That said, the big yearly sales events like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Amazon Prime day tend to yield great discounts and are definitely worth waiting for if you’re willing to be patient. Gaming laptop deals tend to be a fairly regular fixture over at the big retailers all year round so there’s always plenty of options if you’re looking to pick something up quickly. When's the best time to pick up a gaming laptop deal? It’s also worth bearing in mind that the latest games also push the boundaries of minimum specs each year, so the higher you go now will pay dividends in the future if you plan on holding off on an upgrade for some time. If you choose to go lower and the above you may start to encounter issues with frame rates and performance even on the lowest settings in modern games. Optional - 120Hz refresh rate display monitor.Minimum - Nvidia GTX 1650 / AMD RX 5500M graphics card or later.Minimum - Intel Core i5 (9th gen) / AMD Ryzen 5 (3rd gen) processor or later.Just for good measure however, we'd recommend the following as a minimum if you're strictly on a budget: We always recommend checking out the recommended and minimum system requirements of your favourite games to determine the ideal specifications for you. The answer to this question depends heavily on what games you plan to play. What should I look for in a cheap gaming laptop? Here are some quick links to the best gaming laptop deals retailers, in case you want to head over to their sites and check them out yourself. That way you’re definitely getting full warranty, as well as an as-described laptop. Laptops Direct tends to be great for cheaper and end-of-line products, and it's also worth mentioning AO.com and Very - retailers that every so often throw their hats in the gaming laptop deals ring too.Įbay is another option, although we always recommend picking up a brand new gaming laptop from one of the big retailers instead of at auction. Currys and Box also have very strong alternatives, with the latter offering incredibly competitive options across all price points throughout the year. Amazon is always a good shout, and, as you'd expect has particularly good sales around events like Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday. The best retailers in the UK for picking up reliable cheap laptops tend to be Amazon, Currys, Box, and Laptops Direct. Where to find the best gaming laptop deals in the UK It can be tempting to pick up a cheaper ultrabook with a Core i7 or Ryzen 7 processor and tons of RAM but remember these don't come with the dedicated graphics card or cooling requirements you'll need for proper gaming. Any lower and you’ll most likely find issues with frame rates and performance or have a machine that will need to be upgraded fairly soon. We’d definitely recommend spending at least £700 if you’re comfortable doing so. You can spend anywhere up to £1,500 on a machine and not reach diminishing returns with performance, but at half that price you should be able to get a machine that runs games well enough at 1080p. You'll find models with specs that can play nearly every modern game smoothly but nothing that's too overkill. Machines that sit within this price range generally offer pretty great bang for the buck. We would, however, recommend bumping your budget up to between £700 to £900 if you can afford it. If you're setting the bar low, then you could get away with spending as little as £600. The answer to this really depends on what kind of performance you're after. Cheap gaming laptop deal of the weekįrequently asked questions How much should I spend on a cheap gaming laptop? We'd also recommend our main best gaming laptops buyer's guide, which includes plenty of information and some of our favourite models to consider right now. Luckily, the more expensive gaming laptop deals on our list tend to be just as good value as the cheaper ones.Īnd if you get stuck or need some additional guidance, simply scroll down to our cheap gaming laptop deals FAQ section for more buying advice and tips. As you'd expect, the cheaper options are going to be more cost-effective but if you're looking for something that can really max out most games, then we'd recommend spending a little more if you can. We're aiming to cater for budgets ranging from about £600 all the way to £1,000, give or take. We've separated everything out into easy-to-navigate price brackets, which you can skip to using the handy links provided. You may also find a couple of picks from lesser-known, but just as reputable, retailers like Box.co.uk and Laptops Direct - brands that have really been stepping up their gaming laptop deals recently to challenge the bigger players out there.

You'll find entries from all the UK's top retailers on our list - Amazon and Currys in particular.

Best budget gaming laptop 2018