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Best Gaming PC Under $700 of 2020

Mike Jones — Sat, 23 Nov 2019 05:48:55 +0000

When it comes to getting a new gaming PC, the sky can be the limit in terms of pricing, but it does not have to be that expensive.

You need to understand what you are going to use the PC for, which games you are going to play and what resolution you are going to play those games at.

Here we have a pre-built gaming PC and a custom gaming PC that is under $700 and can run any game at 1080p and over 60 FPS.

Before we go into the details of both the PCs, the following are the specifications of the pre-build and the custom PC that you might be interested in knowing about at a glance.

Our Pre-built Gaming PC Pick

SkyTech Blaze II Gaming Computer

The SkyTech Blaze II Gaming Computer looks great and performs well. You do need to upgrade the storage and add an extra stick of RAM down the line. These are minor upgrades keeping in mind the value for money that you are getting for this system.

The Best Gaming PC Under $700 of 2020

Now that we have gone over the specifications of both of these PCs, we can look at each one in detail. The following is what you need to know about both these PCs.

Our Pre-built Gaming PC Pick

SkyTech Blaze II Gaming Computer

The SkyTech Blaze II Gaming Computer is a pre-built gaming PC that is ideal for gaming at 1080p with all the settings maxed out. It can even be used for content creation. The system comes with 3 RGB fans. Two are at the front and one is at the back to exhaust hot air out of the case.

It comes with a custom case that has tempered glass on the side and the front. The tempered glass on the side allows you to show off all the fancy hardware and the RGB lighting that is inside the PC.

The gaming PC features the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 CPU that has 6 cores and can boost to 3.9 GHz. The CPU is paired with a stock AMD cooler which blends in well with the rest of the build.

SkyTech Blaze II

The SkyTech Blaze II Gaming Computer looks great and is very affordable.

The motherboard is an A320M which means that it does not support overclocking. On the graphics side, you have the Nvidia GTX 1660 with 6GB of VRAM. This graphics card is more than enough to run pretty much any game at 1080p with all the settings maxed out.

The PC also comes with 8GB of RAM that runs at 3000 MHz. You also have a PCIe based Wi-Fi card for wireless internet connectivity but you should use a wired connection for faster and more reliable internet.

There is no bloatware installed and the system comes with a copy of Windows 10 Home installed. With the system, you get an RGB keyboard and mouse. This is a mid-tower PC, so it is neither too big nor too small.

The pre-built system comes with a 1-year warranty on parts and labor. You also get free technical support for a lifetime. For storage, you have a 500GB SSD. The system is powered by a 550W power supply unit.

Some games that you can play at 1080p 60+ FPS with all the settings turned up to the maximum include Apex Legends, Fortnite, Player Unknown Battleground (PUBG), Overwatch, CS: GO, Battlefield V, Call of Duty and The Division 2.

While this PC is impressive value for money and looks great too 500GB storage might not be enough. The SSD is great for fast booting and a few games but you will need to add a hard drive for mass storage. Also, we recommend that you upgrade to 16GB of RAM down the line.

Pros

Ideal for 1080p gaming
Great design
RGB fans included
Tempered glass side and front panels
Mid-tower PC
Impressive value for money
VR-Ready
Custom case

Cons

Our Custom Build Gaming PC under 700 Dollar

Now that we have gone over the pre-built option you might be interested in the custom PC option as well.

While buying a pre-built saves you some hassle of building the PC, some people actually like building their own PC.

The following are all the parts that we recommend for a gaming PC build around $700, which is the same as the pre-built option that we looked into above.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Processor

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 CPU that has 6 cores and can boost to 3.9 GHz. The CPU is paired with a stock AMD cooler which blends in well with the rest of the build. This is not the latest CPU on the market but it is still great value for money and more than ideal for gaming at 1080p. If you plan on moving to 1440p down the line then you might not need to change the CPU at all.

AMD Ryzen 5 2600

6 Cores/12 Threads Unlocked

The AMD Ryzen 2600 comes with a nice stock cooler which is black and has sleaved cables that will blend in well with the rest of the parts on this list. The CPU coolers are much better as compared to the ones that you get with Intel CPUs. Not to mention that the cooler is great for stock speeds and you can get away with mild overclocking as well. Just be sure not to get too carried away as this is a stock cooler and not meant for intensive overclocking.

Read also: Best Laptops under $700

GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 Graphics Card

This is a mid-range graphics card that is ideal for 1080p gaming. It features that latest architecture that Nvidia has to offer and 6GB of VRAM which is more than enough. The card comes in Black with Grey accents and should blend in well with the rest of your build.

This custom model comes with a large heatsink, dual fans and a 45MHz factory overclock out of the box. The previous-generation 1060 was the most popular card of its time and its replacement, the GTX 1660 is expected to have the same popularity amongst 1080p gamers. The card uses the 12nm process and the CUDA Core count is 1208.

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 OC 6G

The card does not have RT cores and does not support Ray Tracing but it performs well in modern games with all the settings turned up. The boost clock speed of the graphics card is 1830 MHz which is very impressive indeed for a mid-range graphics card.

While the GTX 1660 Ti is the bigger brother and performs better than this model you can tinker with the settings and overclock the graphics card to perform similar to the GTX 1660 Ti. This way, you can save some money and overclock your graphics card to get almost the same level of performance as the GTX 1660 Ti.

The card required a single 8-pin power connector and you will need a 450W power supply to power this graphics card. The card comes with plenty of ports including HDMI and DisplayPorts. You will be able to use multiple displays and even a VR headset which this graphics card is capable of powering just fine.

There is not LED lighting on the card but it does come with a backplate which is another great addition keeping in mind that this is indeed a mid-range graphics card.

Motherboard: MSI ProSeries B450M PRO-M2

This MSI motherboard comes in all black and will blend in with the rest of your parts nicely. It supports overclocking so you can get some additional performance out of the box. If you are interested in overclocking then you should get a better cooler for your CPU and should not rely on the stock cooler that comes with the CPU.

MSI B450M PRO-M2 V2

The motherboard supports 32 GB of RAM up to 3466MHz and is VR ready as well. This is an MSI motherboard so you get features like X-Boost and Audio Boost. You do not have any RGB lighting and are limited to 2 RAM slots. The motherboard does not come with onboard Wi-Fi but that is not going to be a huge issue if you are interested in gaming as we recommend an Ethernet connection anyways.

The motherboard does have plenty of SATA ports and even an M.2 slot for storage. It also has plenty of USB ports as well.

RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB

Corsair is known for plenty of great PC parts and the Corsair Vengeance RAM is kind of the staple when it comes to building a gaming PC. This kit comes with a pair of 8GB sticks which gives you a total of 16GB.

Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB

Designed for high-performance overclocking

This is ideal for this build keeping in mind that you only have 2 RAM slots and that most modern games are not going to use more than 16GB of RAM. The memory comes in Black which will go well with the rest of the build which is also black. The memory runs at 3200MHz and the rated latency is C16.

SDD: Kingston 480GB A400

The Kingston 480GB A400 SSD is a great option keeping in mind the price and the capacity. This is actually what I am using as my boot drive. The performance is great and the PC loads quickly.

Kingston 480GB A400

Designed for high-performance overclocking

The transfer speed is much higher when compared to regular HDDs. If 480GB is not enough then you can add an HDD or even an M.2 SSD. The M.2 SSD will not need any cables. All you need to do is slide it into place and fasten the screw.

PSU: Corsair CX Series 550 Watt Power Supply

Here we have yet another product from Corsair. The CX 550W power supply unit. This is a semi-modular power supply which makes cable management very easy indeed. You will only have to deal with the cables that you are going to use. The ones that you are not going to use can be kept in the PSU box.

Corsair CX Series 550 Watt

Semi-modular: Make your builds and upgrades easy.

The PSU is rated 80 Plus Bronze and is more than capable of providing power to the Ryzen 2600 and the GTX 1660 in this build.

Case: NZXT H510 ATX Mid-Tower PC Gaming Case

The case is a long-term investment and the NZXT H510 is a very nice case to buy. It comes in multiple color combinations and is a mid-tower ATX case. It is neither too big, not too small which is ideal because the GPU that we have picked is not long. The case is built well and comes with two fans out of the box. One of them is at the back while the other one is at the top. You can install some additional fans in the front as well.

NZXT H510

Tempered glass side panel with single screw installation

The case does not have the new RGB controller. Nor do the fans have RGB lighting. That is fine keeping in mind that the GPU and the motherboard do not have RGB lighting either. You can, however, install an RGB strip or replace the fans if RGB is something that you are interested in.

The case has a minimal design. There is a tempered glass side panel and a shroud that covers the PSU. On the top, you have the I/O which includes a USB Type-C port. On the right side of the case, there are plenty of cable management options to tuck away those cables. Cable management is not going to be an issue with this case as we are already using a semi-modular power supply for this PC build.

The Breakdown of the Build

This custom gaming PC is ideal for people that want to build their own gaming PC. The design is clean and you get a black and white color scheme. There is no RGB lighting and the storage is a bit limiting but that can be added down the line.

The following is what you need to know about this custom PC build.

Pros

Ideal for 1080p gaming
Black and White color scheme
Minimal design of the case
VR-ready
Double the RAM compared to the pre-build
Motherboard supports overclocking
Compatible with 3rd gen Ryzen CPUs

Cons

Pre-built Vs Custom PC: Which Should You Pick?

When getting a new PC there are two options.

You can go with a pre-built system that you just have to plug in or you can order the parts and put together your own custom gaming PC.

Neither of the options is right or wrong so we are just going to go over the pros and cons of both. You can decide which option is best for you after going over the benefits and disadvantages of both these options.

Cost

When on a budget cost or cost to performance ratio are going to be two of the major factors that you are going to consider. Note that when you are buying the parts, you are only paying for the parts. Companies that are selling pre-built systems are trying to make a profit on those parts so they are going to charge you extra for labor and testing.

In some cases, you get custom cases with pre-built systems. These custom cases cannot be bought separately. Companies will charge a premium in such cases and you will be paying more when compared to building your own PC. For example, if you have a budget of $700 and you are able to get a GTX 1660 Ti when building your own custom PC because of a special sale that you found online then you might only be able to get a GTX 1660 in a pre-built PC for the same amount of money.

Long story short, building a custom PC is more economical in most cases and you get the most bang for your buck when you put together your own gaming PC. But if you do not want to search the internet for the best prices and put the system together then you will find plenty of value in getting a pre-built PC.

Flexibility

You have a lot of flexibility when it comes to building your own custom gaming PC. You can pick some parts from one retailer while you can get others from another retailer or site. You can buy one part at a time or all of them at once.

That is not the case when you are buying a pre-built system. Options are going to be limited in this case and you can only pick from the options that the company has given you. There is little room for personalization and customization when buying a pre-built PC.

When you do get some options, they are for storage, RAM, CPU or GPU. The option of the motherboard is set in stone. The pre-built system that we have mentioned in this article is a great example. It is one of the cheapest motherboards that you can buy right now and does not support overclocking even though the CPU and GPU that it is paired with fall in the mid-range.

Options related to the cooling solution and the power supply are limited as well. The power supply is the part to worry about in most pre-built systems as they are not up to the mark when it comes to quality and performance. Which is not ideal when you have mid-range or high-end parts in your PC.

Time And Convenience

It takes a long time to build a PC and the parts are going to take a while to arrive and for you to put them all together. In some cases, things do not work out and you need to do some troubleshooting as well. That is not the case with pre-built systems.

You are paying a bit more for these PCs but all you have to do is plug it into the wall and you are ready to go. The assembly, testing and troubleshooting are done before the PC is sent to you. Buying a pre-built system can save you time and some hassle. If you find a pre-built system that you like at your local retailer then you can start gaming on it the same day you paid for it.

You also do not have to install software like the OS. All that is included in the price and the software is pre-installed and ready to be used out of the box.

Bloatware

When you build your own custom gaming PC, you decide which software you want to install on it but that is not the case when it comes to pre-built PCs. When you get a pre-built system, the software is already going to be installed on it. This includes bloatware. You are going to have to get rid of all the bloatware for an ideal experience.

After-Sales Services

In case something goes wrong a while after you have your PC and you build it yourself then you are going to have to fix it yourself as well. That is not the case with pre-built systems. If something goes wrong in this case then you have customer support that can help you or you can ship the system to the company to get it fixed.

Warranty

All the parts in a pre-built system have a single warranty which is usually a year. You can extend this but it will cost you a lot of money. When you build your own PC, each and every part has its own warranty which can range from a year to up to 10 years. On average, these parts have a warranty of 3 years. Building your own gaming PC has a major advantage in this case.

Peripherals

When you buy a pre-built system you get some peripherals included in the box. In most cases, these peripherals are garbage and are going to be replaced anyway. Make no mistake, you are being charged for them.

This decreases the cost-effectiveness of the pre-built PC. You should avoid pre-built systems that come with peripherals. There are some exceptions but they are very rare.

Conclusion

You can see that the battle between custom PCs and pre-built PCs is not one-sided. Both have their pros and cons. It all comes down to what you are more interested in.

If you prefer to save as much money as possible or want the most customization when building your own PC is the way to go.

On the other hand, if you do not want to put the parts together and prefer convenience at the expense of paying more then you should go for a pre-built system instead.

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Best Gaming Laptop under 800 Dollars

Mike Jones — Sat, 26 Oct 2019 20:53:55 +0000

Gone are the days when you have to spend more than $1000 to buy a good gaming laptop; today’s market is full of every budget segment laptop. You can get a decent laptop for a fantastic price, today we will be reviewing the best gaming laptop under 800 dollars.

Best Overall

HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop

Premium Pick

MSI GL63

Budget Pick

Asus Vivobook K570ZD

To choose a gaming laptop that can fulfill your needs without burning your pocket, consider several factors while buying a gaming laptop.

The first and foremost step is to decide how much you want to spend on a gaming laptop because the laptops’ prices vary with the specifications and model. When you fixate your mind onto one particular budget segment, it narrows down the list of options and helps you choose the most suitable laptop as per your needs.

If you are looking for the best gaming laptop under 800 dollars, then there are several options available. In this section, we are going to talk about the top gaming laptops available today. Let’s move on to the individual reviews.

Best Gaming Laptop Under 800 Dollars

1. HP Pavilion – Best Gaming Laptop Under 800 Dollars

HP released its Pavilion gaming laptop in 2018, which was widely popular. Since then, they have made some tweaks to this model, and the results are quite impressive. The laptop comes with an i5 8300H processor paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (4 GB GDDR5). The RAM on this device is at 8 GB from the box, about the storage units it holds a 1 TB 5400 RPM SATA HDD and 128 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD.

The display on this device is at a peak brightness of 280 Nits at 60 FPS. It means that this laptop is not ideal for a content creator but is super sufficient for a budget gamer. About the dimensions, it comes in at 15.6-inch FHD IPS anti-glare micro-edge WLED backlit at 1920x 1080p with a 144 Hz refresh rate.

HP kept the built of this laptop like its original version. The laptop is made of matt plastic with a reflective “HP” logo in green. It also houses a 720p webcam with works with no flaws in indoor conditions for a budget laptop. The keyboards are backlit, so there are no issues concerning those departments. The essential travel might be a little too little for some users.

Our Pick

HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop

HP has put some serious thought into making this laptop. If you are looking for a quality laptop that you would not want to replace for the next couple of years, this could be one of the most suitable options.

On the connectivity option, it has HDMI 1.4, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-A, USB type-C 3.1, RJ 4, 3.5 mm headphone/ microphone jack, and the charging port on the right side of the laptop. On the right side, it houses 2 x USB 3.1 type-A and a memory card reader. The trackpad on this laptop is nice and wide. Combine it with the Windows precision driver tracker, and this all you would need if you are not using the mouse while gaming.

Related: Best Gaming Laptop under $700

The air intake vents are made a bit larger for active cooling, and the laptop seems to be doing well in the cooling department for a gaming laptop. The fan noise is barely noticeable under normal usage, and at its peak, it is still tranquil. There is no option to manage the fan speeds manually, but that does not affect this device’s performance.

Pros

Cons

2. MSI GL-63 – Premium Gaming Laptop

MSI, a company known for its gaming laptops, has some budget laptops for conventional buyers. The MSI GL 63 comes with the i7 8750H with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (4 GB). It comes with 8 GB RAM, and for the storage department, it holds a 256 GB NVMe SDD (SATA 3). Unfortunately, there is no HDD on this device.

The build of the laptop is value for money. It is made of hard plastic, and the hinge is quite firm, which means that you will need two hands to open the device. The keyboard on this laptop is backlit with a number pad, which is a bonus. There seems to be no flex in the keyboard, but that is not the case with the laptop’s display part. There is no windows precision driver on the trackpad, so that is a concern for this device.

Our Premium Pick

MSI GL-63

MSI has put out many great gaming laptops, but this is a performance laptop than a hardcore gaming laptop. If you are looking for a good laptop for content creation that can perform to a reasonable extent in gaming, then this is the laptop you need.

The display of the laptop is of 15.6-inch FHD comprehensive view NTSC color, anti-glare screen. The bezel on the device is quite noticeable on all sides. The webcam is placed in its usual position thanks to its bezels. The display resolution maxes out 1920 x 1080p with 120 Hz of maximum brightness, this is not the most exceptional quality display out there for 2020, but there is nothing to complain about it.

It provides a lot of connectivity ports for its users. It has a LAN port, HDMI 1.4, mini display port, USB 3.1 Type-A, USB 3 type-C, mic, and an audio jack on the left side of the device. On the right side, it holds an SD card reader slot, 2 x USB 3.1 Type-A, and the power adaptor connection port. The laptop also has a vent opening on each side and vents on the back and bottom for active cooling. Two fans help with cooling, so you don’t have to worry about overheating.

Pros

Cons

3. Asus Vivobook K570ZD – Budget Gaming Laptop under 800 dollar

Asus has managed to make a gaming laptop look more of a classy laptop in terms of its looks with this laptop. The Asus Vivobook K570ZD has an AMD Ryzen 5 Quad-core 2500U processor. It features NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 2GB graphics card.

As for the display, it has a peak resolution of 1920 x 1080p IPS display. ASAS tweaked the software on this laptop to work hand in hand with the excellent hardware they provide to give up vivid colors out of its display. They have put enough work on the keyboard, as well. This laptop has a backlit keyboard with ambient light control for maximum optimization.

Our Budget Pick

Asus Vivobook K570ZD

Like the price, this is also a mid-performing laptop. If you are looking for a laptop with it all and are someone who does not overclock their device, this would be the perfect choice for you.

The connectivity option on this device is also great. It holds 1 x USB 3.0 Type-C, 1 x USB 3.0 type-A and 2 x USB 2.0 ports. It also has an HDMI, RJ 45, micro SD slot, and an audio jack for multiple user interactions.

The storage on this device is a bit too low for its price, with just 256 GB of DDR4 mechanical storage. The entire system runs on 8 GB of RAM that the user can upgrade if needed. This laptop does not include an optical drive, which is a setback.

Related: Great Laptops under $400

For its loss in the storage, this makes upon its performance and battery life. Asus claims this laptop gets up to 60% charge in just less than 50 min. The battery life is also longer than any mid-range laptop. So, you don’t need to worry about having the charging adaptor with you at all times.

Pros

Cons

4. MSI GF63

MSI, as a brand, has something for every gaming laptop user. The MSI GF 63 is one of their mid-range laptops that gives its users maximum value for money. The laptop comes with the Intel Core i5 8300H processor. It also holds an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 MQ 4 GB graphics card.

The display on this unit is 15.6 inches and has a maximum resolution 1920 x 1080p IPS display at 60 Hz FPS. The display can achieve a maximum brightness of 256.7 Nits, which makes the viewing even better. The screen to display ratio is at 16:9. This ratio makes sure that the display is surrounded by as little bezel as possible. The keyboard on this laptop is backlit, so there are no complaints in that aspect.

Also Great

MSI GF63

MSI is known for its gaming units. It is one proper midrange gaming laptop for a company known for its history with gaming laptops. So, if you are looking for a genuine midrange gaming laptop and nothing else, there is no better choice.

The build on this laptop is not so sturdy due to being made out of plastic. There are flexes on the top display portion and the keyboard, but that does not affect the user by any means. The laptop is well designed with its battery at the front of the unit, making it easy to open with just one finger.

For connections, it has a power input and a USB 3.1 type-A on the left. Towards the right, it has headphones and microphone jacks, 2 x USB 3.1 type-A, 1 x USB Type-C, and an Ethernet port. The HDMI port is on the back of the device. Like the MSI GF 63, it has the same cooling systems and vent chamber for better heat reduction.

Pros

Cons

5. ASUS VivoBook S

The ASUS VivoBook-S is one of Asus’s top products that the brand had launched in 2018. Since then, it has been a favorite gaming laptop for many people who have a budget of $800. It has competitively rivaled other laptops like the Dell XPS 15 9570 and the Acer Nitro 5.

The performance and build quality of this laptop are the two parameters that set it apart from many others in the market. The laptop is slim and not very heavy. It has a lightweight feel and looks premium. The bezels are thin, and that is why you get an immersive viewing experience.

ASUS VivoBook S

Though ASUS managed to bring in so much into this laptop, the lack of a dedicated high performing graphics card makes it less likely to be seen as a gaming laptop. Once you upgrade the GPU, then it might be easy to perform high-end games on this laptop.

The ASUS VivoBook-S sports a 15.6 inches Full-HD 1920×1080 screen that is well-calibrated. The colors are punchy, the contrast is well balanced, and you can quickly get excellent viewing angles because of high pixel density. The LED-Backlit screen is covered with a Nano-coating that is comfortable for your eyes.

The CPU specs of the laptop are also impressive. It is powered by the 8th-generation Intel Core i5-7200U (2.9GHz) Dual-core processor and 8GB DDR4 RAM. The 1TB of HDD offers ample space for gamers to store all their data easily. You will also find the Nvidia GeForce MXan5 GPU, which supports heavy gaming and high graphic settings.

Considering all that, the ASUS VivoBook-S can easily be a great pick you can consider when buying the best gaming laptop under 800 dollars.

Pros

Cons

6. Acer Aspire 7

The Acer Aspire 7 is one of the top competitors in the most affordable gaming laptop segment under $800. It is an all-rounder when it comes to multitasking and gaming. It is equipped with a 15.6-inch Full-HD+ screen that helps to provide a mesmerizing experience while gaming on it.

The laptop comes completely under a matte black finish that looks aggressive yet sophisticated. The back and the top are solid metal, and the sides and bottom are plastic. The build quality is reliable and feels premium to hold. The Gigabit Ethernet port, HDMI, 3x USB 3.2 Gen 1, and the USB jack 2.0 are the different connectivity options available.

Acer Aspire 7

The Acer Aspire 7 is a good looking and well-built laptop that promises to deliver excellent gaming performance. It has a reliable battery backup and fantastic sound quality.

The 15.6 inches screen supports 1920×1080 pixels, which is why the colors and saturation levels are bright and comfortable to view. You will also be impressed by the Acer True Harmony Sound System. Though the screen has a slower response rate, you will get used to it over time.

The Acer Aspire 7 is powered by the 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processor and high-performance NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti. Gaming on high and ultra-graphics is not an issue on this device. The 8GB DDR4 also supports flawless multitasking without any lag over the user interface. For storing your games and other data, you will have 1TB of storage, which is more than enough, in our opinion.

Pros

Cons

7. Asus ZenBook 13

Just because you are looking for a reliable gaming laptop does not mean you will have to spend a fortune. Look at the Asus ZenBook 13, which offers such amazing specifications at around $800. It is probably one of the most aesthetic and modern looking laptops on this list.

Asus has worked a lot on the laptop’s design, and you can see that by checking out the calm and subtle finish of the device. It has an ocean blue aluminum frame body that is solid and made of metal. But that makes it an actual fingerprint magnet. The screen has thin bezels as you would expect, and hence you will get an immersive display. However, weighing 2.8 pounds, the ZenBook 13 weighs slightly more than other competitors.

Asus ZenBook 13

Undoubtedly, one of the greatest-looking laptops in this list, the Asus ZenBook 13 has a top-notch screen quality with excellent viewing angles. The processor and RAM of the device are perfectly balanced, but the laptop lacks a dedicated gaming GPU, which is disappointing.

The laptop has room for an HDMI 1.4 port, a single microSD card slot, one USB 3.1 port, and one USB Type-C port. But it misses out on the Thunderbolt 3.0 port. The 13.3-inch, 1920 x 1080, glossy panel display on the laptop seems good on paper, but in real life, we thought it was a bit dimmer than we expected. That doesn’t take away the fact that the screen is brilliantly calibrated. The colors are punchy, contrasts are sharp, and you can detect every detail that you see on the screen. The screen was able to score 115 percent of the sRGB spectrum, which is quite decent but not the best.

Under the hood, you get an Intel Core i5-8265U processor coupled with 8GB of RAM that provides significant power to the users. Gamers can efficiently run high-end games without too many hassles, and running games on high graphics is easy. We also detected the premium Intel UHD 620 GPU graphics inside the laptop, which is not the most immeasurable in this segment but certainly not the worse. In terms of battery life, the ZenBook 13 is undoubtedly the winner on this list. The laptop ran for almost 11.5 hours before the battery drained out completely.

So, if you can set aside the cons and look at the brighter aspects, the Asus ZenBook 13 is an excellent buy for those who want to game and multitask.

Pros

Cons

8. Dell Inspiron i5577

If you want to both play and work simultaneously, nothing can get better than the Dell Inspiron i5577 around a price of $800. The body of the laptop is all plastic, as you would expect from a budget device. However, the sides are finished with a metal polish that gives a premium feel to it. The design is slim and aesthetic, which will attract a lot of users who want good looks.

The 15.6-inch screen on the Dell Inspiron i5577 is an IPS panel and sports Full-HD Plus display that offers mesmerizing viewing angles. The Anti-glare coating helps to game and work in dim light also. In terms of connectivity, the laptop has most of the ports you would expect but the DisplayPort. We think that is quite a drawback in 2020.

Dell Inspiron i5577

Powered by some up-to-date hardware components, the Dell Inspiron i5577 can help you play high-end games easily. Its long battery life and big 15.6 inches screen keep it ahead from its competitors in the $800 segment.

Under the all-plastic built body, the laptop is powered by the Intel Core i7-7700HQ CPU, 8GB of memory, and 4GB of Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1050. The specs are quite amazing if you want to game more frequently, and they will offer you a satisfying experience even at high graphics. With 7.5 hours of battery life, the laptop will support most of your gaming needs exceptionally well.

So, the Dell Inspiron i5577 is an all-rounder when it comes to both gaming and multitasking.

Pros

Cons

9. Acer Aspire E

Acer has some of the most budget-oriented gaming devices around the $800 mark. The Acer Aspire E15 is one of them. The design of this laptop is not going to impress a lot of people in 2020. It has thick bezels, a comparatively small screen, and is quite heavy. The laptop is made of plastic, and the overall body has a matte black finish. But the brushed metal sides make it look premium.

The device sports an extensive collection of ports that include a USB-3.1 Type-C port, an Ethernet port, a VGA input, an HDMI port, two USB 3.0 ports, a Kensington lock, the USB 2.0 port, and an 8X DVD-RW double-layer drive. The 15-inch display is quite sharp and produces accurate colors. The screen is not very bright and not the greatest in the segment but is comfortable to view. The 1920×1080 panel offers sharp detailing and brilliant contrast that is impressive.

Acer Aspire E

A wide variety of connectivity ports and huge storage space are the main USP of the Acer Aspire E15. The battery backup is nice & the processor integrated into it is powerful as well.

Integrated with an 8th Gen Intel Core i3-8130U CPU and 6GB of RAM, the E15 is a reliable device in terms of performance. It also has 1TB of storage to store all your data and files. For gaming, you only have the Intel UHD Graphics 620 GPU, which is not the most suitable for running the latest games, but still, you can play a few in medium settings without too much lag and stutters.

With a decent battery life of 8 hours and 35 mins, the Acer Aspire E15 can easily support your tasks.

Pros

Cons

10 Acer Nitro 5

Getting a good gaming laptop under $800 is not an impossible task anymore in today’s time. Thanks to devices like the Acer Nitro 5. Our last product on the list, but certainly not the least, the Nitro 5 offers an incredible value and performance. At the same time, users believe that it makes a good competitor in the race for the best gaming laptop under 800 dollars.

The laptop has a stunning exterior appearance, which makes it look appealing. The matte black finish looks fantastic and stunning, which makes it more appealing. The brilliant crimson red hinge contrasts well with the overall design of the laptop. Despite being a budget-oriented laptop, the Acer Nitro 5, the design looks absolutely premium.

Acer Nitro 5

Easily one of the most powerful gaming laptop in the $800 segment, the Acer Nitro 5 can run the latest games without any hassles. It has a massive 17.3-inch display and brilliant sound quality, which makes way for immersive gaming.

The Kensington lock, an RJ45 Ethernet port, an HDMI 2.0 slot, a USB-C port, and two USB 3.0 Type-A ports are the connectivity options. The 17.3-inch, 1920 x 1080 LCD is massive and offers a fantastic IPS immersive display. However, the bezels are quite thick, and therefore, the aesthetics are not modern but manageable. The preinstalled Waves Maxx Audio software offers brilliant sound quality, and therefore, your games become more interesting to listen to.

The 2.4GHz Core i5-9550H processor backs the Acer Nitro 5 and also supported by Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1650 GPU. The 8GB RAM is fantastic to offer you seamless multitasking. Despite being heavily powered by massive physical specs, the battery levels are quite decent. The laptop can hold up to 5.5-6 hours of charge and inspire constant gaming, so you will have no problem playing games for long hours.

Summing it up, the Acer Nitro 5 is an excellent device for gaming and running all the latest games. It has impressive specifications that will ensure you get excellent gaming performance always.

Pros

Cons

What to Look for When Buying a Gaming Laptop?

As gaming has become the mainstream for the root of entertainment, almost all the age groups, people have moved towards dedicated gaming laptops from various brands, including Razerblade, MSI, Acer, Aspire, and more. But the main problem arises when gaming enthusiasts are trying to find the right laptop at the perfect price. Therefore, to make this guide comprehensive, you can consider something while buying the best gaming laptop under 800 dollars.

GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)

A graphics card is a specialized circuit designed for enhancing visual by transmitting the signal to the monitor. It should be at the top of your priority list when buying the gaming laptop. If you are considering gaming as a profession, you would require at least a 4GB video memory.

Every game is different; hence, you need a different configuration. For example, games like CSGO runs at 60FPS while you can’t expect the same to happen with PUBG. Therefore if your goal is 100+FPS, then choose GTX 1090 for visualization without any disruption. In some laptops, these graphic cards are integrated, but if you want to upgrade, choose laptops with an option for extension.

CPU and RAM

It is most evident that CPU and RAM go hand-in-hand in controlling the overall capabilities and processing system. The RAM store almost all the information temporarily; therefore, CPU functions efficiently. Therefore when choosing a laptop, make sure you are getting right at the RAM processor. The most advanced version will include U-series and H-series. For gaming, H-series is the most preferred version. Also, never choose laptops below i5 and at the maximum, try getting 6th generation and more.

However, RAM always has an option to upgrade based on future needs. Consider you are buying NVidia GeForce GTX 1050, which is featured with 8GB DDR4 RAM. But when you choose graphics cards more than 1050, it falls under intense gaming, which requires 16GB DDR4 RAM from Hyper X, which is recommended.

Display

The fact that among all hardware configurations, display plays a crucial role. Especially with the gaming laptop, there are numerous options from which you can choose. There are three essential aspects to consider while buying the display: Refresh rates, Quality, and technology regard to visualization. For gaming purposes, choose only diagonal HD or FHD with the refresh rate of 144HZ and anti-glare technology. There are touch screen displays for gaming too. But their battery life is not standard, and obviously, they will be prone to damages.

Final Words

While these are three essential things you might have to consider while purchasing the gaming laptop, there are many more such as design, screen size, price, battery life, brand, etc. If you’re looking forward to buying the best gaming laptop under 800 dollars, you can consider buying the laptops mentioned above.

Gaming laptops are something that is most spoken about in the past couple of years. They have evolved from being just as a gaming laptop to be more of a performing laptop with over the top gaming features. Even though gaming laptops are sold at a higher price, there are many options available at the midrange as well. These mid-range laptops are something that provides excellent performance with content creation and day to day usage with near peak gaming experience. 2018-2020 has been the most significant time to be alive for all the tech enthusiasts as we have seen lots of growth and innovations that have come up and has been made accessible for everyone at an affordable price point.

The $800 gaming laptop segment is occupied by impressive devices that help you to game with a satisfying experience. Make sure to take a look at the products that we have mentioned on this list of best gaming laptop under 800 dollars because we believe these devices offer the most value for money performance and service.

The post Best Gaming Laptop under 800 Dollars appeared first on GamingFeature.Com.

Best Laptops under $700 of 2020

Mike Jones — Sat, 14 Sep 2019 01:36:05 +0000

Whether you’re looking for a mobile productivity workhorse or something you can use for entertainment on the go, you’ll never go wrong with having a good laptop.

However, some of the best laptops you can find on the market can be too much for most people’s budgets. Today, we’re taking a look at more budget-friendly alternatives as we look for the best laptops under 700 dollars as of today.

If you want answers right away, we got a list that can help you get started on your search right away! All of these laptops meet our criteria, which should be more than enough to meet your demands without breaking the bank.

Without further ado, let’s get into our top three picks and later on some more in-depth review of each and one.

Best Overall

ASUS VivoBook

Premium Pick

Acer Aspire E 15

Budget Pick

Lenovo Flex 14

Top Rated Laptops under $700 Comparison Table

Name	Screen Size	Processor	Graphics	Storage
ASUS VivoBook F510UA	15.6”	Intel Core i5 7200U	Intel UHD 620	1TB (HDD)	Check Price
Acer Aspire E 15	15.6”	Intel Core i58250U	Nvidia GeForce MX150	256GB (SSD)	Check Price
Lenovo Flex 14	14”	AMD Ryzen 5 3500U	Radeon Vega 8 Graphics	256GB (SSD)	Check Price
Asus C302CA-DHM4	12.5”	Intel Core M3-8100Y	Intel HD Graphics 515	64GB (SSD)	Check Price
Acer Aspire 5 Slim	15.6”	Intel Core i5 8265u	Intel UHD Graphics 620	256GB (SSD)	Check Price
HP Pavilion 15	15.6”	Intel Core i5-8250U	Intel UHD Graphics 620	1TB (HDD)	Check Price
Asus Vivobook K570ZD	15.6”	Ryzen 5 2500U	Nvidia GeForce GTX1050	256GB (SSD)	Check Price
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-52PL	13.3″	Intel Core i5-8250U	Intel UHD Graphics	256GB (SSD)	Check Price
Asus Vivobook S Ultra	15.6”	Intel Core i5-8250U	Nvidia GeForce MX150	256GB (SSD)	Check Price
Dell Inspiron 15 5000	15.6”	Intel Core i5-8250U	Intel UHD Graphics 620	1TB (HDD)	Check Price

Now you know our top ten picks, but you’re probably wondering why we chose these over other options. To understand why you need to know what makes these options well worth the investment. Let’s take a closer look at each option.

Because prices can vary depending on the seller and are subject to change over time, we will not be adding the actual buying price. What we are certain of is that all of these options can and has been sold for less than $700. We will also send a link to the products page, but feel free to check with other online sellers for those sweet deals!

The Best Laptops Under 700 Dollars in 2020

1. ASUS VivoBook F510UA – Best Laptop under $700

Our second entry from ASUS is a sleek clamshell laptop trying to combine portability and power in a single budget-friendly package. For a 15.6” mid-range performance laptop, we were impressed that the VivoBook F510UA’s thin profile. We were even surprised that the laptop only weighs 3.7 pounds! Like the Aspire E 15, the VivoBook F510UA uses Windows 10 Home edition.

Our Pick

ASUS VivoBook F510UA

Trade some of the Acer Aspire E 15’s bulk and power for some portability and you get the VivoBook F510UA. It will still let you play games, but you’ll have to dial down a few settings here and there.

Don’t let the slim look fool you; the VivoBook F510UA is a decent general-purpose laptop with limited gaming capabilities. Its Intel core i5 processor and UHD Graphics can run most games with settings turned down to medium or low, but that’s as good as you can get for something so sleek and so affordable. The 1TB HDD also gives it plenty of storage for your files or games if you don’t mind the slightly longer loading times.

Read also: Best Gaming Laptops under $600

2. Acer Aspire E 15 – Good $700 Laptop for Students

This time, we’re taking a look at something more conventional from Acer. Our first “clamshell” laptop on the list, the Aspire E15 does away with the Chrome OS and goes for Windows 10 Home. The Aspire has a 15.6” screen and weighs almost twice as the Chromebook Flip at over 5 pounds, so you may want a dedicated backpack for this one.

Our Premium Pick

Acer Aspire E 15

The Aspire E15 is a hefty laptop that will let you play popular PC games while on the go… provided you have a big enough bag.

While the Aspire E15 is quite bulky, it packs quite the punch for a budget laptop. It is powered by an Intel Core i5 processor and a GeForce MX510 Graphics card, it’s capable of running many popular games even on medium or high settings. The 256GB SSD will help speed up loading times while also having enough space for a few AAA games, although you may want to look for a 1TB HDD if you prefer more variety in your gaming library. That being said, it’s more than good enough if you want to use it mostly for viewing movies or general productivity tasks.

3. Lenovo Flex 14 – Budget Laptop under 700 Dollar

The Lenovo Flex 14 is our first AMD-powered entry in our list of sub-$700 laptops. This laptop is a 2-in-1 that uses Windows 10 Home as its operating system. The Flex 14 is powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 processor and a Radeon 8 Vega graphics processor. The Flex 14 doesn’t have much by way of aesthetics, so we’re more curious about how powerful it is compared to its Intel-powered counterparts.

Our Budget Pick

Lenovo Flex 14

The Flex 14 is a powerful budget gaming laptop only hindered by limited storage space. If you don’t mind frequently installing and reinstalling games on a regular basis, this should be one of your first picks.

We were blown away by Lenovo’s budget 2-in1 during our benchmark tests. In the same price bracket, the Flex 14 was able to beat other laptops in the list by about 10-20 frames. When running Rainbow Six Siege, our AMD-powered pick had twice frame rate of the Acer Aspire 5 Slim; not bad for just a few extra dozen bucks! This laptop would’ve been the perfect fit if only it came with a bigger SSD since it can only fit only a handful of AAA titles at best. However, that also means that the games that you manage to cram in that 256GB storage will load fast.

Read also: Best Gaming Laptops under $600

4. Asus Chromebook Flip C302CA-DHM4

We’re starting this list with a 2-in-1 laptop from Asus, which is one of the most well-known brands in the laptop industry. With a screen size of 12.5” and weighing just a little over 2.5 pounds, this is one portable laptop that doesn’t take up too much space, especially considering the fact that you can tuck the keyboard away when using it as a tablet. Being a Chromebook, this one uses Chrome OS, which uses apps downloaded from Google Play

Touchscreen Convertible Chromebook

Asus Chromebook Flip C302CA-DHM4

The ChromeBook Flip is a very portable 2-in-1 entertainment device that runs on Chrome OS. Perfect for watching stuff and doing light tasks, but not so much for gaming.

We checked how the 2-in-1 fares in terms of performance, and we must say we’re satisfied by it. We didn’t have any issues watching full HD movies for hours on end, thanks to the Chromebook’s estimated battery life of around 10 hours. Our only gripe is that, as with other Chrome OS laptops, it doesn’t offer much for a gamer on the go. While the SSD storage does help its Intel M3 processor run things smoothly, it doesn’t have the volume or the processing power to handle many popular games.

5. Acer Aspire 5 Slim

We have another entry from Acer’s Aspire line-up, but this time, we’re going for the slimmer version. While the Aspire 5 Slim has plenty of possible variants, we decided to go for the A515-54-51DJ which features an Intel Core i5-8265U. As its name suggests, the Aspire 5 Slim is a very sleek laptop at only .7 inches thick. Thanks to its thin profile, this 15.6” laptop weighs just shy of 4 pounds – lighter than many 14” laptops available today. Fortunately, portability doesn’t come at the cost of durability; the aluminium body doesn’t feel flimsy, and the screen can be pushed up to 180 degrees without any worry of breaking the hinges.

Acer Aspire 5 Slim

The Aspire 5 Slim is a big, beautiful, but lightweight laptop. It’s a great option for non-gamers, but those looking for more powerful options could look elsewhere.

The Aspire 5 Slim performs very similar to the Aspire E15, only lagging behind by a small margin. In fact, it even has a slightly processor than its fellow Acer budget laptop. The main difference lies in the graphics processor. While the E 15 uses an Nvidia Graphics card, the Aspire 5 Slim uses integrated Intel HD 620 graphics. It can still run the popular games but you will have to dial most settings all the way down. Gaming aside, it’s perfect for light productivity tasks and viewing HD movies.

6. HP Pavilion 15 Notebook PC

The Pavilion 15 Notebook PC is HP’s first entry into this list. This time, we’re looking at a laptop that is especially designed to be business tool instead of a mobile entertainment system. In fact, when you open the laptop all the way, it actually raises the lower panel. This, in turn, angles the keyboard in a way that helps reduce the strain on the users hands after typing for an extended period of time. While the Pavilion comes in many variants, we went with the entry-level version because it’s the one that greatest fits in the gaming laptops under $700 list.

HP Pavilion 15 Notebook PC

The Pavilion 15 Notebook PC is a solid pick if you’re looking for something you can use for office tasks on a daily basis. It won’t run games that well, but then again, it’s more of a business tool than an entertainment gadget.

Even with the cheapest available configuration, the Pavilion 15 is an excellent workhorse. The Intel core i5 processor is beefy enough to handle basic office tasks. The integrated graphics isn’t that great for gaming, but that is actually a good thing: because most office-related tasks are fairly light on the graphics processor, having more efficient hardware allows the laptop to have longer running times per charge. If left idle, the Pavilion 15 lasts for up to 13 hours on a single charge.

7. Asus Vivobook K570ZD

The Asus Vivobook K570ZD is an interesting entry in this list because it’s specifically labelled as a “casual gaming laptop”. Even when closed, this 15.6” laptop stands out among our other picks because of its styling which –while subtle – still says that it’s meant for gaming. Like the Lenovo Flex, this is an AMD-powered laptop with Radeon graphics, but does it work well for its intended purpose? The answer seems to be “yes, but with a catch”.

Asus Vivobook K570ZD

The VivoBook K570ZD does a good job of being a “casual gaming laptop”. Solid performance and great value for the cost – that is if you can tolerate the low battery life.

For a sub-$700 laptop, we were impressed at how it was able to some of the most popular AAA titles at an acceptable frame rate (at least 40 FPS) even at full HD resolution and with the settings set to “high”. Other laptops in this list could struggle to hit those values with the settings turned all the way down. What’s the catch? The Vivobook has a fairly short battery life, giving us only about four hours of gaming on a single charge. We chalked this up to AMD parts being more power hungry than their Intel and Nvidia counterparts. The laptop also uses an HDD, so expect slightly longer load times, although the 1TB storage space is great if you want a bigger gaming library.

8. Acer Spin 5

The AMD-powered Lenovo Flex 14 set a precedent that sub-$700 2-in-1 laptops don’t have to sacrifice power for portability. This time, we’re taking a look at the Spin 5, this time powered by an Intel Core i5 processor. We were confused at the Spin 5’s design because it is smaller at 13.3” compared to the Flex’s 14” screen, but it somehow looks bulkier – something that could be an issue since this is a 2-in-1. Fortunately, the body was built solidly so there weren’t any issues switching from laptop to tablet.

Acer Spin 5

Some awkward design issues makes the spin 5 rather bulky for a 14-inch 2-in-1. It’s also rather iffy when it comes to the Alexa App. However, it’s still one of the better options you can find for general productivity and multimedia entertainment… just don’t expect to play a lot of games in it.

We took the Spin 5 for a spin and we’re a bit on the fence when it comes to gaming. This is because its Intel’s integrated graphics cards are not that great for gaming in general. The processor itself is a great processor at the sub-$700 price point, so it still does an excellent job of being a productivity or entertainment gadget. One of the most advertised features of the Spin 5 is its Alexa App, which was rather limited because it can’t send messages or play music thru third-party software.

9. Asus Vivobook S Ultra

The second Vivobook in our list is labelled an ultraportable laptop, but that’s rather misleading. Despite being slim and less than four pounds, it’s still a 15.6” gadget. The slim profile and the aluminium body give the laptop a clean, classy look that makes it an ideal pick for a dedicated office machine. However, that doesn’t mean that the Vivobook S Ultra should be relegated as a productivity tool.

Asus Vivobook S Ultra

The Vivobook S Ultra is a great option for those looking for a reliable office gadget that can also let them view movies. While it has a rather underwhelming battery life, it won’t be a major issue since you can just hook it up to its AC adapter.

Let’s first get this one out of the way: it uses Intel integrated graphics, so you don’t expect this one to let you play games beyond medium quality settings. However, the full HD display gives you the option to adjust the color temperature, which is a perfect way to help you enjoy videos without causing too much eye strain. If only the battery lasted more than 5 hours, it would have been the perfect multimedia entertainment laptop.

10. Dell Inspiron 15 5000

The Vivobook S Ultra is a good combination of processing power and portability. This time, we’re taking a laptop that’s a complete opposite from Dell, one of the biggest laptop brands around. The Inspiron 15 ditches the sleek, elegant look in favor of a more “industrial” design. It’s actually the heaviest pick on our list at over 5 pounds! Does this heavy weight pack enough punch to meet the demands?

Dell Inspiron 15 5000

Are you looking for a laptop mostly for entertainment purposes? You better look elsewhere. Are you looking for a budget option that is more suitable for long productivity tasks? Then the Inspiron 15 500 is one of the best laptops to pick.

The first thing we noticed when we powered it on is the display. While it is a 15” laptop, the monitor can only have up to a 1366×768. This means watching videos at full HD resolution let alone gaming is bound to have a lot of limitations. While it’s not the best multimedia laptop, it is an excellent productivity tool. The core i5 processor will handle pretty much any type of office-related tasks, but what really impressed us is the laptop’s incredible battery life. Even with non-stop web browsing, the Inspiron 15 managed to last over 6 hours; about 1-2 hours longer than other laptops around the same price range.

How to Pick a Good Laptop Under 700 Dollars

Now that we know what makes these laptops great, it’s time to talk about how to pick the right option for you.

Define your needs – Why are you getting a laptop in the first place? If you’re after a general-purpose multimedia gadget, a good processor and plenty of space is enough. If you want to do some gaming, go for a laptop that has a dedicated graphics card.
Determine your level of mobility – Do you expect to frequently move from one spot to another when using the laptop? If you need more mobility, pick a laptop with long battery life and a slimmer profile. If the laptop will mostly be on a desk, then it’s safe to pick even the heavier or bulkier frames. This is also where you decide whether you are fine with the usual clamshell design or the 2-in-1 form.
Pick your storage options – Are you planning to store a lot of files on the laptop? If yes, then you should narrow your options down to laptops with high-capacity HDDs. If you value speed more than volume, it’s better to pick a laptop with an SSD for storage.
Check the OS – Do you prefer sticking to Windows or are you fine using any other operating systems such as ChromeOS and MacOS?
Finally, think about aesthetics – The laptop’s appearance has the least effect on how well you can use it. However, getting a laptop that doesn’t look that great can make you purchase less enjoyable than it should be. Once the more functional requirements are set, you can then spend some time picking which of the ones left on your list looks the best.

What to Look for in a Sub-$700 Laptop

Just like with desktop computers, not all laptops are built the same. Sure, laptops may share a lot of things in common at certain price points, but you can still expect two nearly similar options to perform differently. Fortunately, at the sub-$700 price point, there are options that are capable of balancing cost and performance, so you’re getting the most bang for the buck.

Size – Balancing Portability and Visibility

The main reason why you’d want to get a laptop is its mobility. This means you don’t want something too bulky that you can’t carry in a backpack or dedicated laptop case. After all, if mobility is not an important factor for you, you’re better off buying a desktop with a large screen for both work and entertainment.

On the other hand, there’s also the factor of visibility. Sure, having a compact laptop that’s easy to carry is good, but you may not get a lot of value out of it if it’s too small. Otherwise, you’re probably better off purchasing a tablet or even a smartphone. Most users and tech websites agree that screen sizes between 12 and 16 inches across provide the best balance between portability and visibility.

Form Factor

For the longest time, most people didn’t think much about a laptop’s form factor. In fact, most of the popular laptops across different price points still share the same “clamshell” design that the first laptops had. There was no real reason why you’d want to find a different laptop, that is at least until touch screens became more popular.

With touch screen technology becoming readily available, it was now possible to have laptops that also double as tablets. These gave rise to the “2-in-1” design which featured monitor panels that can swivel all the way, allowing people to use laptops the same way they would work with conventional tablets. The right form factor depends on whether you want that extra option for your laptop or if you’re good with the classic clamshell design.

Processor

The processor is considered the “brains” of the laptop, so you’d want to make sure your laptop has a processor powerful enough to do its intended task. To avoid getting too technical in this article, we’re going with a brief rundown on what dictates a processor’s
performance:

Cores – Physical part of a processor that handles commands. Today’s laptops have processors that have two or more cores, allowing them to handle more tasks simultaneously.
Threads – The line of commands processed by a core. Programs require at least one thread in order to run. In many cases, “hyper-threading” allows a core to process more than one thread at a time.
Frequency or Clock Speed – Measured in Megahertz (MHz), this is how fast a processor can work. Laptops in the list have processors that have a base frequency and a boost frequency, allowing them to trade processing power for better energy efficiency and vice versa.

Getting a laptop with the most powerful processor is ideal, but you have to keep in mind that typical laptop tasks may not be that demanding. Sure, that high-end laptop may have triple the processing power of a more affordable alternative, but if the cheaper choice can handle your regular laptop tasks without any problems then the price difference may not be worth it. This is why we picked laptops with processors that are considered by many other users to be cost-efficient.

Graphics Processor

A laptop’s graphics processor is responsible for rendering whatever shows up on a laptop’s screen. For gamers, the graphics processor has a big effect on how smooth and detailed their games will look like. Laptops also rely on the graphics processor to properly render videos or 3d models used for more productive purposes.

Important! – While the graphics processor is the biggest factor when it comes to rendering speed and visual quality, other factors such as the processor, RAM, storage, and even temperature management can also have a positive or negative effect on how nice (or ugly) the graphics will look on your laptop.

Storage

Storage refers to the number of files, programs, and other data that you can store on your laptop. More specifically, this refers to the capacity of your laptop’s storage drive. Higher capacity means more files, so that’s pretty straightforward. If you’re the type who prefers to have a collection of movies or games, or if you find yourself working with large files on a regular basis, then you need to pick an option that gives you enough storage space.

However, size isn’t always everything. To understand this, you need to know that there are two main types of storage drives found in laptops: Hard Disk Drives (HDD) and Solid State Drives (SSD). HDDs are great for storing more files, but SSDs are better at accessing the info stored in them, resulting in faster performance. This is especially important for games, where SSDs can significantly reduce your loading times.

What about RAM?

You’ve probably heard people talk about the importance of RAM when it comes to picking laptops. However, most laptops available today have the standard 4, 8, and 16GB RAM modules already installed on them. Unless your laptop is meant for heavy video or graphics work, 8GB should be more than enough to handle your typical budget laptop tasks.

Want to add more RAM to your laptop?

Fortunately, it’s one of the easiest upgrades you can do. RAM modules for laptops are relatively cheap. Installing one or two more modules shouldn’t be an issue even for your everyday laptop user (although having someone familiar with laptops will greatly help).

Conclusion

Sub-$700 laptops are all about balance. High-end picks that lead the performance charts for months on end maybe nice to have, but those usually come at a very high price tag. Fortunately, today’s mid-range laptops are still fully capable of meeting all but the most demanding productivity and entertainment tasks so they offer a lot of in terms of cost per value.

That wraps up our discussion on the best Laptops under $700! We hope this has helped you kick-start your search for the right laptop for you. Got any other laptop suggestions that we may have missed? Feel free to say something in the comments section!

The post Best Laptops under $700 of 2020 appeared first on GamingFeature.Com.

Best Gaming Laptop under $700 of 2020

Mike Jones — Sun, 01 Sep 2019 23:23:21 +0000

Getting a gaming laptop used to mean having to spend north of $1000 but luckily that is no longer the case.

Today you can pick up a decent laptop for around $700 that will run pretty much any game once you have tweaked the settings.

The trick is to find the option that offers the best value for money and also fits your requirements. That might seem a bit tricky for one who doesn’t buy gaming laptops regularly.

However, do not fear. That is exactly why we took the time to research the most viable options currently on the market, so you don’t have to.

Here we are going to look at some of the best gaming laptops under $700 that you can get. Exceptionally suited for both gaming and everyday use, this price range is quite a sweet spot for a great entry-level gaming laptop.

Best Overall

HP Pavilion

Runner Up

Dell Inspiron

Premium Pick

Asus TUF

Top Rated Gaming Laptops under 700 Dollars

The following are all the different models that we are going to take a look at and some of their specifications that you might be interested in learning about at a glance.

Model	CPU	GPU	RAM	Storage
HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop	i5-8300H	Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti	8GB	1TB HDD	Check Price
Dell Inspiron 15 7567	i5-7300HQ	Nvidia GTX 1050	8GB	1 TB Hybrid HDD	Check Price
Asus TUF Gaming Laptop	AMD Ryzen 5 3550H	AMD Radeon Rx 560X	8GB	56GB PCIe Nvme SSD	Check Price
Acer Nitro 5	Core i5-8300H	Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti	8GB	256GB SSD	Check Price
MSI GL63 8RCS-060	Core i5-8300H	Nvidia GTX 1050	8GB	256GB Nvme SSD	Check Price
Dell G3	i5-8300H	Nvidia GTX 1050	8GB	256GB SSD	Check Price
Acer Aspire E15	i5-8250U	MX150	8GB	256GB SSD	Check Price
ASUS VivoBook F510UA	i5-7200	Intel HD Graphics 620	8GB	1TB HDD	Check Price
Asus Chromebook Flip	Intel Core M3	Intel HD Graphics 515	4GB	64GB Flash Storage	Check Price
Acer Aspire 5	Core i5-8265U	Intel UHD Graphics 620	8GB	256GB NVMe SSD	Check Price

The Best Gaming Laptop under $700 of 2020

1. HP Pavilion – Best $700 Gaming Laptop

The HP Pavilion is a great option for a gaming laptop under $700. It comes with a 1080p display with relatively thin bezels but there is a chin at the bottom. The laptop comes in Black and Green accents which gives it that Razer vibe, even though it is an HP device.

The device is relatively thin and looks like the HP Omen gaming laptops even though it is not branded as such. The laptop comes with the i5-8300H CPU and GTX 1050 Ti graphics card. The hardware is more than capable of playing pretty much any game at 1080p 60 FPS with the settings tweaked. It will be able to run modern online multiplayer games very well.

You also get 8GB of RAM and a 1TB HDD. The included HDD is a bit slow but you can swap it if you want better and faster storage. The laptop has all the ports that you would expect from a gaming laptop in 2020 including USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 1, 3 USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, HDMI 2.0, ethernet and a combo jack.

Our Gaming Laptop Pick

HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop

HP Pavilion gaming laptop is a very tempting device for the price. All you really need to do is add an SSD and this laptop will do the trick for you over the years to come. The hardware is decent and it is a good investment if you are looking to play games for the next 2-3 years.

You also get a backlit keyboard which is impressive for the price. The battery life is decent. You get 5 hours doing regular tasks and around 1.5 hours when gaming. The trackpad is not great but if you are going to get this for gaming then you are most likely going to use a mouse so that is not going to be an issue.

All things considered, the HP Pavilion gaming laptop might not have the latest and greatest hardware but it is impressive value for money. We do recommend getting an SSD for better boot times.

Pros

Cons

2. Dell Inspiron 15 – Premium Gaming Laptop for under $700

Dell is known for making some killer gaming products that are reliable and work well. Here we have the Inspiron 15 7567 which is a great gaming laptop for the price. For under $700 you get the Intel i5 7300HQ and the GTX 1050 graphics card with 4GB of VRAM. Included in the price is 8GB RAM and a 1TB hybrid HDD which is not as fast as an SSD but is much better than traditional HDDs.

The laptop features a 1080p IPS display which as thick bezels around it but that is a tradeoff that many would be willing to pay for the lower price. You get all the ports that you would expect in 2020 but there is no USB Type-C which is a bummer.

The hardware is more than capable of playing pretty much any game at 1080p 60 FPS with the settings tweaked. It will be able to run modern online multiplayer games very well. You can play well-optimized games like Destiny 2 at reasonably high settings.

Runner Up

Dell Inspiron 15

The Inspiron 15 7567 is a solid gaming laptop and for the price it is great value for money. The laptop is built well. You get decent performance and the audio is nice too. The screen does have large bezels around it but it does its job with decent viewing angles, sharp colors and no color bleed. This is a great budget laptop for the price and a model that we can recommend without a second thought.

Vents are located at the front and the back to keep the hardware cool. The cooling solution is impressive and the internal temperature hovers around 88C at most. The i5 option is more than ideal and delivers around 80% of the performance of the i7. So if you are interested in gaming and light content creation then the i5 option is more than enough.

The speakers are front-firing which means that the audio is not muffled. They are not the best speakers in the world but the audio is similar to the Beats Pill. The keyboard is decent and you get backlighting which is always a great addition. The lights are great and you can see the keys even at different angles. If you type a lot then you will be able to make great use out of the keyboard.

Related: Best Gaming Laptops under $800

The 1080p IPS display is bright and sharp. Viewing angles are impressive and there is no color bleed. The colors are accurate and it is a great display for gaming in general. The laptop is solid and is not too heavy even though it might look bulky. You have easy access to the RAM and storage which you can upgrade if needed.

Pros

High quality materials
Color accurate screen with no color bleed
Front-firing speakers
Impressive cooling
Decent hardware for all kinds of games
Great value for money
Upgradable storage and RAM

Cons

3. Asus TUF – Budget Gaming Laptop under 700 dollar

Asus is known for making some killer gaming products and the TUF gaming laptop is no exception. The TUF series is supposed to be budget oriented but built with military-grade materials and that is what you get.

The laptop comes with the AMD Ryzen 5 3550H CPU which is a high-end gaming processor and the AMD RX 560X graphics card. This is an entry-level graphics card but it is more than capable of handling games at 1080p 60 FPS.

Our Premium Pick Gaming Laptop

Asus TUF Gaming Laptop

The Asus TUF laptop is made well and offers impressive performance for the price. You can easily upgrade the storage and the RAM. Not having USB Type-C is a major downside and the laptop is a fingerprint magnet so you will need to clean it regularly. If you can live with that then this is a great option for a gaming laptop under $700.

Other than that, you get 8GB of RAM and a fast 256 SSD. The laptop has a metallic look and feels premium in the hands. It is made of high-quality materials and should stand the test of time pretty well. The display is color accurate and has decent viewing angles. It does have a chin at the bottom but other than that the bezels on the sides are reasonably thin.

The laptop comes in Black with Red accent and the keyboard lighting is Red as well. The overall theme is pleasing but it is not too aggressive like other gaming laptops on the market that you can pick up in 2020. The laptop comes with a lot of ports but you do not get a USB Type-C port which is the only let down here.

Pros

Thin bezels around the display
Compact chassis
High-speed storage
Easy to upgrade
Additional storage drive bay for expansion
Initial boot and firmware updates are automatic
Reasonably silent even when gaming

Cons

4. Acer Nitro 5 AN515

Acer has introduced some very impressive gaming products over the years and here we have the Acer Nitro 5 that comes with the Core i5 8300H and the GTX 1050 Ti. The laptop can run pretty much any game that you throw at it at 1080p 60 FPS. The 8 GB RAM is enough for gaming but you can spend a little more money and get the 12GB RAM model if you need the headroom for multitasking or you want to open more than a single Chrome tab at the same time.

The display does have thick bezels around it but that can be overlooked, keeping in mind that the laptop costs less than $700. The laptop comes in Black and Red and the keyboard has backlighting as well. For storage you have a 256GB SSD which is fast and will decrease the loading times in games.

Acer Nitro 5 AN515

The Acer Nitro 5 is a very powerful gaming laptop for the price. It functions well and looks good too. The cooling solution is great and keeps the internal temperature in check. If you are looking for the best value for money in a gaming laptop then this is one of the best options on the market right now.

The components such as the RAM and the storage can be upgraded down the line if needed. The cooling solution is very impressive indeed and the temperature rarely goes over 75C even under load.

All things considered, the laptop offered decent performance for the price and the upgradability is useful if you are planning on using it for a couple of years.

Read also: Best Gaming Laptops under $600

Pros

Cons

5. MSI GL63 8RCS-060

Here we have an impressive option from MSI. The laptop comes in Black and Red. The keyboard has red backlights and the keys have glowing edges, which is another great touch. There are relatively thin bezels on the sizes but they are thicker on the top and bottom. The laptop is a bit beefy and taking it with you might be a problem if you are used to thinner and lighter devices but you should get used to it over time.

The laptop is powered by the Intel i5 8300H CPU and the Nvidia GTX 1050 graphics card. The CPU and GPU are ideal for gaming at 1080p 60 FPS. You can opt for better hardware but that will increase the price dramatically and this configuration is impressive value for money.

You also get 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD for storage. The colling solution is impressive and keeps the thermals in check. There are 2 fans and 2 exhausts with 7 copper heat pipes. That is plenty for a gaming laptop of this nature.

MSI GL63 8RCS-060

All things considered, the MSI GL63 is a great gaming laptop. It is a bit bulky but it is great value for money and has decent hardware for gaming. It can run pretty much any game at 1080p 60 FPS.

The speakers are not the best in the world but they do produce some decent sound. The screen is an IPS panel so you get impressive viewing angles and sharp colors. The design is pretty clean and you have the MSI logo on the lid and under the screen. The laptop weighs 8.7 pounds which is something that you should keep in mind if you travel a lot.

The downsides are that the laptop is a fingerprint magnet and the trackpad is not too good. That is going to be an issue if you are going to use it for gaming and are going to use a mouse anyways.

Pros

Cons

6. Dell G3 Gaming Laptop

Dell is known for making reliable and well built laptops and the G3 is no exception. It is a very popular laptop that is thin and light and comes with some decent hardware inside. The laptop comes in all Black with Blue accents. They logo on the lid has a Blue tint and so do the keys and trackpad.

The laptop is powered by the i5-8300H CPU, which is great for gaming. You also get 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD for storage and the NVIDIA GTX 1050 dedicated graphics card. The laptop has all the ports that you expect including a USB Type-C port and SD card reader.

Dell G3 Gaming Laptop

The Dell G3 is a very popular device and is great value for money. You get decent hardware for the price and can play pretty much any game on the laptop.

You can take the laptop with you because of its size and weight and it is able to run pretty much any game at 1080p 60 FPS. You can run all the modern multiplayer titles and even graphics-intensive single-player games once you tweak the settings a little bit. If you want to upgrade from G3, make sure to check our comparison on the Dell G5 vs G7.

The battery life of the laptop is not great but that is expecting to keep in mind the hardware that it is packing inside. One of the drawbacks is that the screen is not very bright. If you are used to a very bright display then you will notice this.

Pros

Cons

7. Acer Aspire E15

The Acer Aspire E15 has a clean loon. It comes in all Black with the Acer logo on the lid and under the screen. That is all the branding that you are going to find. The laptop is powered by the Intel Core i7 8550U which is an impressive CPU. You also get 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD for storage. The graphics solution is the Nvidia MX 150. This is a mobile graphics chip so it cannot handle all games.

You will be able to play less graphics intensive games like Fortnite, Overwatch DOTA 2 and LoL. Acer claims that the battery life is around 15 hours but 10 hours is more realistic and that will come down to 2 hours when gaming. The display is a 1080p IPS screen. There are some bezels around it but that is something that you can ignore keeping in mind that this laptop costs less than $700. The screen is not too bright and that is something that you should keep in mind if you are coming from a device that had a bright screen.

Acer Aspire E15

The Aspire E15 does have some flaws but they are minor ones. You will not notice them if you use headphones and do most of your work indoors. For the price, this is a solid option to consider.

Both they keyboard and trackpad are great to use. The keyboard is ideal for gaming and for typing as well. It is safe to say that this is not a laptop for a power user. But it can handle work processing, some light editing and casual gaming.

You can get a better graphics card and even a better CPU but that will increase the price of the laptop significantly. If you are getting a laptop for work and you play some games on the side then this could be the device that you are looking for.

Pros

Cons

8. ASUS VivoBook

Asus is known for making some killer gaming products and here we have the VivoBook that is powered by the Intel i5 7200U CPU. This is an efficient CPU, so it does not use a lot of power. The laptop does not come with dedicated graphics and you will need to rely on the Intel HD Graphics 620.

You do get 8GB of RAM and a 1TB HDD for storage. The laptop has a thin and light design and slim bezels around the screen that make it great for watching movies. The laptop also has a fingerprint scanner and all the ports that you will need including a USB Type-C port.

ASUS VivoBook

The Asus VivoBook is an impressive thin and light notebook for the price. It does not have a dedicated graphics card but you can still do some light gaming on it. It is built well and is upgradable.

The laptop is made well and has a metallic look. The compact design makes it easy for you to carry around and take it with you wherever you go. The laptop is available in different colors such as Silver and Purple. It also has upgradability options. You can add an M.2 SSd for faster boot times and you can increase the RAM as well. Unlike other models these parts are not soldered on. The included HDD is slow and you will need to add an SSD or replace the HDD with a faster storage solution. This is something we recommend you do right away.

The lack of a dedicated graphics card and a U-series CPU means that you can get decent battery life from the device. If you turn down the brightness then you can get around 5-6 hours on a single charge. If you are only streaming video then you might be able to get more.

Pros

Accurate fingerprint reader
USB Type-C
Small chassis
Portable
Efficient CPU
Impressive battery life
Upgradable

Cons

9. Asus Chromebook Flip

The Asus Chromebook Flip is a fun little device and it is well made. It feels like an expensive laptop even though it is not. The hardware inside is decent for a Chromebook but not really up to the mark if you compare it with a Windows laptop. Powering the Chromebook is an Intel Core m3 CPU. You can opt for the m5 CPu as well but that is going to cost you more.

The laptop features 4GB of RAM which can be limiting if you intend on opening more than one Chrome tab. The storage is limited to 64GB. If you are going to do most of your work in the cloud then this could be an ideal laptop for you. The price is decent as well so this could do the trick for you but I would like to see a model with more RAM.

Asus Chromebook Flip

The Asus Chromebook Flip is a fun little device that is built well. It feels premium and is light. The portability does come at a cost. You only get a pair of USB Type-C ports. If you can make do with Chrome OS and the limited storage then this is a great option for you to consider.

As the name implies, this is a 2-in-1 device so you can fold the screen all the way back and consume content in tablet mode. The display is a touchscreen which is another benefit of the product. The interface is responsive and gets the job done even though the device is limited to 4GB of RAM. You do get two USB Type-C ports and an SD card slot but that is pretty much it. If you are interested in connecting a mouse or any other USB device then you will need a dongle or two. That can be frustrating at times. That is the price that you will have to pay for the portability that this device has to offer.

The display is bright and the 1080p resolution is ideal for consuming content. You can do some light gaming as well but I would not expect too much from this laptop keeping in mind that it is powered by a mobile CPU.

All things considered, this is an impressive little machine that is built well. If you can make do without mass storage and Windows then this is a great option to look into.

Read also: Best Gaming Laptops under $400

Pros

Solid production quality
Beautiful, bright IPS 1080p Screen
User interfaces is responsive
Backlit keyboard
Battery life is 10 hours
USB Type-C

Cons

10. Acer Aspire 5 Slim

As the name implies, this is another thin and light laptop from Acer. The Aspire 5 comes with the intel i5 8265U CPU and 8GB of RAM. There is no dedicated graphics card, so you will need to rely on integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620. The graphics solution can handle some light games such as DOTA 2 and LoL but cannot run more graphics intensive titles.

For storage you have a 256GB SSD. The device comes with a fingerprint scanner for quick sign-in. The laptop has a premium feel and is built well. The keyboard and trackpad are impressive and you even get backlighting on the keyboard.

Acer Aspire 5 Slim

The Aspire 5 is a thin and light laptop with a very effective cooling solution. The fingerprint scanner is great for security and quick access. The aluminum body looks and feels great and the keyboard backlighting is another great feature. If you need a laptop for daily use that you can take with you then this is pretty good option to consider.

You get all the ports that you expect from a laptop in 2020 including USB Type-C. The boot times are impressive and the CPU can boost to 3.9 GHz which is great for a mobile CPU that is optimized for efficiency. The cooling solution is able to keep the thermals in check even when the CPU is underload for extended periods of time.

If you are looking for a thin and light laptop that can handle your day to day tasks and is made well then this is an option that you should consider.

Pros

Cons

How to Pick a Gaming Laptop Under 700 Dollars

Back in the day, gaming laptops used to be thin and poor value for money. You needed to pay a massive premium in order to be able to game on the go but that is no longer the case. A lot has changed since then and in 2020 you can get a decent laptop which is thin and light but also delivers impressive gaming performance for a reasonable price.

Whether or not something is worth it will vary from person to person but I can tell you that the premium on gaming laptops is lower than ever. You still have to pay a lot of money for the top of the line model with the most powerful graphics card or CPU but you have entry-level models that are reasonably cheap and mid-range versions that are fairly priced.

A few years back every laptop would be around $1500 or at least around that price point but now, you can get a decent gaming laptop for around $700 and you can get a mid-range laptop that can run pretty much any game at 1080p for around $800.

New technology like the Max-Q graphics cards has allowed gaming laptops to become thinner and lighter than ever. You do need to pay a premium for thinner models but you do have the option if you can afford it. Laptops in 2020 also come with desktop parts and can perform similar to desktops.

What to Look for in a Gaming Laptop

We have looked into some impressive options for less than $700 in this guide and you can see that there are plenty of options for you to choose from. You can get an impressive laptop with decent specifications on a budget, even in 2020. Some of these laptops do have the Max-Q design Nvidia cards that we mentioned.

It is also worth mentioning that competition has brought down the prices of products. A few years back, Intel was the only player in the CPU market but since then AMD has released the Ryzen CPUs. Competition brings down prices and that is always great for consumers as they not only get more choices but better prices as well.

The AMD Ryzen series of CPUs are great value for money and the Radeon graphics cards offer some serious performance as well. Do not be afraid to check them out and support the underdog in the process. You will be surprised by the value you are getting for the money that you paid.

Just keep in mind what you are going to use the device for. Get the laptop that best suits your needs rather than your wants.

The post Best Gaming Laptop under $700 of 2020 appeared first on GamingFeature.Com.

Best Gaming Laptops under $400 of 2020

Mike Jones — Sun, 25 Aug 2019 00:09:45 +0000

A gaming laptop can be pretty expensive, but it does not really have to be. The trick is to find the best value for the money. If you are on a tight budget, then there are some options for you, even under $400.

Realistically you do not need to get the top of the line models that come with the most high-grade graphics and CPUs. You might want all that but do you really need it?

The simple answer for most of you out there is no.

If that is what you are looking for, then you have come to the right place. Here we are going to look into the top 10 best gaming laptops under $400 that you can buy right now. So let’s get into our favorite picks.

Best Overall

Lenovo IdeaPad 330

Also Great

HP Pavilion 15.6

Budget Pick

Acer Aspire E 15

Top Rated $400 Gaming Laptops Comparison Table

The following are all the gaming laptops that we are going to look into here and some of their features that you might be interested in learning about at a glance:

Laptop	CPU	GPU	RAM	Storage
Lenovo IdeaPad 330	Intel Core i3-8130U	Intel UHD Graphics 620	8GB	1TB HDD	Check Price
HP Pavilion 15.6	AMD A6-9225	AMD Radeon R4	8GB	1TB HDD	Check Price
Acer Aspire E 15	Intel Core i3-8130U	Intel UHD Graphics 620	6GB	1TB HDD	Check Price
Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop	AMD Ryzen 3 3200U	AMD Vega 3	4GB	128GB SSD	Check Price
Dell Inspiron 15.6	Intel Core i3-7130U	Intel HD Graphics 620	8GB	128GB SSD	Check Price
HP Notebook Laptop 15.6	AMD A6-9225	Radeon R2	4GB	500GB HDD	Check Price
Samsung Chromebook 3	Intel Celeron N3060	Intel HD Graphics 400	4GB	64GB SSD	Check Price
ASUS VivoBook Max X541SA	Intel Pentium N3710	Intel HD Graphics	4GB	500GB HDD	Check Price
Acer Chromebook R 11 Convertible Laptop	Intel Celeron N3060	Intel HD Graphics	4GB	32GB SSD	Check Price
ASUS Vivobook 15 Thin and Light Laptop	Intel Core i3-8145U	Intel UHD Graphics 620	8GB RAM	128GB SSD	Check Price

Now that we have got that out of the way, let’s look into each and every one of these options and talk about them in detail.

Here is what you need to know about our picks for the top gaming laptops under 400 dollars.

The Best Gaming Laptops Under 400 Dollars

1. Lenovo IdeaPad 330 – Best Gaming Laptop under $400

There are plenty of different models in the IdeaPad series by Lenovo. This is not the S model which means that it is much heavier a bit thicker and has a plastic body. But that is something that you will find to be common in this price range so we are not taking any points off for that.

The design is pretty clean and you have the Lenovo logo on the lid. The mat finish of the lid looks like metal but that is just for show. The weight is not going to be much of an issue if you are used to laptops that fall in this price bracket. Plus you will get used to it once you start using it.

The laptop does have some flex if you press down on the lid or the keyboard. The display has two different resolution options and there is an IPS display option with means great viewing angles and color accuracy. The performance of the non-IPS display is decent but nothing to brag about compared to the other options available in 2020.

Our Pick

Lenovo IdeaPad 330

The Lenovo Ideapad 330 is not a powerhouse but it is great value for money keeping in mind that price that you are paying and the hardware that you are getting inside. If you are looking for an inexpensive laptop then this is a great option to consider.

All the ports are on one side of the laptop and that can be an issue if you are using more than one of those at the same time. You do get plenty of connectivity options including HDMI, USB ports, audio jack and SD card slot.

The right side of the laptop has a cover for the optional optical drive but that seems like a waste of space if you did not opt for one. The keys are decent and you can do your day to day work on it but if you do a lot of typing then you will need a laptop with better keys.

Related: Good Gaming Laptops under $800

Talking about the hardware that powers this laptop, you have the Intel Dual-Core i3-8130U with Intel UHD Graphics 620 and 8 GB of DDR4 RAM. You also get a 1 TB HDD. With that in mind, performance is not going to be ideal in games but you can get away with playing some titles such as DOTA 2 and LOL. You can try playing Overwatch at 30 FPS but you will need to reduce the graphics settings and the resolution scaling as well.

Pros

Cons

2. HP Pavilion – Good Cheap Gaming Laptop

The HP Pavilion 15.6 laptop comes in a sleek Black design and does not cost too much either. The AMD A6-9225 chip that powers the laptop is pretty old and has 2 cores. It also comes with AMD Radeon R4 graphics which can run some less graphics-intensive games with all the settings turned down.

Premium Pick

HP Pavilion

This is a great option to consider if you need something cheap. It might not be very powerful compared to modern laptops but it is affordable.

The laptop can handle day to day tasks but you should not expect too much from it. It does come with 8 GB of RAM and a 1 TB HDD for storage. The 1366 x 768 HD is not IPS so the colors are not ideal but you can still get work done and view content.

The laptop does have an optical drive, if you need it and loads of connectivity options including USB ports, HDMI, SD card reader and Ethernet port. While this is not the most modern laptop in the world it is priced under $400 and will get your daily tasks done.

Pros

Cons

3. Acer Aspire E 15 – Budget $400 Gaming Laptop

Next, we have an inexpensive laptop from Acer, the Aspire E15. It is powered by the Intel Dual-Core i3-8130U with Intel UHD Graphics 620 and 6 GB of DDR4 RAM. You also get a 1 TB HDD. With that in mind, performance is not going to be ideal in games but you can get away with playing some titles such as DOTA 2 and LOL. You can try playing Overwatch at 30 FPS but you will need to reduce the graphics settings and the resolution scaling as well.

The 6GB of RAM is pretty odd as most laptops either come with 4GB or 8GB of RAM out of the box. You can upgrade the RAM down the line if need be as you will need it for gaming, even at the lower settings. Parts like the HDD can easily be replaced. You can get a bigger HDD or a much faster SSD if you are interested in getting fast boot times. You even havean empty M.2 drive for an additional SSD.

Cheap Laptop under 400

Acer Aspire E 15

The Aspire E15 is a decent laptop for the price. You can easily replace the HDD and upgrade the RAM. You also have an empty M.2 slot for an SSD. You can get a lot done on this inexpensive device once you upgrade the RAM to 8GB.

The laptop has a decent battery life and will last you about 9 hours on average depending on that you are doing. If you stick to media consumption then you can get even better performance from the battery.

The laptop has plenty of ports and even includes a USB Type-C port, which is not common on devices in this price range.

Read also: Best Gaming Laptops under $600

Pros

Cons

4. Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop

The Acer Aspire 5 is a thin and light laptop that is powered by the AMD Ryzen 3200U CPU. This AMD chip comes with Vega 3 graphics which are much better than the integrated graphics that you get on Intel CPUs. It also comes with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. Other features include a backlit keyboard. You get all this in less than $400 and that is impressive value for money.

Backlit Keyboard

Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop

The Acer Aspire 5 is a great laptop that comes with features such as a backlit keyboard, fast storage and decent build quality. If you upgrade to the full version of Windows 10 then this laptop is a great value for money and is highly recommended.

To give you an idea of the performance of the CPU, it can run games like Doom at more than 30 FPS with the settings tweaked. You might not be able to play graphics-intensive titles but you will be able to play some older titles at low settings.

The battery life is decent and you can get around 5.5 hours but that will depend on your usage and the brightness of the screen. It has all the ports that you would expect besides USB Type-C. One of the downsides is that the laptop comes with Windows 10 in S mode.

Pros

Cons

5. Dell Inspiron

Dell is known for making great laptops that are very reliable and are built to last. Here we have one of them. This one comes with the Intel i3 7130U CPU. This is not the latest generation CPU in 2020 but it is still great at this price and will get the job done. The laptop comes with 8 GB of RAM which is what you want ideally. The display has a resolution of 1366×768 and it is a touch screen, so another plus point there.

Dell Inspiron

The Dell Inspiron 15 is a great laptop if what you are looking for is a basic and inexpensive laptop for casual gaming and content consumption. It is built well and will last the test of time. Just like other Dell laptops.

The integrated graphics are not mind-blowing but you can still play some light titles such as DOTA 2. For connectivity, you have 2 USB 3.1 ports and an additional USB 2.0 port. You also get an HDMI port and an SD card reader along with an ethernet port. This is a great budget option for you to consider. It runs well and is easy to setup. There is minimum bloatware installed out of the box, which is always a great sign.

The 128GB SSD can be limiting for some people but it can be swapped for a larger SSD. If you are only going to use the laptop for light gaming and content consumption then you might not need any more storage.

Pros

Cons

6. HP Notebook Laptop

HP has been in the laptop market for as long as I can remember and is one of the major players in 2020. This laptop is a relatively older model but it is still a great option to consider if you need a notebook under $400. The laptop is powered by the AMD Quad-Core E2-7110 APU which features Radeon R2 graphics. You also get 4GB of RAM out of the box and a 500GB HDD for storage.

HP Notebook Laptop

The hardware inside this HP laptop is a bit dated but that is also one of the reasons why the price is so low. If you are interested in a basic laptop then this is a great option for you to consider.

This is not the most powerful or modern option on our list but it is still a very decent option in this price bracket. The laptop comes with all the ports that you would expect besides USB Type-C. The battery life is decent at around 4 hours depending on how you use it. The graphics solution is a bit old but you will still be able to run some older titles that are not too graphics intensive.

These models do tend to have random restart issues but those go away once you remove the bloatware that comes installed out of the box.

Pros

Cons

7. Samsung Chromebook 3

The Samsung Chromebook 3 is a small laptop with around 8 hours of battery life. It is powered by the Intel Celeron N3060 processor and comes with 4GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. This is a sleek device that also has a spill-resistant keyboard.

The device has a USB 3.0 port and a headphone jack on the side. This is a Chromebook so you do not get the functionality of Windows but you do get access to Android apps and games. You can also use Google Docs for word processing and work. This is not a very powerful laptop but it can still run mobile games such as Asphalt 8.

Samsung Chromebook 3

This might not be the most powerful laptop in the world but you can easily get some work done on it and do some light gaming on the side. The price is reasonable too.

This is a small device so you can take it with you wherever you go. The sound and the display is decent as well. This is a great device for students that need to get some work done but you can also enjoy some light gaming in your free time.

The drawback with this device is that the CPU is an entry-level one, so if you try to do too much at the same time then the laptop will slow down.

Pros

Cons

8. ASUS VivoBook Max X541SA

Asus is known for making some great devices and here we have the VivoBook Max that is powered by the Intel Pentium N3710 CPU. You also get 4GB of RAM and a 500GB HDD. The laptop is relatively thin and light and comes in Black and Silver. The design is pretty clean and simple and I know that many people like that in a laptop.

You get Windows 10 so you can do a lot more than just light gaming on the go. The laptop has a single USB 3.0 port and a pair of USB 2.0 ports. It also has a headphone jack and HDMI port but no USB Type-C.

ASUS VivoBook

The VivoBook Max is impressive value for money keeping in mind what you are getting for the price. It is not the most powerful laptop in the world but is a great option to consider if you are on a tight budget.

The laptop has a relatively small footprint so it is easy to carry. You can take it with you wherever you do. The price is under $300, which makes it great value for money. This might not be very powerful but it can get you through your day.

The 4GB RAM is limiting and you will find then if you are going multiple things at the same time then the laptop will start to get slow. While the laptop is great value for money the battery life is not great and you will need to take the charger with you.

Pros

Cons

9. Acer Chromebook R11

This is a budget convertible laptop comes with ChromeOS. You do not get the functionality of Windows 10 with this option but you go get 100GB of Google Drive storage for free. This can be used to backup your files or work online.

The laptop is powered by the Intel Celeron N3060 CPU and comes with 4GB of RAM out of the box. You also get 32GB of storage which can be a bit limiting but if you are doing most of your work in the cloud then you are not going to need much anyways.

Cheap Convertible Laptop

Acer Chromebook R11

The Chromebook R11 is a cool little convertible for the price. It can fold all the way back and has a touchscreen. If you are interested in such features and can make do without Windows 10 then this is an option that you can look into.

This is not a thin or light device and the bezels around the display are pretty thick but that is something that is common at this price point. You get all the ports that you would expect from a device in this price range but there is no USB Type-C.

The touchscreen works but at this price range to no expect it to blow your mind or anything like that. If you are interested in getting an inexpensive laptop and can make do without Windows 10 then this is something that you can look into.

Pros

Cons

10. ASUS Vivobook 15

Here we have another product from Asus, the VivoBook 15. This is a thin and light laptop that comes with the 8th generation i3 CPU. You also get 8GB of RAM and a 128 GB SSD for storage. The design is sleek and stylish. The bezels around the screen are slim and you also get a fingerprint scanner for quick access to the device via Windows Hello.

ASUS Vivobook 15

The VivoBook 15 is a great thin and light laptop for work and play. You do need to buy the full version of Window 10 but other than that this is the complete package for less that $400 which makes it great value for money.

Asus even offers one year accidental protection for free. Unlike other devices on this list, this one comes with a 1080p display. The notebook has a screen-to-body ratio of 88%. Which is very impressive indeed. The battery life of the device is also great. It can easily last you 8 hours depending on your use case. It also comes with fast charging so you can get 60% charging in 50 minutes.

The laptop only weighs 3.5 pounds, so you can easily take it with you wherever you go. The device comes with all the ports you would expect including USB 3.1 Type-C , USB 3.1 Type-A, USB 2.0, and HDMI. One of the drawbacks is that the device comes with Windows 10 in S mode and you will need to pay to get the full functionality of Windows 10.

Pros

Cons

How to Pick a Gaming Laptop Under 400 Dollars

Out of all the options that we have looked into, the Lenovo IdeaPad stands out to be the top laptop for $400. It comes with a modern design and a relatively modern CPU that performs well and does not consume a lot of power. The laptop has 8GB of RAM which is ideal in 2020 and also has fast SSD storage for quick booting of Windows.

The laptop comes with a fingerprint scanner which not only provides easy access to the device but an increased level of security as well. The 1080p display has thin bezels which increase the immersion when playing a game or consuming content. The thin and light design allows you to take it with you wherever you go.

Are Gaming Laptops worth it?

Back in the day, gaming laptops used to be thin and poor value for money. You needed to pay a massive premium in order to be able to game on the go but that is no longer the case. A lot has changed since then and in 2020 you can get a decent laptop which is thin and light, but also delivers impressive gaming performance for a reasonable price.

Back in the day every laptop would be around $1500 or at least around that price point but now, you can get a decent gaming laptop for $700 and you can get mid-range laptop that can run pretty much any game at 1080p for around $800.

New technology like the Max-Q graphics cards have allowed gaming laptops to become thinner and lighter than ever. You do need to pay a premium for thinner models but you do have the option if you can afford it. Laptops in 2020 also come with desktop parts and can perform similar to desktops.

All things considered, you get a lot of options for less than $400 and the Asus VivoBook 15 even comes with a year of accidental protection. That should give you some peace of mind, incase something goes wrong.

Conclusion

A gaming laptop can be pretty expensive but it does not really have to be. The trick is to find the best value for money. If you are on a tight budget then there are some options for you even under $400. We have provided some of the most reliable options on the market right now for less than $400.

If you are confused regarding which model you should go with then VivoBook 15 is a great pick. It has a lot to offer for less than $400 like a fingerprint scanner.

You also have an efficient CPU, 8 GB of RAM and fast SSD storage. This is a great option for daily use and you can do some casual gaming on it as well. The design is modern and the laptop is portable so you can take it with you anywhere you go. The display is a crisp 1080p panel and the bezels around the screen are slim.

The post Best Gaming Laptops under $400 of 2020 appeared first on GamingFeature.Com.

Best Gaming Laptops under $600 of 2020

Mike Jones — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 23:14:12 +0000

Laptops can be very costly, but they do not have to be if you know what you want. The more specific you are of your criteria, the more you can get.

The trick is finding the best value for your money. Today, you can get a pretty decent laptop for under $600. It can be used for gaming, content creation, word processing, and some daily work on the side as well.

We will mostly be looking at laptops with Intel processor here, but also AMD that some times give you more performance per dollar spent.

Either way, if that is your budget, then you are in luck. Here we are going to look into some of the best gaming laptops under $600 that you can buy. So without further ado, let’s look at our top picks for a low budget.

Best Overall

Acer Aspire E 15

Premium Pick

ASUS VivoBook 15

Budget Pick

Dell Inspiron 5000

Top Rated Gaming Laptops under 600 Dollars

The following are all the laptops that we are going to look into here and some of their specifications that you might be interested in learning about at a glance:

Model	CPU	GPU	RAM	Storage
Acer Aspire E15	Intel Core i5-8250U	Nvidia MX150	8GB	256GB SSD	Check Price
ASUS VivoBook 15	AMD R5-3500U	AMD Radeon Vega 8	8GB	256GB	Check Price
Dell Inspiron 15	Intel Core i5-8250U	Intel Integrated 620 Graphics	12GB	1TB HDD	Check Price
HP 15	Intel Core i5-7200U	Intel Integrated Graphics	8GB	2TB HDD	Check Price
HP Pavilion 15	8th Gen Intel i5-8250U	Intel Integrated 620 Graphics	8GB	1TB HDD	Check Price
Acer Aspire 5	Intel Core i5-8265U	Intel Integrated 620 Graphics	8GB	256GB	Check Price
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge	Intel Core i3-8145U	Intel Integrated 620 Graphics	8GB	250GB SSD	Check Price
HP Pavilion 17	AMD A10-9620P	AMD Radeon R5	8GB	1TB HDD	Check Price
Samsung Chromebook Plus V2	Intel Core m3	Intel Integrated 615 Graphics	4GB	64GB	Check Price
Lenovo Ideapad	AMD A12	AMD Radeon R7 Graphics	12GB	1TB HDD	Check Price

The Best Gaming Laptops under 600 Dollars

1. Acer Aspire E15 – Best Gaming Laptop under $600

First on our list is the Acer Aspire E15. Acer has been in the gaming space for a while now and has plenty of quality products that you can buy in 2020. The Acer Aspire E15 is another one of those great products. The laptop is powered by the Intel 8250U CPU that does not consume a lot of energy but does offer plenty of power for gaming.

You do not need to rely on the integrated graphics as the laptop has dedicated Nvidia MX150 graphics. This is not the most powerful graphics solution on the market right now but you can do plenty of gaming on this graphics solution with some settings tweaks.

8th Generation Intel Laptop

Acer Aspire E15

The Acer Aspire E15 offers impressive value for money. It has a lot to offer for the price. The dedicated graphics solution is not the most powerful in the world but it can handle light games and online multiplayer titles that are popular in 2020.

You also get 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD for fast storage. The laptop comes in Black with Silver accent. The design is subtle and you can take the device with you. The laptop is rated to have a battery life of around 15 hours but if you are working then you should expect to get around 7 hours and only an hour or 2 if you are gaming on it.

The keyboard and trackpad are impressive for the price and you do get backlights on the keyboard. You only need to open a couple of screws to get access to the RAM and storage. There is an empty storage bay where you can install and additional HDD or SSD to expand storage. You can also swap or upgrade the RAM if need be.

Related: Best Gaming Laptop under $700

Pros

Cons

2. ASUS VivoBook 15 – Good Cheap Gaming Laptop

Asus is known for making great quality products and the ASUS VivoBook 15 is another great example of that. The laptop has a modern design with very slim bezels around the screen. Not to mention that it is powered by the AMD Ryzen 5 3500U chip that comes with Vega 8 discrete graphics. This graphics solution is much better than the integrated graphics that you get on Intel CPUs.

The laptop also comes with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. For under $600 you get a great keyboard with backlighting and a fingerprint scanner for easy access to the device and added security. The laptop is pretty thin and light, so you can take it with you wherever you go. Asus also provides a year of accidental protection in case something goes wrong.

Thin and Light Laptop

ASUS VivoBook 15

The VivoBook 15 is a great laptop for under $600. It comes with a great display and has a small footprint. The thin and light laptop is ideal for work and play and you can take it with you wherever you go.

The VivoBook 15 has a screen-to-body ratio of 88% which is very impressive indeed. It is great for work and play. You get all the ports that you would expect from a laptop in 2020 including USB Type-C.

Pros

Cons

3. Dell Inspiron 15 – Budget $600 Gaming Laptop

The Dell Inspiron 15 is a bit old but it still have decent specifications for a laptop in 2020. It is also one of the reasons why you can pick one up for less than $600. The laptop comes with the Intel Core i5-8250U Quad-Core CPU so it does have plenty of power to offer. Other than that, you also get 12GB of RAM which is more than other models on this list. The downside is that you do not have any dedicated graphics and will have to rely on the Intel integrated graphics.

It also comes with a slower 1TB HDD compared to other models on this list that come with SSDs. You can easily swap the HDD for a faster SSD if speed is important to you. Other than that, the laptop features a backlit keyboard which is decent to use, even if you type a lot. Dell is known for reliability, so you can rest assured that this laptop is going to stand the test of time.

Laptop with Touchscreen

Dell Inspiron 15

The Inspiron 15 5000 is a very powerful laptop with decent hardware. This is an older model but it is more than capable of handling all kinds of workloads. You can even do some light gaming on it.

The Inspiron 15 5000 comes with plenty of ports including 2x USB 3.1, 1x USB 2.0, 1x HDMI and SD card reader. The stereo speakers are pretty loud and the audio quality is impressive for the price bracket.

Pros

Cons

4. Newest HP 15

This HP laptop is not the latest model but it still has a lot to offer and comes in at less than $500 which makes it great value for money. It is powered by the Intel Core i5-7200U and you need to rely on integrated graphics but it can do daily tasks without breaking a sweat.

The laptop comes with 8GB of RAM and a 2TB HDD. The included storage solution is slower when compared to modern SSDs but it is ideal for mass storage. Plus you can easily change the HDD for a faster storage solution. The laptop has plenty of ports including USB 3.0, USB 2.0, HDMI 1.4 and Ethernet.

Also Great Pick

Newest HP 15

The HP 15 is an older model but it still has decent specs for 2020. It is a great value for money under $500. While the included HDD is slow it is ideal for mass storage and can be upgraded if needed.

The HD screen lots great and it is a touchscreen. The laptop is more than capable of running older titles such as Sims or light games such as DOTA2 and LoL. All things considered, this is a great laptop for everyday use.

Read also: Best Gaming Laptops under $400

Pros

Cons

5. HP Pavilion Touchscreen

The HP Pavilion 15 laptop is relatively thin and light but there are thick bezels around the screen compared to some other laptops on the market in 2020. The laptop comes in Silver with Black accents. The design is very clean. It is powered by the Intel Quad Core i5-8250U CPU which is efficient but you do need to rely on the integrated graphics.

The integrated graphics solution is not great but you can still do some light gaming on it and play some popular eSports titles with the settings turned down. The laptop also offers 8GB of RAM and a 1TB HDD. You get all the ports that you would expect from a laptop in 2020 included USB Type-C.

HP Pavilion Touchscreen

The HP Pavilion 15 is a great laptop for everyday use. It not only functions well but looks good while doing so. You can switch the HDD with an SSD if you want better speeds but other than that, you are good to use it as it is.

The battery is decent but it is not going to last you all day so you should take your charger with you. The display has vibrant colors and is a touchscreen which is a great feature to have. All things considered, this is a great laptop for the price.

Pros

Cons

6. Acer Aspire 5

The Acer Aspire 5 is another great thin and light laptop. It has a full HD display and while there is a bit of a chin at the bottom of the display, the sides are relatively thin. The laptop is powered by the Intel i5 8265 and it comes with 8GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. The specs are similar to the HP pavilion 15 but you get faster storage.

Laptop with Fingerprint Reader

Acer Aspire 5

The Acer Aspire 5 is a great thin and light device that you can use for everyday work. It has a reasonably powerful CPU and fast storage. If the lack of LED indicators for the caps lock and num lock does not bother you then this is a great laptop for you to consider.

The keyboard is backlit and the trackpad performs well. You even have a fingerprint scanner for an additional layer of security. The footprint of the device is small, even though it has a 15.6-inch display. The battery life is impressive too. Acer claims that you can get up to 9.5 hours but around 7 hours is more realistic for everyday use. That is still very decent for a Windows laptop in 2020. The laptop has all the ports that you would expect from a laptop in 2020 including HDMI, USB Type-C & USB 3.1. Wireless connectivity is on point and the sound is powerful as well.

Pros

Impressive screen
Slim bezels
Small footprint
Fingerprint scanner
Powerful sound
Backlit keyboard
Aluminum build

Cons

7. Lenovo ThinkPad Edge

The Lenovo ThinkPad series is known for its robust industrial design that can stand the test of time and the Edge E590 is a perfect example of just that. The design of the laptop is very similar to other ThinkPad laptops that we have seen in 2020. It comes in all Black and has a subtle and clean design, which many people appreciate.

The laptop is powered by the Intel i3-8145U and comes with 8 GB RAM and 250GB SSD for storage. The CPU is power efficient and the SSD is quick. You do need to rely on the integrated graphics but that is ok if you are only going to do some light gaming. The price is very competitive when compared with other models that are available on the market in 2020. The hardware inside is decent and modern so you are not going to encounter any problems when doing your daily tasks.

The laptop comes with a backlit keyboard which is a great feature to have on any laptop. THe speakers are on the left and right sides of the device but are downwards firing so sound can get a bit muffled. The laptop has a matt finish which looks great but it will get fingerprints on it over time.

Best Business Laptop under 600

Lenovo ThinkPad

The Edge E590 is built well and offers impressive value for money. The audio quality is not great but other than that, this is a decent laptop for under $600 which you should consider if that if your budget.

The IPS 1080p display is bright and vibrant but the viewing angles are not ideal from the sides. As long as you are sitting in front of the device, that is not going to be an issue. The bezels around the screen are reasonable, they are not too thin but not to thick either.

The trackpad is impressive and has physical buttons on the top. It is offset to the right which is something that you should keep in mind if you prefer your trackpad to be in the middle of your device.

All things considered this is a solid laptop that is impressive value for money. This might not be the best looking laptop on the market in 2020 but I know that some people actually like the industrial design and prefer durability over looks when it comes to a laptop.

Pros

Cons

8. HP Pavilion

This laptop is an older model and comes with the AMD A10 APU inside but it is pretty decent for the price. It also comes with 8GB of RAM and a 1TB HDD which is slower than other storage solutions in 2020 but you can easily swap it for an SSD. At the time of writing, this laptop is discounted and costs less than $450 which makes it incredible value for money.
You can use the money you saved on faster storage. The laptop comes with a 17.3-inch 1080p IPS display and an optical drive. The AMD Radeon R5 graphics will let you play some older titles and a few modern multiplayer online titles.

17.3" Anti-glare Display

HP Pavilion

The Pavilion 17 does not have the latest hardware but it is impressive value for money keeping in mind you are getting a 17.3-inch laptop for less than $450. If you need a laptop with a big screen then this is a great option for you to consider.

The laptop comes with all the standard ports that you expect to see and even a USB Type-C port. The Pavilion 17 has a large display but it is relatively thin and light. If you need a laptop with a larger screen for every day work, then this is an option that you can look into.

Pros

Cons

9. Samsung Chromebook Plus V2

The Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 is a thin and light laptop. The design is the device is nice and clean. The Black and Silver theme is like other laptops on the market in 2020 but remember that this is a Chromebook so you do not have the functionality of Windows. The laptop is relatively inexpensive when it comes to Windows laptops but you might feel that this is an expensive Chromebook and you would not be wrong.

This is a 2-in-1 device so you can fold it into tablet mode. Inside, you have the Intel Core m3 CPU powering the chromebook. This is not a powerful CPU but it can handle the Samsung Chromebook Plus just fine and can do most of your daily tasks. The device only comes with 4 GB of RAM and 64GB of storage which can be limiting. You will feel that the laptop slows down if you try to do too much at the same time.

You can take advantage of stylus support a swell. Which never needs to be charged. It can be used for editing, sketching and even taking screenshots. The 2-in-1 device comes with 2 cameras so that you can not only take selfies but capture what is right in front of you as well.

Samsung Chromebook Plus V2

The Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 is a great laptop to have if you do not need a lot of storage. If you need something to stream content and do most of your work in the cloud then this is a great laptop for you in this price bracket.

While you do not get the functionality of WIndows. You do have access to the Google Play apps store and that means that you can download mobile games on the device as well. The laptop has 2 USB 2.0 ports and a single USB 3.0 port but no USB Type-C port.

Mostly the laptop is made of plastic so while it might look premium, it does not feel that way but it does have great battery life. It can easily last around 8 hours depending on the kind of work that you are going on it.

The Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 is a great device if you do all of your work in the cloud and do not really need all that storage. RAM can be limiting but you can upgrade that down the line if needed.

Pros

Cons

10. Lenovo Ideapad

Lenovo Ideapad 15.6-inch is an older device but that is one of the reasons why the price is so right now. It is only a year old and the hardware inside is very decent indeed. You get the AMD A10 chip with Radeon R7 dedicated graphics which will let you play a variety of games once you have tweaked the settings.

Other than that, you get 12GB of RAM and a 1TB HDD. While the included HDD is pretty slow compared to modern standards, you can upgrade to an SSD if you really need the speed. The screen is a 1360×768 panel so games are not going to look super awesome but you will be able to run them pretty well keeping in mind that this is a laptop from 2018.

1TB Hard Drive

Lenovo Ideapad

For a little more than $400, the Lenovo Ideapad has a lot to offer. While the processor might be old, it does come with 12GB of RAM and dedicated graphics. The laptop performs well once you replace the included HDD with faster storage.

The laptop comes with all the ports that you expect from a device like this and you even get USB Type-C. It even has stereo speakers for great audio quality. The laptop is built well and has a premium feel to it. The design is thin and light but there are some thick bezels around the screen but I would be willing to let that go keeping in mind that it costs around $400.

A major drawback with this laptop is that the processor is pretty old. That means that the battery life is not going to be great and that performance is going to be affected to a certain degree as well.

Pros

Cons

How to Pick a Gaming Laptop Under 600 Dollars

We have looked into a couple of great options for laptops under $600 but if you are still looking for a definite answer then you can go with the ASUS VivoBook 15.

It has impressive hardware for the price, dedicated graphics for gaming and fast storage.

The next best option for an overall great laptop under $600 is the Acer Aspire E15. It also comes with impressive hardware, dedicated graphics, and fast storage. Both of these are safe options today.

Are Laptops Suitable for Gaming?

Back in the day, gaming laptops used to be thin and poor value for money. You needed to pay a massive premium in order to be able to game on the go but that is no longer the case. A lot has changed since then and in 2020 you can get a decent laptop which is thin and light, but also delivers impressive gaming performance for a reasonable price.

Back in the day, every laptop would be around $1500 or at least around that price point but now, you can get the best gaming laptop for $700 and you can get mid-range laptop that can run pretty much any game at 1080p for around $800.

We have looked into some impressive options for less than $600 in this guide and you can see that there are plenty of options for you to choose from. You can get an impressive laptop with decent specifications on a budget, even in 2020. Just keep in mind what you are going to use the device for. Get the laptop that best suits your needs rather than your wants. That is the key here.

Summing Up

Laptops can be very expensive but they do not have to be if you know what you want. The trick is finding the best value for money. You can get a pretty decent laptop for around $600. It can be used for daily work, content creation, word processing and some light casual gaming on the side as well.

Here we have looked at 10 different options that you can choose from in 2020. Some models are a bit old but they still perform well and are great value for money just because they were released last year.

The ASUS VivoBook 15 and Acer Aspire E15 are our top picks. Both options feature impressive hardware, dedicated graphics and fast storage. They are also upgradable so you can add storage and RAM down the line if needed.

The post Best Gaming Laptops under $600 of 2020 appeared first on GamingFeature.Com.

Dell G5 vs G7 – Which Gaming Laptop Should You Get?

Mike Jones — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 16:32:11 +0000

What the Difference Between Dell G5 vs G7?

The difference between Dell G5 and the Dell G7 are mainly from components and performance. The G7 can be configured with Intel i9 CPU, while the G5 is limited to the i7. However, In most cases, the difference between the i7 and i9 is minimal in these types of laptops.

The Dell G5 and G7 are both great gaming laptops for the price and if you are interested in getting one then you might find yourself on the fence regarding which of the two to get.

Here we are going to compare the Dell G5 vs G7 and see which one is better than the other.

From the get-go, we can tell you that in terms of specifications, both laptops are very similar and the major differences are in the graphics card and the weight. Other than that, there are some aesthetic differences as well. We are going to compare both models and talk about both of them in depth.

Dell G5

Comparison winner

Dell G7

Runner up

Dell G5 vs G7 Comparison

The following are the basic specifications of both laptops at a glance:

Features	Dell G5	Dell G7
Screen	15.6-inch IPS 1920 x 1080 FHD 15.6-inch IPS 4K	15.6-inch IPS 1920 x 1080 FHD 15.6-inch IPS 4K
CPU	Intel Core i7-8750H	Intel Core i7-8750H Intel Core i9-8950HK
RAM	16GB	16GB
GPU	Nvidia GTX 1050 Nvidia GTX 1050Ti Nvidia GTX 1060 Max-Q	Nvidia GTX 1060 Max-Q
Storage	128GB SSD+1TB HDD 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD	256GB SSD + 1TB HDD
Colors	Black with Red accents Red and Black	Black with Blue accents White
Weight	6.28 lbs	5.82 lbs

It is worth mentioning that both of these laptops can be configured differently and the price will vary according to the configuration.

Dell G5

When it comes to looks, both gaming laptops look pretty much the same except for some minor variations. The G5 is only available in Black with Red accents. The logo has a Red tint and you get lighting on the keyboard and around the trackpad.

There are plenty of options when it comes to the CPU but the top of the line configuration comes with the Intel Core i7-8750H which has 6 cores and is more than ideal for gaming and content creation. The extra cores do come in handy when editing video or images.

On the graphics side, the laptop can be configured with up to a Nvidia GTX 1060 Max-Q, which is great for gaming and is also power efficient. If you go with the 1080p display then this graphics card will be able to run pretty much any game at 60 GPS at reasonably high settings.

Gaming Laptop With a Reasonable Price

Dell G5 Gaming Laptop

The display is a 15.6-inch IPS 1920 x 1080 FHD screen but you can get a 4K panel as well. It is not ideal for gaming and we do not recommend it as you cannot fully appreciate the high resolution on such a small screen. We recommend getting the 1080p screen so that the graphics card can keep up and you can get better performance in games.

The laptop comes with 16GB of RAM in dual-channel and can be upgraded to 32GB if needed. There are plenty of storage configurations but the one that we recommend is 128GB SSD+1TB HDD. The included HDD is slow and runs at 5400 RPM but it can be replaced, so that is not going to be a major issue.

On the left side of the device, you have the power input, a USB 3.1 port, ethernet port and an SD card reader. On the right, you have the combo jack, a pair of USB 3.1 ports, a USB Type-C port with Thunderbolt 3 support and an HDMI port.

There is a grill design on the back and on the front. The speakers are located on the left and right sides at the front. Most of the body is made of plastic and that is one of the reasons why the price is so reasonable but the laptop is still very well built.

The battery is a 4 cell 64W hour one and the battery life is pretty impressive. You can stream media for roughly four and a half hours and can play games for an hour and a half.

The cooling solution used is effective and the graphics card gets to around 88C at full load. At idle the temperature is around 46C, which is not bad for a laptop. The laptop is slightly lighter than the G5 and has similar battery life if you compare the same hardware. If you go with the i9 CPU then the battery life is going to be a bit shorter but the difference is not going to be significant.

Moving on to performance the laptop with the Core i7 and GTX 1060 can easily run pretty much any game at 1080p 60 FPS at high settings. Games that it can run impressively well include Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of War and The Witcher 3. Some games like Far Cry 5, Overwatch and Fortnite can run at 1080p 60 FPS using the Ultra preset.

Pros

Cons

Dell G7

When it comes to looks, the G7 looks pretty much the same. The G5 is available in Black with Blue accents but there is a White version as well which you cannot opt for with the G5. The logo has a Blue tint and you get lighting on the keyboard and around the trackpad. The Blue accent keys are much easier on the eyes and can be seen clearly even with the backlight off.

Unlike the G5, the G7 has the Intel Core i9-8950HK option. This CPU has faster clock speeds and can be overclocked but it is limited so that it does not get too hot and while it does have an edge over the i7, it might not be worth the price for some people.

Premium Gaming Laptop Pick

Dell G7 Gaming Laptop

There is a grill design on the back and on the front. There is a small G7 logo on the back and you can see through it. Between the grill, you can see Blue fins that match the accents of the laptop. It is a minor thing but it is still a very nice touch. Other than that, the layout is all the same and the build quality, sound and display are all similar to the G5.

Talking about the performance, you do have the option to get the i9, but it is limited and while it does offer an edge over the i7 in games and select applications, it is not something that we can openly recommend. You do have the option if you really need the higher single-core performance but you can make do with the i7 in most cases.

Games that it can run impressively well include Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of War and The Witcher 3. Some games like Far Cry 5, Overwatch and Fortnite can run at 1080p 60 FPS using the Ultra preset.

Pros

Cons

Dell G5 vs G7: Which Should You Get?

Both laptops are very similar. You can configure both with the same graphics card, RAM and similar storage. So which one should you get? Both laptops have a similar design as well. The G7 has the upper hand when it comes to the CPU as it can be configured with the i9 while the G5 is limited to the i7 but as we have mentioned, it is not really worth the upgrade.

The i9 does have a small edge over the i7 but it is limited and you will need to overclock it to get the most out of the CPU. In most workloads, the difference between the i7 and i9 is minimal and the i9 only takes the lead in workloads that take advantage of the higher single core clock speeds.

The G5 is a better laptop, all things considered and we can only recommend the G7 to people that really need the extra performance or are interested in the higher single-core performance that the i9 has to offer. If you are going to use the laptop for gaming then the G5 is more than capable of running pretty much any game at 1080p 60 FPS.

The post Dell G5 vs G7 – Which Gaming Laptop Should You Get? appeared first on GamingFeature.Com.

Gaming Laptop vs Desktop – Are Laptops or Desktops Better for Gaming?

Mike Jones — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 04:52:05 +0000

Gaming Laptop vs. Desktop: Which Should I Choose?

You can go for a gaming desktop or a gaming laptop, but which one really fits your needs? We decided to sum it up like this: If you want a more flexible gaming setup in terms of specs or style, then go for a gaming desktop. If you want something portable so you can game anywhere, anytime, then a gaming laptop is the better choice.

Are you tired of playing PC games on someone else’s computer?

If that’s the case, then it’s high time that you get your own gaming setup. A gaming computer will give you countless hours of entertainment, plus it can also double as a movie player, a music player, and a productivity tool. However, you need to figure out what kind of device you’d want for your setup.

Okay, that doesn’t seem like a hard decision, but how exactly did we come up with this conclusion? To fully understand why those options are best for those circumstances, we’ll take a deeper look into gaming laptops and desktops.

What is the Difference Between a Gaming Laptop and a Desktop?

Before you head out there and buy the first laptop or desktop you can find, you have to know what a proper gaming setup is. Not all laptops and desktops are created equal, especially when it comes to performance. A gaming laptop must meet the following requirements.

Processing power – Because PC games are essentially like any other program run by a laptop or desktop, they require a lot of processing power to run. A processor also has a big effect on how fast a game can load up to a certain point. The better your gaming setup’s processor is, the fewer “stutters” caused by delays in loading the necessary files for the game to run will happen.
Graphical power – PC Games are some of the most graphically intensive tasks that a laptop or desktop have to perform. This factor greatly depends on your setup’s video card but it will also be affected by the processor. A powerful video card will render graphics at the highest settings at a decent framerate, making a game look much more beautiful than when run with a weaker alternative.
Storage Space – Having a decent storage space will allow you to store more games in your setup, giving you enough variety. More free storage is always good; some AAA titles can easily go over 50 gigabytes. Gamers have to choose between HDD and SSD storage, with HDD being the better read-write drive and SSD being the “high performance option”.
RAM – RAM or Read Access Memory refers to the amount of data temporarily accessed by your computer to run certain tasks such as games and system programs. Most games today need at least 4 gigabytes of RAM to run properly. Combined with other background system programs, a gaming setup should have around 8 gigabytes of RAM to ensure as smooth experience, although 16 gigabytes is now becoming the norm due to the release of more resource-heavy titles.
Ergonomics – When it comes to gaming setups, ergonomics refer to how comfortable or natural the user feels while using the computer while playing games. It’s very important for a gaming setup to remain comfortable for several hours at a time. Most people think that ergonomics is mostly about the keyboard and mouse, but other parts of your gaming setup such as the monitor and even chair can also affect it.

Read also: Best Gaming Laptop under $700

Gaming Desktop

The most popular option for gaming enthusiasts, gaming desktops are available in all shapes, sizes, and even sophistication. A gaming desktop consists of the CPU, a display (or a set of multiple screens), a keyboard, a mouse, the furniture, and perhaps peripherals such as extra game controllers. Let’s take a look at these individual components to gain a better understanding of the entire setup.

The CPU – The “heart” of the gaming desktop and the one that has the greatest effect on the quality of gaming experience. More commonly known as “rigs”, desktop CPUs are the main focus of building proper gaming setups. This part of the gaming setup houses different components that will affect the performance of your entire setup.
Display – Responsible for converting digital data into visual data, displays for most gaming rigs have a single LED or LCD screen setup. However, multiple screens are becoming more common, especially for people who prefer multi-tasking. Other, less common display options include screen projectors and VR headsets.
Audio – Provides the sounds necessary for an immersive gaming experience, most gaming setups usually have headsets as their main form of audio, although the use of loudspeakers are not uncommon.
Keyboard and Mouse – The “bread and butter” of PC gaming, the mouse and keyboard must be good enough to provide near-instant input and feedback to give gamers a good sense of control over whatever games they are playing. Most setups tend to use “gaming” versions of keyboards and mice because regular “office” alternatives can be unreliable in certain gaming situations.
Furniture – Most people tend to forget that the furniture plays a big part on a gaming setup’s ergonomics. The more comfortable the screen height (courtesy of the desk or wall brackets supporting the screen) and back support (provided by the chair), the easier it is to focus on gaming.
Miscellaneous Peripherals – Other devices that can be connected to the rig to further enhance its functionality. Common peripherals include the web cameras, microphones (if not already integrated in the headset), joysticks, and virtual reality controllers.

Why Go for a Gaming Desktop?

There are plenty of reasons why desktops remain the most popular form of gaming setups. Let’s take a look at their greatest strengths.

Flexibility in Performance

Gaming desktops (more specifically, the CPUs) are very customizable, which means it’s easy to make changes that will improve the performance of a gaming setup. For example, if a new game requires more processing power than your current gaming setup can handle, then upgrading a few components instead of purchasing a brand-new rig is a viable option. This also means that it’s also possible to replace individual damaged components.

Longevity

Because it’s possible to replace individual components of a gaming desktop, it’s common for gamers to “upgrade” on a regular basis. With properly timed upgrades, you can keep a single gaming setup viable for a very long time without sacrificing the quality of your gaming experience.

Cost-Efficiency

Don’t let the price tag fool you. For a hardcore gamer, the desktop is a very cost-efficient option. Spending resources on keeping your setup up to date is also more manageable because spending some cash on multiple component purchases is way easier than getting an entirely new setup every few years.

Potential

Even if budget is not an issue, desktop gaming is still the superior option in terms of potential. Overclocking allows you to get more out of your current processor and video card without replacing them, and adding more hard drives will allow you to store more games that you can enjoy playing.

Disadvantages of Gaming Desktops

Despite having many good points, there are also a few reasons why you may want to pass on a gaming desktop. Here is a brief overview of those reasons, which may convince you to switch to a gaming laptop as an alternative.

Bulk

A gaming setup has the potential to take up a lot of space. You need to dedicate a significant part of your room to a proper gaming setup. This is especially true for rigs with massive tower cases and multi-screen setups. If you find yourself running short of room space, then a gaming desktop might not be for you.

Complexity

A gaming desktop’s incredible customizability can also work against it. Components may be easily replaceable, but they are also more likely to get disconnected. Even worse, an inexperienced PC builder can end up purchasing upgrade parts that end up not being compatible with the current rig! Some gamers prefer just buying “pre-built” gaming desktops to spare themselves the trouble of picking individual parts, but those rarely have the optimal combination of components for the price.

Lack of Mobility

Perhaps the greatest weakness of a gaming desktop is its lack of mobility. Unlike laptops, bringing a desktop from one place to another can be a very difficult – if not impossible – task. This means you’re out of luck if you want to enjoy gaming unless you’re staying in your home (or if you have your own car to haul your setup with you).

Gaming Laptop

Laptops have come a long way from being “lightweight” office equipment who can barely keep up with desktop computers in terms of raw power. Today, it’s possible to find gaming laptops that are up to par with a high-performance gaming rig when it comes to providing a smooth gaming experience. Let’s take a look at the different aspects of today’s mobile gaming PCs compared to their desktop counterparts.

CPU – Gaming laptops also have a CPU, like their desk-based counterparts, but everything’s already integrated into one compact device.
Display – A gaming laptop has a medium-sized LED or LCD screen (rarely more than 17 inches), but it can be connected to a spare monitor if necessary.
Audio – Most gaming laptops give you the option of hearing through its integrated speakers or allowing you to connect a headset via an audio jack or USB cable.
Keyboard and Mouse – Unlike desktops, gaming laptops have built-in touchpads; it’s possible to use a gaming laptop without connecting a mouse. Some gaming laptops may also provide an extra degree of control by featuring touch screens. However, if you want to strategy or first-person shooters, you should still get a dedicated gaming mouse.
Furniture – You won’t need a dedicated chair or desk for a gaming laptop; any smooth surface will do. In fact, you can even just place it on your lap as laptops they were originally intended to be used.
Miscellaneous Peripherals – Almost any peripheral that can be added to a desktop gaming rig can also be connected to your gaming laptop. However, you may have fewer connectors to accommodate as many add-ons.

Why Go for a Gaming Laptop?

Getting a gaming laptop has its own set of benefits that a gaming desktop can’t provide. Let’s take a closer look at what you’re getting if you decide to get a laptop for your next gaming setup.

Compact Design

Even the biggest gaming laptops require a fraction of the space of an average-sized gaming desktop. This means a gaming laptop is perfect for gamers with small rooms or limited surface area. As mentioned before, the least you need to be able to use the laptop is enough space on your lap and perhaps enough space to move your gaming mouse.

Simplicity

With a gaming desktop, you’ll have to keep thinking of how individual components can affect each other. Checking for compatibilities, worrying about available slots, and even assembling perfectly-compatible components can be quite the hassle. With a gaming laptop, all you need to do is check out the specs and find out which model matches your ideal specs; there’s no further assembly or troubleshooting required. Best of all, a gaming laptop comes bundled with its own operating system so there’ s no need to worry about disk formatting before being able to use it.

Mobility

The main reason you’d want to get a gaming laptop is its mobility. If you’re the type who tends to move from one place to another, you can always put your laptop in a bag and play your favorite PC games whenever you have the chance to take a breather. Many brands selling gaming laptops today even have their own specialized laptop-carry backpacks.

Flexibility in Availability

Gaming laptops are also flexible like their desktop counterparts, but that flexibility lies in being accessible almost anytime. Sure, a gaming desktop can also double as a workstation, but a laptop can also do that while someplace else such as a cafe, your office, or a library. In case of a power outage, all you have to do is relocate somewhere with electricity, and that’s only when your laptop is nearly out of battery charge. Yes, you can still access your games even when the power’s down for up to a few hours on a full battery!

Disadvantages of Gaming Desktops

Gaming laptops are versatile gaming options, but they also have their own share of weaknesses that might have you thinking twice about “going mobile”. Here’s a rundown on why you may want to pick a desktop over a gaming laptop.

Limited Lifespan

A lot of today’s modern gaming laptops are more than capable of playing the biggest games without a lot of issues. However, as time passes, new games may require more resources. Unfortunately, upgrading a gaming laptop is difficult because replacement components (save for the hard drive and RAM modules) can be difficult to find and install. You’re usually better off switching to a completely different laptop if your current one can no longer properly run the games you want.

Limited Potential

Unlike gaming desktops, you’re pretty much stuck with the best level of performance your laptop can provide. There’s very little room for improvement for most gaming laptops barring the use of expensive external components. Even something as trivial as expanding hard drive space can be difficult because gaming laptops rarely have room for more than one hard drive.

Expensive

Today’s gaming keyboards are capable of running games as well as desktop-based setups, but that level of quality of performance usually comes at a hefty price tag. In fact, a high-end gaming laptop can easily cost double or triple the cost of an equally-powerful desktop setup. Add the fact that you’re usually stuck with “upgrading” to a completely new laptop and you lose out in terms of long-term cost-efficiency.

Desktop Gaming Recommendations

High End Pre-built Desktop - Corsair One i140

If you’re looking for a true powerhouse and you have the budget to spare, look no further than the Corsair One i160. The compact design of the CPU may fool you into thinking that it doesn’t offer much, but it has the muscle to play your games at 4k resolution without any issues.

Specification

Budget Pre-built Desktop - Alienware Aurora R7

Alienware is a brand known for top-of-the-line gaming products, so you may find it surprising that we recommend an Alienware desktop as budget pre-built option. The processor and graphics card are powerful enough to let you play games at 1080p with everything turned up, and even go for 4k gaming with a few settings turned down.

Specification

DIY PC Build

The best way to get the most value out of your desktop gaming rig is to pick your own parts, but since 1080p gaming is the current standard, you may want to come up with a build that would at least play games on high or max detail at those resolutions. Above are the listed recommended specs, but you can always go higher. Remember that a DIY PC build will almost always cost less than an equally powerful pre-built alternative.

Specification

CPU: Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600, or better
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeo RX 580, or better
RAM: 8GB or higher
Storage: 500GB HDD and 256GB SSD, or better
PSU (Power): True-rated 400W PSU or higher

Laptop Gaming Recommendations

High-end Laptop - Acer Predator Triton 700

Many gaming laptops tend to sacrifice a bit of portability for the sake of better performance, but the Acer Predator Triton 700 is a rare exception. This slim gaming laptop will run any game at 1080p resolution without any problem. It’s portable, it’s powerful, and at only a little over five pounds, it’s probably the lightest powerhouse laptop you will find.

Specification

CPU: Intel Core i7-8750H
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
RAM: Up to 64GB
Storage: 512GB M.2 SATA SSD, 1TB HDD
Screen Size: 17.3 inches

Mid-range Laptop - Acer Predator Helios 300

We got another recommendation from the predator series, but this time it’s for a more budget-friendly 1080p portable gaming setup. The GTX 1060 will let it run all but the latest games at HD resolution at high (or even max) settings. It’s also fairly light at a little less than six pounds, making it a great companion whether you’re gaming at home or on the road.

Specification

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700HQ
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 256GB M2 SATA
Screen Size: 15.6 inches

Entry-level Laptop – MSI GF63 8RC

The MSI GF63 8RC is the perfect lightweight option if you want to get a gaming laptop even with a limited budget. Sure, you won’t be playing a lot of games on ultra settings, but that’s an acceptable compromise considering how affordable this 4-pound gaming laptop is. Besides; medium settings don’t look that bad for most gaming titles.

Specification

That wraps up our article on gaming desktop and laptops. We hope this has helped you figure out what you really want for your ideal setup. Make sure you stick around for other interesting helpful gamer articles!

The post Gaming Laptop vs Desktop – Are Laptops or Desktops Better for Gaming? appeared first on GamingFeature.Com.

Best Gaming PC for Apex Legends – PC Build Guide

Mike Jones — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 06:48:44 +0000

Apex Legends has become increasingly popular since it came out a while back and even though we have talked about the pre-built gaming PCs that you can buy in order to play the game, we know that some of you are more interested in building your own PC.

If that is the case then you have come to the right place.

Here we are going to look into the best gaming PC for Apex Legends that has been made with competitive gaming in mind.

We’ve have spent several hours picking and comparing hardware to each other, until finding the best parts for a PC build for Apex Legends. We looked at specifications, affordability, manufacturer to make sure it continues to keep up to date for a long time in today’s evolving PC market.

Best Gaming PC Build for Apex Legends

The following are the components that we are going to use for this Apex Legends gaming PC.

Part	Product
CPU	Intel Core i5-9600K	Check Price
CPU Cooler	Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo	Check Price
GPU	Gigabyte GTX 1070 G1	Check Price
RAM	Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB	Check Price
Motherboard	ASUS Prime Z390-A	Check Price
Storage	Samsung 860 EVO 500GB	Check Price
Power Supply	Corsair CX Series 550W	Check Price
Case	NZXT H500	Check Price

The good thing, you don’t have to spend your own time researching and learning the technical language for being able to pick the most optimal parts.

We’ve done it for you!

Without further ado, let’s dive into our full review of each hardware and a buyer’s guide at the end of this article. Full of things you should look out for when building your gaming PC.

The PC Components for a Apex Legends Build

CPU: Intel Core i5-9600K

The CPU is the brain of the PC and is going to be in charge of sending and receiving all kinds of commands. That is why you need a decent CPU in order to play Apex Legends. While Apex Legends is not a CPU intensive game, you are going to need some headroom if you are interested in playing the game at higher resolutions.

If you are planning on playing the game at 1440p or 4K then you will need a decent CPU that can keep up with your graphics card. This is a competitive title so you might be inclined toward higher refresh rates rather than higher resolution.

Intel Core i5-9600K

Whatever case it may be, having a decent CPU is great and will future-proof your system. Obviously, you are not going to only be playing Apex Legends on your PC. This CPU will let you play other games and run other programs as well.

The Intel Core i5-9600K comes with 6 cores and 6 threads which is pretty much all you need for gaming. The additional cores and threads will come in handy if you are interested in video editing and other CPU intensive tasks. It can also come in handy if you are a heavy multi-tasker. This is more than enough for gaming.

The base clock speed of the CPU is 3.7 GHz and it can boost to 4.6 GHz. That is not all, this is a K series CPU which means that it has an unlocked multiplier and that you can overclock it beyond the mentioned frequency. With a decent cooler, you could get it to 5 GHz with ease.

The CPU does come with UHD 630 integrated graphics but you will need a dedicated graphics card in order to play Apex Legends. The CPU also supports Intel Optane memory which can be used to accelerate the speed of storage devices.

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo

K series CPUs do not come with coolers and that is why you need one. You are going to need a decent one especially if you are interested in overclocking. The Hyper 212 Evo is a great option to consider. It is not too big like some other coolers that are available on the market and will make installation much easier. RAM clearance will also be much easier compared to beefy coolers.

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo

The cooler comes with 4 direct contact heat pipes that create a sleek surface for heat conduction. The cooler comes with a single fan but you can install a second one for push-pull configuration if you want. The fan voltage is 12V and the noise that it produces ranges between 9-36 dBA. This will depend on the speed of the fan which ranges between 600-2000 RPM.

The cooler provides impressive cooler and looks great too. This model does not come with LED fans but there is another version that does. You can also use any aftermarket 120mm fans that you want.

GPU: Gigabyte GTX 1070 G1

The Nvidia GTX 1070 might not be the most powerful graphics card on the market right now but it is very reasonable for playing Apex Legends on PC. At 1080p you can play the game at more than 80 FPS. Turn the resolution up to 1440p and the performance drops to 60-65 FPS but this is still ideal for playing Apex Legends.

If you are a competitive player and need the additional FPS then you can turn some settings down in order to get to 120 FPS at 1080p but the performance boost will not be as significant at 1440p.

Gigabyte GTX 1070 G1

The Gigabyte GTX 1070 G1 is a custom card which comes with a triple fan cooler, unlike the blower style reference design mode. This means that it can keep the temperature in check and that you can do some serious overclocking in order to get even better performance out of the box.

If you turn the resolution up to 4K the card can run the game at 35-40 FPS on the ultra preset but turning down a few settings will get you closer to the 60 FPS mark. Now that the RTX series of graphics cards are out you can get the GTX 1070 at a discounted price which makes them even better value for money. The card is meant for 1440p gaming so you should stick to that resolution or play Apex Legends at 1080p if you are interested in keeping a bit of headroom.

The Gigabyte GTX 1070 G1 comes with 8 GB of GDDR5X memory which is plenty for gaming at 1440p. This model comes with RGB lighting as well. If you have other components with RGB lighting then you can sync the lights. Other than that it is recommended that you use a 500W power supply as the bare minimum in order to provide the graphics card with enough power.

RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB

For memory, we have the Corsair Vengeance LPX memory which is a staple when it comes to gaming builds. While 8 GB is the bare minimum for gaming you should have 16 GB just in case. You should have headroom for other applications that are running in the background and it is always great to have some additional memory for multitasking as well. 16 GB of memory should be enough for playing Apex Legends.

Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB

The Corsair Vengeance LPX can run at 3000 MHz and has been designed with overclocking in mind. If you are interested in overclocking then not only can you overclock your CPU and GPU but your memory as well.

Motherboard: ASUS Prime Z390-A Motherboard LGA1151

Asus makes some of the best motherboards that are available on the market and that is why we have picked the ASUS Prime Z390-A for our Apex Legends custom build. You need Z series motherboard in order to overclock a K series CPU and that is one of the reasons why we have picked this motherboard.

Not to mention how well built and beautiful this motherboard.is. The motherboard comes in Silver and Black and also has RGB lighting just like the graphics card. You can sync the lighting of both components and customize it according to your preference. The motherboard comes with multiple M.2 slots as well as USB 3.1 ports for fast storage and data transfer speeds.

ASUS Prime Z390-A

The motherboard also features Asus Optimum II for better DRAM overclocking and stability. The PCIe slots are reinforced in order to support the graphics card better. It also supports smart overclocking for the CPU. Other features include Safe Slot Core, LAN Guard, Overvoltage Protection. Asus does charge a premium for its products but with such features, you can rest assured that your hardware is safe and protected.

There are a couple of fan connectors on the board that allows you to customize how your fans work. You also have an RGB header that allows you to sync different components with the motherboard. The motherboard also offers 8-channel HD audio for an immersive experience when gaming.

Storage: Samsung 860 EVO 500GB

You will need high-speed storage for Apex Legends and that is where the Samsung 860 EVO comes in. The drive provides Sequential Read/Write speeds up to 550MB/s and 520MB/s respectively which means faster boot times and quicker loading in game. 500 GB should be enough for the OS and a couple of games but you can add more storage down the line.

Samsung 860 EVO 500GB

The all Black drive looks really great and there is a Samsung logo on top. The drive will blend in well with the rest of your build but you won’t be able to see it in the case that we have included here.

Power Supply: Corsair CX Series 550 Watt

You will need a decent power supply in order to provide enough juice to the CPU and the graphics card. Keep in mind that the CPU, GPU and RAM are all overclockable so you do need some headroom. The recommended PSU for the GTX 1070 is 500W so we have included a 550W power supply to be on the safe side. If you are going to overclock your CPU and RAM then you are going to need this headroom.

Corsair CX Series 550 Watt

This is a semi-modular power supply so cable management will be easier. The case that we have included hides the power supply which is an additional plus point. All things considered, this should end up to be a very clean and aesthetically pleasing build, once you are done.

The PSU is rated 80 PLUS Bronze which means that it offers higher efficiency compared to traditional power supplies and it does not dissipate excess heat and has lower operating costs. You should have a proper PSU for your high-end components and this is the one that we recommend for this kind of a PC build.

Case: NZXT H500

The NZXT H500 is one of the most beautiful cases on the market right now. The case is available in multiple colors and there is a special Overwatch edition as well but for the purpose of this build, let’s go with the Black and White option. This will match the motherboard, the CPU cooler, the RAM and the graphics card. All of your build will come together and will look pleasing even if you do not have any RGB lighting on.

NZXT H500

The PSU is covered so that you cannot see the wires. There is a tempered glass side panel so that you can show off your hardware and take advantage of the RGB lighting that you have installed.

There is a fan at the rear and one at the top but you can install additional ones at the front as well. You can also install and 240mm radiator if you are interested in water cooling your system. The case not only looks great but is built well too. This is a sturdy ATX case that can house your components with ease.

Apex Legends System Requirements

The system requirements for Apex Legends are as follows:

Minimum Requirements

The following are the minimum specifications that you will need in order to run Apex Legends:

OS: 64-bit Windows 7
CPU: Intel Core i3-6300 3.8GHz / AMD FX-4350 4.2 GHz Quad-Core Processor
RAM: 6GB
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GT 640 / Radeon HD 7730
GPU RAM: 1 GB
Storage: Minimum 22 GB of free space

Recommended Requirements

The following are the recommended specifications to run Apex Legends:

OS: 64-bit Windows 7
CPU: Intel i5 3570K or equivalent
RAM: 8GB
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 / AMD Radeon R9 290
GPU RAM: 8GB
Storage: Minimum 22 GB of free space

Gaming PC Build for Apex Legends – Buyer’s Guide

While building your own gaming PC, there are some important things to know. In this buyer’s guide, we’ll explain each and every hardware in a PC, so you know what each part do.

Also, some of the differences between some common parts you’ll most likely stumble upon while acquiring parts for your PC.

Processor/CPU

PCs are supposed to input, process and output data very fast and that is why they need impressive CPUs that can keep up with the workloads. You can make do with CPUs that have 2 cores when it comes to gaming but 4 cores are ideal. In 2019 games are not optimized for more than 4 cores so you can save some money by not investing in additional cores. We have included a CPU with 6 cores so that you have some headroom and so that you can use the extra cores for more CPU intensive tasks such as video editing.

AMD and Intel offer CPUs that offer 2, 4, 6 or 8 cores. You can pick between the two depending on what you prefer, raw gaming power or best value for money. AMD offers better value for money but Intel offers better raw gaming performance.

Graphics Cards

Gaming PCs come with dedicated graphics cards that provide the power needed to output the visuals that you see in-game. This is one of the major parts of a gaming PC and in most cases the most expensive component of a build. A general rule of thumb is that the GPU or graphics card should be the most expensive component in your build. Trying to save money on a graphics card will impact gaming performance drastically as compared to a CPU.

Bigger Is Not Always Better

Tall towers might give the impression of a powerful PC but that is not real. The casing does not matter when it comes to the performance of a PC. It is just there to house the PC components. In 2019 plenty of hardware that can be crammed into a smaller case. If you like to show off your build then you can go with a tower PC. If you are short on space or like smaller PCs then you can go for a smaller gaming PC case.

SSD Vs HDD

SSDs are faster than HDDs. They deliver faster transfer speeds which result in faster boot times and reduced loading times when in-game. SSDs are smaller and take less space. Another factor to consider is that SSDs do not have moving mechanical parts so they are more durable but like every other part in your PC it does have its life span which will eventually end one day.

Intel Vs AMD

AMD used to be the underdog in the CPU market but the Ryzen series has put the company back on track. Intel still has a small edge over AMD when it comes to raw gaming performance but AMD offers better value for money when it comes to number of cores and threads for the price.

If you want the best gaming performance then Intel is the best option but if you are looking for value for money and are interested in using multiple cores for applications other than gaming as well then going for AMD CPUs is not a bad idea at all.

Don’t Buy Too Much RAM

RAM is pretty expensive and you do not want to waste money on components that are not going to affect gaming performance dramatically. If you are interested in playing modern games then 8 GB is plenty.

The same is the case for Apex Legends as well but you can go with 16 GB of RAM for ideal performance. If you are only interested in gaming then 16 GB should be the maximum limit. Installing any more RAM would be a waste of money and you can invest that money in some other part of your gaming rig.

Overclocking

Graphics cards, CPUs and RAM can be overclocked to provide additional performance as compared to the stock frequencies. K-series SKUs, like the one that we have included for this build come with unlocked multipliers which allow overclocking. To overclock a CPU, you need to have a motherboard that supports the feature. These motherboards are usually the Z series boards and that is why we have included one from Asus for this Apex Legends custom PC build.

K-series SKUs do not come with stock coolers and you will need to get a third-party cooling solution. The CPUs can be cooled with an air cooler or liquid cooling, depending on your budget and preferences. For this build, we have included an air cooler that is effective for cooling your CPU even if you are overclocking but it is not overly expensive like some liquid cooling solutions that are available on the market.

Overclocking a CPU is much easier than it once was, all you need to do is turn a slider all the way up but it does mean that it will consume more power and that your system might become unstable. This is something that you need to keep in mind. You should overclock in small increments in order to ensure that your system is stable.

GPU overclocking works in the same way. Most modern graphics cards can be overclocked out of the box. In doing so you can get some additional performance for your money. Remember that in doing so you might get better FPS but the graphics card will also consume more power and will dissipate more heat as well. This can even mean that your graphics card will not last as long as it would on the stock frequencies. Using your graphics card every day while it is overclocked will degrade your hardware.

Ports Come In Handy

You need ports to connect a keyboard, mouse, external HDD and other peripherals and accessories that you use. Front I/O comes in handy when you need to use a USB or external HDD. To be on the safe side you should look for USB 3.1 Gen 2 and USB-C ports so that you do not need to change your motherboard in the near future. Make sure that your case also has the respective front ports and does not bottleneck your motherboard.

There are some of the things that you need to keep in mind when building a PC for playing Apex Legends. We have included the parts that we think you should pick as well. I hope that you have found what you are looking for and will have a great time playing Apex Legends on your custom gaming PC.

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Best Laptop for Apex Legends of 2020

Mike Jones — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 07:05:27 +0000

While playing Apex Legends on PC is the way to go for most people, there are a couple of players that would rather do so on a gaming laptop due to the portability.

You can take a laptop wherever you go and other kinds of work can be done as well. Nowadays laptops are fast enough to run modern games and you should take advantage of that.

If you are in the market for a new laptop and are interested in gaming, then you have come to the right place. Here we are going to look into the best laptop for Apex Legends available right now.

When you’re getting a gaming laptop, consider what you actually need it for and how you’re going to use it. Start with what type of games you’re going to play (look at the recommended requirements) and work from there. With the laptops mentioned here below, you’ll beat these easily for a smooth and high FPS gaming experience.

Best Overall

Acer Predator Helios 300

Great Pick

Acer Aspire 7

Runner Up

MSI GV62

Buying a laptop for gaming can be quite complicated because there are so many hardware and specifications to choose from. Not only that, the machine has to have enough performance for today’s modern games. Our article is all about finding some of the most optimal laptops for playing games like Apex Legends. We have compiled a list of some excellent choices for you.

Let’s take a look at them.

Top Rated Gaming Laptops for Apex Legends

The following are all the gaming laptops that we are going to talk about here and some of their specifications that you might be interested in learning about at a glance.

You’ll find a more in-depth review of every gaming rig further down this article. This comparison table consists of our absolute top rated picks after having a look at most rebuilt gaming PCs available.

Laptop	CPU	GPU	RAM
Acer Predator Helios 300	Intel i7-8750H	Nvidia GTX 1060	16GB DDR4	Check Price
Acer Aspire 7	Intel i7-8750H	Nvidia GTX 1050Ti	8GB DDR4	Check Price
MSI GV62	Intel i7-8750H	Nvidia GTX 1050Ti	8GB DDR4	Check Price
Dell Gaming Laptop	Intel i5-7300HQ	Nvidia GTX 1060	8GB DDR4	Check Price
Razer Blade	Intel i7-7700HQ	Nvidia GTX 1060	16GB DDR4	Check Price
ASUS ROG Strix Hero II	Intel i7-8750H	Nvidia GTX 1060	16GB DDR4	Check Price
OMEN by HP	Intel i5-8300H	Nvidia GTX 1050Ti	12GB DDR4	Check Price

The Best Laptops for Apex Legends of 2020

1. Acer Predator Helios 300 – Best Laptop for Apex Legends

Predator is the gaming brand from Acer and here we have the Helios 300 which is a mid-range laptop that offers ample power if you are interested in playing Apex Legends. The laptop comes with an Nvidia GTX 1060 which is the most popular card in the Pascal series and is ideal for playing pretty much any game at 1080p. With the GTX 1060, you will be able to play Apex Legends with pretty much all settings turned up to max at 60 FPS.

Acer Predator Helios 300

The Acer Predator Helios 300 gaming laptop is an impressive machine that can deliver performance close to that of a similar spec gaming PC. It is lighter than it looks and the keyboard feels great. The laptop has a premium feel which is something that you expect to get when you are paying this much for a gaming laptop. If you are interested in playing Apex Legends at 1080p then this is an option that is worth looking into.

The laptop screen has a 144 Hz refresh rate so you can game at 144 FPS if that is what you are interested in. Higher refresh rates translate into smoother gaming experience which is something that you need to see for yourself in order to experience the difference. You also have the Intel i7-8750H CPU which has 6 cores and 12 threads. The extra cores will come in handy if you are multitasking or are interested in content creation as well.

This is a fairly powerful device and can be used for multiple applications other than gaming. For storage, you have a 256 GB SSD and there is an extra slot in which you can install an additional SSD or HDD. You also get 16 GB of DDR4 RAM that runs at 2666 MHz. The PredatorSense gaming control panel can be used to customize and tweak different features and settings. All things considered, this is a great product for the price and offer decent performance.

Here is what you need to know about the Acer Predator Helios 300 gaming laptop.

Pros

Near desktop performance
Great non-mechanical keyboard
Lighter than you might imagine
Premium feel
Impressive display

Cons

2. Acer Aspire 7 – Casual Gaming Laptop for Apex Legends

The Acer Aspire 7 has similar specs compared to the MSI laptop that we have talked about. It comes with the 6-Core i7-8750H CPU, GTX 1050Ti 4GB graphics card and 8GB DDR4 memory. For storage, you have a 128 GB SSD and a 1 TB HDD for mass storage. The laptop also comes with a fingerprint scanner for easy access and you have a copy of Windows 10 installed with the device.

Acer Aspire 7

The Acer Aspire 7 is an impressive little machine that offers great value for money. This is a very subtle laptop and that is why it can blend into an office environment very easily but you can get to gaming in your free time as well. If you are looking for a subtle gaming machine then you have it right here.

The device comes in Black and is very subtle. It does not look like a gaming machine at all but do not let that fool you. The GTX 1050 Ti will run Apex Legends just fine at 1080p 60 FPS but you might need to turn down a few settings.

All things considered, this is an impressive device for the price and if you are looking for something that is subtle but allows you to play some games then this is something that you can look into.

Here is what you need to know about the Acer Aspire 7.

Pros

Cons

3. MSI GV62 – Budget Apex Legends Laptop

MSI is known for introducing some really great gaming products and here we have the GV62 laptop. The device has a Black and Red look which will sit well with most gamers. Other than that, this is a relatively entry-level gaming machine and while you do get a decent CPU, it is paired with the Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti graphics card. This is not a bad card and will run Apex Legends just fine at 1080p 60 FPS but you might need to turn down a few settings.

MSI GV62

The MSI GV62 is a great gaming laptop for the price. While it might not be the most powerful gaming laptop, it can handle games such as Apex Legends. If that is what you are interested in playing then this is a budget laptop that you should look into.

The laptop is priced accordingly and costs lower than some other models that we have on this list. You also have the Intel i7-8750H CPU which has 6 cores and 12 threads. The extra cores will come in handy if you are multitasking or are interested in content creation as well.

Other than that, you get 8 GB of RAM which is recommended for gaming and for storage you have a 128 GB SSD for your boot drive and a 1 TB HDD for mass storage. The keyboard is backlit so gaming in the dark will not be an issue. There is a model that comes with the RTX 2060 but you will need to pay a lot more for that. All things considered, this is an impressive machine and can deliver a decent amount of power which is ample if you are interested in playing Apex Legends.

Here is what you need to know about the MSI GV62.

Pros

Cons

4. Dell Gaming Laptop

Dell is very well-known in the gaming space and while the company has a dedicated gaming brand by the name of Alienware, here we have a gaming laptop from Dell that has decent specifications and is priced like a mid-range laptop. The CPU is an older one and you get the Intel Core i5-7300HQ that has 4 cores but it is still more than capable of running Apex Legends at 1080p 60 FPS and even higher.

If you are interested in playing Apex Legends. The laptop comes with an Nvidia GTX 1060 which is the most popular card in the Pascal series and is ideal for playing pretty much any game at 1080p. With the GTX 1060, you will be able to play Apex Legends with pretty much all settings turned up to max at 60 FPS.

Dell Gaming Laptop

This Dell gaming laptop has a subtle design and does not look like other gaming laptops. This means that you can take it to work with you and not have anyone notice that it is a gaming machine. Other than that, it is great value for money and the performance is decent as well. If you are looking for a subtle gaming machine that you can take to work then this is an option that you can look into.

For storage, you have a 128 GB SSD coupled with a 1 TB HDD for mass storage. This should be enough for fast boot times and loading speeds as well as most of your games. The laptop has an IPS display which means better color accuracy even though the response time might be a bit higher.

While the laptop comes with 8 GB of RAM as standard, it is upgradeable and can be upgraded to 32 GB. This is something that can come in handy down the line. All in all, this is an impressive product is you can live with the relatively older design.

Here is what you need to know about the Dell gaming laptop.

Pros

Amazing performance for the price
Max-Q technology
15-20% slower than the full-sized desktop version
60 watts
m.2 boot
Subtle design

Cons

5. Razer Blade Gaming Laptop

Razer is known for making some impressive premium gaming products and here we have the Razer Blade that Is a thin and light gaming laptop that the company makes. This model comes with the Intel i7 7700HQ CPU with 4 cores which is great for gaming. The CPU has a base clock speed of 2.8 GHz and can boost to 3.8 GHz. On the graphics side, it has the GTX 1060 graphics card.

Razer Blade

The Razer Blade is a premium device and costs a lot of money but a lot of hardware has been crammed into this small form factor. The metal body feels great but you can see fingerprints on it after use. If you want the best of the best then this is something that you should look into.

The laptop comes with a 1080p display and the graphics card is more than capable of running Apex Legends at this resolution at 60 FPS. The thin and light compact laptop comes with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of fast SSD storage. This device is VR read and comes with all kinds of features such as Razer Chroma RGB lighting.

This is a lot of power for such a compact, thin and light device but all this performance does come at a cost and the Razer Blade is a very premium device. You can get similar hardware from other brands at a much cheaper price but not in the same form factor and that is what Razer is charging you extra for.

Here is what you need to know about the Razer Blade.

Pros

Cons

6. ASUS ROG Strix Hero II

Asus has made a name for itself in the gaming space and that is because of the premium and quality products that it has to offer. Here we have the ROG Strix Hero II gaming laptop which is a beast when it comes to gaming. The laptop comes with a 1080p 144Hz display and the hardware that can run games like Apex Legends at the high refresh rate.

ASUS ROG Strix Hero II

The ASUS ROG Strix Hero II is a great gaming laptop that has an impressive design and build quality. If you are looking for a laptop that not only performs well but looks good too then this is an option that you should consider.

The CPU is the Intel i7 8750H which is something that is pretty coming in gaming laptops these games and is a part of most of the gaming laptops that we have covered on this list. You also get 16 GB of DDR4 RAM and for storage, you have a 256 GB PCIe SSD for fast boot times and quicker loading in games and for mass storage you have the 1 TB HDD. The laptop is VR ready and comes with a copy of Windows 10.

The keyboard has RGB lighting and you also have an RGB strip on the front of the laptop. The design keeps gamers in mind and while there is a bit of a chin, the bezels are very thin indeed. If you are a gamer and can spend a bit more on a branded gaming laptop then this is a great option to keep in mind.

Here is what you need to know about the ASUS ROG Strix Hero II.

Pros

Cons

7. OMEN by HP Gaming Laptop

Omen is the gaming brand from HP and here we have an Omen gaming laptop. From the first look, you can see the unique design that sets it apart from all the other products that we have looked into. While there is a bit of a chin on the bottom, the bezels are fairly thin. The power is decent as well.

OMEN by HP

The Omen laptop is an impressive device with a unique design. The hardware is decent and the price is lower than some of the other options that we have looked into. If you are interested in playing Apex Legends then this is an option that you can look into.

The GTX 1050 Ti will run Apex Legends just fine at 1080p 60 FPS but you might need to turn down a few settings. The CPU can keep up with the graphics card as well. It comes with the Intel i5-8300H processor which is not the best processor in the series but will get the job done. All this also means that the Omen laptop is not as expensive as other options that we have looked into.

The laptop has a Black and Red theme which looks great. It also comes with 12 GB of RAM which is great for gaming and will ensure that Chrome does not slow down your laptop. Other than that, you also have a 128 GB SSD for quick booting and a 1 TB HDD for mass storage. The battery life is not that great when gaming but then again the same can be said about all gaming laptops.

Here is what you need to know about the Omen laptop.

Pros

Cons

Apex Legends System Requirements

The system requirements for Apex Legends are as follows:

Minimum Requirements

The following are the minimum specifications that you will need in order to run Apex Legends:

OS: 64-bit Windows 7
CPU: Intel Core i3-6300 3.8GHz / AMD FX-4350 4.2 GHz Quad-Core Processor
RAM: 6GB
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GT 640 / Radeon HD 7730
GPU RAM: 1 GB
Storage: Minimum 22 GB of free space

Recommended Requirements

The following are the recommended specifications to run Apex Legends:

OS: 64-bit Windows 7
CPU: Intel i5 3570K or equivalent
RAM: 8GB
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 / AMD Radeon R9 290
GPU RAM: 8GB
Storage: Minimum 22 GB of free space

Final Words

Here we have looked into some of the best gaming laptops that are available on the market. Some models are expensive as compared to others and that is because manufacturers charge a premium for design and form factor.

The Razer Blade is the most expensive option that we can recommend and while there are even more expensive laptops on the market, they are not something that we can recommend to the masses and only meet the needs of a small segment of the whole market.

Remember that you do get what you paid for and if you are interested in making a long-term investment and are going to use this device for 3-5 years then you might as well spend a bit more and get a device that is built well and the performance will be up to the mark for the years to come.

A laptop is a major investment, especially a gaming one so saving some money might not be the way to go. We have included some relatively cheaper alternatives for people that are on a budget and are not interested in spending too much money on a gaming laptop. You should also make sure that the laptop you are getting can be upgraded down the line. If not then you should get the higher spec model and keep in mind how long you intend on using it so that the hardware does not age badly.

I hope that we have included something for you and that you now have a better understanding of the different laptops that are available on the market. I hope that you find a model that is the right fit for your needs.

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Best Computer for Apex Legends in 2020 – Prebuilt Gaming PCs

Mike Jones — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 07:20:42 +0000

Apex Legends is a very popular game that came out of nowhere and already has millions of players. It would not be surprising if you wanted to get a new gaming rig in order to play the game.

While making your own gaming PC is a great experience there are a couple of situations in which you would rather want to get a pre-built system.

It is possible that you are not confident enough to put the parts together or that you do not want to go through the hassle of doing the research, buying the parts and then building your own PC.

If that is the case then you have come to the right place. Here we are going to look into some of the best computers for Apex Legends that you can get on the market for gaming.

Best Overall

iBUYPOWER

Premium Pick

Dell Alienware

Budget Pick

CYBERPOWERPC

Buying a PC can be quite complicated because there are so many hardware and specifications to choose from. Not only that, they have to be compatible with each other. Getting a prebuilt computer does also give peace to your mind, knowing it has been built by professionals with a warranty, unlike if you built it yourself. Our article is all about finding some of the most optimal gaming PCs for playing games like Apex Legends. We have compiled a list of some excellent choices for you.

Let’s take a look at them.

Top Rated Prebuilt Gaming PCs for Apex Legends

Here are all the pre-built gaming PCs that we are going to look into here and some of their specifications that you might be interested in learning about at a glance.

Gaming PC	CPU	GPU	RAM
iBUYPOWER Gaming PC	Intel i7-8700K	Nvidia GTX 1070	16 GB DDR4	Check Price
Dell AWAUR7-7883SLV-PUS	Intel Core i7-8700	Nvidia GTX 1070	16 GB DDR4	Check Price
CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme	Intel i5-8400	Nvidia GTX 1060 3GB	8 GB DDR4	Check Price
Skytech Gaming ST-ARCH-II-001	AMD Ryzen 5 1400	GTX 1050 TI 4GB	16 GB DDR4	Check Price
CORSAIR ONE i160	Intel Core i9-9900K	Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti	32 GB DDR4	Check Price
CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Supreme	Intel i7-8700K	Nvidia GTX 1080	32 GB DDR4	Check Price
CUK Mantis Custom Gaming PC	AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	Nvidia RTX 2070	16 GB DDR4	Check Price

The Best Computer for Apex Legends in 2020

1. iBUYPOWER Gaming PC – Best Computer for Apex Legends

iBUYPOWER has made a name for itself when it comes to pre-built gaming PCs and here, we have another relatively high-end build from the company. The PC comes with an Intel i7-8700K CPU that has 6 cores and 12 threads. It also has an unlocked multiplier which means that you can overclock it in order to get even better performance out of the box.

Overclocking the CPU means that you will need decent cooling in order to keep the temperature in check. That is why the PC comes with a liquid cooler which is more than enough to keep the temperature in check if you are overclocking the CPU.

The CPU is great for gaming and content creation. If you are a YouTube and edit videos then the additional cores and threads will make rendering much quicker. The graphics card is the GTX 1070 which is an ideal card for playing Apex Legends at 1440p.

Our Pick

iBUYPOWER Gaming PC

The iBUYPOWER Gaming PC comes with decent hardware and if you are interested in playing Apex Legends at 1440p or 1080p 144 FPS then this system will be able to handle that. It is also VR ready and you can plug in a VR headset in order to play some VR games.

You can choose to go with 1440p 60 FPS or 1080p resolution at a higher frame rate. The card will be able to manage both, be sure to have a display that supports a higher refresh rate if you are interested in gaming at more than 60 FPS.

The PC also comes with 16 GB of RAM which will be able to handle pretty much any game. For storage you have a 240 GB SSD which should be used as your boot drive an in order to save a few games that you play frequently. For mass storage you also have a 1 TB HD which should be enough for other files and games.

The PC has WiFi and comes with a copy of Windows 10 out of the box. The system is also VR-ready. If you are interested in playing VR games then you can do that with this PC.

Here is what you need to know about the iBUYPOWER Gaming PC.

Read also: Top Rated Laptops under $700

Pros

Cons

2. Dell Alienware – Premium Apex Legends Gaming PC

The Alienware brand is very well-known when it comes to gaming and here, we have another pre-built option that has relatively high-end specifications. The PC comes with an Intel 8700 CPU that has 6 cores and 12 threads. These are ideal for gaming and will also help out in content creation.

Our Premium Pick

Dell Alienware

Alienware is a very well-known brand when it comes to gaming and this PC is one of the options that we can recommend if you are interested in playing Apex Legends at 1440p. The PC has plenty of power and can be used for content creation as well.

The graphics card is the GTX 1070 which is an ideal card for playing Apex Legends at 1440p. You can choose to go with 1440p 60 FPS or 1080p resolution at a higher frame rate. The card will be able to manage both, be sure to have a display that supports a higher refresh rate if you are interested in gaming at more than 60 FPS.

For RAM you get 16 GB which is more than enough for gaming and for storage you have a 256 GB SSD that is your boot drive and a 2 TB HDD which is enough for mass storage. The pre-built PC comes with an Alienware case which is something that you cannot get anywhere else. The case looks clean and has a minimalistic design which is something that plenty of gamers appreciate and prefer.

Pros

Cons

3. CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme – Budget PC for Apex Legends

CYBERPOWERPC is very well-known in the gaming market for offering some really cool pre-built systems. Here we have another option that comes with decent power and looks cool too. CYBERPOWERPC usually has exclusive cases that you cannot buy anywhere else and that is a factor that sets it apart from other companies in the same space.

The case has see-through panels on the front and side and the RGB fans look really great as the light comes through the side panels and the front panel. You can customize the lighting according to your preferences. This is a mid-range system that comes with an Intel i5-8400 CPU that has 6 cores and 6 threads which is more than enough for gaming. You can easily play Apex Legends with this CPU and you can also do a bit if content creation on the side.

Our Budget Pick

CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme

The CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme is an impressive pre-built system that is priced well. You will need to build your own PC in order to beat the price and even in that case you will not be saving much. If you are interested in playing Apex Legends at 1080p 60 FPS then this is a great option to consider.

The CPU has a base clock speed of 2.8 GHz and can boost to 4 GHz. Other than that, the CPU has a TDP of 65W so it is not too power hungry either. Talking about the graphics side of things, the system comes with an Nvidia GTX 1060 3GB. While I would prefer to have the 6 GB model this graphics card is perfectly capable of running Apex Legends at 1080p 60 FPS with most of the settings turned up to max.

For storage you have a 120 GB SSD for your boot drive. You can also install Apex Legends on the drive, in order to get faster loading times. Other than that, you also have a 1 TB HDD for mass storage. The pre-built system comes with WiFi and a copy of Windows 10 out of the box. Another factor that is worth pointing out is that the PC is VR-Ready. If you are interested in VR gaming then this PC can help out in that department as well.

Here is what you need to know about the CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme:

Pros

Cons

4. Skytech Gaming ST-ARCH-II-001

Here we have an entry-level system from Skytech. The pre-built gaming PC comes with an AMD Ryzen 5 1400 CPU that has 4 cores and 8 threads. 4 cores are recommended for gaming and that is what you are getting here. On the graphics side you have the Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti, which is an entry level graphics card but is more than capable of running Apex Legends at 1080p 60 FPS at decent settings.

Skytech Gaming ST-ARCH-II-001

The ST-ARCH-II is a reasonable gaming machine for the price. It is more than capable of running Apex Legends at 1080p 60 FPS if you do not mind turning down a few settings. This is a great option to consider if you do not have a lot of money to spend. You can upgrade the parts down the line if need be.

Apex Legends is not too intensive and that is why you do not need a lot of graphics power in order to run the game. The system also comes with 16 GB of RAM which is more than what most games use. At this price point you do not get an SSD but you do get a 1 TB HDD which is more than enough for storing a couple of games.

You can add an SSD down the line if that is something that you are interested in. The PC comes with a copy of Windows 10 Home out of the box.

Here is what you need to know about the ST-ARCH-II.

Pros

Cons

5. CORSAIR ONE i160 Gaming PC

Corsair has been in the gaming space for a while now and the company is known for bringing some very premium products to the table and this time the company has introduced a pre-built gaming PC that you can get with the top of the line specifications.

The i160 model comes with the top of the line Intel Core i9 9900K CPU that has 8 cores and 16 threads. You have enough power to play Apex Legends at 4K 60 FPS or 1440p 144 FPS. When it comes to graphics, you get the top of the line Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti graphics card that comes with 8 GB of VRAM.

CORSAIR ONE i160

The Corsair One i160 comes with the top of the line hardware that money can buy right now. If you are interested in a small form factor gaming build that has top of the line specifications and not only functions well but looks good too then this is an option that you can look into.

The graphics card is the single most powerful GPU that is available on the market right now and can play pretty much any game at 4k 60 FPS so running Apex Legends at higher resolutions or higher frame rates is not issue at all.

The i160 model comes with 32 GB of RAM which is overkill for gaming but it does give you some headroom for other tasks. If you are a developer of create content and need some power for video editing then the additional cores, threads and RAM will come in handy.

Not to mention that you can easily stream while playing video games as well. This is one of the most powerful configurations that you can buy on the market right now and you are getting all that performance in a compact size. The graphics card also supports Nvidia G-Sync, VR and HDR.

You might be thinking that all this performance comes at a cost and you would be right in thinking so. The price is a bit high but keeping in mind the parts that you are getting and the form factor in which all this is crammed into, it is not bad when it comes to value for money.

Pros

Cons

6. CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Supreme

Here we have another high-end gaming PC from CyberPowerPC but this one is relative cheaper as compared to other high-end models that we have included on this list. The case is Black and White and comes with a tempered glass side panel which is great for the RGB lighting that is inside the system.

When it comes to hardware, the PC has the Intel 8700K CPU that has 6 cores and 12 threads. This is more than what is recommended for gaming so you have some headroom for the future and you can easily run games at 1440p keeping in mind that the PC also comes with an Nvidia GTX 1080 graphics card. The CPU is overclockable and comes with a liquid cooler which will keep the temperature in check if you do decide to overclock your processor.

The GTX 1080 is still one of the best cards on the market for 1440p gaming and can handle 4K in some titles as well. It is more than enough to run Apex Legends at 4K 60 FPS if you do not mind turning some settings down.

CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Supreme

The CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Supreme Liquid Cool is a very powerful pre-built system that you should buy if you need to play games such has Apex Legends at higher refresh rates or higher resolution. The system can easily manage to run the game at 1440p 144 FPS or 4K 60 FPS.

If you are a competitive gamer then you will be more interested in higher frame rates rather than resolution and the GTX 1080 is more than capable of running Apex Legends at 1440p 144 FPS. You can even go higher if you do not mind turning down the settings a little bit.

You get 32 GB of RAM which is great for multitasking and performing different kinds of RAM intensive tasks. You can rest assure that Chrome is not going to slow your system down even if you have multiple tabs open at the same time. The system is VR ready and comes with Windows 10 out of the box.

For Storage you have a 480 GB SSD for your operating systems and games that you play in a regular basis. Other than that, you have a 3 TB HDD for mass storage as well. The system comes with Wi-Fi, so connecting to the internet is not going to be a problem even though we recommend using an ethernet connection in order to get the best experience when gaming online.

The company provides parts and labor warranty for 1 year and you also get lifetime tech support for when things go wrong and you have an issue figuring out a solution. This is something to consider when deciding whether you should build your own PC or get one pre-built. All this does come at a cost but it can be worth it for the right person.

Pros

Cons

7. CUK Mantis Custom Gaming PC

You might not have heard about Computer Upgrade King but this PC is great value for money keeping in mind the hardware that you are getting and the case in which it all comes in. The case is Black and Green and has a Razer look to it. The case has some LED lighting as well and inside you have the AMD Ryzen 2700X which is the top of the line processor that AMD has to offer right now.

The AMD Ryzen 2700X comes with 8 cores and 16 threads which means that you can do a lot more than just play games on this PC. The CPU has more than enough power to support 4K gaming and you can stream your gameplay as well. On the graphics side you have the Nvidia RTX 2070 which is a great graphics card for playing games at 1440p.

CUK Mantis Gaming PC

The CUK Mantis Custom Gaming PC is a very powerful PC and impressive value for money as well. You would hardly save any money if you build the same spec PC yourself. If you are interested in playing Apex Legends at 1440p then this is a great system to consider.

If you are interested in playing Apex Legends then the RTX 2070 will be able to run the game at 4K as well. While this is not the top of the line model, it does not cost as much as you are not really losing too much performance for the price.

For the price you also get 16 GB of RAM which is ideal for most games and you are rarely going to use all of it. Other than that, you get 500 GB of SSD storage which is much better than an HDD. You can add more storage down the line if you need it. The PC comes with a keyboard and mouse but does not have WiFi which is not a deal breaker and we recommend using an ethernet cable for gaming anyways.

Here is what you need to know about the CUK Mantis Custom Gaming PC:

Pros

Cons

Apex Legends PC System Requirements

The system requirements for Apex Legends are as follows:

Minimum Requirements

The following are the minimum specifications that you will need in order to run Apex Legends:

OS: 64-bit Windows 7
CPU: Intel Core i3-6300 3.8GHz / AMD FX-4350 4.2 GHz Quad-Core Processor
RAM: 6GB
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GT 640 / Radeon HD 7730
GPU RAM: 1 GB
Storage: Minimum 22 GB of free space

Recommended Requirements

The following are the recommended specifications to run Apex Legends:

OS: 64-bit Windows 7
CPU: Intel i5 3570K or equivalent
RAM: 8GB
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 / AMD Radeon R9 290
GPU RAM: 8GB
Storage: Minimum 22 GB of free space

Final Words

Here we have looked into some of the best pre-built gaming PCs that are available on the market for gaming. If you are interested in playing Apex Legends then you can pick one of these. If you want the greatest possible performance in a small form factor then you should opt to go with the Corsair i160.

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Best Laptop for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare & Black Ops

Mike Jones — Sat, 12 Jan 2019 04:57:29 +0000

A gaming PC does offer a lot of power and is great for gaming but it does not have any mobility and you can just pick up all your gear and take it with you.

If you are on the move a lot then a gaming laptop is the way to go. Gaming laptops used to be pretty bad value for money and did not offer the same performance as PC but much has changed.

Technology has advanced to a degree where a thin and light laptop can provide similar performance to a desktop gaming PC.

Here we are going to look at some of the laptops on the market that are great for playing COD.

If all you need is a gaming laptop, then you have come to the right place as we are going to look into the best gaming laptop for Call of Duty Modern Warfare.

Best Overall

Acer Helios 300

Premium Pick

Acer Triton 700

Budget Pick

OMEN by HP

If this is your first gaming laptop then you need not worry, we are going to walk you through different parts that you need to keep in mind and by the end of this guide, you will know which laptop is most suitable for you.

What should be the aspects to consider while one is buying an ideal gaming PC? To help you find the most significant rig, we are here with a brief but complete review that might help a lot of gamers.

So, let’s start with a comparison table of our top five contenders.

Top Rated Laptops for Modern Warfare & Black Ops

Modern Warfare is a shooting game where you have to eliminate your opponents in order to win the Battle. Having a good reliable gaming mouse is crucial when it comes to competitive gaming.

The following are all the laptops that we are going to look into here and some of their specifications that you might be interested in learning about at a glance:

Laptop	CPU	GPU	RAM	Display
Acer Helios 300	Intel Core i7-7700HQ	GeForce GTX 1060	16 GB DDR4	15.6″ Full HD IPS display	Check Price
Acer Triton 700	Intel Core i7-7700HQ	GeForce GTX 1080 MAX-Q	32 GB DDR4	15.6″ Full HD IPS Display	Check Price
OMEN by HP	Intel Core i5-8300H	Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti	12 GB DDR4	15.6″ Full HD IPS display	Check Price
ASUS Strix Hero II	Intel Core i7-8750H	Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB	16GB DDR4	15.6″ Full HD IPS Display	Check Price
MSI GV62	Intel i7-8750H	Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4G	8GB DDR4	15.6″ Full HD IPS Display	Check Price

Now, it depends on the experience of a player, but a gaming laptop plays an essential part in making consistent and enjoyable game play. Your ordinary office laptop won’t do the trick because it doesn’t have enough technical features, like high-end GPU or enough of RAM memory.

How We Picked the Gaming Laptops for COD

As we all know that because of the saturation in the market, finding an ideal gaming laptop is very difficult. That’s why we have adequately tested and researched laptops on some prominent points i.e.

Great FPS count with optimized Call of Duty settings
Graphics card suitable for gaming
Reasonable budget

Now, that all things are sorted out, let’s head towards reviewing the gaming laptops for playing COD.

The Best Laptops for Call of Duty in 2020

1. Acer Predator Helios 300 Gaming Laptop

The Acer Predator series is known for unique design and impressive performance and the Helios 300 is no exception. The laptop is available in Red and Black, which is a classic gaming theme. The laptop is a bit bulky but it is still slimmer than a lot of models on the market that do not offer the same performance.

Talking about performance, you get the Intel 7700 HQ processor that has a base clock of 2.8 GHz and can boost to 3.8 GHz which is decent for a gaming laptop. You also have the Nvidia GTX 1060 6 GB which is the most popular graphics card in the Pascal series.

Our Pick

Acer Predator Helios 300

The Helios 300 is a great laptop. All things considered, you can easily play Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Backout on this laptop at 1080p 60 FPS without any kind of issue. If what you are looking for is the best value for money option then this is it.

Other than that, you have a 1080p IPS display and 16 GB of RAM which is ideal for gaming. It is safe to say that this laptop is more than capable of running modern games at 1080p 60 FPS at decent settings. You might need to tweak some settings for a few games but keeping in mind that you can game anywhere you want with the Helios 300 I think that is a fair tradeoff.

For storage, you have a 256 GB SSD which means faster boot times and quick loading times in games but there is an empty slot for a 2.5″ hard drive so you can add more storage down the line. The hardware is enough to support VR so if you have a VR headset then you can plug it in and play VR games or consume content.

While the keyboard does not have RGB features, it does come with a Red LED keyboard that goes well with the rest of the theme of the laptop. This is the best overall laptop on our list that we can recommend.

All things considered, here is what you need to know about the Acer Predator Helios 300 gaming laptop.

Pros

Great price to performance
GTX 1060 ideal for 1080p gaming
Decent cooling
Quality build
M.2 is PCIe and NVMe compatible
Free 2.5" bay for storage
Not too bulky

Cons

2. Acer Predator Triton 700

Here we have another Acer laptop, the Triton 700. This one comes at a premium but for the money, you do get a sleeker device with better graphics. The design is slim and clean which is something that all gamers can appreciate.

The laptop comes with an Intel Core i7-7700HQ Processor that can boost to 3.8 GHz which is very impressive keeping in mind how slim this laptop is. It also has the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q design graphics card. The Max-Q design is what allows the laptop to be so slim and yet powerful.

Our Premium Pick

Acer Predator Triton 700

This is no doubt one of the most powerful gaming laptops on the market right now but Acer is charging a huge premium for the slim design. If money is no object and you are looking for a thin and light gaming laptop that does not compromise on performance then this is an option worth looking into.

The Max-Q design chip is not on par with the desktop version but the difference is minimal. The plus side is that the Max-Q cards are optimized for laptops and consumes less power which is great for laptops and gaming on a battery.

The Triton 700 comes with 32 GB of DDR4 memory which is overkill and more than enough for pretty much any game but will come in handy when using other intensive applications or when multi-tasking. Here is what you need to know about the Acer Predator Triton 700 gaming laptop.

Pros

Sleek and light
Great performance
High refresh rate screen
No ghosting, No brightness hotspots
Mechanical keyboard
Impressive cooling
Variety of ports available

Cons

3. OMEN by HP Gaming Laptop

OMEN is the HP sub-brand that specializes in gaming related hardware and peripherals and this is our budget pick for people that need a decent gaming laptop. This laptop offers impressive performance for the price and you will be able to play modern games at 1080p. Online multiplayer games such as LoL or Overwatch will run well at 1080p 60 FPS.

The laptop comes with the i5-8300H that has 4 cores and can boost to 4 GHz. The graphics card is the Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti. While this is not one of the most powerful graphics cards, it is an impressive budget option and that is why the laptop is feasible for budget users as well.

Our Budget Pick

OMEN by HP

Keeping in mind what laptop manufacturers are charging this OMEN laptop is impressive value for money keeping in mind the hardware that is inside and the performance that it has to offer. The RAM can be upgraded down the line which is great for a gaming laptop but the battery life is not all that great which is expected from a gaming laptop.

While 8 GB of RAM is enough for gaming, this laptop comes with 12 GB of RAM which gives the user additional headroom for multitasking and gaming. The RAM slots can be accessed and you can upgrade the RAM down the line if you need more. For storage, you have a 128 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD and 1 TB 7200 RPM SATA HDD.

The laptop has a Red and Black theme and while there is no RGB, the keyboard has Red lighting and goes well with the rest of the theme. The keyboard is full-sized and comes with arrow keys and a number pad.

Pros

Cons

4. ASUS ROG Strix Hero II

ASUS has some great products on the market and this is another one of them. The ASUS ROG Strix Hero II might not be the slimmest gaming laptop on the market but it is sleeker than plenty of laptops out there.

The laptop comes with the Intel Core i7-8750H which can boost to 3.9 GHz. You also have the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB which is a very decent mid-range graphics card for gaming at 1080p. The screen is a 144 Hz IPS panel that will take advantage of the graphics card. One of the major selling points of this device is that the screen has really small bezels but the chin is pretty big.

ASUS ROG Strix Hero II

This is an impressive laptop comes with decent hardware for gaming at 1080p. It will be able to run pretty much any game without any problems. The price is a bit high but ASUS does charge a premium for devices like these. If you are looking for a gaming laptop that is ideal for 1080p gaming then this is one of the best options on the market.

For storage, you have the 256GB PCIe NVMe solid state drive and a 1TB HDD. The SSD is big enough to store the OS and some games that you play regularly but you will use the HDD for mass storage.

The hardware produces a lot of heat and that Is why the laptop comes with HyperCool Pro thermal system with dual 12V fans, triple radiators and heatsink to keep the internals cool under load. Here is what you need to know about the ASUS ROG Strix Hero II gaming laptop.

Pros

Beautiful unlike the first gen
No flex
RGB keyboard
Great trackpad
Impressive screen
Speaker are decent

Cons

5. MSI GV62

MSI has introduced some pretty impressive laptops and this is one of them. The laptop has the classic Red and Black theme and the keyboard also has the same theme. The Steel Series keyboard has Red lighting which is great for gaming in low light conditions.

MSI GV62

The MSI GV62 is an impressive laptop for the price and even though it does not have the best hardware on the market right now but it does have decent performance to offer. If you are looking for a decent gaming laptop on a budget then this is an impressive option to consider.

The laptop comes with the Intel Core i7-8750H CPU that has 6 cores and can boost to 4.1 GHz. This means that not only can it handle gaming but CPU intensive programs as well. This will be ideal for when you need to edit videos and pictures.

The laptop comes with The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card which is a great entry-level option. It is more than capable of running online multiplayer games at 1080p 60 FPS. While the laptop only has 8 GB of RAM it can be upgraded to 32 GB down the line. Here is what you need to know about the MSI GV62 gaming laptop.

Pros

Cons

Gaming Laptops – Buyer’s Guide

Gaming laptops come in all kinds of configurations and sizes and spending the most amount of money is not the best option. There are times when you can get better value by not spending money on the most expensive option. When in the market for a new gaming laptop there are a couple of things that you need to keep in mind. Here we are going to look into some aspects that you should consider when deciding which laptop to get.

Max-Q Vs Regular Graphics Cards

Max-Q design graphics cards allow laptops to be thinner and lighter and while they do perform slower than the desktop version the difference is minimal. The bright side is that these graphics cards are designed for laptops so they consume less power and produce less heat.

Full desktop graphics cards take a lot of space and hence the laptop is heavier and thicker. These graphics cards also produce more heat which means that better cooling solution is needed to keep the temperature in check. These graphics cards also use more power and that is why the battery can be trained much faster.

SSD Vs HDD

SSDs are faster than traditional HDDs. They are capable of delivering faster transfer speeds which result in faster booting times and reduced loading times in games. SSDs are also smaller and take less space. Another factor to keep in mind is that SSDs do not have moving parts so they are more durable.

Cooling

Components in a gaming laptop dissipate a lot of heat and that needs to be drawn out in order for it to work properly when gaming. Fans are used to move cool air in and exhaust air out. Gaming laptops can have multiple fans in order to keep the CPU and GPU cool. Heating pipes are also used to move heat away from the graphics card and the processor.

While more fans mean better cooling it also means that when the laptop is under load, it will produce more noise. This is something that you need to keep in mind. This should not be a deal breaker if you wear headphones.

Don’t Buy Too Much RAM

RAM is pretty expensive and you do not want to waste money on aspects of your build that will not do you any good. If you are interested in playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout then 8 GB is good enough but you can go with 16 GB of RAM for ideal performance. Any more than that would be a waste. More than 16 GB of RAM will not increase the performance of your system.

Size And Weight

Laptops are meant to be portable and that is why the size and weight are two things that you need to keep in mind when you are in the market for a new gaming laptop. If you find yourself on the move a lot then you will have to carry your laptop with your chances are that it will be on you. That is why lower weight is important. Better performing laptops tend to be bigger and heavier but there are exceptions.

Laptops that use the Max-Q design graphics cards tend to be much slimmer and much lighter than the competition. That adds to the portability factor. Desktop graphics cards take a lot of space and you need proper cooling to keep the temperature in check and that adds to the weight and size.

Upgradeability

Laptops have limited space and there are times when components cannot be replaced or removed. This is an important factor to keep in mind when in the market for a new gaming laptop. Some laptops have additional slots for storage and the RAM can be removed and replaced. This allows the hardware to be upgraded over time whenever such an upgrade is needed.

Other laptops come with soldered on components in which you cannot replace components. If you are interested in upgrading your device down the line then you will need to know about the upgradeability beforehand. If the components are soldered on then you will be better off choosing another option or going for the configuration that offers better specifications.

Ports Come In Handy

Other than plugging in your monitor you will need ports to connect a keyboard, mouse, external HDD and other peripherals and accessories that you might use. Front-facing ports come in handy when you need to use a USB or external HDD and other devices.

To be on the safe side getting a PC with USB 3.1 Gen 2 and USB-C ports so that you do not need to change your motherboard in the near future. Remember that not all USB Type-C ports support Thunderbolt 3 standards which is a great feature to have on a gaming laptop. Thunderbolt 3 will allow you to connect an external graphics card to the laptop whenever you need it. This can be done in order to increase the graphics power of your laptop and get better performance in games.

Final Words

Laptops nowadays are very powerful indeed and can offer performance similar to desktops and they also provide additional portability. Here we have looked into some of the best gaming laptops that are available on the market. We have included some premium options, budget option and best overall option so there is something that will suit your needs.

We have also walked you through some of the factors that you need to keep in mind when in the market for a new gaming laptop. All things considered, know that getting a gaming laptop is better value for money as compared to before but depending on the model you choose you will have to pay a premium for the portability that the device has to offer.

Remember that while you will pay an added premium for the portability factor and paying more will give you better hardware, that is not always the case and the challenge here is to find the best value for the money that you are spending.

I hope that all these details are enough for you to make an informed decision regarding the laptop that is best suited for your needs.

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