Side-by-side comparison based on expert reviews and community consensus.
HP Victus 15
Best Under $700Lenovo LOQ 15
Best Overall Budget PickPrice
$550-$750
$800-$1,000
Summary
The HP Victus is the top recommendation when the budget is tight — it's the laptop Reddit points to most often for buyers who can't stretch past $700. PCMag also includes it in their tested cheap gaming laptop picks.
Packs an RTX 5060 at a price that embarrasses the competition. Reddit consistently calls it the best bang-for-buck gaming laptop you can buy right now.
Pros
- Most frequently recommended laptop for strict budgets on Reddit
- PCMag lists HP Victus 15 (2025) among top tested cheap gaming laptops
- Widely available at Best Buy and other major retailers
- Decent 1080p gaming performance for the price
- RTX 5060 GPU delivers solid frame rates without heavy reliance on DLSS upscaling
- Frequently cited by Reddit as the top value pick at the $800 price point
- Available at Microcenter for exceptional value vs. retail competitors
- WIRED-tested and approved as a top cheap gaming laptop pick
Cons
- Reported thermal throttling issues affecting gaming performance
- Build quality is below average for the category
- Battery life is poor even by gaming laptop standards
- Display quality is a weak point at this price
- 2024 Intel models have reported motherboard issues — stick to AMD or newer Intel variants
- Battery life is not suited for all-day use away from an outlet
- Microcenter availability limits access for many buyers
Our take
The Victus isn't perfect — Reddit has flagged thermal throttling issues — but at this price, nothing else is as consistently available and capable. It's the default answer for tight budgets.
If you're near a Microcenter, the LOQ with an RTX 5060 at $800 is a no-brainer — nothing else at this price comes close to that GPU tier.
Buy
