Best Cheap Gaming Laptops Under $500 (June 2013)
If you are on a very tight budget, but still want to play some games on a laptop, then see this list of best gaming laptops under $500. When you buy a sub-$500 notebook, don't expect high graphics settings in newer games. For serious gaming, you need something better than a cheap laptop with a AMD APU or something with no dedicated graphics card. If you want play games like Battlefield 3, Metro 2033 or TES: Skyrim, then I suggest you to spend around $100 more on a notebook with an intel Core i3/i5 processor and NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M / AMD Radeon HD 7670M class video card. Sometimes laptops like this are even cheaper, few dozen dollars over $500.
Best gaming laptop for under $500
ASUS K55N-DB81 is currently the best gaming laptop for under $500, even though it is available for just $399. This ASUS notebook is a great computer for its cost, it has a decent AMD A8-4500M APU with an AMD Radeon HD 7640G video card, Windows 8 and pretty good battery life (up to 5.5 hours). It also has 1 year Accidental Damage Protection.
ASUS K55N-DB81 15.6-Inch Laptop
(Black)
Amazon.com
AMD Quad-Core A8-4500M 1.9GHz, 2.8GHz w/Turbo CORE
6GB of DDR3 SDRAM memory installed
750GB (5400rpm) Serial ATA hard drive
AMD Radeon HD 7640G Graphics
15.6" HD LED-backlit Widescreen display (1366 x 768)
Microsoft Windows 8 64-bit operating system
Best gaming laptop for under $400
This Toshiba is an OK choice for around $350, it's much better than sub-$400 laptops that have AMD E-Series APU or Intel Pentium processor. AMD A6-4400M and its integrated Radeon HD 7520G graphics have similar performance to older Radeon HD 6620G in games, but the processor part of the newer A6 APU isn't as fast (it's a dual-core).
Toshiba
Satellite 15.6" Laptop
Amazon.com
AMD Dual-Core A6-4400M 2.7GHz, 3.2GHz w/Turbo CORE
4GB of 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM memory
500GB (5400RPM) hard drive
AMD Radeon HD 7520G Graphics
15.6" TruBrite LED-backlit display (1366 x 768)
Microsoft Windows 8 (64-bit) operating system
"Gaming laptops" under $400 (not recommended)
Following laptops are much weaker than notebooks that cost few dozen dollars more. Don't expect playing any recent demanding games fluently, even with lowest settings (at least with native resolution). Not so power hungry games like World of Warcraft and Sims 3 should be playable at low-medium settings on these low-end laptops.
Laptops with Intel Pentium B980 / B970 / B960
Notebooks with Intel Pentium B9X0 processor are not suitable for people who want to play modern games, especially when much more capable laptops only cost few dozen dollars more. This Lenovo is not a gaming machine, it just has average overall specs, but its Intel Pentium B960 is much faster than AMD Brazos E-450 or AMD E1-1200/ E2-1800.
Lenovo G580 15.6-Inch Laptop
(Matte Black)
Amazon.com
2.2GHz Intel Pentium B960 dual-core CPU
4GB of DDR3 system memory installed
320GB (5400RPM) Serial ATA hard drive
Intel HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge)
15.6" HD LED (1366 x 768) display
Microsoft Windows 8 64-bit operating system
Laptops with AMD E2-1800
The AMD Dual-Core E2-1800 in this Toshiba is not a powerful processor, it's even slower than most much older AMD Turion and Intel Pentium Dual Core CPUs. Although it's faster than most Intel Atoms, it is still not a recommended buy for its price. The integrated AMD Radeon HD 7340 should be comparable to Sandy Bridge Intel HD Graphics.
Toshiba Satellite C855D-S5320
(Satin Black Trax)
Amazon.com
1.7GHz AMD Dual-Core E2-1800
4GB of installed DDR3 RAM
500GB (5400RPM) hard drive
AMD Radeon HD 7340 graphics
15.6-inch display (1366 x 768)
Microsoft Windows 8 64-bit operating system