Looking for a machine that can crunch spreadsheets by day and fire up a AAA title by night, without flattening your wallet? This guide lines up seven sub-₹55k notebooks that mix twelfth- and thirteenth-generation Intel silicon, one punchy Ryzen chip, and entry-level RTX graphics. We dig into how each chassis handles cooling, screens, and everyday ergonomics so you can decide whether raw frame rates, colour-accurate panels, or lighter backpacks matter most. Settle in; let’s find the sweet spot for your workload and weekend play.
Infinix’s 16-inch GT Book squeezes an eight-core i5-12450H and a full-fat 80 W RTX 3050 with 6 GB GDDR6 into a 1.99 kg shell, making it the lightest 16-inch gaming chassis in this price band. The 16:10 IPS panel runs at 120 Hz and covers 100% sRGB, so esports titles feel slick while photo work retains faithful hues. Infinix wires 16 GB of LPDDR5X RAM at 5200 MHz to keep Windows 11 responsive even with dozens of Chrome tabs open. Under load, the dual-fan, triple-heat-pipe array keeps CPU package temps in the mid-80s, letting the processor sustain its 45 W boost without severe throttling. Battery life hovers near six hours of mixed browsing thanks to a 70 Wh pack, respectable for a desktop-class GPU. A rear I/O strip adds HDMI 2.1, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, and 2.5 GbE, lending the GT Book desk-friendly flexibility rare at this size.
Specifications
| Category | Detail |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-12450H (8C/12T, up to 4.4 GHz) |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 6 GB, 80 W |
| RAM | 16 GB LPDDR5X 5200 MHz (soldered) |
| Storage | 512 GB PCIe 4.0 SSD (upgradeable) |
| Display | 16-inch 1920×1200 IPS, 120 Hz, 100% sRGB |
| Battery | ≈ 70 Wh, up to 6 hrs mixed use |
| Weight | 1.99 kg |
| Price | ₹53,990 |
Also read: Should you undervolt your laptop?
Who should buy this laptop: Pick the GT Book if you crave a large, colour-accurate canvas for creative work, yet still want 100+ fps in e-sports without lugging a 2.5 kg brick around campus.
Acer’s long-running Aspire 7 series hits a sweet equilibrium in its 12th-gen refresh. An octa-core i5-12450H teams with a 4 GB RTX 3050, handing you 60-70 fps in Forza Horizon at High presets while keeping thermals tame under Acer’s “CoolBoost”. The 15.6-inch 144 Hz IPS panel helpfully ups the fluidity even when frame rates dip. At 2.1 kg, the chassis remains backpack-friendly for daily commutes. A metal keyboard deck reduces flex, and the single-zone back-light supports three brightness levels, useful in dim hostels. Wired connectivity impresses: a Gigabit LAN, HDMI 2.1, and three USB-A ports are flanked by a USB-C Gen 2 socket with DisplayPort output for dual-monitor setups. Acer supplies 16 GB DDR4 out of the box, and the vacant SO-DIMM slot lets you bump capacity to 32 GB cheaply. Two M.2 bays mean you can drop in a second SSD without cloning drives. The only caveat is a modest 48 Wh battery that nets roughly five hours of light writing; carry the 135 W brick for marathon sessions.
Specifications
| Category | Detail |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-12450H (8C/12T) |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR4 3200 MHz (expandable) |
| Storage | 512 GB NVMe SSD + spare M.2 slot |
| Display | 15.6-inch FHD IPS, 144 Hz |
| Battery | ≈ 48 Wh |
| Weight | 2.10 kg |
| Price | ₹52,990 |
Who should buy this laptop: Students who split time between coding labs and weekend gaming, yet value a luggable 15-inch form-factor, will find the Aspire 7’s upgrade paths and crisp display compelling.
Also read: Cooling matters: Why your gaming laptop’s thermal design can make or break it
If you’d rather move to Intel’s Raptor Lake stack, the 13th-gen Aspire 7 swaps in the i5-13420H: an 8-core chip with higher efficiency cores that reduce compile times by 15% in Visual Studio. Acer pairs it with an RTX 2050, no powerhouse, but still good for 1080p medium settings in Valorant at 160 fps thanks to its 144 Hz screen. The panel itself remains unchanged: 15.6-inch FHD IPS, 45% NTSC, fine for office work, though a tad desaturated for colour-critical graphics. Thermal headroom is stronger than on last year’s chassis, with twin 8 mm heat-pipes and a redesigned vent that shunts air behind the hinge, keeping WASD keys under 40°C in stress tests. Acer keeps the weight to 1.99 kg, which, paired with a slim 180 W power brick, makes this laptop surprisingly commuter-friendly.
Specifications
| Category | Detail |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-13420H (8C/12T) |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 4 GB |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR4 3200 MHz |
| Storage | 512 GB NVMe |
| Display | 15.6-inch FHD IPS, 144 Hz |
| Battery | ≈ 50 Wh |
| Weight | 1.99 kg |
| Price | ₹53,990 |
Who should buy this laptop: Choose the 13-gen Aspire 7 if you want a slightly lighter chassis and the newer Intel platform for code-compiling, but your gaming tastes hover around e-sports rather than ray-traced blockbusters.
MSI’s Thin 15 proves you don’t need deep pockets for a branded gaming badge. The B12UCX variant marries Intel’s i5-12450H with an RTX 2050 and 8 GB DDR4, outputting 75 fps in Apex Legends at Medium while holding skin temps just below 45°C thanks to Cooler Boost 5. The 15.6-inch 144 Hz panel is a budget TN-level unit with 62% sRGB coverage, fine for play, less so for photo-grading. Storage is a quick 512 GB NVMe module, and MSI leaves the second M.2 slot free, allowing a fast upgrade path. At 1.86 kg, the Thin 15 earns its name; the narrow 21 mm profile slides easily into messenger bags. You still get Wi-Fi 6, a full-sized RJ-45, and USB-C 3.2, useful for low-latency LAN nights. Expect four to five hours of web work from the 53 Wh battery, carry the 120 W adapter for gaming marathons.
Specifications
| Category | Detail |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-12450H |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 4 GB |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4 3200 (1 × 8 GB, spare slot) |
| Storage | 512 GB NVMe SSD + spare M.2 |
| Display | 15.6-inch FHD 144 Hz (62% sRGB) |
| Battery | ≈ 53 Wh |
| Weight | 1.86 kg |
| Price | ₹49,990 |
Who should buy this laptop: Ideal for first-time gamers and students on a firm budget who still fancy 144 Hz action without lugging excess mass.
Also read: What is TGP and why it matters for gaming laptops
MSI’s Thin A15 slips a modern AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, six Zen 3+ cores peaking at 4.55 GHz, into a 21 mm-thin, 1.86 kg chassis, giving it the lightest footprint in this roundup without skimping on dedicated graphics. The 4 GB RTX 2050 pairs Tensor and RT cores with an 80 W power ceiling, delivering a steady 90 fps in Valorant and around 60 fps in GTA V at High presets on the laptop’s 15.6-inch, 144 Hz IPS-level panel. Although the screen covers a modest 62% sRGB, its matte coating and 300-nit peak brightness keep reflections at bay during daylight study sessions. MSI wires 8 GB of single-channel DDR5-4800 memory (one free SO-DIMM lets you bump it to 32 GB in minutes) and a 512 GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD. A 52 Wh battery nets four to five hours of mixed browsing with the iGPU active, edging toward two hours while the RTX 2050 is engaged. Port selection mirrors its Intel sibling: USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 with DisplayPort, two USB-A, HDMI 2.1 (4K60), Gigabit LAN and a full-size SD reader, handy for creators on a budget.
Specifications
| Category | Detail |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (6 C/12 T, up to 4.55 GHz) |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 4 GB GDDR6 |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR5-4800 (single SO-DIMM, expandable) |
| Storage | 512 GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD + spare M.2 slot |
| Display | 15.6″ FHD (1920 × 1080) IPS-level, 144 Hz |
| Battery | 52 Wh (≈4–5 h light use) |
| Weight | 1.86 kg |
| Price | ₹51,130 |
Who should buy this laptop: Choose the Thin A15 if you crave an ultra-portable 15-inch machine that can still push triple-digit frame-rates in competitive titles yet costs barely over ₹50k.
ASUS brings AMD flavour with a Ryzen 5 7535HS, six Zen 3+ cores that beat Intel’s i5-12450H in Cinebench multi-thread by ~18 %. The chip joins an RTX 2050 tuned at a 70 W Dynamic Boost ceiling, generating 80 fps in Shadow of the Tomb Raider on High. Military-grade MIL-STD-810H certification means the A15 can shrug off commuter knocks, while a honeycomb-reinforced base stiffens the keyboard deck. The 144 Hz IPS panel offers 62% sRGB, average for visuals, but low blue-light modes reduce eye-strain during late-night raids. A MUX switch lets you bypass Optimus for a 10% FPS uplift when plugged in. Battery capacity is only 48 Wh, yet AMD’s 6 nm efficiency gives you nearly five hours of YouTube streaming. The 2.3 kg frame is heavier, but dual NVMe slots and a free SO-DIMM provide plenty of tweakability.
Also read: Latency vs. bandwidth: Why laptop Wi-Fi cards aren’t all equal
Specifications
| Category | Detail |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (6C/12T) |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 4 GB @ 70 W |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR5 4800 (expandable) |
| Storage | 512 GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD |
| Display | 15.6-inch FHD 144 Hz IPS |
| Battery | ≈ 48 Wh |
| Weight | 2.30 kg |
| Price | ₹52,990 |
Who should buy this laptop: Opt for the TUF A15 if you value rugged build quality, a hardware MUX, and multi-thread muscle for Blender renders alongside casual AAA play.
HP’s Victus 15 squeezes an i5-12450H and RTX 2050 into a sleek mica-silver shell, making it the least-expensive RTX-equipped notebook here. The 15.6-inch 144 Hz IPS panel is limited to 250 nits but remains perfectly usable indoors, with slimmed bezels that keep the footprint tidy. At 2.3 kg, the Victus balances lap comfort with ample cooling: a wide rear vent and dual-fan layout maintain sub-40°C palm rests during two-hour gaming bouts. HP ships only 8 GB RAM, but both SO-DIMM slots are accessible, and upgrading to 16 GB translates to a healthy boost in open-world titles. Keyboard travel measures 1.5 mm with a quiet rubber-dome feel, while the NumPad proves handy for spreadsheet warriors. Storage is a single 512 GB PCIe 4.0 SSD; a secondary bay is absent, so factor in an external drive for large media libraries. Two front-firing speakers tuned by Bang & Olufsen deliver surprisingly clear dialogue in Netflix streams.
Specifications
| Category | Detail |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-12450H |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 4 GB |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4 3200 (dual slots) |
| Storage | 512 GB NVMe |
| Display | 15.6-inch FHD IPS, 144 Hz, 250 nits |
| Battery | ≈ 52 Wh |
| Weight | 2.30 kg |
| Price | ₹48,990 |
Who should buy this laptop: Budget-minded gamers who also crave HP’s clean styling and reliable after-sales network will find the Victus 15 the safest sub-₹50k bet, just plan an early RAM upgrade.
If you prioritise the largest screen real estate and colour accuracy for creative work, the Infinix GT Book is unmatched at this budget. Gamers who want the highest possible frame rates per rupee should eye either the MSI Thin 15 variant or pick the ₹51k unit if you multitask heavily. The Acer Aspire 7 (12th gen) is the all-rounder for upgradability, while its 13th-gen sibling suits those who favour newer silicon and slightly lighter carry weight. The ASUS TUF A15 trades a little portability for MIL-STD ruggedness and a hardware MUX, ideal for LAN regulars. Finally, the HP Victus 15 delivers the lowest barrier to RTX graphics and HP’s extensive service network. Whichever route you take, each model here balances performance and value in a way that was scarcely imaginable a year ago.
