Recommended Gaming Laptop for after my graduation

[Christianmaster32x]

My mother is thinking of getting me a laptop after i graduate from high school, so i'm just thinking what exact laptop should i get that is good for playing at least source games on steam and that is also budget friendly, should i let my mother get me a laptop or just have my mom get me a steam deck instead? 

[Brady AKA MrHoot2000]

The HP Victus is a great budget gaming laptop. Even though it has "just" a 3050 Ti, it thrashes any and all integrated graphics (At least, on the x86 side).

[NathantheOldGamer]

I have to say I just picked up a certified open box Lenovo ideaPad Gaming 3 15ACH6 for about 630 dollars on sale last week.  Now I did increase it's function by putting in two 16gb 3200 ddr 4 ram and a 1tb SSD 2.5 inch hard drive.  But other then that this little laptop is an absolute steal for this price.  It has a 3050ti with a Ryzen 5 5600H that absolutely shreds the fps on all the games I play.  Now i do tend to play mostly older titles and I keep fram rate locked at 120fps this keeps the computer very cool.  The only issue is battery life but let's face it.  It's a gaming laptop.  The only thing I have to mention it has the physical slot for a longer M.2. But there is no stand offs included and with the 2.5 inch hard drive included there is no space.  On my model.  But you can catch this guy on sale open box new for 550 plus tax or 700 dollars and you can pull off the plastic.  But man let me tell you how happy I am.