CNET staff not advertisers, partners or business interests determine how we review products and services. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Budget gaming laptops start at well below $1,000, but the cheapest models have older Nvidia GeForce GTX GPUs that limit your 3D gaming capabilities. The sweet spot is between $1,000 and $1,200 for a model with at least RTX 5050 or 5060 graphics. MacBooks running Apple's MacOS are popular for home, work and school use, but Micro
