Call me a filthy casual — I recommend this RTX 4050 gaming laptop over any of the powerhouses on Prime Day

During Amazon Prime Day / Black Friday in July, plenty of powerful PCs will go on sale. While they feature the latest and greatest specs and will provide an excellent experience for AAA games, I’m just not that interested in them.

I like gaming, but I’m not ready to invest a mortgage payment into a PC. The HP Victus 15.6 is discounted to $649.99. That 28% discount drops the price of the gaming laptop into the range that I — a filthy casual — can recommend.

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The HP Victus 15.6 pairs an AMD Ryzen 7 7445HS with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050. The gaming laptop also has a 144Hz display, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage.

Those are modest specs for a gaming laptop in 2025, but the system can still play many of the best PC games, though you’ll have to lower settings for some titles.

Over the years, I’ve covered 8K displays, 480Hz gaming monitors, and all manner of high-end gaming gadgets. While they can be fun to play with, I wouldn’t call paying for them an enjoyable experience.

I find it hard to justify spending thousands of dollars on a gaming laptop, especially when it may need upgrading or replacing in just a few years. So, I often find myself browsing more modest spec sheets.

The RTX 4050 inside the Victus 15.6 is an entry-level GPU from NVIDIA’s RTX 40-Series. It sits roughly between the RTX 3050 Ti and RTX 3060 in raw power.

But being from a more recent generation makes the RTX 4050 more capable than GPUs with similar raw specs from the RTX 30-Series. DLSS frame generation and AMD Free Sync Premium support help deliver smooth gameplay.

This particular model of the HP Victus 15.6 seems to be a bit of a unicorn. HP has some similar models on its website, but I haven’t been able to find any that match exactly. That makes it difficult to find a price comparison.

At $649.99, the HP Victus 15.6 is a solid bargain for those looking for an affordable gaming PC. There are prettier and more powerful options out there, but they don’t offer the same bang for your buck as the discounted HP Victus 15.6.

Need more? See our top recommended Prime Day laptop deals (starting at $349) for other ideas!

Sean Endicott is a tech journalist at Windows Central, specializing in Windows, Microsoft software, AI, and PCs. He’s covered major launches, from Windows 10 and 11 to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Sean’s journey began with the Lumia 930, leading to strong ties with app developers. Outside writing, he coaches American football, utilizing Microsoft services to manage his team. He studied broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University and is active on X @SeanEndicott_ and Threads @sean_endicott_.