Gaming laptops include the most powerful and portable machines on the planet and that’s exactly why you can’t buy them for cheap prices. Top tier gaming laptops may cost you as much as $3,000. But what if I tell you it’s actually possible to purchase one for $500? Yes it is and here’s your ultimate guide to find a gaming laptop according to your needs for under 500.
Before we give out our selection of the best gaming laptops, let’s take a cursory look at the major components which run these beasts.
The Processor Runs it All
Your computer’s processor is its most important component. It won’t be wrong if I say it’s to the PC as the heart is to a human body. You may not be able to get the best high end processors in a $500 budget but you can still pick decent ones from Intel or AMD. Intel typically has higher clock speeds and lesser cores while AMD processors feature more cores.
RAM Matters
After the processor comes a computer’s memory. RAM is considered to be a major element that contributes to your system’s overall working speed. Games these days come with high RAM requirements.
While older titles may run smoothly on 4GBs of RAM, all new titles have minimum requirements around 6 to 8GB. We recommend the latter if you want some future-proofing at the very least.
Look ahead and Future Proof
Make sure you list down all requirements before buying your gaming laptop. The processor, memory, screen and storage size all should be taken into account. After you’re done with the list, look for the most affordable and efficient models in the market.
Your aim should be future proofing and looking ahead. For instance, if you’re buying a new laptop with a 5th generation CPU, but a 6th generation release is right around the corner, you should consider waiting a month or so because CPU generation changes bring significant performance gains and optimizations.
Other Considerations
Before you finalize any gaming laptop, refer to online reviews and customer feedback to know what people have to say about that specific model. Customer satisfaction is the best indicator towards a product’s quality and durability. Consider reviews from multiple websites and ask around if anyone in your circle has purchased it before. There’ll be both, pros and cons but you have to be sure which ones matter most.
Alternatively, you can also look into building a $500 gaming rig if you don’t care much about portability and want more raw power to play the latest games at medium-high settings.
After you’ve taken into account all these features, keep an eye out for the price tags during your comparisons. Now that you’re up to speed, lets get started with our list of gaming laptops under 500.
1. HP Notebook 15 Gaming Laptop
While its true that dedicated graphics are essential for a purely gaming laptop, you don’t need a dedicated GPU to play all popular games. There are a lot of titles that do well on integrated graphics and it comes down the tech behind the shared graphics chip and the processor that will be doing the heavy lifting.
In case of the HP Notebook recommended here, you don’t get a dedicated GPU (which is rare in sub-500 laptops anyway) but you get two very decent features – the first being the 1080p display, which is full HD and a big step up from 720p (something you’ll notice when you use the laptop) and the second being the 6th generation i5 processor, which is more than capable of running video games on low-medium settings.
With this laptop, you can easily play titles like WoW, League of Legends, Dota and CS:GO on low settings with manageable frame rates. It won’t be a dream gaming experience but you’ll get by just fine. And that’s all you wanted on a budget, right?
| Screen Size | 15.6 inches |
|---|---|
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920×1080 pixels |
| Processor | 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5 |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR3L SDRAM |
| Hard Drive | 1 TB mechanical_hard_drive |
| Graphics Coprocessor | shared |
| Wireless Type | 802.11 A/C |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 2 |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 1 |
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2. HP ProBook AMD Gaming Laptop
HP laptops are generally considered unsuitable for gaming but we feel the objections are a little subjective, with some people facing heating issues. Nevertheless, the HP Probook featured here is quite a decent gaming laptop under 500 with an AMD processor and graphics chip along with 16GB Ram, 1TB HDD and Windows 10 pre-installed.
The R6 graphics chip isn’t the best out there, but you’ll be able to play games like Dota 2 and League of Legends on low settings while older titles like Dishonored, Fifa and Diablo III will give slightly better performance.
| Screen Size | 15.6 inches |
|---|---|
| Max Screen Resolution | 1366 x 768 |
| Processor | 1.8 GHz AMD A Series |
| RAM | 16 GB SDRAM DDR3 |
| Hard Drive | 1 TB HDD 5400 rpm |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Radeon |
| Chipset Brand | amd |
| Wireless Type | 802.11G, 802.11B, 802.11n |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 1 |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 6 hours |
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3. Dell i5 Gaming Laptop
Dell is well known for sturdy laptops and is a very popular brand among budget gaming enthusiasts looking for laptops that can play some casual games on the side.
The same is the case with the 15.6 inch model here, featuring an i5-5200U processor, 4GB RAM, 500 GB HDD and a dedicated Nvidia 820M GPU.
While the HDD and RAM are a step down from previous entries, you get to have a dedicated Nvidia GPU that will ensure that you get to play titles like Wow, Dota 2, LoL, Titanfall, CS:Go, F1, Fifa and Bioshock Infinite on respectable frame rates. That’s more than what you can expect with a gaming laptop under 500.
| Screen Size | 15.6 inches |
|---|---|
| Max Screen Resolution | 1366 x 768 |
| Processor | Intel Core i5 |
| RAM | 4 GB SO-DIMM DDR3 |
| Hard Drive | 500 GB HDD 5400 rpm |
| Graphics Coprocessor | NVIDIA GeForce 820M |
| Chipset Brand | nvidia |
| Card Description | dedicated |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 6 hours |
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4. Lenovo AMD Gaming Laptop
Lenovo is also a popular brand when it comes to laptops and while its not known for gaming machines, the company has come out with a wider range of laptops to fit multiple budgets and requirements.
The laptop we have picked here comes with an AMD A series processor and an R7 graphics chip which is a decent low-budget performer. You also get 8GB RAM and 1TB HDD, which are more than enough for normal usage and most games.
With this laptop you can expect to play all the major titles, especially online multiplayer games without any hassles as long as you stick to low settings.
| Screen Size | 15.6 inches |
|---|---|
| Max Screen Resolution | 1366×768 |
| Processor | 3.3 GHz AMD A Series |
| RAM | 8 GB SDRAM DDR3 |
| Hard Drive | 1 TB mechanical HDD |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Radeon R7 |
| Chipset Brand | amd |
| Wireless Type | 802.11 B/G, 802.11bgn, 802.11B |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 5 hours |
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#5. Acer Aspire E 15 Gaming Laptop
Editor’s Favorite
Acer is one the most under-rated laptop manufacturers today even though their offerings bring a good mix of performance and economy. The model we have picked comes with very decent specs at just under 500. It features a 6th generation Intel i5 6200U CPU coupled with a 1080p Full HD display.
You also get 8GB of DDR4 RAM (all the other laptops in this list have DDR3 Memory) along with an SSD (solid state flash storage) with 256GB memory. If all that is not enough, the main component here is the dedicated Nvidia 940MX GPU which will allow you to play any recent game on low-medium settings, including Titanfall, Overwatch, Fifa 17 and Dishonored 2.
A very nice add-on here is the backlit keyboard, which, once you get used to, becomes irreplaceable and you wonder how you ever used a non-backlit keyboard laptop.
All being said, this is our strongest recommendation for a gaming laptop under 500 and beats anything on the market at the time of writing. Go for it.
| Screen Size | 15.6 inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| Processor | 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5 |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4-SDRAM |
| Hard Drive | 256 GB flash_memory_solid_state |
| Graphics Coprocessor | NVIDIA GeForce |
| Chipset Brand | NVIDIA GeForce 940MX |
| Card Description | Dedicated |
| Graphics Card Ram Size | 2000 MB |
| Wireless Type | 802.11 A/C |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 1 |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 2 |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 12 hours |
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That’s all for now guys. This concludes our list of the best gaming laptops under 500 dollars and we would love to get your feedback on it. Meanwhile, if you think any other laptop beats our selection here, please feel free to comment below and share your experience with us. Till then, happy gaming!
