$800 for an RTX 3060 gaming laptop sounds delectable, honestly

The MSI GF65 gaming laptop font corner, low angle.
(Image credit: MSI)
MSI GF65 | Nvidia RTX 3060 | Intel Core i5 10500H | 15.6in | 1080p | 144Hz | 8GB RAM | 512GB NVMe SSD | $1,099.99 $799.99 at Best Buy (save $300)

MSI GF65 | Nvidia RTX 3060 | Intel Core i5 10500H | 15.6in | 1080p | 144Hz | 8GB RAM | 512GB NVMe SSD | $1,099.99 $799.99 at Best Buy (save $300)
A worthy mainstream gaming laptop for a really great saving here. It's a little lacking in terms of RAM and storage space, and sure its CPU is two generations old, but it's still a more than relevant combo for gaming today. Definitely one worth your consideration.

A fantastic entry level gaming laptop here. While it is lacking in a couple of areas, which we'll talk about in a moment, there's a lot to be said for a gaming laptop powered by an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 coming in at a fantastic $800 at Best Buy. That's $300 less than it's usual price, and it's an awesome little mid-level gaming laptop.

The MSI G565's current-gen GPU comes backed up with a 10th Gen Intel CPU that's at the lower-end today, but it's still a relevant enough combo that'll give you an easy run at the laptop's native 1080p resolution.

The likelihood is you're going to be playing most games at mid-to-high graphics settings to get the most out of this one, but for competitive gamers you also get the benefit of that 144Hz panel.

You're limited a little when it comes to storage space, so you'll probably have to pick and choose between your gaming loadout, especially consider the file sizes of some of today's games. It's also a little low on the RAM side of things; generally 16GB is a good medium, but 8GB will see you through. Just don't expect to have several apps open at once.

Oh, and this one comes with Windows 10 installed, rather than Windows 11, so that's great for anyone not looking to upgrade to the new OS yet. Though Microsoft might make that choice for you as soon as you get online.

Katie Wickens
Hardware Writer

Screw sports, Katie would rather watch Intel, AMD and Nvidia go at it. Having been obsessed with computers and graphics for three long decades, she took Game Art and Design up to Masters level at uni, and has been demystifying tech and science—rather sarcastically—for three years since. She can be found admiring AI advancements, scrambling for scintillating Raspberry Pi projects, preaching cybersecurity awareness, sighing over semiconductors, and gawping at the latest GPU upgrades. She's been heading the PCG Steam Deck content hike, while waiting patiently for her chance to upload her consciousness into the cloud.