Getting a gaming laptop used to mean having to spend north of $1000 but luckily that is no longer the case.
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.
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 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
- Gamer design
- Decent battery life
- Backlit keyboard
- Impressive value for money
Cons
- Fans can get loud under load
- Included HDD is slow
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
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
- No USB Type-C port
- Trackpad could be better
- Large bezels around the screen
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
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
- No USB Type-C port
- Fingerprint magnet
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.
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
- Impressive value for money
- Great performance
- Upgradable
- Fast Storage
Cons
- A lot of bloatware is installed
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.
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 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.
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
- Amazing keyboard for typing and gaming
- Fast boot times
- Impressive gaming performance
- Controllable fans
Cons
- Fingerprint magnet
- Trackpad could be better
- Battery life is minimal
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.
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
- Impressive gaming performance
- Great value for money
- Great value for money
Cons
- Some models have fan issues
- Screen is dim
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.
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
- Impressive value for money
- Great keyboard and trackpad
- Solid metallic feel
- Decent battery life
- Sharp screen
Cons
- Automatic brightness adjustment is irritating
- Speakers are at the bottom
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.
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
- Included HDD is slow
- IPower button is next to delete key
- Caps lock does not have LED indicator
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.
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
- 4GB RAM is limiting
- Limited ports
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.
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
- Aluminum body
- Thin and light
- Fingerprint scanner
- Effective cooling solution
- Impressive keyboard and trackpad
Cons
- No caps lock or num lock light
- Fans can get too noisy at times
- Comes with Norton
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.
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.
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.
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