Gaming laptop Malaysia

Why Its Our Top Pick

Hands down, the Acer Nitro 5 is our pick for the best overall budget gaming laptop. It simply hits the sweet spot between price and performance. On the outside, it has a bold appearance, a large FHD IPS screen, and a flashing RGB backlit keyboard. Inside, its equipped with top-notch hardware specifications at its price point.

Features:

Under the hood, the Acer Nitro 5 packs a very capable NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, which no doubt will make games look and run great at high settings. You can rest assured that even the most graphically demanding games can run with smooth frame rates.

Another thing to highlight is what this generation has to offer compared to its predecessor. For starters, the viewing experience has been improved with an IPS screen and thin bezels. The viewing angles are large, allowing you to view the screen at different positions. Its superior colour accuracy offers the best visuals possible for gamers, as well as graphic designers.

Performance:

Moreover, its internals are also easily accessible and upgradeable, with a spare RAM slot M.2 slot for additional memory. The laptops parts are easy to service and replace too. Additionally, a feature that makes this a nice gaming laptop to pick up is the keyboard, which offers satisfying feedback when being typed on.

The only minor gripe to the Nitro 5 is the plastic build which, though sturdy, may smudge easily with fingerprints. If you can get past that, the Acer Nitro 5 [AN515-56-56LR] is a wonderful pick.

Specs:

• Year: 2021
• CPU: Intel Core i5-11300H
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
• RAM: 8GB
• Storage: 512GB SSD
• Display: 15.6-inch, 1920x1080 pixels [FHD], IPS with Acer ComfyView, LED-backlit
• Weight: 2.3kg
• Ports: 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1x RJ45 Ethernet port, 1x HDMI 2.0
• Dimensions: 363.4 [W] x 255.0 [D] x 23.9 [H] mm

If you are shopping for an affordable gaming laptop, you should highly consider the ASUS TUF A15. It features an Intel Core i5-10300H processor, which is optimized for lower power consumption with excellent performance output.

Features:

In terms of physical design, the TUF is built well with a tough and functional design. While it does not go for the thin-and-light route, it has a durable build quality, with a solid chassis that can take some knocks here and there. Overall, it packs a good amount of value for such a low price, albeit with some compromises.

Performance:

The TUF F15 has a great midrange GTX 1650 GPU for an entry model, which pairs well with the optional 120/144Hz refresh rate panel thats Full HD and of IPS to push out good frame rates even at ultra settings on games. However, the thermal design is said to not have been done too well, which may lead to high temperatures and necessitating louder fans when throttled.

Specs:

• Year: 2020
• CPU: Intel Core i5-10300H
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
• RAM: 8GB
• Storage: 512GB SSD
• Display: 15.6-inch, 1920x1080 pixels [FHD], IPS with anti-glare
• Weight: 2.3kg
• Ports: 1x USB 3.2 Type-C Gen 2, 2x USB 3.2 Type-A Gen 1, 1x USB 2.0 Type-A, 1x 3.5mm combo audio jack
• Dimensions: 359.0 [W] x 256.0 [D] x 24.9 [H] mm

For a more student-friendly gaming laptop, the Acer Aspire 5 is a deservedly popular choice. Priced at less than RM3000 for the base model, it can handle a students gaming [and non-gaming] needs adeptly. If you prefer beefier specs, there are multiple configurations to consider upon purchasing and can also be easily upgraded down the road.

While it doesnt look like much, the Aspire 5 actually packs great processing power under the hood, holding a capable 10th gen Intel U-series chipset and fast SSD, so student work can be performed smoothly.

As for graphics, it sports the entry-level Geforce MX cards, which work well enough for gaming sessions when you want to destress. While graphical settings will have to be brought down a notch for achieving good frame rates, games like Overwatch could still achieve 60fps at low settings.

Another plus point is the quality of the Full HD IPS display, which is a good value at this price point, though it does have a reduced brightness, so best not to use it in broad daylight. Also great for students is the long battery life of 9 hours and port selection on the laptop. All of these factors should satisfy students various needs both for work and play.

If you are on a more restricted budget but still looking for a good deal, the Acer Swift 3 is a worthwhile choice. Featuring a nice aluminium and magnesium built with a brushed finish on the lid, it is built well and this gives it a premium look. Weighing a mere 1.35kg, it is certainly one of the lighter and more portable laptops out there.

Despite its low price point, you are provided with great value in the form of a 10th Gen Intel Core i5 processor, which makes the laptop run surprisingly well, whatever your needs are. The 14 IPS screen is of good quality for general purpose uses. However, colour accuracy and brightness are not its strong points, so take note for whoever wants it for graphic work.

While gaming is possible on this cheaper laptop, its best for much lighter, casual gaming, e.g. games like Fortnite, as it opts for Intel integrated graphics. Besides that, the keyboard is comfortable to use, though the smaller arrow keys may not be for everyone. If youre looking to beef up the laptop though, its also pretty easy to upgrade the internals [except the RAM], which is another plus.

Its not all work and no play with the Lenovo IdeaPad L3. If you want to heavily depend on your laptop during work and also for entertainment, the IdeaPad L3 is a suitable general-purpose laptop for your daily needs. With a relatively acceptable weight of 2.2kg, its easy to carry around all day whether youre at work or at home.

This entry-level IdeaPad L3 is an Intel 10th Gen i3 chip that should get your work done on your laptop smoothly, but we recommend getting at least an i5 chip for better gaming performance. The Full HD 15.6 TN display is also sleek, which makes for a great experience while working or playing games. Theres also an HD webcam with a privacy shutter, so no worries about video-conferencing.

We cant expect ultra-gaming performance with its NVIDIA Geforce MX330 GPU configuration. But it still performs well with casual or less-demanding games and can run most current-gen games at native resolution with playable frame rates, provided graphics are set to low.

Another good thing is that this laptop has built-in 1TB HDD storage, so you wont need to worry about running out of storage space too easily.

The Dell G5 15 is very well designed and constructed. It looks great, is built well, and delivers performance in spades.

Utilising a 9th Gen Core i5 Intel processor and backed by 8GB of RAM in the entry model, this makes the Dell G5 15 powerful enough to handle the computational effort required for your programming workflows. Some of the ports are also located at the back, for a cleaner setup on your gaming/programming rig.

At the gaming front, it has no trouble running more demanding games, as the entry model is equipped with a very competent mid-tier Geforce GTX 1650 graphics card. While games can run smooth, they should also look great. Well, the G5 has a thin bezel 15.6 IPS display with a high refresh rate, which should satisfy gamers, although do note that colour accuracy and brightness is not the best.

Moreover, the keyboard is decent to use, though the short key travel may not be everyones cup of tea.

On the bright side, the G5 15 has many port options, notably of which is the USB-C port that is Thunderbolt 3 enabled. This allows for super-fast data transfer speeds when you connect to an external device e.g. an external display or GPU, great for both work and play.

Forget about those bulky and heavy gaming laptops from the old days as recent gaming machines are getting sleeker with lighter designs. While the Dell New Inspiron 15 3000 may not be a true gaming laptop, it does have good gaming capability given its both decent CPU and GPU.

Features:

The New Inspiron 15 3000 has a pretty slim design measuring a mere 17.5 mm in height on the front side. Its rear height is slightly thicker at 18.99 mm to ensure a stronger hinge. As for its display, the 15.6-inch WVA display is a good average between IPS and TN panels with a good colour range and high contrast ratio.

Performance:

Housing the latest 11th-generation Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor and Intel Iris Xe Graphics, the Dell New Inspiron 15 3000 delivers great processing power and could support some medium gaming. Most popular games can be played fine without some minor tweaks. Youll feel a bit of jerkiness when running heavier titles but not enough to ruin the overall game experience.

Specs:

• Year: 2021
• CPU: Intel Core i5-1135G7
• GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
• RAM: 8GB
• Storage: 512GB SSD
• Display: 15.6-inch, 1920x1080 pixels [FHD], WVA
• Weight: 1.85kg
• Ports: 2x USB 3.2, 1x USB 2.0, 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x audio jack
• Dimensions: 358.5 [W] x 235.56 [D] x 17.5 [H-front] x 18.99 [H-rear] mm

If you are shopping for a value-for-money gaming laptop, you should highly consider the ASUS TUF A15. Instead of Intel chips, it features the new AMD Ryzen 5 4600H Processors, which are optimised for lower power consumption, and also cost less than Intel chips for the same performance output. Because of this, you get power savings and longer battery life for the 90Wh battery.

The TUF A15 has a great midrange GTX 1660 GPU for its entry model, which pairs well with the optional 120/144Hz refresh rate panel thats Full HD and of IPS to push out good frame rates even at ultra settings on games. However, the thermal design is said to not been done too well, which may lead to high temperatures and necessitating louder fans when throttled.

In terms of physical design, the TUF is built well with a tough and functional design. While it does not go for the thin-and-light route, it has a durable build quality, with a solid chassis that can take some knocks here and there. Overall, it packs a good amount of value for such a low price, albeit with some compromises.