Bad news! Buying a cheap gaming laptop is not as easy as finding what you think you need online and ordering a delivery of the same. If you do that, you could end up with a cheap laptop that does not meet all of your needs. But here is the good news. Here, you will get 7 tested, tried and proven tips for how to buy a cheap gaming laptop. Did we just use cheap and gaming in the same sentence? Maybe you feel it is oxymoronic, but it is not. Indeed, it is possible to get a cheap gaming laptop!
Here are the tips to bear in mind:
Set a reasonable budget
One thing that you should know about cheap gaming laptops is that what you pay for is what you get. Thus, if you pay $400 for your gaming laptop, do not expect the same specification as you would find in a $1000, or costlier laptop.
The most important thing is to look at the specifications and the features. The fewer the features that your laptop has the more it will limit you to just a few games. If you cannot afford higher specs right now, consider the option to upgrade, thereby avoiding a laptop with fixed features (more about this later). You may want to buy the best 600 dollar laptop.
Buy a former bestseller
It is only “former” because it has been manufactured years ago. However, the truth is that today, laptops do not go obsolete as they used to 10 years ago. Thus, it is quite possible to find a high performing, yet affordable gaming laptop that was manufactured even more than five years ago.
To find an excellent but older gaming laptop, just search for one by the year on Google. For example, you can search for “best gaming laptop 2012.” There, you will get all the gaming laptops that were reigning supreme at that time.
Consider the performance of the GPU over that of the CPU
In a gaming laptop, high power GPU and a lower CPU power is much better than a high power CPU with a lower GPU. The graphics-processing unit is everything in a gaming laptop!
Experts advise you to buy a laptop with a discrete graphics card rather than one with graphics that have been inbuilt in the computer. Built-in graphics processing units do not give you high performance. Instead, they prevent you from playing complex games.
Now, computers that come with GPUs like Nvidia GTX 1080 or GTX 1070 can cost a handsome amount of money, more than $1000. Thus, you may want to try your luck with a computer that runs on GTX Elite, GeFORCE RTX or lower.
Upgradeable features
This should have been number one, because it is very important. You should choose a gaming laptop that comes with room to upgrade a few things. Such include RAM or even SSD and HDD. On the same note, it should be easy for you to access the upgradeable parts.
Today, almost everything in a laptop can be upgraded. However, for speed and accessibility, look for a computer that comes with both SSD and HDD. Smaller SSD is better than no SSD at all, as it can be the home of your operating system, allowing you to access it at a flash of a moment.
More RAM is better
The recommended RAM for playing games is 16GB. Thus, find a laptop with such, and if it is hard to find one in the cheaper gaming laptops, look for one with an option to upgrade so that you can buy bigger RAM in future. You will definitely need bigger RAM.
Gaming accessories compatibility
To play computer games, you need special gaming mice. You cannot use your regular office mice. Some of the most popular gaming mice include Razer Naga Trinity, Corsair Scimitar, Logitech G600 and many more. Your cheap gaming laptop should be compatible with gaming mice.
Consider your gaming lifestyle
If you travel a lot, you need a manageable laptop. Thus, a 17-inch rig will not be good for you. You would need something that is less than 15 inches if possible, but that would be more expensive. Again, if you travel a lot and like to take your gaming with you, you should consider the battery life. Sometimes, you will not be close to a place where you can plug in. Thus, it would be better to deal with a 17-inch laptop if the battery can give 5 hours of gaming than choose a smaller one with shorter battery life.
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