Best Cheap Gaming Laptop of 2024

What's the best cheap gaming laptop overall?
You don't need to overspend to get a capable gaming laptop. The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 is our favorite among budget models. Of all the laptops with RTX 4050 graphics that we’ve tested, it’s the fastest. It also supplies a big and bright 16-inch, 16:10 display and adds a bit of aluminum to what is typically an all-plastic design at its price. It usually hovers around $1,000 at Amazon, where it's a great deal for 1080p play.

Acer also takes the runner-up spot for the best budget gaming laptop with the Nitro 16. The two models are very similar, and the Nitro 16 can often be found at Best Buy for $1,000 (and sometimes less) where it also provides great bang for your gaming buck.

Read more: How to Buy a Gaming Laptop

Our recommendations are based on our reviews and testing. We aim to help you get your ideal gaming experience on a cheap laptop. We'll update this list of the best cheap gaming laptops as we review new products. Also, if you need help deciphering what specs to look for on a good, cheap gaming laptop, we've got some advice below.
Like other gaming laptop makers, Acer has two lines: a budget-friendly Nitro series and midrange and premium models that carry the Predator label. Oddly enough, it's under the latter you'll find our budget gaming pick: the Helios Neo 16. It's strikingly similar to the Acer Nitro 16 but with slightly better build quality and graphics performance. The only place it faltered was its speakers, which put out disappointingly flat audio with nonexistent bass.

The Predator Helios Neo 16 we reviewed with RTX 4050 costs $1,010 at Amazon, which is less than its price of $1,200 when we looked at it earlier this year.

Best cheap gaming laptop for less than $1,000

Acer Nitro 16
Acer's own Predator Helios Neo 16 may offer better 3D performance for the same price while also adding a bit of aluminum to the design along with a better webcam, but the Nitro 16 also delivers the goods for gamers on tight budgets. It's a well-rounded budget gaming laptop with a strong performance from its full-power RTX 4050 GPU, a solid if all-plastic chassis and a big and bright display. The Nitro 16 and Predator Helios Neo 16 models we tested each cost $1,200 but are regularly discounted online. The Nitro 16 can be found at Best Buy for $1,000 and often less when it goes on sale.

Best cheap gaming laptop for 1440p play

Alienware m16 R2
Dell’s Alienware line isn't usually associated with the budget class, but Dell lowered the entry price for its second-gen m16 model to where it’s a sensible budget/midrange buy. The line starts at $1,500 for a configuration with an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, GeForce RTX 4050, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and a single-zone RGB keyboard. Upgrading to an RTX 4060 adds $100 to the bill.
The model we tested with RTX 4070 graphics and a per-key RGB keyboard usually runs $1,850 but can frequently be found for $300 off at Dell. The RTX 4050 and RTX 4060 models will serve you better playing games at 1080p than 1440p, so you will need to wait for Dell's discount to come back around to the RTX 4070 config if you want to play at 1440p without paying close to $2,000. Either GPU powers a roomy and fast display. It's a 16-inch IPS panel with a 2,560x1,600-pixel resolution and a switchable 120Hz/240Hz refresh rate.

Cheap gaming laptop with best design

Asus ROG Strix G15
Despite having a lot of plastic, the Asus ROG Strix G15 feels pretty well constructed and also offers per-key RGB keyboard backlighting and an underglow strip of LEDs along the front edge, which lets you customize the look of this 15.6-inch budget gamer more than other models that offer multi-zone RGB lighting at most. And the Strix G15 isn't all flash, delivering a previous-gen but powerful enough Ryzen 7 6800HS CPU and RTX 3050 GPU for $1,000. It's often on sale for less. We also like getting 16GB of RAM instead of the meager 8GB that you sometimes find at this price.

Cheapest laptop with RTX 4050 graphics

Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3

The IdeaPad Gaming 3 has neither the most exciting design nor the brightest, fastest display, but this 15.6-inch budget gaming laptop can usually be found for around $850 at Amazon for a configuration with an AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS processor, 16GB of RAM and RTX 4050 graphics. The tradeoff for getting such a low price is putting up with a dull, 250-nit display and low-res 720p webcam. Still, it offers a solid component lineup for the price. It's a great pick if you are looking for your first gaming laptop and don't have a lot to spend.