We got our first whiff of Nvidia’s RTX 50-series GPUs and it didn’t smell as fresh as we would have liked. According to some sources, Nvidia's desktop GPUs will be significantly more expensive than the previous generation. However, opposing sources claim the opposite. So where does that leave you?
If you’re shopping for a gaming rig, you’ll soon realize that even the best cheap gaming laptops creep over the $1,000 mark. The market is getting so pricey that we had to bump our category cap to include gaming laptops under $1,200.
Whether or not the RTX 50-series GPUs see a significant price increase, you should still wait to buy a gaming laptop until Nvidia's latest chips launch. Why? Because you won’t be buying an RTX 50-series gaming laptop. You’ll buy an RTX 40-series gaming laptop.
Confused? Let me explain.
The RTX 50-series’ rumored price
Let’s look at what’s been said about the RTX 50-series.
YouTube channel Moore’s Law is Dead (an oft-reliable source of upcoming information surrounding computing hardware) shared a slide with price points for the RTX 5070 ($599 - $699), RTX 5080 ($1,199 - $1,499), and RTX 5090 ($1,999 - $2,499). However, industry insider kopite7kimi claims these prices are “totally fake” and that they “don’t believe there will be a significant price increase for the RTX 5090.”
Overall, it may be good news for those who want the latest and greatest tech. Of course, desktop GPU prices don't tell us how they’ll impact mobile GPUs and the price of gaming laptops as a whole. After all, 2025 gaming laptops will work with a swathe of new tech outside of the GPU that may affect the price.
Why wait?
Despite the inflated market, I can still find some gaming laptops under $1,000 with an RTX 4070 GPU. However, those gaming laptops are marketed as budget solutions. But what will happen when the new kid is on the block? People soon forget about the last generation because they have a shiny new toy in front of them. Don’t be one of those people.
There are incredibly powerful and premium gaming laptops with RTX 40-series GPUs that may see severe discounts when the RTX 50-series launches. That’s when you should pounce. For context, RTX 30-series gaming laptops are dirt cheap right now.
The Lenovo LOQ 15 with RTX 3050 is only $549 at Best Buy. Now, that is a budget laptop, but there are premium options too. The MSI Vector GP66 with RTX 3070 Ti is $1,299 on NewEgg (dropping 42% from $2,249).
While you wait, here are some gaming laptops you should keep an eye out for.
What to keep an eye out for
Companies will inevitably launch updated models of the following laptops, so it’s likely we’ll see them drop down in price, especially if the company is not manufacturing the laptop anymore.
One gaming laptop you should keep an eye out for is the Asus TUF Gaming A14 (2024). It’s a mid-range notebook with an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS CPU, RTX 4060 GPU, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a 14-inch, 2560 x 1600, 165Hz display. We complemented its long battery life and exceptionally light design. Right now it costs $1,399, which is a decent price, but it can always get lower.
The Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9 is a step up from that, featuring an Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU, RTX 4070 GPU, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz display. It features a truly stunning display and remarkably cool thermals, which is rare.
It costs $1,999, edging the line between mid-range and premium. I’d like to imagine that it could drop somewhere around $1,500 — that would be the ideal purchasing price for this laptop.
Think about the MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG. In the aforementioned examples of 30-series discounts, an MSI Vector model was on that list, so I'd take it as a good sign that the Vector 16 HX may get a similar treatment. It offers an Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU, RTX 4080 GPU, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz display.
We loved this gaming laptop because of its gorgeous display, decent battery life, and incredible performance. It was also a bit surprising to see that it was priced at $2,699. It’s not cheap, but we’ve seen similar gaming notebooks go over $3,000. Considering the previous Vector dropped nearly $1,000 off its price, getting this for around $1,699 would be an absolute steal.
Outlook
Don’t go above and beyond to buy an RTX 50-series gaming laptop. Bide your time and you’ll be able to score a premium gaming laptop with an RTX 40-series GPU for a much more affordable price.
No matter how much more powerful the RTX 50-series GPUs are, the RTX 40-series holds its own in the AAA gaming space, with laptops like the MSI Vector 16 scoring 111 frames per second on the Far Cry 6 benchmark (Ultra, 1080p).
So, if you’re buying on a budget, wait.
