Not sure where to post this question. I have an Alienware that’s about 9 years old and I want to get a new laptop but on a budget that will last as many years as possible to play new pc games. I would like to get the best laptop specs for the best price. 1k or under is ideal. What models do you guys recommend? Also hope you all are having a good week and I appreciate your help. Also Wow is the main game I play of course.
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A Google-search is your friend…
“Best Gaming Laptops Under $1000”
I would look at recommendations from PCWorld, Tom’s Hardware, and CNet as that’s probably enough for you to make a decision.
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I looked but it’s overwhelming for me because I don’t understand what some of the specs. I apologize if I seem lazy.
For just over $70 over budget you’d be able to get a ASUS RoG 4070 from Best Buy: ASUS - ROG Zephyrus G16 16" FHD 165Hz Gaming Laptop - Intel 13th Gen Core i7 - 16GB RAM - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 - 512GB SSD
4060’s and 4050 are otherwise in that $ range.
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Nothing wrong in asking the community OP.
Plenty of folks here have experience with laptops, so you’re good.
You’ll get answers, just give it a minute.
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Ty my laptop repair guy recommended ROG so I will probably go with that brand. Appreciate your kindness.
The one linked above seems fine, but just keep in mind a 512gb hard drive wont hold a lot besides the operating system and wow. But if you mainly just play wow it would be fine.
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I’d either get a bigger SSD (assuming it is an SSD) or make sure you can change it out for a new SSD during black friday or when SSD go on sale. 512gb is not good. 1TB minimum but really 2TB is a good number to start with.
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I personally use the “Ideapad Gaming 3 15ach6”
Allows me to play WoW without much issue and has handled games like Elden Ring (main reason i bought it) and RE4make as well.
I dont really know much about specifics though, not much of a technical guy.
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I’d go with the Nitro V16.
The Acer Nitro V16 made it onto the “best-list” for all three reviews from PC World, Tom’s Hardware, and CNet.
The ROG was only on the list from CNet.
The ROG has a 30xx series Nvidia graphics card while the Nitro has a 40xx series card… biggest consideration for a gaming laptop. Also the ROG’s display is 1080p vs Nitro at 1200p.
The ROG has a Ryzen-7 CPU while the Nitro has a Ryzen-5, but CPU is a secondary ranking after graphics card.
You’ll want to upgrade to a 1TB SSD as others have said (2TB preferred if you’re going to have multiple “modern” games installed like WoW, D4, BG3, Jedi Survivor, etc.)
| Asus ROG Strix G15 | Acer Nitro V16 |
|---|---|
| AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS | AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 | Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 |
| 15.6-inch 1,920x1,080 144Hz IPS LCD | 16-inch 1,920x1,200 165Hz IPS LCD |
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I got a Legion Lenovo laptop from Costco in 2020 for about $1,200 IIRC (including taxes).
You can browse them here.
Mine has held up amazingly well 4.5 years later, and during Christmas, my brother-in-law borrowed my laptop to run his regular mythic raid (he was visiting and couldn’t bring his desktop, obviously). He was pleased with how well it performed.
It’s not top-tier, but it’s very solid. Can’t hurt to see if Costco or Best Buy is selling one on a deal.
EDIT: I can’t post the specs because I’m posting this from my phone, and I’m out at dinner before traveling 1+ hour. Sorry!
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The Acer Predator Helios is awesome. Lasts forever, runs better than my desktop and was a little under $1k when I bought it. Got it on Amazon.
They have new updated versions of it and I highly recommend.
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You ever considered a Chromebook?
For the OP, the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 got the highest CNet score among laptops it reviewed at 8.4 score and is listed at $970 at Amazon (although only 512 GB SSD is likely too small; 32G RAM & 1TB SSD is $1,060).
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As a middle and high school teacher, I feel obligated to inform you that you just caused me to twitch hard.
I hate Chromebooks. I’ve had to spend way too much time troubleshooting my students’ Chromebooks and showing them how to use the dang things.
/sigh
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I have an acer nitro v17 and it’s served me very well. due to problems with my desktop computer I had to use it as my primary for a few months and i had no problems with it.
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Thank you for that! I didn’t have time to get that out while I was cleaning up from dinner. 
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