Acer's Budget Gaming Laptop Is Now Just $679

PC gaming on a budget can be tricky, but fortunately there are laptops like the Acer Nitro 5.

The wallet-friendly gaming laptop is designed for cash-strapped gamers, but doesn't make too many compromises.

Traditionally priced at $800, the GTX-based laptop is now on sale for just $679.99 via Best Buy's eBay storefront. The 15.6-inch rig packs a 1080p LCD, 2.3GHz Core i5-8300H quad-core processor, 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, and a 4GB GTX 1050 Ti graphics card. That's a lot of horsepower for $680, which is why we're fans of this machine.

We tested a similar Nitro 5, albeit with a previous-gen processor, and found it offered solid overall performance with a brighter than average display. Its speakers, however, were disappointing and not loud enough, whereas its keyboard was also polarizing due to its 1.3 millimeters of key travel — we prefer 1.5mm.

Otherwise, the GTX 1050 Ti provides solid frame rates on just about any game, as long as you don't play them at their highest settings. The laptop can also support an Oculus Rift headset, thanks to its GPU and Oculus VR's Asynchronous Space Warp technology.

If you don't mind a slight downgrade, Best Buy has the Acer Nitro 5 with a 4GB GTX 1050 graphics card and 1TB 7200 rpm hard drive for $599.99, which is $120 off its regular price.