It can be a hard task to find a gaming laptop that can play the games you love and won’t break the bank. Here are the best affordable gaming laptops of 2022.
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It can be a task and a half to find a gaming laptop that’s capable of playing all the games you love and won’t completely empty your bank account. There are gaming laptops on the market that cost $3,000 or even over $4,000, but there are also reasonably priced gaming laptops. Keep in mind, an affordable gaming laptop is in a different price range than simply an affordable laptop.
There are plenty of super inexpensive laptops out there, but they usually aren’t able to handle even the least demanding games. In order to play video games on a laptop, you have to meet certain internal spec requirements — and those beefier specs add up quickly. The most important spec to consider when searching for a gaming laptop is the graphics card. This is because you can often swap out or add extra RAM and storage, and most newer CPUs can handle whatever you throw at them, but you can’t upgrade your GPU.
The ASUS TUF Gaming F15 is the most affordable gaming laptop on this list. Despite its low price, it has some pretty powerful internal specs. There’s an Intel Core i5-10300H processor with speeds up to 4.5 GHz and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 GPU with 4 gigabytes of dedicated GDDR6 RAM, all working together to create silky graphics and speedy performance.
Then, you’ll start off with 8 gigabytes of DDR4 RAM and 512 gigabytes of storage via an NVMe M.2 SSD, but there’s room to upgrade once you’ve saved up the money. You can swap out either of your existing sticks of RAM for one or two with a higher capacity. There’s an extra slot for another M.2 SSD, too, giving you plenty of future storage space for all your favorite games.
The 1080p 15.6-inch display is large and sharp enough to fully immerse you in any game, but there’s also an HDMI 2.0 port in case you want to connect your laptop to a TV. The IPS-type display can reach refresh rates up to 144Hz, and there’s a built-in 7.1-channel surround sound experience, so you’re all set to game away on your laptop without connecting another display.
In addition to that HDMI port, there’s also an Ethernet port, one USB 2.0 Type-A port, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, a 2.5mm audio jack, a Kensington lock, and the proprietary power port. The 90Wh battery lasts over 12.5 hours with just video playback. The TUF Gaming F15 is also equipped with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, Windows 11 Home, a keyboard with RGB backlighting, and it weighs over 5 pounds.
Lenovo has some great laptops in general, but the company also has a few that are specifically designed for gaming, including the IdeaPad Gaming 3i laptop. This 2021 series laptop has a 12th Gen Intel Core i5-12500H with speeds up to 2.5 GHz and a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050. The GPU from NVIDIA is powered by Ampere with new Ray-Tracing Cores and Tensor Cores, which helps your in-game graphics look more realistic.
The IdeaPad Gaming 3i is a pretty hefty laptop — weighing in at 7.7 pounds — that houses an improved cooling system with larger ventilation rates than the previous generation. There are also 8 gigabytes of DDR4 SDRAM inside, along with a 512 gigabyte M.2 TLC SSD for storage and the Windows 11 Home operating system. For ports, this laptop comes with one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port (Thunderbolt 43, DisplayPort 1.4), one HDMI 2.0 port, an RJ-45 Ethernet port, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, an audio jack, and a DC-in port.
Whether you’re playing games or watching movies, everything looks crisp on the 15.6-inch IPS display, which has a 1080p resolution and a refresh rate of 120Hz. Depending on how bright your screen is or what you’re doing on the IdeaPad Gaming 3i, the battery can last up to nine hours in between charges. If you’re pressed for time, a quick 15-minute charge gives you a 40% battery boost.
The Acer Nitro 5 provides specs powerful enough for new games, but depending on how large your favorite game files are, you might end up needing to take advantage of the extra M.2 SSD slot sooner rather than later. By default, you’ll have 8 gigabytes of DDR4 RAM — and 4 gigabytes of dedicated GDDR6 VRAM — and 256 gigabytes of storage through an NVME SSD. However, you can swap out one or both of your RAM sticks for a maximum of 32 gigabytes of RAM, and there are two total PCIe M.2 SSD slots as well as one 2.5-inch hard drive bay available.
With a 10th Gen Intel Core i5-10300H and a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, you’ll be able to play games smoothly and experience immersive elements, like ray-tracing. Plus, your games will look fantastic on the 15.6-inch IPS LED-backlit display with a 1080p resolution, thin bezels, and a 144Hz refresh rate to eliminate screen tearing chances. When your game demands more work from your laptop, Acer’s CoolBoost technology increases fan speed by 10% and cooling for your CPU and GPU by 9%. There’s a dedicated NitroSense Key on the keyboard that lets you visualize all the details of cooling, loading power, and more.
For some of the more boring — but still super important — details, Acer’s Nitro 5 laptop supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.
