Best Gaming Laptop Under $500

You don’t have to pay a lot for great laptops. Read detailed reviews about 7 of the best laptops for less than $500 and find the best one for your needs.

Great For Gaming Under $500:

In today’s age of superb gaming technology, everyone should be getting their fair share of the wonderful and dynamic online worlds available through video games. This, of course, starts with the correct software and hardware, but not everyone has the budget to throw thousands down on a fancy gaming laptop. Fortunately, we’ve put together a list of laptops that won’t cost you more than $500 and can run most games on today’s market.

Not to mention when you’re done gaming, you’ll be able to roam the internet in search of comedy or information, complete any outstanding tasks for work or school, and connect with your friends and family with ease of efficiency you’d never before had access too. Keep reading for more information on the top seven best gaming laptops at an affordable price of $500 or less.

Acer Aspire 5 Slim

Although somewhat harder to find, the Acer Aspire 5 Slim has always been known to power through the ranks and create some of the best performance in its class. Unfortunately, this class of gaming laptops is rapidly disappearing with the rise of powerful gaming PCs, but the Acer Aspire 5 Slim has remained strong.

Keep in mind that this particular model is excellent for gaming purposes, but what many sellers may claim are similar products are nothing but related. Often these devices that are deemed to be similar to the Acer Aspire 5 Slim are nothing but cheap rip-offs with technology far inferior to the original. Don’t be fooled into buying something that doesn’t work the way you want it to.

The Acer Aspire 5 Slim is listed on the market as being $487 and has some pretty significant and impressive stats to back up its street cred. The unit boasts a fantastic 3.9 GHz Intel Core i5 processor, a lightweight frame, and a 15.6-inch LED-lit screen. With 8 GB of Ram and 256 GB on an SSD, the Acer Aspire 5 Slim is a perfect budget gaming laptop. As an added cherry on top, this particular laptop boasts nearly 9 hours of battery time and a dynamic fingerprint scanner.

ASUS VivoBook 15 Thin and Light Laptop

This particular option on the list is perfect for people who are always on the move. People who don’t necessarily have the time or effort to be hauling around a big and heavy unit. The Asus VivoBook weighs less than 4 pounds. Weighing in at 3.7 pounds, you’ll barely notice it’s in your bag.

The body itself is 14 inches long and is made of high-quality aluminum. The frame and body itself measures in at less than an inch (0.8). Don’t be fooled, this laptop is light and portable, but in the performance realm, it packs an epic punch. This unit is equipped with a 3.6 GHz AMD Quad-Core R5-3500U Processor (2M Cache), 256 GB on an SSD, 8 GB of RAM, and a TB of space on a hard disk.

Alongside these perks are a large variety of ports, an AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 Graphics chip, Windows 10 Home, and a dynamic fingerprint reader and a backlit keyboard. These performance stats will no doubt allow you to play any game, but will also provide you with nearly 7 hours of constant battery use. This unit is a perfect mobile gaming unit. Running you $480 at the very most, you really can’t go wrong with an ASUS VivoBook 15 Thin and Light.

HP 15.6” HD Touch-Screen Laptop Notebook

This particular unit is a fairly great option when considering all things gaming is the goal. With a 15.6” display, you’ll have the ability to do whatever you please. Whether it be working or gaming, this HP is a perfect budget unit. Below you’ll find a list of the specifications and features this laptop boasts.

This HP has been known to hold its own when even the strongest of games are thrown at it. What makes this unit stand out among the rest is that it’s more of an all-rounder, and is truly for the busy student or employee. Our recommendation regarding the HP is that it’s perfect for gamers looking to start out in the world of gaming. Don’t expect stellar abilities that’ll outpace other units, but do expect strong results.

Acer Nitro 5

As you may have noticed, Acer is now the only brand so far to have more than one unit on this list. It’s definitely fair to say that this brand is a top contender in terms of gaming units. The Acer Nitro 5 may seem to be too expensive at first, pricing in at $499, but the specifications and ability of this unit certainly validate the price.

The Acer Aspire 5 may have seemed like a good option, but the Nitro 5 is even better. This particular unit uses a high-performance graphics card and throws in a gaming dedicated graphics card to create performance levels that put this as one of the best entries on the list.

Keep in mind that this unit does not include SSD storage, meaning other units on the list that do include SSD storage may be faster overall. However, this was probably only excluded so that the price would stay low. Overall if you can handle the possibility that this unit will be slower than others, and understand that this was a worthy sacrifice, you’ll love this laptop.

ASUS VivoBook F510QA

For a laptop under $500, this unit looks far better than you may be expecting. With a sleek body, a thin frame, and an incredibly dynamic design, the Asus VivoBook F510QA looks like a competitor in the above $1000 range.

The frame of this unit is built from high strength plastic and is lighter than the majority of the competition. This means it’s an excellent choice for those looking for something more mobile. Alongside its fantastic weight is its sturdiness and resilience. This laptop will survive being thrown in your bag every day before work or school. It’s the perfect unit for anyone who knows they’re going to be out and about all day long. This laptop boasts a magnificent LED display with a 15.6” backlit screen.

The display is one of the best on this list and enables the user to view everything on top of the line HD. Equipped standard with ASUS Splendid, an app that enhances sound and HD quality, the display is beautiful. To top it all off, the unit’s screen comes with a matte coating, which will ultimately reduce glare and better your viewing experience. Where this laptop falls short is the key specifications.

This unit costs $360, making it one of the most financially friendly options on the list. Between the low price and the decent gaming specifications, this unit is a favourite among many.

HP (17-BY1053DX) 17.3” Laptop

This unit is the ultimate gaming laptop for anyone who wants to see their gaming unfold on a massive, brilliant display. The HP’s 17.3-inch screen is the biggest of all the units on this list and comes standard with a resolution rating of 1600 by 900. Many usually turn their head, expecting this laptop to be big and clunky, but it’s actually sleek and light. The design incorporates the larger screen into a unit that’s just overall magnificent. Just wait till you check out the specs!

This laptop comes standard with a seventh-generation Intel Core i5-7200U Processor, a 6MB Cache, and boasts a 2.5 GHz running frequency. Not impressed with the running frequency? Not to worry, this particular laptop has a turbo mode, which pushes the GHz to 3.1. Pretty impressive, right?

Keep in mind that this laptop comes with a drive for DVDs and CDs. All of this only costs $488, making it a phenomenal competitor. Unfortunately, many people claim that this is too good to be true. Well, if you need evidence of the contrary, look no further than the cooling fans. The cooling fans are top of the line HP models, but the turbo mode in this particular unit has been known to put them into crisis mode. To be more specific, they overheat every now and again. Thankfully this is rare and only happens when you do some really hardcore gaming. As long as you’re careful, and pay attention to the temperature of this laptop, you should have no problems.

2020 Dell Inspiron 14” Laptop

Now we know you may be rolling your eyes. Why would we put a Dell computer on this list? They’re not gaming computers! Well, you’ll need to slow your roll because we’re arguing the opposite. Dell’s been selling some really good gaming laptops for years now, they just don’t get all that much publicity.

So, that’s what we’re here for! Anyway, this gaming laptop under 500, the price is in at a hefty $499 and 91 cents, making it the most expensive option on this list. Thankfully it’s worth the money. Stop playing indie games, and get into the hardcore gaming world!

So I suppose it’s fair to say that Dell knows what they’re doing when it comes to video game laptops. We know that the display is inferior to others on this list, but the specs and accessories thrown in make up for it (in our opinion). Upon purchase, Dell includes a card reader, a USB extension cord, an HDMI cable, and a nice Dell mouse pad! Just some extra icing on an otherwise already sweet cake.

Best Laptops For Gaming Under $500 - Conclusion:

See! It is very possible to get a laptop for under $500. Not just any laptop though, a laptop that can run some of the best games out there! Get back to gaming on an affordable and effective unit, or get started on one! No time like the present! Check out the specs whenever you need, and pick what’s right for you!