I’m not knowledgeable in laptops. I’d always been a Mac girly and ended up buying a pc laptop a few years ago. The Best Buy employee was raving about an Asus ROG Zephyrus M16. I wanted to take a laptop home that day so I unfortunately didn’t do any research on it.

A few months after I bought it, the keyboard stopped working. I did what the internet recommended and it worked for a few times then stopped again. Basically hasn’t worked since then. I didn’t have warranty so I said fuck it and have been using a mouse and keyboard since then but now the battery is starting to go. The max charge it gets when charging is 80% so I think it’s time to switch to something else.

Pleaaase help.

So, after researching for a few hours I found these two laptops on sale in my closest best buy, and I wanted to know if these are good deals, or too good to be true. I have a very limited budget and I was looking for an affordable laptop that isn't too expensive and that has a graphics card.

The maximum amount of money I'm considering to spend is 700 dollars, but I would strongly prefer a laptop for a bit less. If the laptop is reeeally good for 700 dollars then of course, it would be just fine.

Are open box versions of these laptops worth the cheaper price?

Any suggestions are very much appreciated :)

Hi there :)

Just wanted to get some people’s opinions on the cheapest gaming laptops available

This also includes pre-owned prices

I’m not like super picky with graphics and stuff just want a laptop that can run windows 11 and some steam games.

Thanks so much!

So this just happened and it’s really my final straw with Apple. I’m not a huge gamer, I mostly just like to play Minecraft and Overcooked, cozy games. However, Macbooks can only handle so much. I’ve been doing research on gaming laptops but they all look like more than I need. I don’t even know if I should get a gaming laptop or just a regular laptop that is better than Macs. Please help I’m about to lose my sanity.

Hey everyone! I’m looking to buy a laptop that I’ll use mainly for programming, university work, and some gaming. So far, I’ve been considering options like the Lenovo LOQ.

From what I’ve gathered, I should be aiming for at least 16GB DDR5 RAM, SSD storage, and a 144Hz display. For the GPU, I’m looking at something like the RTX 4050 or better.

I don’t game heavily, and when I do, it’s usually on less demanding titles—but I’d still like the option to play more intensive games like The Witcher or God of War if I ever feel like it.

Are there any important specs I might be overlooking? Any good value recommendations around this performance tier would be appreciated!

Idk which one is the best but i have been told lenovo legion is the best and then alienware and omen. Also i been told to avoid hp victus and asus tuf. If anyone has some everygood gaming laptop from best buy pls tell me.

I found this one an hp omen for 999. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-omen-16-1-165hz-full-hd-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i9-16gb-ddr5-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4060-1tb-ssd-shadow-black/6589390.p?skuId=6589390

Gonna be my first gaming laptop after years of primarily using a PC. Budget should be around 800-900usd.

I don’t play AAA games. At most, I’ll play GTA V, 2K, and COD but usually I just play Dota or CS2.

Need the build quality to last until 2028 (when I’m done with school).

I’m new to buying a gaming laptop. I would like to run starfield or similar games on one. I noticed there’s a few laptops for sale on Best Buy. I’d like to keep my budget around 1000. If there’s any that you think I should get please let me know

I have a friend and business partner who is looking to buy a laptop in-store this weekend, probably from either Best Buy or Wal-Mart. There is also a Target adjacent to the Best Buy he is going to, if that might help. I know these stores have set models they sell, so I figured I would narrow it down to models sold by one of the two(or three if Target has a price competitive option). This friend is an artist, but is just getting into digital work. He likely needs something that can do some image processing work in the future, but definitely wants a gaming laptop. He's really wanting to be able to play some current-gen games, maybe a AAA title or two.

His budget is $1000, so that might put him more in the "budget" range. A friend recommended this one, which they have on open box for less than 1k: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sku/6535496.p?skuId=6535496

Thoughts on this one compared to other sub-$1k options as well I suppose?

What would you recommend that he can pick up this weekend at one of those stores? Thank you in advance for any recommendations, and definitely open to general advice for buying from one of those locations.

I’ve done research and I still can’t find a solid option. I don’t want to spend more then 1k and it gotta have at least a 3050 and like 16g of ram… I keep doing research and everywhere I go people say it’s bad so I’m clueless right now.

I already have a Lenovo LOQ laptop with a 4060 and 7840hs. I'm giving that to the gf, I'm keeping this one. I prefer 16inch laptop, I live the 16;10 ratio. I gotta drive 100miles to pick it up. It's $5 in gas.

I was searching everyday for one, got lucky.

My current laptop is on its last legs and I need to replace it soon without spending a ton. I’m a student in the US and I mostly use my laptop for schoolwork, browsing, streaming, light coding and some games like FPS. Portability and battery life matter since I carry it around campus, and I want something that will still feel usable for a few years.

My budget is around $500–$800 open to refurbished or student deals. I’m open to Windows or ChromeOS. I’ve looked at a few Lenovo and Acer models, but the specs and reviews are starting to blur together.

What budget laptops in 2026 do you think are actually worth buying right now?

Any recommendations or things to watch out for would be really appreciated!

Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US: -Max $300 US dollars

Are you open to refurbs/used? -Yes

How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life? -I don’t care as much about picture quality clarity, but want it to be able to run Steam games. I love playing horror games like Little Nightmares and Five Nights At Freddie’s and Resident Evil 4 and want the opportunity to tr more Indie horror games that are not on the Switch and PlayStation.

How important is weight and thinness to you? -I don’t care either way about weight and thinness.

Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A. -Bigger is better, if possible, maybe 14 inches would be good, if feasible.

Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run. -I will be running Steam and playing random Indie games and horror games like Broken Veil, One Way Home, Reanimal, Little Nightmares 3, and Out of Sight. Preferably a laptop that I can hook up a controller to, like a Play Station controller would be nice.

If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? -I listed some games above, and don’t mind picture quality too much, as long as it runs smoothly (no lagging, if possible) and doesn’t look super pixely.

Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)? -Not really.

Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion. -I was looking into HP 14 Premium HD Portable Laptop Computer Students Business, Quad-Core Intel Celeron Processor, 16GB RAM, 256GB Storage(128GB eMMC+ 128GB Ghost Manta SD Card), 1 Year Office 365, HDMI, Win 11. This is exactly what it’s titled as on Amazon and it’s $299 US dollars. I read on another page that this could be a good cheap laptop for gaming and wanted to get suggestions and opinions from someone who knows more about computers than I do since I’ve bought quite a few lemons in the past when it comes to laptops and am wary about buying one due to this.

Thank you so much for any assistance anyone can give me, I appreciate it! And yes, I know this is a small amount of money for a laptop, I’m sorry! But due to medical bills, right now this is all I can afford. Thank you!

PS: If possible, please, no Chromebooks, they drive me a bit crazy haha!

Sorry if this is a stupid question I just dont knoe anything about gaming laptops

If you didn’t have a budget and could buy any gaming laptop out there, what would you choose and why?

Please no "just build a PC" comments 🙏🏼 I know PCs are more powerful for the price, but I’m only interested in gaming laptops.

Looking for top-tier options only. Appreciate any recommendations!

BOTH HAVE R9 270 but zephyrus has 5060 and 16 soldered ram but tuf has 5070 with 32gb ram

( keep in mind this tuf costed the same during last week)

Managed to grab this when I woke up this morning.

Currently rocking an XPG Xenia 15 w/ a 3070.

If anyone has purchased an open box gaming laptop from BB, what did you end up doing with your device?

Really hoping I don't have to return!

Asking for a friend of mine, they need a gaming laptop that's got decent specs and holds battery charge fairly well and isn't gonna fall apart fast. Looking in the ohio/penn state area, does anyone have any recommendations? Store deals or is anyone's acquaintances selling off their laptop for a cheaper price? Budget is around 1k, can go up a bit but not by much if it's worth it.

Not looking for a specific brand, just anything that'll run with minimal issues especially considering they're not very techy and tech support gets pricey in their area.