The 3 Best Budget And Cheap Gaming Laptops - Spring 2024 Reviews

The best budget gaming laptop we've tested is the ASUS TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition (2023). This 16-inch all-AMD system pushes high frame rates in demanding AAA games, giving you a smooth and immersive gaming experience. The base configuration costs around $1,000 USD; you get a Ryzen 7 7735HS CPU, a Radeon RX 7600S GPU, a 165Hz FHD display, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. Faster configurations are available if you're willing to pay more. Both the 165Hz FHD and the more costly 240Hz QHD panel support variable refresh rate to reduce screen tearing.

This laptop feels sturdy and provides easy access to the internals for repairs and upgrades. There are two storage drive slots—upping storage capacity will probably be necessary since 512GB (or even 1TB) isn't a lot these days. You can also replace the wireless adapter, as the existing module only supports Wi-Fi 6. Ports include four USBs (two As and two Cs), a true HDMI 2.1, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and an Ethernet port. Thermal throttling isn't a problem, but the laptop gets hot and loud. Unfortunately, this is a rather bulky laptop, so it isn't the best for on-the-go use, and the battery lasts only a little over an hour when gaming.

Our best cheap pick is the Lenovo LOQ 15 (2023), a 15.6-inch model available with AMD Ryzen CPUs and NVIDIA GPUs, up to a Ryzen 7 7840HS and RTX 4060, respectively. Every configuration can deliver a smooth gaming experience at 1080p, though you'll have to play with the settings a bit on the lower-end RTX 3050 models to get over 60 fps. The RTX 4050 and 4060 models can handle 1440p gaming; we recommend the latter, as the RTX 4050's 6GB VRAM is very limiting at the QHD resolution. Display options include two FHD (60Hz and 144Hz) panels and a 165Hz QHD panel. We recommend one of the high-refresh options for gaming, as they'll provide better responsiveness and support VRR to reduce screen tearing. The 144Hz panel's response time is rather slow, so you'll likely see some ghosting in fast-moving scenes.

As for the rest of the device, the laptop feels relatively sturdy despite being entirely plastic. The keys have a lot of travel and don't require much force to actuate; they just lack tactility, so it's sometimes hard to know if you've actuated a key. Port selection is great; you get three USB-As, one USB-C (not Thunderbolt or USB4, unfortunately), an HDMI 2.1, and an Ethernet port. RAM and storage are user-replaceable, so you can upgrade later on. There's no fingerprint sensor or facial recognition camera, though we don't expect such features at its price.

One last note: at the time of writing, the ASUS TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition (2023) we recommend above is on sale, making it a better value. That said, the Lenovo is still cheaper if you go with a lower-end model, like this Ryzen 5/RTX 3050 configuration, which usually costs around $700 USD.

The best gaming Chromebook we've tested is the Acer Chromebook 516 GE (2022). Unlike Windows gaming laptops, this device runs Chrome OS and is designed specifically for cloud gaming services like NVIDIA GeForce NOW. Cloud gaming means that all the processing takes place on NVIDIA's server—or whichever company provides the service—and the image is streamed to your device, like any other video streaming service. The laptop comes with a three-month trial of GeForce NOW. You can play games from the Google Play Store; know that these titles are made for smartphones and tablets running on an ARM processor, so they might not always run properly. Also, some of them lack keyboard, mouse, and controller support.

The laptop feels well-built, and while it's on the bulkier side, it isn't too heavy. It sports a nice 16-inch QHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate. It gets bright enough for use in most indoor settings, and its response time is good, resulting in a clear image in fast-moving scenes. The keyboard feels spacious, doesn't get hot under load, and has RGB backlighting. Don't get too excited; it only has a single lighting zone. You get Wi-Fi 6E and an Ethernet port, which is great because cloud gaming performance heavily depends on your internet connection. Battery life is short at around six hours of light use or an hour of gaming, so keep the charger close.