TOP 5 gaming laptops with GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card

Acer Nitro is one of the most popular and recognizable lines of gaming laptops in recent years. Back in the middle of the last decade, Acer designers unexpectedly found the optimal balance between cost, power, convenience and functionality, and since then they have only updated hardware, optimized cooling and screwed up some new features. So in the 2022 Nitro 5 AN515-45, the processor was updated to the Ryzen 5 5600H, the RAM frequency increased slightly, and HDMI 2.1 support appeared.

Other than that, it's still the same good old Nitro 5, with its chunky, angular chassis, rough, old-school screen with thick side bezels, and solid red backlighting that pays homage to classic gamer tech. The plastic case is well-built, the keyboard and touchpad have been tested in hundreds of virtual battles over all these years, the battery lasts for several hours during games, and the 15.6-inch IPS screen displays a picture in 1080p resolution with a refresh rate of 144 Hz. Of course, the case is far from the thinnest, lightest and most beautiful, but in our opinion this is a plus, since a rather intelligent cooling system is located inside, which adequately copes with the cooling of iron. Additionally, the laptop comes with a NitroSense utility to fine-tune speed and cooling power.

Inside the laptop, we will see a fifth-generation 12-thread Ryzen 5, 16 GB of RAM with a frequency increased to 3200 MHz and a 512 GB SSD. Traditionally, RAM and internal storage can be expanded with an unsoldered DIMM slot and a spare 2.5" bay. The youngest model from the NVIDIA Ampere family, the GeForce RTX 3050 with 4 GB of video memory, is responsible for gaming performance. At a cost of around a thousand evergreens, this ensemble provides decent FPS in most AAA projects in 2021 at Full HD resolution and medium graphics settings.Possible framerate drops will be associated with a limited amount of video memory and frankly poor optimization of some games (say hello to Deathloop, Forspoken and the Last Of Us port).

Among gamers , Asus TUF laptops have always been considered a kind of analogue of an entrance ticket to the world of mobile gaming. They are inexpensive, do a good job with games at 1080p, heat up slightly, have modern equipment and a shockproof case. For many players, this is a slightly more compromise version of ROG Strix laptops, in which the manufacturer saved a little on hardware, screen, and case materials. The TUF Gaming F15 FX506HC proves this by being one of the most popular entry-level gaming laptops for several years.

The design of the laptop has not changed over the years, so we will not dwell on it. The case is made of impact-resistant matte plastic with small inclusions of metal (protection class MIL-STD-810). Used here 144-Hz IPS-matrix has an average image quality. With regards to hardware, the laptop has a standard bundle for this class of a 12-thread Core i5 11400H processor and a GeForce RTX 3050 video card with 4 GB of video memory. By the standards of 2023, such hardware reveals itself best at 1080p resolution and medium-high graphics settings. For example, in old but still beautiful projects like The Witcher 3, the frame rate exceeds the coveted 60 FPS, in poorly optimized new products like The Callisto Protocol, the average FPS can fall below 30 FPS. According to our observations, this happened with a quarter of the games tested, and 4 GB of video memory turned out to be the bottleneck.

Otherwise, the Asus TUF Gaming F15 FX506HC should be praised for its comfortable keyboard with a full numeric keypad and Aura Sync RGB backlighting, decent functionality (Wi-Fi 6, fast charging, DTS X Ultra, USB4), as well as for an efficient, albeit noisy, system cooling, which prevents the processor from throttling when the turbo boost is used for a long time. By tradition, the manufacturer has left the groundwork for independent memory upgrades in the form of a second DIMM slot and a free M.2 connector for a second SSD. If 16 GB of RAM or 512 GB of internal storage is not enough for you in the future, this is a fixable issue.

The Dell G15 5511 is a massive gaming laptop inspired by Alienware machines. The case is made of dark matte plastic, the lid is decorated with a textured pattern with a highlighted triangular area and the Dell logo. The shape successfully combines elements of classic and gaming style, and the design approach is reminiscent of the departed Alienware laptops with their four-story air intakes at the back and signature keyboard with numeric keypad and zonal backlighting. With the difference that we got a basic modification with a single-color backlight. The device is assembled very tightly, the hinge is reliable, there is free space inside for better air circulation, which is why the weight of the laptop reaches almost 3 kilograms. Do not underestimate this factor if you plan to constantly carry a laptop in a backpack or bag.

Under the hood of the Dell G15 5511, a rather powerful 12-thread Core i5 11260H processor and an NVIDIA GeForce 3050 Ti graphics card with an uncut power consumption limit operate in tandem. In addition to them, 16 GB of DDR4 RAM is installed inside the case - and this is the optimal set according to the requirements of modern games. On this configuration, you can comfortably play any blockbuster of recent years at medium or even medium-high graphics settings in 1080p resolution and optional DLSS, while getting from 30 to 60 frames per second, depending on the project. True, in a couple of years, when the conditional Battlefield 7 and Far Cry 12 will be released, you will most likely have to play at the minimum wage, depriving yourself of all beauty.

Other than that, it's a decent machine with a solid and attractive chassis, adequate TDP, and decent performance. The audio system of the model consists of two 2 W stereo speakers with balanced sound and support for Nahimic 3D. The battery in non-gaming mode is able to work for almost 9 hours, plus there is fast charging, which many manufacturers like to save on. The Realtek RTL8125BGS network controller is equipped with a Wi-Fi 6 receiver and a 2.5-gigabit port. Against this background, one can find fault with only two things. The keyboard has nice button mechanics, but it itself is designed in the style of office models with small Ctrl and Fn keys, as well as a tightly integrated arrow block. The second point is the screen. The 15.6-inch WVA matrix with a brightness of 250 cd / m² and 45% NTSC does not cause the slightest delight, and the response speed of 35 ms is frankly embarrassing compared to modern gaming monitors with 1 - 4 ms. Well, at least the refresh rate is 120 Hz.

Recently, in the gaming laptop market, universal models with a minimalistic design in the style of business class laptops are in demand. Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 15ACH6 is an interesting representative of this school. This is an entry-level 15-inch gaming laptop with a nice and clean black chassis, smart cooling system, FreeSync support, balanced hardware, but not the most impressive 5 hours of battery life.

The laptop received productive components, but it does not claim to be a champion. The GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card has a power consumption limit of quite decent 85 W, 16 GB of RAM is enough for the eyes for most games, and the Ryzen 7 5800H processor with 8 physical and 8 virtual cores is generally one of the most productive solutions in the price range up to $1000 . The power reserve is enough to run modern games at medium-high or even maximum picture settings (adjustments depend on the specific release). The card does especially well with the still beautiful AAA hits of recent years like The Witcher 3, RDR2, Cyberpunk 2077 and God Of War. Well, for online games it's generally perfect. At the same time, the IdeaPad Gaming 3 has no problems with resource-intensive work applications.

As usual with inexpensive gaming laptops, the manufacturer saved a little on the screen by installing a medium-quality matrix. The display has a minimum brightness level of 250 cd / m2, and the colors lack expressiveness (with 45% NTSC this is not surprising), but the screen supports FreeSync and a 120Hz refresh rate, which for many gamers is more important than brightness and color reproduction. Otherwise, this is a very interesting, moderately cold and beautiful gaming model with a comfortable keyboard (note: there is a single-color backlight), a massive touchpad, a gigabit network controller and fast charging.

The Asus G15 G513IC is not your typical representative of the ROG Strix series. which, for all its outward coolness and sophistication, is equipped with fairly simple entry-level hardware and costs a little more than Asus TUF series laptops. Compared to the average TUF, the hero of this review benefits from fast charging, NVMe support, a more comfortable RGB backlit keyboard, Dolby Atmos acoustics, and a more modern and aesthetically pleasing case.

As in previous models, the main feature of the appearance is multi-level RGB backlighting, which not only illuminates the keyboard, but also the base of the case. As usual, the body is built with high quality, mostly plastic, and the chassis has a combined design. The cooling system also works at the highest level and prevents the laptop from overheating even at maximum load. With the help of proprietary software, the user can choose the appropriate operating mode: quiet is better for browsing and simple tasks when you need to save battery power, turbo is better for games, but it instantly eats up battery power. The optimal one is somewhere in the middle. The 15-inch IPS display installed in the laptop displays a picture in 1080p resolution and has a refresh rate of 144 Hz, but it does not have the most impressive color reproduction, and the brightness margin is limited to a base 250 cd / m²

The hardware is practically no different from most 2022 gaming laptops costing around a thousand dollars. A potential owner of the ROG Strix G15 G513IC will get their hands on a 16-thread Ryzen 7 4800H processor, 16 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and a 512 GB NVMe SSD. Video processing is handled by the GeForce RTX 3050 from the NVIDIA Ampere family, which supports modern technologies like DLLS and ray tracing and generally provides a frame rate of 40-60 FPS in most AAA titles of recent years at 1080p resolution and medium graphics settings. Due to the spare DIMM and M.2 slots, the user can independently expand the amount of RAM (maximum 32 GB) and add a second M.2 drive.