 1TB of SSD storage. Already onto a good thing with the storage and memory, there’s also an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card, which is great for many games from the last few years. Perhaps the biggest highlight is its 16-inch QHD+ screen with 2560 x 1600 resolution and 240Hz refresh rate, ensuring everything looks super sharp. It all fits into a shell that’s the same size as a 16-inch laptop so it’s more portable than you’d expect.
Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9 gaming laptop — $1,710, was $2,290
Packing a 13th-generation Intel Core i9-14900HX processor with 16GB of memory and 1 TB of SSD storage is a good start for the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen9. It also has an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 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 — $1,950, was $2,550
From one of the best gaming laptop brands, the Alienware m18 is a great gaming laptop if you want a desktop replacement. It has an AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX processor paired with 32GB of memory and 1TB of SSD storage. There’s an RTX 4070 graphics card, too, but the true highlight here is the huge 18-inch full WQXGA screen with an FHD+ resolution, 480Hz 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.
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.
- ASUS TUF 15 —
- Lenovo Legion Pro 5i —
- MSI Raider GE78 HX 17 —
How we chose the best gaming laptop deals
There are a lot of great gaming laptop deals out there, and with how the market has changed so massively over the past few years, there’s a lot that can go into any individual deal that we suggest. For example, while RTX 3050 cards were great, pretty much most gaming laptops you’ll see today tend to come with at least an RTX 4050 or an AMD equivalent. That means we try to avoid any deals that still have the older RTX 3050 because it’s just not as powerful as the bare minimum anymore; plus, the 40-series cards give you access to the latest DLSS, so why miss out on it?
Besides that, a lot of stuff tends to come down to preference, especially around screen size and resolution. That said, we try to make sure that any deal we put on this page has balanced specs, which means that you aren’t paying massive amounts of money for the latest i9 CPU, while getting the lowest-end RTX 3050 GPU. Similarly, we try to aim for laptops that have a minimum of 16GBs because that’s really what we’d expect from a modern laptop that’s come out in the past year or so.
Finally, we always do our best to make sure every gaming laptop deal on the list gives you the best bang for your buck.
