Build a cheap gaming laptop

You'll find all of this week's best cheap gaming laptop deals right here on this page, including our own personal top recommendations for those on a budget. Even though we've just passed the yearly Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales events this week [usually the prime-time score gaming laptop deals], you'll still find some really top bang for the buck options right now. In fact, a lot of retailers are looking to close out the year with some great sales - excellent news if you were thinking about picking one up before 2022 rolls around.

Our cheap gaming laptop deals recommendations focus on sales from trusted retailers like Amazon, Dell, HP, Best Buy, and a few other wild-cards as well. Of course, we're always scanning these retailer's pages every week so we don't miss a single sale and we're always comparing and contrasting their offerings to weed out any sub-par choices.

Brand-wise, you'll find worthy machines from gaming laptop deals veterans like Acer, Dell, Lenovo, and Asus, although we never let big brand recognition totally sway our choices - value for money is the most important value. Speaking of value, you'll find options ranging all the way from around $600 to $1,000 with our choices, with plenty of options should you want to spend a little more to score yourself one of the machines reviewed on our best gaming laptop buyers guide.

If at any point you get stuck or need a bit of additional guidance, simply scroll down to our cheap gaming laptop deals FAQ section. Right there you'll find completely unbiased advice and expertise from TechRadar's experts to get you up to speed if you don't know your Nvidia's from your AMD's. It'll also help you out if you're not sure how much to spend.

• In the UK? Head on over to the best UK deals under £1,000

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Frequently asked questions

Where should I look for cheap gaming laptops?

Generally speaking, the most reliable retailers that have plenty of options and the best prices are Best Buy and Amazon, although Dell and HP often have great sales on Holiday events like Black Friday. You might get lucky on Ebay or another auction site, but we definitely recommend picking up your cheap gaming laptop from one of the big official retailers, as you're sure to be getting a decent warranty, as well as the latest components more or less.

Newegg, B&H Photo, and Adorama are also worthy mentions, and definitely worth a quick comparative glance. They don't tend to price match quite as well as Amazon and Best Buy however, unless they're doing a closeout deal.

Here are some quick links to the best gaming laptop deals retailers, in case you want to head over to their sites and check them out yourself.

• Best Buy - often has the best gaming laptop deals nationwide.
• Amazon - great marketplace options, plus exclusive gaming laptop deals.
• Dell - only sells own brand, but excellent price cuts all year round.
• Lenovo - particularly good for flash sales around Black Friday.
• Newegg - often not the best, but occasionally has gold.
• HP - great options for cheaper gaming laptops especially.
• Acer - often sells out, but another great cheap option.
• Adorama - has lower-priced options mostly.
• B&H Photo - another top contender and a viable alternative retailer.

What should I look for in a cheap gaming laptop?

This is completely subjective, depending on what type of games you want to play and what kind of level of performance you want. Specs-wise, we'd recommend determining the level of specs you need by checking out the recommended and minimum system requirements of your favorite or upcoming games. This can give you a general idea of what you need, as well as stop you from buying that new gaming laptop that's not going to be able to play new releases.

Just for good measure however, we'd recommend the following as a minimum if you're strictly on a budget:

• Minimum - Intel Core i5 [9th gen] / AMD Ryzen 5 [3rd gen] processor or later
• Minimum - Nvidia GTX 1050 / AMD RX 560x graphics card or later
• Minimum - 8GB of RAM
• Optional - 512GB solid-state drive
• Optional - 120Hz refresh rate display monitor

Anything lower than the above and you'll tend to struggle with modern games at 1080p settings. You can, of course, get away with lower-level or older components if you're just planning on playing older games, but for new releases, definitely consider the above as a bare minimum.

How much should I spend on a cheap gaming laptop?

Again this is completely subjective based on your requirements, but in our opinion the best bang for the buck machines tend to sit around the $700 to $900 price range.

You can of course go lower but you'll often encounter machines that simply aren't designed for gaming or quite frankly up to the task. It can be tempting to pick up a cheaper ultrabook with a Core i7 or Ryzen 7 processor and tons of RAM but remember these don't come with the dedicated graphics card or cooling requirements you'll need for proper gaming.

When's the best time to pick up a gaming laptop deal?

Luckily for gamers on a budget, gaming laptop deals tend to be a weekly feature over at most of the big retailers so there's always plenty to chose from. That said, there are definitely high points throughout the year, namely big sales events such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Amazon Prime day which can yield great results for those willing to wait. And as several of our picks from this week show, Labor Day sales have provided some excellent savings, as well.

Our top tip - do your research. Narrow down which model and specs you want and check-in at your favorite retailers each week. Alternatively, let TechRadar simply do all the work for you and become a regular visitor to this page or our dedicated deals feed.

The best cheap gaming laptops of 2021

1. Dell G15

CPU: Intel Core i5 i7 [10th, 11th-generation] | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 RTX 3060 | RAM: 8GB 16GB | Screen: 15.6-inch FHD [1,920 x 1,080] IPS | Storage: 256GB - 512GB SSD

The Dell G15 is the company's latest budget-orientated machine for 2021 - replacing the excellent G3 and G5 ranges with a single consolidated, highly customizable, option. New features include your choice of the latest RTX graphics cards, 11th gen Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, and a new chassis that's actually reminiscent of the super-premium Alienware laptops from Dell - albeit with muted shades of grey and fewer bells and whistles. Options also exist for AMD-based components, and, depending on whether there are seasonal sales over at the Dell site, incredibly compelling discounts all year round. In short, you can't go wrong with one of these machines if you're strictly on a budget.

2. MSI GF63 Thin

CPU: Intel Core i5 - i7 [10h-generation] | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 - RTX 3060 | RAM: 8GB - 16GB | Screen: 15.6-inch FHD | Storage: 256GB - 512 SSD

The MSI G563 Thin is one of the cheap gaming laptops to beat, alongside the Nitro 5 and Legion 5. It generally sits comfortably in the lower price brackets alongside its aft mentioned competitors but somehow manages to pack everything into an attractive, part metal chassis - a rarity at this price point. Specs are around the ballpark you'd expect with an entry-level machine - starting at a 10th Gen Intel Core i5 CPU and an Nvidia Geforce GTX 1650, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. With a design that's essentially been unchanged for 2021, these machines have a fairly chunky bezel now and the processor options are a little older too. That said, don't discount them - they're still great value and come packed with the latest RTX 3000 cards on the higher specs.

3. Acer Nitro 5

CPU: Intel Core i5 i7 [11th-generation]; AMD Ryzen 5 - 7 [4th-generation] | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 RTX 3060 | RAM: 8GB 16GB | Screen: 15.6-inch FHD [1,920 x 1,080] IPS | Storage: 256GB - 512GB SSD

The Acer Nitro 5 has been a good option for PC gamers who want to want to forgo the bells and whistles for quite a few years now. The aesthetic here is basic, some would say fairly generic, but not many machines can offer the sheer amount of competitively priced configurations as the Nitro 5. Ranging from super cheap and cheerful GTX 1650 / Core i5 machines to RTX 3060 / Core i7 [and plenty of AMD options too], you'll find Nitro 5 options at all price points - and often on sale too. Downsides, as with most cheaper gaming laptops, tends to be fairly average displays and cheaper RAM options.

Read our full review: Acer Nitro 5

4. Lenovo Legion 5

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 - 9 [5000 series] | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 - RTX 3080 | RAM: 8GB - 16GB | Screen: 15.6-inch FHD [1,920 x 1,080] IPS | Storage: 256GB - 1TB SSD

While you'll be hard-pressed to find one at the very cheaper end of our gaming laptop deals roundup, the 2021 Lenovo Legion 5 is a solid mid-range option if you're willing to spend a bit more. Not only do they look fantastic with a chassis that's definitely much classier than most cheaper machines, but they generally come with decent screens and respectable components. If you're lucky, you can often score yourself an RTX 3060 / Ryzen 5 configuration for around $899 in a sale - a great price for such a powerful machine. Be warned though, at full retail price these machines can be pretty expensive indeed.

Read our full review: Lenovo Legion 5

5. HP Pavilion Gaming 15

CPU: Intel Core i5 - i7 [11th-generation], AMD Ryzen 5 - 7 [5000 series] | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 - 3050 Ti | RAM: 8GB - 16GB | Screen: 15.6-inch FHD | Storage: 256GB - 512GB SSD

The HP Pavilion 15 is the slightly more budget-focused gaming laptop range from HP [the other being the long-serving Omen laptops]. As is the standard fare with cheap gaming laptops, the HP Pavilion is a decidedly no thrills, fairly stripped back affair that focused on packing in as many up-to-date components as possible for the money. This year's iteration comes with the latest processors from both Intel and AMD, although you tend to be able to find last year's components still available at many retailers for a cut-down price. Probably the main selling point for the HP Pavilion 15 is its range of super-cheap options for the latest AMD Ryzen 5000 series of processors - often offered on machines for well under $700.

Not quite what you're looking for? Maybe our other laptop articles will have what you need.

If you're buying a gaming laptop, you don't want to clutter it with all your everyday computing needs. For something cheap and portable, check out our favorite cheap laptop deals from this week. If you want to even cheaper, check out the best laptops under $500. You can also add extra port functionality to your gaming laptop with these awesome USB-C hubs and docks, or take control of your gaming experience for less with our top picks of the cheapest Xbox One controller deals.

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