By Mike Szostech Last updated
Laptops are no longer just needed for typing up school reports or work documents – they can also run double duty as an entertaining gaming center when you’re not on duty. Here’s our roundup of the best gaming laptops under 1000 Canada (using prices at the time of publish).
If you don’t specifically need a gaming laptop (or a laptop with a powerful GPU), then you might be interested in our write-up on the overall best laptops in Canada or, for portability, our review of lightweight laptops Canada.
Gaming Laptops under $1000 are hard to find!
Looking for a cheap gaming laptop in Canada can be a challenge because of all of the USA sites that list gaming laptops under $1000 USD – but that’s the equivalent of $1300 CDN. Our list of the best gaming laptops under 1000 Canada is much smaller, because not as many of them make that cut.
With the improvement of entry-level graphics chips, however, you can still get a great gaming laptop for less money than you could even a year or two ago.
Compare Specifications on Gaming Laptops under $1000
Hey Canada! This section helps you compare the features of these products to help you choose the best option for you! Click on the product name to jump down to that specific review.
Processor
The CPU is the brain of your computer that handles the actual processing and calculations of your game before sending the graphics portion of it to your GPU. While the GPU is usually considered as the most important factor when looking for the best gaming laptop under $1000 Canada, the CPU needs to be fast enough to manage the game. Most modern games recommend a quad-core processor.
Memory
Most modern games recommend at least 8 GB of RAM to allow for an optimum gaming experience.
Storage
Solid state drives are faster, which allows your games to load up quicker and get you playing in the least amount of time. But solid state drives also cost more, so if you need maximum storage space on a budget (remember this is gaming laptops under $1000), you'll likely need to settle for a 1TB hard drive which will slow your load times down as the hard drive platter spins up to send data into your RAM.
Graphics
The GPU is the graphics processing unit, and it can make the difference between a choppy, low resolution game experience, or a full HD, 60 fps thrilling gameplay. The better the GPU, the more expensive the gaming laptop will be, so for this list of the best gaming laptops under 1000 Canada, we are limited to mid-range GPU options.
Screen
For gaming, look for a laptop with a full HD resolution (1920 x 1080), to help you get the most out of the game graphics. Larger display sizes also create a more immersive gaming experience. The highest refresh rate that the laptop display can handle is also an important factor.
What GPU should I look for in a gaming laptop?
Since you’re searching for a gaming laptop under $1000 in Canada, you’re limited with how picky you can be. All of the gaming laptops in this round-up come with the newest NVidia GeForce 16x series graphics cards, except for the HP Pavilion (with Intel chip) that comes with the older/last generation 10x series GPU.
Even that older chip, however, will give you enough power to play all the newest demanding games at low-to-medium settings.
Since other parts of the laptop can be upgraded later (like the storage and the RAM), the processor and the GPU are most important when first looking at buying a gaming laptop, because whatever you buy is what you’re stuck with.
Picking the Best Gaming Laptops under 1000 Canada
So how did we choose what laptops to include in this list of cheap gaming laptops you can buy in Canada? We went to the top online retailers including Amazon, BestBuy, and even brand specific sites like Acer and Dell.
We chose from gaming laptops that were current models (not last year or the year before’s models that were discounted), and we sorted by price. Then, we brought all the best gaming laptops under $1000 here and put ’em up for you to compare.
Admittedly, the process isn’t perfect. For example, the Dell G3 15 Canada has the newer 10th generation processor and still fits under the $1000 because it’s often on sale. If you happen to check out this page when there isn’t a sale, you’ll think we’ve forgot this is supposed to be a list of under $1000 gaming laptops!
Acer Nitro 5 Gaming Laptop
Fully equipped with an Intel i5 chip, NVIDIA GTX 1650 for graphics, this gaming laptop delivers powerful gaming for under $1000.
The Nitro 5 allows for smoother gaming in greater detail. Plus, the Acer Nitro 5 Canada has a tiny 7.18mm bezel making the 15.6 inch screen look huge.
For the price, the Nitro 5 gets applauded for its bright screen, with good off-angle viewing and decent color performance.
Get the best price Acer Nitro 5 Canada in Canada from:
Acer Nitro 5 Gaming Laptop review details:
Read our full review of the Acer Nitro 5 CanadaDell G3 15 Gaming Laptop
This entry from Dell doesn't make it as one of the best gaming laptops for under $1000 - except it's often on sale. And when it breaks the $1000 mark, it's a great deal. Sometimes Dell even has it as low as $899!
The Dell G3 15 Canada with the 10th generation Intel processor (i5-10300H) makes this thing scream - it can run Fortnite at 140 fps at full 1080p resolution. That puts it's performance above the Acer Nitro 5 with the same GPU and the newer 10th generation Intel CPU.
Plus, this cheap gaming laptop's design doesn't scream 'gamer' quite as loud, and the keyboard contrast is easier on the eyes.
Get the best price Dell G3 15 Canada in Canada from:
Dell G3 15 Gaming Laptop review details:
Read our full review of the Dell G3 15 CanadaHP Pavilion Gaming 15 with AMD
Looking for an AMD Ryzen powered gaming laptop under $1000? This is it.
This Ryzen 5 powered gaming laptop uses the 6 core chip to handle all of your gaming needs. Couple with the GTX 1650, it meets the system requirements for all of the latest games including Fortnite, League of legends etc.
In a thin and powerful laptop case, the HP Pavilion Gaming 15 Laptop works for multitasking and gaming with it's improved thermal cooling for stability and high performance.
To top it off, the laptop comes with HP Fast Charge technology, allowing a recharge from 0-50% in about 45 minutes.
Get the best price HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop with AMD in Canada from:
HP Pavilion Gaming 15 with AMD review details:
HP Pavilion Gaming 15 with Intel
Just like the AMD version above, this entry in the best gaming laptops under 1000 Canada is a thin and light laptop that comes with HP features and reliability.
With a quick-charging feature (that gets you back to 50% charge in only 45 minutes) to the overall weight of around 2 KG, this gaming laptop gives you everything you need for portable gameplay.
Couple that with the 178 degree wide viewing angle of the display with highly accurate color and brilliant details, it's clear to see why this is a popular cheap gaming laptop in Canada.
Even with the low price, the GTX 1050 and Intel Core processor can handle all of the latest games, meeting the system requirements for all of the popular titles, and only barely missing the recommended system requirements for PUBG and Call of Duty:Black Ops 4.
Get the best price HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop with Intel in Canada from:
HP Pavilion Gaming 15 with Intel review details:
ASUS FX505 TUF Canada Gaming Laptop
The Asus FX505 Canada has a NanoEdge display combined with a 9th generation Intel Core processor and GeForce GTX 1650 graphics.
The standout feature of the ASUS best gaming laptops under 1000 Canada, is the rigorous shock and vibration testing they put this unit through.
They call this series of laptops TUF, because they are tough! Tests are done to make sure these gaming laptops pass rigorous MIL-STD-810G test for temperature, humidity, altitude, shock and vibration. If you're rough on laptops, or if you are going to take this everywhere (think sandy beach, snowy mountains etc), then this might be the best cheap gaming laptop for you.
Get the best price ASUS TUF Gaming Laptop Canada in Canada from:
ASUS FX505 TUF Canada Gaming Laptop review details:
MSI GF63 Gaming Laptop
MSI gets an entry on the best gaming laptops under $1000 list when the GF63 goes on sale. We like that it has the 10th Generation i5 chip and a larger than average 512GB solid state drive.
From MSI, this gaming laptop comes with the 10th generation Intel i5 processor and the GTX 1650 graphics card. With gaming features like 'Cooler Boost 5', thin bezel design, and a sleek aluminum front cover, the GF63 is powerful and thin.
The GF63 has a lithium-polymer battery pack that MSI says is good for up to 7 hours of gameplay. This laptop doesn't have a backlit keyboard, but that might not matter to you.
Get the best price MSI GF63 Canada in Canada from:
MSI GF63 Gaming Laptop review details:
Other Cheap Gaming Laptops we wanted to include…
but we couldn’t, because they weren’t under $1000 at the time of publish. In the USA, sometimes these laptops will go on sale for $600-$800 USD, which puts them nicely under the $1000 CDN mark. If you get a chance at these for a good price, go for it!
Lenovo Legion Y540 Gaming Laptop
Lenovo Canada specifically lists the Legion Y540 (2019 version) as a 15 inch gaming laptop that is designed from scratch as a gaming platform, with a price that starts at $999.99. However, the gaming laptops on their site start at $1499, so for gaming laptops in 2020 we couldn’t list it as being under $1000.
Acer Aspire 7
The Aspire 7 comes with an i7 chip and 16GB ram, which is what puts it a couple hundred above the $1000 cutoff. If you catch it on a good sale, it’s a great gaming laptop.
Lenovo Ideapad L340
The L340 Gaming Laptop Canada is above the $1000 mark because it comes with the i7 chip, and it has a 17.3″ display. All of the laptops on this list are 15.6″ models. When on sale, this is the only 17″ gaming laptop that gets close to $1000 CDN.
ASUS TUF Gaming Laptop
All of the best gaming laptops under 1000 Canada come with the older GTX video cards. This ASUS TUF model has the RTX 2060 with ray tracing, and 16GB of RAM, and a 120-Hz display! It only misses the mark by $300, and sometimes these laptops will have $250 off putting them within spitting distance of making the list.
We expect that later in 2020 there could be some gaming laptops with the RTX series video cards that are on sale under the $1000 CDN mark.
Cheap Gaming Laptops History
Back in 2010, Razer, a PC accessories company, first launched a gaming laptop. However, it was priced at over $2000 and didn’t have that great of performance. And, over time, the machine pulled in dust, overheated, and performance started degrading. Even Alienware had troubles in the beginning.
With technology improvements, however, companies have been able to squeeze more graphic computing power into smaller packages, making the cheap gaming laptops segment explode in the past few years.
As more are being built, and technology prices go down, there are now multiple options when looking for the best gaming laptops under 1000 Canada.
For a full read-up on the history of gaming laptops, check out this Wikipedia article