![]() There are 256GB SSDs out there, and that's not ideal. It's not ideal, but it's doable, especially if you can add more latter (see below). Those might not all be possible in a sub-$1,000 notebook.Īt this price range, expect 8GB of RAM, except for the best, rare deals. Typically, I would suggest a gamer get at least a Core i5 or Ryzen 5, at least 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM, as well as a 1080p display. On the other, you want to ensure that your laptop lasts you as long as possible. The Trade-Offs You'll Make, and Spec Recommendations But I've seen them on Amazon, Newegg, Best Buy and more. Here's an image from Best Buy of a $750 gaming notebook: Still, note that you may have to dig to know what you're getting. But if you have a Best Buy gift card, Amazon credit, or simply think you can find a better deal elsewhere, there's no harm in looking. So we've determined that most laptop manufacturers make it easy to know what you get. The RTX cards have DLSS support, though, which can help you upscale games at lower resolutions. If you see a GTX 1660 Ti with its 6GB of memory, that may end up being faster in some titles, especially those with lots of effects. That being said, the RTX 3050 has 4GB of RAM, similar to the GTX 1650. The low-end GPUs are the fastest to struggle with games, so something more recent is worth it in the long run. If you can swing it, I highly recommend sticking to the newer Nvidia RTX 3050 (or RTX 3050 Ti if you find a good deal). There are older GPUs out there in the form of Nvidia's GTX 1650 and GTX 1660 Ti. But if you buy something that old, you may be replacing your laptop sooner, and spending more money in the long run. Vendors, especially third party sellers on Amazon and Newegg might drop to around $600 for those, and I could understand why a buyer might consider them. There are laptops that are still on the market with Intel's 10th Gen CPUs (I've noticed that to be slightly a lesser problem for AMD machines, but 3rd Gen Ryzen is out there). That's a quality of life difference that I think makes up for one year of processor generation gains.īut be reasonable. The 16GB of RAM will keep your system relevant longer, and 512GB of storage can hold way more games (or even just a game. That's a point where I would say to go for something older. I later saw a version for a similar price with an 11th Gen processor, the same GPU, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage (that's seemingly gone for now - clearly others thought it was a deal). For instance, I saw a Dell G5 15 with a 12th Gen Intel Core i5, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050, 8GB of RAM and 256GB for for $899. The laptops with 11th Gen Intel processors are often starting at lower prices from manufacturers (at least, until you bump from the lowest specs). Recently, I found a few deals that I would recommend to people despite the fact that they had last year's chips. There are a few times to consider getting a cheap gaming laptop with a last-gen CPU, though you should get the most recent GPU you can afford. Which would you rather get? When to Get Something Old (But Not Too Old) Sometimes there can be two laptops with similar prices, but one has last year's chips, or worse, even older. ![]() Both OEMs and stores sell laptops with older chips at a discount. In my experience, if there's a limited number of chips to go around (say, in some kind of chip shortage) I've found a wider variety of configurations in vendor stores than in large retail outlets.īeing able to find the newest stuff and sorting it is important. There's another reason to go to a vendor over another store. (You can, of course, always use these sites as homework to buy from major retailers, assuming you can find what you're looking for at those stores.) HP and Lenovo may not be as exact in filtering, but still use exact CPU model names or generations in the listing, leaving no reason for confusion. If these vendors have 12th Gen Intel or AMD Ryzen 6000, which are the latest CPUs on the market, I've found it is easier to tell on their sites than on stores like Amazon, Best Buy or Newegg (more on that below).ĭell, for example, lets you sort not just by processor, but by processor generation, letting you look for the latest. This tip really works for those who sell their own laptops, like Alienware and Dell, Lenovo, HP and Acer. If you want to see the latest availability in the plainest terms, consider going straight to the manufacturer. ![]() Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.
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