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.
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.
Table of Contents
1. Quick-Look: Top Gaming Laptops Under $1,000
2. Top Pick: Acer Predator Helios 300
3. Runner-Up: Dell Inspiron 15.6″
4. Value Pick: HP Pavilion 15.6″
A 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 |  | Acer Helios 300 |
| /10 | |
RUNNER-UP |  | Dell Inspiron |
| /10 | |
VALUE |  | HP Pavilion |
| /10 | |
BUDGET |  | HP Onyx Blizzard |
| /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.
Best Gaming Laptop Under $1,000:
Acer Predator Helios 300 15.6″
The Acer Predator Helios 300 is the best gaming laptop under $1,000 and it’s really not close. The Dell Inspiron listed below is another solid option at a similar price point, but it just can’t matchup to the features that the Helios 300 comes with..
The Acer Predator Helios 300 comes with an Intel Core i7-8750H processor, a GTX 1060 6GB graphics card, 16GB of RAM, and a 256GB NVME SSD. It also has a 15.6″ 1080P display that has a 144Hz refresh rate. That’s right… for under $1,000 you can get a gaming laptop that has a 144Hz refresh rate display.
What a time to be alive.
The combination of the i7-8750H and the GTX 1060 6GB GPU are enough to max out pretty much any game on a 1080P display. And, the 144Hz refresh rate makes games feel incredibly smooth. Although, that 144Hz refresh rate didn’t come into play too much on more demanding games, but for non-demanding esports titles like Rocket League, Dota 2, League of Legends, etc., it will definitely help.
The one downside of the Predator Helios 300, though, is that it doesn’t come with much storage out of the box. The 256GB SSD is fast, but it probably isn’t large enough to accommodate the average PC gamer’s library. You can always grab an additional 2.5″ drive, though, and add to the Helios 300 if you need more storage.
The bottom line, though, is that with the higher-end processor, the GTX 1060 6GB graphics card, and the 144Hz refresh rate, the Helios 300 currently stands alone as the best gaming laptop in this price range. You can check out our full Acer Predator Helios 300 review by following the link, or you can watch the video above.
Our Runner-Up Pick:
Dell Inspiron 15.6″
We had this Dell Inspiron gaming laptop rated as our top pick in the past iteration of this guide. However, with the new Acer Predator Helios 300 dropping down to under $1,000, the Inspiron has been bumped down to the Runner-Up position.
While the Dell Inspiron is still a solid gaming laptop in the grand scheme of things, for the same price, the Helios 300 just offers a whole lot more. While the Inspiron does have the same GTX 1060 6GB graphics card that the Helios 300 comes with, the Helios 300 has the better processor (i7-8750H vs i5-8300H), more memory (16GB vs 8GB), and a higher refresh rate (144Hz vs 60Hz.)
And, the two laptops come in at the same price. So, in terms of in-game performance, the Helios 300 is going to offer the better experience.
The Dell Inspiron does come with a bit more storage out of the box, though. The Inspiron comes with a 128GB SSD and a secondary 1TB hard drive.
Ultimately, though, if you’re looking for the best option in the sub-$1,000 price range, the Helios 300 stands out over this Dell Inspiron laptop. If the Inspiron were to drop in price to adjust to the Helios 300’s new price tag, it may once again be a worthy option to consider. But, for now, there’s no point in choosing the Inspiron over the Helios 300.
Best Value Gaming Laptop:
HP Pavilion 15.6″
The HP Pavilion 15.6″ gaming laptop is our pick for the best value gaming laptop under $1,000. We previously gave that title to the MSI GV62 that is currently listed in our Honorable Mention section. However, both the GV62 and the HP Pavilion come with similar specs, but the Pavilion comes in at over $1000 less than the GV62.
The HP Pavilion comes with an Intel Core i5-8300H processor, a GTX 1050 Ti 4GB graphics card, and 8GB of DDR4 memory. It also comes with a 1TB hard drive.
When comparing the HP Pavilion to the MSI GV62, the two laptops have the same screen (1080P 15.6″), the same processor, and the same graphics card. The MSI GV62 does offer 16GB of Intel Optane memory, whereas the HP Pavilion only comes with a single 1TB hard drive.
However, the ~$130 difference between the two laptops nudges us to pick the HP Pavilion over the MSI GV62 since all other things are equal.
But, if you want to spend a bit more to get the Intel Optane storage, then the MSI GV62 is probably the better bet for you. If you’re looking for the best price-to-performance option out there, the HP Pavilion is the better option. Both laptops, though, will be able to run most games on at least medium settings at solid framerates.
Our Budget Pick:
HP Onyx Blizzard
The cheapest option that we’ve chosen to list in this guide is another HP laptop. However, unlike our top value pick listed above, the HP Onyx Blizzard comes with hardware that isn’t quite as powerful—but it does come in at a lot lower of a cost.
For just a little under $600, this HP model is affordable and it will offer anyone who is playing non-demanding esports titles (Fortnite, Overwatch, Rocket League, League of Legends, etc.) with enough performance to run them at max settings with ease.
The HP Onyx Blizzard comes with a quad-core Intel Core i5-7300HQ, a Radeon RX 550 2GB GPU, 12GB of DDR4 memory, a 1TB hard drive, and a 1080P display. And, for just under ~$600 that is a pretty good value in terms of what you pay versus what you get. Of course, it won’t come anywhere near matching the performance of a $600 desktop gaming PC, but in comparison to other similarly-priced laptops, the HP Onyx Blizzard is a pretty good deal.
Honorable Mention #1:
HP Omen 15
In terms of the best value option under $1,000, the HP Omen 15 is an option worth considering. It doesn’t come with a GTX 1060 6GB graphics card in it, but the GTX 1050 Ti 4GB graphics card that it does come with is no slouch in 1080P gaming.
In fact, with a 1050 Ti, you can expect to play pretty much any modern AAA title on medium (or higher) settings with good framerates.
However, at its current price of just under $900, it doesn’t come with quite the price-to-performance ratio that the HP Pavilion does. Both laptops do offer similar specs and the HP Omen 15 does come with an SSD (the HP Pavilion doesn’t have an SSD) and a bit more RAM (4GB more), but the HP Pavilions comes in at over $200 cheaper.
So, unless you are willing to pay ~$200 for 4GB of more memory and an SSD), then you’d be better off with the HP Pavilion laptop listed above.
Ultimately, both laptops come with the same processor (Intel Core i5-8300H) and graphics card (GTX 1050 Ti 4GB) and so they will deliver very similar performance in games.
Honorable Mention #2:
MSI GV62 15.6″
The MSI GV62 15.6″ gaming laptop was previously our pick for the best value gaming laptop under $1,000. However, with the HP Pavilion having similar specs and coming in at just under $700, we feel that it offers the better value overall.
The MSI GV62 comes with an Intel Core i5-8300H processor, a GTX 1050 Ti 4GB graphics card, and 8GB of DDR4 memory. It also comes with 16GB of Intel Optane memory and a 1TB hard drive.
As a comparison, both the MSI GV62 and the HP Pavilion come with an Intel Core i5-8350H processor, a GTX 1050 Ti GPU, and 8GB of RAM. They also both come with a 15.6″ 1080P display. The GV62 does come with 16GB of Intel Optane memory. However, the ~$130 price difference between the two laptops makes us give the Top Value award to the HP Pavilion.
When comparing the GV62 to the Omen 15 listed above, the two laptops have the same screen (1080P 15.6″), the same processor, and the same graphics card. The HP Omen 15 does edge the GV62 out by offering more memory (12GB compared to the GV62’s 8GB) and a 128GB NVME SSD instead of 16GB of Intel Optane memory.
So, if you want to spend a bit more to get a little bit extra RAM and more SSD storage, then the HP Omen 15 is probably the better bet for you. However, if you’re looking for the best price-to-performance option out there, the HP Pavilion listed above is probably the best option. All three laptops, though, will be able to run most games on at least medium settings at solid framerates.
Honorable Mention #3:
ASUS TUF Thin
The ASUS TUF Thin is another solid gaming laptop for under $1,000. This ASUS laptop comes in at just under $700, making it a competitor to the HP Onyx Blizzard that we chose as our best budget option.
The two also offer similar specs, with the ASUS TUF Thin coming with a newer Intel Core i5-8300H processor than the HP Pavilion’s older i5-7300HQ processor. The ASUS TUF Thin also comes with a 1TB hybrid SSHD whereas the HP Pavilion only comes with a standard mechanical hard drive. Both options come with a 15.6″ 1080P screen.
However, where the HP Pavilions stands out over the ASUS TUF Thin is in its lower price tag. The HP Pavilion comes in at just under $600, whereas the ASUS TUF Thin comes in at a bit under $700.
So, while the two options are similar, if you want better price-to-performance the HP Onyx Blizzard will offer you the better budget gaming laptop. However, the ASUS TUF Thin is a nice alternative if you could utilize the better processor and the hybrid hard drive.
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).
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