Mobile Gaming: Top 5 Gaming Laptops Under $1,000

Dell G3 is an entry—level model in the Dell gaming line, which at the same time has an impressive power reserve and a restrained design, more typical for business-class laptops.

The laptop is made entirely of plastic, like most representatives of the G series. The inside of the case is made of textured plastic, which looks great in photos, but in real life creates the impression of an office laptop for $ 500 – 700. Thin (22.7 mm), but not memorable.

In fact, only the soft blue backlight of the keyboard with a touchpad reminds of the gaming nature in the design of this machine. The keyboard itself is made for a solid five: the stroke of the keys is pliable, they are correctly positioned, and the WASD gaming unit is slightly highlighted due to the backlight. Plus it is protected from moisture. In general, there are no complaints about the case, it is assembled qualitatively and slightly bends only in the area of the lid, which is typical for any plastic case.

Dell G3 15 3579 has a 15.6-inch IPS panel with Full HD resolution (1920x1080 pixels). The matrix is not particularly bright (200 cd/m2), it has an average colour coverage of 57% sRGB and a contrast ratio of about 610:1. The indicators are quite average, you can't exactly write down such a screen as a plus, but you can't scold it in any way.

But the filling of the Dell G3 15 3579 is very decent and in some moments bypasses the well-known gaming solutions of other manufacturers in this price category. So, inside the laptop we will see a 4-core Core i5 processor of the Intel Coffee Lake family (operating frequency of 4 GHz, 8 MB of third-level cache memory), 8 GB of DDR4 memory running at an increased frequency of 2666 MHz, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 graphics card with 4 GB of video memory and an Intel Optane hybrid hard drive for 1 TB. This model will definitely not have any performance problems in games.

However, if it is properly loaded with demanding toys like Far Cry 5 or Project CARS 2, the cooling system begins to make a noticeable noise, and the case heats up to a decent 55 degrees. If you play without headphones or external acoustics, the speakers hidden deep inside the case are quite hard to hear. At the same time, the sides and back of the case are heated to an unpleasant 55 – 57 degrees. It does not interfere with playing (especially since there is no trottling), but it would be possible to make a better cooling system for a gaming laptop.

The 3500 mAh laptop battery holds up to 5 hours in normal mode and up to 2 hours in games. If you need to take a laptop with you for the whole day, you will have to carry a charger with you. But it is one of the few gaming laptops in this price category that supports the Thunderbolt interface.

Acer Nitro 5 AN515-52 is a representative of the entry-level Acer gaming line. It does not have the overly aggressive appearance of a typical gaming laptop, but thanks to the trimmed edges of the monitor, aggressive radiator grille and carbon edging, it cannot be confused with a regular office machine.

The heart of the laptop is an Intel Core i5-8300H processor with four physical cores (4 GHz frequency) and multithreading support. It is complemented by 8 GB of fast DDR4 memory and a pair of SSD (256 GB) and HDD (1000 GB) drives. Such a bundle becomes familiar for good gaming laptops, as it simultaneously provides high system loading speed and an impressive amount of memory for storing game distributions.

A discrete GeForce GTX 1050 graphics card with 4 GB of video memory is responsible for graphics processing. In conjunction with the Core i5-8300H and a fast SSD, this graphics card produces a stable 30+ frames per second in any modern game at medium-high settings and FullHD resolution. For example, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, known for its voracity, produces a stable 35 frames on it at Ultra settings and four-fold smoothing.

Even with an external inspection, a qualitative approach to cooling can be noted. This follows from the presence of large radiator grilles in the back, as well as a lot of air vents at the bottom of the laptop. Thanks to this, the cooling system adequately handles with not the coldest components. In stress tests, the processor temperature can reach up to 80 degrees, but even in this case, the performance loss rate (trottling) is minimal and the frame rate remains stable.

The 15-inch display of the Acer Nitro 5 AN515-52 is made using IPS technology and has a Full HD resolution (1920x1080 pixels). The brightness level is 240 cd/m2, and the contrast is at 810:1. Visually, the display shows a neutral colour image with uniform illumination. In general, the screen is not bad, it does not pretend to be professional, and in a laptop of this level, such quality pleases.

A laptop with a full-format keyboard with a digital block, all keys have a soft red backlight, and the main gaming WASD are highlighted more strongly. This helps them stand out and complements the overall design.

Two speakers are hidden in the bottom of the case. The sound quality could have been better, besides, due to the peculiarities of their location, it is difficult to hear them if the cooling system is running at full capacity. The laptop's switching kit includes an HDMI output and 4 USB ports of various types (including USB-C), as well as a good webcam with a resolution of 720p. The 3320 mAh battery holds a charge for up to 8 hours.

Although Clevo is not particularly well-known in our area, it is one of the trendsetters in the laptop market. They have been designing chassis for gaming laptops from other manufacturers for 20 years, and it was they who designed the Alienware line of laptops until Dell bought them out.

Today's Dream Machines Clevo G1050-15 model belongs to the initial segment. In the case of Clevo, this means a quad–core Intel Core i7 processor of the penultimate generation (frequency 2.8 – 3.8 GHz), a bunch of HDD and SSD drives, 8 GB of DDR4-class RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 graphics card with 2 GB of video memory.

In general, even with this positioning, the configuration will not make you nervous because of the FPS drawdown in new games. For example, in the rather demanding Far Cry 5, the laptop keeps a stable 35-40 frames per second at high graphics settings and FullHD resolution. The only thing that may complicate in the future is 2 GB of video memory, which is more than enough right now, but may not be enough in a year.

At the same time, the manufacturer does not force you to limit yourself to one configuration and allows you to upgrade the laptop components yourself without losing the warranty. For example, change the hard drive or add a RAM bar. To do this, the disassembly procedure was extremely simplified: simply unscrew the screws around the perimeter of the case and remove the cover.

The 15-inch display has a Full HD resolution (1920x1080 pixels) and is made using IPS technology, and the anti-glare coating will allow you to work comfortably even on a sunny day. It has a good supply of brightness, large viewing angles and in general it is one of the best displays that can be found in gaming laptops up to $ 1000.

Compared to other gaming counterparts, the appearance of the Dream Machines laptop can not be called anything other than restrained. The case is made of a combination of metal and grey matte plastic, which does not leave fingerprints. The layout is as close as possible to the classic one with a backlight, where you can change the colour and brightness.

It seems that the company focused on a more adult audience, which is unlikely to be pleased with a radiator grille, like a racing car, or a skull-shaped off button. This versatility is also evidenced by the presence of a fingerprint scanner, which is commonplace for business laptops, but rarely found in gaming models. And if we can't unambiguously evaluate the appearance, then the build quality of the laptop leaves an exceptionally positive impression.

The only questionable engineering solution is hiding in the cooling system. It is quite efficient and relatively quiet, but one of the grilles for heat removal is located on the right hand, and not, for example, from below. This means that if you are right-handed, the hot air from the case will go out towards the right hand that holds the mouse. In the case of a prolonged gaming session and heating of the laptop, this may create a slight discomfort.

Also, there is no pre-installed operating system (OS) in the laptop, so you will have to tinker a little with installing Windows.

HP OMEN 15-ce000 is a purebred gaming laptop from HP with a memorable appearance. The base of the laptop is made of aluminium, while the tray and the display cover are made of plastic. The cover has a pattern in which several textures intersect with the Omen series logo, giving the laptop an unusual look. The cover itself is quite flexible, which is a problem even for expensive laptops, but the metal base seemed very strong.

HP OMEN 15-ce000 relies on the power of the seventh-generation quad-core Core i7 chip, which operates at frequencies from 2.8 to 3.8 GHz and has a reserve of 6 MB of third-level cache memory. In conjunction with it, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti video accelerator with 4 GB of GDDR5 video memory works. The prefix "Ti" means that it is an improved chip. By the way, compared to the usual GTX 1050, performance has increased by 10-15%.

The stock of DDR4 RAM is 8 GB. For storing games and user data, a fast hard disk with a volume of 1000 GB (read speed of 7200 rpm) is available, and for the operating system and applications, a 128 GB SSD is available. Such a bundle gives a good acceleration of the system.

The HP Omen 15's 15.6-inch IPS display has a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. It has a high contrast level, a good brightness margin (280 cd/m2) and a 92% uniformity of illumination. In general, the display leaves a pleasant impression, and the main claim to it is a noticeable bias in blue shades. This is also the sin of other gaming laptops, but the HP OMEN 15-ce000 blue is more striking.

Many models of gaming laptops are equipped with special gaming software. In the case of this model, the Omen Command Centre application greatly expands the capabilities of the keyboard. For example, individual blocks of keys can be highlighted in different colours, which is convenient for games using different control keys. For games like Dota 2 or Star Craft, which use complex combinations of several buttons, you can prepare presets with macros. There you can also adjust the brightness of the backlight or turn it off altogether so that it does not interfere when you are not playing. The WASD game keys will still be visible, because the manufacturer has highlighted them in red.

The audio system from the well-known manufacturer of Hi-Fi acoustics Bang & Olufsen is responsible for the sound component of the laptop. In our humble opinion, it sounds very decent and can be useful when it is not possible to connect a laptop to ordinary desktop speakers.

With minimal loads, a balanced power supply mode, the laptop is able to work up to 7-8 hours. In the case of games, everything will depend on the brightness of the screen and the load on the processor with the graphics card. These are solid figures even by the standards of balanced working laptops. In case of an unexpectedly dead battery, fast charging will come to the rescue.

Asus was one of the first to decide to allocate a line of gaming laptops to a hotel brand. It's calledRepublic of Gamers (or simply ROG) is strongly associated with uncompromising gaming solutions and corresponding price tags.

The ROG GL753VE configuration includes an Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor of the Kaby Lake family (clock speed 2.8 – 3.8 GHz), an improved NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti video chip, a bundle of HDD and SSD drives with a total memory capacity of 1128 GB and a stock of DDR4 RAM increased to 16 GB.

This is one of the most performant bundles of iron in this price segment. 16 GB of RAM provides an excellent foundation for the future, an SSD disk significantly speeds up system loading, a roomy HDD allows you to store an impressive collection of games, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card gives an increase of 10 – 15% compared to the basic video chips of the 1050 family.

The pumped filling is not the only thing that makes the Asus ROG GL753VE stand out from the competition. It has an enlarged screen up to 17" at the standard FullHD resolution for a gaming laptop. The brightness level at 340 cd/m2 with a response time of 36 ms also exceeds the performance of most gaming laptops up to $1000. In general, the impressions from using the display are purely positive.

ROG GL753VE handles with heating perfectly. A large housing, as well as a generally efficient cooling system in the complex, ensure successful heat output to the outside. Even under conditions of intense synthetic loads, the hottest point of the GL753VE case was heated only to 36 °C. And all this does not affect the volume of the cooling system in any way: at maximum volume, it rather resembles a rustling, rather than a monotonous hum, and does not particularly distract during work or gameplay.

As they say, if it arrives somewhere, it must go somewhere. The downside of the performant filling and the increased diagonal of the screen is a weak margin of battery life. Even with moderate loads, the laptop is not able to last longer than 4 hours. Well, at maximum load in heavy games, do not wait more than an hour.