Cheap gaming laptops 2017 In today’s post, we will bring an important list featuring budget gaming laptops available in 2017
Do you like playing on your laptop? If the answer is yes you will probably enjoy our review of the best cheap gaming laptops available in 2017, explaining the pros and cons of each model.
Finding the exact point between processing power and budget is quite difficult, as budget models normally do not provide the power gamers usually need. In this post however, We will list inexpensive quad core gaming laptops that are extremely powerful, yet affordable.
Cheap Games Laptop 2017: Main Specs
Check this table below featuring the main hardware specs of the budget gaming laptops reviewed in this post.
| Model | Screen Size | Processor | RAM | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Acer Aspire VX 15 Gaming Laptop | 15.6 Full HD | i7-7700HQ | 16 GB | Check on Amazon.com |
 | Eluktronics N850HK1 | 15.6 Full HD | i7-7700HQ | 16 GB | Check on Amazon.com |
 | ASUS ROG GL553VD | 15.6 Full HD | i7-7700HQ | 16 GB | Check on Amazon.com |
 | Dell Inspiron 15.6" i5577-7359BLK-PUS | 15.6 Full HD | i7-7700HQ | 8 GB | Check on Amazon.com |
 | MSI GL62 7QF-1660 | 15.6 Full HD | i7-7700HQ | 8 GB | Check on Amazon.com |
Now that we have some models to review, let’s analyze what to consider when choosing a reliable budget gaming laptop.
Important Hardware Components in a Gaming Laptop
Before we review each inexpensive gaming laptops individually there are some important elements that you should consider. During your research to find the ideal gaming laptop, it is important to filter devices that match a certain criteria.
This criteria will guarantee that you will be able to run all games you need to, with good graphics settings.
Let’s analyse these hardware aspects briefly, one by one:
Processor
If you are looking for a powerful gaming laptop in 2017, I would only recommend buying laptops with Intel quad core processor from the 6th or 7th (Skylake or Kaby Lake) generation of chips. They are ideal in terms of benchmark to handle heavy processing tasks that most recent heavy games require.
You might still be able to find some affordable devices with decent benchmark using dual core Kaby Lake processor or quad core Broadwell chips (5th generation). However, if you plan to game often, and run the most recent titles, I would only recommend Skylake and Kaby Lake quad core processor.
If you have doubts whether a given processor is a dual or quad core, you can easily check it on the Intel website. They have comprehensive data featuring each processor and all of its specs.
For those considering budget laptops from the Skylake generation, I would recommend those using the i5-6300HQ processor, or the i7-6700HQ processor. The i7-6700HQ is quite popular and has a significantly higher benchmark than the i5-6300HQ.
If you want to buy a laptop with a chip from the 7th generation of Intel processors, you have basically two affordable quad core options. The i5-7300HQ and the i7-7700HQ are your best bets. The i7-7700HQ is probably the most popular quad core processor on the market this year, and it is pretty awesome.
There are many other Kaby Lake chips which may quad core or dual cores. There are other awesome quad core chips, however, they tend do be present in expensive gaming laptops. Dual core Kaby Lake chips can be found in affordable laptops, however, they are not optimal for gaming.
Graphics Card
The video card is another crucial point when it comes to gaming. You will obviously need a dedicated video card to run games with complex graphics, but that’s not everything. Apart from being a dedicated video card, it must be a powerful one.
The good news is that there are a lot of pretty decent and cheap dedicated video cards powering the model in our list of cheap gaming laptops. Most gaming laptops run with dedicated NVIDIA cards. From our list, we picked models featuring the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M or superior.
There are two NVIDIA series to be considered here, one of the GeForce 900 series, and the other is the GeForce 10 series for laptops. As mentioned above, the minimum benchmark threshold here is the GTX 950M. While the 950M itself is not notably amazing, almost all video cards superior to it will run games good, with results ranging from decent to awesome.
If possible, try to pick up a laptop featuring a GeForce 1050. This is the most affordable dedicated video card from the GeForce 10 series for laptops, and has a quite high benchmark.
Display and Resolution
While display and resolution may seem an easy pick for gaming laptops, it’s important to make the right choice. After all, no one wants to play an amazing game on a small screen with poor resolution.
There are some pretty good gaming laptops, with screen sizes under 15 inches, however, I would recommend this size for gaming. Most gaming laptops are in fact 15 inchers, especially the cheapest gaming laptops.
You may also find eventual options among 17 inch models, but if they are quad cores, the price is probably also above what one can consider inexpensive.
Resolution is another thing to consider, however this one is pretty simple. Good gaming laptops have Full HD resolution, and most cheap gaming laptops in this laptop fall in this category. There are also UHD gaming laptops, however, I still do not consider necessary to buy an UHD even if you are a pro gamer.
RAM and Storage
Now let’s analyze two key factors, which should not be overlooked: RAM and storage. These two factors have a great influence on your gaming performance, especially the amount of RAM and the type of storage it uses.
The more RAM the merrier. 8 GB is the very minimum for a gaming laptop, but with 16 GB you will have much better conditions to play games in ultra high settings. However it is quite easy and inexpensive to upgrade the RAM on your laptop (when its possible).
Make sure you prioritize gaming laptops using DDR4 RAM, which is considerably faster than the DDR3 technology.
When it comes to storage, hybrid storage (HDD + SSD) is the best way to access data quickly (with the SSD) and to be able to store as much data as you need without worrying about space (HDD).
If hybrid storage is not available, a gamer should prioritize laptops using solid state drives. SSDs are much faster than HDDs and make a huge different when booting or loading games for example.
List of Cheap Gaming Laptops 2017
Before getting to the list itself, one should bear in mind that high-end gaming laptops aren’t necessarily inexpensive. In this list I tried to select the most affordable laptops which have a great hardware setup.
The laptops in this list mostly fit to the hardware criteria mentioned above. If you need to prioritize only one aspect to choose a gaming laptop, make sure it has a powerful quad core processor.
So let’s start with this list of our best cheap gaming laptops, trying to find the perfect balance between power and budget:
- Acer Aspire VX 15 Gaming Laptop
- Eluktronics N850HK1
- ASUS ROG Strix GL553VD
- Dell Inspiron 15.6″ i5577-7359BLK-PUS
- MSI GL62 7QF-1660
Acer Aspire VX 15 Gaming Laptop, 15.6 Full HD, 7th Gen Intel Core i7, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, 16GB DDR4, 256GB SSD, VX5-591G-75RM
The Acer VX5-591G-75RM is part of the Aspire VX 15 series, and definitely deserves a place among the best cheap gaming laptops this year. The Aspire VX 15 is an excellent gaming series, and sits slightly below the Acer Predator, the highest end series of Acer gaming devices.
To start with its design, the Acer VX 15 will certainly be very appealing to gamers. In my personal opinion, the chassis design is even more beautiful than those used on Acer Predator laptops. They share even some similarities, with a mostly black chassis with details in red.
Acer Aspire VX 15 VX5-591G-75RM: Processor and Video Card
One of the main highlights regarding this laptop, is its powerful CPU and GPU combination. It features a processor from the seventh generation of Intel chips, and modern GPU from the GeForce 10 series.
The i7-7700HQ powers this laptop is one of the most powerful quad core processors presently available for laptops. It uses the hyper-threading technology to deliver optimal performance for gaming and complex tasks. You can read more about this processor in this post.
The video card in this Acer gaming laptop is also pretty excellent in terms of performance. Part of the NVIDIA GeForce 10 series, the GTX 1050 Ti is pretty reliable, and ideal for running complex games with great graphic settings. You can also read more about this GPU in this post.
The VX5-591G-75RM also comes with 16 GB DDR4 RAM, which is more than enough for most type of users. In its price range, this Acer Aspire is certainly one of the most powerful available and one of the best cheap gaming laptops.
Display, Storage and Connectivity
Having a high quality display with a great resolution is a must for gamers and anyone working with CGI. The Acer VX 15 comes with a 15.6 inch screen with Full HD resolution, the standard among high-end laptops in 2017.
Gaming laptops in 2017 are using more and more solid state drives for storage. This is the case of this Acer Aspire, as it comes with a 256 GB SSD, which might not be a lot of space, but it is certainly pretty fast. You can also upgrade its storage capacity if you need more space for your projects and games.
It is also easy to work with this laptop if you have a lot of peripherals. It has different USB ports using different technologies (3.1, 3.0 and 2.0).
The Acer Aspire VX 15 VX5-591G-75RM is certainly a great device if you are a gamer, but also for your daily work routine. Its design certainly makes of it one of the most beautiful laptops available in 2017.
Click here to buy this laptop on Amazon.com
| Processor | Intel Core i7-7700HQ |
|---|---|
| Display | 15.6 inches Full HD |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 256 GB SSD |
Eluktronics N850HK1 Pro Premium Gaming Laptop – Intel Core i7-7700HQ Quad Core Windows 10 Home 4GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 15.6” Full HD IPS Display 512GB Performance SSD + 16GB DDR4 RAM
The Eluktronics N850HK1 is certainly a must in the list of the best cheap gaming laptops of 2017. Just like all other laptops manufactured by the brand, it is powerful, fast and reliable.
But in my opinion the Eluktronics N850HK1 Pro is certainly special. It brings all the features you would expect in an Eluktronics device, but the design of the N850HK1 certainly stands out as one of the most beautiful produced by the brand to date.
Eluktronics normally builds more expensive laptops, so this model is a great option for some one looking for cheap gaming laptops which is a fan of this awesome brand.
Design
The design of this laptop is without a doubt, one of the most beautiful in 2017. Its black chassis are extremely well finished, with aggressive angles, certainly appealing to gaming enthusiasts.
Considering its a gaming laptop, I would say it has pretty compact dimensions for a 15 incher. For those looking for something bigger, the N870HK1 has very similar specs as the N850HK1, but a 17.3 inch display.
Finally, its RGB backlit keyboard allows full customization of your keyboard lights, adding even more awesomeness to its triumphant design.
Hardware
The hardware aspects of every Eluktronics device have helped the brand to built a high reputation among gaming enthusiasts. This laptop is no exception to this rule, and has a pretty powerful hardware setup.
To begin with, its processor is part of the latest generation of Intel chips, called Kaby Lake. The i7-7700HQ is a quad core processor with an extremely high benchmark, ideal for gaming and complex tasks. You can read more about this processor in this post.
Just like its processor, its GPU is equally impressive. The NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti is a dedicated video card with 4GB GDDR5 VRAM, ideal to run most games released this year with excellent graphic settings. However, it is important to know that there are more powerful GPUs from the same series, such as the GTX 1070.
Eluktronics laptops are also known for its fast solid state drives, which in this case has a capacity of 512 GB. Finally, it is important to mention that this laptop has plenty of memory with 16 GB DDR4 RAM.
Connectivity and Display
This laptop also has very positive attributes when it comes to connectivity and display. It has 4 USB ports, being one 3.1 Type-C, two USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0. This should be more than enough to connect all your peripherals to this powerful machine.
Finally, its 15.6 inch display has Full HD resolution and an IPS panel. This is the standard for high-end gaming laptops currently.
Click here to buy this laptop on Amazon.com
| Processor | Intel Core i7-7700HQ |
|---|---|
| Display | 15.6 inches Full HD |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 512 GB SSD |
ASUS ROG Strix GL553VD 15.6″ Gaming Laptop GTX 1050 4GB Intel Core i7-7700HQ 16GB DDR4 1TB 7200RPM HDD RGB Keyboard
The ASUS ROG GL553VD-DS71 is part of one of my favorite gaming laptop niche brands, the ASUS Republic of Gamers. Just like in every ASUS ROG laptop, one can expect an impressive performance for gaming and also other activities, in one of the best laptops in the market.
Starting from its sturdy and beautiful design, the first glance of the ASUS GL553VD is certainly positive. Its beautiful design with daring angles is gently refined with orange details and the unique ASUS ROG eye logo.
ASUS ROG GL553VD: CPU and GPU
The two most important components in a gaming laptop are he processor (CPU) and the graphics card (GPU). The ASUS ROG GL553VD-DS71 is certainly not disappointing as it has a powerful quad core processor and a recently released dedicated CPU.
The ASUS ROG GL553VD comes with an i7-7700HQ processor, the most popular high-end chip in 2017 for gaming laptops. It is a quad core laptop, with a base frequency of 2.80 GHz and a maximum turbo of 3.80 GHz. It uses the hyper-threading technology and is ideal for gaming and complex tasks.
The GeForce GTX 1050 is one of the new dedicated video cards released by NVIDIA and part of the GeForce 10 series. It is a very modern GPU and can run most recent games pretty smoothly.
Pros
The highlight of this gaming laptop is its price to quality ratio. It is one of the most affordable gaming laptops using the i7-7700HQ and a GPU from the GeForce 10 series. Other than that, it has plenty of RAM and more than enough storage space.
Cons
Despite being extremely powerful, the ASUS ROG GL553VD does not have the fastest GPU. While the GTX 1050 is a pretty good and modern video card, you may also want to consider other, even more powerful options. The GTX 1060 and GTX 1070 are even more powerful GPUs, and can be found in similarly priced laptops.
One of the highlights for this model is its RGB backlit keyboard, usually found in more expensive laptops. If you are new to the ASUS ROG series and want a reliable all-round machine, the GL553VD can be an excellent choice.
Click here to buy this laptop on Amazon.com
| Processor | Intel Core i7-7700HQ |
|---|---|
| Display | 15.6 inches Full HD |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 1 TB HDD |
Dell Inspiron 15.6″ Gaming Laptop (7th Gen Intel Core i7, 8 GB RAM, 1000 GB HDD + 128GB SSD), NVIDIA GTX 1050) (i5577-7359BLK-PUS)
Dell really knows how to produce awesome gaming laptop, and that is not everything. The company knows how to produce reliable laptops at extremely attractive prices.
The Dell i5577-7359BLK-PUS certainly deserves a place in our list of the best cheap gaming laptops. It has a quad core Kaby Lake processor, DDR4 RAM and a dedicated video card from the GeForce 10 series. What more could a gamer ask for?
Dell i5577-7359BLK-PUS Hardware
This is certainly one of the best value for money laptop purchases you can make in 2017. It is easy to understand why analyzing its hardware.
This laptop comes with an i7-7700HQ processor, from the Kaby Lake generation. It uses the hyper-threading technology and is ideal for heavy gaming, but also for multi-tasking.
Its 8GB RAM are not so impressive, however it uses the DDR4 technology which is great. For a relatively low investment you can buy more RAM and expand it up to 32 GB in this machine.
Need storage? Not a problem. This Dell Inspiron has both an SSD and a HDD. That means fast speeds for booting your PC or firing up your favorite games.
Dell i5577-7359BLK-PUS Pros and Cons
For its price tag, it will be hard to find a laptop that can beat this Dell. However some of is aspects have room for improvement.
Its materials and design are quite unimpressive, especially if you compare with the aggressive ridges of gaming laptops. Its 8 GB RAM will certainly need an expansion if you need to run the latest games with high or very settings.
All in all, one of the best cheap gaming laptops of 2017, especially if a aggressive design is not your priority.
Click here to buy this laptop on Amazon.com
| Processor | Intel Core i7-7700HQ |
|---|---|
| Display | 15.6 inches Full HD |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 128 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD |
MSI GL62 7QF-1660 15.6″ Performance Gaming Laptop Core i7-7700HQ GTX 960M 8GB 1TB
The Taiwanese brand MSI is know for its dedication to the gaming niches, and it certainly should have a model among the best cheap gaming laptops. The MSI GL62 7QF-1660 is the perfect example of how the brand is committed to power and performance.
Firstly, it counts with one of the latest processors availble, the i7-7700HQ. This chip is part of the seventh generation of Intel processors, named Kaby Lake. Kaby Lake chips bring more performance to its previous generation Skylake. The i7-7700HQ is one of the fastest processors built for laptops currently available.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M is the dedicated graphics card powering this gaming laptop. It has a very good performance and is able to run most games released in 2017 on high graphic settings.
MSI GL62 7QF-1660: Pros
The MSI GL62 7QF-1660 is an excellent choice for users looking for cheap gaming laptops, but also for those using resource demanding software.
Apart from a good CPU and GPU, this laptop also has plenty of RAM. its 16 GB RAM use the DDR4 technology, which will certainly impact positively its overall performance.
It also has plenty of storage, which is good if you work with large files and multiple demanding software. In terms of connectivity, it has more connections than the average user needs, including HDMI, MiniDisplay and a few USB ports.
MSI GL62 7QF-1660: Cons
There are very few things which could be better in regards to this laptop. It is extremely powerful, and relatively affordable its hardware and performance.
However, it is not among the lightest laptops, so if you are looking for portability, you should consider other options.
Click here to buy this laptop on Amazon.com
| Processor | Intel Core i7-7700HQ |
|---|---|
| Display | 15.6 inches Full HD |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 1 TB HDD |
That was it in our list of cheap gaming laptops that have a high performance, you may also want to check our list of fastest laptop processors to help you choosing a new PC.