Ranking: The best affordable (sub-$1,500) gaming laptops

It's for a good reason that this RTX 5000 gaming machine stays at the top of the list. With the 15-inch Legion 5, Lenovo offers a very good mid-range gamer with no serious weaknesses, our testing shows. Its casing is functional and offers a sufficient set of ports, alongside a very comfortable keyboard and very good maintenance/upgrade options. Performance does not disappoint, either. The new OLED panel offers very good picture quality and is very bright in HDR mode. Together with the extremely fast response times and 165-Hz refresh rate, games look simply stunning.

All in all, this is a good buy with an excellent OLED panel and the new GeForce RTX 5060 laptop GPU with high TGP powers targets.

In Germany, the Legion 5 15 with an AMD Zen 5 processor is available from Lenovo starting from ~1,500 euros. Our test model for the education sector can be purchased at Campuspoint among other options but comes with no OS license.

With the introduction of the Omen Max, HP's Omen 16 (2025) is now more of a cost-effective solution. The Omen's refined design, good input devices and, above all, very good processor and gaming performance make this fact barely noticeable, at first, at least. It's still a budget gamer but without some of the usual compromises.

HP's latest Omen 16 is breaking into the budget class this year. However, its case, input devices and performance are better than the price suggests.

The Omen can be had from Notebooksbilliger.de for just 999 euros.

The Nitro V 17 ANV17-41-R4CJ is aimed at buyers looking for a large gaming laptop at the lowest possible price - after all, like the Omen 16 and the LOQ 17, this is one of the cheapest gamers with Nvidia's RTX 5070.

The Acer Nitro V17 should appeal to all price-conscious gamers who value quiet and economical gaming instead of maximum frame rates.

Our test model, which comes with no Windows license, costs 1,249 euros at our partner Notebooksbilliger, with frequent drops to 1,199 euros.

In spite of the LOQ 17IRX10 being a more affordable laptop, of those featuring an RTX 5070, that is, Lenovo still did a decent job with this machine. The graphics card performs truly well which is very important. Thanks to built-in GPU overclocking, the RTX 5070 delivers above-average performance.

The LOQ 17IRX10 is an inexpensive RTX 5070 gamer with particularly strong 3D performance thanks to built-in GPU overclocking.

The Lenovo LOQ 17IRX10 with a Core i7-14700HX and a GeForce RTX 5070 is available for around 1,500 euros (e.g. at Galaxus).

If you are looking for a current-gen gaming laptop within the 1,000-euro range, the T6 V3.5 is worth considering. This 16-inch machine offers a solid mid-range GPU, a Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060, accompanied by a speedy Core i7-14700HX CPU.

Tulpar's T6 V3.5 does not have to hide behind systems from wider-known brands, and it well worth a look.

Depending on the configuration, you can have a Tulpar T6 V3.5 for around €1,160 or more from the brand's website.

The Nitro V14 AI stands out from the crowd with its pure white color, and also with how small it is. This is a particularly compact gaming laptop, and certainly an eye-catching one. Its replaceable/upgradable RAM and SSD are a nice thing to have; the Nitro has two SO-DIMM banks and two M.2 slots.

The best thing about the 14-inch model is its generous battery life. The device lasted almost 13 hours in our Wi-Fi Web browsing test.

As reviewed, the Acer Nitro V14 AI ANV14-62-R9LT is available from various online stores in Germany (e.g. notebooksbilliger.de) starting from around €1,150.

If you are looking for a reasonably priced notebook with a modern graphics adapter, the Nitro V 16 AI from Acer may be worth a shot. For around €1,100, the buyer gets 16 GB of DDR5 RAM (2 x 8 GB) and a 1-TB SSD, a Ryzen 5 240 and a GeForce RTX 5050 with 8 GB of GDDR7 VRAM. While the machine's casing uses very little metal, it does sport stylish looks and a good set of ports, including USB 4. Its input devices are also fine. Extra plus points for the very good battery life.

The Acer Nitro V 16 AI is inexpensive, has a stylish design, good connectivity and good battery life.

The Nitro V 16 AI ANV16-42-R860 is available online starting from around 1,100 euros (e.g. at Galaxus).

The Erazer Scout 17 E1 was the first notebook based on the GeForce RTX 5050 to land in our test lab. This Medion system offers adequate performance for Full HD gaming in most cases, even if the RTX 5050's edge over the 4050 might seem disappointing to some.

Medion's Erazer Scout 17 E1 is an affordable entry-level gamer that's a tad costlier than it should be.

In Germany, the Erazer Scout 17 E1 MD62758 is available for around €1,200 from the Medion Shop among other options.

Visually, the Cyborg 17 makes quite an impression. Its textured top with transparent elements is both appealing and unique. Metal lids are not all that widespread in the price range, either. Apart from the unconventional keyboard layout, its input devices are relatively good. RAM and storage are upgradeable, even if having only one M.2 slot is a little tight for a 17-inch device.

The Cyborg 17 deserves a chance: Metal lid, unique design and good input devices.

As tested, the Cyborg 17 B13WFKG (featuring a Core i7-13620H and a GeForce RTX 5060 laptop GPU is available from around 1,200 euros at various online stores (e.g. Galaxus).

For $1,100, you get a great 120-Hz IPS display with full sRGB colors and a respectable GeForce RTX 5060. Since this machine comes with less powerful hardware than the 16X Aurora, the 16 Aurora is thinner and has longer battery life while also shipping with a smaller power supply for easier transportation.

The Alienware 16 Aurora meets the requirements for everyday school or college use, such as reasonable battery life and slim design, with enough performance to play the latest titles smoothly iat1,080p.

Dell is now shipping the Alienware 16 Aurora for €1,199, as tested. Slower SKUs featuring an RTX 4050 or RTX 5050 are also available. The model tested and other configurations are also available on Amazon.de.