We’re in Q2 of 2022, and the inflated GPU prices have started to calm down for the first time in two years. But, regardless of that, if you’re stuck without a GPU and are super excited to play the new, non-sweaty, easy-going, no-build Fortnite, you’re still going to have to put a massive dent in your wallet.
But, if you’re not looking to drop that much money on a new gaming setup, there are some alternatives for you. Some brands are still looking out for the budget laptop consumer. Cheap gaming laptops can deliver excellent performance while staying within a specific budget. But it can be hard and time-consuming to find such laptops, especially if you’re not tech-savvy. Let’s go over the top four cheap laptops you can buy to run Fortnite with decent frames.
Contents
List of the 4 Best Cheap Laptops That Can Run Fortnite
- Acer Nitro 5 – The Best All-Rounder
- Lenovo Ideapad S340 – Best with the Lowest Price
- MSI GL65 Leopard – Premium but Budget-Friendly Laptop for Gaming
- Apple 16-inch Macbook Pro – The Only Logical Choice for Apple Users
Here’s a detailed look at each laptop for you to up your game, literally.
1. Acer Nitro 5 (2019)
| Processor | i5-9300H |
| RAM | 8GB RAM |
| Storage | 256GB SSD |
| Graphics | GeForce GTX 1650 GPU |
| Display | 15.6 inches FHD Display |
The Nitro series from Acer has been one of their highest-selling gaming laptops for a long time. Their high-performance components for an affordable price are why many casual gamers opt for the Nitro series. In addition, it has some very high-end specs that are great for gamers and game developers. Plus, it can even work as an excellent workstation on the go for video editors.
Let’s take a look at some of the essential features of the laptop and why we decided to put it at number one on our list.
Features
Ports: One look at the Nitro 5, and you’ll realize Acer wanted the laptop to have plenty of connectivity options, completely removing the need for an additional dock. On the left, you have a Kensington lock, an ethernet slot, an HDMI 2.0 slot, a USB-C slot, and a couple of handy USB 3.0 Type-A ports. In addition, you have a DC-in port for the charging cable, two standard USB 2.0 ports, and an audio jack on the right side.
Cooling: Acer is extremely popular for its advanced cooling systems across all of its gaming laptops. The Nitro 5 comes with dual-fan ventilation and cooling system. You also have Acer’s proprietary NitroSense fan-control app that lets you manually adjust the RPMs of each of your fans, as well as the fans of your CPU and GPU. This cooling solution allows it to stay cool under moderate to heavy workloads.
Specifications: The Acer Nitro 5 has fantastic specifications that are a great bang for the buck. The laptop is equipped with an i5-9300H processor, a GeForce GTX 1650 GPU, 8GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 1920×1080 IPS display. The laptop does lack a bit in terms of RAM, but it’s easily upgradeable to 32 GB if the current one doesn’t offer enough power for your day-to-day tasks.
Design: The design of the Nitro 5 does seem a bit lacking. It’s a bulky laptop with a thick body, but, from the looks, you can see that Acer tried to give it a futuristic ‘space-ship’ kind of vibe. It has red accents around the mouse, red keyboard switches, and sharp edges around the chassis. It might not be the best-looking laptop on our list, but what it lacks in terms of design, it makes up for in performance.
2. Lenovo IdeaPad S340
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 3700U |
| RAM | 12GB |
| Storage | 512GB NVMe |
| Graphics | Vega 10 |
| Display | 15.6″ HD |
Most of the laptops from Lenovo are incredibly sleek and minimal. But that does not mean the performance is not tailored towards gamers. You can use these clean laptops for gaming and office use as they lack the obnoxious game design language.
Since Lenovo spends more attention on the internal components while keeping the outside appearance sleek, they have added some of the best budget tech to this laptop.
Let’s take a look at all the features this laptop has.
Features
Slim Build: The Lenovo IdeaPad laptops are some of the thinnest on the market, making them easy to carry around. The Lenovo IdeaPad comes in at only 0.7 inches thick. As a result, the laptop weighs almost 2 pounds less than the Acer Nitro 5. The IdeaPad S340 excels in the portability department and is an excellent option for being your gaming laptop and your daily driver.
Cooling: Acer might have one of the most reputable cooling systems, but Lenovo isn’t that far behind either. It keeps your components cool, allowing you to control the fan speeds manually. When your laptop is under heavy load, the fans ramp up automatically to a high RPM, doing their best to keep the system cool. The manual fan control can come in handy if you are in a public spot where you do not wish to disturb others.
Specifications: The Lenovo IdeaPad S340 comes in a variety of configurations. In our list of budget laptops, we looked at the one with an AMD Ryzen 7 3700U processor and Vega 10 graphics. This laptop has 12GB of DDR4 RAM and 512GB of NVMe storage, which is sufficient to run a few games.
Design: The Lenovo IdeaPad S340 has some of the best-looking designs for a gaming laptop. It looks nice without bells and whistles, making it perfect for a sleek laptop. This makes it ideal for those who want to run Fortnite on high settings without any problems whatsoever.
3. MSI GL65 Leopard
| Processor | Core i7-9750H |
| RAM | 8GB |
| Storage | 512 GB NVMe |
| Graphics | Nvidia GTX GeForce GTX 1650 or GTX 1660Ti |
| Display | 15.6″ FHD |
When it comes to cheap and budget gaming laptops, no one can beat MSI. Their prices are incredibly low compared to other gaming laptops’ OEMs, while the performance is on par to compete with their best. The MSI GL65 Leopard was released in 2020 with top-notch specs for that time. Although those specs may not seem that impressive these days, they’ll still run Fortnite superbly.
Features
Size: The overall look of the MSI GL65 Leopard is sleek, making it a light laptop you can carry easily. It is 15.6-inches in size and has a 1080p resolution screen that’ll give you crisp details while watching a full-HD movie. Plus, the 144Hz screen is the icing on the cake. It will drastically improve your gaming experience with smooth movement and reduced lag. Once you’ve tried the wonders, you’ll never want to go back!
However, the laptop only has 60% RGB, so you’ll need to calibrate the screen for accurate colors. With the help of HDMI support, you can connect an external monitor that features 100% RGB for more accurate colors.
Cooling: Laptops quickly get hot since they have small fans and no premium cooling mechanism. A gaming laptop needs at least two fans that can throw and gather air and move it around in the right way. The MSI GL65 Leopard has two fans on each side, which take air from beneath, cool down the parts, and throw the hot air outside from the back.
You must ensure that the bottom and sides of this laptop are not covered when you use it so that air can flow easily. You can also keep your laptop cool by using a cooling fan.
Specification: The MSI GL65 Leopard’s specs are not as high as today’s gaming models, but they’re sufficient for Fortnite to run without a hitch. Depending on the model, you’ll get a Core i7-9750H CPU and an Nvidia GTX GeForce GTX 1650 or GTX 1660Ti.
These GPUs will run Fortnite at above 120FPS, and the CPU is strong enough not to cause any input lag. Moreover, you’ll get around 8GB of DDR4 RAM and 512 GB of NVMe storage, and the option to install a SATA SSD or HDD.
Design: While the laptop is light and sleek, the design is not that impressive. The upper part of the keyboard gets hot quickly, so you can’t use it with the lid closed when connected to an external computer. Also, the air intake and outlet are not in the best places, so you might block the air with your lap.
Battery: The battery life isn’t great, but it’s decent enough for casual use or gaming on the go. If you’re planning on playing Fortnite for hours on end without plugging in, this laptop will probably struggle to last long enough for even one round before dying off completely.
4. Apple 16-Inch MacBook Pro
| Processor | Apple M1 Pro Chip With 10‑core CPU and 16‑core GPU |
| RAM | 32GB |
| Storage | 1TB NVMe |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon Pro 5300M |
| Display | 16 Inches |
Apple is probably not the first option you would consider to run Fortnite. However, this one is for all Apple fans who don’t want to stray too far from their origins for their gaming journey. Fortnite doesn’t need a lot of power, so the Apple 16-inch MacBook Pro with a dedicated GPU can run it smoothly at 60 frames per second.
Features
Size: 16-inch is fairly small, but it is an average size for a MacBook. You’ll have a hard time pointing out the enemy from afar, but with an external monitor, things will get better. The 16-inch size also increases its battery life, even while gaming. The best part about this MacBook is its true HDR display; you’ll get the best colors and contrast while playing Fortnite. The laptop is quite lightweight, making it easier to carry around with you than an old desktop PC. This means you can play anywhere without worrying about having enough power left in the battery!
Specifications: Apple’s products always have the best specifications, which is one of the reasons for their high price tag. The Apple 16-Inch MacBook Pro comes with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of NVMe, which is more than enough to store many games. Instead of an Intel chip, Apple put in their top-of-the-line M1 Pro chip, making this one of the fastest MacBook Pros so far.
Cooling Mechanism: Thanks to the optimized OS and processor, this device does not overheat easily. Despite the fact that it has two cooling fans, the airflow is not optimal. It will heat up quickly and take a while to cool down, but it won’t overheat while playing Fortnite.
Design: No laptop can beat the sleek and slim design of the Apple MacBook Pro. However, for gaming, it lacks extra ports and a bit more open space at the bottom for more cooling.
Buying Guide — Choosing Quality for a Low Price
If you want to buy a laptop to play Fortnight, you should pay close attention to the system requirements. But don’t worry: choosing a laptop for Fortnite is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. You just need to ensure that it can run Fortnite smoothly and has the right features for your needs.
Here are some tips on how to choose the best laptop for Fortnite:
• Consider the Specifications
When looking for a cheap gaming laptop, choose one with the best GPU upfront since you can’t upgrade it later as you can with memory or storage.
The processor is the heart of a laptop. A laptop with a powerful processor lets you load and render games faster and without bugs or lag. You will be able to play Fortnite with any modern processor, but if you want to run this game on high settings, we recommend getting an Intel Core i7 processor or better.
It is also important to make sure your system has enough RAM (4 GB of RAM or more) and that it is fast enough (at least 2133 MHz). This will ensure that you can keep up with all the latest patches and updates from Fortnight without any issues.
• Choose a Reputable Seller
Like any other piece of technology, laptops are found on the market in varying conditions. Some shops and sellers sell laptops refurbished or boxes opened, which are rarely trustworthy. Whenever you want to buy a laptop, we recommend buying from reputable stores and sellers popular in the community.
Buying brand-new laptops can protect you from the hassle of losing your data to hackers or getting a faulty device with no warranty. Of course, Amazon is always a great option.
FAQs
1. Does an SSD or an HDD improve my gaming laptop?
Basically, SSDs are solid-state drives, and HDDs are hard disk drives. An HDD is usually much cheaper because it uses a physical disk that can be written to and read like old, clear CD-Rs. Additionally, they are more inclined to harm since they have physical parts that can separate and wear out over the long haul and are more helpless to shocks and drops.
A solid-state drive (SSD) stores programs and documents with the help of flash memory and a specific chipset. This keeps it safe and makes it much quicker to get to programs and records. What’s more, assuming that you have an SSD as your boot drive, you can boot your laptop in seconds. However, they will often be more costly, particularly at higher capacities, so make sure your financial plan can deal with it.
2. What other components should I look for in a cheap gaming laptop?
For a cheap gaming laptop, you have more options for memory, CPU, and storage, but mainly for the last two. For many games, such as first-person shooters, the design of the CPU is more critical than the speed of the CPU, so you may not need the fastest one. Instead, a more mid-range CPU like an Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 will offer you the best performance for your money.
3. Is a laptop as good as a desktop PC for gaming?
This could be the case, especially if you use external monitors and the right accessories. However, at the top of the line, you can’t get the same level of parts in a laptop that you can in a PC. That’s because laptops must be cautious about how much power they use. The space in the laptop’s frame limits how much power they can send to the CPU and GPU simultaneously. Even laptops with comparable specs to a desktop are intended to run at lower power.
Conclusion
Fortnite is an incredibly popular game, and if you’re looking to hop off the Battle Bus every day for an extensive gaming session, you can grab any of the laptops on our list. The laptops listed here offer a fantastic price-performance ratio for gamers and productivity users. So buy any of them, be at peace about your purchase, and enjoy claiming the Victory Royale on your new laptop!
