But here’s the problem: Especially if you’re a serious gamer, it’s difficult to find a gaming laptop that can keep up with your competitive streak. We hate to break it to you, but it’s even harder to find a capable laptop with a low price tag. But, if you know the specs to look for in a cheap gaming laptop, you can still get a great gaming experience. Trust us, you wouldn’t want to seem like a noob! In this article, we’ll explore:
What specs to look for in a gaming laptop in our buyer’s guide Best gaming laptops under $400
If you are interested in how we judged the laptops, at the end of the article we go over all the specifications that you should look for in a good gaming laptop. Jump to the Specifications for a Gaming Laptop Now. Ready to start the grind? Find the best cheap gaming laptops FTW! Note: We are currently updating this page so that it has the best laptops for 2022.
Top 5 Gaming Laptops Under $400
Now, keep our buyer’s guide considerations in mind as you read through this section!
1 Top 5 Gaming Laptops Under $4002 TOP CHOICE: Acer Aspire 52.1 Final Verdict3 BEST PORTABLE GAMING LAPTOP: Lenovo Chromebook C3303.1 Final Verdict4 SLIMMEST BUDGET GAMING LAPTOP: ASUS VivoBook 15 Thin and Light Laptop4.1 Final Verdict5 Best for Beginner Gamers: HP 14 inch5.1 Final Verdict6 Best Ergonomic Gaming Laptop: Lenovo 130S-11IGM6.1 Final Verdict7 Cheap Gaming Laptops Specs – What to Look For7.1 RAM7.2 CPU7.3 Storage7.4 Display7.5 GPU8 Give us your POV . . .
From our testing and research, here are the 5 best cheap gaming laptops:
TOP CHOICE: Acer Aspire 5
It’s hard to find a better low-budget gaming laptop than the Acer Aspire 5! First of all, it’s lightweight, simple, and sleek –– the perfect portable gaming laptop. In terms of specs, Acer Aspire is as good as it gets. Its AMD Ryzen 3 processor ensures that it can run heavy applications faster than your typical laptop. It also has 4GB DDR4 RAM, which is great for multitasking. You can listen to your favorite music and play games without any problem. There’s more. . . To ensure a smooth gaming experience, the Acer Aspire 5 is equipped with an updated AMD Radeon 3 graphics card. You can easily play Need for Speed, GTA IV, and run the PUBGM Emulator on medium to high settings. Even better, you can enable Alexa on this laptop. Easily set timers and alarms, to-do lists, reminders, and calendars or appointments. A great gaming life and home life? That’s what we call a double whammy! Lastly, the Acer Aspire 5 is known to be hardy and durable. Most gaming laptops would wear down within a year or two, but not the Acer Aspire 5.
Final Verdict
Acer Aspire 5 is one of the best low-budget gaming laptops for its powerful processor and graphics card! Customer Reviews Rating: 4.6/5
BEST PORTABLE GAMING LAPTOP: Lenovo Chromebook C330
Are you looking for a highly versatile yet affordable laptop? Get the 2-in-1 Lenovo Chromebook C330! This ultra-light laptop has a convertible design that is easy to lug around. What can be better than playing games anytime and anywhere? Don’t think that because it is a chromebook that you can’t play games – you can play NFS-Underground, GTA, Friday Night Funkin and Roblox of course. Now onto the specs: While the Chrome operating system might seem restricting, it’s incredibly intuitive and easy to use. The integrated Intel graphics card is fast, accompanied by a 4GBDDR3 memory for the ultimate seamless and responsive experience. We also love that it’s convertible. But there’s more –– you can disassemble the keyboard to get a tablet!
Final Verdict
If you’re a casual gamer that’s always on the go, we recommend the budget-friendly 2-in-1 Lenovo Chromebook C330. Customer Reviews Rating: 4.5/5
SLIMMEST BUDGET GAMING LAPTOP: ASUS VivoBook 15 Thin and Light Laptop
The Asus VivoBook 15 is far from the stereotypical ugly and bulky gaming laptop. From our research, it’s the best thin budget gaming laptop in 2021! Especially if you’re looking for a responsive laptop with exceptional multitasking capabilities, Asus Vivobook 15 won’t disappoint. Here’s a rundown of its best features: The Asus VivoBook runs on a powerful 10th Gen. Core 13 processor that ensures smooth and fast performance. Though it’s the thinnest gaming laptop, Asus generously equips the Vivobook 15 with an ample vivid display of 15.6” full HD 1080p. Another great feature is the combination of the 8FB DDR4 memory plus the Intel UHD GPU that makes for a fast and smooth user experience. We love to play Counter-Strike, Fortnite, and Minecraft on this laptop. Lastly, we’re big fans of Asus for its one-year damage protection guarantee for most laptops. Their customer support is amazing when it comes to repairs and technical concerns.
Final Verdict
The Asus VivoBook 15 is one of the best gaming laptops with a low price tag! It’s thin, powerful, and offers a vivid display. It doesn’t hurt that it also comes with a damage protection guarantee! There are reports of mouse issues, but our guide on How to Fix Mouse Scroll Wheel Jumps may fix those. Customer Reviews Rating: 4.5/5
Best for Beginner Gamers: HP 14 inch
Though extremely budget-friendly, the HP 14” specs won’t disappoint. In fact, you can play most AAA games on medium to high settings without any issue. Here’s what you should know: It runs on Windows 10 OS! Remember, that’s your number one choice if you want to run all the latest games with ease. It also runs on an AMD Ryzen 3 processor, which is great for most beginner games. No problems for performance and loading/response time/ What’s more, the 128GB SSD combined with a 4GB DDR4 RAM ensures the ultimate responsive gaming experience! You can play Minecraft, GTA, NFS, Counter-Strike, Call of Duty and Project IGI without any problems. To top it off, the graphics are spectacular! The 14-inch HD screen ensures a smooth visual journey without any glitches.
Final Verdict
The HP 14” is ultra-lightweight, compact, and budget-friendly! It’s your best bet for beginner gamers who want a cheap yet reliable gaming laptop. Customer Reviews Rating: 4.⅗
Best Ergonomic Gaming Laptop: Lenovo 130S-11IGM
Ergonomics should be your top priority, especially if you want long gaming sessions! The Lenovo 130S-11IGM can give you just that! We love that this IdeaPad laptop is portable and lightweight at only 2.5 pounds. It’s compact enough for everyday travel in your satchel or backpack with a thickness of just 0.7 inches. The best news? The Lenovo 130S packs a punch when it comes to battery life. Most gamers can rely on the battery alone for about 8 to 10 hours. Now onto the specs: We admit that this laptop isn’t the best for high-tech and complex video games. However, newbie gamers are sure to have a blast with the Lenovo 130S-11IGM without burning a hole in their pockets. Thanks to its reliable Intel Celeron processor, you can have a fast gaming experience! It’s not the most powerful gaming computer out there. Play your favorite games like Sim City, Quake, Planetbase, or Dungeon keeper. Performance is great for its price, thanks to the combination of the 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM, and a flash storage of 64GB eMMC.
Final Verdict
The Lenovo 130S-11IGM is one of the most reliable travel gaming laptops! It’s sleek, compact, and lightweight. Plus, it has great battery life. Customer Reviews Rating: 4.3/5 There you have it! You’ll never be the lagger with our top 5 gaming laptops under $400!
Cheap Gaming Laptops Specs – What to Look For
Go AFK for a moment and take a look at the top specs you need in a gaming laptop:
RAM
If you hate it when your computer crashes mid-game (who doesn’t?), increase your laptop performance by getting one with plenty of RAM! Ideally, you’d want a laptop with at least 8GB RAM. This would be great for most games to avoid any lagging. Unfortunately, not many cheap gaming laptops have this feature. It’s easier to find a laptop with 4GB RAM. If you’re a serious gamer who loves MOBA or FPS games, you’ll feel limited by a 4GB RAM. To maximize CPU power, you can opt for dual-channeling and get a laptop with 2 x 4GB RAM sticks instead of 8GB RAM.
CPU
Also known as “the brain” of your computer, the CPU ensures the functionality and longevity of the laptop. For high-tech video games, you need a CPU with multiple processors to keep up with your audio and video feeds. You also need to consider clock speed for a fast and seamless gaming experience. Here’s what you should look for in a cheap gaming CPU:
Storage
If you’re a light to the casual gamer, recommended storage for your gaming laptop is at least 512GB. If you plan on installing a lot of AAA games, go for a gaming laptop with at least 1TB of storage. Most gaming laptops will allow you to expand your internal storage, but if you’re not comfortable doing so, you can always get an external HDD/SDD.
Display
The best display you can get for a gaming laptop within this price range is either an FHD/IPS display. FHD offers the sharpest images, while IPS is great for color reproduction and wider viewing angles. FHD/IPS displays are difficult to find in a cheap laptop, but you can still go for a TN/FHD laptop. This display offers better refresh rates which are ideal for gaming. It will be best to steer clear of TN/HD or HD+ displays due to their low resolution. As for screen size, you’d generally find gaming laptops under $1000 with 15” screens. While it may not be the most space-saving choice for gamers on the go, most 15-inch laptops can run for a good six hours off the plug. For resolution and refresh rate, the universal 1080p and 60Hz display is capable enough.
GPU
The graphics card is the most important factor to consider in a gaming laptop. A reliable GPU helps drive up higher frame rates, higher resolutions, and better detail settings. Here’s what you should look for: We hope our cheap gaming laptops guide helps you to figure out the best choice for you! If you have (a lot) more to spend, how about checking out this guide on gaming laptops under $2000.
Give us your POV . . .
Which one do you think will give you the best gaming experience? While gaming laptops on a budget will have its limitations, these are the best gaming laptops when it comes to performance and gaming experience. We’ve reviewed the top gaming laptops considering CPU, RAM, GPU, storage, and display. Get ready for a GG with our top picks –– GLHF!
