Gaming laptops can put a serious dent in your wallet. The fancier the laptop gets, the more it costs. If you are on a serious budget and don’t want to spend even 200 dollars on a laptop, have a look at our list of best laptops under $200. These machines can cost up to a fortune but who says everyone has to buy the flagship model.
If you have the means to buy the highest end models and want the laptop that can breeze through everything you put at it, get one ASAP. On the other hand, if you are one of the fiscally conscious gamers who does not want to spend a fortune on a laptop, then this guide is for you.
Buying a gaming laptop not only requires a sound knowledge of your wallet but also the knowledge of what’s inside the laptop. Performance of any laptop depends upon its specifications. Therefore, a capable gaming laptop is a device that can output decent graphics and costs less than a fortune.
If you are ready to spend 1000 dollars in your next gaming laptop, then stay put as we will walk through many gaming laptops with different specialties. That will suit an average gamer. Mobility for laptop gaming is always a plus. So, without further wait let’s get into the list.
Dell G5 series 15-inch gaming laptop
Coming at the top of our list is Dell G5 15 inch gaming laptop. Dell recently updated the names and specifications of its mid-range gaming laptops; the gaming Inspirons are now called G series. Dell’s G series laptops are one of the most affordable gaming laptops that one can find in the market right now.
According to Dell G5 is a competent gaming laptop that can do anything an average gamer wants. Another plus point for this gaming laptop is that the price has decreased quite a lot since the time of its release.
At around $850 you get a decent plastic build that is not as premium as some of the expensive laptops but the plastic is hard to bear the weight of your palms. There is no flex on the screen the screen, and the overall build is solid. The internals of the laptop makes the laptop interesting in many ways.
At such a low price you get 15.6 inch Full HD IPS LCD display. The display is not color accurate so, content creation is not suited for this laptop. However, you get Intel’s 8th Gen Core i5 8300H processor paired with a full Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 Graphics card. The Graphics card has 6 GB of GDDR5 VRAM.
It is worth noticing that the GTX 1060 is the full desktop version which has better performance compared to the Max-Q design. You can play almost any game at 1080p ultra settings. You may not get 60FPS in some of the recent AAA titles, but it can output decent frames at any game.
The Core i5 also has enough room to make you stream while gaming, but you should not stream while gaming on a lop. The thermals however in the laptop are slightly above average. Other than that there is nothing wrong with the laptop. To read the full review click here.
Lenovo Legion Y730 15.6″ Gaming laptop
Lenovo has been known for providing one of the best business class and performance-based laptops. Their gaming lineup has been there, but their gaming laptops are mostly overshadowed by their business series laptops.
However, this time around they have come strong with their legion laptops (name if their gaming series). Especially the midrange Legion Y730 impressed many people who opted to buy it. The laptop provides one of the best value for the money. It is one of the most premium built laptops of the list.
The lid of the laptop is made with brushed black Aluminum that gives the premium carbon-fiber-like finish to it. The laptop comes with a 15.6 inch IPS LED screen which has better colors compared to the most LCD panels in the list.
The resolution again is 1920×1080. The internals of the laptop is also great. You get Intel’s 8th Gen Core i5 8300H processor coupled with Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti Graphics card. The 4GB of GDDR5 VRAM is enough to load textures at 1080p resolution. It comes with 8GB of DDR4 memory clocked at 2666MHz.
The GTX 1050Ti is one of the best mid-range Graphics cards. It does not output as many frames as the GTX 1060 Graphics card, but it is enough to play many games at 1080p.
The laptop runs Windows 10 out of the box and is ideal for everyday use too. The weight of the laptop is also moderate; you can carry it around with ease. Lastly, the Herman speakers and Dolby surround sound can make it a multimedia machine too.
ASUS TUF FX504 Gaming Laptop
ASUS is one of the biggest brands in the field of gaming. Their premium laptops have already made their mark because of the best cooling technology and top of the lie pricing system. Their experience and market name in the field of gaming enables them to make some of the best mid-range gaming laptops. ASUS TUF FX 504 is one such laptop.
The laptop is one of the thinnest in the list. The overall look and build of the laptop are sturdy. You can also carry it around places thanks to its lightweight. The internals of the laptop also has enough power to run everything that you desire.
It comes with the Intel’s 8th gen Core i7 8750H processor which is a six-core CPU clocked at 2.2 GHz. The Graphics processor they have incorporated here is Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti with 4GB of GDDR4 Video memory.
The processor is the strong suit of the laptop. It can run many CPU intensive tasks better than the above-mentioned laptops. The GTX 1050Ti is also a decent GPU. You can play many games at decent settings.
However, most new AAA titles will suffer from the less compute power of the GPU. Overall the TUF FX 504 is fantastically built laptop with very good thermal solution built-in. The slim and light chassis looks classy and can be taken to places easily.
Acer Predator Helios 300
Acer is another laptop manufacturer that prioritizes gaming laptops. Most of their laptops are gaming laptops. Their peripherals are also made to suit the gaming line of thought. The predator series is the most prominent gaming series offered by Acer. “Predator” has become a sub-department in Acer that deals mostly in gaming laptops and accessories.
Acer is actually the first company that released a gaming laptop with the price close to thousand bucks. When they released Acer Predator Helios 300, many people were shocked by the price of the laptop. They could easily make the laptop fall in 1500 dollars category.
Predator Helios 300 is the most “gaming” laptop by the looks of it. It is huge, walking with this monster in the bag pack is a nightmare — the overall build quality os premium they have used good quality Aluminum for building the laptop.
The internals of the laptop also makes it a huge. It was one of the first laptops to feature an overclockable CPU. You can overclock 8th Gen Core i7 8750H up to 4.1GHz with stable thermals. They have used a desktop Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 with 6GB of GRRD5 memory.
The specifications are enough to run any game at 1080p ultra settings. Due to the better thermal solution, the laptop becomes notorious for open world games as they are CPU intensive too.
Overall the laptop excels at a gaming station, but it has suffered from being a laptop. It has the worst mobility. You may want to take it as a desktop computer which happens to have a nice IPS LCD 144Hz display panel with good color gamut.
Acer Nitro 5
The cheapest gaming laptop that you can buy right now is Acer’s Nito 5. It is the only laptop that you can buy at a price that is even less than 800 dollars. The build quality of the laptop is not that great you get a plastic shroud that is a little flimsy. You can see where the costs have been cut to make the laptop this affordable.
On the other hand, you get a nice 15.6″ IPS LCD panel with anti-glare coating. The internals is good enough to keep you gaming for around two years. It comes with 8th gen Core i5 8300H processor coupled with Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti Graphics processor. The GPU has 4GB of GDD4 video memory.
The performance of the laptop is very similar to the Lenovo legion Y730 mentioned above. The only difference here is worse build quality. If you are very tight on a budget and can protect your laptop, this laptop is for you.