The best cheap gaming laptop deals from under £1,000 for January 2026

Asus G15 gaming laptop on greenish blue background
(Image credit: Future)

You'll find all of this week's best cheap gaming laptop deals in the UK rounded up into one neat little package here on this page. Regardless of your budget, you'll easily be able to compare all your options - and, hopefully, save some cash in the process.

We're aiming to cater for budgets ranging from about £600 all the way to £1,000, give or take. 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. Luckily, the more expensive gaming laptop deals on our list tend to be just as good value as the cheaper ones.

Cheap gaming laptop deal of the week

 MSI Cyborg 15
MSI Cyborg 15: was £1,199 now £979 at Currys
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Graphics card: RTX 5060 
Processor: Intel Core 7-240H
RAM: 16GB

If I were buying a machine for my personal use, I'd be severely tempted by this MSI Cyborg 15 at Currys. The retailer has a good price cut on this RTX 5060 configuration, and I think this is an option that really hits that sweet spot in terms of performance and power. The RTX 5060 and Intel Core 7 chipset should get you great frame rates at 1080p resolution - and hopefully for a good few years down the line, too.

More cheap gaming laptop deals

HP Victus 15
HP Victus 15: was £749.99 now £599.99 at Amazon
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Graphics card: RTX 3050
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7-7445H
RAM: 16GB

Strictly on a budget? This HP Victus won't win any awards for performance, but it is cheap - and I mean cheap, thanks to a discount at Amazon. The RTX 3050 graphics card in this machine is a little older now, but it's still good for most games at 1080p if you're willing to tweak a few settings here and there. And, this machine also features a Ryzen 7, which is a powerful chipset.

Medion Erazer Scout 15
Medion Erazer Scout 15: was £999.99 now £799.97 at Laptops Direct
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Graphics card: RTX 5050 
Processor: Intel Core i5-13420H
RAM: 16GB

Moving up in price will get you a decent budget machine with the latest RTX 5050 graphics card - like this Medion Erazer, for example. You can expect a decent level of performance with this machine for the money, especially if you're just aiming to play on this laptop's modest 1080p display. Medion laptops tend to be quite workmanlike in terms of design, but they do provide decent performance for the money.

 Gigabyte A16 gaming laptop
Gigabyte A16 gaming laptop: was £1,399 now £1,199 at Currys
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Graphics card: RTX 5070 
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 260
RAM: 16GB

If you've got a bit of cash to spend, you could consider this Gigabyte A16 at Currys. It's not cheap, for sure, but it is one of the cheapest machines I've seen in recent months to feature an RTX 5070 graphics card. This is a GPU that should have no issues running even the most graphically demanding games smoothly - and it also makes this machine a good candidate if you want something to hook up to an external display.

MSI Vector 16 HX
MSI Vector 16 HX : was £1,899 now £1,499 at Amazon
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Graphics card: RTX 5070 Ti
Processor: Intel Core Ultra 7-255HX
RAM: 16GB

Even better still, this MSI Vector 16 at Amazon offers an impressive RTX 5070 Ti graphics card and Ultra 7 chipset for heaps of power on tap. And, you'll need that power because this machine also features a QHD+ display. Overall, not a cheap buy by any stretch of the imagination, but one that provides a solid higher-end pick if you're looking for something a little more premium.

Frequently asked questions

How much should I spend on a cheap gaming laptop? 

The answer to this really depends on what kind of performance you're after. If you're setting the bar low, then you could get away with spending as little as £600. We would, however, recommend bumping your budget up to between £700 to £900 if you can afford it.

Machines that sit within this price range generally offer pretty great bang for the buck. You'll find models with specs that can play nearly every modern game smoothly but nothing that's too overkill. 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.

We’d definitely recommend spending at least £700 if you’re comfortable doing so. 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. 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.

Where to find the best gaming laptop deals in the UK

The best retailers in the UK for picking up reliable cheap laptops tend to be Amazon, Currys, Box, and Laptops Direct. Amazon is always a good shout, and, as you'd expect has particularly good sales around events like Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday. Currys and Box also have very strong alternatives, with the latter offering incredibly competitive options across all price points throughout the year. 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.

Ebay is another option, although we always recommend picking up a brand new gaming laptop from one of the big retailers instead of at auction. That way you’re definitely getting full warranty, as well as an as-described 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.

What should I look for in a cheap gaming laptop? 

The answer to this question depends heavily on what games you plan to play. We always recommend checking out the recommended and minimum system requirements of your favourite games to determine the ideal specifications for you.

Just for good measure however, we'd recommend the following as a minimum if you're strictly on a budget:

  • Minimum - Intel Core i5 (9th gen) / AMD Ryzen 5 (3rd gen) processor or later
  • Minimum - Nvidia GTX 1650 / AMD RX 5500M graphics card or later
  • Minimum - 8GB of RAM
  • Optional - 512GB solid-state drive
  • Optional - 120Hz refresh rate display monitor

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. 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.

When's the best time to pick up a gaming laptop deal? 

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. 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.

We always recommend doing the research on the particular model and specs you want then checking in every now and again to see if there’s a discount. We update this page regularly, so definitely bookmark it and feel free to check in. We also run dedicated gaming laptop deals spotlights over on our dedicated deals feed.


Alex Whitelock
Retail Editor

Alex is TechRadar's retail editor, specializing in deals, buying advice, and general tips on how to save our readers as much cash as possible. He's covered events like Black Friday and Amazon in some capacity for over seven years now; both in editorial and other ecommerce adjacent roles on TechRadar, T3, GamesRadar, and other Future PLC sites. Alex's expertise touches on most areas, but he has a particular love for phones, laptops, and cameras, being an avid photographer.

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