10 Best Gaming Laptops Under $1500 in 2023 (Rated & Reviewed)

Best Gaming Laptops Under $1500

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A lot of the conversation around PC gaming centers on desktop builds, but these might not be an option for all budgets or lifestyles. Many people are going to find themselves better served by laptops, and the extra power offered by gaming laptops can make them useful for other tasks as well.

The question is: which gaming laptop is best? Machines calling themselves “gaming laptops” can range from small machines that barely run Minecraft to high-performing powerhouses that cost more than most desktop builds.

To help your search, we’ve put together our suggestions for the 10 best gaming laptops under $1500 in 2023. It’s a price point that typically ensures more than adequate performance but won’t be out of reach for most gamers.

Best Gaming Laptops Under $1500 in 2023 Round-Up

The table below will give you a quick look at our selections for the 10 best gaming laptops under $1500 currently available on the market. To read a full review, simply click on ‘review>>’ in the respective row.

Product

Image

Rating

1. ASUS TUF Dash F15

''Insane value for under $1500''

9.9

2. Acer Predator Triton 300

''Best gaming laptop under $1500 runner-up''

9.8

3. ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14

''Best premium gaming laptop under $1500''

9.7

4. Lenovo Legion 5

''Excellent all-around pick''

9.6

5. MSI Stealth 15M

''Most portable offering''

9.4

6. Razer Blade 15

''Surprising option from Razer''

9.3

7. MSI GE75 Raider

''Editor's pick''

9.2

8. MSI Alpha 17

''Honorable mention''

9.1

9. Dell G5 15

''Honorable mention #2''

9.0

10. HP OMEN 15-en0029nr

''Honorable mention #3''

8.9



1. ASUS TUF Dash F15

Display: 15.6” IPS | Screen Resolution: FullHD (1920 x 1080) | CPU: Intel Core i7-12650H GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 | RAM: 16 GB DDR5 | Storage: 1 TB SSD | Battery Life: Up to 16 hours | Weight: 4.41 lbs / 2 kg

 

ASUS 2022 TUF Dash F15

 

REASONS TO BUY

  • One of the absolute best performances per dollar
  • Excellent CPU GPU combo at this price range
  • Newest DDR5 memory
  • Large, color-accurate display
  • Thin and lightweight
  • High-quality construction
  • Firm and responsive keyboard
  • Attractive aesthetics
  • Excellent connectivity

REASONS TO AVOID

  • No RGB
  • Display is a bit dimmer

Our Rating:   9.9/10

The ASUS TUF Dash F15 is a rugged-looking, highly portable gaming laptop that uses high-end components to achieve incredible gaming performance at this price point. It’s modern and able to hold its own when compared to laptops that cost $500 more.

The Dash 15 has the weight and slimness you’d hope for from a laptop, coming in at 0.8” (22mm) thick and only 4.4 pounds. The length and width are what you’d expect from a 15.6 laptop, 14.2 inches (360mm) wide and 9.9 inches (252mm) long.

It’s not the lightest or most portable gaming laptop on the market or even on this list, but for an affordable 15” gaming laptop, it’s nice and compact and feels well-balanced in hand.

It also features a high-quality build–it doesn’t have that premium finish of something like a ROG laptop, but the overall construction (display, keyboard, and hinges) feels sturdy and very well-made.

One of the best parts of the laptop, along with its high-end performance, is the display. It is a 15.6” 144 Hz FHD (1920×1080) IPS panel, and it offers everything you hope for in a gaming laptop–Sharp, smooth, and color-accurate image no matter the type of games you will be playing on it.

The only thing we didn’t like too much was the brightness. We measured 270 nits, and you can really feel that. It’s not terrible, but if you often use your laptop in bright environments, it can become uncomfortable.

In terms of performance, the Dash F15 uses a 12th gen i7 CPU that features a total of 10 cores (6P and 4E cores) and can be clocked up to 4.7 GHz. With the 12-generation of processors being such a success, this is one of the best CPUs you can have in a gaming laptop in general, and by far the best in this price range.

In addition, the F15 comes equipped with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 GPUs, again, the absolute best you will see in this price range. It will provide more than enough power for any current releases at 60 FPS, competitive titles at 100+ FPS, and a high level of video editing. Actually, for 1080p gaming, this card is a bit overkill for most games.

Like most gaming laptops, the Dash F15 has dual-channel 16GB; however, the F15 features the newest DDR5 memory clocked at 4800 MHz, providing over 50% boost in performance compared to standard DDR4 RAM. This won’t affect gaming too much, but faster RAM is always better, no matter what you do on your laptop.

The 1 TB SSD is going to be enough to hold any number of indie games, but if you’ve got a lot of current releases in your library, you’re going to run out of space after a while. The need for external storage might be frustrating, but having the space for backup was already a must.

On the brighter side, The multiple vents and (relatively) high clearance from the laptop’s construction allow for very efficient cooling from the dual fans, especially for such a thin laptop with high-performing components.

When it comes to aesthetics, the TUF Dash F15 has a clean, utilitarian look–It looks like what it is, and that’s a lightweight, powerful gaming laptop. The keyboard is backlit but can’t be programmed, and sadly for some, there is no RGB.

ASUS advertises up to 16 hours of battery life, but we weren’t able to push it past 10 for any testing and was much closer to 6 or 7 for most serious usage. It’s still great if you compare it to other gaming laptops, but the discrepancy is a bit frustrating.

Overall, the ASUS TUF Dash F15 is an incredible gaming laptop and easily the absolute best in the sub-$1500 price range. It offers outstanding gaming performance with high-performing components, clean and compact design, a great display, and a high-quality build while forgoing useless features such as RGB backlighting–We highly recommend this one if you’re looking for the best bang for your buck.

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2. Acer Predator Triton 300

Display: 15.6” IPS | Screen Resolution: FullHD (1920 x 1080) | CPU: Intel Core i7-11800H GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 | RAM: 16 GB DDR4 | Storage: 512 GB NVMe SSD | Battery Life: Up to 7 hours | Weight: 4.41 lbs / 2 kg

 

Acer Predator Triton 300

 

REASONS TO BUY

  • Slim and portable
  • Effective cooling system
  • High-quality construction
  • Upgradable
  • Fantastic performance for the money
  • Large and sharp screen
  • Smooth 144hz refresh rate panel
  • Quality IPS display

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Touchpad offset to the left 
  • Louder cooling

Our Rating:   9.8/10

Predator from Acer makes gaming laptops with one key thought in mind: if you’re getting a gaming laptop, it’s because you want the flexibility and portability of a laptop. Where some gaming laptops are portable in a looser, “only compared to a desktop” sense, the Predator Triton is both slim and lightweight.

In total, the Acer Predator weighs just under 4.5 pounds. For comparison, some other 15.6” gaming laptops push past twice that weight. Closed, it’s only 0.78 (20mm) thick. Minimal bezel around the 15.6” screen makes the case only 14.29 inches (363mm) by 10 inches (254 mm).

Moving along, the screen is a Full HD 1920×1080, 144Hz IPS panel. In a 15.6-inch screen, you’re typically not going to notice any improvement in quality above FHD. However, the 144hz refresh rate is going to deliver buttery-smooth visuals that you will appreciate, especially if you play fast-paced FPS games.

Performance-wise, the Triton 300 uses an 11th-generation Intel i7 8-core processor with a clock speed of up to 4.6 GHz, which will deliver excellent framerates. Eight cores is the most you’ll typically see in laptops that cost $1500 or less, so there is nothing to complain about as far as the CPU is concerned.

Unless you intend to regularly hook your laptop up to multiple displays so you can run other programs while gaming, you won’t typically notice any issues with the performance of your CPU.

Now, the dual-channel 16GB RAM is on par with what you’ll see in any build not designed around professional work, so you’ll have plenty of power on that front.

In terms of storage, the hard drive is available in both 512 GB and 1 TB variants, with the latter being a bit more expensive. With the high storage demands of current games, that’s going to fill up quickly. If you don’t have the internet connection to be able to download and swap out your game library or otherwise want to have most of your library on hand, you’ll need to purchase additional storage.

This is standard for laptops, so isn’t really a point for or against it. However, the Triton has an open M.2 slot, which gives you more options for how you set up that additional memory.

The video card is an overclockable Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070, which is by far the best GPU you can have at this price point, as most laptops under $1500 come equipped with an RTX 3060.

The RTX 3060 is already a fantastic card for 1080p gaming, so you can imagine how well an RTX 3070 will perform. You’ll be able to run the vast majority of games on high settings with 60+ FPS without breaking a sweat, including the newest AAA titles.

For cooling, this laptop uses two 4th-Gen aeroblade 3D fans, which feature a huge number of 0.1mm thick, carefully engineered blades. They pull air in through the back and force it out the sides, making for more efficient cooling than you often see in laptops, especially thinner ones at this performance.

You might still want to have it on a table when running at full performance, but you probably won’t need a cooling mat.

When it comes to design, the Triton 300 is a bit plain-looking, apart from the addressable RGB backlights on the keyboard and logo. It’s only available in black, and apart from the angled corners doesn’t have any notable design features. The combination of metal and plastic build isn’t quite seamless either.

The base battery life is 7 hours, which is almost decent, but putting any stress on the components is going to drop that drastically.

All things considered, the Acer Predator Triton 300 is an excellent all-around gaming laptop. Besides providing a superb gaming performance for $1500 or less, it also features an outstanding display, quality construction, and a great cooling system. If RGB is a must, the Triton 300 is your best option.

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3. ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14

Display: 14” IPS | Screen Resolution: FullHD (1920 x 1080) | CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800HS GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 | RAM: 16 GB DDR4 | Storage: 1 TB SSD | Battery Life: Up to 11 hours | Weight: 3.5 lbs / 1.6 kg

 

ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14

 

REASONS TO BUY

  • Extremely compact and portable
  • Outstanding CPU for the price point
  • Great gaming performance
  • High-quality construction
  • Comes with a 1 TB SSD
  • Long battery life
  • Very stylish design
  • Excellent keyboard
  • Cool LED effect on the back (on select models)

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Smaller display than most gaming laptops
  • Heats up quickly
  • No webcam or Numpad

Our Rating:   9.7/10

14″ laptops are a lot more common outside the gaming laptop sphere and are valuable for their smaller size and lower weight. For gaming laptops, a larger display is usually preferable for the extra focus on detail and immersiveness. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 tries to strike that balance.

The 14″ display still features an FHD IPS panel, which will give you a sharp and color-accurate display (covering 100% of the sRGB color gamut). The refresh rate is dropped to 144Hz, not a difference the naked eye will typically notice from 240Hz, in an effort to improve battery life.

Portability is virtually the only reason to drop to 14″ on a gaming laptop, and fortunately, the Zephyrus G14 delivers on that front. It’s very slim at 0.7 inches and only 12.8 inches by 8.7 inches, meaning it can be easily stowed in most bags, including some bike bags. It only weighs 3.5 pounds which makes it one of the lightest gaming laptops out there.

ASUS has made excellent use of the “step back a generation” tactic to deliver an excellent price-to-performance ratio on the CPU. This laptop features a Ryzen 7 5800HS, one of the best laptop processors currently available in this price range, with 8 cores and up to a 4.4 GHz clock rate.

That’s going to deliver phenomenal framerates, lightning-quick response times, and plenty of capacity for multi-tasking, streaming, or even some light video editing.

Moving along, the GPU is an RTX 3060, another previous-gen component, but one that still works well. Keep in mind you can find a couple of laptops under $1500 that rock the RTX 3070, which offers better performance across the board, but as we mentioned, the RTX 3060 is a perfect 1080p card and won’t limit you in any way.

The powerful processors are complemented by the 16GB of dual-channel RAM, which will make all day-to-day operations, as well as gaming, incredibly quick and responsive. It’s the older DDR4 type, but again, this won’t have a significant impact on gaming–We’d only see this as a problem if you plan on using the laptop for video editing as well.

Somewhat surprising, though certainly not unheard of, is the 1TB of SSD storage. That’s going to give you a lot more flexibility in terms of what games you keep downloaded and installed on your machine, though still won’t be enough to keep most libraries installed at all times.

As a general rule, more powerful components in a smaller space means more heat, and the Zephyrus G14 puts a whole 8-core processor and a gaming GPU into a 14” laptop. That means it’s going to heat up fast.

The dual 81-blade fans and vents on the side and front work in conjunction with internal cooling pipes to prevent overheating shutdown, but it still might be uncomfortable to use without a cooling pad over extended periods of time, depending on how hard you push the laptop.

Further, this laptop is available in either Moonlight White, which is sort of a silvery-white, or Eclipse Gray, which you wouldn’t be out of line for calling matte black. What’s remarkable about the design, though, is the AniMe Matrix available on select models.

In essence, it’s a collection of over a thousand programmable LEDs on the lid of the case, which can be arranged into logos or designs or used to display soundwave bars when listening to music on the quad speakers. This is a pretty cool and unique feature you won’t see elsewhere.

Lastly, the battery life is advertised as up to 11 hours, though that will typically be lower, depending on your usage. You can safely expect 5-6 without needing to make any major adjustments to performance.

As far as drawbacks, the two most notable ones are the lack of a webcam and Numpad–This helps the laptop look sleeker and be more compact, but if even one of these features is essential to you, we recommend looking elsewhere.

Overall, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 is an outstanding laptop that surprisingly made the $1500 budget. The processing power for the price point is just amazing, and thanks to the extreme portability, beautiful design, and top-of-the-line quality, this is currently one of the best and most popular gaming laptops you can get for under $1500.

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4. Lenovo Legion 5

Display: 15.6” IPS | Screen Resolution: FullHD (1920 x 1080) | CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800H GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 | RAM: 32 GB DDR4 | Storage: 1 TB SSD | Battery Life: Up to 7 hours | Weight: 5.4 lbs / 2.4 kg

 

Lenovo Legion 5

 

REASONS TO BUY

  • Excellent for gaming and video editing
  • Fantastic performance for the money
  • Soft, comfortable keyboard
  • Sturdy construction
  • Plenty of RAM and storage
  • Smooth, sharp, large display
  • Fantastic connectivity

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Heavy and bulky
  • Short battery life
  • No per-key RGB (only 3 zones)

Our Rating:   9.6/10

The Lenovo Legion 5 is a straightforward gaming laptop that definitely packs a punch. Lenovo is known for their business-like efficiency, so you shouldn’t expect any surprises from this one.

It is a bit on the bulky side, another common feature of Lenovo laptops. It’s just under an inch (24.9mm) thick and 14.3 inches (363mm) wide by 10.2 inches (260mm) long. It weighs 5.4 pounds, which is heavy for what we’ve seen from 15.6” laptops so far, but more or less average for gaming laptops.

The 15.6” display is an FHD (1920×1080) 165hz IPS panel, which is going to be the optimal level of performance for a gaming laptop of this size and power. It’ll also be great for editors using the sRGB color space, as the display covers 100% of the sRGB color gamut, providing accurate colors for both gaming and professional work.

Now, the processor is a Ryzen 7 5800H, which is AMD’s 8-core offering from the previous generation. Similar to the Zephyrus G14, that’s going to be fantastic processing power for the majority of users, even the most extreme multitaskers.

Moving along, the GPU is an RTX 3060, which offers the best price-to-performance ratio for 1080p gaming, and it is in line with most gaming laptops in this price range. You’ll be able to comfortably play the newest releases at medium to high settings as well as competitive titles, such as Warzone, Apex Legends, or Fortnite at 100+ FPS without an issue.

In addition, the dual-channel 32 GB of RAM available from the Legion 5 is the highest amount you’ll find in this price category. It doesn’t provide any meaningful performance boost for gaming, as most current-gen games run at full settings with only 8GB, making 16GB a comfortable amount of cushion for most users.

The only situation where the 32 GB is going to be worth the extra money spent (or taken away from other components) is if you’re also using the laptop for creative ventures, like video editing for example.

Similarly to the RAM, the Legion 5 is one of the few laptops that offer a full TB of storage without blowing past the $1500 budget, which is another point in its favor if you’re a gamer and creative professional or if you just have a large game library (and who doesn’t at this point?)

In addition, this laptop has plenty of cooling vents and powerful fans that make the most of the included power. You probably won’t need a cooling pad for performance or comfortable use, but the fans can get loud, so you might want to consider giving them some help to keep your laptop running quieter.

In terms of design, the legion is pretty much a plain, kind of bulky laptop. Nothing about its appearance screams “gaming laptop” which could be a point against it if you’re hoping to show off, but if it’s going to be pulling double duty in a professional workspace, that could be a positive note.

The RGB-backlit keyboard is really the only exciting feature of this laptop. Though, it’s only a 3-zone backlighting as opposed to per-key RGB, which cuts down on customization.

In summary, the main selling point of this laptop is going to be its utility as a creative workstation in addition to being a gaming PC. The Legion 5 is the only laptop that comes with 32 GB of RAM, 1 TB of storage, and a powerful GPU + CPU combo under $1500. If you’re looking to get the most value for your money and don’t care about showing off or portability, the Legion 5 is a perfect choice.

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5. MSI Stealth 15M

Display: 15.6” IPS | Screen Resolution: FullHD (1920 x 1080) | CPU: Intel Core i7-11375H GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 | RAM: 16GB DDR4 | Storage: 512GB SSD | Battery Life: Up to 6 hours | Weight: 3.72 lbs / 1.69 kg

 

MSI Stealth 15M

 

REASONS TO BUY

  • Current-gen components
  • Decent performance for the money
  • Exceptional display and keyboard
  • Incredibly portable
  • Clean design
  • High-quality build

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Disappointing battery life
  • Can get too hot for comfortable use
  • Sacrifices a little raw power for current-gen components

Our Rating:   9.4/10

The MSI Stealth 15M is another option that packs a shocking amount of power into a slim, portable container. It almost doesn’t look like a gaming laptop, though it certainly performs like one.

The display is an FHD (1920×1080) 15.6 IPS panel screen. Most notably, the IPS panel reduces viewing angle difficulties, avoiding situations with severe image distortion when viewed from an angle. The refresh rate is a clean 144Hz, which delivers a smooth image without drawing too much battery power.

The Stealth 15M is the slimmest and also most portable gaming laptop on this list. It’s a mere 0.63 (16mm) thick and 14.1 inches (358mm) by 9.76 inches (248mm). It weighs only 3.72 pounds, one of the few gaming laptops on the market to come in under 4 lbs. For pure portability, this one can’t be beaten.

Despite its compact design, it still offers plenty of power. It boasts an 11th-generation i7 processor with four cores and a clock rate of up to 5.3GHz. The high clock rate is going to deliver excellent framerates and quick response times.

However, The relatively low core count might limit your multitasking abilities, especially if you want to keep programs running in the background while you game. But don’t worry, 4 cores will be enough to handle gaming or even streaming.

Now, the GPU is a current-gen GeForce RTX 3060, which is one of the lowest of the 30 series (besides the 3050). It’s still a powerful GPU and will often play nicer with new releases. On the other hand, in terms of raw power metrics, you might get a better price-to-performance out of higher-tier GPUs, such as the RTX 3070.

The MSI Stealth is available in versions that offer either 16GB or 32GB RAM. The 32GB RAM pushes the price point to $1500 and is more RAM than most gamers are going to use. The 16GB dual-channel gives plenty of performance and keeps the price more reasonable.

For the 16GB model, you’re limited to 512GB of storage, which is not uncommon for laptops, but less than gamers with larger libraries are going to be happy with.

The reason gaming laptops are usually larger is to make extra room for the extra fans and heatsinks they typically require. So you could expect a laptop this thin to have some problems with heating, and you’d be half right.

The internal cooling features 6 pipes and two powerful fans, which will prevent any heat damage to your components. On the other hand, they vent through the bottom, which makes the “lap” part of the laptop dicey. You’ll probably want a cooling mat for this one.

Furthermore, the keyboard features addressable RGB lights, but the computer otherwise looks unremarkable. That can be a plus for portability or professionalism, but not if you’re trying to make a statement with your gaming laptop.

Lastly, the average battery life is only 6 hours, and you can expect that to be cut in half if you’re running anything intensive. You’re probably expecting to keep it plugged in during intensive use, but if you find yourself in a pinch, it’s going to come up short.

Overall, the MSI Stealth 15M is a great laptop, but it’s definitely not perfect. On one hand, it boasts current-gen hardware and a premium, lightweight chassis. On the other hand, it comes with a couple of bigger drawbacks, mainly in the form of cooling and raw processing power. Still, if you’re looking for the most portable gaming laptop under $1500, this is your best option.

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6. Razer Blade 15

Display: 15.6” IPS | Screen Resolution: FullHD (1920 x 1080) | CPU: Intel Core i7-10750H GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 | RAM: 16 GB DDR4 | Storage: 512 GB SSD | Battery Life: Up to 4 hours | Weight: 4.6 lbs / 2.1 kg

Razer Blade 15

REASONS TO BUY

  • Impeccable build quality
  • Compact, slim and portable
  • Industry-standard gaming specs
  • Extreme RGB capabilities
  • Beautiful display

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Previous-gen components
  • Poor battery life
  • Significant overheating issues
  • Poor price/performance ratio

Our Rating:   9.3/10

We should note quickly that for the purposes of keeping within the $1500 budget, we’re talking about the 2020 Razer Blade 15, which is still on the market and still a fantastic laptop in its own right.

The latest version is quite a bit more expensive, almost 3 times as much, in the case of the 3080 model. The 2020 model still solidly holds its own against most of the other laptops on our list while keeping the price down.

In terms of dimensions, the Razer Blade 15 is not overly large, coming in at 14 inches (355mm) by 9.25 inches (235mm) and only 0.75 inches (19mm) thick. Plus, the sturdy aluminum construction makes it surprisingly light at 4.6 pounds.

This puts it in a great place as far as portability: it will fit easily in most laptop bags, be much more resistant to bumps and drops from transit, and is not going to be an uncomfortable amount of weight over long distances.

Like most gaming laptops, it features an FHD (1920×1080) 15.6″ display with a 144Hz refresh rate. It’s a very attainable setup for laptops and one that you won’t see much benefit in exceeding.

Now, this being the 2020 model, you’ll find that it’s using previous-gen components like the 10th-gen i7 10750H, which is a 6-core, 12-thread CPU that can be clocked up to 5 GHz. This is going to allow extremely quick response times across multiple applications, which is a plus if you want to squeeze in a match while you’re on a break.

The GPU is also previous-gen, specifically the RTX 2060. It’s going to deliver enough graphical power for high settings on most of the games currently in your library but will probably drop below 60 FPS if you’re trying to run new releases at high or ultra-high settings. For the price point, we would have liked to see at least an RTX 2070, but the RTX 2060 still works.

For most gaming laptops, 8-16 GB of RAM is as much power as you’re ever going to need, probably more, so the dual-channel 16 GB is an extremely gamer-friendly amount of power.

One of the only letdowns, as with most gaming laptops, is the hard-drive space. The 512 GB SSD allows files to be retrieved and rewritten quickly, but still isn’t a lot of space for avid gamers.

The base model of the Blade 15 uses cooling pipe technology, similar to what you see in most other gaming laptops. The upgraded versions have what Razer calls “vapor chamber” cooling, which tends to be more effective. The base model does have some issues with overheating, occasionally to the point of a crash during extremely demanding tasks. A cooling pad is going to be a necessity for this one.

Similar to its performance, the Blade 15 splits down the middle in terms of its appearance. The case itself is a moderately attractive but mostly unremarkable matte black.

However, Razer, a big manufacturer of gaming peripherals, has loaded the laptop out with its Razer Chroma programmable RGB. The RGB boost adds levels of customization and immersion that aren’t always available from gaming laptops.

The major downside for this laptop is going to be the battery life, which a lot of critics describe as non-existent. You’ll struggle to break two hours if you’re using it for just about anything. The battery is mostly just there to give you a bit of warning if you bump the power cord without noticing.

The biggest draw for this laptop is going to be the Razer brand and their Chroma RGB capabilities. If everything else is equal, those are perfectly valid reasons to go with this laptop. The heating and battery issues are typically ones you won’t find to the same degree in comparable laptops, including several that have better price-to-performance ratios.

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7. MSI GE75 Raider

Display: 17.3” IPS | Screen Resolution: FullHD (1920 x 1080) | CPU: Intel Core i7-10750H GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 | RAM: 16 GB DDR4 | Storage: 512 GB SSD + 1TB HDD | Battery Life: Up to 7 hours | Weight: 5.7 lbs / 2.6 kg

 

MSI GE75 Raider

 

REASONS TO BUY

  • Large display
  • Great performance for the money
  • Slim design with thin bezels
  • Great cooling solution
  • High levels of RGB customization
  • Very high storage space

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Terrible battery life
  • Previous gen components
  • Fans are loud (but effective)

Our Rating:   9.2/10

The MSI GE75 Raider has a large number of different models available for 2023, with each model divided into further subcategories depending on their available RAM and storage.

The current top-of-the-line models include extremely powerful components, like 3080 GPUs, which drive the price well above the budget mark we set. For the more affordable tier, we recommend steering away from the larger RAM and storage options. The negligible differences in performance and/or diminishing returns on price are why we think the entry model is the best choice.

The base model offers 16 GB of RAM, the same amount you’ll find in just about any other gaming laptop. This is because, for gaming, you only see a 5-10% jump in performance switching from 8 GB to 16 GB. The jump to 24 GB, 32 GB, or 64 GB will not produce any change that you’ll notice in a gaming context, even in the most graphically intensive games.

The only time quantities of RAM beyond 16 GB are useful is if you are also using your PC as a workstation of some kind.

In terms of storage, the base model includes a 512 GB SSD and a 1 TB HDD, which is half as much memory as the next best model on our list. The SSD is quicker, while the HDD offers a large quantity of memory for less frequently accessed files.

The higher models only increase to 1T B SSD and remain at 1 TB HDD. You may have reasons to disagree, but in our book, the extra 512 GB is not worth the hundreds of dollars extra in price.

In terms of display, the GE75 Raider is another 17.3” laptop, meaning you get a display that won’t feel as prohibitive if you’re used to larger desktop displays. It’s an FHD (1920×1080) 144Hz display, which is still going to feel sharp even on a relatively larger display. The high refresh rate is going to complement the higher framerates you’ll be able to achieve from a gaming laptop as well.

It’s not as bulky as some 17” laptops, but it’s not small by any means. It’s a little over an inch thick, 1.08 (or 27.5mm) precisely. It’s 15.6 inches (397mm) wide and 10.6 inches (269mm) long. The total weight is 5.73 pounds, which is not heavy by any means, but combined with the size, puts a bit of a damper on portability.

For this model of the GE75, the processor is back a couple of generations, which for the most part, makes for a good price-to-performance tradeoff. It’s a six-core Intel i7-10750H, which can be clocked up to 5 GHz. It’s not as future-proof as an 11th gen might be, but it’s enough to ensure adequate performance for the current generation of games.

Now, the GPU is an RTX 2060, an area where MSI has skimped a bit on what it calls its flagship series, even for the entry tier. An RTX 2060 is, for the most part, going to be able to play all of this year’s releases on high settings and at or close to 60 FPS. The question once again is how much cushion you have before needing to upgrade again.

Cooling-wise, the GE75 Raider uses an 8-Heatpipe, dual-fan layout for cooling, which individually addresses all major components of the PC, and vents in multiple directions out the sides and back. You might get some throttling if the vents are obstructed, and a cooling pad can help with that, but probably won’t be necessary otherwise.

The RGB lights on the keyboard can be individually programmed for each key, allowing for some really fun effects. Apart from that, the laptop looks pretty unremarkable, with a greater focus having been applied to making such a large laptop slim and (relatively) powerful.

The battery life is the only thing we’d categorically count as a point against it. Even under light usage, you’ll struggle to break two hours of battery life, and obviously, intense gaming is going to eat through your battery even faster.

This is the first 17” MSI laptop (out of three) to feature on our list, which should tell you something about the overall quality of their computers. It features older components, which is definitely a drawback, but it’s still able to produce smooth frames in most modern games. If you’re looking for a 17” laptop and want to save some money, the GE75 Raider is worth considering.

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8. MSI Alpha 17

Display: 17.3” IPS | Screen Resolution: FullHD (1920 x 1080) | CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 4800H GPU: AMD Radeon RX 5600M | RAM: 16 GB DDR4 | Storage: 512 GB NVMe SSD | Battery Life: Up to 9 hours | Weight: 5.7 lbs / 2.6 kg

 

MSI Alpha 17

 

REASONS TO BUY

  • Lots of screen real estate
  • Excellent display and keyboard
  • Decent power for the money
  • High-quality construction
  • Attractive aesthetics
  • High levels of RGB customization

REASONS TO AVOID

  • The graphics card can limit you
  • Vents heat uncomfortably
  • Not a very portable option

Our Rating:   9.1/10

One of the downsides of gaming laptops is that no matter how much power you pack into them, your visual experience is always going to be limited by the size of the screen. The MSI Alpha 17 does its best to solve that with the largest screen available and the power to back it up.

The Alpha 17 features a 17.3” FHD (1920×1080) 144hz display. The 17.3 is still small enough that 1920×1080 is going to look sharp and detailed, and the 144Hz is going to be high enough to prevent any issues you might have with ghosting.

Dimensions-wise, the laptop is 1.1 inches (28mm) thick, 15.6 inches (398.5mm) wide, and 10.7 inches (272mm) long. It weighs just under 6 pounds (5.7 to be exact), which isn’t the heaviest gaming laptop on the market, but a weight you’ll start to notice if carrying it for extended times. It’s not exceptionally portable, but most 17” laptops aren’t.

Now, the Alpha 17 uses AMD components, which often makes a more budget-friendly build. Specifically, it has a 4th-gen AMD Ryzen 7-4800H, which is an 8-core, 2.9 – 4.2 GHz CPU. That’s more cores but a lower clock rate than you’ll see from Intel-powered laptops in the same price range.

That can make multi-tasking (especially streaming) easier but might affect your framerate at ultra-high settings on the current generation of triple-A games.

The video card is also AMD, an AMD RX5600M, which is a mid-tier, older-gen GPU. It consistently outperforms the RTX 2060, but not by enough to be comparable to an RTX 2070.

In practical terms, that means games will run at “high” settings pretty smoothly, but you’ll probably have issues with the newest games at ultra-high settings. The use of AMD components enables AMD’s Freesync, which allows your GPU to work more smoothly with the screen.

Further, the RAM is a dual-channel 16 GB DDR4, which is standard for most gaming laptops as it ensures a high level of performance without pushing the price point too high.

Storage-wise, the 512GB SSD is also standard for most gaming laptops, but if you have a large library, you’ll burn through that very quickly.

Like the Stealth 15M, this laptop uses a dual-fan, multi-pipe setup for cooling, which will ensure safe internal operating temperatures, but unfortunately, it also vents through the bottom, which is going to cause some discomfort without a cooling pad.

This is one of the fewer entries on our list that really looks like what you’d expect from a gaming laptop, with geometric embellishment and an RGB-enabled logo on the back. Each key on the keyboard can be individually programmed, allowing different colors for frequently used key configurations (like WASD).

The battery can last up to 9 hours, which is generally good when it comes to gaming laptops, though high-intensity use will probably drop that well below 5.

Unfortunately, there are a couple of drawbacks you should know about before pulling the trigger. Firstly, the cooling is not the best we’ve come across and will most likely force you to buy a cooling pad. Plus, the RX5600M graphics card might limit you if you plan on playing the newest releases at high settings.

However, the MSI Alpha 17 is overall a great gaming laptop that is likely going to be a better fit for strategy game players who want a wider FOV and basically anyone who’s looking for more screen real estate. Also, a quick note if you’re an AMD fan – this is the only laptop on the list with an AMD graphics card.

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9. Dell G5 15

Display: 15.6” IPS | Screen Resolution: FullHD (1920 x 1080) | CPU: Intel Core i7-10750H GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti | RAM: 32 GB DDR4 | Storage: 1 TB SSD | Battery Life: Up to 10 hours | Weight: 5.15 lbs / 2.34 kg

 

Dell G5 15 SE

 

REASONS TO BUY

  • High RAM and storage capacity
  • Bright display
  • Quality construction
  • Plenty of connectivity
  • Long battery life 
  • Efficient cooling system

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Previous-gen components, including a weaker GPU
  • Loud cooling fans
  • No RGB elements

Our Rating:   9.0/10

More experienced gamers may be surprised to see an entry from Dell but no appearances from their gaming division Alienware on this list.

This is because, despite the build quality, to get your money’s worth out of Alienware, you’ll need to spend closer to $2000 (or more), well above the price point we set for this list. The Dell G5 15 might not be as flashy but holds its own as a gaming laptop.

As gaming laptops go, the G5 15 isn’t overly bulky or exceptionally portable. The 14.4 inches (366mm) by 10 inches (254mm) case is within the standard range of 15-inch laptops, and the 0.85-inch (22mm) thickness is on the thinner side, but not to the point of being exceptionally so.

Like most of the entries on our list, the display is an FHD (1920×180) 15.6 IPS panel, though this one has a 120Hz refresh rate as opposed to the 144Hz, which is more common for gaming laptops. This difference usually isn’t usually going to be noticeable, but might not be as smooth for fast-paced FPS games.

It’s powered by a 10th gen i7 6-core processor, which will give plenty of speed and high framerates with an up to 5 GHz clock rate. 11th gen processors are still in short supply, and so the step back to the 10th gen is a great way to get more power without the high price tag.

The GPU is the more budget-conscious 1660Ti, which will run current games, and has a limited amount of forward compatibility but isn’t likely to be able to run ultra-high (or high, in some cases) graphics settings for current triple-A games.

On the brighter side, The G5 15 boasts 32GB of RAM, which is good if you intend to use this as a workstation as well as a gaming PC. If not, you may find that the money would have been better spent on a better GPU and less RAM.

Storage-wise, the 1TB SSD is going to deliver quick load times, as well as provide more storage than average. You may still want to invest in an external hard drive in any case.

The fans run loud but do keep the core cool, so you’ll be able to get by without a cooling mat if you don’t mind the extra noise.

Finally, the battery life is nearly 10 hours at minimal use, which can provide a full day of use, provided you’re not doing anything too intensive. If you’re going to be doing any gaming or video editing, that’s going to cut down quickly.

Overall, the G5 15 is another example of a workstation laptop that can pull double duty as a gaming laptop. If gaming is your first and only priority, this isn’t going to be your best option. If you’re a creative professional or student that likes to unwind with some games, this will be perfect for you.

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10. HP OMEN 15-en0029nr

Display: 15.6” IPS | Screen Resolution: FullHD (1920 x 1080) | CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 4800H GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti | RAM: 16 GB DDR4 | Storage: 512 GB SSD | Battery Life: Up to 10 hours | Weight: 5.42 lbs / 2.46 kg

 

HP OMEN 15-en0029nr

 

REASONS TO BUY

  • Great processor for the price point
  • Sharp, smooth display
  • A bit more affordable than the competing options
  • Professional appearance
  • Good battery life

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Overheating issues
  • Simple design, with no RGB elements
  • Minimal, previous-gen components
  • Poor price-to-performance ratio

Our Rating:   8.9/10

The HP Omen is another unassuming laptop that turns around and packs in a surprising amount of power. This option doesn’t include anything more remarkable than the backlit keyboard, but the simplicity of design theoretically comes with a boost in portability and performance.

The Omen 15 is 0.9 inches (23mm) thick and weighs 5.4 pounds. That’s pretty mobile as gaming laptops go, but it’s not the lightest or slimmest option on our list. The 14.1 inch (358mm) by 9.4 inches (240mm) is within the expected parameters for a 15.6” laptop.

The 15.6” screen is a Full HD IPS panel display with a 144Hz refresh rate, which is ideal for a gaming laptop of this size.

In addition, this is one of the few options on our list which uses an AMD processor, specifically the Ryzen 7 4800H. The eight processor cores give this more simultaneous power, which is a plus if you like to leave programs running or if you intend to stream games periodically. The clock rate maxes out at 4.2 GHz, which is plenty fast, but might not let you push your framerate as high.

The area you’re more likely to run into issues is with the GPU, which is a GTX 1660 Ti. When it was released, shortly after the debut of the 20 series, it was meant as a sort of budget version of the RTX 2060, with a slight decrease in power and the absence of ray tracing.

With the release of the 30 series, the 2060 functions as the budget option for most laptops, so we’re quickly approaching a point (if we haven’t reached it already) where minimal savings offered by the 1660 Ti are not worth the decrease in performance. It’s still going to be compatible with new releases until 2024, but you’ll have to run them at lower graphics settings.

16GB of dual-channel RAM provides ideal performance and, like the 512GB SSD, is standard for most gaming laptops.

HP Laptops are notoriously bad when it comes to cooling, so you will need a cooling mat, full stop. Overheating issues can cause frequent shutdowns, which is incredibly frustrating during an extended gaming session.

The 10+ hour battery life may drop if you use it for gaming or other, more intense operations, but is good, especially for a gaming laptop.

In conclusion, the Omen 15-en0029nr is one of several entries in the Omen 15 series but has the best performance for the price point. This isn’t going to be as strong as other entries on our list, but the battery life, portability, and simple, professional design will make it good for gamers who also need to travel for work.

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Final Words

When it comes to gaming laptops, it’s always going to be possible to spend more for more performance, but not everyone has an unlimited budget. The $1500 price point should enable you to play most current games on ideal settings without breaking the bank.

Depending on your needs, any of our options for the best gaming laptop under $1500 should provide you with an excellent gaming experience. The question is just if you need portability, display, or additional workspace capacities.

As far as performance, look for either an i7 or Ryzen 7 processor or better, an Nvidia RTX 3060 card or better, 16 GB of RAM or better, and at least a 1 TB SSD.

About Richard Gamin 232 Articles
My name's Richard and over the years, I have personally built many PCs for myself and my friends. I love gaming, programming, graphics designing and basically anything that has to do with computers and technology. If you ever need a hand with anything, feel free to contact me and I will be more than happy to help you out.

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