Need of cheapest laptop that can run Elden Ring, check out our list.
Elden Ring, where fantasy, exploration, and challenge converge in spectacular fashion. With this highly anticipated game reaching its peak, many people will be curious: is there a cheap laptop that can run Elden Ring smoothly? Absolutely! We’ve handpicked a selection of budget laptops that let you dive into the mysteries of Elden Ring without sacrificing performance or your financial peace.
Elden Ring’s reputation precedes it—a vast universe crafted by Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R.R. Martin. It’s a world ripe for exploration, packed with formidable enemies, and a narrative woven with intricate tales. But you don’t need to spend a fortune to embark on this adventure; our lineup of affordable laptops ensures a fully immersive experience without the hefty price tag.
Armed with the latest technology, these laptops have the power to flawlessly handle Elden Ring’s demands. They come equipped with efficient processors, ample RAM, and capable GPUs, ensuring smooth gameplay, stunning visuals, and minimal lag. Immerse yourself in the game’s atmospheric world, appreciate its finely detailed landscapes, and engage in intense battles—all without straining your budget.
No matter if you’re a seasoned gamer or a curious explorer, these laptops cater to your Elden Ring journey. Their affordability opens the door to a universe brimming with mystery, challenging combat, and the satisfaction of overcoming each trial. Don’t miss out on the chance to explore the carefully crafted landscapes by Miyazaki and Martin—our curated laptops make this adventure accessible without the burden of excessive costs.
Cheapest Laptop That Can Run Elden Ring
1) Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 6600H
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
- RAM: 8 GB DDR5
- Storage: 256 GB SSD
The Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3 brings modern components at a relatively priced tag to give gamers immersive gameplay. While the IdeaPad 3 isn’t the most powerful or equipped with all the niceties a gaming notebook should have, it is still our top pick for a cheap gaming laptop.
The Ideapad Gaming 3 has the potential to dethrone all the cheap gaming notebooks, with innards like AMD processors and discrete graphic units, almost all games are playable with a resolution of 1080p.
To go into depth, the Gaming 3 is powered by the latest AMD Ryzen 5 6600H graphics and 4 GB of NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics, combining both results in high gaming performance. I played Minecraft, GTA V,, COD, and Overwatch total of 8 hours, and the performance was stable. The gameplay was enjoyable, giving decent FPS with little latency.
I also played demanding titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Assasin Creed Valhalla, throughout the gaming sessions I have to tweak the setting to 720p for smooth gameplay because the graphics and processor couldn’t lift the performance these games require.
Elden Ring’s performance was decent, but I have found some occasional frame drops and lag issues with that too. However, when I change some graphic settings and keep the 1080p resolution, the Ryzen 5 processor and RTX graphics managed to give 60+ FPS on my 2 hours of gameplay. I was okay with tweaking some graphic settings, but if you are one of those who like to see as many details on the display as possible, I recommend adding one more memory slot of 8 GB (Comes with 8 GB memory) to experience lag-free gaming.
When you play games, the Cooling system matters and the Ideapad Gaming 3 has good thermals to manage heat and maintain stable performance. Though, the fans make a loud noise and sometimes it is unbearable. If you plan to bring the notebook to your office environment, I suggest looking for other options rather than a gaming notebook.
The Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3 is a chunky-looking machine with features that all Lenovo notebook offers. A privacy shutter on a 720p camera, a comfortable keyboard, an average trackpad, and bottom speakers give decent sound output.
It offers a fair amount of ports including one USB A 3.2 Gen 1 on the right side, a Headphone and Mic combo jack, one USB A 3.2 Gen 1 on the left side while the rear side contains One HDMI 2.0, one RJ45, and One Display port. With important ports on the rear side, your PC setup looks neat without worrying about cable management.
The 15.6-inch display is ideal for gaming and basic editing. The colors look saturated and most of the time they manage color accuracy. However, if you set the brightness to the fullest you’ll find some grey lights in dark scenes. Speaking about brightness, the display features 250 nits, which are ample for normal lightroom but sluggish under direct sunlight.
The battery life is not admirable either. When fully charged it last just 3 hours of productivity tasks and when you play games it will reduce to just one hour. So, don’t expect anything more from it even if you tweak some display settings or keep brightness at the lowest.
The Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3 is a powerful gaming machine when it comes to the cheapest laptop that can run Elden Ring, but be mindful of its shortcomings.
Pros
- A low-priced but powerful notebook
- Ample ports with both HDMI and Display port
- Modern connectivity like Wi-Fi 6 & Bluetooth 5.2
- 6th generation AMD CPU is just awesome
Cons
- Dim display
- Short battery life
2) HP Victus 15
- Processor: Intel Core i7-12700H
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti
- RAM: 8 GB DDR5
- Storage: 512 GB SSD
In the past two years, HP has shifted focus from the cheap gaming lineup Pavilion to the newly launched Victus notebooks. The Victus series has a better build, a straightforward design, and amazing thermal that automatically makes it a better value than the Pavilion series. Our money is also on the Victus, too. Not because it is newly launched or its design is appealing to me who works full day in an office and plays games at night, but the performance difference between Pavilion and Victus is substantial difference despite being equipped with the same CPU and GPU.
The HP Victus 15 features a simple design ideal for both gamers and professional users. It builds from plastic and feels well-built when you get your hands on it. There isn’t any major flex on the keyboard or on the display. However, I found some wobbling issues with the hinge when typed aggressively. though, it is not as much as we’ve expected from a cheap gaming notebook.
It weighs around 2.3 KG with an adapter which adds up to an extra 0.6 Kg. For daily commutes and traveling, it will be bothersome to take in on your shoulders.
The screen is large and measures 15.6 inches in total and has 144hz of refresh rate. The pictures are sharp, vivid, and accurately presented when you play games or watch your favorite Netflix Show. The traditional 16:9 aspect ratio is good for media consumption and gaming but feels slightly short for productivity tasks. Nowadays screen this large generally adapts 16:10 aspect ratio to display more details on the screen.
The HP Victus 15 sports 12th generation Intel Core i7-12700 processor which you’ll unlikely find in the same price category. The i7 processor pairs with NVIDIA’s RTX 3050Ti graphics to give ample fuel to run demanding games at high FPS. the i7 processor features 8 cores to give a high-end performance, whether you feel AAA titles, edit videos or run a number of Chrome tabs, it won’t hang or reduce performance by any means.
The dedicated GPU allows graphics to run better and supports Ray-tracing and DLSS making rendering faster and smooth. Though, not all titles support the latter, those who support them and if you turn it on, you’ll see noticeable changes in graphics and gaming performance.
One thing that I really admire about HP Victus is its thermals. They are well-designed and keep the keyboard and overall body cool when you throw all the heavy pressure you can throw on a laptop. The fans are silent even in extreme performance conditions, they make very low noise that isn’t bothersome as I have heard from the Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3.
Out of the box, it comes with 512 GB of storage and 8 GB of memory, but if you can get 16 GB variants we recommend going for it. The 16 GB memory ensures gameplay without stutter, though if you won’t find memory there is an option to upgrade it in the future.
The only area where HP Victus isn’t improved from HP Pavilion is battery life. Despite a 70Wh battery, it will only last for about 5 hours, and as expected gaming performance will only last for just one hour.
The HP Victus 15 is a great gaming machine with powerful components and impressive cooling management. If you are okay with a short battery span then the HP Victus 15 is one of the cheapest laptops that can run Elden Ring.
Pros
- Equipped with an i7 processor
- Nice keyboard and trackpad
- Plenty of ports
- Smooth gameplay and admirable cooling
Cons
- Low on battery
3) Asus TUF Gaming F15
- Processor: Intel Core i5-12500H
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
- RAM: 16 GB DDR4
- Storage: 512 GB SSD
The Asus TUF Gaming F15 brings powerful performance under a bold design for gamers, but also ideal for productivity too. The TUF Gaming F15 has plenty to offer at a reasonable price, while it’s not as powerful as Asus’s ROG lineup, but folks looking for a capable laptop at a nice price, the TUF can be a great option to consider.
Asus hasn’t made notable changes in the TUF aesthetics department which means the TUF gaming looks muscular and chunky likewise previous models. Even though Asus claims to certified laptop with MIL-STD-810H tests, the plastic feels cheap and has flex on the bottom deck. However, it’s still well-built and sturdier than Lenovo’s Ideapad 3 and Acer’s Nitro 5.
Opening the lid will reveal a typical gaming keyboard and a slightly chunkier hinge. The bezels are acceptability thin and house a nice 720p webcam. The keyboard highlights four dedicated keys for games and a dedicated key to open ROG software to tweak graphic settings.
Given a 15.6-inch room, TUF has plenty of space to include a full Number pad and extra buttons for Volume control. With its enormous size and toughest build, it should come as no surprise that it weighs nearly 5 pounds and is heavier than other iterations from AsusLike Vivobook and Zenbook.
The Asus TUF Gaming F15 provides a generous array of ports including HDMI 2.0, Thunderbolt 4, USB Type-C, Headphone jack, and more. Monitors that support Video output from Thunderbolt 3 can connect two separate monitors from Thunderbolt and HDMI ports.
The 15.6 Inch display is mediocre and reflects light on the panel when you sit in a well-lit environment. The color reproduction is better than expected and reproduces vibrant and livid graphics while playing intense graphics-hungry games. The 300 nits of brightness are ample to work in an office or room but feel dim under direct sunlight.
The Asus TUF Gaming F15 boats Intel Core i5-12500H processor along with RTX 3050 graphic card which on paper works really well with most titles, however, feels a bit slow on AAA at 1080p setting.
When I played Cyberpunk 2077 and Assassins Creed Valhalla for more than one hour, I experienced occasional frame drops and lag, but when I change some graphics settings like Shadows and reflection and switch off Ray tracing, everything ran smoothly at continuous 50 FPS. The trade-off in performance is due to the mid-power i5 CPU and RTX 3050 graphics that have limitations to handle power-hungry games.
If you are concerned with Elden Ring Performance rest assured you won’t find any noticeable lag or frame drops even if you play with the highest graphic settings. However, the only condition is to not set a resolution of more than 1080p, otherwise, gameplay will suffer major frame drops and lag resulting in the worst gaming experience.
Coming to the battery life, Asus TUF boats impressive battery backup and lasts around 6 hours in our battery life. I have played some downloaded YouTube videos with brightness settings at maximum and also turn the volume at 100% for 3 hours.
Further, I have researched new processors and scrolled my X (formerly Twitter) feed for 1 hour and battery indicators still show some power in it. After some time it notified me of battery life and I plugged the outlet. You can achieve the mark only through browsing and media consumption, gaming and editing tasks will drain power pretty quickly, so don’t expect the battery to last more than 90 minutes during intense workload or gameplay.
Strong performance, a nice keyboard, and occasionally long battery life makes Asus TUF Gaming F15 one of the cheapest laptop that can run Elden Ring smoothly.
Pros
- Sturdy build
- Good performance
- Smooth gameplay with decent FPS
Cons
- Display could be better
4) Acer Nitro 5
- Processor: Intel Core i5-12500H
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti
- RAM: 16 GB DDR5
- Storage: 512 GB SSD
The Acer Nitro 5 is a top-notch gaming laptop designed solely for gamers with a restricted budget and offers powerful performance to do tasks with ease. It has all the niceties you expect from a gaming notebook; a bold design, an RGB keyboard, and an aggressive look.
Typically, the Nitro series from Acer houses a 15-inch screen to justify a low budget, but in 2022, Acer introduced a large sibling of a 15-inch notebook with a display total of 17.3-inch size. This roomy display offers a relatively large panel to deliver images, move content, and plenty of space to play games. With 17 inch display, it is far from usable on a commute and if you ignore the advice it will surely give pain in your back. The 17-inch gaming laptops are well-suited for working from home or gaming at your home.
The roomy display incorporates 1920 X 1080 pixels along with 144h of refresh rate to give playable and smooth gameplay. Further, with a display this large, you can easily run two tabs side by side.
The Acer Nitro 5 17-inch follows the same script as its siblings and is equipped with a plastic build design and engraved iconic red lines all over the front panel. Similar to a budget gaming laptop, I have found some build issues on both the lid and bottom parts. The screen wobbles a lot and feels flimsy while the keyboard deck registers noticeable flex when you type hard.
The 17-inch screen is sufficient for multitasking, gaming, and casual office work. While the display is relatively bright it lacks the color depth we expect from a gaming notebook. Colors feel dull and when you use them in a bright environment some of them feel lifeless. Most people won’t notice the biggest difference from it, but if you place a rather good color display right next to it, you’ll immediately notice a difference from color washout.
As far as Elden Ring’s performance goes, I don’t have any major problem with it. Sporting a 12th generation i5 CPU and dedicated NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics, the Acer Nitro 5 performance is far better than I anticipated. The rendering of graphics was smooth, framerates were playable without stuttering and I enjoy Overwatch at 80 FPS without lagging. As I previously said performance wise there isn’t anything to complain about, of course, you have to keep your expectation realistic considering the price factor and mid-range innards.
But, one thing that I have a major issue with is its heat management. I expected better heat management from a 17-inch notebook at least better than its small 15-inch sibling. But things aren’t as good as I hoped for. As long as I start to play games, the fans start spinning and after just a few minutes I can feel the heat on the keyboard. Not to mention, the inconvenient noise of the fans.
I expect Acer could do a better job in keeping things cool for a long, but I was disappointed.
The keyboard is praiseworthy with 4 zones of RGB lighting supports and a fast traveling speed that makes typing and gaming much easier. The same goes for trackpad as well. It is large and smooth with all the gestures supports and scrolling you expect from a good and reliable trackpad.
Overall, if you are a gamer or want to start your career in gaming, Acer Nitro 5 is a great companion for you and the cheapest laptop that can run Elden Ring.
Pros
- Gamer appealing look
- RGB keyboard
- Amazing performance
- Large and roomy 17-inch display
- Acceptable battery life
Cons
- Worst heat management
- Dim colors
5) MSI Cyborg 15
- Processor: Intel Core i5-12450H
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050
- RAM: 16 GB DDR5
- Storage: 512 GB SSD
MSI’s Cyborg 15 pushes the boundaries when it comes to budget gaming laptops. Not only it makes a remarkable gaming companion it is a very likable workstation and a good replacement for your PC.
Aesthetically, MSI Cybord 15 is nothing distinctive from the rest of the MSI gaming lineup with plastic built across the body and chassis. The Cyborg 15 boasts an aggressive design much like its name. The edges are sharp, and the chunkier chin and a notch housing webcam make it a bold choice for the office. Cyborg 15 isn’t a good option to commute either. What makes it a prominent choice from the rest is its performance under the hood.
The Cyborg 15 has a reasonable chassis and hinge giving it decent sturdiness. Despite being built from strong plastic, there are some minor issues with flex and wobbling. Moreover, you cannot open the lid with one hand. Apart from that, I haven’t found any major issues with the build or anything else so far.
The keyboard is roomy and features nice traveling keys. The single blue backlighting can excite some users who prefer uniqueness in their notebooks, but I’m not big fond of Blue lights on my keyboard. Other than that, I have no issues with keys and respond instantly while gaming or fast typing. Meanwhile, the trackpad is large and smooth with admirable palm rejection. While I don’t recommend playing games from it, scrolling and moving would be a satisfaction.
The display is fairly bright and colorful. Incorporating a peak 144hz refresh rate and Full HD resolution, it is pleasing to see media and gameplay for long hours.
The 720P webcam is good and records bright pictures during video chat, however, it isn’t capable of Windows Hell Face recognition. There is no fingerprint reader either.
At a low price, the Cyborg 15 shines in terms of performance and you won’t find any lag or power issues that are typically found in similarly priced laptops. Sporting the 12th generation i5-12450H processor, the MSI Cyborg 15 excels in productivity, browsing, and word processing. The same could be said for gaming, but GPU has a vast impact on gaming performance and that’s where MSI lets you down. Rather than offering RTX 30 series, MSI opts for RTX 2050 to fuel graphics, and by doing so they have decreased gaming performance by 10-15%.
Don’t get me wrong the RTX 20 series performance is drastically better than RTX 10 series, but when similarly priced notebooks pack 30 series to achieve better FPS, relying on old-generation graphics isn’t a smart move from MSI. Elden Ring gameplay won’t have a major impact from it and everything will run smoothly, but the latest released titles and future games will suffer minor graphics issues.
Out of the box, MSI Cyborg 15 is equipped with 16 GB RAM and 512 GB NVMe SSD, there are also empty slots for both memory and storage to expand in size.
The MSI Cyborg 15 is a good choice in some areas but its shortcoming and reliance on old-generation graphics can turn down some folks.
Pros
- Aggressive look
- Good keyboard and trackpad
- Bright and vivid display
- Decent build quality
- Smooth gameplay with playable FPS
Cons
- Not for daily commute
- Dim display