In 2025…

The best gaming laptop under $900 isn’t limited to a 4GB vRAM GPU like the 3050Ti.

In fact…

If your budget is around $900, you can easily find a laptop with a 3060RTX GPU (85W-115W) or even a 4050RTX.

The release of 4th-generation RTX GPUs has made 6GB vRAM GPUs much more affordable and more common in this price range.

Not only that, but you can also get these laptops with either a 14th-gen Intel or 8th-gen Ryzen CPU.

Just keep in mind…

Specs For Gaming Laptops Under 900

Before we get down to these best gaming laptops under 900, let’s talk about the hardware you’ll find and the hardware you should DEMAND under 900.

GPU

1050Ti: Very obselete. Pay  $550 max if you find it.
1650: Can run most games at 60fps 1080p resolution (varying settings) Pay no more than 600.
2050: Same performance (slightly better than) as 1650GTX but much cheaper. No more than 600 dollars.
3050Ti: The most common GPU in the 700-900 dollar range. You can play most games at high settings with 80fps. 1440p will lag unless the 6GB vRAM version is found.
3060RTX: No longer rare under 900. Just as common as the 3050Ti. The higher the wattage, the faster.(140W is max) Most 3060RTX laptops under 900 have the low wattage version (85W).
4050RTX: Significantly slower than the 3060RTX but has as much vRAM. However, the higher wattage version (100W+) is much closer to the performance of the 3060RTX(85W).

Other GPUs:

1660Ti:  faster than the 3050 Ti in raw performance but lacks ray tracing.
The 4050 RTX generally outperforms the 1660 Ti, especially in newer games and applications.

GPUs under $900 to  avoid: 940MX, MX150, MX230, MX250, MX350, MX450, MX550, 1050 (2GB), 1050(3GB),1050(4GB) and any AMD Radeon 5XX GPU.

CPU

Which CPU is faster  depends on the game. Although most games are very multi-threaded you will benefit from choosing the CPU with the higher single-thread (clock speed) performance. 

For a comprehensive comparison in single-thread performance of Ryzen vs Intel Core CPUs check my post here.

Note: You must avoid “U” low voltage CPUs as they will cause a CPU bottleneck.

RAM
8GB: Universal & enough for most games.
16GB: You can squeeze 5-10 fps if you upgrade to 16GB. Somewhat common on laptops under 900. If you can’t find it, no sweat, upgrading is easy:.How to Upgrade RAM On Laptop.

Dual-Channeled: You can get an extra 5-30 fps depending on the game & settings. More info here: Dual-channel RAM for gaming.

SSD
PCIe 5.0 NVMe: This is the latest and fastest ‘storage’ interface on laptops. However, you’ll only see performance gains when moving large files across devices or when loading a game that has to load up losts of files and assets (Open world games). Otherwise performance is the same across generations.
512GB SSD: Storage size is more crucial. 256GB will let you install a maximum of 4 AAA games whereas a 512GB can let you install about 10 (Windows takes a huge part). Ex: WoW+CoD+OW2+Fortnite+5 more. A complete guide on storage size for gaming is shown here.

Display

QHD: Rare on gaming laptops under 900.
120-144Hz: Minimum refresh rates for a gaming laptop under 900. Don’t settle for 60Hz.
240Hz-360Hz: Useless and impossible to find under 900!

Top 5 Best Gaming Laptops Under $900

The last section includes an Excel sheet where I’ve compiled the most popular models from well-known brands like HP, GIGABYTE, Lenovo, MSI, and Acer. This list highlights only five laptops from that sheet—those with the best value for money.

Feel free to navigate to the last section to check out the other laptops as well (in case these go out of stock).

For the following list, keep in mind that:

• Settling for older generation CPUs doesn’t equal to performance loss. GPU and GPU wattage are far more important. 
• GPU wattage for each models will be listed as this is the single most important spec for performance.
  • If you want to find the GPU Wattage of other models , read my guide in the link.

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1. Acer Nitro V

Best Gaming Laptop Under 900 – 4060RTX

  AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS

  16GB DDR5 (Upgradeable to 32GB)

   RTX 4060RTX (75W) 6GB vRAM

  512GB PCIe SSD

  16 ” 165Hz Full HD IPS

  5.5 lbs

  3 hours

 

 

Laptop Model	GPU	CPU	Display (Hz)	Price	Wattage
GIGABYTE G5 KF	4060	i5 12500H	144	849	75W
HP Victus Gaming	4060	i5 12500H	144	799	75W

GPU: 4060RTX 75W 8GB vRAM

Title	fps	Settings	Resolution	Measurement
Atomic Heart	~84	Ultra	FHD	Walking
Cyberpunk	~73	Ultra	FHD	Walking
Witcher	~52	Ultra	FHD	Riding
Forza Horizon 4	~140	Ultra	FHD	Racing
Horizon Zero Dawn	~77	Ultra	FHD	Walking
Red Dead Redemption 2	~74	Ultra	FHD	Riding
Assassin’s Creed	~82	Extreme High	FHD	Exploring
Far Cry 6	~109	Ultra	FHD	Exploring

CPU:  Ryzen 7 8845HS

4060RTX GPU Choices and CPU Pairings Under $900

If you’re eyeing laptops in this price range, most of the time, you’ll see the 4060RTX paired with CPUs like the Ryzen 5 7535HS or 7735HS, or Intel’s Core i5-13500H. Here’s what you should know about these combos:

• Ryzen 5 7535HS vs. Intel Core i5-12450H: These two CPUs are pretty evenly matched, with similar gaming performance if you’re using the 4060RTX. Both handle single-thread tasks well, but if you’re looking to squeeze out the most frames, the Ryzen 5 7535HS has a slight edge thanks to slightly better power efficiency.
• Ryzen 5 7535HS vs. Intel Core i5-13500H: If you find a model with the 13th gen Intel Core i5-13500H, you’ll see a bit more speed, especially in single-threaded tasks and lighter games. However, the difference is not groundbreaking unless you’re really pushing the CPU with CPU-heavy tasks like multitasking or high-level simulations.
• Ryzen 5 7735HS: If you find this paired with the 4060RTX, know that it has an edge over both Intel 12th and 13th gen i5s in this range because it’s a newer chip that supports DDR5 by default, adding a bit of a performance boost.

In general, the ideal setup would be the 4060RTX paired with either the 13th gen Intel i5-13500H or a 7th gen Ryzen 5 (7535HS or 7735HS) for the best bang for your buck under $900.

RAM &　Upgrades

The above picture is taken from a different model but all Acer Nitro 5 models as far as I know share the same design when it comes to place RAM & Storage so when you open this laptop for upgrades it will look exactly like this. Note that there are TWO RAM slots  and none of them is soldered to the motherboard. That means you can install RAM in dual-channel mode and get the extra 5-15fps. 

Lastly, if you look closely there’s TWO slots for storage and it’s for TWO PCIe NVMe connections.  Thus you can actually upgrade storage up to 4TB…just imagine how many games you can install with this much storage. Note that one connection is PCIe NVme 5.0 and the other 4.0.

Acer Nitro 5
PROS	CONS
Fastest & most powerful GPU under 900 Latest 8th gen Ryzen 7 16GB RAM out of the BOX 4TB max capacity 165Hz display Runs most games at high & Epic settings Dual-Channel RAM Support	Wattage is not 100W+ Low battery performance Slightly over 900

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2. Lenovo LOQ

Best Gaming Laptop Under 900 – 4050RTX

  Core i5 13450H

  8GB DDR5 

   4050RTX 95W

  1TB  PCIe NVMe SSD 

  15” 144Hz Full HD

  5.3 lbs

  2 hours

Next, we are going to go over a laptop with a slightly weaker GPU: the 4050RTX. 

Below a snapshot of all laptop models available under 900 with a 4050RTX:

Laptop Model	GPU	CPU	Hertz	Wattage
GIGABYTE	4050	i5 12450H	144	45W
MSI Thin	4050	i5 12450H	144	45W
Ideapad	4050	R7 7735HS	120	85W
Lenovo LOQ	4050	i5 13500H	144	95W
MSI Cyborg	4050	i7 13620H	144	45W

I’m featuring the Lenovo here for an obvious reason: it has the highest wattage among all models.

Before diving into the benchmarks, let’s talk about the GPU on the Lenovo LOQ and how it stacks up against other low-wattage 4050RTX GPUs.

GPU: 4050RTX 95W, 6GB vRAM

The typical price for a Lenovo LOQ with a 4050RTX is around $1,000, but the linked vendor is offering it for $870, which is a great deal for this model.

According to the specs, this Lenovo LOQ GPU runs at 95W and can theoretically reach 115W with Dynamic Boost. However, for reasons discussed later, mid-tier 4th-generation GPUs like the 4050RTX and 4060RTX rarely hit wattages above 95W in gaming scenarios.

This means that with a 4060RTX or 4050RTX running around 95W, you’ll get comparable performance to their higher-wattage counterparts (like the 4060RTX at 130W or 4050RTX at 130W). This similarity in performance doesn’t hold as strongly for higher-end GPUs like the 4070RTX and 4080RTX, where increased wattage does yield a slight performance boost.

Now, let’s see what the 4050RTX at 95W (or 115W with Dynamic Boost) can deliver:

Gaming Performance: 4050RTX (95W)

I’ve included a video that also shows the performance of the low-wattage 4060RTX, which will be helpful if you’re considering a laptop under $900 with a 4th-gen RTX GPU. It highlights just how crucial wattage is—and how a lower wattage can make a more expensive GPU perform on par with a much cheaper one

Title	fps	Settings	Resolution	Measurement
God of War	~56	Ultra	FHD	Fighting
Witch 3	~54	Ultra	FHD	Horde Riding
Far Cry 6	~96	Ultra	FHD	Exploring
Red Dead Redemption	~55	Ultra	FHD	Horse Riding
Assasin’s Creed Valhalla	~77	Ultra	FHD	Exploring
CyberPunk	~51	Ultra	FHD	Exploring
GTA V	~92	Very High	FHD	Racing
Warzone 2	~74	Extreme	FHD	Shooting

Alright, here’s the lowdown on the 4050RTX in this laptop. It’s running at 95W (or technically up to 115W with Dynamic Boost), and if you check the video, you’ll see it performs pretty much the same as a 4060RTX running at 45W. Translation? Don’t waste your money on a low-wattage 4060RTX if it costs more—there’s no real fps difference in most games.

Performance Check: This 4050RTX at 95W can easily handle 60+ fps on ultra settings in FHD for the majority of games.

vRAM: 6GB vs. 8GB

The 4050RTX actually holds its own in games like Warzone 2, where it hits around 74fps on extreme settings. Meanwhile, lower-tier GPUs like the 3050Ti and 1650GTX struggle at 50fps on lower settings. What makes the difference? The 4050RTX’s 6GB of vRAM gives it enough breathing room for high-quality textures, while the 4GB on those other GPUs gets maxed out quickly. If you’re gaming at QHD, an 8GB 4060RTX would have the edge, but only if you’ve got a QHD display. Otherwise, just stick to FHD for better frame rates.

CPU: Intel Core i5-13450H

In this price range, you’re looking at either Core i5 or Ryzen 5. The 13th-gen Core i5 in this model is solid for gaming thanks to its single-core performance. But if you come across a model with Ryzen 7 or Core i7, grab it—you’ll squeeze out an extra 5-10 fps. Plus, Ryzen 7 models usually come with DDR5 RAM, which gives you even more of a bump.

RAM & Upgrade Options

This laptop starts with 8GB of DDR5 RAM at 5200MHz. Both the 13th-gen Intel and 7th-gen Ryzen CPUs support DDR5, which helps with those frame rates. Just note, the current setup isn’t in dual-channel mode, but that’s easy to fix.

Upgrade Setup:

There are two RAM slots, and neither are soldered, so dual-channel is an option. Just pop in another 8GB DDR5 stick to get there. For storage, you’ve got the main SSD slot on the right side, installed through PCIe NVMe, with another open M.2 slot on the left for up to 1TB extra if you need it.

Lenovo LOQ
PROS	CONS
High Wattage GPU (95W) Cheapest 4050RTX Laptop Spacious 1TB SSD 144Hz display Runs Games at Ultra w/ 60fps Supports RAM in Dual Channel Mode Additional M.2 Slot for extra Storage Latest 13th gen CPU	Only 8GB RAM out of the box

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3. Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58-527S

Best Gaming Laptop under 900 – 140W 6GB vRAM GPU

  Core i5 12500H

  16GB DDR4

   3060RTX 140W 6GB vRAM

  512GB PCIe SSD

  15” 120Hz Full HD IPS

  5.51 lbs

  1.5 hours

Now we are going to look at laptops with the famous 3rd generation GPU: 3060RTX. This is where it gets really interesting because there’s a lot of different options for CPUs, GPUs & Wattage.

Below the most popular models with a 3060RTX under 900 dollars.

Laptop Model	GPU	CPU	Display	Wattage
Acer Nitro 5	3060	i5 12th	144Hz	140W
GIGABYTE	3060	i5 12th	144	115W
MSIGF65	3060	i5 10th	144	75W
ASUS ROG Zephyrus	3060	R7 5th	144Hz	80W
Acer Nitro 5	3060	R7 5th	144	95W
MSI GF65	3060	i5 10500H	144	75W

**Wattage values were taken out of the 3060RTX Wattage list for all released models found on notebookcheck

GPU: 3060RTX 140W 6GB vRAM

I chose to feature the Acer Nitro over other options mainly because it has the highest wattage. For 3rd-generation RTX GPUs, wattages above 100W can make a huge difference in performance. This Acer Nitro 5 is rocking a massive 140W, which is the maximum wattage allowed for the 3060RTX—and it’s all under $900!

As for the cheaper option highlighted in yellow, I wouldn’t recommend it due to its lower wattage. Sure, it’ll perform better than the 3050Ti (which also runs at 75W), but the improvement won’t be that substantial.

Now, let’s dive into the performance of a 140W 3060RTX:

Title	fps	Settings	Resolution	Measured…
Cyberpunk 2077	~67	Ultra	FHD	Exploring
Red Dead Redemption II	~60	Ultra	FHD	Exploring
Assasin’s Creed Valhalla	~72	Ultra	FHD	Exploring
Far Cry 6	~79	Ultra	FHD	Exploring
God of War	~57	Ultra	FHD	Fighting
GTA V	~116	Ultra	FHD	Driving
Spiderman Miles	~87	Very High	FHD	Flying

If you compare the performance of the 4050W (95W) to the 3060RTX (140W), this 3060RTX clearly…beats the 4050RTX. However, there’s still something. that has to be discussed before we draw a conclusion: CPU & RAM.

However, the Acer Nitro 5 featured here only has RAM in single-channel mode: it comes with 16GB out of the box which is made up of one stick only.

There are TWO ram slots in this laptop which support RAM up to 32GB. There’s only one 16GB RAM stick installed so you either need to install an additional 16GB RAM or x2 8GB RAM sticks to make it dual-channel.

Acer Nitro 5
PROS	CONS
Maximum Wattage for a 3060RTX ( 140W ) Spacious 1TB SSD Runs games on Ultra Supports Dual Channel RAM SATA III connection for storage upgrade	Very Low Battery Only 8GB RAM out of the box DDR4 RAM

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4. HP Victus 15 fa0025nr

Best Gaming Laptop under 900 – High Settings

  Core i5 12500H

  8GB DDR4

   RTX 3050Ti 4GB vRAM

  512GB PCIe SSD

  15” 60Hz Full HD

  5.73lbs

  5 hours

The following laptops are all well under $900 and, at times, you can even find them for as low as $600. They’re equipped with 4GB vRAM GPUs, often considered ‘entry-level’ for gaming. These GPUs typically handle FHD gaming at high settings, delivering around 80fps.

While there are plenty of models featuring the 3050Ti, they’re often overpriced (sometimes costing as much as a 4050RTX). Here are the three most affordable options I found.

Laptop Model	GPU	CPU	Display	Price
HP Pavilion	3050	i5 12th	60Hz	635
Acer Nitro 5 2023	3050	i5 11th	144Hz	680
Ideapad Gaming 3	3050	R5 6th	120Hz	638

GPU: 3050Ti 4GB vRAM 85W

There’s no need to worry about wattages when you decide to buy a 3050Ti laptop, with the rare exception of some ultrabooks (which are thin & have low voltage CPUs  anyways), all 3050Ti laptops designed for gaming run at 80W.

This means you can use any benchmark of your choice to see what performance to expect as long as the CPU is the same.

How much does the performance change comparede to the 2 laptops we went over so far? Let’s see what the 3050Ti can do.

Title	fps	Settings	Resolution	Measured
Cyberpunk 2077	~41	Medium	FHD	Driving
Warzone	~60	Ultra	FHD	Walking
GTA V	~80	Very High	FHD	Driving
The Witcher 3	~59	Ultra	FHD	Walking
Elden Ring	~50	High	FHD	Walking
Red Dead Redemption 2	~53	High	FHD	Riding
Assasin’s Creed Valhalla	~59	Medium	FHD	Walking
Far Cry 6	~54	Ultra	FHD	Walking

With a 4GB vRAM GPU like the 3050Ti, you’ll start to lose support for ultra settings with smooth framerates (60fps), especially compared to a 6GB vRAM GPU. However, if you adjust settings to high or medium, you’ll still get solid performance and decent visuals, as shown in the video.

Now, since this is an ‘RTX’ 3050Ti, it does support DLSS, which you can activate in most games’ settings. In Warzone, for example, DLSS is usually off, but turning it on can boost your framerate by about 5-10 fps.

Overall, performance is definitely lower than the 4050RTX or 4060RTX, which is why the price difference is pretty big—about $200-250 less. If you catch it on a sale, you might find this laptop for around $600 from certain vendors.

The 3050Ti also supports RTX (ray tracing), but I wouldn’t recommend turning it on unless it’s for something like Minecraft. The GPU and CPU aren’t quite fast enough to keep your framerate high with RTX on in more demanding games.

CPU: Core i5-12500H

The HP Victus here has a Core i5-12500H, but the one in the video is running a Core i5-12450H. Just to break down the difference, the Core i5-12500H has 8 Efficient cores and 4 Performance cores, giving you 16 threads. The Core i5-12450H, on the other hand, only has 12 threads.

In theory, more threads mean better performance in games that can actually use them. But since most games only tap into a couple of threads, single-core clock speed ends up being what really matters.

The Victus here (not the one in the video) has a slightly higher clock speed—about 100MHz more—which should mean a few extra frames in most games.

For a big jump in framerates, you’d ideally go for a 7th-gen Ryzen 5 or a 13th-gen Core i5 if you’re sticking to this price bracket. But realistically, you won’t find those in laptops around $600 or even $700.

RAM & Upgrades

The storage and RAM setup here is pretty much identical to the first model we talked about. The main differences are the CPU and GPU, which, as we know, aren’t replaceable. Dual-channel support is available, but only one RAM slot is currently occupied. It’s limited to DDR4 and has a single storage slot, which is already taken by the default drive that comes with the laptop.

HP Victus 15 fa0025nr
PROS	CONS
Cheapest 3050Ti Laptop Spacious SSD Dual-Channel RAM support Perfect for casual gaming Runs games at 50-60 fps on High & Ultra	Very Low Battery 60Hz Display Heavy Slightly older CPU Only supports 1 SSD connection

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5. HP ‎15-fb1013dx

Best Gaming Laptop under 900 – RTX GPU

  Ryzen 5 6600HS

  8GB DDR5

   2050 RTX 4GB vRAM

  256GB PCIe SSD

  15” 144Hz Full HD IPS

  4.84 lbs

  3.5 hours

The last laptop on the list—and the cheapest by far—features an RTX 2050, and it can go as low as $650 if you’re lucky. It’s definitely under $900, so if you’re on a tight budget, this one’s worth checking out.

Now, you might think it’s not worth considering, but hear me out. As an avid MMORPG player, I don’t need a high-end GPU. A 4GB vRAM GPU like the 3050 Ti or even this RTX 2050 gets me solid performance at high settings in games like World of Warcraft. If you’re in the same boat and mostly play games with less intense graphics, you can save a lot by skipping the mid- or high-tier GPUs you might not fully utilize.

GPU: RTX 2050, 4GB vRAM, 30W

The RTX 2050 is built on the same 3rd-gen architecture as the 3050 RTX. Even though it has a 30-45W TDP, it actually outperforms the older GTX 1650 (also 4GB vRAM) and comes with DLSS support, which the 1650 lacks. So, with DLSS enabled, you’ll squeeze out even better frame rates thanks to the tensor cores.

Let’s break down what this means for gaming:

Title	fps	Settings	Resolution	Measured
Assasin’s Creed Valhalla	~40	Medium	FHD	Walking
Warzone	~61	Low-Medium	FHD	Scouting
Cyberpunk 2077	~37	Medium	FHD	Shooting
GTA V	~104	High/Very High	FHD	Driving
The Witcher 3	~55	Medium/High	FHD	Walking
Counter Strike 2	~78	Very High	FHD	Shooting
Spiderman	~58	Medium	FHD	Walking
Red Dead Redemption	~47	High	FHD	Riding

Most games can get close to 60 FPS if you adjust the settings to Medium or High. But I’d recommend sticking to Low or Medium settings, even if you’re tempted to play at High/Ultra, and here’s why: the RTX 2050 heats up pretty quickly, and the laptops it comes in typically don’t have the best cooling systems, mainly because the GPU itself doesn’t pull much power. These GPUs are really meant for medium-high settings, and while you can push to high for a while, it’s better not to make that a habit if you want to avoid overheating.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS

It’s a bit surprising that this laptop, with the weakest GPU of the list, actually has the best and most recent CPU. The Ryzen 5 7535HS adds a nice boost to frame rates thanks to better multi-core performance, but ultimately, the 2050RTX still lags behind a 3050Ti laptop, which is only around $100 more.

Now…

It could be worse! But if you look below, you’ll see..

Link	GPU	CPU	Display	Price
MSI GF 63 Thin	2050	i5 12450H	144	572
HP Victus	2050	R5 7535HS	144	569
Acer Aspire 5	2050	i5 1240P	60	559

Laptops in the same price range as this HP Victus… often have weaker CPUs! What’s even more interesting is that if you go for another 2050RTX laptop around this price, you’ll not only miss out on CPU performance due to a slower processor but also lose out on RAM performance. That’s because this HP Victus, with its 7th-gen Ryzen CPU, supports the latest DDR5, giving it an extra edge

RAM & Upgrades

With 12th-gen Intel laptops, you’ll find DDR5 on some models, but many still use DDR4 since manufacturers often opt for a cheaper motherboard that supports the more affordable RAM option.

However, the 7th-gen Ryzen 5 in this HP Victus only supports DDR5, which means you’re guaranteed the faster memory out of the box. As for storage and RAM upgrades, it’s similar to other HP Victus models we’ve covered. There’s one slot for storage and two RAM slots, neither of which is soldered, so you have support for dual-channel memory

HP ‎15-fb1013dx
PROS	CONS
Great multicore performance Cheapest 2050RTX Laptop Runs games at medium-high graphics Decent Battery Latest DDR5 RAM Supports Dual-Channel Mode More Lightweight than the average GAMING laptop	Only 256GB Storage

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Buying The Best Gaming Laptop Under 900

There are two ways.

A) Make a list of all laptops you come across

The way I found these laptops is by going through every single laptop available online, listing them on a spreadsheet, and then comparing specs. Although the list below may seem small, it only considers:

• Laptops under $900
• Laptops that aren’t overpriced (for example, a 1650 GTX selling for $800 is out of the question)
• Due to this, the number of laptops shown in the list is reduced drastically
• Laptops with recent CPUs and GPUs
• With the rare exception of the cheapest one, most laptops in the selection process were removed due to this

You are welcome to do the same. The list should stay relevant for the first quarter of 2025.

B) Calculate the price of laptop parts (hardware) and add it up

This method is less efficient but can save you a lot of time and also teach you how to spot a good deal right off the bat.

It’s going to be difficult to find a website that lists the prices of GPU & CPUs for laptops.

However, you can use the desktop GPU & CPUs as they are essentially the same.

Finding the prices of storage and RAM is relatively easy because these parts are sold for upgrades.

As for the prices of displays, chassis, cords, keyboards, etc., AliExpress/Ebay sell laptop replacement parts, so you can use these prices to make your final estimate

GPU

Finding the prices of GPUs on laptops is pretty easy when in the 700-900 price range because you’re basically dealing with GPUs that are basically the same ones used on desktops (they just remove the cooling system). Laptops design their own cooling system to a GPU. 

For the following prices I’ve gone to Intel or AMD (they have the prices available at the time of release, maybe not now).

If not, just do a google search and check the average price as sold by other vendors.

GPU	Cost($)
1650	$150
1660Ti	$200
2060RTX	$180
3050Ti RTX	$250
4050RTX	$270
3060RTX	$284
4060RTX	$300

Retail prices of older GPUs are much cheaper in 2025 because of the release of the 4th generation GPUs like the 4050RTX, 4060RTX, 4070RTX , 4080RTX, etc.

CPU

Prices of CPUs are very tricky to find.

Prices of older generation CPUs are almost non-existant.

I have contacted AMD & Intel through emails to get an estimate of these prices but if you look around they’re not so far from the retail price at the time of release (10-50$ difference to the current market prices). 

Name	Price ($)
Core i5-10300H	160
Core i5-11400H	160
Ryzen 5 5600H	200
Core i5 12500H	250
Ryzen 5 6600H	250
Ryzen 7 5800HS	250
Ryzen 7 7745HS	350
Core i5 13500H	300
Core i5 14450HX	350
Ryzen 7 8745HS	350

I’ve removed many CPUs  (mostly 8th & 9th gen Intel and 4th , 5th gen Ryzen) due to being slightly old . Howver, you can use 160-220 for the prices of old CPUs in your calculations.

RAM

This can be tricky because EXACT RAM prices depend on the speed of RAM & Type AND location.

For example,

RAM that’s attached to the motherboard will cost a lot less than RAM that’s on a separate low as we saw with the HP Victus models. It’s safe to neglet the price of RAM that’s on board.

RAM sticks of the recent generation are slightly more expensive.  

Below the prices of DDR4 RAM & DDR5 RAM.

DDR4	Price – DDR4	Price – DDR5
16GB	$60	80
8GB	$30-35	45
4GB	$20	30

Storage

Most gaming laptops do not seem to have onboard storage (in other words – soldered  to the motherboard). They have one attached to a PCIe connection (Usually an NVMe SSD) and either a free PCIe Slot or a SATA III connection.

Whatever storage size you read on a gaming laptop it means only one connection is used and it will be most certainly the PCIe connection. Some don’t have an additional and if they do it can either be a PCIe slot or a SATA III slot.

Name	4.0
128 GB NVMe	$25
256GB NVMe	$25
512GB NVMe	$35
1TB SSD	$55

The above are for those cases where you only see ONE storage mentioned out of the box.

In some cases you may see the following although in modern laptops they’re non-existant unless you’re buying very expensive laptops with all stats maxed out (2k-5k dollars).

Name	Additional(Total)
256 GB NVMe+256GB SSD SATA III	~$25+24~50
512GB NVMe + 256GB SSD SATA III	~$35+25=60
1TB NVMe + 1TB SATA III	~$55+60=115

Display

Virtually every laptop released within the past years has a FHD IPS display (if they have a dedicated GPU). High refresh rates are a LOT more common now and easily found around 700.

Display Specs	Price
60Hz IPS TN	$40
60Hz IPS FHD	$50
120 Hz IPS FHD	$70
144 Hz IPS FHD 15”	$80

These prices are taken from  Ali express . They’re a good estimate, if you want to get the exact same prices, it’s better to send a email to the manufacturer but there should only be a margin of error of +-10 dollars. 

Other Small Parts

This means the battery, power cord, motherboard, chasis, keyboard, trackpad, etc.

On average all these parts together cost anywhere from 100-150 for gaming laptops above 700 and below 900.

EXAMPLE: Acer Nitro 5

Core i5 13500H~ $300
3060RTX~ $300
8GB DDR4 RAM ~ $45
1TB SSD PCIe NVMe 4.0 ~ $55
Display ~ 80
Other small parts~ $150

Total: $930

Laptops sells for $869.

Author Profile

Miguel Salas

I am physicist and electrical engineer. My knowledge in computer software and hardware stems for my years spent doing research in optics and photonics devices and running simulations through various programming languages. My goal was to work for the quantum computing research team at IBM but Im now working with Astrophysical Simulations through Python. Most of the science related posts are written by me, the rest have different authors but I edited the final versions to fit the site's format.

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