The best cheap gaming laptop deals from under £1,000 for December 2024
All the biggest savings on the best value machines
You'll find all of this week's best cheap gaming laptop deals in one easy-to-scroll list right here. We've tirelessly scanned all of the nation's top retailers to find only the best options with the goal of getting our readers the best possible bang for the buck. So, regardless of whether you're strictly on a budget or looking to spend a little bit more, you'll easily be able to compare all your options here - and get plenty of solid buying advice to boot.
You'll find entries from all the UK's top retailers on our list - Amazon and Currys in particular. You may also find a couple of picks from lesser-known, but just as reputable, retailers like Box.co.uk and Laptops Direct - brands that have really been stepping up their gaming laptop deals recently to challenge the bigger players out there.
We've separated everything out into easy-to-navigate price brackets, which you can skip to using the handy links provided. 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.
And if you get stuck or need some additional guidance, simply scroll down to our cheap gaming laptop deals FAQ section for more buying advice and tips. We'd also recommend our main best gaming laptops buyer's guide, which includes plenty of information and some of our favourite models to consider right now.
Cheap gaming laptop deal of the week
MSI Thin GF63 15.6-inch gaming laptop: was £1,099 now £729.99 at Amazon
Processor: Intel Core i7-12650H
Graphics card: RTX 4060
RAM: 16GB
SSD: 512GB
It's hard to beat this heavily discounted MSI Thin GF63 at Amazon if you're looking for a great bang for the buck mid-range laptop. It's easily one of the cheapest machines we've seen yet to carry the mid-range RTX 4060 graphics card and you also get 16GB of RAM and a slightly older but still great Core i7 chipset. Put together you should get some great gaming performance at 1080p resolution with this machine. Today's discount on this machine is a record-low at Amazon and you'll also find this listing over at Laptops Direct for the same price.
Specs rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Value rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cheap gaming laptops under £700
Medion Crawler E30 15.6-inch gaming laptop: was £669 now £549.97 at Laptops Direct
Processor: Intel Core i5-12450H
Graphics card: RTX 3050
RAM: 8GB
SSD: 512GB
The cheapest of the cheap, this Medion Crawler is just about the lowest you can spend while still getting a machine that's capable. Of course, don't expect fireworks here but for £530? It's hard to complain with a Core i5 chipset and RTX 3050 graphics cards. These components should get you gaming at 1080p resolution if you're willing to tweak those settings down a bit - or just simply play older or less demanding titles.
Specs rating: ⭐⭐ Value rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cheap gaming laptops under £800
MSI Thin GF63 15.6-inch gaming laptop: was £1,099 now £729 at Amazon
Processor: Intel Core i7-12650H
Graphics card: RTX 4060
RAM: 16GB
SSD: 512GB
It's hard to beat this heavily discounted MSI Thin GF63 at Amazon if you're looking for a great bang for the buck mid-range laptop. It's easily one of the cheapest machines we've seen yet to carry the mid-range RTX 4060 graphics card and you also get 16GB of RAM and a slightly older but still great Core i7 chipset. Put together you should get some great gaming performance at 1080p resolution with this machine. Today's discount on this machine is a record-low at Amazon and you'll also find this listing over at Laptops Direct for the same price.
Specs rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Value rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
MSI Katana 15 gaming laptop: was £1,299 now £769.99 at Laptops Direct
Processor: Intel Core i7- 13620H
Graphics card: RTX 4060
RAM: 16GB
SSD: 1TB
Moving up in price slightly can bag you this heavily discounted MSI Katana over at Laptops Direct - easily one of the best gaming laptop deals on the market right now. Not only does this one feature an RTX 4060 for under £800 but it's also got a relatively recent 13th gen Intel Core i7 chipset and a spacious 1TB SSD. Overall, these are great specs for the price so this is a deal you can't go wrong with if it fits in your budget.
Specs rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Value rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cheap gaming laptops under £900
MSI Katana A15 gaming laptop: was £1,299 now £849 at Currys
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7-8845HS
Graphics card: RTX 4060
RAM: 16GB
SSD: 1TB SSD
Currys has a massive £450 discount on this MSI Katana A15 right now, yielding us one of the best gaming laptops of the week. Not only does this one have a great Ryzen 7 chipset, but it's also got a decent 1TB SSD - meaning you'll have plenty of space on your drive for multiple game installs. And, of course, topping it all off is the speedy RTX 4060 graphics card, which is a good deal at this price point.
Specs rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Value rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
MSI Cyborg 15 gaming laptop: was £1,399 now £869 at Amazon
Processor: Intel Core Ultra 7 155H
Graphics card: RTX 4060
RAM: 16GB
SSD: 512GB
It's a little on the pricey end for an RTX 4060 gaming laptop, but this MSI Cyborg 15 comes with one of the latest Intel Ultra 7 chipsets. That's going to be a great pairing with the RTX 4060 here and should provide plenty of power for not just gaming at 1080p resolutions but also for all your every-day tasks and particularly those which utilize the latest AI features. At £1,399, this one is way too pricey but at £899 it's a great buy.
Specs rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Value rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cheap gaming laptops under £1000
MSI Crosshair 16 gaming laptop: was £1,599 now £1,099 at Amazon
Processor: Intel Core i7-14700HX
Graphics card: RTX 4060
RAM: 16GB
SSD: 1TB
Amazon has reduced the price on this MSI Crosshair by £150 this week, which means it's easily one of the better mid to upper range gaming laptops on the market currently. It's a little pricey for a machine with an RTX 4060 but you're also getting a really powerful 14th gen Core i7 chipset and 1TB SSD, which are going to allow you to squeeze the most out of your GPU.
Specs rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Value rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Medion Deputy P50 gaming laptop: was £1,299 now £1,019 at Laptops Direct
Processor: Intel Core i7-13620H
Graphics card: RTX 4070
RAM: 16GB
SSD: 1TB
This Medion P50 has gone up £20 in price over the past few weeks but it's still an amazing choice if you're looking for a relatively cheap RTX 4070 gaming laptop. It's not a super high-end machine in terms of design or build, but it's combination of an RTX 4070, Core i7, and 1TB SSD are going to handle nearly everything you can throw at it - as well as power some external 1440p displays.
Specs rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Value rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 gaming laptop: was £1,450 now £1,199 at Amazon
Processor: AMD Ryzen 9-6900HS
Graphics card: Radeon RX 6800S
RAM: 16GB
SSD: 1TB
We're ranging way above budget with this Asus G14 at Amazon but trust us - this machine is worth every penny. The G14 has always been a favorite thanks to its superbly lightweight design and powerful specs. This particular configuration features a great one-two combo of a Ryzen 9 chipset and a speedy RX 6800S graphics card. For sheer power there aren't many 14-inch laptops that can match this one - and it's cheaper at Amazon today thanks to a nice little discount.
Specs rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Value rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
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.
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Alex is TechRadar's deals editor, specializing in getting our readers the bang bang for the buck on the tech that we know and love. He's a dab hand at covering retailer events like Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day having over seven years of e-commerce experience at Future PLC; including bylines at our sister sites T3 and GamesRadar. Alex's expertise touches on most areas of TechRadar but he has a particular love for phones, laptops, and cameras, being an avid photographer. Outside of work, you'll find him indulging his love for street and travel photography, at home working on music, or down at the local climbing gym.