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When buying a new gaming laptop, most people get one based merely on the brand, specs, and corresponding price. Although this isn’t wrong, it isn’t the best way because, unlike a desktop, a laptop is a single unit and should be purchased more like a smartphone.
That means not just buying it based on what CPU/GPU it has, but the overall build quality, durability, cooling, display quality, audio quality, upgrade-ability, service-ability, looks, and general feeling. The laptop is something you will physically interact with every day, unlike desktops, which will mostly stay stationary under your desk (or on top of it, depending on your setup).
What to look for in a gaming laptop
While there are multiple points to consider when buying any laptop, we will list the most important ones below:
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1) CPU-GPU combo
The par for 2021 (or rather 2022) is an i5 9th gen along with a GTX 1650 (non-max q version, and preferably with Optimus disabled or with a mux switch) and with 8 GB of RAM (16 GB is preferred).
2) Display
The display should be given preference over other components since it is an integral part of our experience. A gaming laptop must possess a high refresh rate panel (120hz or above) and an FHD Display (1920*1080 at least) with preferably 300+ nits (cd/m^2) of brightness. Other required essentials are decent color accuracy (~50% NTSC is pretty good for gaming) and response time (<5ms GTG is good enough for 120hz).
3) Cooling and build quality
Many consumers skip over the value of good cooling and build quality, especially when buying budget offerings. This is imprecise because inadequate cooling (and thermal throttling) will bottleneck the laptop’s performance and damage its components over time.
It is also essential to buy a laptop with at least decent build quality as you will be physically interacting with your laptop day in and day out.
To summarize, you would be better off buying a slightly lower spec model with good cooling and build rather than a higher spec model with inadequate cooling and build quality)
4) Warranty period and customer service
Many folks forget about this aspect, and gaming laptop brands with bad service often capitalize on this by lowering their offerings and attracting more customers.
Most impressive budget gaming laptops around $1000
5) Lenovo Legion 5 ($823)
While other similarly spec-d (on paper) laptops are available at lower prices, the build quality and cooling on this laptop outclasses them all by miles. Due to the efficient cooling, the GPU comes overclocked by +50mhz, further increasing to +200mhz via Lenovo vantage.
That, coupled with the fact that it comes with Optimus disabled (the laptop display is directly connected to the Nvidia GPU), makes the GTX 1650ti perform better than a desktop 1650.
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4) Lenovo Ideapad gaming 3 ($680)
A relative of the Legion series, Lenovo’s Ideapad Gaming 3 comes with better specs at roughly the same price point, albeit at the lower build quality and average cooling.
But it’s not to be overlooked based on those facts, as it is incredible for the price, and with the beefier specs, this laptop gives tough competition to any other laptop in this segment.
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3) ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 ($1050)
Big beefy gaming laptops are nice, but some people also need portability and sleekness, along with no compromise on gaming. That’s where the G14 comes in.
Weighing in at only 1.6kg, this laptop punches way above its weight, and with its 4th gen Ryzen 7 and 1650, it can very well hold its own against the other heavyweights, be it in gaming or productivity.
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2) ASUS TUF Gaming F17 ($850)
This laptop screams “gaming” from the X-like design and the redesigned TUF logo on the back, a stunning 17.3-inch display on the front, and the full RGB fest on the keyboard. It looks and talks gaming.
Equipped with the latest 11 gen CPUs from intel and the GTX 1650ti from Nvidia, this dawg not only barks but can also bite.
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1) HP Victus 16 ($958)
The latest gaming-centric series of laptops by HP is one of the best yet. Flaunting a bigger 16.1” display upfront, this one is a stunner and is the only laptop on this list with an RTX GPU.
With decent build quality and cooling, the Victus is a beast of a laptop at this price point.
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Note: This article reflects the author’s views.
