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So, you’re in the market for a great laptop that can run games and won’t break the bank? The good news is that there has never been a wider choice of budget options.
It’s important to understand that at such a price, you’ll have to make a few compromises. But that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to play your favorite games. To show you what’s possible, we’ve put together a list of the best gaming laptops under $500.
Ready to rumble and not break the bank? Let’s go.
Table of Contents
Top 7 Gaming Laptops Under $500
Here are the best of the best when it comes to good gaming laptops under $500. These devices have what it takes to be your daily gaming rig for games like Minecraft, Roblox, Fortnite, etc.
1. Best Overall: Lenovo IdeaPad 3
- CPU: 3GHz Intel Core i3-1115G4
- RAM: 12GB DDR4
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Display: 15.6-inch HD Touch (1366 x 768)
- GPU: Integrated Intel UHD Graphics
- Battery: Up to 9 hours
If you’re looking for a laptop under $500 for light gaming, Lenovo IdeaPad 3 has been one of the popular choices for years.
IdeaPad 3 combines Intel Core i3 with 12GB RAM. While this won’t put you ahead of Acer Nitro 5, it will still do a nice job with Roblox, Fortnite, Minecraft, and browser-based games. You should also be able to play some AAA titles at low settings.
The 12GB RAM is quite enough for productivity and multitasking.
As for cooling, it’s pretty good. In my tests, I could hear the fans kick in every now and then — not too often though, and they only get loud for a minute or two.
I happen to love the audio on this thing. Sure, it’s not as impressive as on MacBook Air M2 (few are), but the speakers are loud and clear.
The IdeaPad 3’s keyboard feels nice to the touch, and it comes with a numpad for number crunchers.
In terms of battery, you get strong 6-8 hours on a single charge. Not the craziest number out there, but quite good.
Overall, Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is a solid budget laptop for less resource-intensive games. While it could have had a stronger GPU, it still gets a lot of things right for the price range — and brings good value.
- What We Like
- Solid performance
- Large display
- Sleek design
- Good cooling system
- Nice speakers
- Comfy keyboard
- What We Don’t Like
- Not the strongest GPU
- OK-ish battery life
2. Ready-to-Go Performance from Acer: Acer Aspire 3
- CPU: 2.8GHz AMD Ryzen 5 7520U
- RAM: 8GB DDR5
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Display: 14-inch FHD (1920 x 1080)
- GPU: Integrated Radeon 610M
- Battery: Up to 7 hours
Acer Aspire 3 gets you most bang for your buck with its AMD Ryzen 5 7520U Processor and Radeon Graphics.
It offers a decent gaming experience considering its price. While Aspire 3 isn’t suitable for competitive gaming (none are at such a price), it will play your favorite titles at mid-to-low settings.
Acer Aspire 3 is great for games like Minecraft but you can also play Fortnite, Valorant, and other similar games at lower settings.
The laptop has a 14.0″ full HD IPS display with an anti-glare coating. I thought that its 1920 x 1080 resolution offers decent colors and contrast. However, you’ll find that it has low color gamut coverage and not the best viewing angles.
I love the laptop’s thermals. It doesn’t heat up even after gaming for over half an hour. In fact, the fan was practically silent compared to other gaming laptops fans.
Packing 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD, the laptop offers impeccable performance when it comes to everyday use. It’s a great option for students that love gaming.
With a robust plastic chassis weighing only 3lbs, the machine is easy to carry around. There is some flex in the lid and the keyboard deck, but if you consider the price, I wouldn’t make too big of a deal about it.
Overall, Acer Aspire 3 has a lot going for it: with good performance, great portability, and affordable price tag, this machine is definitely worth considering.
- What We Like
- Good performance
- Sleek design
- Silent cooling fans
- Solid IPS display
- Lightweight
- Good value for money
- What We Don’t Like
- Flexing in the lid
- Mediocre viewing angles
3. Thin and Portable: HP 14
- CPU: 2.1GHz AMD Ryzen 5 5500U
- RAM: 8GB DDR4
- Storage: 256GB SSD
- Display: 14-inch FHD (1920 x 1080)
- GPU: Integrated Radeon 448SP
- Battery: Up to 7.5 hours
When it comes to light gaming, you can’t go wrong with the HP 14. With great performance, sleek design and gorgeous display, it’s one of the better HP’s budget laptops.
The AMD Ryzen 5 5500U mobile processor inside the HP 14 is awesome for low-intensity gaming. Thanks to the 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD storage, it offers a pretty good performance, considering the affordable price.
The display is a 1080p IPS screen with minimal bezels and an anti-glare coating. I quite like the colors and vividness on this thing.
You can get up to 7 hours of juice out of a single charge, and the keyboard is comfortable to use.
AMD Ryzen 5 5500U is close to the Intel Core i5 in performance (and even exceeds it in certain benchmarks). Based on our findings, it’s quite easy to play lightweight games like Valorant, DOTA 2, Fortnite, and World of Warcraft on high settings with solid FPS.
The Ryzen 5 5500U should even run more demanding games like GTA V and God of War, but on lower settings. Its performance isn’t the only highlight; HP 14 is also a sleek and lightweight option with a slim design for better portability.
That said, the HP 14 struggles with cooling and airflow because of the oddly-placed exhaust. And the speakers could be a lot better.
To sum it up, HP 14 combines strong performance with an elegant design, but poor ventilation keeps it from climbing to the top of our list.
- What We Like
- Solid performance
- Sleek design
- Great IPS screen
- Portable
- Comfy, compact keyboard
- Good storage
- What We Don’t Like
- Not the best thermals
- Mediocre speakers
4. Best Convertible Slightly over $500: HP Pavilion x360
- CPU: 2.4GHz Intel Core i5-1135G7
- RAM: 8GB DDR4
- Storage: 256GB SSD
- Display: 14-inch FHD (1920 x 1080)
- GPU: Integrated Intel Iris Xe
- Battery: Up to 8 hours
The HP Pavilion x360 goes a bit over our $500 threshold, but since it’s a convertible, we’ll let this one slip.
The Pavilion x360 can be converted into a tablet. While it may not be a gaming laptop, it delivers a reasonably smooth gaming experience.
The Intel Core i5 chip inside the HP Pavilion x360 can run most games in the native 1080P resolution with steady frame rates (over 20 FPS). You can play GTA 5, Fortnite, The Witcher 3, and CS:GO without performance issues (although at low settings).
The Pavilion x360 has a fantastic thermal system compared to other laptops in this class including Lenovo Yoga C930. It keeps throttling to the minimum, and the FPS is smooth during long gameplays.
The display is also sharper and brighter than most laptops in this category. However, I did notice the colors lose saturation and the viewing angles aren’t perfectly consistent.
The two major let downs for me are the Pavilion 360’s battery and RAM. At 8 hours, the battery isn’t bad, but it’s below HP’s competitors such as Lenovo Yoga C930, Acer Aspire 5, etc.
Also the 8GB RAM can sometimes create lag, depending on the game. However, the laptop supports up to 2 x 8GB of memory, so you can upgrade to 16GB of memory, if need be.
Although it’s not designed specifically for gaming, the HP Pavilion is a great option for gamers seeking a 2-in-1 laptop.
- What We Like
- Great gaming performance
- Best-in-class thermals
- Sharp display
- Converts into a tablet
- Affordable price
- Compact, elegant design
- What We Don’t Like
- RAM could be better
- Mediocre battery life
5. Newest Aspire 5 Slim: Acer Aspire 5
- CPU: 3GHz Intel Core i3-1115G4
- RAM: 16GB DDR4
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Display: 15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080)
- GPU: Integrated Intel UHD Graphics
- Battery: Up to 8 hours
The latest Aspire 5 is a gorgeous and thin gaming laptop under $500. But it’s more than just looks — the machine also brings good performance and solid storage.
Acer Aspire 5 features the 11th Gen Intel Core i3 and integrated UHD graphics. While the chip isn’t meant primarily for gaming, it can play the most popular games at varying FPS.
In my tests, games like Minecraft, GTA V, Valorant, Fortnite, and COD 4 go well beyond 40 FPS in the native 1080P resolution when set at low settings.
The Aspire 5 Slim comes with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD — which is awesome for this price range. With the right settings, the gaming experience should be lag-free. Some titles (like Fortnite) can be played on maximum graphics in the native resolution.
The battery life of 6 hours is solid for a gaming laptop, but this goes down to 2-3 hours for streaming and/or editing.
Unsurprisingly, the laptop heats up during long gaming sessions, so I’d get a cooling pad.
For me, the screen is a major let down. A 1080P IPS LCD panel sounds good on paper, but I wasn’t impressed with the colors.
The Aspire 5 Slim is a solid machine at an affordable price if you’re playing low or medium-intensity games. However, you’ll need to invest in a decent cooling pad if you don’t want any heating issues.
- What We Like
- Respectable performance
- Affordable price
- Plenty of storage
- Ample RAM
- Solid battery
- Good value for money
- What We Don’t Like
- Poor thermals
- Unremarkable display
6. Best 15″ Laptop Under $500 from Dell: Dell Inspiron 15
- CPU: 3GHz Intel Core i3-1115G4
- RAM: 8GB DDR4
- Storage: 128GB SSD
- Display: 15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080)
- GPU: Integrated Intel UHD Graphics
- Battery: Up to 7 hours
The Inspiron 15 belongs to Dell’s value-friendly line of laptops. This sub-$500 gaming laptop can pull solid performance and gorgeous visuals.
Powered by 11th Gen. Intel i3 and integrated Intel UHD graphics card, Inspiron can still pull very decent FPS in games like Fortnite and Minecraft. When set to 1080p, Inspiron produced 30 fps in my tests, but I like to lower the settings a little bit more and get higher fps count.
The laptop sports a 15.6” IPS display, which I quite like. It’s showing crispy and vivid colors, and has nice viewing angles.
I’m also a fan of Dell’s design. The company switched up Inspiron’s design and now we have a very sleek, elegant, carbon-black chassis that would work great in any environment.
To be fair, the machine is a bit on the heavier side. At 5.55 lbs, it’s the heaviest laptop on this list, so keep that in mind if you’re often out and about.
Like most laptops on this list, Inspiron comes with 8GB RAM which you can upgrade. I’d also consider expanding the storage, since the initial 128GB won’t last very long.
Overall, for this price, Dell Inspiron is a sleek, capable laptop with great display that will bring you many hours of gaming fun.
- What We Like
- Excellent gaming performance
- Matte-finished LCD
- Impressive viewing angles
- Elegant design
- Compact keyboard
- Good build quality
- What We Don’t Like
- Low storage
- On the heavy side
7. Great Build Quality: Lenovo V14
- CPU: 2.1GHz AMD Ryzen 5 5500U
- RAM: 8GB DDR4
- Storage: 256GB SSD
- Display: 14-inch FHD (1920 x 1080)
- GPU: Integrated Radeon 448SP
- Battery: Up to 8 hours
Most laptops under $500 come in cheap plastic. It keeps the price low but the build quality suffers for it. But that’s not the case with the Lenovo V14, with its solid and durable design.
The lid is metal, while the rest of the chassis is made from sturdy plastic with a good heft to it.
This is an elegant laptop, very similar to Lenovo IdeaPad 3, and quite the looker.
When it comes to hardware, the AMD Ryzen 5 powers the Lenovo V14, coupled with 8GB of upgradable RAM and 256GB of fast SSD storage. With its performance comparable to the Intel Core i7, the Ryzen 5 5500U breezes through most lightweight games you throw at it. It can even play some old AAA titles at lower settings.
I love that the keyboard is responsive and bigger than most laptop keyboards in this price bucket. But the display is merely average and produces inaccurate, washed-out colors (sometimes with a blue tint). Despite an anti-glare coating, the screen suffers from glare.
Having said that, if you’re hunting for an upgradable laptop, built to last, and handle low-intensity gaming, the Lenovo V14 should be on your list.
- What We Like
- Strong performance
- Excellent build quality
- Great keyboard
- Elegant design
- Upgradable RAM and SSD
- Lightweight
- What We Don’t Like
- Average display
- Average battery life
Buying Guide for Gaming Laptops Under $500
Below you’ll find the most important things to consider when buying a new gaming laptop under $500.
Check the Games You Want to Play
There’s nothing worse than spending money on a gaming laptop, only to realize it can’t run your favorite games. To avoid this, check the developer/publisher’s website for the spec requirements, and get a laptop that meets those.
Any AAA title will have massive requirements, unlikely to be met with a sub-$500 gaming laptop. You could still play them but at lower settings, though.
On the other hand, for games like Minecraft, LoL, and even Fortnite, these laptops produce pretty decent fps.
CPU
For gaming on a budget, make sure the laptop you are planning to buy meets at least the minimum processor speed (given in GHz) of the game you want to play.
Processor is the core of any laptop, and you shouldn’t go below 11th Gen. i3 for gaming.
Display
Don’t expect a 4K display at this price point. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t find a laptop with an excellent 15-inch screen. HD and FHD quality are pretty standard nowadays, so don’t settle for less. You should also look for an IPS panel since it offers wider viewing angles and more accurate picture quality.
Another important factor for gaming laptops is the refresh rate. A higher refresh rate translates to a smoother picture. Aim for at least 120Hz.
RAM
While RAM is great for multitasking, you don’t necessarily need 16GB or 32GB for entry and mid-spec gaming. Plus, most modern gaming laptops under $500 come with upgradable RAM.
So we recommend prioritizing something you can’t upgrade, like the display or CPU.
Even if you plan on using the device for programming or other RAM-intensive tasks later on, you can upgrade the RAM kit without any issues.
Graphics Card
A GPU is one of the main selling points of any gaming laptop. In this price range, it’s not realistic to expect a dedicated GPU capable of running AAA games.
But you can get a laptop with AMD Radeon Vega or Intel UHD integrated graphics. These GPUs are enough to run entry- and mid-spec games such as Minecraft, Fortnite, Roblox, LoL, WoW, etc.
Battery
Gaming laptops are notorious for their poor battery lives. With these gaming laptops under $500, you can expect much better battery life. 6 to 8 hours of battery timing is typical for such laptops.
But you must understand that gaming drains the battery faster than everyday tasks such as streaming and scrolling the internet.
So you’ll probably need to sit next to a power plug, especially while gaming.
Storage
Even in this price range, an SSD is a must. SSDs may be more expensive than HDDs, but they’re much faster and more efficient.
Since most laptops have upgradable storage, 128GB or 256GB SSD is decent enough to start with.
And if you need more storage, you can replace it with a larger SSD or even get a USB stick or external storage.
Cooling System
If you expect to be gaming on your laptop for hours on end, you’d be better off with a laptop that has a decent cooling system to avoid overheating issues. User reviews are usually a good source of information on this one.
FAQs about Gaming Laptops Under $500
Are there any gaming laptops under $500 with a dedicated graphics card?
Dedicated graphics cards require much more power and cooling, so putting them into a gaming laptop under $500 is hard to do.
That’s why most manufacturers go with integrated GPUs. Radeon Vega and Intel UHD are the best choices when looking for a budget gaming laptop.
Are integrated graphic cards good for gaming?
While integrated graphics cards can never be as strong as dedicated graphics cards, you can still play older titles or even newer games on low-to-mid graphics settings. Since you’re mostly concerned with gaming, you should prioritize GPU quality while shopping.
Are budget gaming notebooks good enough for AAA games?
Budget gaming notebooks are rarely good enough to run AAA games. There might be a couple of games that you can run on low settings, but the gaming experience would be sub-par.
What kind of games can I play on a gaming laptop under $500?
Methodology: How We Selected These Laptops
Our list started from a pool of just below a hundred laptops under $500. From the get-go, we focused on light and mid-range gaming devices with the best GPU-CPU combination.
Our goal was to find a combination that ensures stability and provides consistent performance. AMD Radeon Vega or Intel UHD graphics were a must, though.
After narrowing the playing field, we analyzed our proprietary data about best-selling laptops. We also paid close attention to devices that were released in late 2022. Because, more often than not, the newer models have better specs or price-to-performance ratio.
Once we had about 15 contenders, it was time to see what laptop owners shared about their experiences. And we were able to get a lot of quality info. This led to just 7 laptops left from our initial pool. Sure, the number may be decent in a vacuum, but at Not Just Laptops we only want to provide the best of the best. That’s why we felt our job wasn’t done yet.
The final phase of our selection process involved lots of additional research, hands-on analysis and days of gaming on laptops (that was a tough one, lol). We wanted to be sure that the laptop in our final list was compatible with (at least) the most popular low- to mid-spec games (e.g., Fortnite, League of Legends, DOTA 2, Minecraft, Roblox, and CS:GO).
Then we put our findings together and compared the devices. And poof, that’s how we got to the stellar seven you see above!
Verdict
The market for gaming laptops under $500 has never been bigger, so there’s a lot to choose from.
A lot depends on the games you want to play.
If you still haven’t quite decided, here’s a shortlist of the best gaming laptops under $500:
- Overall, we think the Acer Aspire 3 is the best of the bunch. Thanks to its strong processor, it can easily run the most popular low- and mid-spec games.
- However, HP 14 is also a good machine if you want to play Minecraft and Fortnite. The Vega 6 graphics and a Ryzen 3 5000 series CPU make it a great option for under $500.
- On the flip side, the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is a great choice if you want lots of RAM straight away. It also features Intel UHD graphics and is highly rated by experts and users alike.
What’s your favorite gaming laptop under $500? Have you used any of these devices? Don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments below.
