The notion of a budget gaming laptop is somewhat of an odd one, mostly because even at the lower end of the spectrum you’re likely going to spend at least a $1,000 to get yourself a laptop that can adequately run today’s games.
We at Dealspotr have looked at numerous reviews from experts across the web to determine the best budget gaming laptop for your money. These include reviews from both technical experts who evaluate the hardware to consumer critics who discuss their overall impressions with the laptops.
The ASUS ROG GL551JW-DS71 is one such gaming laptop, and thanks to its impressive features, it’s able to run the newest games on the market with decent frame rates. These features combined with its superb build quality separate the ASUS ROG GL551 from its peers, making it the best budget gaming laptop on the market today.
TIME considers the ASUS ROG GL551JW as having “the best gaming performance for the lowest cost,” a conclusion that is further expounded upon in The Wirecutter’s exhaustive review of both the ASUS ROG GL551JW and other similarly priced gaming laptops. Excerpts from The Wirecutter review include highlights such as “The [ASUS ROG] GL551JW has uncommonly good build quality for this category,” and “the ASUS ROG GL551JW-DS71 is the best laptop for most people who are on a budget: it’s powerful, inexpensive, and well-made.”
Ultrabook Review also chimed in on the value of the ASUS ROG GL551, calling it a "properly performing, fair-priced 15.6-inch laptop. A big selling point of the ASUS ROG GL551JW is its dedicated Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M graphics card, which lets gamers play modern titles like Dragon Age: Inquisition and Far Cry 4 on medium to high settings. All reviews also emphasized the superior cooling of the ASUS ROG GL551JW, and The Wirecutter concluded that it had the coolest GPU and second-coolest CPU of all the laptops they tested for their review.
Most reviews harped on the inferior screen quality of the ASUS ROG GL551JW, with both critics and community members complaining about the poor viewing angles and washed out blacks on the screen. Both TechRadar and Computer Shopper echoed this sentiment, with Computer Shopper coming to the conclusion that “the 15.6-inch 1080p screen is unfortunately the GL551’s weakest link.” It should be noted, however, that many gamers like to connect their gaming laptops to external monitors and keyboards, so issues with the screen won’t bother them as much as, say, a road warrior.
There aren’t many gaming laptops that offer as much as the ASUS ROG GL551 does, however there are nevertheless a couple worthwhile contenders. One is the Lenovo Y50, which is over a $100 cheaper than the ASUS ROG, and also sports better speakers and a more comfortable keyboard. Another option is the MSI GE Series GE60 Apache Pro, which has the same graphics card as the ASUS ROG and also features an RGB keyboard. Unfortunately, both of these laptops suffer from an inferior build quality and excessive heat, both of which are large no-nos for someone looking to keep their laptop kicking after three years.
While the contender for the best budget gaming laptop is likely to change at least once a year, the current champion is, without a doubt, the ASUS ROG GL551. With a robust a build quality, decent performane, and efficient cooling, it stands above its contenders as a decent choice for both college students who can’t bring their desktops with them to road warriors who want to mix work with play while on-the-go.
