5 mid range gaming laptops in 2022

Let’s run over some of the essential criteria you need to look into when you’re shopping around for a new gaming laptop.

Display

Once you’ve settled on the display size you’re after, you need to contemplate panel type. IPS paneling is generally considered the best for gaming as it features greater image acuity and color depth.

Next, you’ll need to think about resolution, refresh rates, response times, and color gamut. You’re unlikely to find 1440 resolutions in this price range, but 1080 is often preferred for gaming anyway. The refresh rate should be at least 144Hz, and anything below 5ms is a suitable response time. In terms of color gamut, you should expect between 97-100% sRGB at this price.

Thermals

Being so small, gaming laptops can really struggle to stay cool sometimes. They just don’t have the space to incorporate thermal solutions the way desktops do, which is why it’s important to examine the fan system in place.

Even though the fans need to be small, a little bit of ingenuity on the manufacturer’s part, tweaking blade length, angle, speed, and location, can amount to an incredibly capable and quiet cooling system.

CPU

The CPU is essentially the control center of your gaming laptop. Combined with the memory configuration, it defines how fast your computer can operate and what sort of tasks it’s good for.

The key feature to look out for in CPUs is their core-count. Single cores are best for high-speed gaming, but multithreaded cores are best for parallelizing workflows. 4 cores are considered the minimum requirement for gaming, 6 are ideal, and 8 would be suited for heavy multitasking.

GPU

Your GPU processes graphical information and portrays the images you see on screen. A powerful GPU is essential for streamlined gaming. A weak GPU will amount to a low frame rate and ill-defined graphics.

If you’re torn between laptops with similar GPUs, consider their core-count, memory configurations, and clock speeds to ascertain which is best for you. You may also find laptops that have separate graphics facilities to back up the GPU, which can lead to even more impressive visuals and gameplay.

Memory

There are two types of memory you should be aware of: RAM and SSD. RAM is displayed in the “DDR” format. Modern gaming laptops in this price range should have at least a 16GB DDR4 memory type. RAM is fast-acting memory. It’s a huge contributor to system responsiveness and helps to boost frames per second.

SSD is your laptop’s storage system and is where all your files are kept. The standard at this level is 512GB, which is enough to install and play a good amount of games before an upgrade is required.

Build quality

Being that laptops are so portable, they need to be able to handle the rigors of the road. Granted, you’ll probably have a quality bag to transport it in, but with all the picking up and placing down, and possibly even dropping, it still needs to be built well.

All-metal builds provide a lot of impact resistance and give the whole device a nice feel. Single-piece full-metal builds are even better. It’s best to avoid plastics where you can, but there are some great laptops out there with hybrid metal/plastic constructions. Strong hinges are also a must.