Cheap gaming laptop recommendations

Hi

I’m looking for a cheapish gaming laptop, needs to be 16 gb, and have a 3060ti graphic card or equivalent. I have zero idea about computer stuff, other than that’s the specs I need to run the software I need

Needs to be a laptop, as needs to portable

Any recommendations for not much cash (max of £1k)?

Thanks

Not sure if the 3060ti was ever available as laptop GPU, I think it was just the 3060. I could be wrong though.

This is £50 over budget, but this might be worth a look. It has a current gen RTX 4060 GPU.

https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/gaming-and-games/g15-gaming-laptop/spd/g-series-15-5530-laptop/cn22219sc

Otherwise the older (2021-2023) ASUS TUF and ASUS RoG Strix series did have a few 3060 models in the range, and should now be under £1K.

I actually have this one…

https://www. amazon.co.uk/ASUS-G513RM-R7-6800H-GeForce-Windows/dp/B09S9VGZ45

(remove the space after www. – the forum turns it into a Kindle link)

Older Lenovo Legions and MSI Katanas might be worth a look too, as they definitely had 3060 models and again should be under £1K now.

Just a thought. Laptop GPU chips tend to be much weaker than their desktop namesakes, if the software is asking for a 3060 desktop gpu, a laptop GPU of the same model may still struggle.

Cheap gaming laptop

Pick any two.

Just a thought. Laptop GPU chips tend to be much weaker than their desktop namesakes, if the software is asking for a 3060 desktop gpu, a laptop GPU of the same model may still struggle.

Maybe go for something with a 1080p screen rather than 1440p – will take a fair bit of stress off the graphics card…

This looks ok  https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus-tuf-gaming-f15-nvidia-rtx-4060-16gb-15.6-fhd-144hz-intel-7-13620h-lap-asu-02313.html

Problem with gaming latops, the GPUs and CPUs are cut down varients of the desktop equivelents, and they can run hot, loud, and can still throttle the speed, and it really needs to be plugged into the mains if gaming, as it will murder the battery.

Pick any two

Best advice yet.

Is there much difference between a 3060ti and a 4060. 3060ti is recommended, not minimum, but I want to error on side of caution as if I buy it only to find it doesn’t work it’ll be a complete waste of money.

I’ve got a last gen ROG Strix G15 from box.co.uk that was £999.99

It has a Ryzen 9 (5900 maybe?) CPU, Radeon 6800m GPU, a 1440p 165Hz display and it plays anything I’ve thrown at it so far, including Cyberpunk, Elite Dangerous, Forza 5, Baldur’s Gate 3, Helldivers 2, etc. all at more than acceptable frame rates. So it can be done.

It definitely needs plugging into the mains when gaming, battery lasts about 15 minutes otherwise. I’ve also heard that plugging into an external monitor can give better performance than using the laptop display but I’ve not tried that.

What games are you wanting to run on it and at what resolution & quality settings? If you coming from a mid-range desktop then a £1000 gaming laptop will likely be disappointing for modern FPS games but other game genres would be fine.

Just a thought. Laptop GPU chips tend to be much weaker than their desktop namesakes, if the software is asking for a 3060 desktop gpu, a laptop GPU of the same model may still struggle.

+1, even if they use the same silicon they can be throttled by power limits. Although “recommended” usually leaves some wiggle room so it might be a question of turning some settings down.

I ended up with a cheaper Lenovo G340 with a GTX1650 , it made sense for a <£500 laptop because I was working away from home doing on-call shifts so wanted to play games to while away the hours.  But there comes a point not much further up the range than that where it’s cheaper and better to build a desktop gaming PC, and then spend £300 on a basic laptop. Gaming laptops only make sense if you actually need to do the gaming part in more than one location. Now that COVID and crypto-mining are largely over you could probably build a PC with a 4060ti and have change left over to buy a more basic “gaming” laptop for playing games on the train, just not AAA titles.

Scan have 4070 gaming laptops starting just £1049 and a 3070 laptop for £800

If you live near their showroom it’s well worth a visit and have a chat with them.

https://www.scan.co.uk/shop/gaming/laptops/geforce-rtx-4070-gaming-laptops

Also worth checking their today only offers as they sometimes have gaming laptops offers on there.

Dumb question but how quickly do you need it? Because Black Friday should see some sales to bring more options into your budget.

I’d add a vote for Asus laptops; they’re actually not badly built, not too expensive and have a number of different lines at different pricepoints (TUF may be the level you’re looking at).

Also Lenovo Legion laptops are well built, decently specced and often approaching your budget in the sales.

It’s to run a piece of golf simulation software called gspro. https://gsprogolf.com/

As I’ll be using it outside I really need a laptop!

It’s to run a piece of golf simulation software called gspro. https://gsprogolf.com/

As I’ll be using it outside I really need a laptop!

Sun glare on the screen will be an issue using it outside, as well as lack of mains power…

I hate to be ‘that person’ but why are you wanting to play a pc golf game outside?