7 Best Gaming Laptops Under $1200 That You Can Buy in 2023

Every gamer sets out on a mission to find intense performance and immersive experiences in the world of gaming.

Finding the ideal gaming laptop, meanwhile, may be a difficult task given the tension between high-end features and an affordable price. Fear not, for we have taken on the task of researching the market for gaming laptops and presenting to you the best of the best in the mid-range gaming laptop segment.

The best gaming laptops under $1200 of 2023 are revealed in this article, where affordability and sheer power meet to let gamers reach their full potential without breaking the bank. Let’s dive right in:

Best Gaming Laptops Under $1200 – Reviews & Comparisons

1. Dell G16 Gaming Laptop

The Best Gaming Laptop Under $1200 Overall

SPECIFICATIONS:

• Processor: 13th Generation Intel Core i7-13650HX (14 Cores, 20 Threads, up to 4.9 GHz)
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 6GB GDDR6
• RAM: 16GB DDR5 4800 MHz
• Storage: 512GB SSD
• Display: 16-inch QHD+ (2560 x 1600) 165Hz display (100% sRGB, Nvidia G-Sync)
• Weight: 6.3 lbs

BEST PRICE RETAILERS:

The Dell G16 is the best gaming laptop under $1200 for three main reasons: the display, the build quality, and the hardware you get at this price point. It comes in 2 variants: the i7-13650HX variant and the i9-13900HX variant, out of which we recommend the former.

Starting from the display, the Dell G16, as the name suggests, packs a 16-inch display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 (QHD+) and a 165Hz refresh rate, which gives you a far more immersive experience when gaming at higher frame rates. The brightness of the display is not particularly high, standing at 300 nits. This is quite lower than its competitor, the Lenovo Legion 5, which packs in a brighter, 500 nits display. However, for indoor usage, you should be fine with 300 nits of peak brightness.

It comes with a powerful Intel Core i7-13650HX processor, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, 512GB SSD, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics card, which is really good hardware for a gaming laptop at this price point. The processor has 14 cores, 20 threads, and up to 4.9 GHz turbo frequency. It performs really well in the benchmarks.

The design of the laptop is great, with a plastic keyboard deck and aluminum lid that actually makes the laptop look and feel premium. Furthermore, the use of aluminum instead of plastic also makes the laptop more durable. The laptop comes in two colors: Black and White, with the former being a fingerprint magnet and the latter requiring continuous wiping to keep it clean.

It weighs 6.03 lbs, which makes it a tad bit heavier than some of its competitors, like the Asus ROG Strix G16, which stands at just 5.51 lbs.

The touchpad on the laptop is small. You’ll notice it while using the laptop. The keyboard, on the other hand, is responsive and has nice travel. It has single-zone RGB backlighting. Its stereo speakers are loud and crisp and fair fine by gaming laptop standards.

As far as ports are concerned, on the right side of the chassis, you get two USB 3.2 type A ports, and on the left side, you get a Headphone jack and an RJ45 Ethernet port.

There are also ports on the back of the chassis, you get a USB 3.2 type C port, a USB 3.2 type A port, an HDMI port, and a charging port for Dell’s proprietary charger. You don’t get Thunderbolt support for the i7 variant, while the i9 variant with RTX 4070 has Thunderbolt 4 support for its USB-C port at the back.

2. Acer Nitro 17

The Best 17-inch Option

SPECIFICATIONS:

• Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS (8 Cores, 16 Threads, Up to 5.1 GHz)
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 6GB DDR6 GPU
• RAM: 16GB DDR5 Memory
• Storage: 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD
• Display: 17.3-inch Full HD 165Hz display with Nvidia G-Sync & Advanced Optimus
• Weight: 6.6 lbs

BEST PRICE RETAILERS:

The well-known Acer Nitro series has new, even more, powerful successors this year: the Acer Nitro 16 and the Acer Nitro 17. If you’re coming from desktop gaming, then you might be looking for a gaming laptop with a big, 17-inch display. If you are, look no further than the Acer Nitro 17.

Just like the Dell G16, this laptop has a 165Hz display and an RTX 4050 graphics card. It doesn’t have a QHD+ display like it, but with a budget of $1200, the Acer Nitro 17 offers the best 17-inch display you can possibly get for the price.

The laptop’s big, 17.3-inch IPS display comes with a 1920 x 1080 screen resolution. It has great color accuracy, covering 100% of the sRGB color gamut. The display brightness goes up to 400 nits, which is pretty good and you’ll face no issues seeing it even in a brightly lit area. It has a refresh rate of 165Hz, which is impressive and really shows its charm when playing games at higher frame rates.

It boasts an AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS processor that has 8 cores doubling up as 16 threads and it goes up to 5.1 GHz frequency. The performance of this processor is only slightly lower than the flagship Ryzen 9 7940HS, so you should be good to go. Moreover, it comes with a feature called “Turbo mode” for peak performance but enabling that requires your laptop to be plugged in and at least 40% charged.

The graphics on the laptop are backed by an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics card with 6GB of GDDR6 graphics memory. Apart from that, the laptop packs in 16GB DDR5 RAM and 1TB SSD storage, which is impressive considering most other laptops in this price range come with 512GB SSD storage.

In terms of build quality, it has a plastic build, and there’s quite a bit of flex on the display lid and the keyboard area, but nothing concerning. The back of the lid has a gaming aesthetic, with a stylish “N” logo in the center representing the Nitro series and a few lines running across the lid. If we talk about the weight, it is quite heavy at 7.2 lbs!

Coming to the keyboard, it has 4-zone RGB lighting, which looks beautiful in the dark. It has good travel. The touchpad is also decently big and silky smooth to operate. For audio, there are two speakers on the back of the laptop, which are loud but lack bass.

In terms of connectivity, the laptop has an RJ45 Ethernet port, a USB 2.0 port, headphone jack and a microSD slot on the left-hand side. On the right-hand side of the chassis, you get two USB 3.2 type A ports. There are also ports on the back side of the chassis. There’s a charging port there, an HDMI port, and two USB 3.2 type C ports.

3. Asus TUF Dash F15

The Most Portable Gaming Laptop for the Price

SPECIFICATIONS:

• Processor: 12th Generation Intel Core i7-12650H (10 Cores, Up to 4.7 GHz)
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 6GB DDR6 GPU
• RAM: 16GB DDR5 4800 MHz RAM
• Storage: 512GB SSD
• Display: 15.6-inch Full HD IPS-Type 144Hz (anti-glare)
• Weight: 4.4 lbs

BEST PRICE RETAILERS:

Travelers need a lightweight laptop that can be easily put inside a bag. So all the heavy, chunky gaming laptops are out of the game if you’re a frequent traveler. Here’s where the Asus TUF Dash F15 comes in: packing in great performance and power in a small package.

The latest model of the Asus TUF Dash F15 that you can buy is the 2023 model, but the models released this year are far from being the best value for money. However, the 2022 models are still holding up pretty well, so we recommend this 2022 TUF Dash F15 Intel i7-12650H model.

It has a 15.6-inch display with an IPS panel. It has a refresh rate of 144Hz and a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The display has a max brightness of 300 nits, which isn’t particularly bright for outdoor usage, but it is an anti-glare display, which more than makes up for a lower peak brightness. The laptop can be used perfectly outdoors, even in direct sunlight, thanks to its anti-glare coating.

This laptop, being a 2022 model, has a 12th generation Intel Core i7-12650H processor. However, the differences between the 13th generation and the 12th generation i7 processors are quite minimal, so there’s really not much to worry about. The Core i7-12650H is still a very powerful processor, with 10 cores and 16 threads.

The laptop also comes with an RTX 3060 GPU. Of course, this GPU is not as good as the latest RTX 40 series GPUs, and you’ll probably notice the difference when playing highly demanding games at high refresh rates with Ray Tracing enabled. However, your ability to have a good gaming experience won’t be severely limited by the GPU. Furthermore, the laptop comes with 16GB of DDR5 RAM and 512GB SSD.

Lots of talk about specs. Now let’s talk about the laptop’s design. The laptop’s build is a mix of metal and plastic, which makes it look stylish and premium. It is thin (by gaming laptop standards), and the design isn’t too outrageous. The design is minimalistic and would fit very well in professional environments too. The laptop comes in two color variants, White and Gray, both are beautiful finishes, but white requires more maintenance and cleaning.

As far as weight is concerned, it weighs just 4.4 lbs, making it one of the most portable gaming machines you can get on the market right now.

The laptop also sports a large glass touchpad. But the keyboard has no RGB backlighting, with only monochrome white backlighting available. The WASD keys are colored white, while the rest of the keys are all black. This sets them apart and makes them stand out on the keyboard, which may actually be very useful when you’re gaming at night and just don’t want to look too much on the keyboard to find your WASD keys.

The speakers are bottom firing. They are loud and decent in audio quality, with good bass and depth.

Coming to the ports, there’s something interesting you need to know about. Unlike most other gaming laptops, which have ports on the back side of the chassis, most of the ports in the Asus TUF Dash F15 are located on the left-hand side.

This makes your overall gaming setup a bit messy because the cables would need to be connected from the side and won’t remain hidden, so the placement is off. On the left-hand side, you have a charging port, an RJ45 Ethernet port, an HDMI port, two USB 3.2 type C ports, a USB 3.2 type A port, and a headphone jack.

One of those two USB C ports has Thunderbolt 4 support. Whereas on the right side of the chassis, you have just a USB 3.2 Type-A port. Not a huge problem, but yes, something that did come to our notice.

4. 2023 Asus ROG Strix G16

With the Most RGB Shimmer

SPECIFICATIONS:

• Processor: 13th Generation Intel Core i5-13450HX (10 Cores, Up to 4.6 GHz)
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU (6GB DDR6 VRAM, 140W TGP Max-P)
• RAM: 16GB DDR5 4800MHz
• Storage: 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD
• Display: 16-inch Full HD+ (1920 x 1200) 165Hz display with Nvidia G-Sync (100% sRGB, Dolby Vision, 250 nits)
• Weight: 5.5 lbs

BEST PRICE RETAILERS:

If you love RGBs, the Asus ROG Strix G16 is for you. The keyboard on the Asus ROG Strix G16 is simply one of the best RGB keyboards you can find in the gaming laptop market, designed tastefully and minimalistically instead of just slapping RGB all over the place.

The Asus ROG Strix G16 has a 16-inch display with a 1920 x 1200 resolution and a 165Hz refresh rate. It is color accurate, covering 100% of the sRGB color gamut. The display goes up to a peak brightness of 300 nits.

Talking about the specs, the laptop comes with an i5-13450HX processor, which isn’t the best of the bunch, especially considering the fact that other laptops in this list feature a 13th generation i7 processor. The processor is still pretty capable, with 10 cores and a max clock frequency of 4.6 GHz.

The GPU, though, is very powerful. It’s an Nvidia RTX 4050 graphics card with 6GB GDDR6 memory, enough for handling most games at high frame rates smoothly. Apart from that, the laptop comes with 16GB of DDR5 RAM and 1TB of SSD storage.

The lid of the laptop is made of aluminum, while the chassis is made of plastic. The design on the lid is not too minimal, but not overdone with too much gaming vibe either. There are two lines joining each other near the top left corner, while there’s a decently big ROG logo in the right corner. The laptop weighs 5.5 lbs, which is just about standard for 16-inch gaming laptops.

The keyboard comes with 4-zone RGB lighting. But that’s not it. You can actually configure the RGB backlighting for each key. The keys have a very good travel. There’s one thing that strikes out about the keyboard, though: the lack of a number pad on the side, despite the laptop being a 16-inch laptop. The touchpad is decently big, standing at 5.1 x 3.4 inches and aligned to the center. There are two speakers at the bottom of the chassis, and they are loud and crisp.

You get two USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports on the right-hand side of the laptop’s chassis. On the left-hand side, you get a Thunderbolt 4 port, a USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port, an Ethernet port, a HDMI 2.1 port, a headphone jack, and a charging port. No ports on the back side of the chassis.

5. Acer Predator Helios Neo 16

The Best Budget Option Under $1000

SPECIFICATIONS:

• Processor: 13th Generation Intel Core i5-13500HX (14 Cores, Up to 4.7 GHz)
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 6GB DDR6 VRAM
• RAM: 16GB DDR5 4800MHz
• Storage: 512GB SSD
• Display: 16-inch FHD+ (1920 x 1200) 165Hz IPS display (100% sRGB, 400 nits)
• Weight: 5.7 lbs

BEST PRICE RETAILERS:

If you’re on a bit tighter budget and don’t want to spend more than a grand on a laptop, don’t worry! We got an option for you too! The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 packs in the right set of features for a gaming laptop under $1000.

The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16, as the name suggests, has a 16-inch display with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels. It has a 165Hz refresh rate. The brightness of this display goes up to 400 nits, which is impressive, considering there are more expensive gaming laptops with dimmer screens. The display is also color accurate, covering 100% of the sRGB color gamut.

The laptop has a 13th generation Intel Core i5-13500HX processor, an RTX 4050 graphics card, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and 512GB SSD storage. The processor isn’t as powerful as other, more expensive laptops on this list. However, the graphics card is very powerful, and togetherly it can handle most games with ease.

The laptop also doesn’t have an outrageous design. The back of the lid just has a small logo on the top center, and that’s it. The laptop looks very clean overall and can be taken in professional environments.

The keyboard has 4-zone RGB backlighting. The WASD keys are concave shaped for easier location and use. The keys offer decent travel too. Coming down to the touchpad, it is of a decent size, but it is aligned to the left. That does not affect usability, just looks bad in my opinion as it’s off centered. The stereo speakers on the bottom are not the best of the bunch, but with a decent headset, you should be just fine.

In terms of connectivity, on the right side of the chassis, you get two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports and a Kensington lock. On the left side, you get a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A port, an RJ45 ethernet port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a microSD slot. On the back of the chassis, you get an HDMI 2.1 port, a charging port, and two USB Type-C ports, both of which have Thunderbolt 4 support.

6. HP Victus 16

With Most Powerful GPU

SPECIFICATIONS:

• Processor: Intel Core i5-13500HX (14 cores, 20 threads, up to 4.7 GHz)
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU 8GB GDDR6
• RAM: 16GB DDR5
• Storage: 512GB SSD
• Display: 16.1-inch Full HD+ IPS 144Hz 7ms (300 nits)
• Weight: 5 lbs

BEST PRICE RETAILERS:

While the rest of the laptops in this list still have great GPUs, if you want the absolute best GPU you can get in a gaming laptop under $1200, then the HP Victus 16 is for you. It has an RTX 4060 GPU, which is extremely powerful and would give you a very good gaming experience.

The display of the laptop is a 16-inch, 144Hz IPS panel with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels. It has a peak brightness of only 300 nits, which is not particularly bright. However, it is an anti-glare display, which kind of makes up for a dimmer display. The laptop can be used outdoors without much problem.

The HP Victus 16 is powered by an Intel Core i5-13500HX, a 14 core, 20 thread processor with a clock frequency of up to 4.7 GHz. It has an Nvidia RTX 4060 graphics card with 8GB of graphics memory, which is extremely powerful. Apart from that, it also has 16GB of DDR5 RAM and 512GB of SSD storage.

The design of the laptop is minimal, with just a neat “V” logo at the back of the lid and can definitely be used in professional environments. Though its build quality is nothing to write home about. It has a plastic build, and has a wobbly hinge for the display, but it’s usable if you mostly use your laptop by putting it on a desk. It’s available in Mica Silver, Ceramic White, and Performance Blue color options, and it weighs 5 pounds, which is a bit on the lighter side for 16-inch gaming laptops.

Coming to the keyboard, the travel of the keys is a bit short, which may affect the typing experience a bit. The keyboard doesn’t have RGB lighting, again making it a suitable option for working professionals looking for a gaming laptop. You get a decent size trackpad, which is plastic but works fine. The speakers are quite weak, though. The sound is muffled, and there’s no bass. You’re better off with a headset.

For connecting your peripherals, the laptop offers two USB type A ports on the right size, while on the left side, you get a charging port, an RJ45 ethernet port, an HDMI port, a USB type A port, and a USB type C port. You don’t get any Thunderbolt support here.

7. Lenovo Legion Pro 5i Gen 8

The Most Premium Option

SPECIFICATIONS:

• Processor: 13th Generation Intel Core i5-13500HX 14 Cores (Turbo up to 4.7 GHz)
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 6GB DDR6 VRAM
• RAM: 16GB DDR5 4800 MHz
• Storage: 512GB PCIe Gen4 SSD
• Display: 16-inch QHD+ (2560 x 1600) 165Hz IPS anti-glare (100% sRGB, 300 nits)
• Weight: 5.5 lbs

BEST PRICE RETAILERS:

You cannot go wrong with this Lenovo Legion Pro 5i Gen 8 if you’re looking for a premium gaming laptop under $1200. It offers a sleek and sturdy design with clean aesthetics and subtle Lenovo Legion branding on the lid.

Talking about the display first, the laptop’s display is 16 inches diagonally with an aspect ratio of 16:10. It has a refresh rate of 165Hz and a QHD resolution, i.e., 2560 x 1600. The display looks gorgeous as it’s also color accurate with 100% sRGB coverage. Though its peak brightness is only 300 nits, it is an anti-glare panel making it comfortable to use in brightly lit environments. Indoors, the display is just a delight to work, play games, or watch Netflix on.

The Legion Pro 5i is powered by a 13th Gen Intel Core i5-13500HX processor and an RTX 4050 GPU. It also has 16GB of DDR5 RAM and 512GB of SSD storage.

The Legion Pro 5i has a very good build quality, with the display lid made of aluminum and the chassis made of plastic. The hinge is sturdy, too, and there’s no flex whatsoever on the lid or the keyboard, which is very impressive for a gaming laptop in this price segment.

The design on the back of the lid is very minimal and professional looking, with just a “LEGION” logo on the side. You can easily use this laptop in business or professional environments without appearing odd.

Unlike most other gaming laptops, the air vents on the Legion Pro 5i aren’t all over the place and have a clean design. Don’t worry, though, the laptop still has a great thermal cooling system and doesn’t get hot so easily.

The keyboard has 4-zone RGB backlighting. It’s not per key customizable, but we’re talking about a premium laptop with “Pro” in the name here. Its touchpad is off-centered and is not very big, so it will take some time to get used to it. However, you can use an external mouse, which you probably will, as a gamer, anyway. The speakers are loud and deliver clear audio even at full volume.

As far as connectivity is concerned, you get a USB 3.2 type A port, a webcam shutter switch, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack on right, and on the left, you get one USB 3.2 type A port and a USB 3.2 type C port. On the back of the chassis, you get two USB 3.2 type A ports, a USB type C port, an RJ45 Ethernet port, and an HDMI 2.1 port.

Buying a Gaming Laptop Under $1200 in 2023: All You Need to Know

If we categorize gaming laptops by price, the gaming laptops under $1200 will fall into the mid-range category. Everything under $1000 is budget, and everything priced between $1000 to $1500 is considered mid-range.

So, shopping for a gaming laptop with $1200 in your pocket, you are still in the “lower end” of the mid-range segment. That means there are compromises to be made. Luckily not as many as you would have to if your budget was below $1000!

Let me set your expectations straight.

So, while swanky designs and RGB lighting of the gaming laptops available in this price range might impress you, your focus should still be on the core specs, i.e., CPU, GPU, RAM, Storage and Display.

These are the deciders of how good the gaming performance and experience of the laptop you purchase would be.

Although mentioned in the table above, you should note that gaming laptops with RTX 4060 GPU are rare in this price range, and you’re more likely to find this GPU paired with an i5 processor in this price range. But if you want a more “graphically” apt gaming laptop, they are definitely worth considering.

Also, there are gaming laptops with QHD displays available in this price range. They undoubtedly look better than Full HD displays and are great for watching movies, but you would not be able to take full advantage of them while gaming.

The hardware of the gaming laptops in this price range cannot run highly intensive games at QHD resolution smoothly. While you might be able to play less demanding games and DLSS 3 supporting titles at native resolution, with most games, you’ll have to scale down the resolution and play them at 1080p for the smoothest gameplay.

So, if you want to save up, you can ditch the QHD display for a decent 1080p display or get better value by spending that money on any of the other core specs mentioned above.

Final Words

With inflation affecting nearly all markets worldwide, laptops, too, have gotten pricey. If you’re on a tight budget, getting a good gaming laptop may seem like a dream, but that’s not always the case.

The Dell G16 (our best overall pick) provides you with an incredible gaming experience on a budget. Remember that it’s very common for manufacturers to cut corners in this price segment. But when it comes to gaming laptops, it’s not about how much compromise you make. It’s “where” you make those compromises that matter. The G16 has a perfect balance of all features and core specs at a great price.

Similarly, the Asus TUF Dash F15 stands out as one of the lightest gaming laptops in the market, and this range of laptops has been known for its exceptional portability for quite a few years now.

So that’s all from us!

We collected and presented the best gaming laptops under $1200 we could find in the market based on several metrics and a lot of research. Hope you like it!

If you’re on an even tighter budget and can’t spend more than a grand for a gaming laptop, check out our great picks for the sub-$1000 price segment, or if you want to explore what you can get by spending more, then check out our top picks for the sub-$1500 gaming laptops.

Read Next:

• The Best Laptops Under $1200 (Guide for non-gaming laptop shoppers)
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• Laptop GPU TGP Explained: You Need to Know This Before Buying
• Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE Review – The Most Powerful Gaming Laptop