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MagyarThe Best Budget Gaming Notebooks
To make this list, a notebook must meet two requirements first and foremost. First, given that this is a list of affordable notebooks its price shall not exceed 1,500 Euros. Keep in mind that the prices listed in the table below are updated daily and can thus differ from day to day. And second, these laptops must be equipped with a mid-range gaming-capable GPU, such as a GTX 1650 or an RX 5500M, capable of running most recent games in FHD (1920 x 1080) in medium to high details smoothly. More powerful GPUs, such as the GTX 1660 Ti or the RX 5600M, should thus be capable of running most current games smoothly in 1080p and maximum settings. Other gaming top lists:
- The Best Gaming Notebooks (particularly powerful gaming notebooks)
- The Best Thin & Light Gaming Notebooks (lightweight and thin gaming notebooks)
The Best Budget Gaming Laptops
Position | Total Rating | Date | Image | Model | Height | Weight | Size | Resolution | Screen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 89 % | 08/2023 |  | Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16ARX8 (R5 7645HX, RTX 4050) AMD Ryzen 5 7645HX NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU 16 GB Memory, 512 GB SSD | 27.3 mm | 2.5 kg | 16.00" | 2560x1600 | matte |
| 2 | 86.7 % | 08/2023 |  | Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R7YE AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU 16 GB Memory, 512 GB SSD | 27.9 mm | 2.6 kg | 16.00" | 1920x1200 | matte |
| 3 | 87.3 % | 09/2023 New! |  | Lenovo LOQ 16IRH8 Intel Core i7-13620H NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU 16 GB Memory, 512 GB SSD | 25.9 mm | 2.7 kg | 16.00" | 2560x1600 | matte |
| 4 | 86.3 % | 06/2023 |  | Asus TUF A15 FA507 AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU 16 GB Memory, 512 GB SSD | 24.9 mm | 2.2 kg | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | matte |
| 5 | 86.2 % | 10/2023 New! |  | SCHENKER XMG Apex 15 (Late 23) AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU 32 GB Memory, 1024 GB SSD | 26.7 mm | 2.2 kg | 15.60" | 2560x1440 | matte |
| 6 | 85.9 % | 10/2023 New! |  | Lenovo LOQ 15IRH8 Core i7 Intel Core i7-13620H NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU 16 GB Memory, 512 GB SSD | 25.2 mm | 2.4 kg | 15.60" | 2560x1440 | matte |
| 7 | 85.7 % | 09/2023 |  | Captiva Advanced Gaming I74-121 Intel Core i5-13500H NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU 16 GB Memory, 1024 GB SSD | 29 mm | 2.3 kg | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | matte |
| 8 | 85.5 % | 06/2023 |  | Acer Nitro 5 AN517-55-5552 Intel Core i5-12500H NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU 16 GB Memory, 512 GB SSD | 28.9 mm | 3 kg | 17.30" | 1920x1080 | matte |
| 9 | 84.2 % | 06/2023 |  | Dell G15 5530 Intel Core i7-13650HX NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU 16 GB Memory, 512 GB SSD | 26.95 mm | 3 kg | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | matte |
| 10 | 83.3 % | 01/2023 |  | Gigabyte G7 KE Intel Core i5-12500H NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU 16 GB Memory, 1024 GB SSD | 25 mm | 2.6 kg | 17.30" | 1920x1080 | matte |
The table above contains an overview over the best budget gaming laptops for less than 1,500 Euros reviewed by Notebookcheck over the course of the past 12 months as well as still relevant and available older products. In cases of identical score the more recent device is listed first. All prices in above table and price comparisons are updated daily and can thus differ.
Link: all devices in this class reviewed
1st – Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16ARX8 (R5 5 7645HX, RTX 4050)
In the currently smallest version with Ryzen 5 and RTX 4050, the cooling in the Legion Pro can show what it is capable of. The result is a gaming notebook that can keep up well in the entry-level class and is not too loud at the same time. Thanks to additional software, there are also other interesting possibilities.
The strength is the versatility. The Legion Pro 5 plays quietly, but can easily hold a candle to the strongest models with the same hardware with a click.
Various configurations of the model are widely available online now. In the US, a variant with a Ryzen 7 7745HX and RTX 4070 is listed on Amazon for around $1.800.
Pricecompare
2nd – Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41 (R5 7535HS, RTX 4050)
Ryzen 5 7535HS, GeForce RTX 4050, USB 4 and a bright 16:10 display (16 inch, WUXGA, 165 Hz, G-Sync) represent the highlights of the relatively inexpensive (~$1,300) Nitro 16. The already very good battery runtimes of the predecessor are even surpassed - under the right conditions.
Acer presents a well-rounded gaming notebook from the entry-level sector with the Nitro 16.
Currently, interested users can order the model via online retailers. Amazon US has various configurations of Acer Nitro 16 on its list, a variant with R7 784HS and RTX 4060 costs around $1,200.
Pricecompare
3rd – Lenovo LOQ 16 (i7-13620H, RTX 4060)
Lenovo tries its hand at a new name for inexpensive gaming laptops compared to the more expensive Legion models with the LOQ series. For the supposedly inexpensive Lenovo LOQ 16 (1,500 Euros), the manufacturer mainly saves on features and materials compared to the more expensive Legion series. Furthermore, the LOQ is a bit heavier and clunkier, but the performance is right.
The Lenovo LOQ 16 with QHD display is a capable and relatively inexpensive gaming laptop that hardly lacks anything in this price range, but it still needs to be optimized in terms of battery, fan behavior or the control center.
At the time of writing, the LOQ 16 is available on Amazon US with various configurations. Alternatively, users can order the device via Lenovo's online store.
Pricecompare
4th – Asus TUF Gaming A15 (R7 7735HS, RTX 4050)
The TUF Gaming A15 from Asus offers good performance for gaming in 1080p thanks to the AMD Ryzen processor and GeForce RTX 4050 laptop. The IPS panel with 144 Hz also delivers a good performance.
The new Asus TUF Gaming A15 is a good gaming notebook in the base version and the RTX 4050 laptop offers enough performance for the 1080p display.
At the time of writing, the TUF A15 FA507 is available on Amazon US for $1,169.99.
Pricecompare
5th – XMG Apex 15 (R7 7840HS, RTX 4050)
The XMG Apex 15 scores with moderate noise development, relatively low energy consumption and a nevertheless high performance level (Ryzen 7 7840HS, GeForce RTX 4050). In addition, there are good runtimes and a reasonable price level, starting at about €1,100 (~US$1,165).
Medion delivers a coherent gaming notebook from the entry-level segment with the Erazer Scout E20. The fan control should still be readjusted.
The XMG Apex 15 (Late 23) can be individually assembled and purchased in Schenker's online store. The present test device has a price of about 1,450 Euros. The prices start at around 1,100 Euros.
Pricecompare
6th – Lenovo LOQ 15 (i7-13620H, RTX 4050)
The LOQ 15IRH8 is Lenovo's attempt at a distinctive, powerful, yet affordable gaming laptop. Despite its low cost, the LOQ 15 Core i7 is equipped with a 165 Hz QHD G-Sync display and a 1080p webcam. The QHD panel in particular impresses with much better colors and response times than the FHD 144 Hz option.
The Lenovo LOQ 15 Core i7 hardly leaves any wish unfulfilled. If you are looking for a powerful gaming laptop with a 1080p display in the price range of 1500 Euros, this gamer should definitely be on the shortlist. Only in the area of case quality and temperature development you should not expect too much.
Currently, Lenovo offers various configurations of LOQ 15 on its online shop. In the US, users can also order the device via Best Buy or Amazon.
Pricecompare
7th – Captiva Advanced Gaming I74-121 (i5-13500H, RTX 4060)
The Captiva Advanced Gaming (Clevo V150RND) doesn't use the very fastest processor, but it still leaves no doubts about the 3D performance of its slightly above average RTX 4060. Thus, the manufacturer focuses on the essentials: gaming performance.
The Captiva Advanced Gaming I74-121 offers high 3D performance at a fairly low price. There are some drawbacks, especially in terms of equipment.
The Captiva Advanced Gaming I74 is currently not yet available in the US.
Pricecompare
8th – Acer Nitro 5 AN517 (i5-12500H, RTX 4050)
The rather large Acer Nitro 5 AN517 combines an Alder Lake processor that is no longer quite as fresh as it used to be with a graphics card from the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4000 series. The result is a solid gaming notebook on entry-level, which is properly equipped with RGB lighting, 144 Hz panel and Thunderbolt 4 port. What's more, the performance hardly drops in quiet mode, and the noise remains remarkably low.
Quiet fans and FHD gaming are not mutually exclusive in the Acer Nitro 5.
Currently, some variants of Acer Nitro 5 AN517 are available on Amazon US, with prices starting at around $1,195.
Pricecompare
9th – Dell G15 5530 (i7-13650HX, RTX 4060)
Dell offers the G15 5530 with various Intel Raptor Lake HX CPUs this year, making it an upper mid-range device. While the combination of Core i7-13650HX and RTX 4060 is good for 1080p ultra-gaming, the G15 5530 has to make some compromises to keep the price competitive and stand out from its premium Alienware brethren. You get optimal WLAN, a fast 1080p IPS panel, and also the ability to swap out various hardware without much trouble.
The Dell G15 5530 delivers a lot of performance, an easy upgrade option and is the cheaper version of the Alienware models. If you don't have any problems with the rather clunky case and a few other limitations, it is an optimal mid-range gaming notebook.
The G15 5530 can be configured and purchased directly from Dell US online store. A variant of G15 5530 with the RTX 4060 is also listed on Amazon US.
Pricecompare
10th – Gigabyte G7 KE (i5-12500H, RTX 3060)
The Gigabyte G7 KE is one of the 17.3-inch gaming notebooks from the lower price segment. Core-i5-12500H CPU and GeForce RTX 3060 laptop GPU bring all current games smoothly to the matte FHD screen (300 Hz). In addition, there is a fast PCIe-4-SSD (1 TB), 16 GB RAM and a Thunderbolt-4 port.
Gigabyte sells a solid gaming notebook with the G7 KE. There are deductions in the B score.
The Gigabyte G7 KE is currently not yet available in North America.
Pricecompare
Top 10 in Comparison
Test Results
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16ARX8 (R5 7645HX, RTX 4050) | Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41-R7YE | Lenovo LOQ 16IRH8 | Asus TUF A15 FA507 | SCHENKER XMG Apex 15 (Late 23) | Lenovo LOQ 15IRH8 Core i7 | Captiva Advanced Gaming I74-121 | Acer Nitro 5 AN517-55-5552 | Dell G15 5530 | Gigabyte G7 KE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | ||||||||||
| Display P3 Coverage | 71.6 | 80 | 70.5 | 64.9 | 67.5 | 66.3 | 64 | 37.6 | 73.1 | 70.4 |
| sRGB Coverage | 99.8 | 99.4 | 98.9 | 96.5 | 97.6 | 96.6 | 93.2 | 56.4 | 98.4 | 99.8 |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 72.9 | 77.4 | 72.6 | 66.6 | 68.9 | 67.7 | 66 | 38.9 | 74.4 | 71.7 |
| Response Times | ||||||||||
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 12 ? | 11.2 ? | 7.2 ? | 30.4 ? | 13.2 ? | 5 ? | 5 ? | 18 ? | 3.39 ? | 5 ? |
| Response Time Black / White * | 5.2 ? | 5.2 ? | 7.4 ? | 20.8 ? | 8.8 ? | 8.41 ? | 7.55 ? | 14 ? | 5.35 ? | 8.3 ? |
| PWM Frequency | 21620 ? | |||||||||
| Screen | ||||||||||
| Brightness middle | 543 | 415 | 407 | 288 | 336 | 373 | 346 | 285 | 320 | 307 |
| Brightness | 516 | 380 | 369 | 271 | 307 | 365 | 324 | 257 | 316 | 301 |
| Brightness Distribution | 87 | 84 | 85 | 91 | 77 | 90 | 90 | 81 | 94 | 93 |
| Black Level * | 0.58 | 0.36 | 0.45 | 0.17 | 0.38 | 0.33 | 0.35 | 0.58 | 0.21 | 0.2 |
| Contrast | 936 | 1153 | 904 | 1694 | 884 | 1130 | 989 | 491 | 1524 | 1535 |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 1.35 | 4.71 | 1.43 | 1.9 | 1.96 | 4.19 | 4.12 | 4.59 | 4.55 | 1.32 |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 3.22 | 6.98 | 3.58 | 3.3 | 5.07 | 8.47 | 7.78 | 6.98 | 9.83 | 4.6 |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 1.31 | 2.68 | 1.07 | 0.9 | 1.27 | 1.07 | 1.22 | 4.82 | 1.51 | 1.03 |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 1.03 | 3.6 | 1.13 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 5 | 4.81 | 2.89 | 6.2 | 2.1 |
| Gamma | 2.38 92% | 2.182 101% | 2.5 88% | 2.32 95% | 2.017 109% | 1.93 114% | 2.31 95% | 2.38 92% | 2.07 106% | 2.247 98% |
| CCT | 6452 101% | 7153 91% | 6526 100% | 6535 99% | 6644 98% | 7520 86% | 7633 85% | 7000 93% | 6479 100% | 6815 95% |
| Noise | ||||||||||
| off / environment * | 23 | 24 | 23 | 23.3 | 24 | 23.69 | 23 | 25.7 | 20.41 | 27 |
| Idle Minimum * | 23 | 25 | 23 | 23.3 | 25 | 29.03 | 23 | 25.7 | 26.85 | 27 |
| Idle Average * | 23 | 26 | 23 | 23.3 | 29 | 29.03 | 25.67 | 31.5 | 26.85 | 35 |
| Idle Maximum * | 24.42 | 27 | 27.66 | 23.3 | 33 | 29.03 | 25.67 | 31.2 | 26.85 | 38 |
| Load Average * | 34.94 | 42 | 53.62 | 29.6 | 36 | 48.7 | 38.52 | 62.9 | 27.65 | 52 |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 43.79 | 43 | 53.5 | 43 | 48 | 48.5 | 54.17 | 47.9 | 56 | |
| Load Maximum * | 50 | 45 | 53.5 | 43 | 53 | 48.7 | 54.17 | 67.5 | 47.86 | 59 |
| Heat | ||||||||||
| Maximum Upper Side * | 45 | 51 | 48 | 48.9 | 52 | 46.4 | 41 | 42.4 | 54 | 52 |
| Maximum Bottom * | 54 | 63 | 59 | 44.6 | 47 | 59.2 | 42 | 48.2 | 62.2 | 54 |
| Idle Upper Side * | 36 | 34 | 28 | 27.1 | 33 | 34.4 | 32 | 31.6 | 33.4 | 28 |
| Idle Bottom * | 38 | 32 | 28 | 27.5 | 33 | 36.2 | 35 | 33.1 | 33.4 | 32 |
| Battery Runtime | ||||||||||
| H.264 | 325 | 650 | 385 | 747 | 496 | 366 | 296 | 441 | 405 | 132 |
| WiFi v1.3 | 333 | 660 | 376 | 701 | 425 | 353 | 315 | 565 | 391 | 317 |
| Witcher 3 ultra | 47 | 47 | ||||||||
| Reader / Idle | 721 | 506 | 425 | |||||||
| Load | 134 | 88 | 59 | 97 | 96 | 50 | 76 | |||
| Power Consumption | ||||||||||
| Idle Minimum * | 13 | 19 | 17.2 | 8 | 6 | 18.52 | 18.4 | 7.6 | 8.4 | 15 |
| Idle Average * | 17.4 | 20 | 19.3 | 12.1 | 11 | 22.54 | 20 | 11.3 | 14.98 | 17 |
| Idle Maximum * | 21.8 | 23 | 21.2 | 12.5 | 14 | 29.79 | 20.7 | 15.4 | 15.56 | 24 |
| Load Average * | 96.4 | 80 | 90 | 74.9 | 65 | 94.5 | 85 | 151 | 96.8 | 111 |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 125 | 125.8 | 168 | 136.6 | 136.5 | 154.4 | 164 | 137.8 | 186 | 174.1 |
| Load Maximum * | 204 | 184 | 211 | 185 | 195 | 190.4 | 219 | 244 | 271.42 | 208 |
* ... smaller is better
