The 10 Best Gaming Laptops Under $500

Video games are meant to be one thing: Fun! Fun for everyone – Satoru Iwata

Satoru was right. Video games are supposed to be fun. They’re supposed to be all-inclusive and should be played and enjoyed by everyone. As the former head of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata made it his life’s work to spread joy and happiness to every corner of the globe by ensuring that the games he worked on had a broad and lasting appeal.

While gamers everywhere have different tastes and invest their time in divergent and different games, they all have one thing in common. They need a platform and a laptop to play games on.

The idea of inclusivity within the gaming industry and community has been embraced by all, and you don’t need a bank balancing shattering laptop to immerse yourself in the multitude of gaming possibilities that exist online.

There’s a machine to fit every budget and every gamer’s needs, which is why we compiled a list of the best gaming laptops under five hundred dollars.

We set a reasonable budget that we thought was within the reach of everyone and chose the best gaming laptops that can catapult you headlong into a universe of possibilities and won’t leave you financially destitute. Let the games begin…

Best Gaming Laptops Under $500

1. Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14-in Laptop

As any gamer will happily testify, the most important things that any laptop needs are speed, space, and power, and the IdeaPad has all three.

Powered by a two hundred and fifty-six gigabyte solid-state (which uses flash-based memory rather than traditional mechanical memory, which means it faster and smoother than a conventional hard drive) drive with a multi-core Ryzen 5 processor, a Radeon graphics card, and Dopoundsy audio to deliver crystal clear sound.

In other words, it’s a gamers dream machine, It’s powerful, fast, and incredibly responsive and will have no problem keeping up with you and all of your gaming action.

The only issue that might be a problem is the fourteen-inch screen, which despite being HD (high definition) ready, was a little too small for our tastes.

We like to see what’s coming at us in all of its gory glory and wonderful detail at all times and while it might not seem like it would make much difference, that extra inch that a fifteen-inch screen delivers, when the action starts to get thick and fast, it can leave you struggling to focus on what’s happening around you.

And if you don’t focus on what’s important, that can mean the difference, in gaming terms at least. between life and death. With the Ideapad, it all comes down to size versus speed and power, and ultimately, you’re the only one who can decide which is more important to you.

2. Dell Inspiron 15

Even though it doesn’t have a much faster solid-state drive, what the Inspiron lacks in flash memory it makes up for with good old fashioned mechanical know-how and has a huge one terabyte hard drive that makes sure it’s able to keep up with and hold its own against, it’s flashier counterparts.

Driven by a tenth generation Intel dual-core processor, the Inspiron uses Intel’s UHD graphics card alongside Waves MaxxAudio Pro generated sound to plunge you straight into the heart of the gaming action.

With a functional, fast keyboard that helps you to increase your response time, it’s a fluid and responsive machine that should easily cope with all of the demands that any gamers make of it.

That said, the screen resolution isn’t ideal and the traditional hard drive can slow it down if it’s trying to perform too many separate tasks at once, which can make it a little clunky and unresponsive if you don’t dedicate it solely to the task at hand.

It wasn’t purpose-designed for gaming, but it can, and does hold its own as an entry-level gaming laptop. As long as you don’t push it too hard, or expect too much from it, the Inspiron will help to guide you through the beginning gamers’ maze with a sure and steady hand.

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3. ASUS F512JA-AS34 VivoBook 15

Dependability and reliability go hand in hand with all of the machines that Asus makes and their laptops are designed to be both user-friendly and incredibly functional and the VivoBook exemplifies everything that their brand represents.

With a one hundred and twenty-eight-gigabyte solid-state drive and a tenth generation Intel dual-core processor at its heart and an Intel UHD graphics card that’s backed up by eight gigabytes of dedicated RAM, the VivoBook makes the most of its four-way Nanotech (which maximizes the chassis space available to the screen), HD ready screen that stretches its fifteen and a half-inch size to its absolute limits to deliver an explosive cornucopia of devastating visual action.

Weighing in at under four pounds, and with an impressive battery life and WiFi connectivity, the VivoBook is designed for life on the go. And as it uses Windows 10 as its operating system, it’ll easily double up as a work, as well as the pleasure-based, machine.

The only thing that lets it down is its relatively weak speakers, which don’t pack anywhere near the same level of punch as it’s graphics and jaw-dropping visuals do.

But if you plug straight in with headphones, it does slightly mitigate the under-performing audio response that the VivoBook is saddled by.

4. HP 17 Notebook

Hewlett-Packard has been at the forefront of the home computer revolution since the early nineteen eighties, so you know you’re in safe hands with any of their laptops.

Fueled by a tenth generation Intel dual-core processor, a one hundred and twenty-eight-gigabyte solid-state drive, and a one terabyte hard drive, the HP Notebook is a serious machine for serious gamers.

Graphics-wise, the Notebook uses an Intel UHD card to deliver smooth, crisp, and constantly flowing images to it’s seventeen-inch, HD-ready screen that’ll fully immerse you in your gaming world.

With upgraded and modified wireless connectivity and less than shabby nine hours of battery life, the HP Notebook will help you to make the most out of any connection you can hit the net with and game faster and harder than you thought possible.

Even though the Notebook has an incredible graphic response and performance it is hampered by the audio system that HP has used, which feels weak and underpowered in comparison, and the seventeen-inch screen does make it slightly heavier than most laptops, which means that it’s more unwieldy and difficult to carry around with you. Size, despite what you may have been told, really is an issue.

5. Acer Aspire 5

Some machines were made to be better than others, and the Inspire 5 was designed to be the best of the best. Bearing a brand name with a proven track record in manufacturing multi-functional laptops, the Inspire 5 has a Ryzen 3 dual-core processor, one hundred and twenty-eight-gigabyte solid-state drive, and uses a Vega 3 graphics card with four gigabytes of dedicated RAM to deliver smooth, sharp, and fluid action to it’s fifteen and half-inch HD ready screen.

The Aspires keyboard is fast, intuitive, and responsive, so you’ll easily be able to keep pace with all of the online auction, and is it uses Windows 10 as it’s operating system, the Aspire can also deliver all of the homes based performance that you’ll need it to when the office beckons and you need to leave the gaming world behind.

Light and portable, the Aspire also has the sort of battery life that most engineers fantasize about being able to imbue their machines with, and even when you’re pushing the CPU (central processing unit) as hard as you can, the Aspire’s battery will hold steady and won’t let you down.

And that’s why it is, has been and for the foreseeable future, probably always will be, our gaming laptop of choice.

6. Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15.6-in

Don’t worry, you’re not going crazy and you’re not seeing double, this is the second IdeaPad on our list, but unlike the fourteen-inch model, this upgraded fifteen and a half-inch screen laptop plugs most of the gaming holes that the other Lenovo couldn’t fill.

Driven by a tenth generation Intel dual-core processor and a two hundred and fifty-six-gigabyte solid-state drive, it’s Intel UHD graphic card has eight gigabytes of dedicated RAM to ensure that it constantly, and consistently delivers the sort of visuals that you’ll not only expect but will also come to demand, from your IdeaPad.

It’s a stable and smooth machine thanks to using Windows 10 as its operating system and has an FHD (Full High Definition) fifteen and half-inch screen, that’ll let you enjoy the best gaming action, and movies, in absolutely crystal clarity.

Delivering it’s audio in full Dolby stereo, this future-friendly gaming laptop has spent its life snapping at the heels of the Inspire 5, and if it wasn’t for our dedication to Acer, we’d almost certainly spend our gaming lives with the IdeaPad.

7. Acer Swift 1 14-in Full HD Notebook

While it doesn’t have a solid-state drive and its hard drive isn’t exactly huge, the Acer Swift does have a few handy tricks up its sleeve that should appeal to even the most demanding gamer.

Powered by the latest generation of Intel dual-core processors that works alongside its sixty-four gigabyte hard drive, Intel UHD graphic card, and full stereo audio system, it’s the perfect machine to reach out into the depths of the world wide web and game online with.

Smaller than most laptops, its fourteen-inch screen is fully HD ready and its Windows 10 operating system makes it versatile enough to live a double life as a gaming and work-based machine.

But the Notebook’s real secret weapon is its price, as it doesn’t just come in under our budget, it sets a new pocketbook-friendly limbo record for price and blows all of the other machines on our list out of the gaming water. At least it does as far as affordability is concerned.

While you’ll pay far less for the Notebook, it isn’t as quick as other laptops on our list are, and it’s smaller screen size means that, like us, you’ll probably end up squinting to see all of the gaming action that you’re up to your neck in.

But at the end of the day, if you are constrained by a tight budget and still want to spend your days and nights gaming, there’s no better way to do that with a laptop that won’t break your bank balance.

8. HP Pavilion 14 inch

And we’re back in familiar territory with Hewlett-Packard, with what could have been a purpose engineered and designed gaming-friendly laptop.

At its core, it has a lightning-fast one hundred and twenty-eight-gigabyte solid-state drive that works in conjunction with the newest, brightest, and shiniest AMD Athlon processor and an integrated AMD Radeon graphics card that’s backed by eight gigabytes of RAM.

And when that’s combined with the full stereo, dual speak system that the Pavilion uses, it creates the sort of gaming machine that would be cheap at twice the price.

Fluid, quick, and incredibly responsive, and packed with the latest WiFi technology, the Pavillion is a go anywhere, do anything gaming laptop. The only chink in its otherwise nearly flawless armor is the size of its screen,

We’re not overly keen on fourteen-inch screens, and even though we know it’s a full, HD beast capable of delivering the sort of breathtaking colors that would make Da Vinci weep with joy, we can’t help feeling that we’re missing out on some small part of the content of whatever we’re playing every single time we use.

But if the size isn’t an issue for you, you could do a lot worse than blowing your wad on the Pavillion.

9. Lenovo Flex 5 14-in FHD IPS Touchscreen

Flex by name and flex by nature, the Lenovo Flex is a two in one machine that doesn’t know whether it wants to be a tablet or a laptop but is equally comfortable being both.

Adaptable and versatile, it’s powered by a one hundred and twenty-eight-gigabyte solid-state drive and a quad-core Ryzen three processor, which means it’s quick enough to take joint first place in a three-way race between Superman, The Flash and the Flex.

With an integrated AMD Radeon graphics card and Dolby Atmos HD audio, the Flex is ready and willing to, well, “flex” its gaming muscles whenever you want it to. Using Windows 10 as its operating system, it’s also happy to serve as a home-based laptop or tablet and will change the way you think about laptop-based gaming.

For some reason though, it hasn’t exactly set the gaming world or the home-based PC market on fire, and users haven’t been drawn to it or connected with it in the way that Lenovo hoped they would.

And if we were forced to guess why we’d probably have to reluctantly admit that it’s because the Flex doesn’t know what it wants to be. Does it want to be a gaming laptop or a home-based tablet?

Not even the Flex knows, and if it doesn’t know what it wants to be, how will you? It might look cool and might well be a gamers’ best computing friend, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s burdened by a gaming-based identity crisis.

10. ASUS VivoBook Flip 14-inch Touch Screen

We’re going to stick with the two in options for our final choice, the Asus VivoBook Flip, which is a remarkable machine that sits somewhere between a tablet, a laptop, and a Chromebook in the computing world.

While it doesn’t have the sort of solid-state or hard drive knockout blow that we’d usually look for in, and demand from, a gaming laptop, it’s Intel Celeron dual-core processor and online functionality make up for the fact that it only has one hundred and twenty-eight-gigabyte hard drive.

Built to be at home on the web, the Flip has an integrated Intel UHD 600 graphics card and full stereo speakers, and will happily let you game away in the Worlds of Warcraft, Tanks, and more that wait for you online.

It’s a Windows 10 based machine, so it’ll also double up as a home computer and will serve you well during the hours of daylight, before encouraging you to don your secret gaming identity as darkness falls, to enter the endless gaming worlds that wait for you on the internet.

An affordable and endlessly versatile gaming laptop, the only things stopping the Flip from being our budget gaming laptop of choice are its relatively small screen size and the fact that like the Flex, it doesn’t seem to know whether it wants to be a laptop or a tablet.

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