Amazingly Good but Cheap Gaming Laptops to Buy Now in 2020
Gaming laptops are one of the best sources of entertainment, whether you’re a pro or a casual gamer. Problem is that the best ones are really expensive right now so if one is looking, they would have to dig deep in their pockets.
However, there’s hope for those who are looking for good but cheap gaming laptops. So if you’re one of those, then this here will help you. Why? Because it covers affordable gaming laptops to see and consider investing in.
Acer Nitro 5
15.6-inch FHD IPS (1920×1080) | AMD Ryzen 5 2500U CPU | 8GB RAM | 1TB HDD Storage | ATI Radeon RX 560X GPU | Windows 10 Home
Rating: 4 out of 5
Pros
Cons
The first out of the good but cheap gaming laptops is the Acer Nitro 5. It’s a gaming laptop placed in the budget range and is perfect for those looking for one that can handle the most demanding games.
This one comes with an AMD Ryzen 5 quad-core processor, an ATI Radeon RX 560X graphics card, 1TB HDD hard drive, and 8GB RAM. On the outside, it comes with a full HD 1080p screen with thin display bezels and a comfortable and single RGB backlit keyboard.
The overall performance is good, especially in gaming. It runs games well at medium to high graphic settings. The laptop design is good, has decent screen quality, and comes with a dual cooling system that you can control for long gaming sessions.
The sound is not one to say ‘Wow’ to, but it works. The touchpad becomes frustrating at times. Best that you get yourself a portable mouse and good quality headphones for a better gaming experience.
It would also be a better idea to include SSD storage instead of an HDD, as it’s a better performance hard drive. But I suppose that would make it more expensive.
Overall, If you can manage the setbacks, this will become a good but cheap gaming laptop for you. The gameplay is decent with good performance and good visuals. It’s available now priced under US$1000. So get it while stocks last.
HP Pavilion 17
17.3-inch FHD IPS (1920×1080) | Intel Core i5-9300H CPU | 16GB RAM | 256GB SSD Storage | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 GPU | Windows 10 Home
Rating: 4.6 out of 5
Pros
Cons
The HP Pavilion 17 is the next in the good but cheap gaming laptops category. It comes with a big 17-inch full HD screen, a plastic body finish with a single RGB backlit keyboard. Inside is a quad-core Intel Core i5 processor, with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 graphics card, with 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD storage drive.
This is a good performance gaming laptop, thanks to more memory, and a bigger screen. It delivers decent gaming performance at medium to high graphic settings. The sound comes out well as its speakers are placed on top, and the thermal heating is well controlled.
The downside is the internal storage, and the plastic body finish. The drive is SSD, which is the better performance hard drive, but it comes at 256GB. That’s a small storage space but can be upgraded. The plastic build material used for the chassis body is common with budget gaming laptops and is not really favored by most people.
Overall, the HP Pavilion gaming laptop is a must-have. Good gaming performance, well-managed cooling, good sound output, and the huge display make it worth the buy. If you want a more affordable gaming laptop with a bigger screen at the affordable price offered, then this one’s for you.
ASUS TUF A15
15.6-inch 144Hz FHD IPS (1920×1080) | AMD Ryzen 7 4800H CPU | 16GB RAM | 512GB SSD Storage | NVIDIA GTX 1660i GPU | Windows 10 Home
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Pros
Cons
The ASUS TUF A15 is another budget gaming laptop from ASUS. It comes with a smaller 15.6-inch screen with an aluminum and plastic finish and a single RGB backlit keyboard. Inside includes an 8-core Ryzen 7 series processor with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660i graphics card, 512GB SSD internal storage, and 16GB of RAM.
This gaming laptop is another great buy. It can play most gaming titles well at normal to high graphic settings. The cooling thermals keep their temperature low. Battery life tested up to 5 hours and comes with a 144Hz display. Overall, you get another great gaming at a reasonable price.
The keyboard is comfortable but the touch-pad gets frustrating at times, best you use a portable mouse for this one. The sound is acceptable but not the best. It does get loud but since speakers are placed underneath, it lowers the quality. Best you get headphones for this one.
Overall, this definitely deserves a place with the good but cheap gaming laptops category. It’s well made and is a great buy. Right now, it’s priced less, so if this one is more to your liking, then give it a go and enjoy the experience.
MSI GF63 THIN
15.6-inch 120Hz FHD IPS (1920×1080) | Intel Core i7-9750H CPU | 8GB RAM | 512GB SSD Storage | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU | Windows 10 Home
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Pros
Cons
The MSI GF63 Thin is a high-performance gaming laptop available at a low price. This one comes with a 6-core Intel Core i7 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660Ti graphics card, with 8GB memory, and 512GB SSD storage. On the outside, is a 15.6-inch display with full HD 1080p quality, and a black-and-red design finish.
The GF63 is a great gaming laptop thanks to its great overall gaming performance. With up to 5-hours of battery life, lightweight, and good heat management, you can’t go wrong. Common budget gaming laptops get better performance at medium to high graphic settings and this one is no different.
However, it does sacrifice performance for portability. The lighter the gaming laptop, the less the gaming performance expected. The speakers placed underneath really dampens the sound quality. The keyboard looks, great thanks to the red RGB backlit keyboard, but it’s too soft and will take a while to get used to. Best to get portable headphones when gaming.
Overall, this gaming laptop is a good buy. It’s well designed, really lightweight, and best for gamers who like to play games on the go. If this one’s your pick, get it now.
Overall Impressions
And there you have. Good but cheap gaming laptops to consider if you looking for a cheap gaming device. The common thing to note here is that with these budget gaming laptops, sacrifices were made to lower the price. Typical features include:
Either than that, it’s best to know what you getting yourself into before making the purchase. That’s why this website exists, to guide you into making better decisions in purchasing electronic devices. If you like what you see or read, please leave a comment below, questions too and I’ll answer ASAP.
If you’re satisfied with the good but cheap gaming laptops category, click here for more powerful laptops.
That’s all for me now. Take care now.
Follow me on Instagram by clicking here: luvuyomadyibi and on Twitter: @LuvuyoMadyibi
LGMadyibi 
Hello Madyi, like your post, and website, place that I needed to find for myself. I want to buy a laptop and you have all the review I need. Great website
Lyne
Thank you for your positive comments. Check out more articles here. I’m sure you’ll find what you looking for.
Hi Madyi,
Thanks for sharing us your recommendation for gaming laptops, I think I might go for the ASUS one since I love the design. Besides the above comparisons, what is the key factor to influence your decision making when you are going to buy a gaming laptop?
For example, you will sacrifice the sound and settle for the price or you ignore the plastic materials for the lower cost? Will love to know more about your thinking when it comes to purchasing a new gaming laptop.
Thanks,
Matt
For me, I love gaming. I grew up gaming most of my life. In essence, it’s the gaming that I love with gaming laptops.
Yes, there are sacrifices made to make them more affordable, but you get what you buy. At least gaming laptops do have audio speakers to play sound, it’s just not as good as an expensive one. Yes, some gaming laptops have troublesome touchpad but at least they are included. They are seen as minor drawbacks because there are alternatives that can rectify them.
My point is if the gaming laptop does what it’s meant to then it’s worth investing. Other features are there, but not as great as top-range gaming laptops.
Great selection of affordable gaming laptops. As a “techie” of more than a few years (been building PCs since, well, the Intel 486’s came out), I like the selection you pulled out of the many. I’m more up on desktop components, so appreciate pointers to decent (not uber-expensive) laptops I can check out. It helps thin the herd for me.
There are always some compromises that have to be made when building something “affordable”, but the above (especially the last four) should fit the bill. I think they hit the 80/20 rule quite nicely. Only caveat is I’m surprised there are so many gaming laptops that still use HDD. I know it’s a way to save money (thus passing it down to the consumer), but in 2020 the price difference isn’t all that great… not that the laptop will perform badly with HDD. Modern HDDs can be pretty fast – just not SSD fast.
I liked the review – especially how easy it is for the non-techie to read, while still giving key bits of information. Keep up the good work.
Awesome information here. I would definitely go for one of your recommendations. I am not a gamer myself, however, I have family that I am shopping for. Thank you so much for all this great information. Making my choice easier.
You get what you pay for and that is so true.
I used to be a gamer but time as took its toll. All the same, when I’m looking for a replacement laptop or pc I like to pay just that little more for quality.
Thanks for sharing your recommendations.