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Prime Day is always a fantastic time to buy a gaming laptop, and this year will be no different. Prime Day deals can be extensive on gaming laptops, whether you’re looking for something dirt cheap or something high-end.
The problem? Prime Day gaming laptop deals will be numerous, but not all of them are ones you should buy. Here’s everything you need to know about which to purchase and which to avoid.
Budget level gaming laptops
The best gaming laptops aren’t always cheap, and that’s because gaming laptops themselves tend to be more expensive than your average laptop. They come with higher-wattage processors and discrete graphics card, as well as features like higher refresh rate screens.
But don’t worry. There are plenty of gaming laptops under $1,000 that should do the trick, so long as you look out for the right things.
There are two key specs to look out for when it comes to gaming laptops. The first (and most obvious) spec is the graphics card. The Nvidia GTX 1650 is the low-end of what we would consider a graphics powerful enough for a gaming laptop. You won’t be overly impressed by the performance with that GPU though. You’ll need to play at Medium settings, and even then, your frame rates may not average 60 fps (frames per second). Don’t even bother with something like the GTX 1050.
However, bump that up to a GTX 1650 Ti or GTX 1660 Ti, and you’ll be a bit happier. It’ll break over the $1,000 price point, but if you’re able to snag a gaming laptop with the RTX 3050 or 3050 Ti, you’ll enjoy much more impressive frame rates.
The other important spec to keep in mind is refresh rate. All gaming laptops under $1,000 are 1080p, of course, but you should be looking for a higher refresh rate than 60Hz.
Some examples of gaming laptops under $1,000 include the Dell G5 SE (Radeon RX 5600M, Ryzen 5 4600H), Lenovo Legion 5 (GTX 1660 Ti, Ryzen 5 4600H), and Asus TUF Gaming (GTX 1650 Ti, Core i5-10300H).
High-end gaming laptops
Beyond $1,000, the world of high-end gaming performance is opened up to you. The RTX 3060, 3070 and 3080 are immensely powerful, and can even enable 1440p or 4K gaming at high frame rates.
The Razer Blade 15 is the best gaming laptop in this category, offering an amazingly sleek design with great performance. The MSI GS66 Stealth and Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 are both solid alternatives to the Razer Blade, offering comparable performance in a similar form factor.
If you want something even more compact, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 or the Acer Predator Triton 300 SE are both 14-inch gaming laptops with up to an RTX 3060. These are both amazingly small, yet get incredible performance.
If all you care about is absolute performance, though, you’ll want to opt for something thicker and larger like the MSI GE66 Raider, Asus ROG Zephyrus S17, or the Alienware Area-51m.
In the higher-end gaming laptops, the graphics cards and screens are still the two most important specs to keep in mind. But as long as you get something with a 30-series graphics card and a refresh rate over 60Hz, you’ll at least be fairly satisfied with the gaming performance.
Today’s best gaming laptop deals
If you can’t wait until Prime Day, there are several fantastic gaming laptop deals you can shop right now. We’ve rounded up the best below.
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