While older gaming laptops weren’t that great, modern options are thin, light, and can play the best PC games, some even at the highest resolution possible, if you’re willing to spend a little extra. Of course, the best gaming laptops tend to be quite pricey, even if you’re aiming for a lower-end and more budget-friendly option. Even so, there are some great gaming laptop deals out there that will save you an extra little bit of cash, and while they may not compete with the best gaming desktops, they are worth checking out.
- MSI THIN A15 — $850, was $999
- Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop — $850, was $1,100
- Dell G16 gaming laptop — $960, was $1,260
- Acer Predator Helios 18 — $1,360, was $1,700
- Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9 gaming laptop — $1,800, was $2,360
- Alienware x16 R2 — $2,000, was $2,400
- Alienware m18 R2 gaming laptop — $2,100, was $2,500
- ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 — $2,300, was $2,700
- 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 THIN A15 — $850, was $999
If you don’t care about playing the latest AAA games and are more interested in something that’s good for casual and indie gaming, then this configuration of the MSI Thin 15 is great. It has an RTX 3050 under the hood, an entry-level card that can handle the Full HD resolution. Interestingly enough, the laptop can also hit a 144Hz refresh rate, which will require you to make some graphical compromises but also means that you get a pretty versatile gaming laptop. There is also a mid-range Intel Core i5-13420H processor under the hood, as well as an excellent 32GB of RAM and 512GB SSD which, at this price point, is actually really good.
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 an Intel Core i7-13620H processor, 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.
Dell G16 gaming laptop — $960, was $1,260
From one of the best laptop brands, the Dell G16 gaming laptop is a tempting proposition. It has an Intel Core i7-13650HX 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 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.
Acer Predator Helios 18 — $1,360, 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.
Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9 gaming laptop — $1,800, was $2,360
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 x16 R2 — $2,000, was $2,400
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 X16 R2 has a 14-inch display, but it runs a 2560 x 1600 resolution and can hit an impressive 240Hz refresh rate. It also comes with an RTX 4070, 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 32GB of DDR5 RAM, an impressive 1TB SSD, and an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor, which will easily knock most games and productivity tasks out of the park.
Alienware m18 R2 gaming laptop — $2,100, was $2,500
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 Intel Core i9 14900HX 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 screen with a 2560 x 1600 resolution, 165Hz 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.
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 — $2,300, was $2,700
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 4080 mobile, which is an excellent 2K and somewhat 4K 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 240hz 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 Ultra 9, a middle-to-upper-level CPU, 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.
- 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.
