Top 8+ Best Gaming Laptop under $1500

$1500 is an excellent starting price point if you want a gaming laptop to play most modern games at 1080p resolution and Ultra Settings.

At this price, you can play games like Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Red Dead Redemption 2, Assassins Creed Odyssey’s and more games at 60+ frames/second.

You also get excellent high-end graphics cards like Nvidia RTX 2070 Max-Q, RTX 3060 and RTX 2060.

However, there are plenty of laptop options to choose from under $1500. Hence, we’ve listed the 5 Best Gaming Laptops under $1500 that offer great specs, and are a complete bang for your buck.

Top 5 Best Gaming Laptops under $1500

Image	Products	Speciality	Price
	Acer Predator 300	Best LightWeight	Check Price
	HP Omen 15	Runner Up	Check Price
	Razer Blade 15	Best Design	Check Price
	HP Omen 17	Best 17 inch	Check Price
	Acer Predator 300	Best Value For Money	Check Price

8 Best Gaming Laptops under 1500$ in 2021

1.Acer Predator Triton 300 – Best Lightweight

The Acer Predator Triton 300 is a seriously powerful gaming laptop with mighty features packed under $1500.

This laptop features a CPU & GPU combination of Intel Core i7-10750H CPU and an Nvidia RTX 2070 Max-Q graphics card. You also get a 240Hz refresh rate screen, 16GB DDR4 RAM and 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD drive.

At first impression, the Acer Predator Triton 300 seems to weigh over 6 pounds, which is typical for a powerful gaming laptop. However, once you lift the laptop, you’ll realize its lightness. This laptop weighs only 4.41 pounds and is more lightweight than the Razer Blade 15 Base gaming laptop.

Being a lightweight laptop, it doesn’t miss out on any connectivity options. You get 1x USB 3.2 Type-C port, 3x USB 3.2 Type-A port, Ethernet port, mini display port, HDMI 2.0 port, and headphone/microphone combo jack.

On the design front, the Acer Predator Triton 300 retains the same design as seen in previous generation Triton laptops. At first look, it is easily distinguishable as a gaming laptop. Due to its lightweight design, the laptop now looks slick and very compact.

Once you open the lid, you are greeted by the beautiful 15.6-inch Full HD screen. This screen has slim bezels on the left and right side that offers an immersive gaming experience. While most gaming laptops under $1500 come with a 144Hz screen as standard, this laptop screen sports a 240Hz refresh rate with 3ms response time. Hence, fast-paced gaming will be a joy on this screen.

With the laptop’s powerful hardware, you can play most games at 1080p resolution and Ultra settings. Whereas for older games, you can take advantage of the 240Hz refresh rate and enjoy up to 240 frame/second.

To further improve gaming performance, this laptop comes with a Turbo button. This button overclocks the laptop’s performance on-the-go, which allows you to take full advantage of the hardware’s capabilities.

Overclocking also results in extra heat. The excess heat is tackled by Acer’s 4th Gen Aeroblade 3D design. The exhaust fans are uniquely engineered and take inspiration from owls’ wings.

The Acer Predator Triton 300 gets a full-size keyboard with appropriate-sized keys. This keyboard has 4-zone RGB backlighting, and the arrow keys & WASD keys are concaved shaped for easy usage. With Acer’s PredatorSense software, you can control the keyboard’s backlighting and manage to overclock and exhaust features on this laptop.

Bottom Line

“The Acer Predator Triton 300 is a perfect example of a budget yet lightweight gaming laptop. While it still retains the aggressive gaming laptop design; however, it has shed a lot of weight. It has compelling hardware, and the laptop’s USP is the 240Hz screen.”

2. HP Omen 15 – Runner Up

The HP Omen 15-DH1060NR is one of the best-configured laptop under $1500 price bracket.

It comes with Intel’s 10th generation Core i7-10750H processor. This processor is Intel’s top-of-the-line 10th generation CPU and is clocked at 2.6GHz and offers Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz.

It is a hexa core (6 cores) processor and has 12 processing threads. The Intel Core i7-10750H consumes up to 45W of power and offers support for up to 128GB DDR4 2933MHz RAM.

Being a budget gaming laptop, the overall build quality of HP Omen 15-DH1060NR is awe-inspiring. Although it’s built using plastic, the overall built quality is very sturdy. It can stand toe-to-toe with metal-built gaming laptops.

This laptop measures 14.17-inch in length and 0.79-inch in thickness. You get a 15.6-inch Full HD 144Hz display with a very low response time within a small chassis.

With this small chassis, you also get a full-size keyboard with an appropriate-sized number pad. This full-size keyboard has 4-zone RGB backlighting and offers excellent gaming and typing experience. The touchpad is of moderate size and does the job well with Windows Precision drivers.

For the price, the HP Omen 15-DH1060NR packs in a lot of features on the inside. You get 16GB 2933MHz DDR4 RAM in 2x 8GB configuration. The laptop also includes a 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD for faster storage. It is matched with a powerful Nvidia RTX 2070 Max-Q graphic card with 8GB GDDR6 dedicated VRAM memory to improve gaming performance.

With such powerful internals, this laptop is meant to generate excess heat. To improve thermals, you get an advanced cooling system that consists of dual high-speed cooling fans, multiple heat pipes, and several cooling vents. To improve heat dissipation further, it is recommended to use a cooling pad while gaming on this laptop.

You can upgrade the RAM, SSD stick, Wi-Fi card, battery, and add in a 2.5-inch HDD or SSD drive in terms of upgradability. Currently, this laptop supports a max of 64GB RAM in dual-channel memory.

In terms of connectivity, you get a wide range of port selections. It includes 3x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A port, 1x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C port with Thunderbolt 3 support, Ethernet port, HDMI 2.0a port, mini-display port, SD card reader, and a combo audio jack with DTS:X Ultra support.

With a powerful combination of Intel Core i7-10750H and Nvidia RTX 2070 Max-Q, you can play most modern games at maxed-out settings and enjoy higher frame rates. You can achieve 60+ FPS in Ultra settings while playing games like Fallout 76, GTA V, Mafia Definitive Edition, Red Dead Redemption 2, Resident Evil 3, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

Bottom Line

“The HP Omen 15-DH1060NR is probably a gamer’s delight who’s looking for high-spec’d gaming laptop at a budget price point. You get a powerful CPU + GPU configuration, compact chassis, and multiple upgrade options to future-proof this laptop.”

3. Razer Blade 15– Best Designed Laptop

While the above 2 picks screams gaming laptops from the get-go, but if you’re looking for a powerful laptop with a sober design, then the Razer Blade 15 Base is for you.

For starters, this laptop is built entirely out of a single block of aluminum through the CNC process. Thus, you get a sturdy built quality compared to other metal-built gaming laptops in this list.

The Razer Blade 15 Base borrows design aesthetics from Apple MacBook Pro; thus, you know, you’ll be getting an attractive laptop.

Most gaming laptops focus entirely upon the hardware and how easily the laptop can run modern games. On the other hand, the Razer laptop focuses majorly on the user experience and if you’ll be satisfied using this laptop in a day-to-day scenario.

Hence, you get a type-worthy keyboard that can be used for longer hours for all-day typing. Plus, the large-size trackpad makes it easier to do most daily tasks, including gaming. Unlike the two laptops mentioned above, the Razer Blade 15 Base misses out on a numeric keypad. It features a TKL keyboard with single RGB lighting.

Once you open the lid, you are greeted by a 15.6-inch Full HD screen. This screen has a refresh rate of 144Hz and is ideal for playing modern games with high frame rates.

Talking about the CPU and GPU combination. This laptop is powered by a 10th generation Intel Core i7-10750H CPU, coupled with Nvidia’s RTX 2060 graphics card. This graphics card has 6GB GDDR6 video memory and can play many modern games at respectable frame rates.

To power up the CPU + GPU combination, you get 16GB DDR4 RAM modules and 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD drive. You can swap the 2x 8GB RAM modules with higher memory RAM slots. Moreover, there’s an extra PCIe NVMe SSD drive slot. Later, you can use the slot and add a higher storage SSD drive at your convenience.

In terms of connectivity options, you get 3x USB 3.1 Type-A port, 2x USB 3.1 Type-C port with Thunderbolt 3 support, Ethernet port. HDMI port and combo audio jack. It also comes with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 support.

Bottom Line

“The Razer Blade 15 Base is one of my favorite gaming laptops under $1500. While it doesn’t feature the Nvidia RTX 2070 Max-Q graphics, although the Nvidia RTX 2060 is nothing to cough at and does a decent job. If you want a gaming laptop that offers an exclusive design and powerful hardware, then the Razer Blade 15 Base is meant for you.”

4. HP Omen 17 – Best 17-inch Gaming Laptop

If a 15.6-inch screen on a gaming laptop doesn’t excite you. You should definitely take a look at the HP Omen 17-CB1080NR. It is a 17-inch laptop that contains a 17.3-inch Full HD screen with an IPS display and 144Hz refresh rate. Moreover, this screen has G-Sync support to prevent screen tearing and provide smoother gameplay at lower frame rates.

This screen has a matte finish. Being a 17.3-inch Full HD screen, the display looks very sharp and the IPS technology enhances the color output even further.

Being a bigger size laptop, you also get a more significant keyboard area. Thus, if you’re a well-built person, you won’t feel restricted because of the laptop’s size. You get a full-size keyboard with spaciously laid-out keys and an extra row of quick action keys for gaming. This full-size keyboard and 4-zone RGB backlighting can be easily controlled via the bundled-in software.

With a bigger footprint, HP has included the full-size Nvidia RTX 2070 graphics card instead of the Max-Q edition. Thus, you can enjoy better graphical performance than the Max-Q edition. Moreover, you also get better cooling performance because of large exhaust fans and ventilation ports.

This GPU is coupled with Intel’s 10th generation Core i7-10750H CPU, an excellent match for a GPU of such magnitude. On the inside, you also get 16GB DDR4 RAM and 512GB NVMe SSD drive. Plus, you have options to further upgrade the RAM and SSD to your liking.

Bottom Line

“If you want desktop-like performance from your gaming laptop, then the HP Omen 17-CB1080NR is the perfect pick for you. If you can manage the weight, this laptop has outstanding ergonomics for all-day gaming.”

5. Acer Predator Helios 300 – Best Price-to-performance

While the above-mentioned Acer Predator Triton 300 was lighter on the shoulder. In contrast, the Acer Predator Helios 300 is slightly light on the pocket.

Design-wise, it features the crude gaming laptop design that we’re accustomed to on the Helios series. This design looks bulky, and the laptop weighs over 5.5 pounds.

At first look, you’ll quickly notice the two aggressive-style exhaust ports on the laptop’s back. It uses the same cooling technology on the previously mentioned Acer Predator Triton 300, which results in 45% improved cooling than its previous generation.

The top lid features the backlit Predator logo and two backlit vertical lines next to it. Once you open the lid, you are greeted with a 15.6-inch Full HD screen.

This screen offers a refresh rate of 144Hz with a low response time of 3ms. Thus, fast-paced gaming will be no issue on this beautiful screen. This laptop has thick bezels on all 4 sides, which can hinder the immersive experience. Moreover, this laptop screen is good for gaming; however, the colors aren’t accurate. Professional design and graphic work is a strict no-no on this laptop screen.

The Acer Predator Helios 300 also comes with a full-size keyboard covering the entire horizontal length of this laptop. It is a 4-zone RGB backlit keyboard with accentuated arrow and WASD keys. Using the PredatorSense software, you can control the keyboard’s backlighting.

On the inside, this laptop is equipped with an Intel Core i7-10750H processor that offers extremely powerful performance. This CPU is clubbed with Nvidia’s latest RTX 3060 graphics card that offers similar performance to Nvidia’s previous-gen RTX 2070 Max-Q GPU.

You also get 16GB DDR4 RAM modules and a 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD drive. Further, you can swap the 16GB RAM modules with 32GB or 64GB RAM. You can also add an extra NVMe SSD drive and a 2.5-inch HDD or SSD drive to improve storage capacity.

In terms of connectivity options, you get 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, 1x HDMI port, Ethernet port, and combo audio jack. This laptop also comes with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.

Bottom Line

“The Acer Predator Helios 300 might not be the best-looking gaming laptop on our list; however, it offers powerful innards and extreme performance for the price it sits at. If you can work out the shortcomings, it is an extremely worthy gaming laptop.”

6. MSI GF65 – Best Lightweight

MSI originally started the whole rage of thin and light laptops with its GF gaming laptop range. To keep the price low and offer powerful specs, MSI uses its older laptop chassis, which is lightweight but seems a little outdated.

Although I’m not complaining because this laptop weighs just 4.1 pounds, and is easier to carry anywhere you go. The top also features a brushed aluminum design with a red-backlit MSI gaming logo in the center. The rest of the laptop chassis is built using plastic, which helps to keep the weight low.

When you open the laptop, it carries the same brushed aluminum design in the keyboard area, which hosts the red-backlit TKL keyboard and a moderate-size trackpad. Luckily you get full-size arrow keys that help in better gaming.

This laptop comes with a 15.6-inch Full HD screen with a 144Hz refresh rate. Although this screen is good for gaming; however, due to the low color gamut, it is not recommended for professional graphic design usage.

MSI originally started the whole rage of thin and light laptops with its GF gaming laptop range. To keep the price low and offer powerful specs, MSI uses its older laptop chassis, which is lightweight but seems a little outdated.

Although I’m not complaining because this laptop weighs just 4.1 pounds, and is easier to carry anywhere you go. The top also features a brushed aluminum design with a red-backlit MSI gaming logo in the center. The rest of the laptop chassis is built using plastic, which helps to keep the weight low.

When you open the laptop, it carries the same brushed aluminum design in the keyboard area, which hosts the red-backlit TKL keyboard and a moderate-size trackpad. Luckily you get full-size arrow keys that help in better gaming.

This laptop comes with a 15.6-inch Full HD screen with a 144Hz refresh rate. Although this screen is good for gaming; however, due to the low color gamut, it is not recommended for professional graphic design usage.

Bottom Line

“The MSI GF65 Thin, as the same suggests, is a thin and lightweight laptop. If you want a gaming laptop that you can carry anywhere you go, you won’t go wrong with this one.”

7. Asus ROG STRIX G15 – Best RGB Laptop

If you are obsessed with RGB lighting and want a laptop that can stand out from other gaming laptops, then the Asus ROG STRIX G15 is the right pick for you.

This laptop features RGB LED strips at its base that give a pleasant drop-down glowing effect. Asus has christened this type of laptop range as Electropunk version, and it definitely suits it.

This is the 4th iteration in Asus’s STRIX series, and there are several improvements, which makes this laptop a better choice.

Once you open the lid, the bottom RGB LED strips light up, which can be further customized according to your liking. You also get a 15.6-inch Full HD screen with a 144Hz refresh rate. The screen has very slim bezels on the top, left, and right sides. Whereas the bottom bezel is large with an offset cut.

In terms of gaming, this laptop gets the job done very well. With its Intel Core i7-10750H CPU and Nvidia RTX 2060 GPU, you get decent gaming performance from a sub $1500 gaming laptop. You can play most modern games with high frame rates at 1080p resolution and High graphics settings.

This laptop also comes with 16GB DDR4 RAM and a 512GB NVMe SSD drive. There’s plenty of upgrade options to improve the performance further.

Design-wise, this laptop looks very funky with extra elements to give it a through-and-through gaming laptop feel. However, these elements affect the laptop’s weight and make it heavier at 5.3 pounds.

Bottom Line

“The Asus ROG Strix G15 is a gamer’s delight. However, with the extra bells and whistles, the pricing gets affected a little. Thus for the same price that could’ve fetched you a RTX 3060 graphics card, you need to settle with RTX 2060.”

8. Dell Gaming G3 – Best Dell Gaming Laptop

Few years ago, Dell made a significant impact in the gaming laptop scene by introducing its G3, G5, and G7 range of gaming laptops. However, it quickly lost fizz with no major updates.

However, the latest G3 gaming laptop series has come with major design changes and follows the minimalist aesthetics that Dell laptops are known for.

It retains the same color scheme of matte black finish on the overall body with shiny blue accents all around. Design-wise, this laptop doesn’t stand out compared to 7 other laptops mentioned above. However, if you prefer the muted design, you’ll surely like it.

On the inside, you get potent specs like Intel Core i7-10750H CPU, which is coupled with Nvidia’s RTX 2060 GPU that offers 6GB GDDR6 graphics memory.

You also get 16GB DDR4 RAM and 512GB NVMe SSD drive. There’s an additional M.2 SSD slot to upgrade the storage options even further. Plus, you can swap the current 2x 8GB RAM sticks with 2x 16GB RAM sticks as per your liking.

This laptop is also equipped with a 15.6-inch Full HD screen with 144Hz refresh rate screen with IPS display and anti-glare properties. Thus, gaming will be enjoyable on this screen.

You also get a full-size keyboard with white-color backlighting. This keyboard is more ideal for all-day typing rather than gaming. Thus, if you want a gaming-cum-work laptop, then you’ll surely enjoy the Dell Gaming G3 15 3500.

Bottom Line

“For the price, the Dell Gaming G3 15 3500 offers excellent hardware that will work flawlessly with modern games. While it doesn’t feature the aggressive or stylish gaming laptop design, you can use it as a gaming-cum-work laptop due to the impressive full-size keyboard.”

Things to Consider While Buying Gaming Laptops under $1500

1. Processor – All laptops mentioned above come with Intel’s 10th generation Core i7-10750H CPU. It is a hexa-core (6 cores) processor with 12 operating threads. It has a base clock of 2.6GHz and can Turbo Boost up to 5GHz to offer improved performance. 

Under $1500, few laptops are available with Intel’s 10th generation Core i5-10300H CPU or Intel’s 9th generation Core i7-9750H CPU. For the price you pay, it is advised to get the Intel Core i7-10750H to get the best bang for your buck.

2. Graphics Card – Unlike the processor, you get plenty of graphic cards to choose from in laptops under $1500. The laptops featured above come with a wide variety of GPUs like the Nvidia RTX 2070 Max-Q, RTX 3060, and RTX 2060. 

The Nvidia RTX 2070 Max-Q is the powerful pick from a list of available graphics cards. Hence, my advice would be to pick a laptop with this powerful GPU. On the other hand, you can also look at Nvidia RTX 3060, which is the latest version and offers comparable performance with the RTX 2070 Max-Q graphics card.

Although, if you get a great deal, then the Nvidia RTX 2060 graphics card is also nothing to cough at.

3. Screen Refresh Rate – In a sub-$1500 gaming laptop, you are bound to get a 144Hz refresh rate screen. You should avoid a gaming laptop at this price point if it comes with a 60Hz refresh rate screen.

The laptop’s hardware is capable of generating 100+ FPS at 1080p resolution and Ultra settings. However, with a 60Hz refresh rate screen, you can’t take full advantage of the higher frame rates. Hence it is advised to go with a 144Hz refresh rate screen at a minimum.

Moreover, our #1 pick, the Acer Predator Triton 300 comes with a whopping 240Hz refresh rate screen, making it the best gaming laptop under $1500.

4. Weight – Gaming laptops and lightweight design don’t go hand-in-hand. However, with the advancement in technology, most modern gaming laptops weigh less than 6 pounds. Moreover, laptops like Acer Predator Triton 300, Razer Blade 15 Base, and MSI GF65 Thin weigh just over 4 pounds. Thus, if you want a lightweight laptop that you can carry anywhere, you must take a look at these three laptops.

But, if you can stretch your budget a bit further……you’ll get higher performance with laptops around $2000

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 16GB RAM good enough for a gaming laptop?

Most modern games work well on 16GB RAM. If you’re buying a sub-$1500 gaming laptop, the RAM can be user upgraded. Hence, I’d suggest upgrading the 16GB RAM to 32GB RAM to further improve gaming and multi-tasking performance.

Is 512GB SSD enough for storing multiple games?

Modern games are massive in size. Some games take as much as 100GB of space on your laptop. Hence the 512GB SSD will get filled up very quickly. Laptops at this price point also come with additional M.2 SSD slots and/or 2.5-inch HDD/SSD slot. Thus, you can add extra SSD drives and improve the overall storage performance.

What games can I play on a $1500 gaming laptop?

With hardware like Intel Core i7-10750H, Nvidia RTX 2070 Max-Q, 16GB RAM, and 512GB SSD, you can smoothly play most modern games. AAA gaming titles like GTA V, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Far Cry 5, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, Forza Horizon 4, and Cyberpunk 2077 will offer 60+ frame rates with 1080p resolution and Ultra settings.

Conclusion

As you’ve seen above, you get absolutely bonkers specifications in gaming laptops under $1500. Gaming laptops like Acer Predator Triton 300 offer a whopping 240Hz refresh rate screen and 3ms response time.

Moreover, laptops at this price point come with better upgradability. Hence, you can add your favorite RAM, SSD, HDD, and Wi-Fi card in laptops under $1500.

Are you still confused about choosing the best gaming laptop under $1500? If yes, I’d suggest going with the Acer Predator Triton 300 that offers excellent specs for the price you pay. Moreover, it is also very lightweight at 4.41 pounds, which is unheard for a jam-packed gaming laptop.