Gaming laptops don’t need to break the bank or be packed with the latest hardware – you can get an incredible machine for under $1300 with minimal compromise in components or features. Here are our picks of the best gaming laptops under 1300:
CPU: While you won’t find Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 chips on gaming laptops in this price range, high-performance systems that provide you with solid performance for playing free and esports titles at low settings will still provide ample options. Look for one capable of handling demanding PC games at 1080p resolution or higher while selecting one with multiple RAM slots to increase capacity and memory expansion capabilities.
GPU: While graphics cards may be more important than CPUs in gaming laptops, upgrading on your own is usually not necessary if you don’t play the latest and most demanding games. A good option in this price range would be an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 6800 GPU which can handle demanding indie and triple-A titles on medium settings.
Display: Gaming laptops within this price range typically feature 1080p screens, although you may come across systems equipped with an extra responsive 144 Hz panel that’s suitable for esports titles. Look for high-quality displays that support wide color gamut support; additionally opt for an SSD rather than hard drives to reduce loading times and save space.
Battery: For maximum gaming enjoyment at home, any suitable gaming laptop should feature a battery with at least an hour-plus between charges to allow uninterrupted gameplay without plugging in frequently. This feature is especially important for laptops equipped with powerful, expensive graphics cards which quickly drain their batteries.
Storage Capacity: 500GB should be enough space to house your operating system, games, and essential programs. You can add more later as necessary – though for maximum gaming performance it would be best to find a laptop equipped with at least 512GB SSD storage, which offers much quicker loading times for loading games than traditional hard drives.
Game streaming or creating videos for YouTube and Twitch users will appreciate the MSI Katana 15’s 1TB SSD storage and RTX 4050 GPU, providing ample power and space for raw video and photo files. Furthermore, this laptop boasts an exceptional keyboard that performs better than expected at this price point and doesn’t overheat during marathon gaming sessions – check out our full review for more details!
