Back then, the idea of using laptops as the main gaming equipment was simply ridiculous. Okay, not anymore. Now, as demonstrated by the Dell G7 15, HP Pavilion Gaming 16, and ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14, you no longer need to sacrifice functionality for portability. The gaming performance of these gaming laptops is very good. They are sold at Best Buy and Dell for a discount of up to $250. Read on to find out which one best suits you and your budget.
Dell G7 15 - US $750, original price US $1,000
When we again bid for Dell's entry-level Inspiron gaming product line, we greeted the promising new G series brands, including the G715. So, how does it compare to previous products? For starters, it looks different from any of Dell's past products (it certainly can't compete with the amazing alien aesthetics of Alienware laptops). However, the sports car-like design of the Dell G7 15 is still very eye-catching. It also provides impressive audio and stable mid-level gaming performance. However, it is far from perfect, because of its dim display and boring keyboard have many shortcomings. Currently, this low-cost gaming laptop can be purchased on Dell’s official website for $750 instead of the usual $1,000-a savings of $250.
Dell G7 15 is not the most portable game console, it weighs only 6.3 pounds. Its 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1,080 FHD display is disappointing, as is its keyboard. With an average of 232 nits, it is not the brightest screen there, and the color reproduction also lacks 62% of the sRGB color gamut. The same is true for the island keyboard. Although its blue font and bright sky blue backlight are very beautiful, the typing experience it provides is not so good. With shallow key travel of only 0.94 mm and a good driving force of 61 grams, the keyboard makes typing a little uncomfortable. However, it does a very good job in gaming performance, which is the most important. Equipped with the 9th generation Intel Core i5 processor, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 graphics card and 8GB RAM, the G7 can play games at high settings. Multitasking is not a problem either, because it can easily handle multiple open Google Chrome browser tabs, while other programs run in the background. For games with ample budget, the Dell G7 15 should be worthy of serious consideration. Buy it on the official Dell website for $750.
HP Pavilion Gaming 16-$820, original price $850
The screen size of HP Pavilion Gaming 16 is very unusual. The diagonal is 16.1 inches long, which is much larger than a regular 15.6-inch laptop; it's not as big as a 17.3-inch laptop. This is attractive for people who need more screen space to create content but want to avoid using mainframe computers. The full HD WLED display is also very good, with a refresh rate of 144Hz, which can guarantee medium to high frame rates and zero tearing even in fast shooting games.
From a design point of view, it is very similar to the previous products Pavilion Gaming 15 and Pavilion Gaming 17. It advertises the same green keyboard decor (quite reminiscent of Xbox), sharp edges and corners, and dark matte surfaces. Under the hood is equipped with a 10th-generation Comet Lake-H Core i5-10300H, which works with Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti graphics cards. This configuration is not shocking in terms of price, and it performed well in our game tests. We were able to play Apex Legends at an intermediate setting of 125 fps (frames per second), and "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" looked great at an intermediate setting of 90 to 100 fps. In addition, the system can easily handle multiple open programs and browser tabs, making it a reliable machine for performing daily computing tasks. Need a gaming laptop with a unique screen size that can also be used as your main work device? Then HP Pavilion Gaming 16 is for you. Buy it at a discounted price of $820 instead of Best Buy's $850 discount-a savings of $30.
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14-US$950, original price of US$1100
Although the 13.3-inch Razer Blade Stealth may be the smallest gaming laptop currently available, it still can’t match the actual power consumption, but its performance cannot match the slightly larger 14-inch Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. The gaming platform has AMD’s latest Ryzen 7 processor, which can be used with Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1650 graphics chip. It runs extremely fast and can easily handle the most demanding games. The only processor that offers the same level of endurance is the Intel Core i9 processor, which is usually dedicated to high-end notebook computers such as Dell XPS 15, MacBook Pro 16-inch or ThinkPad X1 Extreme. The disadvantage of having so much power in such a small device is that it cannot cope with the huge heat output when running heavy games and programs. The result is that it emits a loud noise, but this is completely forgivable.
The ASUS RG Jefferies G14 is smaller and lighter than most gaming laptops, not only because of its size but also because of its magnesium alloy chassis, which is lighter than all-aluminum. As mentioned earlier, this machine has powerful functions. Eight-core, 16-thread Ryzen 7, and GTX 1650 tandem processing mean that you can use this laptop for content creation (such as 3-D modeling and video editing), not just games. At the maximum setting, we can play "Battlefield V", "Fortress Night" and "Civilization VI" at 1080p at a speed exceeding 60 frames per second (FPS). Another highlight is its 1,920 x 1,080 resolution IPS display, which has sufficient brightness and clear details, as well as rich colors and contrast. Its touchpad is also very good. Since gamers usually buy an external mouse, gaming laptops usually don’t have the most accurate touchpad, but Asus has put in extra effort and made sure that this will also be an excellent laptop. Finally, although the backlit keyboard is single-zone and non-customizable, it is fun to type, which is rare in today's gaming laptops. By the way, it is worth mentioning that this laptop does not have a webcam. With ROG Zephyrus G14, Asus and AMD rewrote the rules of gaming laptops. Order at $950 instead of the $1,100 now bought at Best Buy-a discount of $150.
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