Best gaming laptop under $1,000: 5 mid-range gaming laptops for 2022
We hand pick the best 17 Inch, 15 Inch, Intel & AMD gaming laptops for 1000 USD
Searching for the best gaming laptop under 1000 USD for your specific needs can be a bit difficult, as this mid-range price point is where things start to get interesting, with a great number of options available from different brands/manufacturers.
Each one of the five gaming laptops we have selected has different pros and cons that we will discuss, as well as talking through the various specifications of graphics card, CPU, RAM, display, storage, and ergonomic features. If your budget isn’t limited to just $1,000 then also consider taking a look at our best gaming laptop page.
Laptop deals are still live! Get huge savings on gaming laptops on the Lenovo Store, Best Buy, or Amazon in 2022, including:
- HP Pavilion, Intel Core i5, GTX 1660 Ti –
$999.99699.99 - MSI GL75 Leopard, Intel Core i7-10750H, GTX 1660 Ti (renewed) –
$1,249.991,089.66 - Acer Nitro 5, Intel Core i7-11800H, RTX 3050 Ti –
$999.99$869.99 - Acer Nitro 5, Intel Core i5-12500H, RTX 3060 –
$1,329.991,179.99 - ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2021) – FHD 144Hz, Ryzen 7 5800HS, RTX 3060, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB SSD – was $1,399.99 now $999.99
- ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2022) – WQXGA 120Hz, Ryzen 9 6900HS, RX 6700S, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD – was $1,699.99 now $1,099.99
- ASUS ROG Strix G15 AE, Ryzen 9 5980HX, Radeon RX 6800M –
$1,699.991,299.99 - Legion 5 Gen 7 – 15” AMD Ryzen 5 6000H, RTX 3060, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD – was
$1,649.99now $1,219.99
READ NOW: Top 5 gaming laptop deals December 2022 & Christmas gifts for gamers 2022
Is the best gaming laptop under 1000 USD worth buying?
A gaming laptop for 1000 USD is where we typically recommend people start looking if they want a laptop capable of gaming but don’t want to break the bank. $1,000 is the lower end of the mid-range gaming laptop price range, and anything significantly below this is what we would term a budget gaming laptop. For $1,000 you will be able to play the latest games on the market, even the most demanding ones, on at least the lowest settings. Most moderately demanding games will be playable on medium settings, and for older titles you may be able to crank the graphical presets up to the max.
For more information on this topic, make sure you have a quick read of our Things to consider when buying a gaming laptop under $1,000 section further down this page to get a flavor for the products available in this price bracket.
Our Top Picks
Things to consider when buying a gaming laptop under $1,000
For an in-depth list of what to consider when looking for a gaming laptop in general, have a quick scan of this section on our best gaming laptops page. Below is a quick summary of what you should bear in mind when shopping to a $1,000 budget specifically.
Realistic expectations of gaming performance
Gaming laptops are expensive on a price-to-performance basis. You pay a very significant markup when buying a gaming laptop compared to a desktop PC, purely for the convenience of being able to carry it in your bag: it is after all quite difficult to cram in all those same components and keep them from overheating into a fairly narrow space.
Consequently, when you start looking at gaming laptops under $1,000, you cannot expect great performance in the latest games. As a (very) general rule of thumb, you can expect to get around 80-100 FPS on GTA V on high settings on many of the laptops below. Newer, more demanding games would need you to be playing on low or medium settings in order to achieve FPS this high. If this is too low for your needs then we would advise you take a look at our best gaming laptops for under $1,500 page, or alternatively consider a desktop PC you can build yourself or a prebuilt computer, for under $1,000.
Resolution
Under $1,000 your choice is limited entirely to 1080p resolution screens. This is the standard resolution for competition gaming anyway, which many people on higher budgets would choose regardless. Furthermore, it is of questionable benefit to get a higher resolution display unless you are looking for a laptop with a screen size above 15 inches.
Hard drive and RAM
It’s rare to find a gaming laptop in this price range that comes with a hard drive (usually an SSD – i.e. Solid State Drive) above 512GB. Fortunately, most laptops can be upgraded in this area, and a better / additional SSD put in to increase the storage capacity. You should check to make sure that the laptop you want does indeed allow you to do this before you purchase it.
It’s a similar story with memory capacity – you won’t find a gaming laptop in this price range with more than 16GB RAM, and will some have less. Fortunately, this is an easily upgradeable component.
Ports & connectivity
Typically ports and sockets are one of the things which get sacrificed in more budget-priced laptops. It’s rare to find Thunderbolt support or SD card readers for instance in laptops under $1,000, although they do crop up on occasion.
The The best gaming laptops under $1000 in 2022
In-depth Review
- 144Hz screen
- Nvidia RTX 2060 graphics card
- good power for the price
- battery life could be better
- only 8GB of single-channel RAM
- not as thin as the name would suggest
The MSI GF65 Thin 9SEXR-838 gives you a lot of oomph for your money, with an Intel i7-9750H processor and a Nvidia RTX 2060 GPU. The graphics card in particular gives you a degree of future proofing on new titles that comes with RTX or DLSS capability, and, as at the time of writing, you won’t find a more powerful graphics card in this price range.
Battery life does suffer due to this performance though, and you can expect to get around 5 hours max from demanding, non-gaming usage – then again this is better than many more expensive laptops can manage. The 1080p display has an impressively high 144Hz refresh rate, and although its color gamut is narrow by the standards of more expensive laptops, it certainly does the job when gaming.
Some models of this laptop come with a 256GB SSD, which we would not recommend as this would barely give you enough room for a few larger sized games once you’ve installed the operating system. 512GB is not ideal but it’s to be expected at this price point, and the storage can always be upgraded at a later date. The speakers on the laptop are rudimentary, and the same could be said for the keyboard and trackpad, but they all do the job.
Whilst not enormous we wouldn’t exactly say the MSI GF65 is ‘thin’ compared to some of the competition, though it is fairly light. Aesthetically the laptop isn’t great but it’s not bad either, and though its construction feels plasticy it is quite sturdy; for this price though, this is more than an acceptable trade-off considering the power this laptop brings to the table.
- AMD CPU gives decent workstation performance on a budget
- 144Hz screen
- very good battery life
- good contrast ratio
- not thin or particularly portable
- noisey fans
The ASUS TUF Gaming A15 Laptop comes in a variety of configurations, but the one we’ve chosen with the AMD Ryzen 7 4800H CPU and Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti GPU brings it just up to the $1,000 mark. The 1660 Ti is not the most powerful graphics card listed here, but this is the trade-off you pay for the other components – specifically the CPU, SSD size and the RAM.
A 144Hz screen at this price point is great and at 1080p resolution you can comfortably play even the most demanding games on at least medium settings and get between 60 – 100FPS. Less demanding games will definitely see you reach the 144FPS point. The AMD CPU also gives great multi-core performance meaning it is also good for low-level workstation tasks, although this does not stretch to any graphic or color work as the color gamut of the screen is quite narrow, as is the case with all laptops at this price point. The contrast ratio is good however.
The A15 is not the lightest of laptops, and its chunky design means it is not the most portable out there; the fans are also noisy (even by the standards of gaming laptops), all of which limits its use as a machine you could happily use on public transport. Importantly though the ASUS TUF Gaming A15 does have very good battery life when doing strenuous non-gaming tasks, which is often lacking in other gaming laptops, and should last you well over 8 hours.
- 144Hz screen
- Nvidia RTX 2060 graphics card
- 17.3" screen
- good power for the price
- poor speakers
- battery life could be better
- only 256GB SSD
The Acer Nitro 5 17.3 inch version is a uniquely good value for a screen this size. Although the price of this laptop may fluctuate slightly above the budget threshold of this guide, we’ve seen the machine come below the $1,000 mark during discounts and if you really desire a 17.3” screen it’s worth stretching that little bit further.
The laptop is powered by an Nvidia RTX 2060 GPU which is the most powerful you can hope to get at this ‘budget’ level, and it gives the laptop a degree of future-proofing for upcoming titles that may use Ray-tracing or DLSS. The Intel Core i7-9750H processor, whilst not as good as some of the AMD processors on this page for workstation tasks, definitely punches its weight in gaming.
Unsurprisingly the Acer Nitro 5 is not blessed with a particularly long battery life – larger screens tend to use more power for one. You can expect to get a few hours out of it from strenuous, but non-gameplay use. The speakers on the laptop also leave something to be desired: whilst laptop speakers generally are not great, these ones are slightly below the average. The biggest negative of this laptop however is the small 256GB SSD, which will fill up very fast and doesn’t allow space for many games to be installed at any one time. Thankfully the storage on this laptop is upgradeable and we would advise doing so should you purchase it.
Despite this though, 17.3” of display with this GPU and CPU is still a bargain, and we therefore very much recommend this laptop if a bigger screen is what you’re looking for.
- 144Hz screen
- Nvidia RTX 2060 graphics card
- good power for the price
- poor speakers
- battery life could be better
- only 256GB SSD
The Acer Nitro 5 15.6 inch version is completely identical to its 17.3 inch brethren as reviewed above on this page, with the exception of the screen size (obviously). Battery life is slightly improved on the 15.6” version, given the smaller screen size it has to power, but don’t expect it to last beyond 4 hours of intensive, non-gaming use.
For some, the extra FPS performance you get from the same hardware powering games on a smaller screen might make this smaller version the preferred option, not to mention the extra portability it brings with it. The laptop comes with an Intel Core i7-9750H processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU, as does the 17” one, giving it a fair amount of power for the price.
The specifications of this machine put it in direct competition with the MSI GF65 Thin 9SEXR-838, the two major differences being that the other machine comes with a 512GB SSD and 8GB of RAM, whereas this laptop only has 256GB of storage but 16GB of RAM. Such a small harddrive is really quite a big drawback if you are planning on having more than 2 games installed at any one time or for using your laptop for other purposes besides gaming, though the additional RAM is also important. Either way, if you pick the Acer Nitro 5 we’d advise upgrading the hard drive yourself or going with the MSI GF65 Thin 9SEXR-838 and upping the RAM.
- AMD CPU gives decent workstation performance on a budget
- 144Hz screen
- decent speakers for a laptop
- reserved design more suitable for office use
- ports located in the back
- low screen brightness
- battery life could be better
- relatively heavy
The Lenovo Legion 5 Gaming Laptop, like the ASUS TUF Gaming A15, comes with a AMD Ryzen 7 4800H processor which makes it good for workstation tasks (outside of color accurate work, which would require a larger budget and a better screen). Again like the TUF Gaming A15 it also has an Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti graphics card, a 512GB SSD and 16GB or RAM.
The GPU is not the most powerful on this page, and again represents something of a tradeoff in having a superior CPU as well as solid RAM and storage specs. The 144Hz screen does the job, though its maximum brightness is a little low, so you’ll want to make sure you’re not in particularly brightly lit spaces when using it. Battery life is not the worst out there but it’s not the best either – it certainly doesn’t match up to the unusually good battery life of the ASUS TUF Gaming A15.
The laptop does have advantages over the TUF Gaming machine however in that its speakers are somewhat better, its reserved design makes it more suitable as an office use machine and the arrangement of ports in the back is more ergonomically friendly. Having said that this is the heaviest laptop on this page, so bear that in mind in terms of portability.
All-in-all though this is still a solid machine for the price, with great specs if you don’t mind going with a slightly weaker GPU.
The best gaming laptops under $1000 in 2022 frequently asked questions
What Is The Best Gaming Laptop For Under $1000?
At the time of writing the MSI GF65 Thin 9SEXR-838 (With RTX 2060) is our pick for best overall gaming laptop for 1,000 USD. However, if you prioritize battery life and CPU performance then also consider the ASUS TUF Gaming A15 with AMD Ryzen 7 4800H. Besides this though, check out our three other best picks on our list of the best gaming laptops for under $1000 to see if they suit your needs better.
How good is a $1000 gaming laptop?
A gaming laptop for 1000 USD can be described as mid-range. For this price you will be able to play the latest games, but only on low-medium graphical settings if they are demanding. For older, less demanding titles you will be able to turn the settings up higher. Otherwise you will have to spend more money on a gaming laptop or consider buying a desktop PC for the same price.
What is the best mid-range gaming laptop?
Mid-range gaming laptops are typically defined as costing between $1,000 – $1,500 in price, though this is up for debate. Currently the best gaming laptop for around $1000 is, in our opinion, the MSI GF65 Thin 9SEXR-838. Our best gaming laptop for $1500 or thereabouts is the ASUS ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition. Ultimately though, which laptop is best for you depends on your specific needs, so be sure to check out our guides on the best gaming laptops under $1,000 and the best gaming laptops under $1,500 for more options.
What is the best budget gaming laptop?
Any gaming laptop which costs substantially below $1,000 fits the bill of a budget gaming laptop. Below this threshold, there is a big range in terms of price and quality. Take a look at our pages on the best gaming laptop under $800, $700, $600, and $500 to see which one is right for your needs.
Which brand of laptop lasts the longest?
In terms of physical durability, this usually depends on the build quality of individual models rather than one brand, but Razer, Apple, and Lenovo laptops tend to excel in this area. The efficiency of internal cooling affects the longevity of the internal components of gaming laptops but again this isn’t usually brand-specific – check reviews of the specific model. In terms of the longest-lasting battery life, most gaming laptops do not have a long one, due to power-hungry components, though certain examples like the ASUS ROG Strix G15 Advantage and ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (With AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS) are exceptions.
Some Of Our Other Gaming Laptop Articles
In-depth laptop reviews
- XPG Xenia 15 RTX 2070 Max-Q Review
- Razer Blade Pro 17 1080p 360Hz (2021) Review
- Razer Blade 14 1440p 165Hz AMD Review
- XMG Neo 15 E21 / Eluktronics MECH-15 G3 (2021)
‘Best Of’ brand guides
- Acer gaming laptop
- Alienware gaming laptop
- ASUS gaming laptop
- Dell gaming laptop
- HP gaming laptop
- Lenovo gaming laptop
- MSI gaming laptop
- Razer gaming laptop
- RTX 3080 Ti laptop
- RTX 3080 laptop
- RTX 3070 Ti laptop
- RTX 3070 laptop
- RTX 3060 laptop
- RTX 3050 & 3050 Ti laptop
‘Best Of’ price guides
Final Word
This has been our guide to the best gaming laptop under 1000 USD in 2022. We hope you have found it useful in making your choice as to which laptop to buy. If you didn’t find what you want here, we have other laptop guides for different budgets which can be found under Custom Gaming PC in the top bar of this page.
If you need more power more cheaply than a gaming laptop can provide, have a look at our guides on mid-range gaming desktop builds for under $1,000 and also the best pre-built gaming PC for under $1,000.
If you know of any specific laptops you would like to see reviewed that we have not covered, please let us know in a comment below.
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