How To Find the best gaming laptops to play on your budget in 2020

laying on a laptop is a desire shared by many users, but also a source of frustration for many. In question, the consequent budget necessary to acquire a high-performance gaming laptop and sometimes, certain wishes incompatible with the technical constraints inherent in the presence of a high-performance graphics card. 

How to choose your gaming laptop? Through this comparative dossier, we will try to provide answers and solutions to most of the questions you are asking yourself in order to choose the best 15″ laptop or 17″ laptop for your use in 2020. 

The current containment may be an opportunity to buy a gaming laptop to pass the time and FINALLY install the games from your Steam library that await you. The brands on our price comparison always offer home delivery and delivery.

How to choose a good gaming laptop that performs well over time?

Before buying a gaming laptop, it is important to define your user profile. Indeed, all PC games do not require the same computing power, so it is important to target your needs, especially if you have a limited budget.

If you play (very) old or 2D titles, Candy crush (or other similar titles online and on Facebook) or more simply card/chess games, good news, all current laptops will be able to rotate them, so you don’t have to worry about the graphics card for your future model.

On the other hand, if you are a fan of 3D games released in the last three years, the choice of graphics card will be of much greater importance, even if, very often, the budget may arbitrate for you. For simplicity, we will make splits by screen size and budget in our selection of laptop gamer 2020.

Many brands share the market, whether Legion, Omen, ROG, MSI or the Acer Predator Helios and Triton, we decipher the best portable gaming machines of the moment for you in this buying guide.

What performance for which graphics card?

GeForce MX130 (Geforce 940MX)

The minimum at present to consider playing and more simply, the essential card for (very) tight budgets. Concessions are to be expected but the majority of games will be able to run at around 30 fps with a definition of 1366×768 pixels and a level of detail on Low or Medium (depending on the titles).

GeForce MX150 / MX250 (GeForce GTX 950M)

Still, a little fair to really suit players, these two cards, however, mark the pace compared to the 940 MX and offer more latitude with recent titles.

GeForce GTX 1050 / GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

Indispensable on the mid-range, but still concessions to be expected with the latest titles released. The 1050 Ti is a little more efficient but is also rarer. It also suffers from fairly high prices which, excluding promotions and flash sales, make it unattractive compared to the higher range. We approach with these two cards the graphics and performance of current home consoles (PS4 Pro and Xbox One). It is the ideal graphics card for playing titles like Fortnite for a small budget (from around $ 600).

GeForce GTX 1650 / GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon 5500M

The right choice for a cheap gaming laptop. These GPUs allow you to enjoy excellent fluidity in Full HD, even on demanding titles. Able to follow the releases of the coming months. Promotions sometimes allow you to find offers around 800 $ (without Windows).

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti / RTX 2060 (GTX 1070)

A solid basis for virtual reality, the price starts at around $ 1,500, however. To associate with a Core i7 not to clamp it.

GeForce RTX 2070

The best choice of the moment to take advantage of excellent performances for those who are not too careful about the budget. A card capable of running all games with a high level of detail including in 4K while providing a solid base to enjoy Ray Tracing in the future. Its performance is close to that of the GTX 1080 but, barring very attractive promotions, the latter is no longer of interest with regard to the prices charged on models still on sale.

GeForce RTX 2080

THE most powerful card of the moment. Count at least 2000 $. Ideally to combine with a thick chassis in order to benefit from an efficient and (relatively) silent cooling system.

To help you choose, we have compiled for you the graphics cards recommended for playing in Full HD to a panel of selected PC games among the most popular of the moment *:

* AMD Radeon graphics cards are now a minority on gaming laptops. They are mainly found on the Apple MacBook Pro 15 range, targeting professional uses, and recently, some Acer Nitro and Asus TUF declined in the AMD platform (Ryzen + Polaris). At the entry-level, they can be a wise choice for a price of around 700 $.

Your most common questions

Does the amount of video memory matter?

No, on the models available in two different capacities, for example, 3 GB or 6 GB, the impact is so negligible that it should not be made a criterion of choice. Choose the other components. 

Can the graphics card be replaced?

No, on a laptop PC the graphics card is soldered, so it cannot evolve. Hence the importance of choosing well when buying.

Is a model equipped with a GeForce 9XXM series still interesting?

At the start of 2020, no, it is no longer worth buying a laptop with a GeForce GTX 960M, 965M, 970M or 980M. You will find as well, and generally cheaper on the more recent configurations based on GeForce 1000 series (Pascal generation).

Is a laptop with GeForce GTX 1070 still wise compared to the latest GeForce RTX 2060 and 2070?

Assuming that a gaming laptop will have a lifespan of at least 2 years, no, it is better to opt for a gaming laptop equipped with the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX. Because if at the moment, an RTX 2060 is equivalent to make it simple with a GTX 1070 (and an RTX 2070 with a GTX 1080), the GeForce RTX offer better support for Ray-Tracing and DLSS. Two technologies are increasingly present on new titles but also through updates for the triple A stars of the moment. However, a “pretty” config based on GeForce GTX 1070 around $ 1200 may be to be considered depending on your priorities.

Which processor to choose?

For use focused solely on the game, the type of processor should not be the first of the criteria. On a cheap gaming laptop, a Core i5 dual-core may be enough, it would be better to bet on the graphics card. So always favor the most powerful GeForce model possible in your budget. Beyond $ 1,300, however, an Intel Core i7 Hexa Core processor becomes essential so as not to restrict your GPU.

Do you need a hard drive or SSD?

The SSD is an alternative to the hard drive which provides excellent system responsiveness, however, its storage capacity/price ratio is less advantageous than the mechanical hard drive. The SSDs installed often have a capacity ranging from 128 GB, which is quickly limited for games that consume more and more disk space. It is not uncommon these days to see a title require more than 50 GB alone. 

If your budget is comfortable, you can opt for a gaming laptop combining a solid-state drive for the system and a mechanical hard drive (HDD) to install your toy library, but otherwise, choose a large storage space on the pain of being quickly frustrated. Especially since on most models, you can add one quite easily later.

What type of screen to choose?

On a typical gaming laptop, you may want to opt for a Full HD screen, which combines good image definition and performance with the majority of graphics cards. Some laptop PCs are offered with a 4K panel, but the fluidity of the game will suffer, even with a powerful GPU, without bringing any visible gain in terms of display comfort in games.

Depending on your budget, you can choose between a TN or IPS panel. TN technology offers the advantage of slightly faster response times but requires positioning well in front of the screen, otherwise, you will perceive a more or less marked variation in colors. 

The second offers wider viewing angles and is, therefore, more comfortable on a daily basis, but at the cost of slightly less reactivity (without this being penalizing for most users). However, choose the latter for greater versatility, if your budget allows.

Formerly reserved for high-end gaming laptops, 120 Hz and 144 Hz screens are tending to become more popular on gaming laptops from $ 1,000. A higher frequency makes it possible to offer better reactivity in-game. FPS and action games with sharp camera movements will particularly benefit. Some will also notice a little more fluidity when scrolling a web page for example.

Ray-Tracing, a revolution?

At least that is the promise made by NVIDIA. In practice, let’s say that it is an interesting advance for the future. Currently, only a few titles are compatible (Shadow of Tomb Raider, Battlefield V, …) but the situation should improve in the coming months thanks to new updates and releases. In practice, Ray-Tracing allows you to enjoy a more realistic rendering on certain scenes (explosions, reflections, and reflection). The impact on performance tends to decrease but still remains significant on the number of average FPS.

A silent gaming laptop? A utopia!

This is a criterion that comes up often, and it is quite normal, the noise of a gaming laptop being quickly annoying on a daily basis. Unfortunately, whatever the size, to date, NO laptop gamer can be described as silent in games, even less a thin laptop gamer! No wonder, the processor and the graphics card running at full speed in game, and it is necessary to evacuate the heat produced. 

Some models will, therefore, produce a more “bearable/acceptable” noise than others but in no case will they be able to claim the title of a muffler, including the “big” 17 inches of 4 Kg! The latter will, however, offer better heat management during play sessions lasting several hours.

What about autonomy?

Gaming Laptops are not known to be very standalone computers, especially during the game. However, for a few months the manufacturers have made real efforts and the integration of new technologies making it possible to offer many gaming laptops with at least 6 hours of battery life (in current use).

Playing on an ultraportable?

A dream for many but unfortunately, to date, 13 and 14-inch laptops do not have a graphics card fast enough to consider playing recent and demanding games in good conditions. 

Read about: ASUS ZenBook 13 UX331 thin and light crazy laptop gaming

Progress has certainly been made in recent years but, on ultrabooks under 1.7 Kg, you will most often find a GeForce MX150, or even a Geforce GTX 1050 on the last 14 inches Asus and MSI. It will, however, be necessary to have a substantial budget since it is necessary to pay, at least,  850$. 

To gain a little bit in graphics performance without putting mobility aside, the best compromise is probably to opt for a very light 15 inch, like the MSI Prestige PS63 or the Asus Zenbook UX543 in their versions equipped with a Geforce GTX 1650.

There are no interesting promotions on this type of laptop today. 

There are no interesting promotions on this type of laptop today. 

If you have a lower budget, you will have to settle for a Vega 8, a graphics chip capable of running titles that are not too demanding and with a low level of detail.

There are no interesting promotions on this type of laptop today. 

There are no interesting promotions on this type of laptop today. 

Conversely, if you have a more comfortable budget, you will not gain anything on graphics performance, since the MX250 / GTX 1050 remains the standard, but you will find ultrabooks equipped with a more spacious SSD, a larger amount of RAM, latest generation processors or models with better quality and thinner chassis.

What future for gaming laptops?

The future promises to be full of promise and will no doubt hold surprises for us. Long-awaited as a means of overcoming ever-finer chassis constraints, external boxes incorporating powerful desktop graphics cards that also act as docking stations have still not succeeded in imposing themselves and are likely to remain in The shadow. The fault with an often excessive price and a lack of handicapping mobility. 

On the other hand, the future looks brighter for cloud gaming solutions, like Shadow services or NVIDIA‘s GeForce Now. Even game consoles could take this direction in the future, potentially relegating this good old optical drive to oblivion soon!