Let's be honest here, gaming laptops are expensive and ridiculously so. This is because all gaming laptops need a graphics card and graphics cards are expensive. This when paired with a processor that needs to ensure that it doesn't bottleneck the graphics card makes the price even higher.
Let's talk a bit about graphics cards. Graphics cards are what render the visuals in the game onto the screen. They create the visuals and effects such as shadows and as such. Each of these tasks is computationally intensive. The games of today have integrated so much that you need high-end graphic cards to keep up to play in High or Ultra settings.
The budget which we recommend when going for a gaming laptop is slightly above 50,000. Say 55,000.
Our top recommendations
1. HP Victus Gaming Laptop
BEST VALUE FOR MONEY BUDGET LAPTOP
The HP Victus offers performance that rivals laptops with GTX 1650 graphics cards. Offering great value for money, this is the laptop you should buy if you're on a budget.
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5600H | RAM: 8GB DDR4 RAM | Graphics Card: AMD Radeon RX 6500M 4GB Graphics | Storage: 512 SSD | Display: 15.6-inch screen with (1920X1080) full HD displayBuy from Amazon
This is the most value-for-money budget laptop that you can get. The laptop has a 4.3 rating on Amazon and has more than 1400 ratings. That says a lot about the laptop.
Powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H processor, the laptop can perform tasks with ease. The processor can easily handle heavy tasks and games. One can compare this to an Intel i5 processor but with better performance and value for money.
The GPU on the laptop is an AMD Radeon RX 6500M 4GB Graphics. If you're familiar only with Nvidia processors this is better than the GTX 1650 processor available in the market. To compare, I decided to check out notebookcheck.net.
Cyberpunk 2077 1.5 2022
low 1920x1080
Radeon RX 6500M : 66.2 fps
GeForce GTX 1650 : 51.8 fps
medium 1920x1080
Radeon RX 6500M : 66.5 fps
GeForce GTX 1650 : 41.3 fps
high 1920x1080
Radeon RX 6500M : 32.3 fps
GeForce GTX 1650 : 32 fps
You can see that for all settings (low, medium and high), the Radeon RX6500M provides better fps than the GeForce counterpart.
The display is slick with tiny bezels around it. This makes the laptop look very modern. It is also nice to game on due to the narrow bezels since it doesn't feel very bulky.
The laptop weighs around 2.5kg which falls on the bulky side of things. Most people even complain about this, I personally feel this shows the quality of materials that have gone into building this product.
The laptop is able to dissipate heat very much thanks to its great build.
The laptop comes with 8GB of RAM which can be upgraded. We strongly recommend you upgrade the RAM for better performance.
For storage, the laptop has a 512GB SSD. This is plenty for putting a few games on the laptop.
The laptop comes with Windows 11 preinstalled.
Pros
- Bezels around the screen are tiny making the laptop look great
- Backlit keyboard with numpad makes typing easier
- Best processor and GPU adding great value for money
- Minimalist design
Cons
- Screen wobbling due to thin display
- At around 2.5 kg, this laptop is really heavy
2. HP Victus Gaming: RTX 3050
CHEAPEST RTX 3050 GAMING LAPTOP
If you're looking for a laptop with an RTX graphics card, look no further. The laptop is powered by an RTX 3050 graphics card.
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5600H | RAM: 8GB DDR4 RAM | Graphics Card: RTX 3050 4GB Graphics | Storage: 512 SSD | Display: 15.6-inch screen with (1920X1080) full HD display
HP has really managed to build laptops that are economical and offers great value for money. Stealing the top spots on this list, this machine can play all the latest titles without breaking a sweat thanks to the RTX 3050 graphics card that is powering the laptop.
The laptop is powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H processor. This is a 6-core processor with a base clock speed of 3.3GHz and a turbo clock speed of 4.2GHz. The laptop is able to play all the latest games, thanks to the processor and graphics card combination.
The graphics card in this laptop is the most powerful on the list. It features an RTX 3050 graphics card. This card supports Ray Tracing. Ray tracing is a technology by which light reflects on surfaces and the lighting is extremely accurate. This adds detailing to the surfaces in ways unseen before.
The build quality is also great, but it has a slight wobbling of the display. This has been an issue that has plagued HP laptops for a long time, but other than a slight discomfort such as the screen wobbling a bit when the fan is on, it doesn't cause many issues.
The laptop has 8GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM and 512GB SSD. This is enough for most users, but if you feel the need, you can upgrade both RAM and storage.
Pros
- Great performance thanks to the RTX graphics cards and processor
- Great thermals, so the laptops don't overheat even after long hours of gaming
- An extra SSD slot is present in the laptop so you can add more storage without removing existing storage.
Cons
- The screen wobbles if you sit directly under the fan or it's gusty around
- Low battery life, but that is to be expected with a gaming laptop
3. ASUS TUF Gaming F15
Buy from AmazonProcessor: Intel Core i5-10300H processor
RAM: 8GB DDR4 RAM
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 GDDR5 4GB VRAM Graphics
Storage: 512 GB SSD
Display: 15.6" (16:9) LED-backlit FHD (1920x1080)
Asus is a brand known for its gaming laptops. They make the ROG series for professional gamers and the TUF series for budget gaming laptops. The ASUS TUF Gaming F15 is a jewel in its crown of gaming laptops.
The laptop is powered by an Intel Core i5-10300H processor. The processor has enough power to handle all the daily tasks and the gaming needs you'll encounter on a day-to-day basis. The performance of the laptop is super smooth due to the processor.
Now let's get into the most important part of a gaming laptop, the graphics card. The graphics card on this laptop is a 4GB graphics card, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650. The graphics card offers 70% more performance than GTX 1050 as claimed by Nvidia. The graphics card is based on award-winning Turing architecture to give the best gaming performance.
The laptop has 8GB of DDR4 RAM with a refresh rate of 2400Hz. The RAM can be upgraded to up to 32 GB if needed. Upgrading the laptop is easy and is something you can do on your own.
For storage, the laptop comes with a 512 GB SSD. The laptop doesn't have a traditional HDD and that improves the speed of every application in the laptop. Before the CPU processes the data, it has to be copied from the hard disk to the RAM. This process is almost 3 times faster in an SSD compared to a traditional HDD. Having an SSD still decreases the load time by around two-thirds.
The laptop has a great cooling system. The cooling system has an anti-dust feature which prevents dust build-up on the fans and keeps the laptop cool all day long. The laptop weighs around 2.3kg.
The keyboard in this laptop has all-zone RGB lighting. The keyboard is easy to type on and to game. Highlighted WASD keys are provided so that it is easy to get your hands on those keys without having to search around the keyboard.
This is an excellent laptop with the GTX 1650 graphics card and one of the cheapest gaming laptops available in the market today.
4. Lenovo Legion Y7000
Buy from AmazonProcessor: 9th Generation Core Intel I5-9300H processor
RAM: 8GB DDR4 RAM
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GTX 1050 3GB Graphics
Storage: 1 TB HDD + 256 SSD
Display: 15.6-inch screen with (1920X1080) full HD display
Lenovo has been making gaming laptops for some time, and they're excellent at it. This laptop is perfect for budget gaming. Featuring an Nvidia GTX 1050 graphics card, you can game to your heart's content with this laptop.
The laptop has a 9th-generation Intel Core i5 processor powering it. The Intel i5-9300H is a quad-core processor with a base speed of 2.4GHz and a maximum turbo clock speed of 4.1GHz. The laptop also has 8MB of smart cache making it a perfect candidate for gaming.
The laptop comes with a 15.6" screen with a resolution of 1920x1080. The display has great quality and is excellent for gaming. The refresh rate on this display is 60Hz which is normal for a gaming laptop in this price range. The display is IPS quality which makes gaming quality crisp.
The Lenovo Legion Y7000 has 8GB of DDR4 RAM. This is enough for most of the daily needs including gaming. If the need for upgrading the RAM arises, Lenovo has provided that option also.
For more permanent storage, the laptop comes with a 256GB SSD and a 1 TB HDD. The operating system of the laptop is on the SSD, which makes it extremely fast to boot. Putting games also on the SSD will help in reducing the load times of the games. The 1TB HDD provide ample space to store movies and games. But keep in mind that the HDD is slower than an SSD.
The graphics card on this laptop is an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050. This is slightly under-powered than the GTX 1650 graphics card, but can still play all the latest games. Though we would recommend you to pick a laptop with GTX 1650 graphics card we loved this laptop for a multitude of reasons, one of which includes having an SSD. Having an SSD gives a huge margin of advantage over laptops that use traditional hard disks.
The laptop weighs 2.3kg and is portable. Lenovo claims a battery life of 4 hours for this laptop which is decent for a gaming laptop. Overall this is a great laptop and has got good value for money.
5. Acer Nitro 7
Buy from AmazonProcessor: Intel Core i5-9300H processor
RAM: 8GB DDR4 RAM
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Graphics
Storage: 1 TB HDD
Display: 15.6" display with IPS technology (Full HD 1920 x1080)
The Acer Nitro series is another one of our favourite series of laptops. These laptops are great value for money and they're built to perfection. They have great cooling capabilities and are built to last.
The Acer Nitro 7 has a 9th-generation Intel Core i5 processor at its heart. The processor can have a base clock speed of 2.4GHz and a maximum turbo clock speed of 4.10GHz. It is a quad-core processor making multi-tasking on this laptop a breeze. The performance of this laptop is butter smooth due to the powerful processor.
The graphics card featured in the laptop is an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics card. This card is a lot more powerful than the GTX 1650 and can play all of the latest titles. This card is a 6GB graphics card and offers great performance. The graphics card has performance that rivals the performance of GTX 1070 which was one of the greatest cards of yesteryear. You don't have to worry about the laptop lacking in performance at all.
For temporary storage, the laptop is equipped with 8GB of DDR4 RAM which is enough and more for your gaming needs and other daily tasks that need to be done on the laptop. For more permanent storage the laptop has a 1TB SSD. We are surprised by the choice of 1TB SSD because this much amount of storage is usually found only on laptops whose price is North of 1 lakh Indian rupee.
The laptop comes with Windows 10 preinstalled so you don't have to go through the hassle of finding an Operating System and installing it.
The Acer Nitro 7 has a 15.6" display which is full HD. This means it has a resolution of 1920x1080. The display is LED back-lit and is pretty stunning to watch visuals on.
The laptop comes with 1-year traveller's warranty so wherever you're the warranty can come in handy if your laptop breaks down. The cooling system in the laptop is also excellent. Even after long hours of gaming, it does an excellent job of keeping the laptop cool.
6. MSI GF65
Buy from AmazonProcessor: Intel Core i5-9300H 9th Gen processor
RAM: 8GB DDR4 RAM
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Graphics
Storage: 512GB SSD
Display: 15.6" FHD (1920*1080)
Let's get into some serious laptops now. If you're an avid gamer, you know the RTX graphics card. RTX is the new technology which Nvidia has introduced into their graphics card. With RTX, the laptop can trace the path of the light rays and provide true-to-life shadows and reflections. Let's get into the cheapest laptop equipped with RTX.
The MSI GF65 is the cheapest laptop available to us which is equipped with an RTX graphics card. The laptop is powered by an Intel Core i5-9300H processor. The processor is a quad-core processor and is the go-to processor for most entry-level gaming laptops. The processor can handle all the tasks without bottlenecking the performance of the graphics card.
Now let us get to the party piece, the graphics card. This is one of the latest offerings from Nvidia and features a technology known as ray tracing as mentioned above. So what is ray tracing? Ray tracing is the technology by which shadows and lights are rendered life-like in a scene.
In the early days light was not lifelike but a lot different with just a few shadows because computing ray tracing in real-time required a lot of computational power. Nvidia has broken the barrier to real-time ray tracing with new technology and has introduced RTX graphics cards.
Moving on to the rest of the features of the laptop, the laptop has 8GB of DDR4 RAM. The RAM is ample enough for all your daily needs. You won't find yourself short of RAM during gaming.
One of our favourite parts about the display of this laptop is the 120Hz refresh rate. This is twice the normal refresh rate and you'll see this difference while gaming. The laptop has a full HD display with a resolution of 1920x1080.
For storage, the laptop comes with a 512GB SSD which is fast and helps in loading the games faster. The performance offered by the SSD is impeccable and we have nothing to complain about.
Conclusion
Newer RTX 40 series has been released and the price of older laptops are coming down. We are hopeful that soon, more RTX 30 series laptop will come to lower prices making them more affordable.
Happy Gaming. :)
