Obviously, getting a laptop is not a luxury, but a need. As such, getting the best laptop is always recommended even when you are on a budget. It doesn’t matter whether it is for gaming, video editing, music production, or whatever. The good news is that at all levels, you will be able to get one that you would be satisfied with.
When you set out to get the best gaming laptop under 800 dollars, or any great gaming laptop, there are some things that you will have to get right. The most important has to be the processor since it is important in deciding the performance.
You will also need to get one with good graphics card and RAM. For the storage, in as much as space is important, I will advise that you go with a Solid State Drive over the Hard Disk Drive. This is since the former will get better performance and more endurance than the latter.
Finally, you may need to also consider the screen size and resolution, as well as the battery life, build and if beauty is your thing, aesthetics.
Considering all these, I have drawn this review which should be able to help you get a great gaming laptop if your budget is below $800.
Best Gaming Laptop Under 800 Dollars
MSI GL62M 7RE-407 Gaming Laptop
Why it will be hard to get a list of gaming laptops without an MSI is because the company has decided to only concentrate on gamers and gaming.
The MSI GL62M 7RE-407 is one of those that comes low in price and high in performance. That is thanks to the Intel Core i5-7300HQ 2.50GHz processor that it runs on. More so, it has a RAM of 8GB and a 256 GB SSD, all contributing to the performance in different ways.
With the graphics card, this is a good investment. It comes with GTX 1050ti 4GB graphics card which helps in enhancing what you get.
Back to the design of the laptop, there is nothing very exceptional or flashy about it. Somehow, MSI has tried to maintain its most popular laptop design on this. The display is good and the keyboard is responsive.
Inasmuch as it is very right in more ways than many others at the same price level, it still drags its feet when looking at the battery life and the storage. The good news here is that it is easy to have it upgraded.
Features
- Processor: Intel Core i5-7300HQ 2.50GHz
- Display: 15.6 inches 1920 by1080 pixels
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
- Storage: 256 SSD
- RAM: 8 GB DDR4
- Battery: 3 hours
Pros
- Good performance.
- Has a good cooling system.
- Accurate display without exaggeration.
- Components that are well thought of.
- Very affordable.
Cons
- 8 GB RAM is not the fastest.
- Again, the battery life is not generous.
Verdict
If what you need is something that will give you great performance in almost every aspect, from looks to performance and all at a good price, the game is on this laptop. Although the RAM is 8GB, the performance is still good.
Dell Inspiron (i5577-5335BLK-PUS) Gaming Laptop
Good build, strong performance, and generally powerful. That is the general testament of this laptop that comes intelligently designed with a metal chassis and 15.6” 1080p anti-glare display. It has an NVidia GeForce GTX 1050 graphics card.
The laptop comes with hardware designed to add power to its performance. That is it with the Intel Core i5-7300HQ 2.5 GHz Quad Core processor it comes with. It is further enhanced by an 8GB DDR4 RAM which you can decide to have upgraded to as high as 32 GB which will give you super lightening performance and add credibility to its already good multitasking abilities.
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With a storage that is only 256GB SSD, you do not get all the space in the world for many and very heavy games, but you get some more legs to the performance since it is an SSD card.
The keyboard has a backlight and it is rather very responsive. Also, the battery life is good considering that it is able to give you up to 7 hours of use.
Features
- Processor: Intel Core i5-7300HQ 3.50GHz
- Display: 15.6 inches FHD 1920 by1080 pixels
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050
- Storage: 256 SSD
- RAM: 8 GB DDR4
- Battery: 7 hours
Pros
- The laptop has a very good quality.
- Affords easy upgrading.
- Good battery life.
- Features that are well thought of.
- The gaming performance is good.
Cons
- Doesn’t have a large storage.
Verdict
The thing that this laptop uses to bully many others in the same price range is the strength and powerful performance it comes with. Also, the laptop allows for one to easily upgrade as time goes on, so it may be very good for someone looking for one that is affordable and will allow for easy upgrade with time.
MSI GL62M 7RD-1407 Gaming Laptop
One that is close to the GL62M 7RE-407 is the MSI GL62M 7RD-1407. The laptop has a very slim and light design. And yes, it looks more pleasing than its other brother. What is, even more, is that the keyboard featured is a Steelseries which gives you a good response and tactical feedback.
It has a 15.6″ Full HD display which comes with the NTSC color encoding and a resolution of 1920 by 1080. The graphics card it features is the NVIDIA’s Geforce GTX 1050 2G GDDR5.
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The winner for this laptop is the performance which is championed by the Intel Core i5-7300HQ processor that comes with it and a RAM of 8GB DDR4. Because this is not the best there can be, if you are a more hardcore gamer, you can easily have the RAM upgraded.
The storage of this laptop is like many others in the price range; 256GB SSD. While it is good that it is a solid state, the space it offers is not as generous as I would have loved to see.
Finally, for a very slim laptop like this, MSI has done very well when it comes to giving good ventilation.
Features
- Processor: Intel Core i5-7300HQ 2.50GHz
- Display: 15.6 inches 1920 by1080 pixels
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050
- Storage: 256 SSD
- RAM: 8 GB DDR4
- Battery: 3 hours
Pros
- Good display
- Slim, sleek, and lightweight.
- Rich ventilation.
- SteelSeries keyboard that is responsive and gives tactical feedback.
- Easy to upgrade.
- Overall performance is good.
Cons
- Doesn’t have the best storage.
- Not the laptop to last forever because it is plastic, even as the plastic is very good.
Verdict
One thing that stands this out from most others on the list and even off is that there is an emphasis on even little details to make it a gaming laptop. This includes the detailed and gaming keyboard, display, and the entire design.
ASUS VivoBook S 15.6” Gaming Laptop
There is no gainsaying Asus is one of the best when it comes to a gaming laptop. The one sin of the company, however, is that it doesn’t make many laptops that you will find in the affordable line. That is one place where Acer has the edge.
That said, among the few affordable ones it has made, you will find the Vivobook S as the best gaming laptop under 800 for some people.
It is very easy to appreciate this as a result of its lightness as well as slim and sleek looks. It is one of the thinnest gaming laptops out there. It features a 15-inch Full HD display.
But then, the looks is just one of the things that will attract you. What will keep you is the performance.
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You get to have a system that runs on a 7th Generation Intel Core i7 processor that is sure to give you a very strong and efficient performance. The 8GB RAM featured also adds more performance to it, but I would have loved to see that it is running on a higher RAM. The price, however, makes it all fair considering other components it comes with.
The VivoBook S also has a storage of 1TB HDD as well as a 128 GB SSD which doesn’t just add performance, but also the generosity of the storage.
Features
- Processor: Intel Core i7-7500U 2.7GHz
- Display: 15.6 inches
- Storage: 128 GB SSD and 1 TB HDD
- RAM: 8 GB DDR4
- Battery: Less than 4 hours
Pros
- Generous storage space
- Good design and display.
- Excellent performance
- Very affordable
Cons
- Not the best battery life
- Graphics card not best.
Verdict
If you have your eyes on very large space that is accompanied by very good performance, there are very few laptops in this price range that can make it as good as the VivoBook S. Looking at what it sells for, it is a one to go for.
Acer Aspire E 15 Gaming Laptop
The Acer Aspire E 15 is one of the most popular if it comes to a budget laptop. This is not necessarily because it is the most performing, but rather because it is very affordable. It doesn’t mean that the laptop will fall flat back when it comes to performance.
It has an Intel Core i5-7200U processor and a memory of 8GB DDR4 SDRAM. With these, the performance you get is definitely more than decent, even as it has a Solid State Drive of 256GB. It will be able to run most of the games out there, including those that are heavy.
Apart from gaming, this laptop is also good for daily computer needs. Because of this, it is as well the choice for someone who needs one for more than just gaming.
Another place where it hits mostly right is with the design of the laptop. Without too much effort, the laptop still comes beautifully with a good keyboard as well as screen and display that is accurate. It has an NVIDIA GeForce 940MX Graphics card. It has a dedicated card of 2GB.
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With laptops that are very affordable, their failure is with the battery life unable to make it more than 3 or 4 hours. This breaks that circle as it is able to go as much as close to 12 hours.
Combing everything, this may be the best gaming laptop under 800 bucks out there.
Features
- Processor: Intel Core i5-7200U
- Display: 15.6 inches 1920 by1080 pixels
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
- Storage: 256 SSD
- RAM: 8 GB DDR4
- Battery: 12 hours
Pros
- Great battery life.
- Decently versatile.
- Affordable
- Very generous battery life
Cons
- Not the strongest performing on the list.
Verdict
This may not necessarily be the one for a hardcore gamer, because it may not be able to handle some of the heaviest games out there. Instead, it is the one when you are on a serious budget. More so, it still gives a good gaming performance just as it gives versatility.
From the review, you may be able to get the best laptop under 800 dollars that should serve you. The only thing to understand is that while it will give you very good gaming performance, it may not be able to perform as well as a laptop that is just under $1500 or even a $1000 laptop.
That said, these may even be the best for a gamer who is not so much into gaming because it doesn’t make much sense for one to invest too much into a gaming piece when one only games occasionally.
References:
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