Best cheap gaming laptop deals

Steam Deck (LCD) | 512GB SSD | $449 at Steam
Okay, the Steam Deck may have had an OLED refresh but the original version is still the archetype of what a mobile PC gaming device should be. It's just as powerful as the most recent model so all those Steam Deck compatible games should run well. It's the OG PC gaming handheld, and it still demands respect.

HP Victus 15 | RTX 4050 | Ryzen 5 8645HS | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 8 GB DDR5 | 512 GB SSD | $979 $599 at Walmart (save $380)
Let's be upfront about this—8 GB of RAM is not enough in 2024. But when you're talking about a gaming notebook that costs just $600, but with a decent RTX 40-series GPU inside it, I can swallow it. Especially when you can easily upgrade the RAM with just a wee screwdriver in-hand. And 16 GB of fast dual-channel DDR5 is just $50-odd right now. The RTX 4050 is just a 75 W variant, so not the outright fastest, but will still definitely do a job at 1080p, and for this money, that's all you can ask.

Gigabyte G5 | RTX 4060 | Core i7 12650H | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16GB DDR4 | 1TB SSD | $969 at Amazon
The ol' Gigabyte G5 has been a classic when it comes to budget gaming laptops for a long while now, and just when you thought it had disappeared, it's back with better specs and a still sub-$1,000 price tag. As we discovered when we reviewed the Core i5 version of the G5, it's a great little gaming laptop, and with the extra storage and slightly better CPU this is a quality machine for the money. If you're happy with just a 512GB SSD (or have a bigger one ready to drop in) you could save a little more cash and go for the 512GB $922 version.

Price check: Newegg $1,124.99

Gigabyte G6 | RTX 4060 | Core i7 13620H | 16-inch | 1200p | 144 Hz | 16GB DDR5-4800 | 1TB SSD | $1,099.99 $1,019.99 at Newegg (save $80)
If you're looking at the G6 here and wondering why you should pay more than the G5 above, there's a few things to take into consideration. While this also has an RTX 4060, you're getting a faster, 1200p 16:10 IPS display and some faster DDR5 memory for the extra $60. A nice little upgrade over the G5, still for a very good price.

Price check: Best Buy $1,099.99

HP Victus 16 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13700H | 16-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16 GB DDR5-5200 | 1 TB SSD | $1,199 at Walmart
The Victus range isn't the HP brand that comes to mind when you think gaming laptop, but it's the affordable side of the business which is still able to pack a decent punch for the price. This RTX 4070-powered machine is the cheapest we've found toting Nvidia's third-tier mobile GPU, but it is a 120 W version, not the full 140 W monty. That will still deliver at the 1080p res of this screen and will work comfortably under this relatively slim 16-inch chassis. The rest of the spec—16 GB DDR5 and 1 TB SSD—are exactly what you'd hope for at this end of the market, too. A really good price for a seriously solid machine.

Gigabyte Aorus | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13700H | 16-inch | 1440p | 165 Hz | 16 GB DDR5-4800 | 1 TB SSD | $1,399.99 $1,249.99 at Newegg (save $150)
This Gigabyte lappy has specs that make all the right noises, including an RTX 4070 with the full-fat 140 W TGP spec. Not only that but it's got a speedier screen than most of this sort of money, with a 165 Hz refresh rate at 1440p resolution. A very tidy package all round, and with a 14 core Intel Core i7 processor handling the CPU duties, a combination of components you can be proud of.

Acer Predator 14 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13700H | 14-inch | 250 Hz | 1600p | 16GB DDR5 | 1TB SSD | $1,999.99 $1,431.79 at Amazon (save $568.20)
It's not the prettiest gaming laptop you'll ever see but underneath the cheap-looking exterior is a pile of really nice hardware. That Intel CPU has 14 cores, 20 threads, and the GPU is a 140W RTX 4070. Backing them up are 16GB of DDR5 RAM and, unusually for this price, a full 1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD. Even the 2560 x 1600 screen is good, with a 250 Hz refresh rate and mini-LED backlighting. There's very little to dislike here and it'll be down to whether the lightweight nature or 14-inch panel just aren't right for you.

Price check: Newegg $1,594

Gigabyte Aorus 17H | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13700H | 17.3-inch | 1440p | 240 Hz | 16GB DDR5-4800 | 1TB SSD | $1,749 $1,549.99 at Amazon (save $199.01)
This is a big laptop that, for once, hasn't been packed with the most power-hungry and heat producing components, which is refreshing. That Core i7 is easier to keep cool than an i9 and it's a more suitable match for the 140W RTX 4070 alongside, which should have no problem pushing 1440p res gaming to that screen. Speaking of which, that 240 Hz panel is very speedy indeed, especially for this price.

Alienware M16 | RTX 4080 | Ryzen 9 7845HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32GB DDR5-5200 | 1TB SSD | $2,699.99 $1,899.99 at Best Buy (save $800)
This Alienware is a bit of a chonky machine, but for this price its got some serious components that are well worth looking at. There's a 175 W TGP RTX 4080 for proper graphics horsepower, 32 GB of decently fast DDR5, and a 12 core Ryzen 9 processor with plenty of gaming grunt. A 240 Hz 1600p panel rounds off a high-performance laptop with proper credentials.

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i | RTX 4080 | Core i9 13900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32GB DDR5-5600 | 1TB SSD | $2,849 $2,099 at B&H Photo (save $750)
Let's be honest, at this point, this isn't a deal on the best RTX 4080 laptop we've tested, this is just the price that it is. It's effectively been on offer at B&H at this level for a year now, but it's a fantastic notebook, offering performance that can often match and sometimes beat an RTX 4090-based system (see our review). There's a high-performance CPU to back it up, a decent, bright 1600p screen, and a fair amount of storage. It's just a brilliant lappy all round, really.

MSI Bravo| RTX 4060 | Ryzen 7 7735HS | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16 GB DDR5 | 512GB SSD | £999.99 £749.97 at Laptops Direct (save £250)
With a 105 W TGP on its RTX 4060 GPU, this surprisingly affordable MSI machine puts it at the top of our list of gaming laptop deals. That's way beyond the awful 45 W Cyborg (which you should absolutely avoid) and speedier than the Gigabyte we love so well. The SSD is a bit sad, and the AMD chip isn't the full Zen 4 deal, so you don't get the battery sipping 780M integrated graphics (just the Zen 3+ 680M), but it's still a lot of laptop for £750.

Gigabyte G5 | RTX 4060 | Core i5 12500H | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16GB DDR4-3200 | 512GB SSD | £1,099 £799 at Currys (save £250)
We're big fans of this little budget gaming laptop, and our Jacob loved its great gaming performance (check out our review). With over £250 off the original price and some genuine 1080p gaming chops on offer, we reckon this makes quite a tidy deal. It's a bit more expensive than the above Medion P25 but the RTX 4060 is much better for gaming.

Price check: Amazon £799

Asus TUF | RTX 4060 | Ryzen 5 7735HS | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16 GB DDR5 | 512 GB SSD | £894.97 £849.60 at Cyberpower (save £45.07)
This isn't the cheapest RTX 4060-powered laptop around, but it's the one that will likely give you the most performance thanks to its 140 W TGP. The Gigabyte above makes do with 75 W, so this is pushing the silicon a whole lot further and that will show in the gaming benchmarks. The TUF laptops are quality budget machines, too. Not as sleek as the Asus ROG notebooks, but they've got it where it counts. Well, except for that miserly 512 GB SSD, that is.

MSI Katana 15 | RTX 4070 | Core i9 13900H | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16GB DDR5 | 1TB SSD | £1,399 £1,099 at Currys (save £300)
Phew, those are some pretty impressive specs at a similarly impressive discount, from a trusted brand no less. Yes, it's only got a 1080p screen, and yes, 32GB of RAM instead of the included 16GB would be nice, but for just £1,149 you get a super-fast Core i9, an RTX 4070 and a 1TB SSD. That's a bit of a magic combo if you ask me, and at a bit of a magic price too. That GPU isn't running at peak performance, however, with just a 105 W TGP, but that still gives it enough juice to cope with that 1080p screen even if it's not the full 140 W deal.

Price check: Amazon £1,150

Asus TUF A15 | RTX 4070 | Ryzen 9 8945H | 15.6-inch | 1440p | 165 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | £1,899.98 £1,549.99 at Scan (save £349.99)
She may not be the cheapest, or prettiest, but this packed Asus machine has got a lot going for it. That 165 Hz IPS panel is high-res and the RTX 4070 is running at its top 140 W power limits. And that chonky chassis only helps that. You're also getting a ton of DDR5 memory and a decent 1 TB of fast SSD storage, too. 

MSI Vector 17  | RTX 4080 | Core i9-13980HX | 17-inch | 1200p | 165 Hz | 16GB DDR5 | 1TB SSD | £2,047.90 £1,799 at Amazon (save £250)
When it comes to the hardware running under the bonnet, this 16-inch MSI Vector certainly has the goods, what with that Intel Core i9 processor and an RTX 4080 making a very tempting package indeed. Bit of a shame about the 1200p display and 16GB of RAM, but at least the screen's a good 'un with a 144Hz refresh rate and nice and bright panel. There's a huge amount of performance here in quite a slim and svelte package, making this machine a lot of power for just under £1,800.