Gaming is no longer the preserve of the trust fund kids. You can play your favorite games and even VR with ease on a gaming laptop that costs under $1000. There’s no catch, except that you will need to be judicious about which features of traditional gaming you might have to compromise on. You’re looking for something that is suited to your gaming requirements, so be discerning with all the bells and whistles that are typically touted as essential to a gaming laptop. These five tips can be a good starting point to get gaming while keeping much of your cash still in the bank.
Consider Your Gaming Needs
If you play PC games like Overwatch or Hollow Knight, chances are you don’t need a laptop with a superior graphics card. An integrated GPU will work just as well. An Intel UHD 620 GPU is great for games like League of Legends, BioShock Infinite, MGS V: Phantom Pain. For games with more graphics weight, the Nvidia MX150 will do a great job rendering graphics at 30 frames per second. Games like Grand Theft Auto V (High) and The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt (Medium) are quite enjoyable on this laptop option.
Get The Right Screen Size
If you’re looking for a budget gaming laptop, a 15-inch screen hits the sweet spot. This size makes it portable without compromising on speed, power, and better user experience. A bonus is that the 15-inch screen laptop typically has a better battery life too.
Avoid Touch Screens
Touch screens along with too high a resolution can be given a complete miss. They are not gamer friendly at all and will increase your price point. Consider getting a mouse to play your titles. However, if you must have a touch screen, the Acer Nitro 5 is your most affordable option.
Aim For Speed Over Memory
With a budget gaming laptop, you will be sacrificing some amount of power, so you should make up for that with superior speed. A good Solid State Drive (SSD) can help with that: they are much faster than regular mechanical hard drives. The good news is even inexpensive gaming laptops have SSD options.