It’s a really rare thing if you want to get the best gaming laptops under 500 dollars but the good thing is, it’s basically not impossible. Now, gaming can be done for everyone, especially for those who wish to play games while having limited funds in their pocket. 

When we talk about a budget laptop, there are things that you need to sacrifice a little bit. I mean, when we talk about a $500 laptop that is also good for gaming, you will expect to not see fancy graphics cards and a high-grade processor with limited RAM. But if you are okay with that, then this article will be perfect for you! 

Today, we will discuss 5 gaming laptops under 500 dollars that your money can buy, with two honorable mentions just for your reference. As I mentioned before, it’s a bit hard if you choose to play the latest high-end games that need so many horsepowers. 

But don’t lose hope my fellow gamers, because there are still games that are good to play even if you have a very basic laptop configuration. I’m talking about the best NFS Most Wanted, the latest Command and Conquer Red Alert Remaster, and perhaps a little bit of Crysis, Vanquish, the Dead Space 1 to 3, or emulator games which widely available on the internet. 

If we talk about that type of game, then this article might be for you! I have a research and finally decide 5 compilations of the best gaming laptops under 500 (or around 500) with two honorable mentions just for your reference.

A bit of disclaimer: these lists are my personal opinions, and I definitely need to know about your options for a budget gaming laptop! Any kind of thing, I will accept with open hands. 

So, shall we jump in?

Acer Aspire 5 A515-43-R19L – Budget Gaming Laptops Under 500 Dollars

Coming up from a brand that is famous for making the competitive laptop for everyday activities. There’s this one named Acer Aspire 5 that is labeled the budget laptop with AMD Ryzen 3 as its heart. 

Design-wise, well, it’s Acer’s design. Pretty basic comes with a total silver color except for the monitor’s frame. The monitor uses a UHD IPS display with a resolution of 1920×1080. Full-sized keyboard with a backlit. Seems like this configuration has become a trend now, especially if we talk about the budget laptop that you can buy. 

Now talking about the most interesting parts. As it is mentioned before, the Acer Aspire 5 uses AMD Ryzen 3 3200U with integrated Radeon Vega 3 Graphics cards that will help you to do some graphics. Although the 4GB DDR4 RAM is like a rock bottom basic, you can still play some old games like Assassin’s Creed 2, Dead Space Trilogy, and a little bit of Ps1 emulator will do it as well. 

Although it is using the SSD for the memory cards, it’s still small so you need to have an external Hard drive or save it in a cloud. Otherwise, it’s definitely a good laptop, especially with UHD graphics. 

Dell Inspiron 15 3000 Series (3511) – Good Gaming Laptops Under $500

Dell is an interesting brand in my opinion. Their desktop often decorates the desk in lots of companies and their laptop is widely used by different kind of people. If we talk about a gaming rig, Dell got Alienware in the house that creates mind-boggling pieces of equipment with interesting specs. But what if their budget laptop? Can it be used to play games? Well, here’s the Dell Inspiron 15 3511 that will brighten your day. 

If we talk about gaming, Dell has its own division that handles every gaming laptop and desktop with God specs that you wish with the price that is worth. If we talk about a budget laptop that is good for gaming for under $500, I can say here’s one that you can choose. 

Name’s Dell Inspiron 15 300 series. A laptop with a 15” screen with a small bezel which makes the screen looks a little bit bigger. With a big size screen, also comes a full-size keyboard as well. The design? Looks minimalist with carbon-black color on every side. Nothing is white except for the alphabet, numbers, and symbols on the keyboard. 

What makes it interesting is, that the Dell Inspiron 15 300 Series is using the latest Intel Core i3-1115G4 processor with integrated Intel Iris XE Graphics. Also comes with DDR4 4GB of RAM with SSD 128GB of storage inside. 

Well, it’s… enough, especially for a budget laptop under $500. Can’t hold up the high-end games, but enough to play the old school. Love tower defense? Command & Conquer Red Alert is still playable! I still play it though, 

HP 14 – Cheap Gaming Laptop Under $500

If you wish to have a professional laptop for work or school activities with a bit of power for your free-time gaming activities, then you will look for the HP 14. A sleek and minimalist chrome-colored laptop that is packed with a bit of power for your multitasking day with the price of around $500-ish. 

The chrome color isn’t just for show because HP 14 is equipped with an all-aluminum chassis to increase its sturdiness, at the same time increasing the durability level. Features-wise, you will get quite a lot of high-tech for your mobility task. Mentioning the touchscreen which… makes you rarely use the touchpad or vice versa. Other than that, the fingerprint is a good feature, as well as the B&O speakers that will make a clear music sound. 

After all the good features, let’s go to the most important parts. The HP 14 comes with Intel Core i3-1115G4 that can boost to the maximum of 4.1GHz with its Intel Turbo Boost Technology, Intel UHD Graphics, and 8GB of RAM. You can play quite a few games with it, especially the old games that are still good to be played like the Dead Space Trilogy, Need For Speed Hot Pursuit, a bit of Minecraft, or Emulator games that will bring nostalgia. 

It’s a good game and a good features, especially for seeking a balance between work and gaming. I know it cannot run the latest AAA games, but old ones are still good to play. I even still played Stronghold Crusader until this time. No one beats the feeling of nostalgia for the old times.  

Asus Vivobook 15 – Gaming Laptops for 500

If 14” is a little bit smaller for you, how about this Vivobook series from Asus? With good specs, comes with the Intel Core series, and a good design with a 15” inch. No wonder it’s considered one of the laptops that are good for gaming under 500. 

Comes with a full 15” design with full UHD 1920×1080 resolution and a full-sized keyboard with backlit, comes in a grey color but you can choose between Transparent Silver (no, it’s not transparent), Slate Grey, Peacock Blue, or Coral Crush.

The Asus Vivobook 15 comes with Intel Core i3-1005G1, 8GB of RAM, and Intel UHD Graphics. On the memory side, you will get 128GB of SATA SSD. You wouldn’t get a touch screen here but the fingerprint reader is there to increase the security to the maximum. Considering the specs, you can still play some tower defense like the latest Command and Conquer Red Alert Remaster and maybe we need to keep the graphic setting to medium. Otherwise, the old-school Age of Empire, Dead Space Trilogy, and maybe a bit of emulator.

Lenovo IdeaPad 3i 15 – Gaming Laptop Deals under $500

Here’s the latest Lenovo that you can get this year. With a price range of around $500, it’s the laptop that can be considered the 500 dollar gaming laptop, but it depends on your needs. 

I’m saying that because the Lenovo IdeaPad 3i comes with quite interesting specs – I’m talking about Intel Core i5-1135G7 Quad-core Processor, the powerful Intel Iris XE Graphics with Full HD IPS 15” display which will make your eyes feel satisfied. What’s more interesting is the RAM that it offers which is 12GB of Ram and NVME 256GB SSD memory. 

Now back to the design. The Lenovo IdeaPad 3i comes in two colors – Abyss Blue and Sand. a full-sized keyboard with (almost) bezel-less display. Added Lenovo’s signature keyboard style which really Lenovo-ish. 

I mean, these specs speak by themselves. With the price range, it’s definitely a steal because normally the Core i5 falls in the price range above $600. That’s why I recommend this one. 

Honorable mention: 

If you have quite a bit of cash or if you can save up a little bit, here’s the honorable mention of the gaming laptop that you can buy. Both of these beasts are cheap, but the specs can’t be underestimated. Any kind of task (but I believe most will be gaming) can be done but don’t do it too hard, okay? Like making 4K video animations. Don’t do it. Otherwise, the laptop will scream. 

HP Pavilion Gaming 15

This is the laptop that I recently used for… almost everything – writing, gaming, watching YouTube, and so on. Well, the one that I own is the old model but it’s my partner here! 

The HP Pavilion Gaming 15. The entry-level gaming laptop was released by HP catching every side of gamers around the world. With the price range starting from $600, it offers the specs of a gaming laptop at an affordable price. 

Design-wise, it’s a 15” laptop with a combination of black with Acid Green/Ghost White. The accent color normally goes from the logo on the top, outer keyboard as well as frame of the tracking pad. The backlit also emits the accent color, making it quite nice especially when you work/gaming in the dark. 

Spec-wise, well, it depends on your budget. The choice starts from the combination of AMD Ryzen 5 – GTX 1650 4GB – 8GB RAM, to the highest combination of 11th gen Intel core i5 – RTX 3050 Ti 4GB – 16GB RAM. memory starts from the 256GB SSD, 512SSD or the highest, the combination between 256GB SSD + 1TB SATA HDD.

Dell G15

When people know Dell for the Alienware gaming laptop, some might think that Dell doesn’t make an entry-level gaming rig. But, is that true? 

Introducing the Dell G15. The laptop has quite a futuristic design that looks like a laptop from the future. Comes in three different colors – dark Shadow Grey, Speckled Specter Green, and Speckled Phantom Grey. It’s speckled because, in these colors, you will see a black spot around it. Don’t forget the special keyboard with orange backlit on it. 

The Dell G15 is a laptop that can be customizable in-house. You can choose the processor from 12th Gen intel i5 to i7. Graphics, from Nvidia Geforce RTX 3050 4GB to the highest, the Geforce RTX 3070 Ti 8GB Gddr6. RAM, from 8GB, 16GB to 32GB DDR5 Dual Channel.

Dell G15 also using some Alienware tech for this laptop. One of them is the Alienware Command Control to the thermal design that is inspired by Alienware. It’s like the laptop that is created by Alien inside Area 51. 

The price range starts from around $900 to the highest $1400-ish. 

Final Verdict

The best gaming laptop under $500 is here thanks to you, passionate gamers who wish to play games albeit a limited budget, and thanks to the competitive market that create quite a selectable powerful laptops around the $500 price range. 

Sometimes, gaming isn’t just about the price… it’s about your will to play games. Because there are still games that you can still play and are still good even though it’s an old game. But for those gamers who desire to play high-end games, it’s inevitable to save some cash to get a better gaming laptop. Or desktop, it’s up to you.

In the end, it ends up to us how we play the game but don’t forget to play to your heart’s content!