Admittedly, there are a couple of drawbacks. The CPU is only one of Intel’s Core i7-9750H chips, for example, rather than one of their newer 10th Gen processors, and the SSD is a SATA drive (albeit in M.2 form) rather than a proper NVMe SSD. However, Intel’s 9th Gen Core i7 still provides more than enough processing power for playing games and doing some light photo and video editing on the move, a SATA SSD is still miles better than settling for a traditional hard disk.
MSI GF65 Thin 9SEXR-250 gaming laptop - $1400 from Newegg (down from $1900)
That said, if you’d rather spend your money on something a little more up to date, then you may do well to consider another gaming laptop on sale today: the similarly priced Gigabyte Aorus 7, which is also down to $1400 today from its usual price of $1600.
Gigabyte Aorus 7 gaming laptop - $1400 from Newegg (down from $1600)
While not quite as big a saving as the MSI, this Gigabyte does indeed come with an Intel Core i7-10750H processor, as well as the same full-fat RTX 2060 graphics chip. You also get a proper NVMe SSD, too, albeit just a 512GB model here rather than a 1TB drive. It’s quite a bit larger than the MSI, as it has a 17.3in, 1920x1080 display rather than a 15.6in one, but you do get a higher refresh rate of 144Hz compared to the MSI’s 120Hz. Still, it’s definitely more of a desktop replacement laptop rather than something you’d contemplate taking on the go (if and when that becomes a thing we’re able to do again, of course), so you’ll have to decide whether you prefer a more sensible, up to date spec or something a little bit older that you can feasibly move about the house with. Alternatively, Newegg have also slashed $400 off another version of the MSI GF65 Thin that arguably captures the best of both worlds. You’ll still have to settle for a Core i7-9750H processor, but you get a 15.6in, 120Hz, 1920x1080 display, a 512GB NVMe SSD and the same RTX 2060 graphics chip all for a much more attractive $1100.
MSI GF65 Thin 9SE-013 gaming laptop - $1100 from Newegg (down from $1500)
Of course, if you’d rather not spend over $1000 on a gaming laptop, then you’ll find there are plenty of cheaper ones to choose from over in our budget gaming laptop deals hub. You won’t find many with an RTX 2060 chip, all told, but you may be surprised by what you can get for your money.
