Choosing a gaming laptop gets really tough when your budget is $1,500 because there are so many choices and almost all of them have similar specs which makes it even harder to choose.
Not to worry! We put in the time, we did the research; we present you with our list of the best gaming laptops under $1,500.
We closely looked at all the specs and organized them accordingly from first to last. We hope this list makes purchasing a laptop a little easier.
With that being said, let’s dive right in!
Table of Contents
Best Gaming Laptops Under $1500
1. ASUS ROG Strix G15
- Display: 15.6” 1080p
- CPU: Intel Core i7-10750H
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070
- RAM: 16 GB
- Storage: 1TB SSD
So what makes this laptop deserving of our top ranking?
Well, for starters, it comes with a 1080p 240Hz display, which is one of the highest refresh rate screens we’ve seen in our series of articles about the best gaming laptops.
Then you have the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Graphics Card, which together with the display, makes for a bombshell of a combination that should provide an insane gaming performance that is desktop-like.
Here are two of the most popular games and this GPUs performance when running them along with frame rates:
| Fortnite | Cyberpunk 2077 |
| 188 fps at Medium 1920×1080 | 75.8 fps at Medium 1920×1080 |
| 149 fps at High 1920×1080 | 61.9 fps at High 1920×1080 |
| 141 fps at Epic 1920×1080 | 52.9 fps at Ultra 1920×1080 |
| 93.5 fps at Epic 2560×1440 | 34.5 fps at Epic 2560×1440 |
| 45.5 fps at Epic 3840×2160 | 16.3 fps at Epic 3840×2160 |
Here are some benchmarks:
| Cinebench R23 (Single Core) | Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core) |
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For more benchmarks and scores, head over to Notebookcheck.com
The CPU (Intel Core i7-10750H) is also a great addition, making this laptop one of the best gaming laptops we’ve reviewed.
You can expect amazing gaming performance from this CPU, no matter if you’re playing games or doing other CPU-intensive tasks such as editing videos or using Chrome with a hundred tabs open.
No matter what you throw at it, it has you covered.
It comes with 1TB of fast PCIe NVMe SSD storage, which should cover your all game storage needs, and then some.
We do, however, still recommend that you get an external HDD of at least 1TB because storing everything on your built-in SSD will probably slow your laptop down, which defeats the purpose of having this amazing device, to begin with!
I’ve been experiencing this on my gaming laptop for a few months now, even though it has a powerful enough CPU paired with a GTX 1060. Because my SSD is almost always full, it can’t even play Fortnite at High settings.
According to Notebookcheck’s testing, my laptop should be able to run Fortnite at over 100 frames per second without breaking a sweat, however, mine can’t even maintain a solid 60 fps; I have to drop it to Medium settings to get 60 fps. What a shame!
Pros
- Massive 1TB of SSD storage for fast loading times and storing games
- Insanely powerful RTX 2070 GPU will let you play Fortnite at over 100 fps on Epic settings
- Its 240Hz refresh rate display ensures 100+ fps
Cons
- It has no real “cons”. Maybe 16GB of RAM should’ve been 32GB?
2. Asus ROG Zephyrus M15
- Display: 15.6” 1080p
- CPU: Intel Core i7-10750H
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q
- RAM: 16 GB
- Storage: 1TB SSD
This laptop has the same 1080p 240Hz display. It also comes with the same CPU (Intel Core i7-10750H), and a 1TB PCIe SSD storage drive, which means you shouldn’t need an upgrade for a long while.
The reason this laptop is at our no.2 slot is that it has a less powerful Graphics Card – the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q.
It’s about 13% slower than the Non-Max-Q version but is still very capable and would give you almost the same performance as the non-Max-Q version.
Here are two of the most popular games and this GPUs performance when running them along with frame rates:
| Fortnite | Cyberpunk 2077 |
| 122 fps at Medium 1920×1080 | 62 fps at Medium 1920×1080 |
| 115 fps at High 1920×1080 | 51.5 fps at High 1920×1080 |
| 100 fps at Epic 1920×1080 | 43.8 fps at Ultra 1920×1080 |
| 76 fps at Epic 2560×1440 | |
| 31.5 fps at Epic 3840×2160 |
For more benchmarks and scores, head over to Notebookcheck.com
This laptop comes with an RGB Backlit keyboard (which everyone seems to love), a USB Type-C, three USB 3.0s, an HDMI port, and a combo headphone jack. It also has the RJ-45 port, which is an essential component for gaming laptops, because it’s still better than Wi-Fi.
Coming in at 4.43 lbs., it is one of the lightest gaming laptops on this list.
Pros
- 1TB SSD storage for fast load times and storing games
- Beastly NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q Graphics Card
- 1080p 240Hz of super-high refresh Display
- Powerful CPU for gaming as well as multitasking
Cons
- GPU is less powerful than the Non-Max-Q laptop found in our first pick
3. HP OMEN 17
- Display: 17.3” 1080p
- CPU: Intel Core i7-10750H
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070
- RAM: 16 GB
- Storage: 512GB SSD
Why is the Omen 17 our third pick?
Well, it has many things that make it a great gaming laptop under $1,500, including its 144Hz refresh rate display which is rarely found in gaming laptops in this price range.
It is a 17.3-inch display, so you’ll get the more real estate to enjoy a more detailed gaming experience as well as more space for Desktop icons, which we all make a mess of on our desktops.
It has the same, very capable CPU we found in the previous laptops, the Intel Core i7-10750H.
Here are some benchmarks:
| Cinebench R23 (Single Core) | Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core) |
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For more benchmarks and scores, head over to Notebookcheck.com
In terms of storage, this laptop comes with a 512GB SSD which is smaller than what we’ve seen so far. It’s not a big deal though, as you can always upgrade your storage later when needed. Also, it has 16 GB DDR4 RAM which will allow you to play most of the current AAA games.
It comes with an RGB Backlit keyboard, an RJ-45 Ethernet port, three USB 3.0 ports, a USB Type-C port, an HDMI, and a headphone combo jack.
Pros
- Excellent Graphics Card paired with a powerful CPU that can handle most games
- Full HD 1080p and a 144Hz display for high refresh rate gaming
- A decent 512GB SSD storage drive for fast loading and storing games
- RJ-45 Ethernet port for a reliable Internet connection while gaming
Cons
- Storage is less than our first and second picks
4. Acer Predator Helios 300
- Display: 15.6” 1080p
- CPU: Intel Core i7-10750H
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q
- RAM: 16 GB
- Storage: 512GB SSD
You may notice that the Helios 300 has a 240Hz refresh rate and wonder why we have it here at our number four slot. Well, the truth is, this thing is pretty heavy! We’re talking 5.51 lbs.! That’s more than the weight of a standard-sized brick! You’ll HAVE to place it on a desk unless you want to build your muscles as you attempt to lug this laptop around.
This laptop’s Intel Core i7-10750H CPU is the same as previous laptops; it’s a very capable CPU for games as well as other CPU-heavy tasks such as editing videos or rendering.
Here are some benchmarks:
| Cinebench R23 (Single Core) | Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core) |
| min: 1136
avg: 1224 median: 1253 (76%) max: 1270 Points | min: 7458
avg: 7676 median: 7739 (29%) max: 7965 Points |
It comes with a dual-channel DDR4 16GB of RAM, which should be enough to run most triple-A games without any RAM limitations. Also, its NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q 8GB makes a great duo when paired with the Intel CPU.
Here are two of the most popular games and this GPUs performance when running them along with frame rates:
| Fortnite | Cyberpunk 2077 |
| 122 fps at Medium 1920×1080 | 62 fps at Medium 1920×1080 |
| 115 fps at High 1920×1080 | 51.5 fps at High 1920×1080 |
| 100 fps at Epic 1920×1080 | 43.8 fps at Ultra 1920×1080 |
| 76 fps at Epic 2560×1440 | |
| 31.5 fps at Epic 3840×2160 |
For more benchmarks and scores, head over to Notebookcheck.com
This laptop comes with 512GB of SSD storage, which is fast for boot times and loading apps and games but isn’t enough for storing all of your games. We recommend that you only store your games on the built-in SSD, and store other files like videos and photos, on an external HDD or inexpensive SSD (something like a Samsung T5).
Pros
- 1080p 240Hz high refresh rate display
- 16GB RAM which will allow you to play most games without issues
- 512GB fast SSD storage
- Wi-Fi 6 is considerably faster than current Wi-Fi 5 devices
- RJ-45 port for reliable Internet connection for gaming
Cons
- Coming in at 5.51 lbs. this thing weighs more than a standard-sized brick!
5. MSI Creator 17M A10SE-216
- Display: 17.3” 1080p
- CPU: Intel Core i7-10750H
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
- RAM: 16 GB
- Storage: 1TB SSD
From here on out, the laptops we’ll be reviewing all have the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Graphics Card which is 13% slower than the RTX 2070 Max-Q variant, and 29% slower than the standard RTX 2070 Graphics Card.
Here are two of the most popular games and this GPUs performance when running them along with frame rates:
| Fortnite | Cyberpunk 2077 |
| 162 fps at Medium 1920×1080 | 62.3 fps at Medium 1920×1080 |
| 144 fps at High 1920×1080 | 48 fps at High 1920×1080 |
| 113 fps at Epic 1920×1080 | 41 fps at Ultra 1920×1080 |
| 73.8 fps at Epic 2560×1440 | 28.1 fps at Epic 2560×1440 |
| 33.7 fps at Epic 3840×2160 | 12.6 fps at Epic 3840×2160 |
For more benchmarks and scores, head over to Notebookcheck.com
This laptop features a 17.3-inch 1080p 144Hz display which is a nice size for playing games; it’s also great for editing videos and photos. Also of note is the 1TB NVMe SSD storage which will load your games fast.
It comes at 4.85 lbs., so it’s somewhat portable. Also, we have a Backlit keyboard, an RJ-45 port, a USB Type-C port, an HDMI port, three USB 3.0 ports, a headphone jack, and an audio jack.
Pros
- Good SSD storage for storing games and fast loading/boot times
- 16GB of RAM for playing games without a hitch
- A 17.3-inch 144Hz display for high refresh rate gaming and video editing
Cons
- A weaker GPU that will lower gaming performance
6. ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15
- Display: 15.6” 1080p
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7-4800HS
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
- RAM: 16 GB
- Storage: 1TB SSD
This is the first laptop on this list with a Ryzen 7 processor. It is very similar to the Intel Core i7-10750H found in the previous gaming laptops.
Its processor is good for gaming as well as heavy multitasking and tasks that require a beast of a CPU and multi-core performance.
This laptop has a 15.6-inch 1080p 240Hz high refresh rate display for enjoying games at over 200 frames per second.
Its 16GB of RAM is plenty for most triple-A games, even Cyberpunk 2077, however, the Graphics Card may not allow you to reach the ideal fps.
| Cyberpunk 2077 |
| 62.3 fps at Medium 1920×1080 |
| 48 fps at High 1920×1080 |
| 41 fps at Ultra 1920×1080 |
| 28.1 fps at Epic 2560×1440 |
| 12.6 fps at Epic 3840×2160 |
Here are some benchmarks:
Cinebench R20 – Cinebench R23 CPU (Single Core): 482 Points (75%)
Cinebench R20 – Cinebench R23 CPU (Multi-Core): 3869 Points (37%)
For more benchmarks and scores, head over to Notebookcheck.com
This laptop comes with a 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD, which is plenty for all of your games, or at least your favorite ones. Remember, you don’t want to fill up your SSD, if you do your laptop will slow down, which is why we recommend that you store other files (including games that don’t require speed) on an external HDD.
Coming in at 4.60 lbs., this is the second lightest gaming laptop on this list which is great news if portability is something you look for in a laptop.
Also, we have the usual suspects: a Backlit keyboard, four USB 3.0 ports, one USB Type-C, an RJ-45 port, a headphone combo jack.
Finally, this laptop comes with a pre-installed Windows 10 Pro. Most gaming laptops don’t come with a Windows 10 Pro license, which makes this gaming laptop an exception.
Pros
- Solid gaming performance
- Huge 1TB of SSD for fast access and storing all your games
- A powerful CPU for gaming as well as content creation
- Comes with a nice high refresh 15.6-inch 1080p 240Hz display
Cons
- The GPU could be better at this price range
7. ASUS TUF A15
- Display: 15.6” 1080p
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7-4800H
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
- RAM: 16 GB
- Storage: 1TB SSD
Both, the Ryzen 7 4800HS and the Ryzen 7 4800H, are almost identical in terms of performance in games. It’s the refresh rate that made us rank this laptop lower on our list.
This Asus comes with a 15.6-inch 1080p 144Hz display while the ROG Zephyrus G15 comes with a 15.6-inch 1080p 240Hz display. However, you’ll get the same performance out of both, so feel free to go with either laptop.
This laptop’s RTX 2060 Graphics Card offers decent gaming performance for the price range; however, we feel there are better options.
Here are two of the most popular games and this GPUs performance when running them along with frame rates:
| Fortnite | Cyberpunk 2077 |
| 162 fps at Medium 1920×1080 | 62.3 fps at Medium 1920×1080 |
| 144 fps at High 1920×1080 | 48 fps at High 1920×1080 |
| 113 fps at Epic 1920×1080 | 41 fps at Ultra 1920×1080 |
| 73.8 fps at Epic 2560×1440 | 28.1 fps at Epic 2560×1440 |
| 33.7 fps at Epic 3840×2160 | 12.6 fps at Epic 3840×2160 |
For more benchmarks and scores, head over to Notebookcheck.com
This laptop has 1TB PCIe SSD of storage which is more than enough for all of your favorite games. Also, it weighs about 5.07 lbs., has an RGB Backlit keyboard, an RJ-45 port, a USB Type-C port, three USB 3.0s, one USB 2.0 port, an HDMI port, and a headphone combo jack.
Pros
- Powerful CPU for gaming, live-streaming, and content creation
- A high refresh rate 144Hz 1080p display for smooth gaming performance
- RJ-45 port for a stable Internet connection while playing games
- Comes with an RGB Backlit keyboard
Cons
- Graphics Card could be a better one at this price
8. MSI GE75 Raider-287
- Display: 17.3” 1080p
- CPU: Intel Core i7-9750H
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
- RAM: 16 GB
- Storage: 512GB SSD
With a 17.3-inch 1080p 144Hz display, it is our third gaming laptop that comes with a 17-inch display.
It comes with an Intel Core i7-9750H CPU which is about 4% slower than the Intel Core i7-10750H, according to Userbenchmark.com.
Here are some benchmarks:
| Cinebench R20 – Cinebench R23 CPU (Single Core) | Cinebench R20 – Cinebench R23 CPU (Multi Core) |
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For more benchmarks and scores, head over to Notebookcheck.com
Unfortunately, this laptop comes with a 512GB NVMe SSD storage option, compared to the 1TB we’ve seen in most laptops on this list.
Coming in at 5.73 lbs. it’s somewhat portable. Also, it has a Backlit keyboard, three USB 3.0 Ports, an HDMI port, a USB Type-C port, an RJ-45 port, a headphone, and mic jack, and, finally, an SD Card Reader.
Pros
- Best laptop for gaming as well as for video editing, especially as it has an SD card reader
- Great CPU for a combination of tasks such as gaming and content creation
- Comes with enough RAM to be able to play almost all games
- A high refresh rate 17-inch display for a smoother gaming experience
Cons
- Storage and Graphics Card could be better at this price
Buyers’ Guide: How to Select the Best Gaming Laptop Under $1,500
Here are some of the things you should consider when buying a gaming laptop under $1,500. These are the same things we took into consideration when selecting the laptops on our list.
These are the minimum specs you should have in mind when buying a gaming laptop in this price range, anything less is probably not worth your money and consideration.
CPU
In terms of CPU, the Intel Core i7-10750H CPU is quite common in this category of gaming laptops.
Make sure that you get at least an Intel Core i7-10750H or higher.
On the Ryzen side of things, we found the Ryzen 7 4800H and the Ryzen 7 4800HS to be common in this price range. It is a great CPU for gamers as well as those who live-stream their games on YouTube or Twitch.
GPU
In the GPU department, we saw that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 was one of the top GPUs in this budget range, while the RTX 2060 was on the lower end. The RTX 2060 is the bare minimum, if you see anything less, please stay away!
The ideal scenario would be one in which you were able to get an even more powerful GPU than the RTX 2070, maybe one from the RTX 3,000 series for laptops that was just launched?
They haven’t been released, but they’re going to be the ones that you should consider for this price range.
RAM
RAM isn’t an issue. The minimum RAM we saw was 16GB which is good for this budget. However, if you find a laptop that offers 24GB or even 32GB of RAM in this price range, paired with the RTX 2070 and the Intel Core i7-10750H processor, jump on it
Storage
At this price range, the most common storage spec we saw was the 1TB of SSD storage. If you’re able to get an even larger size SSD, even better. Make sure not to get anything below 512GB (it’s highly unlikely but we thought we should mention it).
Display
In terms of refresh rate, make sure it is at least 144Hz if you’re interested in high refresh rate gaming. Otherwise, feel free to ignore the refresh rate in favor of other specs.
Misc.
You know what goes here – the all-important RJ-45 port – because if you’re lagging, your laptop’s specs don’t really matter that much! You might also look for an HDMI port that lets you connect to a larger, external monitor. This can really take your gaming experience to another level.
Best Gaming Laptops Under $1,500: Quick Answers
✅ Are gaming laptops good for everyday use?
Yes, absolutely. They have some of the best specs on the market, which makes them the fastest and the most capable laptops.
Guess what that means? It means that no matter what you plan on doing with these laptops, they’re ready to assist you without any compromise on power or performance.
From playing demanding games to using MS office, they’ll handle anything that comes their way.
✅ Are gaming laptops better than business laptops?
It depends on what you’re planning to do with your gaming laptop. Are you going to use MS Office apps all day long? Or are you going to use MS office and play some games when you’re bored and want to take a break?
If you plan on doing the latter, then yes, gaming laptops are better than business laptops, because a business laptop is designed for things like the Office app suite, they’re not capable of playing high-end games.
However, if all you’re going to do is use Office and other not-so-demanding applications, then no, gaming laptops aren’t better than business laptops. They’re heavier and clunkier, which means that they aren’t as portable, so you’ll have to keep them on a desk.
✅ Why are Asus laptops cheap?
All Asus laptops are not cheap but they do provide more power for the same price when compared with other brands.
If a laptop seems cheap, it’s probably because it doesn’t have great specs. Because, if the specs are anything to write home about, they are likely to be expensive.
If you go on Amazon and search “gaming laptops”, you’ll see that there are gaming laptops that cost thousands of dollars. That’s because they have specs that are very high-end, which are suited for games and other software that require high-end specs to run properly.
Final Words
So, this is it. These are the best gaming laptops under $1,500. We’ve listed the best we could get our hands-on, the ones you can easily find and buy on Amazon.
We’ve also shared a few tips in our Buyer’s Guide in case you’re the adventurous type and want to find your own laptop.
If you find better gaming laptops under $1,500 than the ones we’ve listed, we’d love to know about them and even include them on this list, so more people can have a look at them and hopefully find a laptop that meets their needs.
More Gaming laptop reviews:
- Best Gaming Laptops Under $600
- Best Gaming Laptops Under $700
- Best Gaming Laptops Under $800
- Best Gaming Laptops Under $1000
- Best Gaming Laptops Under $1500
- Best Gaming Laptops Under $2000
- Best Gaming Laptops Under $2500
- Best Laptops for League of Legends
- Best Laptops for Minecraft
- Best Laptops for Overwatch
- Best Laptops for Sims 4
- Best Laptops for World of Warcraft
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