Best Gaming Laptop Under $1000 (2024)

We extensively researched market for the best gaming laptop under 1000 dollars, focusing on laptops that we would want to personally own and settled on the 5 top laptops from ASUS, Acer, Dell & MSI. Our top pick for 2024 is the Acer Predator Helios 300 – which offers amazing performance for a gaming laptop under $1000.

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Top Pick
Acer Predator Helios 300 Gaming Laptop PC, 15.6" Full HD 144Hz 3ms IPS Display, Intel i7-9750H, GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB, 16GB DDR4, 256GB NVMe SSD, Backlit Keyboard, PH315-52-78VL
ASUS ROG Strix Scar Edition 17.3” 120Hz 3ms Gaming Laptop, 8th-Gen Intel Core i7-8750H Processor (up to 3.9GHz), GTX 1050 Ti 4GB, 16GB DDR4, 128GB PCIe SSD + 1TB Hybrid HDD, Windows 10 - GL703GE-ES73
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Series Gaming Edition 7567 15.6-Inch Full HD Screen Laptop - Intel Core i5-7300HQ, 1 TB Hybrid HDD, 8GB DDR4 Memory, NVIDIA GTX 1050 4GB Graphics, Windows 10
MSI GL62M 7REX-1896US 15.6" Full HD Gaming Laptop Computer Quad Core i7-7700HQ, GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4G Graphics, 8GB DRAM, 128GB SSD + 1TB Hard Drive, Steelseries Red Backlit Keyboard
MSI GV62 8RD-200 15.6" Full HD Performance Gaming Laptop PC i5-8300H, GTX 1050Ti 4G, 8GB RAM, 16GB Intel Optane Memory + 1TB HDD, Win 10 64 bit, Black, Steelseries Red Backlit Keys
Title
Acer Predator Helios 300
ASUS ROG Strix Scar Edition
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Series
MSI GL62M 7REX
MSI GV62 8RD-200
Prime
Screen Size
15.6″
17.3″
15.6″
15.6″
15.6″
CPU
Intel Core i7-9750H
Intel Core i7-8750H
Intel Core i5-7300HQ
Intel Quad Core i7-7700HQ
Intel Core i5-8300H
GPU
GTX 1660 Ti 6GB
GTX 1050 Ti 4GB
GTX 1050 4GB
GTX 1050Ti 4G
GTX 1050Ti 4G
RAM
16GB
16GB
8GB
8GB
8GB
Max Resolution
1080p
1080p
1080p
1080p
1080p
Refresh Rate
144Hz
120Hz
144Hz
120Hz
120Hz
Internal Storage
256GB PCIe NVMe SSD
128GB PCIe SSD + 1TB Hybrid HDD
1 TB Hybrid HDD
128GB SSD + 1TB Hard Drive
1TB HDD
OS
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 Home
Top Pick
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Acer Predator Helios 300 Gaming Laptop PC, 15.6" Full HD 144Hz 3ms IPS Display, Intel i7-9750H, GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB, 16GB DDR4, 256GB NVMe SSD, Backlit Keyboard, PH315-52-78VL
Title
Acer Predator Helios 300
Prime
Screen Size
15.6″
CPU
Intel Core i7-9750H
GPU
GTX 1660 Ti 6GB
RAM
16GB
Max Resolution
1080p
Refresh Rate
144Hz
Internal Storage
256GB PCIe NVMe SSD
OS
Windows 10 Home
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ASUS ROG Strix Scar Edition 17.3” 120Hz 3ms Gaming Laptop, 8th-Gen Intel Core i7-8750H Processor (up to 3.9GHz), GTX 1050 Ti 4GB, 16GB DDR4, 128GB PCIe SSD + 1TB Hybrid HDD, Windows 10 - GL703GE-ES73
Title
ASUS ROG Strix Scar Edition
Prime
Screen Size
17.3″
CPU
Intel Core i7-8750H
GPU
GTX 1050 Ti 4GB
RAM
16GB
Max Resolution
1080p
Refresh Rate
120Hz
Internal Storage
128GB PCIe SSD + 1TB Hybrid HDD
OS
Windows 10 Home
Image
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Series Gaming Edition 7567 15.6-Inch Full HD Screen Laptop - Intel Core i5-7300HQ, 1 TB Hybrid HDD, 8GB DDR4 Memory, NVIDIA GTX 1050 4GB Graphics, Windows 10
Title
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Series
Prime
Screen Size
15.6″
CPU
Intel Core i5-7300HQ
GPU
GTX 1050 4GB
RAM
8GB
Max Resolution
1080p
Refresh Rate
144Hz
Internal Storage
1 TB Hybrid HDD
OS
Windows 10 Home
Image
MSI GL62M 7REX-1896US 15.6" Full HD Gaming Laptop Computer Quad Core i7-7700HQ, GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4G Graphics, 8GB DRAM, 128GB SSD + 1TB Hard Drive, Steelseries Red Backlit Keyboard
Title
MSI GL62M 7REX
Prime
Screen Size
15.6″
CPU
Intel Quad Core i7-7700HQ
GPU
GTX 1050Ti 4G
RAM
8GB
Max Resolution
1080p
Refresh Rate
120Hz
Internal Storage
128GB SSD + 1TB Hard Drive
OS
Windows 10 Home
Image
MSI GV62 8RD-200 15.6" Full HD Performance Gaming Laptop PC i5-8300H, GTX 1050Ti 4G, 8GB RAM, 16GB Intel Optane Memory + 1TB HDD, Win 10 64 bit, Black, Steelseries Red Backlit Keys
Title
MSI GV62 8RD-200
Prime
Screen Size
15.6″
CPU
Intel Core i5-8300H
GPU
GTX 1050Ti 4G
RAM
8GB
Max Resolution
1080p
Refresh Rate
120Hz
Internal Storage
1TB HDD
OS
Windows 10 Home

Gaming Laptop Under $1000

The Acer Predator Helios 300 is our top pick under 1000 bucks, offering the best performance and features per dollar spent.

Pros:
Cons:

The Acer Predator Helios 300 is our top pick under 1000 bucks. No other machine came close in terms of performance, largely due to it shipping with a NVidia GeForce GTX 1060, the best graphics card out of all the machines reviewed. At this price point, it offers the best value over other competing machines that come with GTX 1050 Ti GPUs’ at a similar price. Additionally, it’s possible to upgrade to a better graphics card later on if the need ever arises, providing some future proofing.

Check out our review of the top 5 best laptops for gaming in 2024.

Best Asus Under $1000

The FX503 doesn’t fall under the ASUS ROG line-up, but it has a lot of similarities in regards to the physical appearance and features without the expensive price tag.

Pros:
Cons:

The FX503 doesn’t fall under the ASUS ROG line-up, but it has a lot of similarities in regards to the physical appearance and features the same metallic neon lights which are found on the ROG line-up. The difference comes in the pricing, with the ROG products typically being a bit more expensive. Plastic is the preferred material over metal on the FX503, but it doesn’t take away the fact that it feels premium with the nice texturing both on the outside and the inside.

Looking for an RTX 2080 Laptop? See our review of the best RTX 2080 laptops on the market in 2024.

Best Battery Life

The Inspiron 15 7000 offers amazing performance for the price, and the battery life smokes a lot of non-gaming laptop.

Pros:
Cons:

The Inspiron 15’s design exudes a retro feel, which may be a good or bad thing depending on your preferences. It features red highlights on the front edge as tessellating triangles and the lid, including the Dell logo, which in all honesty looks a bit strange in that color. The red highlights are also present on the rear heat vents. It would be nice if Dell offered an all-black option, but you have to stick with the red and black version, which is also great in its unique way.

Related: See our review of the top laptops for gaming under $1500 for 2024.

Best MSI Under $1000

Overall decent gaming laptop from MSI with good performance, the only downside is poor battery life.

Pros:
Cons:

The 7REX is easily recognizable with its red-backlit dragon symbol that is always present on MSI systems. It has a semi-boxy shape that may not be appealing to many, with a matte black soft-touch finish on the lid. The surface is a fingerprint magnet, so you should always have a microfibre cloth to remove the smudges when the need arises. Beneath the lid is a smooth dark plastic deck that bodes well with the texturised base with plenty of real estate to rest your wrists. The 7REX weighs in at around 2.4 Kg, making it significantly lighter than most of the other machines on the market.

See our round up of the best budget gaming laptops under $800 for 2024.

Thinnest Notebook

The MSI GV62 has a matte black plastic body with red highlights at the back alongside the dual fan grills, the design is subtle enough to fit in the workplace.

Pros:
Cons:

The MSI GV62 has a matte black plastic body with red highlights at the back alongside dual-fan grilles. This design is stylish enough to fit in any other setting, such as a workplace, if you eliminate the red accents at the end and on the keyboard. You can remove the underside for expand-ability, which is one of the primary goals of the manufacturer. The MSI GV62 weighs around 2 Kg with a thickness of 26 mm, making it one of the lightest and most portable 15-inch gaming machines.

What Would We Buy?

Overall five fantastic products for the price range, we stand behind our choice ranking the Acer Predator Helios 300 as the best gaming laptop under $1000. The Helios also has the best battery life alongside the Dell Inspiron, which also promises value for money coming in at the lowest price. That said, if you purchase any of the machines above you’re going to end up with an extremely good gaming laptop that will last the next 3 + years.

Editor & reviewer of gear from iOS control pad’s to high-end PC gaming hardware. He’s been gaming since the 1980s and mostly plays CS GO & Overwatch.