HP’s Victus 15 gaming laptop is $400 off at Best Buy, and I think it’s a sleeper hit for budget gamers

SAVE $400: As of April 4, HP Victus 15.6-inch Full HD gaming laptop is on sale for $449.99 at Best Buy. That’s a $400 discount off its regular $849.99 price.

For a machine with gaming in its DNA, the HP Victus 15 is weirdly humble. No flashing lights, no over-the-top branding, just clean silver lines and surprisingly solid specs. Right now, it’s only $449.99 at Best Buy, which is wild considering it’s usually $849.99. That’s a full $400 off, and I think it’s one of the best entry-level gaming laptop deals I’ve seen this season.

This thing runs on an AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS chip, paired with Radeon RX 6550M graphics. I wouldn’t throw it into a 4K ray-tracing battle, but for smooth 1080p gameplay, it’s more than capable. Throw in 8GB of DDR5 RAM and a 512GB SSD, and you’ve got a machine that boots fast, multitasks smoothly, and handles your Steam backlog without begging for mercy.

And the screen? It’s 144Hz Full HD with AMD FreeSync Premium. Translation: smoother gameplay, no screen tearing, and a way better experience than most laptops at this price point deserve to offer. I also appreciate that HP includes a backlit keyboard and a wide-vision HD camera, so you’re not stuck looking like a pixelated ghost during late-night Discord calls.

• Price: $449.99 $849.99

• Retailer: Best Buy

• Display: 15.6-inch Full HD (1920×1080), 144Hz, anti-glare IPS

• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS

• Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 6550M, 4GB GDDR6

• Memory: 8GB DDR5

• Storage: 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD

• Operating System: Windows 11 Home

• Battery Features: HP Fast Charge (50% in ~30 mins)

• Wireless: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3

• Ports/Extras: Backlit keyboard, wide-angle HD camera, Game Pass trial

It charges to 50% in about 30 minutes, has Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and a touchpad that isn’t the size of a postage stamp. I could nitpick the 8GB RAM (which you’ll want to upgrade eventually), but honestly? For under $500, the Victus 15 is punching above its class.

If you’ve been waiting for a gaming laptop that doesn’t require a payment plan, I think this is your green light.