If you need a gaming laptop but are working with a moderate budget, we’ve rated & reviewed seven of the best gaming laptops under $1,000 to help you find the right option for your needs.
Gaming laptops are always going to be outperformed by custom-built and pre-built gaming desktops on a dollar-for-dollar basis. However, desktops aren’t viable options for gamers who need a more portable option.
And, fortunately, there are decent gaming laptops out there in the ~$500-$1,000 price range.
Also Read: Laptop vs Desktop: Which Should You Get?
In this guide, we’re going to take a look at seven of the best gaming laptops under $1,000 that are currently available. We’ve rated the seven laptops below based on their gaming performance and the price tags they come in at to give you a good idea of what kind of value they offer.
So, if you’ve got a moderate budget and you’re looking for a solid gaming laptop, one of the options listed below should work for you.
Best Gaming Laptops Under $1,000
1. MSI GF63 15.6″ Gaming Laptop
2. GIGABYTE G5 MF 15.6″ Gaming Laptop
3. MSI GF65 15.6″ Gaming Laptop
4. Dell G15 15.6″ Gaming Laptop
Quick Look at the Best Gaming Laptops Under $1,000
In order to simplify finding a solid option for your needs, we’ve provided a quick-look table below that showcases our picks for the best gaming laptops under $1,000 in a few different categories. We’ve selected our picks for the best option under $1,000 overall, the runner-up, and the best value gaming laptop under $1,000, as well as listed the cheapest option on this list.
| | NAME | SPECS | RATING | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOP PICK |  | MSI GF63 |
| /10 | |
| RUNNER-UP |  | GIGABYTE G5 MF |
| /10 | |
| VALUE |  | MSI GF65 |
| /10 | |
| BUDGET |  | Dell G15 |
| /10 |
*If you click on the “Read Review »” links you will jump to our overview on that specific laptop. You can also keep scrolling down see our thoughts on our Honorable Mention picks.
1. MSI GF63 15.6″
The best gaming laptop under $1,000
The MSI GF63 is our current pick for the best gaming laptop under $1,000. This MSI gaming laptop comes with an Intel Core i7-12650H processor, an RTX 4050 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. It also comes with a 15.6″ 1080P 144Hz display.
With the Intel Core i7 CPU, RTX 4050 GPU, and 16GB of RAM, you’ll be able to max out any game you throw at this laptop. Not to mention, the addition of the 144Hz refresh rate display will provide an incredibly smooth in-game experience.
The one down side of this Intel Core i7 gaming laptop, though, is that—after tax—it technically won’t come in at under $1,000. However, if you can go just a little over $1,000, you get a high-end processor, a solid GPU, more memory (16GB instead of 8GB), and a higher refresh rate than most of the options listed below.
So, in the end, if you’ve got ~$1,000 to spend on a new laptop, this laptop is going to give you a much better hardware configuration than any of the other sub-$1,000 gaming laptops out there.
2. GIGABYTE G5 MF 15.6″
Our runner-up pick
While the MSI GF63 listed above was our pick for the best option under $1,000, the GIGABYTE G5 MF isn’t that far behind it. It does cost the same as the MSI laptop listed above, though, so it will require you to go slightly over $1,000.
This laptop comes with an Intel Core i5-12450H processor, an NVIDIA RTX 4050 GPU, 16GB Of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. It’s display is a 15.6-inch screen that has a 1080P resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate.
In comparion to our top pick, the GIGABYTE G5 MF has basically the same exact configuration. The only difference is that out top pick, the MSI GF63, comes with a slightly better processor (i7-12650H vs i5- 12450H). In the grand scheme of things, though, the real world performance difference between the i7 and i5 processors won’t be huge—especially for gaming.
However, if you could use the extra threads that the i7 processor comes with, then the MSI laptop would be the better option. Although, if this Gigabyte 144Hz laptop were to drop in price, it would be worth considering over the MSI GF63.
3. MSI GF65 15.6″
The best value gaming laptop under $1,000
Despite being quite a bit cheaper than some of the other options on this list, the MSI GF65 is currently one of the best gaming laptops under $1,000.
The MSI GF65 comes with an Intel Core i5-10500H processor, an RTX 3060 GPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 512GB NVME SSD. It also has a 15.6″ 1080P display that has a 144Hz refresh rate.
The combination of the i5-10500H and the RTX 3060 GPU are enough to max out pretty much any game on a 1080P display. And, the 144Hz refresh rate will make games run much more smoothly. This is especially true for competitive games that rely on split-second decisions like Rocket League, COD, Fortnite, etc.
The one downside of this laptop, though, is that it doesn’t come with much memory out of the box. While 8GB of RAM is enough to get you started playing non-demanding games, it isn’t ideal for playing AAA titles in 2023. You can always grab an additional 8GB of RAM, though, and add it to your system to bring it up to par.
Also Read: Is 8GB RAM Enough for Gaming Right Now?
The bottom line, though, is that with the i5-10500H processor and RTX 3060 GPU, the GF65 won’t provide as much performance as the MSI and Gigabyte laptops listed above. However, it does come in at ~$200 cheaper—so, you can save a bit of money without sacrificing too much performance.
4. Dell G15 15.6″
The best budget gaming laptop
If you don’t have much over $700 to spend, but you need a 1080P laptop that will allow you to play pretty much any game with no problems, then this Dell gaming laptop is worth checking out.
At just under $750, it is one of the more affordable options on this list. This Dell laptop comes with an Intel Core i5-12500H processor, an RTX 3050 GPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. And, it has a 15.6″ 1080P 120Hz display.
Also Read: Best Gaming Laptops Under $800
That’s not bad for a ~$700 gaming laptop, as it it a powerful enough hardware configuration to where you should expect to be able to max out most games, and, for more demanding titles, play them on medium settings.
So, the bottom line is that, if you’re strapped for cash and you don’t quite have the budget to get the MSI GF63 or the Gigabyte G565 listed above, this Dell laptop is a solid alternative.
5. ASUS TUF F15 15.6″
Honorable mention #1
Another worthy gaming laptop option is ASUS’ TUF F15. It comes in at just under $900 and sports an Intel Core i5-11400H CPU, an RTX 3050 GPU, 32GB of DDR4 memory, and a 1TB SSD. It also comes with a 15.6″ 1080P 144Hz display.
While we did choose the MSI GF65 as our top value option, the truth is that you could make a strong case for the ASUS TUF 15 due to the extra memory and storage space it has.
However, we felt the MSI GF65’s higher-end GPU (RTX 3060 vs RTX 3050) and lower pricetag helped give it the edge over the TUF 15. If you don’t require the extra GPU performance, though, and you you could use the extra memory and storage space, then the ASUS TUF 15 would be a solid alternative.
6. Acer Nitro 5 15.6″
Honorable mention #2
Another laptop option worth considering in the ~$800 price range, is this Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop.
It comes with an Intel Core i7-11800H processor, an RTX 3050 Ti GPU, 8GB of memory, a 512GB SSD, and a 15.6″ 1080P 144Hz display.
In comparison to the MSI GF65 Thin (our top Value pick), the Acer Nitro 5 has a slightly better processor and GPU, but it also costs a little bit more. Like the MSI laptop, it also only comes with 8GB of RAM.
So, the bottom line is that, if you don’t mind paying a little bit more, the Acer Nitro 5 will give you a little bit more performance over the MSI GF65 Thin. Although, the difference will be small and may not be worth the extra cost to you.
7. Lenovo IdeaPad 15.6″
Honorable mention #3
If you’re looking for an affordable gaming laptop that will give you enough performance to run your favorite games at 1080P, you might want to consider this Lenovo IdeaPad.
At just a little over $850, this Lenovo gaming laptop comes with an AMD Ryzen 5 6600H processor, an NVIDIA RTX 3050 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 15.6″ 1080P 120Hz display.
The hardware in this laptop should have you running games like Fortnite, Assassin’s Creed, Tomb Raider, and Elden Ring on medium-or-higher settings with a solid framerate.
The downside of this laptop, though, is that there are similarly-specced options available for lower prices. If the price on this laptop were to come down closer to $800 it would likely be our top value pick. Until then, however, it remains an honorable mention.
Need A Solid Gaming Laptop Under $1,000?
While we always recommend that gamers build their own gaming computers so that they can get the most performance out of their budgets, we also realize that certain users will need the mobility that a laptop offers.
If you are interested in building your own PC, check out our guide on the Best Cheap Gaming PC Builds Under $1,000 to see the difference in hardware you can get. And, if not, and you absolutely need a gaming laptop instead, one of the affordable gaming laptops listed above should work for you
If you want to look at more affordable options, you can also check out our guide on the Best Budget Gaming Laptops (Under $500).
In this article not include a nitro gaming laptop. This laptop is cheap price and great performance. This is one of the best gaming laptops under $1000 laptop.
Hello,
What do you think of the New Acer Nitro 5 (https://www.bestbuy.com/site/acer-nitro-5-17-3-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1650-ti-512gb-ssd-obsidian-black/6413248.p?skuId=6413248) Please tell me if this is a good option for a budget gaming laptop because this seems like a pretty good option