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So you want a gaming laptop but got a very tight budget. Honestly, it’s hard to find a good gaming rig under a thousand bucks – even in 2023. Still, if you are picky enough, you may find a good suit.
In this post, we carefully selected 5 gaming laptops that deliver a decent gaming experience and cost less than 850 bucks.
Let’s jump in.
Budget gaming laptops were bad
Main article: Are Budget Gaming Laptops Really Worth It?
Traditionally, budget gaming rigs have often failed to deliver what they promised: a decent gaming experience under budget. Most featured entry-level GPUs, and cheap low-quality displays. And the manufacturers often used cheaper build materials in order to cut costs. Combined, a budget gaming laptop couldn’t really satisfy an average gamer.
And honestly, we used to recommend against budget laptops. But things are different and today, maybe we can.
Cheap gaming laptops have gotten better
Thanks to the lower production costs and design improvements, budget gaming laptops are now commendable in terms of performance and build quality. Most budget gaming laptops nowadays feature a decent GPU and display. Plus, the build quality has also gotten much better. Especially since last year, we have seen many well-designed gaming laptops costing no more than 1000 dollars.
Two reasons for this. One, production cost has gotten much lower. Two, the market is much more saturated as more companies are making gaming laptops. Higher competition among the companies leads to lower price tags.
What to expect in a Gaming laptop under 850?
You can’t expect the performance and looks of a premium gaming laptop from a budget model. But at the very least, you want to have these specs for a decent gaming experience:
- CPU: Intel Core i5 / Amd Ryzen 4 (or higher)
- GPU: GTX 1650 / RTX 3050 (or higher)
- Ram: 8GB or higher
- Display resolution: FHD or higher
- Display refresh rate: 144Hz or higher
Note that not all laptops on our list will satisfy these recommendations, you’ll need to pick one that suits you best.
Consider a used laptop
Used laptops are excellent choices to cut costs. This is because electronics tend to quickly lose value over time. You can get a used laptop with higher configurations at a much lower cost. And under 850, the performance you’ll get from a brand new laptop won’t likely even surpass a used, older, high-performance laptop.
Best gaming laptops under 850
So here’s our list of gaming laptops under 850. Note that the list is in no specific order, all of them are excellent budget machines.
1. Acer Nitro 5
- CPU: Intel Core i5-10300H
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
- RAM: 8GB
- Screen: 15.6″ HD IPS 144Hz
- Storage: 256GB NVMe SSD
- Battery: 11 Hours
- Weight: 5.1 lbs
Pros:
- Excellent CPU performance.
- Great battery backup.
- Decent performance for the price.
- 11% DISCOUNT RIGHT NOW as of 01/06/2023
Cons:
- The display could have been brghter.
- A little Heavy and bulky.
Product Description
Ever since its release, The Acer Nitro 5 has been one of the best budget laptops for gaming. A brand-new Nitro 5 will cost you a few bucks over 750, but we’ll argue that it’ll be worth it. Plus, if you buy a used one, you won’t even have to spend 750 bucks.
The Nitro 5 features an H-series Core i5 processor and the latest RTX 3050 GPU. The duo is capable of producing three-digit framerates in many modern titles if you’re willing to cut down on visuals.
It comes with an 8GB DDR4 Ram, which we think is a bit low for optimal gaming. So we recommend you install 8GB more. And for storage, you have a 256 GB high-speed SSD, and an extra 2.5 inch hard bay in case you want to add more drives.
The laptop has a fairly bright, 15.6-inch FHD IPS display with excellent color accuracy. And with a refresh rate of 144Hz, you can expect excellent clarity and details in games. The chassis is made of plastic but still looks and feels good considering the price.
The Acer Nitro 5 also offers great battery life. In a video playback test, it ran for a whopping 11 hours.
Nearly 5 pounds in weight, the Nitro 5 isn’t the most portable laptop on this list. But if you’re looking for a low-cost option with decent gaming performance, this is it.
2. HP Pavilion Gaming 15
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600H (Beats i7-9750H)
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
- RAM: 16GB
- Screen: 15.6″ FHD IPS Anti-Glare 144Hz
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Battery: 8 Hours
- Weight: 4.4 lbs
Pros:
- Decent build quality.
- Excellent performance for the budget.
- Strong six-core Ryzen processor.
- Decent Battery Life.
Cons:
- Average Display and audio.
- Unimpressive GPU performance.
Product Description
The Pavilion Gaming 15 is an excellent gaming laptop from HP. It features the latest 6-core AMD Ryzen 5 processor and a GTX 1650 GPU. Though the CPU performance is top-notch, the same cannot be said about the GPU. Especially since we’ve seen better performing GTX 1650 units in other models.
The factory version comes with 8GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD for storage.
The laptop has a decent gaming outlook, with a green backlit keyboard and an edged design. The display is a 15.6 inch IPS panel with a 144Hz refresh rate. The screen isn’t too bright and crisp though, but it’s decent considering the price.
At 4.4 pounds, the Pavilion Gaming 15 is a fairly portable option. The battery backup is commendable too, with up to 8 hours of backup under normal use.
Under 750, it’s an excellent laptop for both gaming and work.
3. Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600H
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
- RAM: 8GB
- Screen: 15.6″ FHD IPS 120Hz
- Storage: 256GB SSD
- Battery: 6 Hours
- Weight: 5 lbs
Pros:
- Superfast AMD processor.
- Classy Design.
- Decent build quality.
- Solid keyboard.
- Great speakers.
- 11% DISCOUNT ON AMAZON as of 01/06/2023
Cons:
- Average GPU performance.
- On the heavy side.
- Average battery backup.
Product Description
The Ideapad Gaming 3 is a low-cost, entry-level gaming laptop from Lenovo. Under 700 dollars, it’s one of the best budget gaming laptops right now.
It features a superfast Ryzen 5 processor with 6 ultra-responsive cores. The GTX 1650 under the hood isn’t the fastest in this price range, but it should be able to play most modern titles smoothly at low settings.
The 15.6-inch thin-bezel display looks decent in games, but the brightness tops out at just 250 nits. It also has a fast refresh rate of 120 Hz, though the GPU may not be able to produce that many fps most games that far. The stereo speakers are also better than most laptops at this price.
At 5 pounds, its weight can be a problem if you need to travel often. And the battery backup isn’t great too. Expect an average of 6 hours of screen-on time at a single charge.
4. MSI GF63 Thin
- CPU: Intel Core i5-10300H
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
- RAM: 16GB
- Screen: 15.6″ HD IPS 60Hz
- Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD
- Battery: 6 Hours
- Weight: 4.1 lbs
Pros:
- Solid CPU.
- Decent Graphics performance.
- Attractive design.
- Silent GPU.
Cons:
- 60 Hz display.
- Average Battery.
Product Description
The MSI GF63 offers similar specs to the other listings, with an i5-10300H CPU and GTX 1650 GPU. But we found that its GPU performs much better than the other GTX1650 in the list. And thanks to the non-gaming design, it’s excellent for gaming as well as for other tasks like college, office, etc.
The 15.6-inch display is also similar to other budget gaming laptops. with decent color accuracy and the highest brightness of 260 nits.
The factory version comes with an 8GB RAM stick, with an option to add more. For storage, you have a fast 1TB NVMe SSD.
The GF63 is the lightest laptop on our list. At 4.1 lbs, it’s lighter than most budget gaming rigs on the market. Despite the fact, it may not be a great choice for outdoor use because the battery backup isn’t very good. You can expect an average of 5-6 hours of backup when not gaming.
5. Evoo Gaming 15
- CPU: Intel Core i5-10300H
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
- RAM: 8GB
- Screen: 15.6″ HD IPS 60Hz
- Storage: 256GB SSD
- Battery: ?? Hours
- Weight: 4.2 lbs
Pros:
- Non-Gaming design.
- Decent look for office-use.
- Less Noisy, Max-Q GPU.
- Excellent audio quality.
Cons:
- Low battery backup.
Walmart’s EVO Gaming 15 is designed for gamers and professionals alike. We really liked how neutral it looks despite being a gaming machine. It offers the combo of i5-10300H and GTX 1650 Max-Q, much like the rest of the laptops on the list.
The 15.6-inch FHD display is decent for a budget rig, but its low, 60Hz refresh rate isn’t. But we loved the speakers and the audio quality in the headphones – the THX Spatial Audio tech does make a difference in games and movies.
The laptop comes with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB NVMe SSD.
The laptop is quite portable, with a weight of just 4.2 pounds. but the battery backup isn’t very commendable, you should get an average of 4-5 hours of backup under normal use.
