Selection: 5 Best Gaming Laptops Under $1,200

Before you read this article, you should put aside your worries about a $1,200 gaming laptop not being as powerful as more expensive models. In fact, this is an erroneous opinion, because by buying a laptop in this price category, you will be convinced that the most modern games can be easily launched from it at maximum settings. Smoothness in games will also be on top - from 70 to 100 FPS you will get in games such as GTAV, RedDeadRedemption 2, NeedforSpeedSeries, Fortnite and other similar or even newer games.

Selection: 5 Best Gaming Laptops Under $1,200	Image	Price	Rating	Buy
HP Pavilion is the most affordable gaming laptop in 2022		$977.99	4.6	➼ ⊚
Dell G5 15 is Dell's best gaming laptop for $1,200		$1,252.97	4.4	➼ ⊚
Asus TUF is the best gaming model in 2022 in the price range		$1,069.00	4.4	➼ ⊚
Lenovo Legion Y540 is a budget gaming laptop with virtual reality support		$1,169.00	4.5	➼ ⊚
MSI GF63 Thin - $1,200 ultra-thin gaming laptop		$1,099.00	4.5	➼ ⊚

HP Pavilion is the most affordable gaming laptop in 2022

The first thing you want to pay attention to when looking at this gaming model from HP is the design. It looks quite unusual compared to other models presented in the review. In addition to the design, it stands out with a thin body, an improved backlit keyboard, and a display that works completely without delay.

If we talk about the technical component, then I immediately want to highlight the tenth generation Intel Corei7 processor and the NVIDIA GTX 1660Ti video card. This combination allows you to watch a very realistic gameplay that is simply unrealistically addictive.

But the memory in this model let us down. Of course, 16 GB of RAM is enough for comfortable gaming and work, but a 256 GB hard drive is very small, sometimes you will need to take care of making room for new games or data.

Specifications:

• Display Size: 17.3 inches;
• Maximum screen resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels;
• Processor:Intel Core i7;
• RAM: 16 GB;
• Hard Disk: 256 GB Solid State Flash;
• Graphics co-processor: NVIDIAGeForceGTX 1660Ti;
• Video card RAM size: 6 GB;
• Average battery life: 8.75 hours;
• Operating system: Windows 10 Home;
• Item Weight: 6.07 lbs.

Pros / Cons of the model:

• The most modern processor and video card;
• Backlit keyboard;
• Supports virtual reality and ray tracing;
• Large display;
• Long battery life without charging.

• The hard drive has a very small amount of storage for a gaming laptop;
• While playing very modern demanding games, it can overheat, so for a gaming laptop it is better to buy a cooling pad right away.

Dell G5 15 is Dell's best gaming laptop for $1,200

When you want to look at this laptop, it may disappoint you, because the plastic, and the design itself, looks very cheap, it may seem to you that you are holding a car for $ 500, not 1200. But at Dell it is very common design problem, especially for game models. However, the laptop still has gaming properties, and very good ones, therefore, it deserves to be on this list.

As for the technical configuration, it has a ninth-generation Intel Core i7 processor. This is powerful enough, the laptop will cope in a couple of seconds, both with modern games and with heavy demanding programs. The video card here is NVIDIA GTX 1050, which greatly improves performance. With 16 GB of RAM, you can easily get started with multitasking and be amazed at how quickly the laptop opens games and programs.

Other interesting features - the laptop screen has an anti-reflective coating, as well as a backlit keyboard. As far as storage space goes, there's plenty of it - two hard drives, one 256GB and the other 1TB, and that's exactly why the laptop is worth considering.

Specifications:

• Display Size: 15.6 inches;
• Maximum screen resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels;
• Processor: ninth generation Intel Core i7;
• RAM: 16 GB;
• Hard disk: 256 GB + 1 TB;
• Graphics coprocessor: NVIDIA GTX 1050Ti;
• Video card RAM size: 4 GB;
• Operating system: Windows 10 Home;
• Item Weight: 2.2 lbs.

Pros / Cons of the model:

• Ideal for modern games in terms of its characteristics;
• Very light;
• Huge amount of storage space;
• Backlit keyboard;
• Anti-glare display.

• Not as powerful as other laptops on this list
• Very unattractive design that looks very cheap.

Asus TUF is the best gaming model in 2022 in the price range

The $1,200 price tag for a gaming laptop is very low, and this model from Asus is $1,069, so it's definitely worth checking out. First of all, it should be said that it has a thin and sleek design.

The laptop has a modern AMD Ryzen 7 processor, as well as an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card. This configuration gives the computer very powerful capabilities, and for such a small price, this is very pleasing to the players. During games, the laptop behaves quite adequately, does not “lag” or “stutter”, so you can easily enjoy the gameplay or heavy programs for work.

It has 16 GB of RAM, and this also makes it possible to get acquainted with excellent work in multitasking mode. Whatever you want to run on your laptop, it will do it in seconds. Hard disk space is 512 GB, and in principle this is enough for carefree use. You shouldn't expect a 1TB hard drive for $1,000, it's extremely rare.

Specifications:

• Display Size: 15.6 inches;
• Maximum screen resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels;
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 7;
• RAM: 16 GB;
• Graphics coprocessor: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060;
• Operating system: Windows 10 Home;
• Item Weight: 4.85 lbs.

Pros / Cons of the model:

• The laptop supports the ray tracing function, and is also prepared to work with virtual reality mode;
• Works on a powerful processor and a modern video card;
• Has a slim, pleasing design;
• Backlit keyboard.

• Asus does not treat its customers very well in the sense that the company has very poor technical support for users;
• A laptop can overheat very much during work or play, but in principle this is normal for gaming laptops, so it’s better to buy a laptop stand with fans in advance.

Lenovo Legion Y540 is a budget gaming laptop with virtual reality support

I call this laptop “budget” because it costs $1,244, which is very little for a good gaming machine, and you can see for yourself how much non-budget gaming laptops cost from $2,000 and up. One of its features is support for virtual reality, and this is very important in the gaming world.

The NVIDIA GTX 1660Ti graphics card pairs perfectly with VR mode for an unreal gaming experience. Also, the ninth-generation Intel Core i7 processor will help with this, which provides great performance not only for games, but also for work. 16 GB of RAM, so not only an interesting experience in games is open for you, but also multitasking.

Also there is a combined memory. 512 GB solid state drive and 1 TB hard drive. There's a lot of it, and it's very cool.

Specifications:

• Display Size: 15.6 inches;
• Maximum screen resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels;
• Processor: Intel Core i7;
• RAM: 16 GB;
• Hard Disk: 512 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD;
• Graphics coprocessor: NVIDIA GTX 1660Ti;
• Video card RAM size: 6 GB;
• Operating system: Windows 10;
• Item Weight: 5.1 lbs.

Pros / Cons of the model:

• Virtual reality support;
• Backlit keyboard;
• Huge amount of memory for storage;
• Powerful processor and modern graphics card.

• Fans can be very noisy during operation;
• The offline battery drains very quickly.

MSI GF63 Thin - $1,200 ultra-thin gaming laptop

One of the things to note about this laptop is that it has a very stylish and thin body, which is a huge rarity among gaming laptops. You can also note the simple, but at the same time very stylish design, made of quality materials.

As for the technical configuration, the ninth generation Intel Core i7 processor is installed here. This detail greatly increases the processing speed, which cannot but please players who are looking for a reliable, powerful and at the same time not expensive machine. The video card here is NVIDIA GTX 1650, which also has a positive effect on the overall picture of performance and multitasking. RAM 16 GB.

Specifications:

• Display Size: 15.6 lbs;
• Maximum screen resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels;
• Processor: Intel Core i7;
• RAM: 16 GB;
• Hard disk: 512 GB;
• Graphics coprocessor: NVIDIA GTX 1650;
• Video card RAM size: 4 GB;
• Operating system: Windows 10;
• Item Weight: 4.1 lbs.

Pros / Cons of the model:

• Excellent performance due to modern graphics card and processor;
• Backlit keyboard;
• Modern games run smoothly, without braking.

• MSI provides poor technical support to its customers;
• Many users face some problems when updating drivers.

Quick Guide: How to Buy the Best $1,200 Gaming Laptop in 2022

Such an expensive purchase should not be spontaneous, it is better to approach the choice of a gaming laptop with all responsibility. To do this, I have compiled a small guide for you, which you can focus on when choosing a model.

CPU. At this $1,200 price point, you can find tenth generation AMDRyzen 7 or Intel Corei7 processors. While AMD is said to be more for gaming, it's clear from a lot of feedback that Intel does a little better and is more stable.

Graphic coprocessor. The video card is also important in a gaming laptop. For $1200, you can find models with graphics cards like the 1660Ti and 1650, which should be enough to play the game without any problems. Only you have to take care and choose a model that supports virtual reality and ray tracing.

RAM should be at least 16 GB, eight will be too little. The hard drive must have at least 512 GB of memory, and at best 1 TB.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which budget VR gaming laptop to buy?

Lenovo Legion Y540 is the best gaming laptop under 1200 dollars with virtual reality support.

What kind of gaming experience should I anticipate with laptops under $1,200?

In the under $1,200 category, expect laptops capable of running most modern games at medium to high settings. These laptops typically feature mid-range GPUs (like NVIDIA GTX or RTX series), more powerful CPUs (like Intel i5 or i7), and at least 8GB to 16GB of RAM. They offer a good balance of performance and value for more serious gamers.