Facebook
Reddit
Email
Here are some of our favorite picks of budget laptops to play Ark Survival Ascended along with the new Ragnarok DLC.
Ark Survival Ascended reimagines the prehistoric sandbox using Unreal Engine 5. Subsequently, with its Lumen, Nanite, and state-of-the-art physics systems- each ripple and blade of grass, each dino skin and feather will come to life. The free Ragnarok expansion released on June 18, 2025, on UE5.5 expanding the remastered island with sprawling highlands, arid dunes, and creatures voted on by the community such as the Bison.
However, you do not require a 2,000-dollar desktop to experience the fluid lighting and particle effects of Ragnarok. With 1080p medium settings and with a little help of NVIDIA RTX 40-series upscaling, you can experience new biomes on sub-$1,000 laptops. Here are some of the best budget laptops to play Ark Survival Ascended Ragnarok on.
Note: The listed laptops’ prices are accurate as of June 24th, 2025.
System Requirements for Ark Survival Ascended Ragnarok
| Requirement | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10/11 with updates | Windows 10/11 with updates |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 5 2600X or Intel Core i7-6800K | AMD Ryzen 5 3600X or Intel Core i5-10600K |
| Memory | 16 GB | 32 GB |
| Graphics | Radeon RX 5600 XT or GeForce GTX 1080 | Radeon RX 6800 or GeForce RTX 3080 |
| DirectX | Version 12 | Version 12 |
| Storage | 70 GB SSD | 70 GB SSD |
| Network | Broadband Internet | Broadband Internet |
1. HP Victus 15 Gaming Laptop
$899.99
Specifications
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| OS | Windows 11 Home |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 7445HS (6-core, up to 4.7 GHz) |
| Memory | 16 GB DDR5 @ 5600 MHz |
| Storage | 512 GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 (6 GB GDDR6) |
| Display | 15.6″ FHD, 144 Hz IPS, 300 nits |
| Ports | HDMI 2.1; 2× USB-A 3.0; 1× USB-C 3.0 |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth |
| Battery | Up to 12 hrs light use |
| Weight | 5.06 lb |
Looking for an affordable gaming laptop with modern specifications? Check out the HP Victus 15 gaming laptop! It has great specs and is available at a superb price. Additionally, it will make you consider it heavily over other options in the same price range, such as those lower-end gaming laptops with RTX 3050 graphics. HP Victus 15 features a minimal design with only a slight hint of gamer DNA embedded into the design. On top of that, it has a 15.6-inch display with a 144Hz refresh rate to provide you with optimal smoothness during gameplay. Speaking of RAM, it features 16GB of DDR5 memory paired with 512GB of NVMe Gen 4 SSD storage.
For the processor, HP Victus 15 features AMD’s Ryzen 5 7445HS processor. The processor boosts up to 4.70 GHz and has 6 cores. Moreover, the graphics card featured here is Nvidia’s RTX 4050 with 6GB VRAM. It packs support for modern innovations required to ensure new games are playable without hiccups. This includes DLSS 4 AI-based upscaling, along with DLSS frame generation, which this GPU supports up to 2X Mode.
2. MSI Katana 15 Gaming Laptop
$979.00
Specifications
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| OS | Windows 11 Home |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-13620H (10-core, up to 4.9 GHz) |
| Memory | 16 GB DDR5 @ 4800 MHz |
| Storage | 1 TB PCIe NVMe SSD |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 (6 GB GDDR6) |
| Display | 15.6″ FHD, 144 Hz IPS |
| Ports | 3× USB-A, 1× USB-C, HDMI 2.1 |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth |
| Battery | ~6–8 hrs mixed use |
| Weight | 4.96 lb |
MSI Katana 15 is a solid gaming laptop in this price range. It has great aesthetics with an RGB backlit keyboard and a very slim design that you’ll appreciate compared to thicker gaming laptops that aren’t as portable as this model.
Moreover, the display on this laptop is a 15.6-inch 144Hz panel with IPS certification, ensuring you get vibrant colors. The laptop has a 1TB SSD, along with 16GB DDR5 RAM, which is decent enough for today’s games. It also has modern connectivity features, with Bluetooth v5.2 and Wi-Fi 6 support.
This MSI Katana 15 gaming laptop sports an Intel Core i7-13620H processor, belonging to the 13th Gen Raptor Lake lineup. The CPU can boost up to 4.90 GHz, and it has 10 cores with 16 threads. Moreover, you can expect reliable multitasking performance from this laptop, although power users will want to upgrade the RAM for a better experience.
Speaking of the graphics card, this packs the Nvidia RTX 4050 6 GB. The GPU has support for the latest DLSS 4 AI upscaling and DLSS frame generation (up to 2 times) that facilitates smooth performance even in demanding titles.
3. Gigabyte G6X Gaming Laptop
$949.99 ($400 Off)
Specifications
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| OS | Windows 11 Home |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-13650HX (10-core, up to 5.0 GHz) |
| Memory | 32 GB DDR5 @ 4800 MHz |
| Storage | 1 TB NVMe SSD |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (8 GB GDDR6) |
| Display | 16″ WUXGA (1920×1200), 165 Hz IPS |
| Ports | HDMI 2.1; 2× USB-C 3.2; 2× USB-A 3.2 |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth |
| Battery | ~6 hrs mixed use |
| Weight | 5.1 lb |
Gigabyte’s G6X gaming laptop is a strong contender to consider for a budget gaming laptop. It has great specifications, and when it is available at its sale price, it is definitely the go-to option. Moreover, if you can spend a little bit more towards purchasing a capable-budget gaming laptop, this model is worth it. For the display, the Gigabyte G6X has a 165Hz refresh rate that brings even better smoothness than standard 144Hz. It is a 1920×1200 display with a 16-inch size and is based on IPS technology.
Additionally, this gaming laptop has the RTX 4060 graphics card, which has drastically better raw performance than the RTX 4050 and other lower-end options. With support for DLSS 4 AI upscaling and DLSS frame generation up to 2X mode, you can be sure that this gaming laptop will handle modern games with ease. In terms of other specs, it has an Intel Core i7-13650HX paired with 32GB DDR5 RAM and a 1TB SSD for storage. The CPU features a 4.90 GHz turbo clock speed and has 14 cores with 20 threads.
We provide the latest news and “How To’s” for Tech content. Meanwhile, you can check out the following articles related to PC GPUs, CPU and GPU comparisons, mobile phones, and more:
- 5 Best Air Coolers for CPUs in 2025
- ASUS TUF Gaming F16 Release Date, Specifications, Price, and More
- iPhone 16e vs iPhone SE (3rd Gen): Which One To Buy in 2025?
- Powerbeats Pro 2 vs AirPods Pro 2: Which One To Get in 2025
- RTX 5070 Ti vs. RTX 4070 Super: Specs, Price and More Compared
- Windows 11: How To Disable Lock Screen Widgets
