HP.com typically has the lowest price, which is $780 right now. But Amazon has that beat during Prime Day, at only $750 for the 16-inch model. Not only is it cheaper, but it also comes with 512 GB of storage, twice the amount as the discounted HP.com model. I should say that I prefer the 14-inch model, just because the 1920 x 1200 resolution looks a bit sharper on it.

Lenovo LOQ 15

This has long since been one of my go-to affordable gaming laptops to recommend for two very important reasons. First off, most budget gaming laptops have terrible screens. That’s true of the Alienware 15, the MSI Cyborg A16, and even the Lenovo LOQ 15 Essential Edition—all gaming laptops in the same price range as the Lenovo LOQ 15. But the LOQ 15 display has good color coverage, so greens and reds don’t look oversaturated. With that benefit, the LOQ 15 still tends to cost less than its alternatives, and for Prime Day, the RTX 5050 configuration is as cheap as I’ve seen it in many, many months. If you can increase your budget, the $1,499 RTX 5060 model at Walmart will deliver much better gaming performance, and I’d recommend it too.

Asus ZenBook A14

Photograph: Christopher Null

The Asus Zenbook A14 is known for being super light. It weighs only 2.16 pounds, about half a pound lighter than the MacBook Air. The difference is really noticeable, both in the hand and when toting it around in a bag. It also comes with an OLED display, a great touchpad, and a decent assortment of ports.

But like the Surface Laptop, the 2026 Zenbook A14 is too expensive. Unlike the Surface Laptop, it’s not on sale for Prime Day. That’s why I’d recommend picking up the previous model, which comes with a Snapdragon X Plus, 16 GB of RAM, and 512 GB of storage. The 2026 model offers more storage options, but it also has a much higher starting price. A slightly cheaper model is also available with the Snapdragon X, but the Snapdragon X Plus offers better multicore CPU and GPU performance.