Hey everyone. I need your help. My adult son wants a gaming laptop for Christmas, and since he rarely asks for anything, I really want to get him a good one. I’m looking to spend no more than $1750 and I hope to find some good deals on Black Friday. Can you all suggest some options? I’d love specific brands and specs if you have them. But if you can only give me specs, I’ll take those too.
Thanks a lot for helping this mom make Christmas special!
Make sure to get at least an NVIDIA 4070 GPU; they might go on sale during Black Friday. Many people here recommend Lenovo Legion gaming laptops.
Addison said:
Make sure to get at least an NVIDIA 4070 GPU; they might go on sale during Black Friday. Many people here recommend Lenovo Legion gaming laptops.
I own a Legion Pro 5 from last year, and I love it. It has a Ryzen 7 7745HX (not the newest anymore), 32 GB of RAM, and a mobile RTX 4070. It’s a solid laptop that also runs VR well.
Addison said:
Make sure to get at least an NVIDIA 4070 GPU; they might go on sale during Black Friday. Many people here recommend Lenovo Legion gaming laptops.
I agree! I have the Asus G14 2024 with the 4070, and even though the aluminum can get warm, it’s a beast. The battery can last up to 10 hours for college work too.
Have you asked him what features he wants in a laptop (like portability, battery life, or pure performance)? That could help narrow down your options.
Keep an eye on this website for deals.
Generally, you can’t go wrong with Lenovo or Asus. If you want to buy something without needing a second opinion, both brands are reliable across their ranges.
Honestly, Black Friday deals can be overrated, and you might find better offers before or after that day.
@Peyton
Exactly, the margins on laptops are low, so a 20% discount means they are barely making any profit.
This site is great for deals: https://gaminglaptop.deals/.
A 4070 GPU is ideal for your budget and should be fairly easy to find. Aim for at least 1TB of storage and 32GB of RAM. If you find one with 16GB RAM, that’s fine too, but don’t settle for less than 1TB of storage since modern games are large. For the CPU, I prefer AMD (Ryzen) for its power efficiency. Intel CPUs can have issues that worry me. The refresh rate on the display is important too; aim for 144Hz or higher, unless your son is strictly playing FPS games. If you can, get a higher resolution like 2560x1600 instead of 1920x1080. OLED displays are better but tend to cost more.
Based on my research, I’d suggest avoiding low-end MSI models, Gigabyte, HP, and budget Acer models. Alienware can be pricey for what you get but isn’t necessarily bad.
Popular options include Asus ROG, Zephyrus, and TUF (which is more mid-range). Lenovo is well-liked here, especially the Legion Pro and LOQ models. The Acer Helios Predator also gets positive feedback. With your budget, you should easily be able to avoid the lower-end models and still find something great.
I’ve heard great things about these laptops. I’m not sure though, but I might post something similar. What do you think about the ASUS Zephyrus G14? I also saw the MSI Titan GT 77 but there are so many versions of it that I can’t tell which is best.
If he’s younger, I’d suggest looking at something from the Asus ROG line or Lenovo Legion/LOQ because those are pretty durable. You can’t really go wrong with Lenovo, in my opinion. But the specific parts depend on how intensive his gaming will be. Modern AAA games require GPUs with more VRAM, while less demanding games like Valorant can run on older GPUs. If you can find out what games he likes to play, I could give more detailed recommendations.
@Westley
He’s 23 and in the Marines… I might be a little proud! 
Poe said:
@Westley
He’s 23 and in the Marines… I might be a little proud!
Tell him I said Semper Fi!
@Westley
He is an adult son.
Check out this video as a guide for buying gaming laptops: https://youtu.be/H71IxqmCfxQ?si=k8xrEe60tP4mRrTe.
Keep an eye on https://gaminglaptop.deals/. With your budget, you can get a premium full-size laptop. Look for something with 16GB RAM, a 4060/4070 GPU, and a 240Hz display. The Alienware with a 4060 and a 240Hz display for $1200 would be a solid option if you’re buying this week, but there will be similar deals between now and Black Friday.
Try to get a minimum of an i9 or Ryzen 9 and an RTX 4070 or higher. I’d recommend either a Legion or ROG Strix; just my thoughts.
You might want to just ask him what he wants. For some people, it’s very personal when it comes to laptops.
He might have strict needs, like wanting something portable rather than powerful. Gaming laptops tend to be bulky, and since your son is a Marine, he may need to move it around a lot unless he stays at base for a while.
In the thinner, more portable gaming laptop category, there are many models that I would recommend avoiding.
You could also look for open box deals at Best Buy. Finding a gaming laptop for $1700 in an open box there would be a fantastic value.
It really depends on what games he’s playing. I recommend checking Best Buy for the best deals.
The laptop I have is the Asus G14 2024 with the 4070, which lasts up to 10 hours for productivity tasks. It’s worth checking out.