2. MSI Prestige 15 A12UC (2022) – Best value for money
While the MSI Prestige 15 costs over $1,300 in the US, less powerful configurations are available for as little as £699 in the UK. For that price, you’ll struggle to find anything better suited for gaming.
An 12th-gen Intel Core i5 processors and RTX 3050 Ti graphics are nothing special and no longer the latest versions, but they deliver solid performance across the board – including some demanding titles. As expected, that’ll take a slight hit on battery power, but you can get a few hours of gaming (or much longer on other tasks) from a single charge.
Other highlights include a great keyboard, lots of ports and a lightweight design – at 1.69kg, it’s more portable than many gaming laptops. A sleek, minimalist aesthetic also means you might be happy using this as an everyday laptop too.
Provided you don’t mind the unusual keyboard layout and disappointing trackpad, that is. The 15.6in display is decent, but you’ll find much better elsewhere, and it’s limited to a 60Hz refresh rate.
However, if you can look beyond those drawbacks, this is an impressive, affordable gaming laptop that’s worth considering.