Best Gaming Laptop Under 300
Introduction
Being a gamer on a tight budget is never fun!
Disclaimer: Limited Performance Here!
If you plan on playing newer games we’d strongly recommend investing something with dedicated graphics from our gaming laptops under $500 guide or even our gaming laptops under $1000 guide if you can afford it. A great resource for checking if your laptop could play the games you want is Notebookcheck which features benchmark tests for all the graphics cards on offer for many games. This should give you a good idea if your laptop has the performance you need.
We have compiled a list of the top contenders of the best gaming laptops under $300. The following laptops should, in most cases, run older games on medium settings and some newer games on very low graphical settings. At this price range expecting 60fps at 1080p resolutions is out of the question – however, if you are happy with great day to day performance and some light gaming restricted to only older games on the side, then read on.
You, the gamers, need a top end gaming laptop, but sometimes on a budget, as low as $300. However, you won’t need to break the bank to buy the best laptop because even budget laptops are quite capable these days. In any case, you are planning to spend $300 on your new laptop; then there are some of the most efficient laptops to get in this price range. So, which are the best gaming laptops under $300? Let’s take a look.
While gaming laptops under 300 are practically unheard of, they do exist and come packed with a wide range of supreme features for their price. Here we review the best laptops under 300, built especially for the purpose of gaming. When it comes to gaming, consoles are the top choice of buyers. However, if you wish to experience the authentic quality that a game brings to the table, laptops are the way to go. As with desktops, all the top-notch gaming laptops are configured specifically to deliver premium gaming performance. At the least, they all feature a bigger screen size (15-19 inches), with a decent resolution and long battery life. Additionally, they are powered by a third-generation Intel Core processor.
What is the best laptop under $300?
Comparing the ten laptops we reviewed, the Acer Aspire Slim 5 takes top spot in our list. The basis of this decision is its high price-performance ratio, its superb display, and good battery life. You’ll be able to have a great gaming experience with all these features. All laptops, except the ASUS VivoBook , listed above gaming laptops under 300 and each one has its special features which make them among the best gaming laptops that you can find within the $300 price range. Note that all of the mentioned laptops carry well known and reputable brand names like HP, Dell, ASUS and Lenovo, so no matter how cheap the laptops are, quality will not be compromised with.
Some of the well known names in the industry, whether we are talking about gaming laptops or just laptops in general are HP, Dell, Apple, ASUS, Lenovo and Microsoft among others. While we could not find any best budget gaming laptop from Apple or Microsoft, the other brands have made it to our list today. Dell is one of the best brands currently followed by HP and the others. You may want to also look at the different specs and features when choosing your laptop because your favorite brand may not have exactly what you are looking for.
What cheap laptops are good for gaming?
We cannot pick one out of the above good laptops for gaming under 300 because each model has something unique to offer and it is really up to you as a user to select the one which best suits your preference. If you like small screens and slim frames then the ASUS VivoBook is great, if you are looking for something with a lot of storage then the Lenovo Ideapad 320 will give you 1TB worth of storage space. Or if you want to go for the models with the best customer reviews on Amazon then you can check out the HP 15.6 Inch Premium Laptop or the Lenovo Ideapad 110.
TheLenovo Legion Y545 is currently our top overall pick for best cheap gaming laptop. Powered by a Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti GPU and an Intel Core i7 CPU, the Y545 delivers solid gaming and overall performance without putting a hurting on your wallet. We’re also fans of Lenovo’s understated design, which can transition from work to play with minimal effort.
Looking for extreme endurance? Then you should check out the Dell G3 15 laptop which lasted over 6 hours on our battery test. The latest refresh of the system, this new laptop offers powerful performance on the gaming front. And best of all, it comes with Alienware Command Center, so you can customize several features of the laptop. Speaking of Dell, check our our exclusive review of the recently refreshed Dell G5 15 SE. Although the all AMD gaming laptop is currently $1,199, we’re expecting a price drop in the near future. We’re excited about this system as it delivered stellar overall performance and battery life as well as solid gaming performance
What is the cheapest laptop ever?
Buyer’s Guide
We have whipped up this handy-dandy guide to give you all the essential ins and outs of your prospective machine before you hit the buy button. From advice on choosing between HDDs and SSDs to insider scoops on where to find the best prices on gaming laptops. Here are the essential tips for finding the right gaming notebook for you.
- Pick the GPU that Best Suits Your Needs
Without getting too technical, here’s the skinny about GPUs: They accelerate your machine’s creation of images. Because games pump out a metric ton of images, getting a laptop with a dedicated GPU is important. We recommend most gamers consider a laptop armed with a GTX 1060, which offers more than enough horsepower to handle modern AAA games like Control and Devil May Cry 5 at a price that won’t force you to sell a kidney. Weaker but cheaper, GTX 1050-equipped laptops can be a solid option as well.
If you’re only interested in playing indie, visually minimalistic or older (i.e., Xbox 360-era) games, you’ll probably be able to scrape by with a low-end integrated graphics card like the UHD 620. On the flip side of that, if you’re feeling like J. Paul Getty and have all the money in the world, you might want to check out machines with the RTX 2080, the GPU currently at the top of the geek pyramid. The 2080 is a monster, built to handle 4K resolutions, ultra graphics settings and fancy features like real-time ray tracing at 60+ frames per second.
The Brains of the Operation – RAM and CPU
Your CPU handles a lot of game-related calculations, like physics and AI. Therefore, you’ll need a great CPU to match your GPU, because if either component is weak, it’ll bottleneck the other one and stymie performance. In general, bigger numbers mean better performance with CPUs, so if you can afford to get an Intel Core i7 CPU over a Core i5, go for it. Core i3s aren’t going to play nice with flashy modern games, so avoid those. Every CPU has a clock speed, and again, bigger numbers are better. A processor with a 3.3-GHz clock speed will outperform one that reaches 2.2 GHz. As for the number of CPU cores, aim for quad-core or above, since dual-cores aren’t as capable in gaming. Regarding RAM, make sure your prospective laptop has at least 8GB, since 4GB won’t be enough for most major games.
SSD vs. HDD: Who wins?
The only thing you need to know about SSDs and HDDs is that SSDs are generally a bit more expensive and can load your games way faster than HDDs. If you can find a laptop in your price range with an SSD, aim for that. If the laptops you’re ogling have only HDDs, it’s not the end of the world; things will just be a bit slower. Either way, make sure your prospective laptop packs at least 1TB of storage (1,024 gigabytes), because game installations are getting fatter by the day. Seriously, Rainbow Six Siege sucks up over 70 gigabytes by itself.
Size matters
If you’re looking to game on the go, get a laptop that’s backpack-friendly. Look for a screen size of 14 inches or less for maximum portability. Also check the weight, because lugging around laptops weighing over 5 pounds can be a chore. Razer has some hot-off-the-press thin-and-tiny gaming laptops if you’re in the market for mobility. Alternatively, if you don’t plan to move your laptop around much, by all means, get a 10-plus-pound, 15.6-inch or 17.3-inch foldable gaming tank like the aptly named MSI GT75 Titan. The main benefit of this kind of laptop, beyond just the bigger screen, is that it will tend to come with much stronger hardware. And with that extra muscle, you can game with unlimited power (Palpatine, 2005).
Display your way
Read reviews on which laptops have the richest, most vibrant displays if that’s a big deal to you. And remember you’ll likely be getting a 1080p screen if you don’t plan on shelling out more than $1,500 to reach the 4K price zone. Touch screens also increase costs, but they aren’t necessary for lots of people, so avoid models with those screens if you want to save cash. Keep an eye out for laptops that support Nvidia G-Sync or AMD FreeSync, both of which mitigate the screen tearing that happens when your computer produces images at a rate that’s out of sync with your display’s refresh rate. G-Sync and FreeSync aren’t must-have technologies, but they are useful if you want to avoid potential distortions on your screen when playing games.
Be careful about brands
The big-name gaming-laptop brands all charge a premium for laptops with their logos, so be wary of spending more for less just because a manufacturer is popular. It’s not hard to find some very solid gaming laptops for under $1,000, as long as you can live without a cute Alienware symbol on the shell of your machine. For instance, Acer offers a good value with its GTX 1650-equipped Nitro 5, and Asus also provides a respectable budget selection. With that said, costly brands like Alienware, Razer and MSI do offer some unique products at the highest echelons of laptop gaming. So, consider those brands if you’re looking for maximum power and flashiness and want to draw out any robbers in a 50-mile radius.
Get a Bark as Loud as the Bite
The sound is just as important as the visuals when it comes to gaming. Yes, you probably have a headset that you’ll use most of the time. But sometimes you just want to let your laptop’s speakers work. The MSI-exclusive, Nahimic audio software is one of our favorites since it offers some of the best surround sound in both headphones and speakers. It also provides several handy presets, Bass Boost and Voice Clarification software. Alienware’s Dell Audio software is a close second, while Dolby Home Theater v4, available in Lenovo notebooks, rounds out our top three.
Bottom Line
A beautiful design, great display, incredibly fast wireless connections, and superb battery life features are what make the Acer Chromebook 15 exceptional when compared with other Chromebook products available in the market. Despite downsides found in its keyboard layout and absence of dedicated video output, it is a fast and smart machine that delivers remarkable value. Try and consider your gaming needs before buying a laptop on a budget. If you are in search of a light to medium gaming, try laptops with Windows OS with at least 4GB RAM and ample memory space to spare. For faster and more android reliable gaming, try Chromebooks. They are quite quick and have free online storage facilities.
Conclusion
If you are looking for gaming laptops under 300 that provide smooth gameplay of most of the older games, without sacrificing your paycheck, then all the aforementioned gaming laptops under 300 fit the bill. For their price, they come packed with an incredible assortment of features that allow you to enjoy both work and play in equal measure. These cheap laptops are portable and provide consistent use before draining up on juice. So whether you want to compete in Torchlight or play older titles like Team Fortress 2, they’ve got you covered!