Best Gaming Laptop Under 500 – Power Meets Affordability!
Let’s be honest: most of us don’t need a laptop for rocket science or Photoshop. You don’t have to break the bank if you’re looking for a laptop that can handle everyday tasks and more. The best gaming laptop under 500 can handle routine tasks and do them quite well. You can even get one of the best gaming laptops for under $500 to play casual games.
While gaming laptop under 500 tend to make some compromises in processor speed, system memory, storage, display resolution, and other features compared to mid-priced laptops, you can still get a lot of machines for your dollar. We’ve combined extensive first-hand experience using some of the top branded budget laptops with robust research to find the laptops that offer great value for money.
Best Gaming Laptop Under 500 for 2024 – Reviews, FAQs, and Guide
If you’re hunting for a gaming laptop under 500, it’s essential to know the budgetary restrictions that come with it. While you may only be able to afford entry-level gaming, these laptops are still valuable and can exceed expectations.
Take a quick look at our “things to consider when buying a gaming laptop under 500” section to review the options within this price range to make the right choice. Our article will help you locate the ideal gaming laptop under $500 to suit your requirements.
Each of the featured laptop has distinct strengths and weaknesses and different retail prices. Our reviews concentrate on features like GPU processor, memory, CPU, and display to assist you in deciding between the five laptops.
If you’re looking for the best gaming mobile platforms available regardless of price, check out our top gaming laptops page. Look if you’re looking for the most affordable gaming laptops for the lowest price.
The Best Gaming Laptops Under 500: Reviews & Recommendations
Lenovo Ideapad 3
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is a budget-friendly laptop with unique features and performance. It’s equipped with a touchscreen, a feature usually found in more expensive devices. While it doesn’t boast a full HD 1080p display, the touchscreen functionality makes it a standout choice for those seeking affordability and convenience.
Under the hood, it houses an Intel Core i3 CPU. Although it’s a dual-core processor and might not be the fastest, it’s sufficient for basic tasks. The laptop also comes with a 256GB SSD, ensuring quick boot times and smooth performance, provided you don’t overload it with heavy multitasking.
What makes this laptop even more appealing is its price point. Even with its current discount, it’s priced well under $500, making it a rare find for a 15.6-inch touchscreen laptop. It also features a full-size keyboard with a number pad and supports Wi-Fi 6, the latest high-speed internet connectivity.
Overall, the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 offers a balance of performance, features, and affordability, making it a solid choice for those needing a touchscreen laptop without breaking the bank. If you want a better touch display, be prepared to shell out an extra $100.
Pros
- Good Audio Quality
- Good Build Quality
- Powerful Processor
- Slim and Portable
- Value for Money
Cons
- The display has poor colour coverage
- Below-average battery life (less than 2 hours when Gaming)
Dell Inspiron 15
Meet the Dell Inspiron, a gaming powerhouse cloaked in the guise of a 15.6-inch laptop. Under its hood, it houses the Intel 7th-generation Core i5-7200U dual-core processor, coupled with the Intel HD Graphics 620 integrated graphics. This dynamic duo delivers an exhilarating gaming experience, effortlessly running popular games like Fortnite and Apex Legends at high frame rates.
The device has 8GB DDR4 RAM and a 256GB SSD, providing ample space and speed for your gaming needs. Considering that most renowned games require a minimum of 6-8 GB RAM, this laptop ensures a smooth gaming experience. The 256GB storage might seem sufficient now, but future upgrades could be necessary as your game library expands.
While it may not boast high-end bezels, the Dell Inspiron compensates with a stunning 15.6-inch True-life HD screen, offering a resolution of 1366×768 pixels. The laptop’s design leans towards the classic sans an illuminated keyboard. However, it promises superior image quality and 6-7 hours battery life.
As for connectivity, it’s equipped with multiple USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 port, and an HDMI port. It also supports Bluetooth and includes headphone jacks, among other features. Dell offers a one-year warranty and a pre-installed Windows 10 Home operating system to sweeten the deal.
Pros
- Excellent speakers.
- Adequate storage and RAM.
- The touchscreen is very impressive
- This laptop can do multitasking
Cons
- No backlit keyboard.
- No dedicated graphics card.
Acer Aspire 5
The Acer Aspire 5 Slim is a versatile laptop that effortlessly manages everyday tasks and low-resolution gaming. Its balanced specifications deliver reliable performance and storage capabilities at an affordable price, complemented by a 15.6-inch full HD screen that presents sharp visuals.
With a generous 20 GB of RAM, it smoothly juggles multiple tabs and applications, while the 512 GB storage capacity ensures you won’t have to constantly clear space for your gaming adventures. An added bonus is the integrated fingerprint reader, a security feature seldom seen in budget laptops.
Reviewers commend the Aspire 5 Slim for its unexpected proficiency and praise its quad-core CPU. One reviewer even dubbed it the most economical option for playing Roblox. Users also appreciate the illuminated keyboard and consider it a fantastic, well-rounded laptop.
Pros
- Excellent money value.
- Fingerprint scanner and USB Type-C connector.
- Powerful Processor and great battery life.
Cons
- Comes with the standard Intel UHD Graphics 620.
Asus VivoBook 15 Thin & Light Laptop
The Vivobook 15 is an ideal choice if you’re looking for a laptop with ample storage. For less than $500, this device offers a whopping 1 TB of storage, making it a dream come true for gamers with extensive Steam collections.
With a CPU speed that can reach up to 4.10 gigahertz, it boasts respectable speed, and its 12 GB of RAM ensures swift navigation through tabs and applications. The Vivobook 15 has won the hearts of critics as a top-budget laptop and enjoys high user ratings on platforms like Amazon and Best Buy. U
sers often characterize this laptop as speedy, user-friendly, and versatile enough for academic and professional use. Its slim bezel design also allows for a larger display area for the 15.6-inch screen.
Pros
- Powerful Processor
- Slim and Portable
- Latest Superfast SSD
- Fingerprint Reader
- Backlit Keyboard
Cons
- Average Screen Quality
ASUS Chromebook Flip
Based on your budget, The Asus Chromebook Flip C434 is an excellent choice based on your budget. If we’re talking about display size and displays, you’ll have a 14-inch Full HD display.
It comes with touch screens, and the highest resolution is 1920×1080. This ASUS C434 is the Best Gaming Chromebook for Gaming Under 500 Dollars.
The display is a NanoEdge display that is robust and fully convertible. It can be used to flip the display’s touch screen. You can utilize this Chromebook in three modes: tablet, laptop, and studio mode.
This ASUS Chromebook Flip C434 is powered by its Intel Core m3-8100Y processor with a CPU clock speed upwards of 3.4 GHz. It features a cache of 4MB that provides extremely fast and high performance.
With this laptop, you can run a variety of smooth-running applications. This laptop isn’t designed meant for Gaming. However, it can play some basic games.
It comes with 4GB of LPDDR3 RAM and 64GB of eMMC storage capacity that is not enough to play games or other applications. You can also insert an external drive for saving music, documents, files, or other files.
In comparison to other laptops with advanced features In comparison to other laptops, this Chromebook is only a couple of seconds to start up and runs for a shorter time.
The battery that comes with the Chromebook can be used continuously for 10 hours. It is possible to say that the battery backup is great for the price. If you are a gamer in the game, battery power could be lower than normal.
We can say it is a slim (0.6 millimeters) lightweight Chromebook that weighs just three pounds (1.36 kg). Its top-notch build features an all-aluminum body, making it extremely sturdy and gorgeous. It also has a backlit keyboard which lets you play at night or under dim light.
It comes with numerous ports and connections, like 2 Gen 1 USB Type-C ports and one USB Type-A port, and the connections are faster.
You can avail of 100GB of no-cost Google cloud storage a year, which is great for students and bloggers. Asus Chromebook Flip C434 can be among the best gaming laptops that cost less than $500.
Pros
- Excellent Battery Life with Fast Charging
- Backlit Keyboard
- Excellent Battery Life
- Very Slim and Lightweight
- Free Google 100GB Cloud Storage
- Smooth video calls and ample storage
Cons
- Not for heavy Gaming
- Average Processor
HP 14″ Touchscreen Gaming Laptop
The HP 14″ Touchscreen Home and the Business laptops are great for Gaming. It’s a small laptop that can be carried wherever you go. The touch screen is crisp and gives a fantastic experience for the price.
AMD Ryzen 3 3200U Processor is fast and four-way processing for high-quality computing. The touchscreen measures 14 inches and has the standard resolution of 1366×768 HD. The backlight LED is energy efficient.
Its memory comes from SSD(Solid State Drive) with DDR4 2400 MHz memory. This makes it ideal for playing games and doing advanced multitasking. Thus laptop can run multiple applications and browser tabs simultaneously.
It includes a built-in camera that also has a microphone. It has an intuitive finger-touch navigation system to assist you in making the most out use of Windows 10.
Pros
- Great design and a user-friendly machine
- Battery life is good
- The touch screen is accurate
- Its natural finger-touch navigation is very good
- It allows complete multitasking and Gaming
Cons
- It gets keyboard issues when on stand mode
- It becomes hot at times
HP Pavilion X360 Gaming Laptop
The HP Pavilion X360 is the most versatile convertible laptop within the $500 range because it is extremely powerful hardware with a stunning metal chassis.
This is the most recent model that features the most recent hardware and an original design.HP Pavilion X360 laptop is among the top touch screen gaming laptop under 500.
The colours that you can see in the photo include silver, blue, and black. Whatever colour you pick, it looks and feels compared to conventional laptops. It is captivating.
It’s a laptop with a touchscreen, allowing you to have a 14-inch display, which supports touchscreen. It is equipped with an Intel Core I3 processor with the 1.20 1 GHz speed as a base and an upper limit of 3.50 GHz.
The Processor is of the latest 10th Generation, faster than the I5-7th Generation. It comes with the G Series 1005G1 processor, which means that you can play a wide range of game titles on it. Its G-Series Processor is specially made to run games.
The laptop is also equipped with Intel UHD Graphics. This makes it the perfect laptop for photographers or those looking for a multifunctional laptop with excellent graphics capabilities. HP x360 is among the best gaming laptops that are affordable that cost less than 500 dollars (touchscreen).
It is equipped with an 8GB DDR4 SDRAM, making it among the top 2-in-1 laptops available. The laptop’s storage is maintained by a powerful SSD 256GB, providing enough storage space to store every important file on the laptop.
The battery lifespan of this laptop is also extremely lengthy, offering the possibility of up to nine hours of uninterrupted backup. Overall, this laptop HP Pavilion X360 is the top 14-inch gaming laptop convertible priced at less than $500 that can satisfy all kinds of requirements, such as games that are light or video editing and other uses that require power.
On this notebook, the multiple ports are counted as two USB 3.0 Type-A ports and one USB 3.1 Type C port. 1 HDMI output port; 1 headphone/microphone combo jack. Bang & Olufsen speakers boost the device’s sound quality and are placed in the grille of the chassis.
Pros
- Powerful Processor
- Metal Build
- Slim and Portable
- Multi-touch gesture support
- Good Audio Quality
- Responsive Touchscreen
Cons
- No Fingerprint
- The display should be Full HD
Things To Consider When Shopping For The Best Gaming Laptops Under $500 in 2024
When searching for a gaming laptop under 500, I quickly realized that finding a new dedicated gaming laptop at this price point was challenging. Most of the systems that fell within my budget were budget productivity laptops that provided decent processing power for their prices. Few, if any, featured a dedicated graphics card, which is essential for playing many of the biggest games.
Many other devices offered a much better gaming experience for $500. For instance, current game consoles like the PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Nintendo Switch. I also considered the 2022 iPad Air, which provides access to an increasingly extensive library of games thanks to game streaming services like Xbox Game Pass. I even considered building a budget desktop gaming PC for around $500 using older and/or used parts. Here’s my criteria for choosing the best gaming laptop under 500:
1. Processor (CPU): The processor is the heart of a laptop. I look for at least an Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 for gaming. These processors offer a good balance between performance and price. They can handle most games in medium settings.
2. Graphics Card (GPU): The GPU is crucial for rendering game graphics. You will likely find integrated graphics like the Intel UHD Graphics or AMD Radeon Vega 8 at this price range. While these won’t run high-end games at max settings, they’re sufficient for casual gaming.
3. Battery Life: Gaming can drain a laptop’s battery quickly. I prefer laptops with at least 5 hours of battery life when not gaming. This gives me the flexibility to game on the go.
4. Memory (RAM): RAM is essential for smooth gameplay. I recommend at least 8GB of RAM. This allows the laptop to run games and other applications simultaneously without slowing down. For complete information visit to How Much RAM Do I Need For Gaming?
5. Display: A good display enhances the gaming experience. I am seeking a laptop with a Full HD (1920×1080) resolution. This provides clear and detailed game graphics. A higher refresh rate (like 120Hz or 144Hz) is a bonus, as it can make gameplay smoother, but it’s rare to find in this price range.
In the end, I learned that when it comes to buying a gaming laptop under $500, it’s all about making compromises and prioritizing the features that matter most to you. For me, that meant sacrificing some bells and whistles for a basic laptop with a good CPU.
After all, more than any other component, the processor determines how long your laptop will perform at its peak level.
How We Test The Best Gaming Laptop Under 500
Before they reach our testers, we subject each laptop to comprehensive benchmark testing, both synthetic and real-world. Each feature of the laptop is evaluated, including performance, battery life, display, speakers, and heat management.
We utilize a Klein K10 colorimeter in our benchmark testing to prove the laptop’s display’s brightness and sRGB color gamut. In addition, we put the laptop through a battery of performance tests, including Geekbench 4.3 and 5.0 and 3DMark professional graphics tests.
To test the laptop’s real-world performance, we had it convert a 4K video to 1080p resolution and duplicate a 4.97GB multimedia file. Our real-world graphics test is the Dirt 3 benchmark with medium settings at 1080p resolution.
We also perform heat testing on the laptop by playing a 15-minute full-screen video and measuring temperatures in various regions. Finally, our battery test includes continuous web browsing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. A runtime of more than 9 hours is a solid result for MacBooks and premium Windows 10 laptops, although gaming laptops and workstations that can stay powered for more than 5 hours deserve commendation.
These evaluations are supplemented by rigorous hands-on testing by our testers, which assess everything from the materials of the laptop to the feel of its touchpad.
Frequently Asked Questions
Final Words
This is our suggested review and list of the best gaming laptop under 500, in which we explain in detail the capabilities of each one.
Today, it’s easy to purchase gaming laptops at a reasonable price as manufacturers continue to produce excellent laptops. There are a lot of choices within your budget, and it is possible to play mid-level and entry-level games.
If you decide to purchase any recommendation from the list above of the top gaming laptops under $500, you’ll not be disappointed. They all offer speedy gaming performance and are equipped with top-of-the-line hardware components.
After reading this article, we hope you can easily purchase the laptops you’re looking for and that they are the top all-around.
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