There was a time when the gaming laptop was disliked because of their unattractive appearance, bulky design, and short battery life but over time they are not only in great demand in the market today; also, are producing a great extent of revenue.
As a plus point now there are different budget ranges that give you a broad range for choosing a gaming laptop within your budget. The developers spend hours modifying not only their performance and display design but also on their portability issues.
Though they are pricey when you have a laptop with a powerhouse of exceptional features who cares about the budget, here the point raises, which gaming laptop will be the best choice if you are willing to buy one.
Are you worried about your money that might it be going to waste as you do not have any know-how about gaming laptops? As a layman, what essential questions arise in your mind when you hear the word “Gaming Laptop”.
At the end of the article, I am sure all your queries will be solved, and you will be surely able to find the right choice for you.
Top 10 Best Gaming Laptops Under $1200
1. Acer Swift 3
2. ASUS FX502VM-AS73 Laptop
- 15.6 Inch Full HD Display with Windows 10 Pre-installed
- Fully loaded with Latest 7th Generation Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2.8GHz (Turbo up to 3.8GHz)
- Powerful NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB discrete graphics.
- Cooled by Intelligent Dual Fan System to cool the CPU and GPU independently
- Fast 128GB SSD combined with Large 1TB 5400RPM HDD and 16GB DDR4 RAM
3. Alienware AW15R3-5246SLV-PUS Laptop
- Intel Core i5-7300HQ (Quad-Core, 6MB Cache, up to 3.5GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
- Windows 10 Home HighEnd (64-bit) English
- Memory : 8GB DDR4 at 2133MHz (1x8GB); 32GB Maximum
- Video Graphics : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
- Hard Drive : 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s
- Display : 15.6 FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS Anti-Glare 300-nits Display W/ G-Sync
4. ASUS ROG Strix G
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5 (base: 1395 MHz, Boost: 1560 MHz; TDP: 50W)
- Latest 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750h Hexa-Core processor. 48WHrs, 3S1P, 3-cell Li-ion battery
- 15.6” Full HD 1920x1080 IPS Type Display
- 16GB DDR4 2666MHz RAM | 1TB PCIe SSD | Windows 10 Home | Gigabit wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 (802.11AC 2x2)
- Rog intelligent cooling Thermal system with dual 12V fans, anti-dust technology, and adjustable fan modes
5. Acer Nitro 7
- 9th Generation Intel Core i7-9750H 6-Core Processor (Up to 4.5GHz) with Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Graphics with 4 GB of dedicated GDDR5 VRAM
- 15.6 Full HD (1920 x 1080) Widescreen LED-backlit IPS display (300nit Brightness & 72% NTSC )
- 16GB DDR4 Memory, 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD (2 x PCIe M.2 Slots | 1 Slot Open for Easy Upgrades) & 1 - Available Hard Drive Bay
- Backlit Keyboard | LAN: 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 port) | Wireless: Intel Wireless-AC 9560 802.11ac Gigabit WiFi
6. CUK MSI GF65
- Processor: Intel Core i7-9750H Six Core Processor (12MB Cache, 2.6GHz-4.5GHz) 45W
- RAM: 16GB DDR4 2666MHz | Hard Drive: 512GB NVMe Solid State Drive
- Keyboard: Single Backlight with Anti-Ghost Key + Silver Lining | Operating System: Windows 10 Home x64
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB GDDR6 | Display: 15.6 Full HD 120Hz IPS-Level Thin Bezel Display (1920 x 1080)
- 16GB RAM Upgrade | 3-Year CUK Limited Warranty (View warranty section below for more details.)
7. Acer Predator Helios 300
- 10th Generation Intel Core i7-10750H 6-Core Processor (Up to 5.0 GHz) with Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
- Overclockable NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 with 6 GB of dedicated GDDR6 VRAM
- 15.6 Full HD (1920 x 1080) Widescreen LED-backlit IPS display (144Hz Refresh Rate, 3ms Overdrive Response Time, 300nit Brightness & 72% NTSC)
- 16 GB DDR4 2933MHz Dual-Channel Memory, 512GB NVMe SSD (2 x M.2 slots | 1 Slot open for easy upgrades) & 1 - Available Hard Drive Bay
- 4-Zone RGB Backlit Keyboard | Wireless: Killer Double Shot Pro Wireless-AX 1650i 802. 11ax Wi-Fi 6 | LAN: Killer Ethernet E2600 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN | DTS X: Ultra Audio | 4th Gen All-Metal AeroBlade 3D Fan
- Connectivity technology: Bluetooth
8. ASUS TUF A15
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB Graphics with ROG Boost
- 8-core AMD Ryzen 7 4800H Processor 45W (8M Cache, up to 4.2GHz)
- 15.6” FHD (1920x1080) 144Hz IPS-Type display
- 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD | 16GB DDR4 3200MHz RAM | Windows 10 Home
- 90WHr battery | Up to 8.7 hours web browsing and up to 12.3 hours video playback
- Durable MIL-STD-810H military standard construction
- Self cleaning dual fans with anti-dust technology to extend system longevity
- RGB backlit keyboard rated for 20-million keystroke durability
- Easy Upgrade Design | Easily add or replace memory and storage
- Gigabit Wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
9. Sager NP6858EQ
- Display: 15.6” Thin Bezel Full HD 144Hz, Wide View Angle (1920x 1080) Matte Display
- Processor: 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10750H 6-Core Processor | Operating System: Windows 10 Home
- Graphic Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650Ti 4GB GDDR6
- Ram: 32GB DDR4 2933MHz | Storage: 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD
- Single Zone Multi-Color illuminated keyboard, Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 Wireless LAN + Bluetooth
10. HP OMEN GAMING LAPTOP
- Play the latest games, including Fortnight, PUBG, and Overwatch, from anywhere—without sacrificing performance.
- 8th Generation intel(r) core(tm) i5-8300H Processor, quad-core, 2.3GHz up to 4.0GHz for top gaming performance.
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (4 GB GDDR5 dedicated). 15.6-Inch diagonal FHD IPS bright View micro-edge WLED-backlit (1920 x 1080) with 144Hz refresh rate.
- 12 GB DDR4-2666 SDRAM (upgradable with 2 accessible Memory Slots). 128 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD. 1 TB 7200 RPM SATA HDD.
- Dragon Red Backlit keyboard, full size directional Arrow keys, and illuminated WASD keys for instant recognition.
- Battery life: up to 10 hours and 45 minutes (mixed usage); up to 6 hours and 30 minutes (video playback); up to 5 hours and 30 minutes (wireless streaming).
- Dimensions AND weight (unpackaged): 14.17 inches (W) x 10.35 inches (D) x 0.98 inch (H); 5.40 pounds.
- Operating System: Windows 10 Home.
Are gaming laptops worth buying in 2020?
One of the first thoughts that click in mind about gaming laptops is that are they worth buying or not. Mostly the people with the addiction of playing games are ready to spend money to have the best model for them, and for that, you must have a handsome budget. Also, the features must be exceptional. So, you will be happy to know that the developers have genuinely made the laptops of today worth buying with their hard work.
Is a gaming laptop better than a regular laptop?
To some extent, gaming laptops are far better than the regular one. One of the common reasons is that gaming laptops can handle bulk data without any lag at the same time. On the other hand, most of the regular laptops freeze when a person is performing multitasks on it. So if you want to perform several tasks at the same time, I suggest you buy a gaming laptop because of their exceptional processing speed.
Do Gaming laptops last long?
Everyone wants to buy a model that lasts long, and for gaming, it is one of the primary points under consideration the average lifespan of a gaming laptop must be five years up to a minimal extent. However, about the physical condition, if you are taking it up with care, it will last up to 10 years or more. Years is hair explained for the most hi-tech and pricey laptops.
What is the minimum RAM required for gaming?
Ram Random Access Memory is something that is taken under consideration while buying a laptop, whether it is used for gaming or general purposes. So when buying a gaming laptop ram should be around 8 GB. 8 GB RAM is more than enough for the smooth working of massive games on the laptop. But you can upgrade the RAM to 16GB for more efficient use.
What are the good specifications for a gaming laptop?
Every brand has some unique specification for each of its products, and those specifications justify the budget of the model. Some general specifications that are more than enough for a gaming laptop are 16 GB of RAM, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070, an Intel Core i7-6700HQ or i7-7700HQ processor graphics card, a 256 GB SSD and 1 TB hard drive.
What should be the weight and build quality of a gaming laptop?
Weight and build quality both are the major points that add up to the budget of a laptop. With the advancement now some gaming laptops are introduced in the market, it can also be used in offices for various tasks. The best quality of a laptop should be something that could justify its budget.
Mostly gaming laptops are built with smooth solid material and their internal components are slightly heavy as most of the time is used to increase the durability of the model.
Are gaming laptops easy for portability?
Ease in portability is one of the biggest challenges for the developers in case of gaming laptops. There are laptops in the market that are no longer considered as laptops because a user Cannot Place them on his/her lap because of their heavyweight.
Generally, gaming laptops have screen displays in between 15 to 17 inches which can easily be placed in your backpack. However, the feature in portability comes with gaming laptops that are expensive in the budget.
How Powerful Are They?
After the display and specifications performance of a gaming laptop for a gamer, with the advancement in the technology, the future of gaming laptops is as bright as you can imagine because developers have genuinely met the gaming laptops explosions with amazing graphics and high response rate and low input lag.
Point to Ponder when Buying a Gaming Laptop Under 1200 Dollars
When buying a gaming laptop, some different facts and points should be kept in mind. Because if you bought a model without the research, it would be a waste of money. Some of the crucial facts are explained below:
Display
One of the essential preferences for a gaming laptop is the display. Some people even prefer the display more than the necessary components and features. Every brand has launched a specific display for its models, and all those displays are best to some extent.
For example, the minimum resolution of a display screen should be 1920×1080 pixels. The typical size of the gaming laptop’s display screen is about 15 to 17 inches but if you want you can even change it according to your choice in between the 18 to 14 inches option.
But the flaw in increasing the size of the screen with every increased extra weight adds up to the laptop. Another available feature is the refresh rate. Refresh rate means the ability of the laptop fresh images.
Usually, the ideal refresh rate for a screen with the 1080-pixel resolution is around about 60 Hz. With the increase in display size the budget of the laptop also increases.
Storage
As to the extent storage specifications of a gaming laptop are concerned, 1TB HDD is more than enough for a gamer. Most professionals advise preferring a laptop that uses SSD over HDD.
The reason behind the science is that if the laptop has upgradable storage features, one can have a fantastic performance of SSD then those laptops with HDD.
GPU
The GPU, abbreviated as Graphics Processing Unit, is one of the main components that distinguish between a gaming laptop and a general one. With the outstanding performance, GPU is responsible for the unusual activity and amazing graphics during the gaming.
RAM
The next notable component when buying a gaming laptop is RAM. RAM that stands for Random Access Memory owns the extraordinary worth in case of gaming. If your laptop has a large RAM capacity, the game you are willing to run on the laptop will work smoothly.
To have access to massive load games, your laptop’s RAM should be at least 8GB. However, RAM of 16GB is amazing to choose, but some professionals recommend if you have a cool budget, go with 32GB RAM.
CPU
CPU Central Processing Unit plays a vital role in the overall activity of a laptop, whether it is for gaming or general use. It is advisable to prefer a laptop that comes with the latest processors like Intel or AMD with quad-core or Hexa core processing systems. Never have they been older than AMD second-generation Ryzen or Intel 8th generation Core.
Battery Life
Battery life is considered one of the essential features. As for gaming purposes, your desire for a laptop which has a battery would last long. However, there are only a few laptops in the market with too high budgets with long battery life.
It is recommended to plug in the laptop when you are enjoying the games. Also, the portability factor is directly related to the battery. If the laptop battery size is small, it is easy to take it away anywhere with you.
Ports
Though the connections are not an issue for laptops, however, some models lack ports. These external ports are necessary and aid you in connecting the external devices like a projector, headphones, speakers or any other gadget.
Always try to have a laptop with a number of that would ease you in connecting various devices with your laptop model.
Conclusion
To wrap up, I will only say that in this article, we have tried our best to answer all your queries. In the FAQs, we gathered up the general question for clearing your concepts, and in buying the guide, we came across many gaming models and picked up the most critical features a buyer should consider when looking for one. I hope, now you can select the best choice for your under 1200$ with exceptional features and superb performance.
