Note: Check the new filterable comparison system.
Table of Contents (in short):
- Best Deals / Quick Picks - Highly cost effective
- Recommendations - Highest gaming performance you can get for 1000$, divided to 15.6″, 17.3″ and 14.0″/T&L
- Go to the complete list - the whole shebang
Best Deals / Quick Picks
15.6″:
- Lenovo Y500 (or the I5 version). Now sold with a dual GT 650M GDDR5 configuration, I5/I7, 6GB/8GB DDR3 and a nice (glossy) 1080p screen. The dual GT 650M GDDR5 gaming performance is something between the 670MX and 675MX which is excellent – the Y500 provides excellent gaming performance for the money. The battery performance is so-so, however. I think the I5 version is more cost effective and recommend you get it.
- NOW for 1050-1100$ only – the MSI GX60 with Radeon 7970M and A10-4600M. The gaming performance for very high graphics settings is very good – around 670MX to 675MX(!), the matte 1080p screen is of good enough quality with high contrast, 8GB DDR3, 750GB 7200RPM HDD and blu-ray player. You get a lot of gaming performance for your price. The GX60 is quite cool,but noisy. Your choice.
Lenovo Y580 for those who want a complete solution including GTX 660M, I7, good 1080p display, blu-ray buner, backlit keyboard, large HDD, good speakers good battery and a Windows copy. You get an overall very good gaming laptop with good performance and a lot of features plus good Lenovo build quality. The value you get for your money is maximized.
17.3″:
- HP dv7t-7300 QE - around 950$-1000$ with coupons, you get a good 1080p screen, sleek looks, GT 650M GDDR5, 8GB DDR3, backlit keyboard, blu-ray player and a 2-year warranty.
- Dell Inspiron 17R SE - when there are coupons, its an excellent choice, with 32GB mSSD cache drive and a good 1080p screen and a good gaming performance fora 17.3″ in this price range.
14.0″ / Thin & light:
- Asus G46VW (14.0″) – Fastest with GTX 660M and an I5, good build quality, low noise levels and very good thermals. Including Windows OS and an above the average 768p screen.
- Lenovo Y400 (14.0″) – Highest gaming performance per money ratio with the newer GT 750M GDDR5 GPU + I7 CPU. Around 750$, it’s an the best performance per price you’ll get for an 14.0″ gaming laptop. The new GT 750M should be faster than the GTX 660M and even have some 15-20% performance advantage, top.
Recommendations
The recommendations are divided to 15.6″, 17.3″ and Thin & light / 14.0″ gaming laptops recommendations. This is not the complete list of all possible laptops in this price range, only the recommendations. For the complete list of the more interesting gaming laptops in this price range, click.
Generally, the top you’ll currently get is the GTX 660M or GTX 670M performance level. The recommendations are based not only on the gaming performance and gaming performance per money ratio, but also on how feature rich is the laptop, its build quality and more. For example, the Lenovo Y500 is an excellent 15.6″ choice because it packs a lot of features for its price along with a very good gaming performance for in this price range.
15.6″ |
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| 120-160% for ultra settings | MSI GX60 (review), 1050$-1100$
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| 130%-150%, depends on the game | Lenovo Y500 (or the I5 version), 900$ (I5) -1025$ (review)
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| 115% | FORCE 16F3 (22-001), 960$ (990$ cash)
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| 85% | HP dv6t-7000, 750$-900$
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| 85% | MSI GE60, 900$-950$, (review)
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| 85% / 130-140% with a docking bay | Lenovo Y500 dual-GT 650M, 900$-950$ (review) |
| 85% | Sager NP6165, 820$ cash
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| 65%-70% | Dell Inspiron 15R SE, 700$-750$ (review)
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| 60-70% | Asus N56DP, 800$ (review)
|
17.3″ |
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| 85% | HP dv7t-7300 QE, 975$
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| 85% | Dell Inspiron 17R SE (review), 950$-1100$
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| 85% | Sager NP6175, 850$ cash
|
Thin & Light / 14.0″ |
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| 97% | Asus G46VW (14.0″) (review), 900$-950$
|
| 85% | Lenovo Y400 (14.0″), 750$-800$
|
| 60% | Sony Vaio S 15.5 (15.5″), 900$-950$
|
YOU FUCKING FORGOT THE ASUS
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus—17.3%22-Laptop—8GB-Memory—1TB-Hard-Drive—Black/7674057.p;tab=reviews?id=1218858193064&skuId=7674057&ci_src=11138#AID=10597222&CJPID=6146836&PID=5672651&SID=73n1n0chzdyr&URL=http%3A//www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus—17.3%2522-Laptop—8GB-Memory—1TB-Hard-Drive—Black/7674057.p%3Btab%3Dreviews%3Fid%3D1218858193064%26skuId%3D7674057%23tab%3Dspecifications&loc=01&ref=39&tab=overview
terrible site
Plus the gx60 has a terrible CPU, the amd mobile chips are the worst CPU’s for gaming. That a10 is comparable to a i5 sandy bridge, which is quite terrible compared to an i7 ivy bridge. The laptop i listed is way better than that.
Plus the gx60 has a terrible CPU, the amd mobile chips are the worst CPU’s for gaming. That a10 is comparable to a i5 sandy bridge, which is quite terrible compared to an i7 ivy bridge. The laptop i listed is way better than that. The CPU will bottleneck the GPU on heavy games
It is not in the 1000$ range and this one appears in the deals section
wow, $1250 is well in the $1000 range. what is your $1000 range?
well, it’s fluid, but I tried not going over 1050$. Anyway, I agree it should be in the recommendations – I’m working on a new system now, so people will be able to see all the options in one place
“Best Gaming Laptops under 1000$”
“under 1000$”
Try reading the title.
First time poster here! Thanks for the list, although I have a few questions :/
I’m debating between the lenovo y580 and HP envy dv6 7214nr (just a newer dv6 series I think). Currently leaning toward the lenovo but I heard the heat does get extremely bad due to poor design and the wifi is very shoddy. Thought? Plus I love a matte screen but the envy costs like $150 more on where I’m looking.
Hi DAN!
1. I think the new dv6t-7200 is not cooler
2. The Y580 would probably get hot under heavy load, but it will work. The 17R SE and dv6t are not that cooler, if even at all. I think the MSI GE60 niether.
3. You can get the dv6t-7000!:
http://www.gaminglaptopsjunky.com/lenovo-y580-gtx-660m-fullhd-deal/ for 850$ (+ tax and shipping). The temps won’t be low, but won’t be too high too.
4. What are your needs? specific games?
Thanks for the reply! Just looking for something that can run most modern games on medium settings, high if possible (no hope for BF3 ultra mode lol). My budget is about $800-$900, but I think I can stretch it a little bit more if it’s worth it. Have you heard anything about lenovo’s wifi? I’m using it for school as well, so good wifi is a must. Backlit keyboard is a must too since I study/work a lot at night.
That dv6t sure looks a lot better than lenovo! Why can’t lenovo get a cue from HP design haha
The Lenovo looks good too to my eyes. Have you seen it? it looks more aged probably, but the finish is good.
Haven’t heard anything about the WiFi, but in the worst case, grab a 15-30$ wireless USB adapter from newegg or something – it will serve you well in the future too
About the performance – the dv6t-7000 with GT 650M should run BF3 on very high settings and many games on high to highest settings too
I looked around on lenovo forum and a lot of people have problems with wifi connection and defective gtx660m card. Those issues scared me since I don’t have a lot of time to send it to repair and so on. As for the HP dv6, I’ve seen heating problem (expected with HP), occasional crap build quality and beats audio problem (random volume changing).
Have you used either one of them? direct feedback would help a bunch. And what’s the difference between the envy dv6 and pavilion dv6 on this site? I don’t see any differences.
Just a forewarning, I just talked to Eurocom and they claimed that the Fox 4.0 is no longer available. They also took about 4 days to return my email. Shady business. You might want to remove the link for the Fox, you can’t actually get to that page through their website.
removed! thanks!
I don’t think they are shady, though
what are you going to do then? Sager?
The ‘shady’ comment may have been preemptive. Soon after I left that comment another sales rep called me and apologized about the Fox, and was fairly personable. He was able to work the Shark down to around 825, which is within my budget. I think I’ll go with it.
for 825$ it’s an excellent price!
is it the student price?
Yes, I’m quite happy with it — I was about to pay 750 for the Fox, then I’d need to buy 4gb of ram for another 30 or so. So I get the 8gb RAM PLUS the 660 for a little bit more. Good deal in my eyes.
Would you choose a hybrid drive over a standard if there wasn’t a price difference?
yes, unless the the standard capacity is larger and you need it
I’ve been trying to decide on a laptop for awhile now, and have finally narrowed it down to the Eurocom Shark or the Eurocom Fox 4.0. I’m looking at pretty basic configurations for both.
Eurocom Shark:
1080p MATTE screen
2gb gddr5 GTX 660M
i7-2670qm processor
8gb ddr3-1600 RAM
500gb 7200 rpm hard drive
It also includes 3 RAM SODIMM sockets.
~around $825 with student discount.
Fox 4.0:
1080P MATTE screen
1GB 650M graphics
i7-3610m processor
4gb ddr3-1600 RAM (I will buy another 4gb but its too expensive on the website)
500gb 7200rpm hard drive
2 RAM slots
Around $750 after discount – ~a little more after i buy an additional 4gb of ram
I will realistically be using the laptop for casual gaming. I like the possibility of playing games such as BF3 on decent settings – id also like it to be decently future-proof. I’ll be carrying the laptop around a couple times a week to school and back – it’ll also be used for basic school oriented applications. Will these laptops have the same build quality? overheating? weight? Any opinions and pros/cons would be much appreciated.
Will these laptops
Hi, welcome back (-:
1. According to notebookcheck reviews, the Shark might have a better cooling solution. Anyway, I suggest getting a cooling pad anyway.
2. Note that you can replace the HDD with Crucial m4 128GB for the same price, in case you want it.
3. Both will run BF3 on very high settings
4. If I’d buy the FOX, I’d take it with an I5 and not I7 to save the money
5. Personally, If I had limited budget, I’d take the FOX with screen upgrade and I5
My concern with the i5 on the Fox is that it apparently can only run the RAM at 1333mhz. Should that cause any real problems? And which screen option do you mean, and what will the upgrade do for me? Would I have to worry about overheating at all if I went with the FOX? I appreciate your response.
there is always a chance for overheating – hot environment, blocking the air ways, such things.
The 1333MHZ things shouldn’t worry you, the numbers are ok.
If you want to get good performance for BF3 and a like and still save money than it’s a good path.
About the Screen – there are two matte screen options. The matte “95%” one has really good colors. The default screen is also very good, so no worry. Just for gaming, it doesn’t really matter
Would both the Shark and the Fox have around the same battery times of around ~4 hours? The Eurocom website claims the Shark has a long battery life and is a good portable laptop, but im guessing that might just be marketing.
Well, other W350ET laptops have 4 hours of surfing the web – it is very good for such a laptop:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Schenker-XMG-A522-Clevo-W350ET-barebones-Notebook.80018.0.html
The Fox would have something like 3-5. The difference should not be to big.
I’m trying to understand what is that you are looking for, so I can advise you better
I want something with a matte 1080p screen for 700-850 dollars that will be able to play modern games like BF2 – and future games like Rome2,
Eurocom fox 4
I want something with a matte 1080p screen for 700-850 dollars that will be able to play modern games like BF2 – and future games like Rome2, GTA V, and halflife 3 if it ever comes out. It needs to have a decent build quality because I’ll carry it with me to school a couple times a week and Im buying it with a student loan so I want to get a decently long life out of it – so I want a laptop thats going to stay cooler. Right now I’m leaning towards the Shark with the i5-3210M (will that be fast enough?), 8gb of RAM, 500gb SATA,
yes, it will, but it’s not 850$, unless you are a student
I am a student
Just waiting for them to email me back about the discount, they must be out of their offices for the weekend
Hi Junky,
The tech specs of the Y580 does not mention it as backlit keyboard, so I wanted to check that one out with you.
Also if I were ok to spend about 100-200 more would there be a markedly better gaming laptop that I can get my hands on?
Please let me know, I could use some help from an expert like you. I do like the Y580 specs a lot, just want to ensure that I am getting a machine that does not obsolete too fast
Ananth
1.
http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/tech-specs/laptop/ideapad/y-series/y580/
2.
Yes, you should look at the high end gaming laptops
http://www.gaminglaptopsjunky.com/high-end-gaming-laptops-recommendations/
For 1200$-1250$ you can get the GTX 670MX/GTX675M laptops. Compared to the GTX 660M you’ll get around another good 40-50% at most
I should add recommendations for under 1200$ too probably.
i’m not an expert, but thanks
Junky,
I think I was able to see around 4 options but in all those cases (both Force and MSI) I had to add a blu-ray upgrade which sends the price to > 1200. For me a blu ray reader is mandatory.
So now I am even more confused. BTW, I am based out of India – I am getting a friend of mine to get me the stuff. So what would you recommend? Which ones should I consider compared to the Y580?
One other thing that struck me as important is that first question you ask – I am really not too keen on highest settings but what confuses me is the worthiness of the extra 200 odd bucks for a better build etc. If you have any more suggestions it would be most helpful – sometimes being spoilt for choice can be frustrating
Thanks,
Ananth
BTW : When you said Y580 Tech Specs in response to my first question did you mean to give a link?
Also I definitely need OS, dont have one I can plonk into the new lappie
fixed it. Don’t know why it doesn’t let me to add links..
Well, about the performance – it depends on the games you want to play, but lets say that the GTX 660M + I7 will let you play almost everything on highest settings on FullHD resolution, without AA. Even BF3 could be played on high settings. Is it enough?
So you really should know what you want to do with your laptop.
About the bluray – almost no laptop comes with a bluray as a default. That’s your decision
Junky,
I once again studied the high end gaming laptop article of yours. Here are my readings, please comment
1. Sager NP series are something that I would like to plonk my money on but the concern is the OS and blu ray. Also there is NO service in India which means I would have to ship it across to them if I run into any issues.
2. Also it all adds up to close to an extra 200$ which translated to 10K INR, I dont know if it is worth that.
Considering this I think I am better off sticking to the ‘under 1000$ category. Let me know what you think.
As for your gaming question – yup, that is good enough for me. I also need decent mobility which I think the ‘under 1000$’ category provides like you said.
Whats AA?
Thanks,
Ananth
1. Yes, that’s true for the ones we are talking about.
2. True
3. AA = Anti-Aliasing
http://www.build-your-own-computer.net/display-properties.html
Thanks then sir
I will stick to the Lenovo option for now.
Junky,
One last thing – do you reckon I need to invest in a cooling pad for this?
Personally, I think it’s better to get a cooling pad anyway. Reducing the tempertures by even 2-3 degrees can help laptop lifetime a lot.
Any recommendations for the Y580 in terms of a cooling pad? What should I look for wrt size, dimensions or is it one size fits all? Never purchased a cooling pad before, so please let me know
There are some recommendations here:
http://www.gaminglaptopsjunky.com/recommended-cooling-pads-for-laptops/
This is not a complete list, but I think these are good options
is it worth it to get the 570 with a blue ray , 750 dr with 64 solid state and a slightly slower processor for $100 less and
get the higher quality outer lid ? I will be doing some gaming and want a machine that will play the new games, but I am not a hard core gamer. I have owned think pads in the past and they took the abuse i dished out.
you mean the Y580? what higher quality outer lid?
y570 vs y580, review suggested that the 570 series was a bit sturdier and I can get the blue ray plus a 750 dr and 64 solid state, qustion is, is it worth more money for the newer processor
the newer processor – no. The GTX 660M – yes. It is a lot faster than the GT 555M.