Affordable Light Refurbished Gaming Laptop
There are many ways of gaming that have been invented in 2023. Undoubtedly, consoles and desktop PCs are the obvious choices, but their size and power needs mean - you’re restricted to one position.
That’s where a portable gaming device comes in. For the perfect combination of performance and portability, a high-end gaming laptop is the only way to go. These laptops are efficient enough to play your favourite AAA titles. In addition to providing quality visuals in games, laptops are your most reliable companions; they can go anywhere with you and last for several hours away from the charger.
However, many of the latest gaming laptops are priced under £2,000, with top-leading brand-name models known for their exceptional quality; therefore , pursuing your hobby doesn't have to demand a significant investment. Fortunately, you can still get a reliable device for around half that, or sometimes less than that. You may have to compromise in some instances, but a great gaming experience is guaranteed!
In this article, we summarise the top three light refurbished laptops you can consider in 2023. From understanding refurbished and used laptops to discussing the benefits of refurb laptops and evaluating key considerations, we will provide you with all the information you need to make an informed decision and find a refurbished laptop you can trust.
Let’s get started!
What is a Refurbished Laptop, actually?
Refurbished laptops are also known as used laptops, refurb laptops, or reconditioned laptops. These devices have been previously owned –> the customer sent them to the manufacturer or a certified refurbishment centre if they encountered an issue –> they passed them through a thorough inspection and testing –> broken or malfunctioning components were repaired or replaced and finally, refurbished laptops made their way back onto the marketplace.
A light refurbished or used laptop is not the same in some instances. There are many cases in which buyers return their laptops even before using them. This includes:
- Someone ordered a laptop and opened the package, only to realise that the wrong model was delivered.
- The packaging arrived with a box damaged.
- The display looks a little scratched.
Manufacturers or tech retailers can’t resell a laptop with a "new" tag once its seal has been opened. These kinds of laptops are tested, restored, repackaged, and resold with a lower price tag.
Are Refurbished Laptop a Better Option than a "Brand New" Laptop?
The answer is Yes! There is no doubt that the reconditioned laptops were previously owned, but you are in luck if you end up with a light refurbished laptop that has not been used at all.
Refurb devices offer greater value for money as they have been rigorously inspected to meet a certain standard of performance and quality. These laptops come with a considerably lower price tag than their brand-new counterparts, making them an appealing choice for people on a restricted budget.
Cost Savings
One of the primary reasons why refurb laptops are better than new ones is the significant cost savings they offer. These machines have already sold and may have little signs of wear and tear; these factors contribute to their lower prices.
When compared to getting a new laptop, you can save up to 50% of the cost by prioritising a refurbished one. In this way, you not only save money, but it also provides you with more value for your money. Also, if you purchase from a trustworthy retailer such as Laptop Outlet, you can also take advantage of multiple deals, promotions, and discounts on your favourite used laptops.
Quality Assurance
As discussed earlier, reconditioned laptops are passed through a journey of refurbishment methods to meet high standards. The expert technicians carefully inspect each component of the laptop and restore it to like-new condition. That’s not the case with brand new machines. That’s why refurb laptops perform better than new ones.
Eco-Friendly Options
When people intend to replace their devices, they throw the old ones in landfills, which can potentially be dangerous for humans and the environment. Hence, if you choose second hand laptops, these devices are given a second life, allowing you to conserve natural resources and reduce the environmental footprint associated with the manufacturing of a new device.
Warranty Coverage
Another benefit of the refurbished laptop is the opportunity to access the latest models with extended warranty coverage and customisable options. The warranty period covers the replacement and repair of broken parts and the necessary maintenance of the laptop.
This suggests that if any hardware or software issues emerge within the warranty period, consumers can have their laptops replaced or fixed without having to pay a penny. Your best course of action is to check the reviews and ratings of refurbished brands and discuss the warranty period directly with the retailer.
What to Look for in a Refurbished Gaming Laptop?
Our primary recommendation? If gaming is your main priority and you have a budget of up to £1000, prioritise investing in the most powerful processor and graphics card within your price range. This may require compromising on certain features or sacrificing some storage capacity, or even opting for a Core i5 CPU instead of a Core i7. Nonetheless, focusing on these critical components will ensure optimal gaming performance while making the most of your budget.
Processor: To run the latest, including in strategy and simulation categories, your gaming laptop must have a powerful processor. Gone are the days of dual-core processors; now modern AAA games demand quad-core processors as a "minimum requirement". Look for the 11th or 12th generation integrated GPUs in your refurbished gaming laptop. Meanwhile, on the AMD side, laptops with AMD's Ryzen 5 or 7 mobile CPUs are more than capable of smooth gameplay.
Graphics Card: In a gaming laptop, a Graphics Card brings digital visuals to life. For that reason, a dedicated GPU is the building block of a gaming machine. You will find the majority of gaming computers with the GTX predecessors of the Nvidia GeForce RTX line. To search around for a good deal, you should look for the RTX 3050, 3050 Ti, and new RTX 4050, RTX 3060, and RTX 4060 models while staying within the budget range of £1000.
Display: The larger the screen size, resolution, and refresh rates, the more immersive your gaming experience can be! A screen size between 14 and 16 inches is ideal within the range of £1,000. Take note of the panel's refresh rate, which should be at least 120 Hz or 144 Hz, and the resolution, which should be 1,920 by 1,080 pixels.
The refresh rates and resolutions are essential for playing your favourite games such as Forespoken, DOTA 2, and Overwatch at a high pace. Another important specification to consider, in addition to refresh rates, is the panel type. Opt for an IPS (in-plane switching) panel, as it offers greater color contrast and improved viewing angles, ensuring an immersive gaming experience.
Storage: In a gaming laptop, RAM and SSD play a major role in in-level game moderation and game load times. 8 GB is the minimum recommended RAM within the budget range of £1000. For optimal gameplay, find a refurbished laptop with at least 512 GB of solid-state storage.
Keyboard: A backlit keyboard is the primary feature that sets gaming laptops apart from other laptops. With higher prices come more backlighting options. Thus, you should prefer a backlit keyboard with multiple customisation options and a dedicated number pad to the right of the main key area.
Top 3 Best Light Refurbished Gaming Laptops to Get in 2023
We aim to give you a competitive gaming experience on light refurbished laptops. Over the past five years, we have reviewed and tested more than 100 gaming laptops and selected the top three of them to help you get the best one this year.
Whether you are an avid gamer or new to the gaming world, our recommended reconditioned laptops offer greater value for your money with the power-packed performance of a full-priced gaming desktop.
ASUS ROG Strix G15 Gaming Laptop (RFB-G512LV-AZ021T)
Pros |
Cons |
Pinnacle of performance for the latest AAA titles |
Lack of webcam and biometric unlocking |
Supports 300Hz monitors |
An average battery life |
ample storage |
USB speeds are restricted to 5 Gigabits/sec. |
a broad, brisk, and sleek display |
There is no Thunderbolt 3 present. |
Specifications
- Intel Core i7 Processor
- 15.6 in. Screen Size, 1920 x 1080
- 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU
- Windows 10
- Connectivity: HDMI, USB 3.2
- Condition: Refurbished
- Colour: Black
- 1 Year Warranty
Features
The ASUS ROG Strix G15 is an affordable laptop that promises to deliver tonnes of gaming power. It comes with a powerful combination of an Intel Core i7 processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card to give you seamless and smooth gameplay.
Speaking about the screen, the laptop boasts a display size of 15.6 inches with a resolution of 1920x1080 and blazing-fast 240 Hz refresh rates. The super-fast 3 ms grey-to-grey response time provides a clearer and more precise view of the fast-moving scenes while reducing motion blur and tearing.
With 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB of SSD, you can store your favourite video games and download resource-intensive applications. The laptop comes in three unique designs: original black, Glacier Blue, and electro-punk. The incorporation of liquid metal boots cooling with dual n-blade fans and a self-cleaning thermal mechanism into the design ensures maximum heat dissipation and enhanced airflow.
The ROG Strix G15 also wows with a game-optimised full-sized keyboard that features spaced function keys and dedicated hot keys to operate in different modes. You can customise your game settings with WASD keys and 4-zone RGB lighting. The keyboard is durable enough that it can withstand the toughness of more than 20 million keypresses, staying accurate through years of gaming.
To get you hooked up in your gaming arena and for blazing fast data transfer, the laptop comes with numerous connectivity options, such as USB 3.1 Type-C, DisplayPort 1.4, three Type-A USB 3.1 Gen 1, HDMI 2.0b, and integrated Gigabit Ethernet. USB C also supports G-Sync technology.
ASUS VivoBook Pro Laptop (RFB-M3500QC-L1177W)
Pros |
Cons |
Compact and lightweight design |
Average speakers |
Customizable keyboard |
No RAM upgrade options |
Excellent performance |
Battery life could improve. |
Decent selection of ports |
The webcam should be HD. |
Specifications
- AMD Ryzen 9 Processor
- 15.6 in. Screen Size, 1920 x 1080
- 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 GPU
- Windows 10 Home
- Connectivity: USB 3.1
- Condition: Refurbished
- Colour: Blue
- 1 Year Warranty
Features
ASUS has once again proven its commitment to innovation and quality with the new addition of the ASUS VivoBook Pro to the VivoBook series. The Vivobook is fully powered by impressive AMD Ryzen 9 Processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics. The combination of processing and graphics performance brings the power and speed required for high-end gaming, intense multitasking, and other resource-demanding applications.
While maintaining premium performance in gaming and content creation, the VivoBook lets you view your true potential targets with vibrant colours, high resolutions, and more precision with its frameless, three-sided NanoEdge display of 15.6 inches. The expanded screen area provides you with an immersive viewing experience with no visible lag or screen tearing.
Looking at the cooling system, the laptop is preloaded with a cutting-edge dual-fan cooling solution that is precisely designed with IceCool Plus technology to deliver seamless productivity even with the thin and light form factor. One of the most impressive features of this laptop is the RGB desktop-sized backlit keyboard, which offers configurable lighting options, enabling you to enjoy games in your own style.
The laptop boasts an ample storage capacity of 1 TB for all of your games, documents, and movies. Whether you are doing high end gaming, intensive video streaming, movie downloading, technical programme usage, or anything in between, 16 GB of random-access memory (RAM) supports everything!
Hang on... There’s moreThe VivoBook Pro is also equipped with an integrated webcam shield and a built-in fingerprint sensor for optimal security and to protect your device from any kind of virus, threat, malware, or unauthorised access.
ASUS TUF Dash F15 (RFB-FX516PR-HN032T)
Pros |
Cons |
An efficient thermal management |
No webcam or biometric functionality |
Exceptionally good battery life |
Low-powered Nvidia RTX 3070 |
Solid gaming performance |
The processor shows limitations in demanding applications. |
Smooth 240Hz display |
No card reader is present. |
Specifications
- Intel Core i7 Processor
- 15.6 in. Screen Size, 1920 x 1080
- 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 GPU
- Windows 10
- Connectivity: USB 3.1
- Condition: Refurbished
- Colour: White
- 1 Year Warranty
Features
The ASUS TUF Dash 15 is one of the most renowned and high-end models of ASUS Laptops for gaming and is liked by millions of gamers around the world. From a gaming point of view, the laptop is equipped with an Intel i7 processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 graphics with Dynamic Boost 2.0, which ensures high frame rates, faster boot times, and undoubtedly premium gaming!
The laptop is designed with durable materials and passed military-grade MIL-STD-810H tests to survive extreme weather and the knocks and bumps of daily life. Besides the portability, the laptop features a battery life of 16.6 hours, which is more than enough to carry your heavy workloads and 3D gaming without any interruptions.
It measures 19.9mm thin and is 10% lighter and 20% smaller than the previous TUF Gaming model, making it portable to pack in your backpacks and able to move everywhere with you like an honest companion.
The best part? The TUF Dash 15 comes with Two speakers with four cut-outs to give you ultra-high audio fidelity during your favourite gaming sessions and movies. Adding to the audio fidelity, the laptop also supports Two-Way Noise Cancellation technology that removes distractions from incoming and outgoing feeds.
An easy-upgrade design is another elegant feature of this laptop, allowing you to easily upgrade the system RAM and storage yourself. With Armoury Crate's unifying system, Scenario Profiles, and lighting controls, you can adjust the system’s settings by customising game profiles, aesthetic effects, and audio options that are suitable for your preferences and requirements.
Key Takeaways
When it comes to gaming, nothing is more necessary than an efficient gaming device. Even though you have to make a bigger investment for a high-end gaming laptop, you can still get something that can take your gameplay to new heights.
You can purchase refurbished laptops, which provide greater advantages over brand-new ones. By considering the key component requirements and our recommended models enlisted in this article, you can find a reliable and affordable light refurbished laptop for your gaming needs.
However, if you want to explore more options, visit Laptop Outlet. Being one of the biggest tech retailers in the UK, we are committed to providing high-quality and cost-effective computing solutions. We have a wide range of refurbished laptops available from all the well-known brands, such as ASUS, Dell, Lenovo, MSI, and more.
In addition to affordable prices, you can also find multiple deals, promotions, and discounts on your favourite refurbished devices. So, why wait any longer? Seize the opportunity and grab the best discount on your desired refurbished laptop!
Happy Gaming!