Nearly as soon as the Windows 11 2022 update (variation 22H2) went public in September, users started noticing gaming and other similar functionality concerns on the new element update. The very first to complain ended up people who were being working Nvidia graphics playing cards in their programs. Nvidia blamed Microsoft for the troubles, as the former said new GPU debugging applications in Windows 11 22H2 ended up messing factors up, main to reduce effectiveness in games. And the problems have persisted in spite of Nvidia releasing motorists to resolve the difficulty.
Rapid-forward practically two months, Microsoft has eventually acknowledged the problems and has confirmed that Nvidia was suitable in its evaluation of the underlying dilemma. On its Home windows overall health dashboard, the Redmond organization has released information about the concern and has blocked the update on impacted equipment. Microsoft writes:
Some video games and apps may well expertise lower than expected overall performance or stuttering on Home windows 11, edition 22H2. Influenced games and applications are inadvertently enabling GPU efficiency debugging capabilities not intended to be utilized by individuals.
To safeguard your update knowledge, we have used a compatibility maintain on equipment impacted by this problem from staying made available or putting in Home windows 11, model 22H2.
A workaround has also been provided, suggesting that consumers update their game titles and linked applications:
Workaround: If you are now on Windows 11, model 22H2 and are suffering from this difficulty, you may possibly be able to resolve it by updating your game titles and gaming associated applications to the hottest version available. If you are uncertain how to update the video games and apps you have put in, you will require to seek the advice of the developer of those video games and applications but most will update immediately through the retail store they were being acquired from or right when opening them.
Last but not least, Microsoft has said that it is working on a correct for the challenge and has requested people not to manually update their OS:
Future measures: We are working on a resolution and will supply an update in an impending launch. Note: We recommend that you do not attempt to manually improve working with the Update now button or the Media Generation Resource right until this situation has been resolved and the safeguard eliminated.
Apart from complications on Nvidia GPUs, reviewers and game testers have also been complaining of buggy performance on AMD’s Ryzen CPUs. While AMD claimed it did not see any this kind of troubles on its end, some of the testers carry on stressing that the challenge is in fact actual, citing a lot more tests.
Nvidia is apparently contemplating a new user-house API (uAPI) for dynamic multiplexer (MUX) switching in Linux laptops. Now, MUX switching is dealt with by the vga-swicheroo infrastructure in the Linux kernel. Having said that, Nvidia feels that vga-switcheroo just isn’t reduce out for dynamic MUX switching also recognised as Advanced Optimus.
For individuals not mindful, modern Home windows laptops utilize computerized switching in between the reduced-electrical power built-in graphics in the CPU and the extra electrical power-hungry discrete GPU (if offered) in buy to decrease energy intake during non-intensive duties. This is named MSHybrid or, in Nvidia talk, Optimus. Whilst Optimus does convey battery lifestyle positive aspects, all the frames created by the dGPU will have to move by the iGPU that can turn out to be a opportunity bottleneck dependent on the workload.
A MUX swap allows the person to physically change the routing and bypass the iGPU altogether. This ought to deliver a perceivable advancement in frames aside from making it possible for other features this sort of as Nvidia ShadowPlay capture for the Home windows desktop or variable refresh price technology this sort of as G-Sync. Laptops these types of as the Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 allow for the user to change the MUX from within just Windows, but this necessitates a process restart every single time. 
On the other hand, laptops this sort of as the Alienware x15 R2 provide what is called Innovative Optimus or dynamic MUX switching that can transform the MUX routing on the fly. Nvidia claims that Advanced Optimus can present enhanced frame charges, lowered latency, and assist for G-Sync displays routinely without the consumer possessing to worry about manually switching MUX selections in the BIOS or reboot each individual time there’s a environment change.
Now, Nvidia desires to deliver this ability to the Linux kernel. Nvidia software package engineer Daniel Dadap posted a proposal for an “RFC-DRM-based uAPI for Dynamic Mux Switching” on freedesktop.org. In accordance to the Nvidia engineer, vga-switcheroo is unsuitable for MUX switching when the exhibit is lively. This is due to the fact the current implementation assumes that MUX switching is attainable only when neither GPU is driving the screen. 
One particular technique would be to increase vga-switcheroo’s performance, but that would also demand including userspace abilities as properly. Vga-switcheroo also assumes that there can be only one MUX in a program involving the iGPU and the dGPU. Whilst this is correct to a substantial extent, Nvidia notes that this assumption can impede some present and foreseeable future patterns that can use numerous MUXs (a person for the internal panel and one for the exterior, for instance). Nvidia has been internally tests and has even created an early X11/GLX prototype for dynamic MUX, according to Dadap.
The proposal calls for a new uAPI although also coupling the MUX extra tightly with the Linux Immediate Rendering Manager (DRM)-Kernel Manner Setting (KMS). Primarily, the dynamic MUX handle purpose will have to be assigned to a manner-setting shopper these types of as an X server or the Wayland compositor that currently has context of what is being drawn on screen.
More specialized facts and probable roadblocks about Nvidia’s proposal to give Highly developed Optimus on Linux can be observed at the Source connection underneath. At present, Nvidia is soliciting opinions from the community. If this proposal without a doubt materializes, the hybrid graphics expertise on Linux may perhaps ultimately be on par with what is presently out there in Home windows laptops right now.
However a mobile and molecular biologist by education, I have been drawn towards desktops from a incredibly young age ever considering the fact that I received my initial Computer in 1998. My passion for know-how grew quite exponentially with the times, and it has been an extraordinary experience from remaining a a lot solicited supply for tech suggestions and troubleshooting among family and good friends to becoming a member of Notebookcheck in 2017 as a professional tech journalist. Now, I am a Lead Editor at Notebookcheck masking news and assessments encompassing a large gamut of the technologies landscape for Indian and world-wide audiences. When I am not hunting for the upcoming major tale or having intricate measurements for opinions, you can find me unwinding to a great go through, listening to some soulful music, or attempting out a new game.
Origin’s latest slim EVO16-S gaming laptop squeezes itself in between other heavy hitters in the same price range. It’s a little more expensive than laptops like the Acer Predator Helios 300 (opens in new tab) and the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro (opens in new tab), and it doesn’t perform significantly better than them. But the differences are minimal and for a 1080p laptop with an AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, the EVO16-S offers a sweet spot if your gaming habits don’t require a higher resolution and refresh rate.
Although the 6650M XT and the Ryzen 7 6800H keep the EVO16-S fed when it comes to gaming performance, its 1080p 144Hz screen doesn’t have a tremendous appetite. If this laptop were equipped with a 1440p panel or touted a 165Hz or 240Hz refresh rate, the graphs below would tell a different story. The EVO16-S isn’t strapped with anything absurd or overkill; it’s a gaming laptop for someone that isn’t quite sure what they want.
My EVO16-S review unit costs around $1,920. Instead of the basic 16GB of RAM, mine has 32GB, and it also has a 1TB SSD. It’s a steep price for an AMD-based laptop that mirrors the other options out there with Intel’s Core i7 12700H and Nvidia’s RTX 3060. If you cut the RAM and SSD in half, you can get the price down to around $1,500. For me, that’s the only price that this laptop makes sense as an alternative—that is, if you’re not desperate for a better screen.
I don’t see the need for anything over 1080p and 144Hz on a mid-size laptop unless you specifically play the sorts of games that demand it. I play an embarrassing amount of Overwatch 2 (opens in new tab) with a 4K 144Hz monitor on my desktop setup. The swap back to 1080p at the same refresh rate on the EVO16-S wasn’t as big of a downgrade as I expected. Not only did the game run fine on medium and high settings, but the smaller screen size eased the transition. I had more trouble adjusting to the laptop’s membrane keyboard than the experience of looking at it.
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Knock down a few graphics settings and you could easily play a variety of games on it.
The EVO16-S turns down high specs to get a lot out of its modest setup. The RX 6650M XT got real close to 144 fps in many of the games I tested, like Hitman 3, F1 2020, Overwatch 2, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (opens in new tab). Knock down a few graphics settings and you could easily play a variety of games like that. AMD’s FreeSync Premium helps smooth out inconsistencies in the fps too.
The RX 6650M XT can’t quite match the power of a good Nvidia RTX 3060 when it comes to ray tracing. In my Metro Exodus RTX test, it couldn’t get close to 60 fps, clocking in at an average of 48 fps. It’s not a great look against cheaper laptops with better screens on them, but I also can’t imagine the person that wants impressive ray tracing performance out of a laptop at this price. EVO16-S owners are opting into the ray tracing off and FSR on lifestyle. If you want more, you’re going to have to spend more.
The EVO16-S’ Ryzen 7 6800H also stumbles when compared to Intel’s Core i7 12700H. In the Hitman 3 Dartmoor test, the EVO16-S came in at a slightly lower average frame rate. You can see a similar difference in the Cinebench R20 scores too. The Ryzen CPU can’t quite keep up, which will probably have a noticeable impact on processor-hungry open world and strategy games. Given the EVO16-S’ strengths in everything else though, I don’t think this is a deal breaker.
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My unit’s 32GB of DDR5 memory was also in step with the competition. In the SiSoft Sandra test, it came in at 42 GB/s. The EVO16-S is no slouch when it comes to multitasking, but I still think you could drop it to 16GB to save some money.
The 1TB Gen4 Samsung NVMe SSD in the EVO16-S is also neck and neck with similar laptops. The Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker benchmark results put it at around 11 seconds. I didn’t run into any egregiously long load times in my tests either. Like the RAM situation, I think you could cut this down to 512GB and not miss out on much.
Like most of Origin’s gaming laptops and desktops, the EVO16-S has a clean look. Origin lets you customize the outside with various patterns for an extra fee, but I wouldn’t bother. The stock black style is what I’d prefer out of a laptop. The other, tech-y and futuristic color schemes are way too much for me. Leave it to the full size RGB backlit keyboard and RGB strips on the front edges to accentuate it. My only small gripe with the keyboard situation is the squished right Shift key that never quite feels right under my finger, but I could see that going away the more I use it.
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As an everyday laptop, the EVO16-S is a breeze to use. All my tests didn’t send the fans into overdrive. At its worst, the CPU hit 93°C (the GPU stabilized around 80°C). Unlike the last Origin laptop (opens in new tab) I reviewed, the EVO16-S kept pretty quiet for the entirety of my time with it. Battery life wasn’t an issue either. It nearly hit an hour and 30 minutes in the PCMark10 test with its 80W battery. That’s about what you’d expect from something of this power. I could easily squeeze in a few matches of Overwatch 2, pause for a break, and play a few more without it yelling at me for juice.
The EVO16-S’ dual USB 3.2 Type-A and USB 3.2 Type-C ports, serviceable speaker quality, light weight (around 5lbs) make it a well-equipped, versatile gaming laptop. The $1,900 build that I have is hard to recommend, however. At that price, it starts to fall short of cheaper, more powerful laptops. But if you can sacrifice storage or RAM and don’t see yourself trying to push high refresh rates on a 1440p screen for some game you’re hoping to go pro in, it’s a smart choice.
The EVO16-S is the laptop if you want to actually treat it like a laptop and not some sort of desktop replacement. It’s for playing a variety of games at respectable settings and a little more if you’ve got a power outlet nearby. If you can go with the $1,500 configuration (opens in new tab), the EVO16-S is an impressive laptop that puts its strengths in maximizing what it’s working with, namely its 1080p screen. If you’ve not been spoiled by 4K or have your dreams running in 240Hz, this laptop will serve you well.
ASUS has produced capable desktop and laptop PCs for gamers for years and today we’re looking at the latest gaming notebook from the company. The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE has a big battery, a big screen, and big performance. It’s also incredibly expensive so we’re going to take a look to see if this laptop is worth buying for a portable gaming station.
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE: Price, availability, specs
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ASUS supplied Windows Central with a review sample of the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE. This unit has the Intel Core i9-12950HX processor with eight performance and efficiency cores and a total of 16 threads. For notebooks, this is about as good as you can get without going too overboard. This is the flagship CPU for this laptop with the lesser capable Core i9-12900H also available.
For graphics, we’re looking at either an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, RTX 3080, or RTX 3080 Ti. In our review sample, the laptop had the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. Finally, RAM comes in either 16GB or 32GB of DDR5. We had 32GB, allowing us to push the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE to its limit and see how powerful this laptop is.
This notebook is expensive, even if you configure it with the baseline specifications. Starting at $2,399, it’s simply out of reach for many gamers. The model we tested is available for $3,599, but this laptop has considerably more performance than many gaming desktop PCs out there.
Here’s a look at the specs contained inside our review unit.
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Specification
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE (2022)
OS
Windows 11 Pro
Processor
Intel Core i9-12950HX
8 P-cores, 8 E-cores, 16 threads
RAM
32GB DDR5-4800
Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti
Storage
2TB M.2 NVMe SSD
Display
17-inches, IPS, 16:9
WQHD (2560 x 1440), 240Hz, 100{b7c9e2c88beb1a84f22d94ab877a147f4adc4b3519717f3f957a0f34e16918d1} DCI-P3, 3ms,
Ports
One HDMI 2.1, two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (DP, G-Sync), one RJ45 LAN, one Thunderbolt 4, 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack
Wi-Fi 6E(802.11ax) (Triple band) 2*2, Bluetooth 5.2
Camera
–
Battery
90WHrs, 4S1P, 4-cell Li-ion
Dimensions
395 x 282 x 23.4 ~ 28.3 mm
(15.55 x 11.10 x 0.92 ~ 1.11 inches)
Weight
3.00 Kg (6.61 lbs)
Color
Black
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE: Design & features
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As soon as you’ve unboxed the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE, you can immediately tell you’re in for quite the ride. This looks and feels like a powerful gaming laptop. I’m not the biggest fan of the usual ASUS design language for its laptops, but the Scar 17 SE is stunning. There are countless small details, such as the hidden graphics on the lid that are revealed with the included UV light.
The ROG logo on the same lid lights up, as expected. RGB lighting can be easily made obnoxious, but thankfully ASUS used it sparingly. The keyboard also has per-key lighting, and there’s a small LED strip that wraps around the base of the notebook. When turned on, it looks the part when placed in a gamer setup. Interestingly, ASUS made part of the keyboard translucent, revealing some of the insides.
While the keyboard is a joy to type on, and there’s a full Numpad layout for those who enjoy playing EVE Online, it’s not using mechanical switches. The touchpad is massive and has more than enough real estate for general use. It’s highly likely that a mouse will be connected to one of the available USB ports for serious gaming, anyway.
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Moving up the laptop and we have the glorious 17-inch QHD display with a resolution of 2560×1440. Our unit has a refresh rate of 240Hz though a Full HD version of the panel is available with a 360Hz refresh rate if you prefer smoother gameplay over visuals. Either way, this is a winner. It’s gorgeous.
What isn’t going to bring home awards is the webcam … or lack thereof. If you enjoy making calls with friends and family or fancy some streaming on the side, you’re going to require an external webcam. It’s just strange to see a laptop released in 2022 without a webcam.
Next up is the I/O and there’s plenty to go around. We’ve got a single HDMI 2.1 port on the rear joined by the DC input, RJ45 LAN, one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (DP, G-Sync), and one Thunderbolt 4. The left side has two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports and a 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack. The right side has the ROG Keystone port for profiles and other security features.
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Speakers are never going to be exceptional on a gaming laptop, but ASUS managed to pull off some great-sounding audio. It’s not going to blow you away, especially with heavy bass tracks or explosions in-game, but it’s decent enough if you don’t own a pair of cans. The laptop itself is relatively thin but on the heavy side thanks to all the internal components.
It measures in at 3.00kg (6.61 lbs) and the dimensions are 395 x 282 x 23.4 ~ 28.3 mm. It’s not huge but will require some desk space for the 17-inch panel (and this allows ASUS to pack some serious cooling for the CPU and GPU).
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE: Display
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The screen is incredibly important on gaming or creator laptops. Thankfully, the panel used by ASUS for the ROG Strix Scar 17 SE is a beauty. We tested the QHD 240Hz screen with a response time of just 3ms. It’s not particularly great at color accuracy, scoring just shy of 80{b7c9e2c88beb1a84f22d94ab877a147f4adc4b3519717f3f957a0f34e16918d1} for Adobe RGB, but you won’t notice when playing your favorite titles.
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Brightness isn’t spectacular, maxing out at around 300 nits. Minimum brightness was recorded at 15 nits. All ASUS displays for this laptop have a matte finish, which avoids bright lights from affecting your gameplay. They’re also non-touch, not that this is a primary factor for most people choosing a gaming laptop.
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE: Gaming
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Where do we begin? One should have high expectations of the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE thanks to what’s contained within the compact chassis. The Intel Core i9-12950HX and RTX 3080 Ti are no joke and ASUS didn’t pull any punches with the included 32GB of DDR5 RAM. Simply put: this laptop is an absolute beast running PC games.
Like other gaming laptops, ASUS includes its own command suite that lets you quickly manage settings, including the current power profile. This also affects display brightness, cooling, and other parts of the system. We performed all tests with performance modes enabled (not turbo) and everything else on default to emulate what you can expect out of the box.
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The laptop performed well in synthetic benchmarks, again thanks to the impressive CPU and GPU combo. ASUS has to take some credit too as the laptop runs incredibly cool all things considered. There’s a fair amount of power draining the battery (or power grid) and the cooling solution handles the heat output well.
There are a total of four exhaust vents and ASUS is using two of the latest Arc Flow Fans with 84 curved blades. The noise output is recorded and monitored by the software suite and you can expect to see anything between 20-40dB depending on profile and workload.
We recorded temperatures as high as 87C and 83C in games for the CPU and GPU, respectively. How ASUS designed the cooling system prevents the keyboard and palm rests from feeling too warm to the touch. To put it into perspective, the CPU and GPU are capable of drawing up to 230W.
Far Cry 5: 121 FPS
Red Dead Redemption: 79 FPS / 92 FPS (DLSS)
Shadow of the Tomb Raider: 158 FPS / 184 FPS (DLSS)
And when you do eventually fire up some games, you’ll have nothing but smiles to go around. The numbers paint a positive story, but you have to sit in front of this beautiful 17-inch IPS display to truly appreciate what’s on offer.
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE: Performance & battery
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Overall system performance is excellent. The Intel Core i9-12950HX is exceptionally good at running Windows software and playing the latest games. Whether you need to game or work (or both!) on the same machine, the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE will be able to handle most workloads.
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As is with many laptops out there, gaming on battery reduces how much you can expect to enjoy from the CPU and GPU. Results will still be astounding for such a slim machine, but you will notice a downgrade in overall system performance compared to when tethered to an outlet.
The battery may be a massive 90WHr unit but the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE can zap through it in just over an hour in a demanding PC game. For general use, however, including media consumption, you can expect to see upwards of five hours depending on power settings.
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE: Competition
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We’re obviously going to consider the mighty Razer Blade 17 as a competitor to the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE. It’s one of the best gaming laptops even if ASUS manages to undercut it, thanks to the 1440p display (compared to the UHD-touting Razer Blades). The performance will be about the same, though ASUS makes use of some seriously good cooling here.
The Lenovo Legion 7i (6th Gen) (and the newer Legion 71 (7th Gen)) is also a solid option for those seeking ultimate power. ASUS has the upper hand with better in-game results, but it’s also considerably more expensive than the Lenovo review unit we tested. It all comes down to looks, price, and cooling as components usually perform similarly. ASUS manages to find a good balance between the three.
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE: Should you buy?
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Who it’s for …
Those who want the performance of a gaming desktop but in a laptop form factor.
Those who don’t mind splashing out upwards of $4,000 on a new laptop.
Those who don’t find themselves playing much away from an available outlet.
Those who want to play the latest games at 1440p and decent settings.
Who it isn’t for …
Those who do not have more than $2,000 to spare for a portable gaming PC.
Those who already have a decent enough desktop gaming PC.
Those who don’t play the most demanding PC games and can get away with something less powerful.
The sheer raw power included with this laptop is incredible. Having an Intel Core i9 and RTX 3080 Ti combo in a laptop bag is something that would continue to put a smile on one’s face, especially when setting up shop with friends at LAN events. There’s ample connectivity (including RJ45) which makes this quite the compelling purchase for anyone looking for a new gaming PC.
For gaming on the go, it’s let down by just how capable the internals are. The GPU and CPU will happily drain the 90WHr battery in an hour or so when gaming. It’s a slightly better story with about five hours of general use between charging. Still, this should be considered if you actually plan on using the notebook for work or long periods of time away from home and/or the office.
When this machine truly comes to life is when it’s hooked up to an outlet with performance modes enabled. You’ll be able to crank up visual settings in most games and enjoy a stable frame rate on the glorious 1440p IPS panel. Sure, it’s expensive and the money could be better spent on more sensible purchases, but this is about as good as you’ll get for a gaming laptop in 2022.
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE has everything you need to play your favorite PC games on the road. It has the looks, the performance, and the connectivity, making this one of the best gaming laptops to buy in 2022.
Here is another great deal going on during Best Buy’s early Black Friday sale. You can save $500 on a fantastic gaming laptop from the ASUS TUF Dash lineup. That’s a huge chunk of money off a really well-equipped machine. And remember while these deals may stick around through Black Friday, they are unlikely to get any better. Might as well take advantage of what you’re seeing now and grab it while you can.
The ASUS TUF Dash includes a 12th-generation Intel Core i7-12650H processor, 16GB DDR5 4800MHz RAM, and a 512GB solid state drive. The graphics card is a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 GPU, which is a great mid tier graphics card that should be able to play most of your favorite games at the highest of settings. Plus it will all look good on the computer’s 15.6-inch display with 1080p resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate.
Walmart’s Black Friday Deals for Days event continues as we head into actual Black Friday season. No sense in waiting though because there are some great discounts available today! The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro is a fantastic computer, and you’d be crazy not to latch onto this discount considering it’s such a great low price compared to what it normally goes for.
The Legion 5 Pro includes an AMD Ryzen 7 6800H computer processor, 16GB RAM that can be expanded up to 32GB, and a 512GB solid state drive. It has a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card as well. It has a beautiful 16-inch display with 2560 x 1600 pixel resolution, too, so your games will look fantastic.
This is another really solid deal out of Best Buy, where you can find a ton of great laptops whether you want a gaming machine or something slicker with Intel Iris Xe graphics or whatever. The Zephyrus lineup is a great one that often has some really nice price drops.
The technical specs for this machine include an AMD Ryzen 7 processor, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB solid state drive. It is also powered by a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card, which will come in handy when trying to get your games up to the 144Hz refresh rate on the 14-inch display.
It has a lot of other great features, too, including two USB-C ports and two USB-A ports for connecting all your extras. It also has a four speaker system for excellent audio while playing your favorite games.
Well, if that last entry was a budget pick, this one definitely is not. It will cost you a few doubloons but the investment may be worth it if you’re looking to go all out on your gaming machine. Plus, you are still saving a huge chunk of change off the laptop’s regular price thanks to Walmart’s Black Friday Deals for Days sale. Heck, even when this laptop has gone on sale in the past it hasn’t dropped this low.
The MSI GP66 Leopard is a beast of a machine with an 11th-gen Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM, a 512GB solid state drive, and a powerful Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card. It has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, multiple USB ports, and a 15.6-inch display with 1080p pixel resolution. You can expand the RAM and other parts as you want. It even has per-key RGB backlighting on the SteelSeries keyboard.
On average, you should expect to pay more for a gaming laptop. Truly high end laptops can cost thousands, and even the mid tier machines can set you back a pretty penny. If you’re shopping on a budget though, you do have options. This is one of those options at an incredibly low price.
The MSI GF63, even at less than $500, does come with a discrete graphics card, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q GPU. That’s a couple of generations behind at this point, but that’s why it’s a budget machine. And it’s still a very good card. Other specs include a 10th-gen Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, and a 256GB solid state drive. It also has a 15.6-inch display with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution.
I’m not sure how long this deal is going to last because it has already expired once. It’s great that it’s back, but don’t expect to get a lot of time to think on it. This is a fantastic price for a laptop that not only includes a discrete graphics card but an OLED panel on its beautiful display as well.
What you get is an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor, 16GB RAM, and a 1TB solid state drive with NVMe technology for fast read/write times. It also has a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics card. The 15.6-inch display uses an OLED panel and has 1080p resolution along with touchscreen support.
Extra features include a USB-C and USB-A port, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and a media card reader.
Want to learn about one of the better open secrets when it comes to looking for great deals on gaming laptops and other kinds of tech? It’s eBay. Did you know a huge chunk of retailers and manufacturers have official eBay storefronts where they often sell things they can’t sell through their main pages? Or, at the very least, make the eBay store makes it a lot easier to see everything in one place. This deal, for example, comes from the official Acer page where they share refurbished units. In this case, it’s already discounted because it’s a refurb and then it has a bonus discount on top of that to bring it as low as we’re seeing it right now.
The Acer Predator Triton 300 SE gaming laptop is a fully loaded machine with an Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB solid state drive. It’s powered by a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics card and has a 14-inch display with 1080p resolution and an IPS panel.
I love a good bang-for-your-buck sort of deal, that’s what this is. It’s hard to find laptops that specifically have discrete graphics cards for less than $700. They usually don’t drop that low unless they’re on sale like this one is. You get a lot of value here, especially if you want a gaming laptop while on a budget.
This is also a 2022 model so it has some very new tech inside of it. You get an AMD Ryzen 5 6600H processor, 8GB DDR5 RAM, a 256GB solid state drive, and a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card. It has a 15.6-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate.
It’s also worth noting this laptop comes with three months of Xbox Game Pass for free so you’re going to get to play a lot of awesome games at no extra cost. At least for a while.
Plenty of sites, including Newegg, are advertising some early Black Friday deals. This sale, however, comes from the Newegg Shell Shockers, which are daily deals that rotate out quite frequently. The savings available here will disappear by this time tomorrow so you’ll want to grab it while you can if you’re interested.
The Acer Nitro 5 is a great laptop that we’ve answered some gaming questions about and found it worked well. This model is even more powerful than the ones we’ve tested before. The technical specs include an Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB DDR4 RAM, a 512GB solid state drive, and a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 GPU. You also get a 15.6-inch laptop with a 165Hz refresh rate, which is great for gaming.
Walmart’s Black Friday Deals for Days is a great source of ongoing deals right now. You should definitely browse the whole sale if you want some more ideas. Walmart has sort of turned all of November into Black Friday for them by featuring some huge sales each weekend leading up to the major event weekend.
You may not have to search for much though because this laptop may be all you need. The Legion 5i is a powerful computer. It is loaded with an Intel Core i5-10500H processor, 8GB RAM, and a 256GB solid state drive. It also has a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card for gaming. You’ll be able to put that GPU to work and make your games look good on the 15.6-inch display with 1080p pixel resolution and a very high 240Hz refresh rate.
Here’s a deal that’s part of Amazon’s early Black Friday sale. You can save up to 22{b7c9e2c88beb1a84f22d94ab877a147f4adc4b3519717f3f957a0f34e16918d1} on this laptop, but you should know there’s a limited quantity available. It may not last long at this price.
The basic technical specs include an Intel Core i5-11400H processor, 8GB RAM, and a 512GB solid state drive for storage. It’s also powered by a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card, which you can use for some intense gaming thanks to the laptop’s 17.3-inch display with 1080p pixel resolution and 144Hz refresh rate. Other features include Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, an RGB keyboard, and even a 30-day free trial to PC Game Pass so you can play all the games you want.
This deal comes from antonline, a respected eBay seller that often has a lot of great deals on computers and accessories. We recommend them often, especially when they have great prices like this.
The Gigabyte Aorus is a fantastic laptop that’s equipped with a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 graphics card. That’s important because its 15.6-inch display has a refresh rate that can reach 360Hz. Your games are going to look and feel fantastic, and the laptop has the power to back it up with an Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD.
The G16 is a relatively new entry from Dell, which means this laptop has a lot of modern features including some of the latest tech. In this case, the laptop includes a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 processor with up to 4.7GHz speeds, 16GB DDR5 4800MHz RAM, and a 1TB SSD with NVMe tech for fast read and write times. It’s also powered by a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card.
Not only will you be able to play your favorite games, but they will look great on the 16-inch display that has 2560 x 1600 pixel resolution and a 165Hz refresh rate. Dell laptops also come with Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports along with several other USB ports.
We have reviewed the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i, so be sure to get all the information you could possibly need about this gaming machine. It’s a great device, and this one in particular comes loaded with great features.
The technical specs include a 12th-gen Intel Core i5 processor with up to 4.50GHz speeds, 8GB RAM, a 256GB PCIe 4.0 solid state drive, and a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics card. The best part about this machine is the 15.6-inch display that includes an IPS panel, 1080p pixel resolution, and a 120Hz refresh rate that’s great for gamers.
Best Buy has an intriguing deal for the RTX 3070 configuration of the Asus TUF Dash F15 gaming laptop (Image: Asus)
The well-performing gaming laptop made by the reputable Taiwanese manufacturer is currently discounted by a notable US$500, which makes the Asus TUF Dash F15 one of the most affordable gaming laptops with an RTX 3070 on the market.
The US$1,000 mark is an important threshold for many prospective buyers who don’t like to spend a four-figure sum on their new gaming laptop. Since most machines in this price range are equipped with reasonable dedicated graphics cards like Nvidia’s RTX 3060, a current deal for the Asus TUF Dash F15 is particularly noteworthy since the 15-inch gaming laptop is powered by the more powerful GeForce RTX 3070.
Once again it’s the well-known US retailer Best Buy, which currently offers the aforementioned Asus TUF Dash F15 gaming laptop with the fast Intel Core i7-12650H Alder Lake processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 dGPU with a relatively low TGP of 105 watts for a discounted sale price of just US$999 including free shipping or store pickup where stock permits. This configuration of the Asus TUF Dash F15 also comes with 16GB of DDR5 memory and a decent 512GB SSD of the PCIe 3.0 variety. The mid-range gaming laptop further has an official list price of US$1,500, which means that this deal offers US$500 or 33 percent in savings.
We throughly tested a fairly similar QHD model of the Asus TUF Dash F15 earlier this year, and prospective buyers might want to check out our comprehensive video review on Notebookcheck’s revitalized YouTube channel. Among other things, we liked the compact and light design of this gaming laptop, but we also praised the Thunderbolt 4 connectivity as well as the second available M.2 SSD slot which makes storages upgrades extremely easy. As with many gaming laptops in this price range, the most glaring weakness of the Asus TUF Dash F15 may be its relatively dim 250-nits FHD display, which at least has a high native refresh rate of 144Hz. Overall, this is still a decent deal for bargain hunters who are particularly looking for an RTX 3070-powered machine for less than US$1,000.
Disclaimer: Notebookcheck is not responsible for price changes carried out by retailers. The discounted price or deal mentioned in this item was available at the time of writing and may be subject to time restrictions and/or limited unit availability.
Enrico Frahn – Tech Writer – 1330 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2021
My fascination for technology goes back a long way to the Pentium II era. Modding, overclocking and treasuring computer hardware has since become an integral part of my life. As a student, I further developed a keen interest in mobile technologies that can make the stressful college life so much easier. After I fell in love with the creation of digital content while working in a marketing position, I now scour the web to bring you the most exciting topics in the world of tech. Outside the office, I’m particularly passionate about motorsports and mountain biking.
