Get yourself a powerful laptop for gaming on sale right now. (Photo: Acer)(Acer)
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The average laptop can handle most of your basic needs — editing documents, watching videos on YouTube or doing Zoom calls with friends, family and coworkers. What most laptops can't do is run the latest, greatest games.
That's because game developers love to push the tech envelope, with better graphics and increasingly exciting gameplay features that stretch your computer's CPU to the limit. Yup, for the newest titles, you'll need a dedicated gaming laptop. Normally such a laptop can set you back up to $2,000. But not this week. Right now Acer has two great machines on sale at Amazon that can transform your experience in the world of PC gaming.
If you have Amazon Prime, you’ll get free two-day shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. (And by the way, those without Prime still get free shipping on orders of $25 or more.)
First up we have the 15.6-inch Acer Nitro 5, which comes packed with an Intel Core i5 processor and a GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card from NVIDIA. If you want to game you'll need a dedicated graphics card, and the 3050 is a solid model that would cost you $350 if purchased on its own. Instead, you'll pay $660 for the entire laptop, a 21 percent discount over its usual price of $840. That also includes 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD for storage, which is a pretty decent size for holding all the games you download from Steam and Epic. It also can uses WiFi 6 for the fastest connection, though you'll need a WiFi 6 router to take full advantage of it.
This truly is a versatile, go-anywhere machine, as told by the five-star reviews. One customer who calls it an "excellent computer" says it "got me through an applied technology degree and a deployment. [...] I am able to play all the games I want and do all my work. It was durable enough to travel along with me on my deployment."
If you're looking for a use case closer to home, however, how about this shopper who says he was "recommended this gaming laptop months ago, so when it went on sale it was a must-purchase for me. So far it’s met every expectation, has run every game in my Steam collection without a problem."
One mom says it's great for life simulation games like The Sims series: "I am highly satisfied with the way this laptop runs this program and would recommend this for anyone that is just starting out with gaming devices due to the fair price and performance, at least with this particular PC game."
While it may not be the kind of laptop you play the latest Hitman on, it certainly handles games like No Man's Sky and Planetside 2 with aplomb, and it can even tackle VR applications — all for under $700, making it a real steal of a gaming machine.
If you're looking for something with a bit more oomph and have a few more hundred dollars to spend, you should check out the Acer Predator Helios 300. It's another 15.6-inch gaming machine, but this one is packing an Intel Core i7 chip and an NIVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card. That's a big step up over the Nitro 5 in power, and 16GB of RAM and 512GB storage make it well-equipped for the biggest, more demanding games. It usually costs $1,300, which would snag you a smaller MacBook Pro with similar power, but right now the Helios 300 is only $1,070. That's a $230 savings, and a fantastic price for a 15-inch laptop.
This beast of a machine has made converts out of people who've never handled a gaming notebook before: "I was quite intimidated before I bought it as I’ve never owned a gaming laptop. It’s powerful, stays cold, runs flawlessly. Even the fans aren’t even that loud. I’d even consider it overkill for many games. For reference, you’d be running minimum 130 fps at max settings for Rainbow Six Siege. If you're hesitant like I was, it’s definitely a safe bet to go with the Acer Predator."
And reviewers love it for more than just games, with one saying "The graphics are a game changer and the keyboard isn't loud when typing rigorously. It can be used for Adobe, games, and can be excellent for work-from-home people." Another says the "build quality is strong and the keyboard is great! Beautiful system all around."
Overall, it has "all the features and specs of a laptop that costs hundreds more." This reviewer adds, "I've had this for about a month now and it works great! Plenty powerful enough for almost any task, games, audio recordings and productions, video editing, etc. I use it for all of that and more."
Sounds like you can't go wrong with this phenomenal laptop, one that can deliver pro-level performance for work and play without breaking your budget.
The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
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