5 Top Picks
4 Reviewers
30 Hours of Research
30 Options Considered
The best gaming laptop under 2000 comes with a combination of many factors. So, how to choose the right one at this budget. Let’s check it out.
What do you expect in a good quality gaming laptop under 2000?
- A modern design
- An excellent internal system for the latest games
- A large screen with a high resolution for perfect display
Internet connectivity and speed is essential for gaming, so look into the best ethernet cables we reviewed here and for your outings, you may want to look for the best travel router out there, but also check out our travel laptop reviews, and ultra slim ones too, while you're there.
3 Top Gaming Laptops
1. [Best Gaming Laptop Overall]
4.9/5
To satisfy both office and gaming experience, this laptop is a combination of a 512-GB PCIe SSD and a GeForce MX250 and is actually even under $1500, making it perfect for those on a tight budget.
The most impressive feature of our first recommendation is the Core i7-9750H.
2. [Best For The Money] Acer Aspire 5 Slim
4.8/5
Starting WELL under $2,000, Acer Aspire 5 comes closer to actually under $700.
It has a thickness of 0.7 inches and the lightweight of only 3.9 pounds. Do you think that it is a perfect combination of price, weight, and size for the gaming laptop?
3. [Best For The Powerful Processor] Acer Predator Intel i7-8750H
4.7/5
Best for “manly” design
Acer launched this model in 2018. But its look is still nearly similar to its predecessor version of 2017 with the usual stunning color of the brand . The laptop comes with dominant colors of black and red – a typical style for gaming.
We are so sure that there will be more than three points that you care about. For example, if you need something with a sleek design and powerful to boot, check out our thin laptop reviews. And due to tons of requirements, you will need to take some time to think it thoroughly to make the best decision.
So, why don’t you let us come and help?
We have a list recommended and a range of criteria for you to consider. Now, let’s see what we have first!
The following is a list of the top 5 best high end gaming laptops under 2000. We bet that you will love at least one. Also, if you've just realized that you cannot separate fun from work, look at our best business laptop reviews.
Best Gaming Laptops under 2000$ Reviews
[Best Gaming Laptop Overall]
4.9/5
Best for a powerful processor
To satisfy both office and gaming experience, this laptop is a combination of a 512-GB PCIe SSD and a GeForce MX250 and is actually even under $1500, making it perfect for those on a tight budget.
The most impressive feature of our first recommendation is the Core i7-9750H. It works mainly for gaming purposes. The high-end processor comes with six cores and clocks between 2.6 and 4.5 GHz. In comparison with predecessors, this model, with two additional cores, increases its high performance by 50%.
As for graphics, the laptop has a combo of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Graphics card along with GDDR6 VRAM. It is the reason why this model gets an improvement of performance, helping most games to run smoothly.
The screen of this laptop is appropriate for 300 nits. Even when you use it outdoors, there will be no problem with visibility. However, you must make sure that the sunlight does not shine directly on the screen.
Next, we turn to the keyboard. It is reasonably convex and makes no noise when you type. And you can feel the tendency to bounce on your fingers. Does that sound nice?
However, unlike the quiet keyboard, the cooling fan makes some noise so it is one for one so it is fair between noises performance. This drawback may drive gamers insane.
It is worth giving this affordable gaming laptop the appreciation for its great processor and powerful speakers which play an essential roles in gaming. Except for the noisy cooling fan, it is undoubtedly suitable for pro gamers at a very affordable price.
Acer Predator Intel Core i7-9750H Pros
Acer Predator Intel Core i7-9750H Cons
[Best for The Money]
4.8/5
Starting WELL under $2,000, Acer Aspire 5 comes closer to actually under $700. It has a thickness of 0.7 inches and the lightweight of only 3.9 pounds. Do you think that it is a perfect combination of price, weight, and size for the premium gaming laptop?
First of all, a screen of 15.6 inches in size offers the color and bright display with the full hd screen. Plus, the 16:9 ratio is considerably useful for a non-reflective viewing angle.
Secondly, both keyboard and touchpad work so well. When typing, you can feel the keys incredibly soft. Moreover, the Windows Precision touchpad features a fingerprint reader as well. So, you can work quite fast on the backlit keyboard.
Furthermore, the Acer Aspire 5 exists as a great combination of a 512-GB PCIe SSD and a GeForce MX250. This combination ensures that nothing matters for the device to perform well for the office as well as gaming purposes because it gives this laptop enough space.
One more thing appreciated with the Acer Aspire 5 is its excellent battery life. After each time fully charged, you can use the laptop for nearly nine hours, as opposed to some other laptops.
With these powerful components it is worth buying Acer Aspire 5. From an effective internal system to a responsive keyboard and a long battery life duration, we do not need anything more with the budget under $2,000. It is a great laptop that provides smoother gameplay.
Acer Aspire 5 Slim Pros
Acer Aspire 5 Slim Cons
[Best for The Powerful Processor]
4.7/5
Best for “manly” design
Acer launched this model in 2018. But its look is still nearly similar to its predecessor version of 2017 with the usual stunning color of the brand . The laptop comes with dominant colors of black and red – a typical style for the best gaming machine.
The cooling system is probably the most noticeable part with a design like on supercar models. This point is to create a sense of luxury.
Also, at this point, you can see that the hinge of the screen is quite large on both sides of the laptop. Thanks to the convenient design, users can easily open the Predator Helios 300 only with one hand. Moreover, it can prevent the screen vibration while using.
The laptop has a 15.6 inch Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) screen. It works with a particular scanning frequency of up to 144 Hz, which is suitable for playing a demanding game.
The screen quality is outstanding, too. The full hd IPS display and anti glare panel offer a large viewing angle. Also, in places with high light intensity, the display is still very convenient. Screen refresh rates are also high.
A lot of gamers love this “manly” look of the Acer Predator Helios 300 Intel i7-8750H, while some hate its thickness. If you are type 1, it is not a bad idea.
Acer Predator Intel i7-8750H Pros
Acer Predator Intel i7-8750H Cons
4.6/5
Best for display
A budget-friendly gaming laptop does not come with cheap performance. It is what we love to talk about the Asus TUF FX505D.
Its screen of 15.6 inches gets the max resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. With this technical detail, the laptop manages to give you a decent rate of the frame for the latest graphic settings. In general, Asus very rarely applies this luxury for an affordable product like the TUF FX505D.
When it is displaying, texts are ok, and pictures look great. However, one more thing that it does even better is the fast-paced videos. The display offers exceptional color reproduction.
How about its productivity?
A quad-core AMD Ryzen 5 r5-3550h processor combines with the 8GB of RAM as well as a 256GB PCIe SSD is great for demanding games.
These impressive specs join and contribute to the decent productivity that you can enjoy with the Asus TUF FX505D. For more details, it is possible to open more than 10 Chrome tabs and YouTube videos at the same time.
This excellent laptop offers an RGB keyboard. It is quite comfortable and relaxed for fast typing. Besides, WASD keys are also available for better visibility.
In terms of battery life, most of the under-2000-dollar best gaming laptops can perform quite humbly. And the Asus TUF FX505D is not an exception. It lasts around three hours after every full charge, so it's an average battery life.
If your budget is less, you will need to read this article: Best Gaming Laptops Under $1500
Is only a tight budget available? Do you still desire to enjoy the 1080-pixel resolution? This Asus TUF FX505D is a definite good deal.
Asus TUF FX505D Pros
Asus TUF FX505D Cons
5. MSI GF63
4.5/5
Best for new gamers
We save this last idea for any beginners who are new on the way to enjoy the gaming world. It is MSI GF63 featuring the Intel Core i7 processor along with the Nvidia graphics card.
At first sight, this gaming beast attracts our attention by its amazingly thin look. It is only 21.7mm thick and 4.1 pounds light. To be honest, we appreciate its portability.
In terms of display, the MSI GF63 has a 15.6-inch screen surrounded by a frame of 14 inches. This 82% ratio of screening helps newbies enjoy the immersive gaming experience at best. The response time is also fantastic.
As for performance, the laptop is a combination of the Intel Core i7-9750H and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX1650 graphics card. These high end specs and efficiency of this internal system limits lag conditions and gives gamers unparalleled gaming time. It will inevitably run smoothly with heavy-duty games like an e-sport one.
The keyboard is excellent enough to provide a comfortable feel. Plus, we do not find any noise when typing on the keyboard. To improve the aesthetic, you should buy an additional RGB lighting system.
Despite the perfectly compact design, the laptop comes with all essential ports for daily usage. On the left side, we get a USB 3.1 Type-A port. On the right side, there are two USB ports, as well as a USB Type-C port.
Only one drawback that we expect that the manufacturer can improve lies in the display. If it gets brighter and more colorful, the powerful gaming experience will be more fantastic. On the other hand, it has an impressive battery life.
The MSI GF63 is quite affordable for daily use, as well as a modern gaming experience. As a newbie, or if you're one of the more casual gamers, you can pick it for practice and then get an upgrade later. All things considered it will give you a smooth gameplay.
MSI GF63 Pros
MSI GF63 Cons
HOW TO SELECT THE BEST GAMING LAPTOP UNDER 2000?
You prepare $2,000 to buy a gaming laptop. It is truly not a small budget. How can you spend money wisely on the right things, then? Undoubtedly, considering the criteria mentioned below will be a need.
They include:
- Processor
- RAM
- Graphics card
- Display size and quality
- Storage
- Cooling system
Processor
One of the most important parts that you have to focus on is the processor if you're into competitive gaming. Most of the latest games recently launched can run very well and smoothly with a quad-core processor.
With a budget under $2,000, we suggest you choose at least the i7 quad-core ones. Or for the more amazing gaming experience, the 8th or 9th generation should be the priority to get a good portable gaming machine.
RAM
The second element that we love to mention is RAM. By what way can your laptop handle the heavy multitasking use or intense gaming session? Well, the key is exactly RAM.
Most gamers say that 16GB of RAM is an ideal option for a gaming device. It can help to avoid any lag condition as well as improve the smooth gaming experience.
Besides, the range from 8 to 12GB of RAM is not too bad either. This pick will be suitable for games such as The Witcher and Call of Duty.
Graphics card
New game generations, nowadays, come with the highest graphics quality under realistic imaging production to handle high end gaming. The question is how we can enjoy this perfection at best when playing games. And the answer lies in the graphics processor unit (GPU) of your laptop.
With $2,000, you can afford a high-end GPU matching with most of the requirements for your latest favorite games. Some recommendations include GeForce GTX 1060s, GTX 1070s, and GTX 1080s that can make your laptop an absolute beast with great performance for every gaming enthusiast.
Display size and quality
Your level of satisfaction with the gaming experience depends a lot on the display size. The larger the screen size is, the more exciting experience you can get. And, the story of the display quality is the same. So a bigger screen is a better one!
We appreciate laptops with a screen size from 15 to 17 inches. In terms of quality, it will be better to choose a full HD display with 1920 x 1080 resolution. Or if you fall in love with 4K games, why don’t you try a QHD with a 2560 x 1440 resolution? This should be a great choice even for photo and video editing.
Storage
For the fast gaming experience, you need a good SSD. With the budget under $2,000, the SSD storage of your laptop must be at least 256GB.
Cooling system
You have searched for the best gaming laptops, which can meet all requirements of processor, RAM, display, powerful GPU and storage configuration. But you should never forget the cooling system. For long-term usage, the laptop needs it to limit the effect of “aging” and help with heating issues.
On the market, there are many gaming machines without an integrated cooling system. In these cases, you can buy an external one and connect via USB.
FAQs
Do you have any questions about choosing a gaming laptop? Our followers have some.
1. Can we use a gaming laptop for schooling?
Definitely yes!
As you know that recently gaming laptops can meet most of the demands for hi-tech gaming. From the internal system to the display, all of them are amazing. And we are so sure that they can help your schooling be more interesting and effective.
2. Why do gaming laptops cost a lot?
There are many reasons why gaming laptops are often more expensive than the ones for other purposes.
For example, they need to come with a high-end processor or graphics card. Also, the build quality is not an exception. Besides, gamers often invest in the RGB lighting system or mechanical keyboard for improving the superior gaming experience.
3. Can we upgrade the graphics card for a gaming laptop?
Laptops are not like PCs. There are rarely brands allowing you to upgrade the graphics card on their laptop. However, it is not the case for all gaming laptops. If you plan to do the upgrade in the future, we suggest choosing the gaming laptop from $1,500.
Conclusion
After exploring the five options above, have you picked one of the best gaming laptops under 2000 for you? And it does not matter which one you will choose; you should not forget to consider the elements we listed. At a tight budget, surely you would not wish to not throw our money out of the window, wouldn’t you?
