Best Gaming Laptop Under $800 in 2023 – our top picks
If you are looking for the best gaming laptop under $800, then we have you covered right here.
With a $800 budget, you want a laptop that offers maximum performance without going over the budget. You need to look for a laptop that has a powerful CPU, a good graphics card, enough RAM, and a display with a sufficient refresh rate.
If you have a look at the options available in the market, you will see that most laptops within this price range have 12th gen Intel CPUs (or their AMD equivalent) along with RTX 3000 series GPU or entry-level graphics card – which should be sufficient for running games.
With that being said, there are many gaming laptops available that fit the budget cap. To help you pick the right laptop, we have rounded up what we think are some of the best gaming laptops for under 800 dollars.
Products at a Glance
How we picked
For this guide, our laptop experts have researched several laptops, compared them, and picked the ones we thought were the best. The laptops have been selected based on specs like performance, graphics, display features, and more. Moreover, we are always looking for new products to add to our list and keep it updated as much as possible – so do check back here for new updates.
Best Gaming Laptop Under $800 in 2023 – our top picks
- NVIDIA RTX 3050
- Intel 12th Core i5-12500H processor
- 144Hz refresh rate
- Heavy
If you want the best gaming laptop under $800, then you should check out the Acer Nitro 5, which we think is one of the best gaming laptops out there.
The laptop features an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 GPU with GDDR6 VRAM, so you can expect high-quality graphics. Plus, it has Ray Tracing Cores, Tensor Cores, and streaming multiprocessors, which should handle your graphically demanding tasks well.
Along with this, you get an Intel 12th Core i5-12500H processor, which is well-equipped to handle demanding tasks like video editing and gaming.
As far as cooling is concerned, the laptop features a dual fan design with dual intake and a quad-exhaust port design, which should keep your device cool even under pressure.
On the outside, the laptop sports a 15.6-inch screen with FHD resolution, which should give you high-quality visuals while playing games. Plus, the display has a 144Hz refresh rate, which is good for a budget laptop, and it should run your games stutter-free.
- 17-inch FHD display
- 144Hz refresh rate
- 16GB RAM
- Slightly old GPU
If you are looking for a 17-inch gaming laptop within this budget, then we think that the Asus TUF Gaming A17 is a solid option.
The laptop sports a 17.3-inch display with FHD resolution, so you should be able to get clear picture quality while gaming. Plus, the display offers a 144Hz refresh rate, which should give you a stutter-free gaming experience.
On the inside, the laptop packs an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, which should be sufficient to play games like Far Cry 5, CS:GO, GTA 5, and more. Further, paired with this GPU, you have the AMD Ryzen 5 4600H that has six cores, which should ensure efficient performance while handling tasks.
The variant we have selected comes with 16GB RAM, which should be enough to load and run video games. Plus, you also get a 1TB SSD for storing your multimedia files.
- NVIDIA RTX 3050 Ti GPU
- AMD Ryzen 5-5600H processor
- 120Hz refresh rate
- Mediocre battery life
If you are on the hunt for an RTX 3050 Ti gaming laptop within $800, then you should check out the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3, which we think should be a budget contender on the best Lenovo gaming laptops guide.
The laptop sports a 15.6-inch FHD display, so you can expect the laptop to deliver good visuals while gaming and media consumption. Further, you get a 120Hz refresh rate, which should give you a smoother gaming experience with most of the AAA titles.
As mentioned earlier, the gaming laptop comes with an NVIDIA RTX 3050 Ti GPU, which should deliver smooth and uninterrupted graphics for your games. Plus, you get an AMD Ryzen 5-5600H processor, which should handle demanding tasks like gaming and editing well.
The model we have selected comes with 8GB RAM, which is needed to run demanding games. However, if you want a better experience, you can choose to upgrade RAM at an additional cost.
- 13th Gen Intel Core i5-13420H processor
- NVIDIA RTX 3050 GPU
- 144Hz refresh rate
- Mediocre battery life
If you want an affordable gaming laptop with the latest Intel processor, then you should check out this HP Victus model. In fact, we think it should be a budget contender on the best Intel 13th gen laptops list.
The laptop has a 15.6-inch IPS display with an FHD resolution, so you can expect the laptop to deliver great picture quality along with wide viewing angles. Plus, this HP gaming laptop offers a 144Hz refresh rate, which should ensure a smooth gameplay performance with no stutter.
As mentioned earlier, the laptop comes with the 13th Gen Intel Core i5-13420H processor, which is a mid-range option from Intel’s Raptor Lake series. The CPU has 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, which should handle demanding tasks well. Paired with this processor, you have the RTX 3050 GPU, which, with its 3rd gen tensor cores and 2nd ray tracing cores, should deliver good graphics for your games.
- High performance
- Thin design
- Large screen
- Not ideal for running games on highest graphic settings
If you want a lightweight gaming laptop that comes within an $800 budget, then you should check out the MSI Pulse GL66 – which we think should be a budget contender for the best RTX 3050 gaming laptop.
The laptop sports a 15.6-inch screen with FHD resolution, which should deliver good quality visuals for your video games. Plus, the laptop offers a good enough refresh rate to give you a smooth gaming experience.
On the inside, the MSI laptop has an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card, which promises to deliver high graphics performance. Plus, you get an Intel Core i5-11400H processor, which should give you efficient performance.
As mentioned earlier, this is a lightweight laptop, and it weighs only 4.63 pounds. This may not sound too light, but then gaming laptops are usually heavy, and this one is comparatively a lighter device.
Further, as far as aesthetics are concerned, the laptop comes with a single zone RGB-lit keyboard, which should give you the “gamer” look without looking too flashy.
How to pick the best gaming laptop under $800
Here’s how you can pick a gaming laptop within your budget.
GPU
With a $800 budget, you can get entry-level graphics cards like the NVIDIA GTX 1650 or 1660 Ti, which offer excellent performance with a super-reasonable price tag. If you want a slightly better performance, then you can check out laptops with the RTX 2000 series GPUs.
However, if you’re planning to play demanding games or run intense software, then we recommend checking out laptops with RTX 3000 series GPUs. For instance, the best RTX 3050 laptops are capable of running AAA games.
CPU
Within the given budget, there are a lot of laptops available with Intel 11th gen and 12th gen processors. If you want to run resource-intensive applications, then you should consider investing in one of the best Intel 12th gen laptops. With that being said, we also have a budget pick in this guide that sports an Intel 13th gen CPU – in case you want to check out other options.
Display
When we say “display” it means – screen size, resolution, and refresh rate.
Now, most of the picks in this price range have 15.6-inch displays – if you prefer this size, then you will have plenty of options to choose from. However, if you want a 17.3-inch display, then the options get narrowed down.
Further, most gaming laptops in this guide have an FHD resolution, which gives you good picture quality. We’d recommend you to get an FHD resolution, and nothing below this, if you want a good gaming experience.
Then, you have to get a fast refresh rate that would give you smooth gameplay. Most picks in this guide have a 144Hz refresh rate, which is sufficient for playing most games.
Storage
Video games can take up a significant amount of space on your laptop. In addition to this, many people will use their laptops for other things, such as listening to music or doing work, so you really need to think about the amount of storage on the laptop. In an ideal world, you should be looking for a laptop with an SSD hard drive disk – you should be able to find this without much problem on a lot of laptops at this price point. With an SSD, your transfer speed is generally faster, and as a result, your games are likely to load significantly faster. It’s worth keeping an eye out for 256 GB SSDs for this price.
It’s also worth noting that some laptops come with expandable storage options, so it’s worth looking for this when you’re deciding which laptop to buy. Other laptops may give you both an SSD and an HDD, and these are especially handy for extra storage capacity.
Other Features
There are also a number of other factors that are worth considering when you are looking to buy a laptop. For instance, consider the battery. Can it last for a while without needing to be plugged into power? This factor may not be awfully important to you if you plan on keeping the laptop mainly in one place, but if you are going to be moving your laptop from one place to the next all the time, such as for school or college, then getting a laptop that can hold its own when it isn’t connected to power is a very good idea.
Likewise, on the subject of portability, you should think about the size and weight of the laptop. You don’t want to be carrying around a heavy laptop all the time if you’re also using your laptop for school, but many gaming laptops can be a little heavier.
There are some other things that are also worth thinking about. Look out for laptops that have things such as backlit keyboards. These are very handy in the event that you enjoy playing during the nighttime hours or in the dark. Think about the connectivity, too – how many devices can you connect to the device at any given time? It’s also a good idea to think about the cooling system of the laptop. Laptops can get overheated very easily when you’re gaming, and a cooling system helps to ensure that your laptop can last for longer periods of time as it is well maintained.
Our Verdict
With a $800 budget, we’d say that the Acer Nitro 5 is a solid pick. The laptop comes with an RTX 3050 GPU and an Intel 12th gen processor – a combination that should run most games without a hitch. It even has a cooling system with two fans, which should help maintain optimal temperatures. Further, you get a 15.6-inch FHD display, which should deliver good picture quality. The laptop offers a 144Hz refresh rate, which should give you smooth, stutter-free gameplay.