Gaming laptops used to be a bit of an oxymoron. Prone to overheating and never coming close to the performance of their desktop counterparts, they just weren't worth it. But in recent years the idea of the gaming laptop has been well and truly revived, and you can easily get yourself a portable rig that will play all the latest games at high frame rates for less than 1000 $.
ContentsMSI GF65 Slim 9SEXR-249Asus ROG Zephyrus GHP Pavilion GamingMSI ALPHA 15Here we've rounded up the best laptops under $1000. If you want to go even cheaper, check out our list of the best gaming laptops under $500.
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Specifications: 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display, AMD Ryzen 7 3750H processor, 16 GB memory, GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q, 512 GB SSD
Squeezing every last dollar of the "under $1000" range, this laptop is among the most powerful in this price range. The 16GB RAM is nice and future-proof, while the Ryzen 7 processor should ensure the excellent 1660 Ti Max-Q graphics card can perform to its full potential. (That said, it's not the fastest processor on this list.)
Expect to run most games at mid-high settings, but not quite with the same "oomph" as a 2060.
It's thin and light, weighing just 4.63 lbs. and measuring 0.78″ thick. Slim.
Get it at Best Buy for $999
Specifications :15.6-inch Full HD IPS display, Intel Core i5-9300H, 12 GB memory, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650, 512 GB SSD
If you don't want to fully max out that $1,000 budget, you can't go wrong with this deal from HP. It packs an impressive 12GB of RAM and the same solid i5-9300H processor found in the MSI GF65 we talked about earlier.
Yes, you lose the graphical firepower of a 1660 or 2060, but the 1650 here is still capable of playing Red Dead Redemption 2 (one of the most graphically demanding games right now) on medium settings at 50fps , while most other modern games will hit 60fps without issue at medium-high settings.
It's a bit bulkier than the others on this list at 5.3 lbs. and 1″ thick but still perfectly portable.
Get it on Amazon for $899
Specifications :15.6″ 120Hz Full HD IPS screen, AMD Ryzen 7 3750H, 8GB memory, AMD Radeon RX 5500M 8GB, 512GB SSD
AMD may not be too focused on making laptop GPUs, but the Radeon RX 5500M is a very good card, falling somewhere between the GTX 1650 and 1660 for performance. Expect to play most games on high settings on this thing.
The Ryzen 7 3750H processor doesn't quite match the i5-9300H, while the 8GB of RAM packed inside will be more than enough to not hamper gaming performance (although future preppers may prefer to do so). upgrade to 16 GB).
The standout feature here is undoubtedly the 120Hz FreeSync display, which is double the refresh rate of the other displays on this list, with FreeSync technology enabling tear-free, latency-free gaming.
Get it at Newegg for $849
Now that you have your new gaming laptop, it's time to do some maintenance. Gaming laptops can also get quite hot, so it's worth knowing how to monitor CPU temperature in Windows 10. We also have plenty of tips in case your laptop's touchpad stops working.
