Best cheap gaming laptop deals

Steam Deck (original) | 256GB SSD | $399 at Steam
Okay, the Steam Deck may have had an OLED refresh but the original version is still the archetype of what a mobile PC gaming device should be. It's just as powerful as the most recent model so all those Steam Deck compatible games should run well. It's also well worth considering picking up a storage upgrade like the 1TB Lexar Play for extra capacity on the cheap. Still, It's the OG PC gaming handheld, and it demands respect.

Asus ROG Ally | AMD Z1 Extreme | 7-inch 1080p | 120 Hz | 16GB RAM | 512GB SSD | $649.99 $549.99 at Best Buy (save $100)
The most powerful version of one of the best PC gaming handhelds is back at a discounted price. The Asus Ally surprised us at launch with its relatively low MSRP (for a premium Asus product), and now it's even cheaper. Has the time come for you to get in on some handheld gaming action?

Dell G15 | RTX 4060 | Ryzen 7 7840HS | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 165 Hz | 16GB DDR5-4800 | 512GB SSD | $1,099.99 $849.99 at Dell
Dell's angular chassis definitely feels like it's had some Alienware influence on it, but it is quite a bezel-happy thing. Still, you are getting a decent spec for a decent sub-$1,000 price. That includes an RTX 4060 that will certainly do a job with the 1080p display. But it's a slick 165 Hz panel, and you're getting a full 16GB of dual-channel DDR5 though only a 512GB SSD. Still, it's a lot of laptop for not a lot of money.

MSI Bravo 15 | RTX 4060 | Ryzen 9 7940HS | 15-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16GB DDR5 | 1TB SSD | $1,299.99 $999.99 at Newegg (save $300)
It's maybe a wee bit of a chonky beast, but no more so than recent Dell gaming laptops, and it's here with enough of a saving to give me pause. You are getting a 105W RTX 4060, which isn't super fast, but you are getting a decent amount of storage and proper DDR5 memory, too.

Gigabyte Aorus 15 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13700H | 16-inch | 1440p | 160 Hz | 16GB DDR5 | 1TB SSD | $1,299.99 $1,249.99 at Newegg (save $50)
Last year's Aorus 15 is still a very good mid-range gaming laptop. It's not as overtly gamer-aggressive in styling as previous Aorus machines, and yet it's still got all the gaming goods you would want from a 15-incher. The 165 Hz, 1440p panel comes with an impressively thin bezel and compliments the 140 W RTX 4070 that Gigabyte is packing inside it. The classic 16GB / 1TB memory/storage combo is plenty good enough to support the 14-core Core i7 chip at its heart, too.

Acer Predator 14 | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13700H | 14-inch | 250 Hz | 1600p | 16GB DDR5 | 1TB SSD | $1,999.99 $1,349.99 at Amazon (save $650)
It's not the prettiest gaming laptop you'll ever see but underneath the cheap-looking exterior is a pile of really nice hardware. That Intel CPU has 14 cores, 20 threads, and the GPU is a 140W RTX 4070. Backing them up are 16GB of DDR5 RAM and, unusually for this price, a full 1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD. Even the 2560 x 1600 screen is good, with a 250 Hz refresh rate and mini-LED backlighting. There's very little to dislike here and it'll be down to whether the lightweight nature or 14-inch panel just aren't right for you.

Price check: Newegg $1,598

Asus TUF F15 | RTX 4070 | Intel Core i7 12700H | 15-inch | 144 Hz | 1080p | 16GB DDR4 | 1TB SSD | $1,399.99 $1,309.99 at Newegg (save $90)
While not exactly a massive discount, this is still a good price for an RTX 4070-powered gaming laptop. The TUF F15 is one of Asus' more affordable machines, and as such it's certainly a little chunkier than something like the Zephyrus range, but you're still getting a 14-core processor and 16GB of DDR4 memory to support that Nvidia GPU. There's also a full 1TB of storage in there, so you're good to go out of the box without anything needing an upgrade.

Price check: Best Buy $1,329.99

HP Omen Transcend 14 | RTX 4060 | Core Ultra 7 155H | 14-inch | 120 Hz | 2880 x 1800 | OLED | 512GB SSD | 16GB DDR5-7500 | $1,729.99 $1,429.99 at HP (save $300)
This lovely 14-incher is pretty expensive for an RTX 4060 but it's still the best compact gaming laptop around. You get an excellent OLED panel as standard and a 65W GPU that will still deliver a quality gaming experience. The 512GB SSD is a bit small, but you can configure the machine with a 1TB drive if you're willing to spend a bit more. Shame the battery life isn't so good, but that's small gaming laptops for you.

Gigabyte Aorus 17H | RTX 4070 | Core i7 13700H | 17.3-inch | 1440p | 240 Hz | 16GB DDR5-4800 | 1TB SSD | $1,749 $1,549 at Amazon (save $200)
This is a big laptop that, for once, hasn't packed with the most power-hungry components. That Core i7 is easier to keep cool than an i9 and it's a more suitable match for the 140W RTX 4070 alongside. It is $200 more than the Asus TUF above but you're getting a much nicer display.

Acer Predator Helios 16 | RTX 4080 | Core i9 13900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32GB DDR5 | 1TB SSD | $2,299 $1,799 at B&H Photo (save $500)
Acer's Helios 16 has proved one of our favorite 16-inch gaming laptops of the last generation, and this RTX 4080-powered device is a great price at around the $2,000 mark. Sadly, this isn't the mini-LED version we loved so well in our review, but it's still got a great IPS panel that is able to hit pretty high brightness levels and at a great refresh rate, too.

Price check: Walmart $2,748.04

Gigabyte Aorus 17H | RTX 4080 | Core i7 13700H | 17.3-inch | 1080p | 360 Hz | 16GB DDR5-4800 | 1TB SSD | $1,899.99 $1,849 at Newegg (save $50.99)
$1,850 for a laptop with a 1080p screen? Ignore that for the moment and note that you're getting a decent CPU, a 150W RTX 4080, and a nice amount of storage. Then focus on the fact that the screen is enormous (for a laptop) and super-fast, and what you're looking at is something that's idle for e-sports and competitive shooter fans. Gigabyte's control app isn't the best, though.

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i | RTX 4080 | Core i9 13900HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32GB DDR5-5600 | 1TB SSD | $2,749 $1,999 at B&H Photo (save $750)
Let's be honest, at this point, this isn't a deal on the best RTX 4080 laptop I've tested, this is just the price that it is. It's effectively been on offer at B&H at this level for a year now, but it's a fantastic notebook, offering performance that can often match and sometimes beat an RTX 4090-based system (see our review). There's a high-performance CPU to back it up, a decent, bright 1600p screen, and a fair amount of storage. All with a discount.

MSI Thin GF63 | RTX 4050 | Core i5 12450H | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16GB RAM | 512GB SSD | £799.99 £689.97 at Currys (save £109.03)
This is a super-affordable RTX 4050 laptop that will a decent level of 1080p gaming performance, thanks to the eight core, 12 thread CPU and 16GB of RAM. More storage would be nice, but it's a pretty standard amount for this price segment.

Gigabyte G5 | RTX 4060 | Core i5 12500H | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16GB DDR4-3200 | 512GB SSD | £1,099 £849 at Currys (save £250)
We're big fans of this little budget gaming laptop, and our Jacob loved its great gaming performance (check out our review). With over £250 off the original price and some genuine 1080p gaming chops on offer, we reckon this makes quite a tidy deal. It's a bit more expensive than the above Medion P25 but the RTX 4060 is much better for gaming.

MSI Katana 15 | RTX 4070 | Core i9 13900H | 17.3-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16GB DDR5 | 1TB SSD | £1,399 £1,249 at Currys (save £150)
Phew, those are some pretty impressive specs at a similarly impressive discount, from a trusted brand no less. Yes, it's only got a 1080p screen, and yes, 32GB of RAM instead of the included 16GB would be nice, but for just over £1,200 you get a super-fast Core i9, an RTX 4070 and a 1TB SSD. That's a bit of a magic combo if you ask me, and at a bit of a magic price too.

MSI Vector GP68HX  | RTX 4080 | Core i9-13950HX | 16-inch | 1200p | 144 Hz | 16GB DDR5 | 1TB SSD | £1,998.98 at Ebuyer
When it comes to the hardware running under the bonnet, this 16-inch MSI Vector certainly has the goods, what with that Intel Core i9 processor and an RTX 4080 making a very tempting package indeed. Bit of a shame about the 1200p display and 16GB of RAM, but at least the screen's a good 'un with a 144Hz refresh rate and nice and bright panel. There's a huge amount of performance here in quite a slim and svelte package, making this machine a lot of power for under the magic £2,000 marker.