If you want to get a new laptop for playing games, the good news is that you don’t have to completely drain your savings account to do so. In fact, there are plenty of great gaming laptop options that you can get for a few hundred dollars or less, with some even giving you the option to enjoy more types of gaming, such as HR gaming with a connected headset like the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. However, when it comes to getting the best specs at the best price, it’s important to know what to look out for. Here are some of the most important factors to consider.
Know What You Want to Play
From real money USA online slots games to graphics-heavy shooter games and more, there are lots of options when it comes to what you can play on a budget gaming laptop these days. If you want to play popular games like Minecraft, League of Legends, Overwatch, Borderlands 3 and more of the best PC games on offer today, then you should look for a laptop that has graphics integrated into a strong and modern CPU. On the other hand, you will need to include a good GPU in your gaming laptop to get the best possible experience if you are hoping to play titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Red Dead Redemption 2 and The Witcher 3.
Graphics Card
These two gaming laptop components are not upgradable down the line, which is why they are some of the most important aspects to focus on when buying. This will ensure that you get exactly what you need when it comes to playing the games you want. While the CPU is the main component of any laptop, when it comes to gaming, the GPU plays a huge role. If you want a budget gaming laptop, you are probably going to find that they won’t include the best graphics cards. However, there are some great budget options to consider, like AMD and NVIDIA GPUs.
Processor
Since your gaming laptop processor is not something that you will be able to upgrade later, this is another key factor to consider. It’s worth paying a little bit more rather than saving money but going too far back generationally. While you might be able to find a good gaming PC deal with an 8th Gen Intel or Ryzen 3000 processor, these are now considered some of the older options. Instead, opt for something like Intel’s Core H-Series 10th Gen processors, which are considerably more powerful and offer a similar performance to a desktop PC.
Display
Finally, consider the fact that the display can make or break your entire gaming experience. The last thing that you want is to spend your money on performance hardware if the laptop you choose doesn’t have a display that can make the most of it. For gaming laptops, around 15-inch is an ideal screen size, and consider at least a 1080p resolution.
No matter what games you enjoy playing most, it’s possible to get a great gaming laptop on a budget if you know what you are looking for.