WIRED’s updated best cheap gaming laptops 2026 guide names the Lenovo LOQ 15, MSI Cyborg A15 and Alienware 15 as its three recommendations. The labels matter more than the ranking theater: WIRED calls Lenovo its overall pick, MSI the least-expensive machine it recommends, and Alienware the nicer option.
The cited listings begin at $999, which is a useful reminder to read “cheap” here as the guide’s category, not a promise of an $800 checkout total. WIRED says that, not long ago, a decent gaming laptop could be bought for about $800, and that those same laptops now cost $400 to $500 more. That is the guide’s market observation, not an independently established price index.
Which cheap gaming laptop should you choose in 2026?
Choose based on the role WIRED assigns each model, then verify the exact retailer SKU before paying. The supplied listings do not describe identical configurations, so their prices cannot establish a clean performance-per-dollar comparison.
Lenovo LOQ 15: WIRED’s overall cheap-gaming-laptop pick. Its linked Walmart configuration lists an Nvidia RTX 5060 GPU and 512 GB of storage for $1,300.
MSI Cyborg A15: WIRED’s lowest-priced recommended option. The linked Amazon listing is $999 with 512 GB of storage. The material supplied with the guide does not identify a GPU for that listing.
Alienware 15: WIRED’s “nicest” budget-oriented selection. Dell’s linked configuration is priced at $1,200 and lists an Nvidia RTX 5050 GPU. Storage capacity is not specified in the supplied listing.
On those specific listings, the Alienware costs $201 more than the MSI, while the Lenovo is $301 more than the MSI. Those are price gaps, not a verdict on relative speed or value. The Lenovo and Alienware have different listed GPUs, and the MSI and Alienware listings omit details included elsewhere. Full specifications are absent, which rules out a like-for-like comparison from this set of listings.
What changed in WIRED’s August 2026 update?
WIRED says it reevaluated all of its choices for prices and market context in August 2026. It also added testing of the Alienware 15 and the Lenovo LOQ 15 Essential Gen 11. The guide says entry-level machines can now either charge more for similar performance or make compromises in overall system quality, though the supplied material does not provide benchmark results or detailed hardware assessments for the three recommendations.
That makes the buying procedure mercifully unglamorous: check the GPU, storage and the rest of the SKU at the retailer, then recheck the price. Retailer-linked figures change, and $999, $1,200 and $1,300 are snapshots tied to particular configurations. WIRED also discloses that it may receive compensation from retailers or purchases made through its links.
This story draws on original reporting from WIRED.
