Best cheap gaming laptop deals

Steam Deck (original) | 64GB SSD | $349 at Steam
Okay, it's not a laptop, and the Steam Deck may have had an OLED refresh but the original version is still pretty much 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, and while the 64GB storage is rather small, SSD upgrades like the Sabrent 2230 512GB are at a great price for a straightforward upgrade. It's the OG PC gaming handheld, and it demands respect.

Asus ROG Ally | AMD Z1 Extreme | 7-inch 1080p | 120 Hz | 16GB RAM | 512GB SSD | $699.99 $599.99 at Best Buy (save $100)
The most powerful version of once of the best PC gaming handhelds is back at a discounted price. The Asus Ally surprised us at launch with its relatively low MSRP (for a premium Asus product), and now it's even cheaper. Has the time come for you to get in on some handheld gaming action?

Acer Predator 14 | RTX 4050 | Core i7 13700H | 14-inch | 165Hz | 1200p | 16GB DDR5 | 512GB SSD | $1,499.99 $799.99 at Amazon (save $700)
This is probably the cheapest 14-inch laptop I've seen, and while I would absolutely have preferred the RTX 4060 over the RTX 4050, it is worth noting that it's a full 95 W version of that GPU. We've seen from our testing that means it will best RTX 4060 chips running at 65 W or less, such as the Nvidia GPU in the Transcend 14. You're also getting an Intel CPU that has 14 cores, 20 threads. Backing them up are 16GB of DDR5 RAM and, sadly, just a 512 GB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD. 

Price check: Newegg $988.97

Lenovo Legion 5 Slim | RTX 4060 | AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS | 16-inch | 144Hz | 1920 x 1200 | 16GB DDR5 | 512GB SSD | $1,349.99 $899.99 at Best Buy (save $450)
The latest Legion machines have been some of my favorite gaming laptops of the past year or so, and this Legion 5 Slim is a great price for a real quality piece of notebook engineering. The RTX 4060 is a good GPU for a sub-$1,000 machine, and a great fit for a 1200p 16-inch display. While it's not really slim when compared to something like an ultrabook, the Lenovo is still pretty svelte by gaming laptop standards, and the Legions have some of the best keyboards you'll find on any mobile machine.

Acer Nitro 16 | RTX 4060 | Ryzen 7 7840HS | 16-inch | 1200p | 165 HZ | 16GB DDR5 | 1TB SSD | $1,299.99 $999.99 at Amazon (save $300)
The Nitro range represents Acer's more affordable gaming laptops, and with a $300 discount this one's even more so today. It's a proper machine, too, and one of the few RTX 4060 machines to be configured at the very limits of TGP range Nvidia has set. So it's sporting the full 115 W + 25W dynamic boost combo, giving it a potential 140 W TGP. Matched with a Zen 4 octacore CPU, a 1TB SSD, and the requisite 16GB of DDR5 memory and this is a serious machine for a surprisingly low cost of entry. 

Dell G15 | RTX 4060 | Core i7 13650HX | 15-inch | 1080p | 360 Hz | 16GB DDR5-4800 | 1TB SSD | $1,199.99 $999.99 at Dell (save $200)
Dell's angular chassis definitely feels like it's had some Alienware influence on it, but it is quite a bezel-happy thing. Still, you are getting an excellent spec for a decent sub-$1,000 price. That includes the requisite RTX 4060 and a 1080p display. But it's a slick 360 Hz panel, and you're getting a full 16GB of dual-channel DDR5 and a 1TB SSD to boot. A smart little package of laptop goodness.

Acer Predator 14 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13700H | 14-inch | 250Hz | 1600p | 16GB DDR5 | 1TB SSD | $1,999.99 $1,248.99 at Amazon (save $751)
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 250Hz 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 $1,425.98

Asus TUF F15 | RTX 4070 | Intel Core i7 12700H | 16GB DDR4 | 1TB SSD | 15-inch | 1920 x 1080 | 144Hz | $1,399.99 $1,329.99 at Best Buy (save $70)
While not exactly a massive discount, this is still a good price for an RTX 4070-powered gaming laptop. The TUF F15 is one of Asus' more affordable machines, and as such it's certainly a little chunkier than something like the Zephyrus range, but you're still getting a 14-core processor and 16GB of DDR4 memory to support that Nvidia GPU. There's also a full 1TB of storage in there, so you're good to go out of the box without there being anything needing an upgrade.

Gigabyte Aorus 16 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13700H | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 16GB DDR5 | 1TB SSD | $1,799.99 $1,349 at Amazon (save $450.99)
Last year's Aorus 16 is still a very good mid-range gaming laptop. It's not as overtly gamer-aggressive in styling as previous Aorus machines, and yet it's still got all the gaming goods you would want from a 16-incher. The 240 Hz, 1600p panel comes with an impressively thin bezel and compliments the 140 W RTX 4070 that Gigabyte is packing inside it. The classic 16GB / 1TB memory/storage combo is plenty good enough to support the 14-core Core i7 chip at its heart, too.

MSI Crosshair | RTX 4070 | Intel Core I7 13620H | 16GB DDR5 | 1TB SSD | 16-inch | 1920 x 1200 | 144Hz | $1,199.99 at Best Buy (save $200)
This MSI Crosshair model may only have a 1200p screen, but at least it's pretty fast with a 144Hz refresh rate. The real selling point here is that RTX 4070 (albeit the 105W version, not the full fat 140W), along with a decent Intel processor and a 1TB SSD that makes this a solid gaming platform. It's got a nice clean aesthetic too, which means it wouldn't look too out of place if you took it to your next meeting.

Price check: Newegg $1,499.99

HP Omen Transcend 14 | Nvidia RTX 4060 | Intel Core Ultra 7 155H | 14-inch | 120Hz | 2880 x 1800 | OLED | 512GB SSD | 16GB DDR5-7500 | $1,669.99 $1,369.99 at HP (save $300)
This lovely 14-incher is no longer on sale, but it's still the best value compact gaming laptop around. You get an excellent OLED panel as standard, and a 65W GPU that will still deliver a quality gaming experience. The 512GB SSD is a bit small, but you can configure the machine with a 1TB drive if you're willing to spend a bit more. Shame the battery life isn't so good, but that's small gaming laptops for you.

Gigabyte Aorus 17H | RTX 4080 | Core i7 13700H | 17.3-inch | 1080p | 360 Hz | 16GB DDR5-4800 | 1TB SSD | $2,199.99 $1,849.99 at Amazon (save $350 with $50 rebate card)
$1,850 for a laptop with a 1080p screen? Ignore that for the moment and note that you're getting a decent CPU, a 150W RTX 4080, and a nice amount of storage. Then focus on the fact that the screen is enormous (for a laptop) and super-fast, and what you're looking at is something that's idle for e-sports and competitive shooter fans. Gigabyte's control app isn't the best, though.

Acer Predator Helios 16 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 13900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32GB DDR5 | 1TB SSD | $2,499 $1,999 at B&H Photo (save $500)
Acer's Helios 16 has proved one of our favorite 16-inch gaming laptops of the last generation, and this RTX 4080-powered device is a great price at around the $2,000 mark. Sadly, this isn't the mini-LED version we loved so well in our review, but it's still got a great IPS panel that is able to hit pretty high brightness levels and at a great refresh rate, too.

Price check: Walmart $2,049.99

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i | RTX 4080 | Core i9 13900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32GB DDR5-5600 | 1TB SSD | $2,749 $2,049 at B&H Photo (save $700)
Let's be honest, at this point, this isn't a deal on the best RTX 4080 laptop I'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. All with a discount.

Price check: Amazon $2,399

Medion Erazer P25 | RTX 3060 | Ryzen 5 5600H | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16GB RAM | 512GB SSD | £949.97 £749.97 at Laptops Direct (save £200)
It might seem a little odd that we're recommending a basic last-gen gaming laptop, when RTX 4050 machines aren't very expensive. But this is a super-affordable RTX 3060 laptop that will a decent level of 1080p gaming performance, thanks to the six core, 12 thread CPU and 16GB of RAM. More storage would be nice, but it's a pretty standard amount for this price segment.

Gigabyte G5 | RTX 4060 | Core i5 12500H | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16GB DDR4-3200 | 512GB SSD | £1,099 £849 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.

Acer Nitro 16 | RTX 4070 | Ryzen 7 7940HS | 16-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16GB DDR5 | 512GB SSD | £1,299.99 £1,199.99 at Currys (save £100)
An eight core, 16 thread CPU paired with a 140W RTX 4070 is ideal for gaming on the go. The screen is decent enough, though nothing special, and the amount of storage is a bit rubbish. But for the price, there's not much to really complain about, as other RTX 4070 laptops only offer bigger screens or larger SSDs for more money.

MSI Katana 15 | RTX 4070 | Core i9 13900H | 17.3-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16GB DDR5 | 1TB SSD | £1,533.84 £1,399 at Ebuyer (save £134.84)
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 under £1,200 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.

Asus ROG Strix G16 | RTX 4080 | Core i7 13650H | 16-inch | 1200p | 165 Hz | 16GB DDR5 | 1TB SSD | £1999.96 £1,734.99 at Ebuyer (save £264.97)
The G16 is a more value-focused gaming laptop from the ROG stable, and as such doesn't have the sparkly Nebula display of something like the Zephyrus M16. But the Strix G16 still has an impressively punchy 1920 x 1200 panel, and the RTX 4080 at its heart will power any game at peak settings on that display beautifully.

MSI Vector GP68HX  | RTX 4080 | Core i9-13950HX | 16-inch | 1200p | 144 Hz | 16GB DDR5 | 1TB SSD | £1,879.97 at Ebuyer
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 screens 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 under the magic £2,000 marker.