Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. Features

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Which gaming laptop should buy on Prime Day 2022?

Luke Larsen
By

Prime Day 2022 will be rife with deals on gaming laptops. But tread lightly, because you’ll want to choose one from among the best gaming laptops if you don’t want to regret your purchase in a few months. The best Prime Day gaming laptops deals will be cheap, yes, but they should also provide you with a gaming experience that you’ll actually enjoy.

Which gaming laptop should you buy on Prime Day 2022?

The front of the HP Victus 16 with its lid open.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Because it’s Prime Day, you’ll no doubt be on the hunt for something cheap. But as gaming laptops have increased in price over the past couple of years, the standard for what we consider “cheap” has been adjusted.

Recommended Videos

Buying a gaming laptop for under $1,000, for example, can be tricky, especially when manufacturers are more than happy to sell you laptops that’ll be bottom-of-the-barrel in terms of performance. Many of the gaming laptops you’ll see on sale for Prime Day will be affordable, yes, but will come with a GTX 1650 (or worse) when it comes to graphics. Unless you only plan on playing very light games, such as Counter-Strike or indie titles, you’ll be very disappointed by the performance of these configurations.

Some of the most popular options in this category include the HP Victus 15, HP Victus 16, Acer Nitro 5, and Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3. These laptops offer configurations starting with the GTX 1650, but also can be pushed up to the RTX 3050, 3050 Ti, or 3060. Often times, it’ll only cost an extra $100 or $200, despite providing significantly better frame rates.

Also, be on the lookout for refresh rates. A higher refresh rate can increase the cost of a machine, and is completely unnecessary on configurations with lower-end graphics. You likely won’t get frame rates that high — let’s be honest. That’s even less important if you plan to connect your gaming laptop to an external gaming monitor most of the time, which is a common setup. If that’s more your style, be on the lookout for Prime Day gaming monitor deals.

A top-down view of the Razer Blade 14.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you are aiming for something a bit more premium, Prime Day can also be a good time to be on the hunt for reduced prices on specific models. The best gaming laptops include options like the Razer Blade 14 (or Blade 15), MSI GS66 Stealth, ROG Zephryus G14 (or G15), and many more. These gaming laptops are thin and modern, while still providing excellent performance. They often come with options for both high-resolution screens and high refresh rates, the sweet spot being a 1440p, 240Hz panel.

Another one of my favorite models is the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro, which is a bit thicker, but punches beyond its class of GPU in terms of performance. If you can find a configuration you’re happy with, the Legion 5 Pro or 5i Pro (the Intel model) offer the balance of performance and size that some of the thinner and lighter laptops lack.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Luke Larsen
Luke Larsen
Senior Editor, Computing
Luke Larsen is the Senior editor of computing, managing all content covering laptops, monitors, PC hardware, Macs, and more.
Lenovo’s new 14-inch gaming laptop beats the ROG G14 in one key way
The Legion Slim 5 14 on a desk with peripherals on it.

The ROG Zephyrus G14 has been a fan-favorite 14-inch gaming laptop these past few years, even with many recent competitors in the space. Lenovo's new Legion Slim 5 14, though, has one major advantage of the G14. Its screen.

The Legion Slim 5 14, now in its eighth generation, is receiving a major upgrade in its display, moving from a standard IPS to a 120Hz OLED. This more advanced panel technology can, of course, produce unbeatable contrast, thanks to the individually-lit pixels. At a max of 400 nits, the HDR performance in games should look rather nice too.

Read more
It’s official — AMD’s best gaming CPU is coming to laptops
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 sitting on a table.

We don't see a ton of innovation in the world of gaming CPUs, but AMD's 3D V-Cache tech catapulted Team Red to the front of the best gaming CPU pack. And now, AMD is bringing that tech to laptops.

The AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D is the first mobile processor sporting AMD's 3D V-Cache tech, packing 144MB of cache on top of the chip to improve gaming performance. In addition, the processor comes with 16 cores, up to a 5.4GHz boost clock speed, and a 55-watt power design.

Read more
I’ve reviewed every GPU in the last 2 years — these are the only ones you should buy
A hand grabbing a graphics card.

There are a lot of options when you're on the hunt for the best graphics card. In years past, you could look at a product name and get a general sense of where it landed in terms of performance, but times are changing. With bizarre value propositions, extra features that go beyond raw performance, and questionable naming conventions, GPUs are a lot more complex than they used to be.

I've reviewed every graphics card released over the last two years, covering two generations from both AMD and Nvidia, as well as Intel's first push into the discrete graphics market. Here are the only GPUs I'd even consider buying.
What to look for

Read more