Best gaming laptops under $1,500 in 2023: Picks and buying advice

Best gaming laptops under $1,500 in 2023: Picks and buying advice

With its comfortable keyboard, diverse connectivity options, and strong graphics performance, the Lenovo Legion 5i is the total package as far as budget gaming laptops go. This rig comes equipped with an Intel Core i7-12700H CPU, an Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of PCIe SSD storage. In our testing, the Legion 5i churned out a screaming fast 110 frames-per-second when running the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark, which is a fantastic result for an RTX 3060 laptop. The keyboard, which manages to squeeze in a number pad on the right hand side of the tray, is impressive as well. Our tester found the spacious layout both “comfortable and easy to use.”

Connectivity is important for gaming laptops because many folks like hooking up to an external monitor, mouse, and so on. Luckily, the Legion 5i “offers a healthy dose of future-proof connectivity.” It’s rocking three USB-A 3.2, two USB-C 3.2, one HDMI, Ethernet, and a 3.5mm audio combo. It also has Thunderbolt 4 and DisplayPort 1.4 support. The ports are mostly rear-facing, which is perfect for cable management when the laptop is sitting on a work desk. You really can’t get much better than that.

If you’re on the hunt for a budget gaming laptop that can really deliver, the Legion 5i might be the one to pick.

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