We want you to get the best out of your money. These laptops will be suitable for gaming and will give you your value’s worth. This list of gaming laptops under 500 dollars doesn’t mimic ‘made for gamers’ in their design, making them suitable for college work and conference.
Is a $500 ranged gaming laptop good?
It is tough to find a cheap gaming laptop at this price point, it is bound to have some hardware limitations.They will struggle a little with gaming. They lack powerful hardware, and their performance dips in terms of newer games. It is hard to find a good gaming laptop that pushes decent frames in games. You will need to sacrifice in areas like resolution and frame rate.
What are the downsides I have to face?
The RAM option also looks bleak as of now, most of our selections cap out at 8GB of RAM. 8GB is enough in 2020, but if you want to run resource-heavy games, it will not be enough. As of 2020, most of the games are dependent on RAM and GPU usage.Speaking of GPU, all the best laptop under 500 have integrated GPU, meaning it won’t be as fast as a dedicated GPU. The iGPU is better than not having a GPU at all. But you will inevitably struggle with the framerate loss. We suggest lowering the visual settings in the game or even reducing the resolution. Lowering it will lessen the stress on GPU, ensuring increment in framerate.Further, Ryzen APUs are the best deal that you can get in this category. Intel might have a faster CPU, but in terms of graphics, they fall way below and can’t compete with AMD’s option. Moreover, AMD has a better edge compared to Intel. The Ryzen APUs inside the devices are neck to neck in terms of CPU performance. With the addition of AMD’s Vega graphics, the Ryzen laptops under 500 dollars are more powerful.The laptop running the Vega APU can play most of the games in 1080p low with playable framerate. As for Intel, most of the games are playable from 720p, all low settings. Going Intel in this category is kind of tough. There are no better Intel laptops at this price point. Intel laptops work substantially better with discrete GPUs. So at this price point, it is kind of tough to find a decent gaming machine.
Best Gaming Laptop Under $500: Overview
Acer Aspire 5
The Acer Aspire 5 does its job well. With its Ryzen 3 3200U, it performs well for the low-end gaming spectrum.The gorgeous 15.6-inch display is great with the large bezels. The bezels house a 720p fit for video conference. The keyboard is decent with a well-sized trackpad. The audio is average at best as it doesn’t sound too loud or have depth.The best thing about the laptop is its attractive body. The metallic finish on the laptop gives off a premium look more like a business laptop, viable to take anywhere.
Processor and GPU:
The Ryzen 3 3200U is a great processor for gaming at this price point. With the Zen+ architecture, the processor boasts 2 cores and 4 threads. It has a base clock of 2.6 GHz and a boost clock of 3.5 GHz. The clock speed on the processor is good enough for gaming.The Ryzen CPU ship with the integrated Graphics Unit. The Vega GPU provides the device with enough horsepower for gaming. The 3 graphical cores clocked at 1200MHz support the latest DirectX12.The CPU and GPU combination is good enough for gaming and some light photo editing. It won’t be able to handle heavy to light 3D modeling work.The Ryzen 3 3200U makes it the best budget gaming laptop for the price.
RAM and Storage:
The 4GB RAM and 128 GB storage situation for the laptop is “OK” for the basic gaming. Most of the games will be running in medium to low quality. In esports titles, the laptop can push over 60fps, whereas, in heavier titles, you might dip below 40fps. But we suggest you upgrade the laptop to 8 GB.The 128GB SSD inside the Acer Aspire 5 is enough for 3 to 4 games. With the games like Call of Duty: Warzone occupying over 150GB, we advise increasing the storage space. The SSD makes the laptop quick and sharp. So talking SSD over HDD has a significant impact on the performance of the device.
The Body and Display:
The chassis is made out of plastic with some visible flex on the keyboard area. The device is thin and light. Since the Ryzen processor generates low heat, the manufacturer can create a lightweight chassis for the device. The display has a resolution of 1920 x 1080p IPS display with good viewing angles. The IPS display is better for gaming and content consumption. But we tell you not to use the screen for color correction.The keyboard is backlit but a low travel distance. The touchpad size is average with Windows precision driver. The 720p webcam is placed on top of the display, which is better than having no camera.The thin and light design makes it a compelling option. More comfortable to travel with and has excellent gaming performance.
Battery Life, I/O and connectivity:
The battery life on this device is good. It lasts up to 5 hours with regular usage. The port selection on the Acer Aspire 5 is excellent. It has 1 USB 3.1 Gen1 Port, 2 USB 2.0 Ports, and a single 1 HDMI port. As for connectivity, it comes equipped with 802.11ac Wi-Fi with Bluetooth 4.2.
Asus VivoBook 15
The looks and the performance on this laptop are enough to make you buy it. It is powered by the older Ryzen 5 3500U processor; it’s the best bang for the buck laptop.The absolute stunning 15.6-inch FHD display is to die for. Better viewing angles and accurate color accuracy just makes you want to stare at it. The 720p webcam does the job for better communication. The backlit keyboard is better with a fingerprint sensor on the touchpad. The audio is surprisingly good, but it isn’t that loud.Asus is known for its aesthetics, and they don’t disappoint. The brushed aluminum finish on the body uplifts the attraction. The laptop looks modern plus fits anywhere, college, offices it fits well.The Asus Vivobook 15 displayed with the Ryzen 5 3500U is a steal for the price. The gorgeous display paired with the visual prowess of the Vega 8 GPU. With its performance and visuals, it cements itself as the best gaming laptop under $500.
Processor and GPU:
AMD processors give the best value for the price. Asus Vivobook 15 comes equipped with AMD Ryzen 5 3500U processor. The successor to the Ryzen 3 3200U, it comes with 4 cores and 8 threads. The processor is clocked at 2.1GHz and boosts up to 3.7GHz. The Ryzen 5 3500U is also a Zen+ architecture based processor. The quad-core performs well in esports games and latest titles, thanks to the 4 cores and 8 threads.The Vega 8 integrated graphics is good enough for gaming. The 8 graphics compute cores push over 80 fps in esports titles like CS:GO, whereas struggles to maintain 60 fps in the latest Triple-A titles. It is decent enough graphics for the price point.
RAM and Storage:
The DDR4 8GB RAM is sufficient for gaming in 2020. It will struggle with the latest and future games, but for now, it is adequate. The RAM rated speed is 2400MHz, considered as slow for Ryzen processors. Anyhow the 8GB still does the job well.The 256 GB SSD in the device is an excellent deal for the price. The storage space will be enough for newer games and esports games. The 256GB SSD is replaceable with a 1 TB 10000RPM HDD. The best deal looks to be the 1TB 10000RPM harddisk but better look to upgrade to the 256 GB shortly.
The Body and Display:
The Asus Vivobook 15 has a sleek and thin design. It’s like nowadays every manufacturer aims to create their laptop sleek and slim. The overall body is made out of plastic with minimum deck flex on the keyboard region. The keyboard has low key travel with better feedback. The backlight on the keyboard provides great features and aesthetics. The glass-topped touchpad is decent and reasonably better compared to other offerings.The display on this device is breathtaking. The narrow bezels on display make the screen look big and majestic. The Narrow bezels house a 1920 x 1080 display and a 720p webcam on the top. Asus has genuinely thought of the display, as it showcases color reproduction with excellent viewing angles. Asus creates good laptops, which are hidden gems considering the price point.
Battery Life, I/O and connectivity:
The battery life on the laptop is mediocre. The 37 Whr battery is suitable for light work but only lasts up to 2 to 3 hours. Asus sacrificed the battery for better display and hardware. The trade-off isn’t bad: the user will be connected to the wall port while gaming. In the case of I/O, the laptop ships with a USB Type C (Gen 1) connector, 2 USB 3.0, 2 USB 2.0, and HDMI connector.As clean as the I/O, Asus has also implemented a fingerprint reader on the laptop. Now that is a feature that we don’t usually see on a $500 gaming laptop. For connectivity, it ships with an 802.11 ac Wi-Fi adapter and Bluetooth 4.2.
Lenovo V14
If you are willing to spend a little more, the Lenovo V14 is best out of all the picks. The Ryzen 5 4500U powered laptop ships with tons of features and powerful CPU.The 14-inch FHD screen is nestled between quite fairly small bezels. The camera isn’t that great, but the 720p capture will do the work. The keyboard has Lenovo’s own font, which takes time to adapt. The audio is mediocre, so we suggest getting a good pair of headphones or speakers.The Lenovo V14 basically looks like a business laptop. The matt finish on the laptop is subtle and isn’t that noticeable. No one will be able to guess that this business laptop could play some newer game titles.
Processor and GPU:
The Ryzen 5 4500U is the latest CPU that came out this year. The Zen 2 based CPU is a great performer in games and can handle light 3D modeling. The 6 core and 6 thread present in the CPU gives extra edge compared to their Intel counterpart. The Ryzen 5 4500U is clocked at 2.3 GHz and boosts up to 4.0 GHz. The 6 cores are enough to slay all the other competitors on the list. This is the best CPU in our roundup but with a higher price tag.The laptop costs slightly over $500. During sales, the laptop price tends to lower, making it a better choice.The Vega 6 integrated Graphics processor is a blessing. The 6 Vega compute unit in the processor is lesser than the older Ryzen 5 3500U, but it has an increased clock speed of 1500MHz. The laptop pushes over 100 fps in esports titles, whereas it keeps 60 fps in the latest Triple-A titles at low to medium settings.
RAM and Storage:
As of before, the 8GB RAM is enough for light gaming and casual gaming. It struggles in the modern games with subsequent fps drops in-game—the RAM can always be upgraded later.The 256 GB SSD is a steal for the price. The faster SSD will make the device faster and snappier. The quick response and quicker load times are an excellent upgrade from the slower HDD. There are tons of upgrade paths for this device, with the RAM upgrade path up to 32GB and extra SSD M.2 slot.
The Body and Display:
The body is made out of plastic with a lot of flex near the keyboard area. The keyboard is good, not great. The arrow keys on the keyboard look troublesome and smaller. The trackpad is also decent with its average medium trackpad area.The 1920 x 1080p screen is good for the price and has better viewing angles. The 14 inch IPS display is nestled between the bezels of the laptop. The larger bezel on the bottom of the display gives away the aesthetic of the laptop. For a 720p webcam, there is nothing much to say as it’s the generic webcam.
Battery Life, I/O and connectivity:
The battery life is better, thanks to the AMD Ryzen Processor. The laptop’s average battery life exceeds 4 hours thanks to the low powered AMD processor.The I/O consists of 2 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, HDMI port, and an SD card slot. The laptop has no USB C, which is a drawback. The laptop comes with an 802.11ac Wi-Fi card and Bluetooth 5.0. It is quite depressing to see no Wi-Fi 6 for the newer Ryzen model.”
HP Pavilion 14
This is the best Intel could offer for the entry-level gaming laptop. The Intel Core i3 is good enough for low-end gaming spectrum.The 14-inch HD screen is not that great, but it allows for a better gaming experience. The keyboard is average with fairly good key travel. The trackpad and the audio isn’t that great but acceptable for its price.The body doesn’t look that great, average at best. But the metallic finished sides uplift the somewhat dull design—good design for the office and the home.Thanks to Intel’s 10th generation processor, the laptop barely makes it into the $500 budget. The newer graphics on the 10th generation processor enables it to perform well while light gaming. The 1366 x 768 resolution is perfect for this low powered processor.
Processor and GPU:
Intel’s new 10th generation processors are a good choice for gaming. The HP pavilion 14 comes equipped with the Intel Core i3 – 1005G1 processor. The 2 core 4 thread CPU is capable of handling esports games over 60 fps. The processor struggles to keep up with the latest games due to its low powered nature.The Intel UHD graphics in the processor helps to boost performance in games. It is inferior to AMD’s Vega iGPU but still sticks around in esports titles. The iGPU in the laptop can run the latest game titles in 720p with all low settings. But the fps hover below 30fps, which is considered unplayable.
RAM and Storage:
The 8GB RAM is a good deal matching for the processor. It isn’t sufficient for the latest Triple-A titles as it struggles to keep up. But it helps to play some esports and indie games smoothly. The laptop supports up to 32 GB of RAM, but we don’t suggest going overboard with 32GB.The 128GB SSD is sufficient for the device. The SSD can be upgraded, but if you focus only on gaming, provided storage is good. There isn’t an M.2 bay, so a 2.5 HDD and SSD is the only upgrade path.
The Body and Display:
HP focused on the budget segment of the laptop. The plastic body helps to reduce the overall price of the laptop. The body is overall solid with little flex on the keyboard deck. The keyboard has lower key travel with the smaller arrow keys.The trackpad is average and smaller. The display is also disappointing with a resolution of 1366 x 768. The bezels are narrower with the 720p webcam on the top. It is frustrating to see a bad display. Intel’s processors are expensive, So HP had to lower the cost somehow.
Battery Life, I/O and connectivity:
The 41 WHr battery sustains up to 4 hours of continuous usage. Even though the Core i3 is a low powered CPU, it still draws more power. The laptop’s port selection is reasonable with 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type C, 2 x USB 3.1 USB Gen 1 Type-A, 1 SD Card Slot, and 1 x HDMI port. The Type C USB doesn’t support Thunderbolt 3.The laptop comes with an 802.11ac Wi-Fi adapter and Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity. The 10th generation laptop doesn’t have Wi-Fi 6 adapter, a bummer.
HP 14″ FHD IPS Laptop Notebook
If you liked the HP Pavilion 14, then the big brother, the HP 14, should not be missed. The Core i5 powered laptop is the best you can get out of the blue team.The HP 14 has a 14-inch IPS display within a large bezel. The bezels might not look great but give enough space for the 720p webcam. The keyboard is good but loses a point on the trackpad. But the speakers on the device are surprisingly good, giving richness and tone at a loud volume.The overall design is dull and gives off the average corporate office vibe. But don’t confuse it with an office laptop. The brush aluminum interior and matt finish on the lid do attract casual buyers.The HP 14 inch is a good gaming laptop, all due to its processor. The Intel Core i5 – 1035G4 matched with Intel Iris Pro graphics performed well in games. There are some limitations with Intel’s iGPU, but it still pushes a decent amount of frames. The gaming experience on the laptop is playable with no hiccups.
Processor and GPU:
The Core i5 – 1035G4 is a 4 core and 4 thread processor. The 4 cores are better than the 2 cores offered by the i3 – 1005G1. HP’s Core i5 has better clock speed offering better fps in games. The 10th generation Ice Lake processors are based on the 10nm lithography. The Core i5 handles the esports title very well but struggles in Triple-A titles.The Iris Pro Graphics is Intel’s top of the line integrated Graphics processor unit. Compared to Intel’s UHD graphics, the Iris Pro Graphics have better performance. The Iris Pro has a base clock of 300 MHz and boosts up to 1.05 GHz.The Core i5 and the Iris Pro GPU pushes over 80 fps in esports titles. It struggles to keep up over 40 fps in the new titles in low to medium settings. Tweaking the game settings might help the CPU and GPU maintain over 60fps in the latest game title.
RAM and Storage:
The 4GB RAM might not be sufficient for gaming. Before buying the laptop, we advise upgrading the RAM to 8 GB. The 4GB RAM will cause hiccups while gaming. The limitation of 4GB RAM is not suitable for the latest Triple-A title.The 128 GB SSD isn’t bad for storage, but it needs to be upgraded. The games have increased in size, so do the graphics. Nowadays, the SSD has been the primary storage source. But we sure do suggest you upgrade as the 128 GB fills up way faster.
The Body and Display:
The body is overall made out of plastic. HP sure does know how to lower the cost using cheap material. The keyboard area has a reasonable amount of deck flex, which we don’t like. But the overall build of the laptop negates the deck flex. The keyboard has low key travel and smaller arrow keys. The trackpad is small but does the job well, thanks to the windows precision driver.The 14-inch laptop has a 1920 x 1080 IPS display. The display has 67% sRGB color accuracy. HP’s display isn’t that great but good just for gaming and content consumption. The bezel of the device is smaller and has a 720p camera on top.
Battery Life, I/O and connectivity:
The 41 WHr battery lasts for around 3 – 4 hours, performing light workloads. The 41WHr doesn’t keep up during gaming and heavy load. The battery fully drains after 35 mins of heavy workload. The I/O and the port selection on the laptop is quite neat: 1 x 3.1 USB Type C Gen 1, 2 x USB 3.1 ports, 1 x HDMI port, and an SD card reader.As far as connectivity goes, it has the standard 802.11ac Wi-Fi adapter with Bluetooth 4.2 support. Still, we don’t see Wi-Fi 6 or 802.11ax standard in all the 10th generation Intel processors.
Asus Vivobook F510QA
The old meets the new; the Vivobook F510QA still stands on top of some of the laptop of the $500 category. The AMD A12 powered laptop does have some good features comparing to its age.Asus never disappoints in its display. The 15.6-inch FHD display is gorgeous with those thin bezels. The keyboard is awesome and has backlight support. The audio is an absolute banger with a deep richness in audio at a loud volume.The glossy finish on the lid and the matt finish on the inside looks great. The overall aesthetic looks are modern and office-friendly. Even a casual buyer will fall for its look before knowing the internal specs.The AMD A12 quad-core processor is good enough for gaming at this price point. Even though being and aging old hardware, it still sticks up to the latest Ryzen 5 2500U processor. The Radeon R7 GPU is still good. The Intel iGPU loses in graphical performance against the R7 iGPU. The R7 is the toughest iGPU, which has stood the test of time.
Processor and GPU:
The AMD A12-9720P is an older generation processor. The Quad-Core processor has a clock speed of 2.7GHz and boosts to 3.6GHz. The Higher clock speed of the CPU dedicates its gaming performance. Even though it is an older CPU, it still sticks up to time. The Vivobook pushes over 80 Fps in esports titles. Whereas in modern games, it maintains over 40fps considered as playable frame rates.The A12 comes with AMD’s Radeon R7 graphics. The Radeon graphics are older and outshined by the Vega GPUs but still stands the test of times. Thanks to the GPU, the laptop maintains a playable framerate in the modern titles. The GPU is strong enough to do some light photo and video editing.
RAM and Storage:
The Asus Vivobook comes with 4GB RAM. The 4GB DDR4 RAM isn’t good enough for the AMD system. Adding 4GB RAM bumping the total to 8GB RAM is recommended. The AMD Radeon graphics share RAM for its VRAM memory. More RAM is needed for the AMD system to run games properly.The 128GB SSD is fast, but the lower storage space is quite small. Later down the line, the 128GB SSD is not enough. The SSD occupies the M.2 slot on the laptop. There are 2 storage expansion options: 1 x 2.5 SSD or HDD or replacing the pre-occupied SSD.
The Body and Display:
The body is surprisingly good and sturdy. The finishing on the laptop is great even though it is made out of plastic. There is no deck flex near the keyboard area with a brushed aluminum finish. Now that is shocking to see in a gaming laptop under $500. The keyboard has low key travel and backlighting. The trackpad is decent and is glassed topped. Asus added a fingerprint sensor on the trackpad, adding more value to the device.The 1920 x 1080 monitor looks stunning and significant. The narrow bezel gives more real estate for the display to sign. It has better viewing angles and excellent color reproduction accuracy. The IPS panel never disappoints while gaming and watching videos.
Battery Life, I/O and connectivity:
It has a 42WHr battery lasting 3 hours under light usage. Asus has depleted the laptop’s battery life to accommodate extra features on the laptop. The Vivobook features decent I/O: 1 USB 3.1 Type C, 2 X USB 3.0, 2 X USB 2.0, 1 X HDMI port and an SD card reader. The laptop features an 802.11ac Wi-Fi adapter with Bluetooth 4.2 support.
Things to Consider When Picking a Budget Laptop:
There are several components and hardware information to know before buying an affordable gaming laptop at this price range. The laptops are hard to find, and there will be several options, but not all are deemed good gaming laptops. So here are some hardware rundowns that you will need to know before buying a gaming laptop.
CPU
The CPU is the individual part meant to be focused on before buying a laptop. It dictates how well your device performs. The market is full of laptop offerings from Intel to AMD processors. But there are tons of things to contemplate before choosing a CPU.CPU cores: The number of cores will levy your gaming experience here. More the core, the more the performance. The CPU cores compute and calculate the data from the data pushing out the output as frames.Clock Speed: Clock speed is the rate at which the CPU completes 1 instruction per cycle. The clock speed is measured in GHz. Bigger the clock speed faster, the CPU finishes the instruction per cycle.Intel has the upper hand in the laptop market with their CPUs. The market is filled with Intel laptops with limited options from the AMD side. There are not many AMD laptops as manufacturers don’t fully don’t agree with AMD’s mobile processor. All the processors from the respected company have 2 versions: Performance and Low powered versions. The processors listed in the article are low powered processors.
Intel:
Intel mobile processors have swept the market since launch. Almost all of the laptops in the market have Intel processors inside it. Intel has been a trusted processor provider for years. Intel has tons of processor lineups starting from Celeron processors to the Core I series and even Xeon mobile processors. But notably, the Core I series are most prominent in the market. The Core Series consist of 4 tier:
Higher-End:
Core i9 Series Core i7 Series
The top of the line is the Core i9 and Core i7 series, processors. These processors are expensive and will cost over $500. The Higher End processor series has features like hyperthreading and overclocking features. They have a higher core count and faster clock speeds.
Mid-Range:
Core i5 Series
Then comes the Mid-Range Core i5 budget series processor. The Core i5 has a maximum core count of 4 cores and 8 threads. The previous generation Core i5 processor (8th Gen and 9th Gen) had no hyperthreading. All 10th generation cores series have enabled hyperthreading on all their processors. A plus point if you are buying a 10th generation Intel laptop.
Entry-Level:
Core i3 Series
The Core i3 is considered the entry-level processor. It has the least amount of cores but better clock speed. The Celeron processors are the toned-down version of the Core i3 processors. The Core i3 processor has 2 cores and 4 threads, which is decent for gaming.Comet LakeKaby LakeCoffee LakeIce Lake
AMD
AMD is a newcomer in the mobile processor space. AMD has struggled with its newer Ryzen mobile processor. The older 3 generations Ryzen mobile processors are good but are behind Intel’s latest mobile processor. The 4th generation Ryzen mobile processors are better than all of Intel’s processors. Based on TSMC’s 7nm process node, the newer Ryzen mobile processor blew Intel out of their park.The newer Ryzen 4th generation processor beats all the Intel processors. The faster clock speed and more modern architecture helped AMD refine their mobile processor. AMD also have their series of Ryzen CPUs:
Higher-End CPU:
Ryzen 9 Series Ryzen 7 Series
The Higher-End CPUs (Ryzen 9 and Ryzen 7) offer higher core count and faster clock speed. The higher-core count makes them preferable for multi-tasking. Ryzen 9 offers 12 to 16 cores, whereas the Ryzen 7 offers 8 cores. The higher core count and faster per core clock speed of Ryzen CPU give it an edge in multithreading. Intel is known for its single-core performance, which is better for gaming.
Mid-Range CPU:
Ryzen 5 Series
The Ryzen 5 is a Mid-Range processor. All the Ryzen 5 offers 4 – 6 cores, but some SKUs don’t offer hyperthreading. The Ryzen 5 (4th Gen) has 2 more centers compared to Intel’s i5 series. For gaming, the 2 extra cores are must-have if you look to stream games.
Entry-Level CPU:
Ryzen 3 Series
Ryzen 3 is the entry-level processor for the Ryzen family. It boasts 2 -4 cores (4th Gen Ryzen has 4 cores), which is already better than Intel’s i3 model. It is quite amazing to see a 4 core processor for an entry-level processor. With the 2 extra cores, it becomes a compelling entry-level processor. AMD brings more cores to the table, improving the performance and flexibility of the processors.ZenZen +Zen 2Zen BasedZen + based
iGPU
The integrated Graphical Processing Unit works like the graphics card. iGPU is simply a toned-down version of the graphics card—the iGPU shares the VRAM with the system’s RAM.
Intel UHD/ Iris Pro:
Intel has their own fabled Intel UHD graphics and their latest Iris Pro graphics. The Intel UHD graphics is their basic graphics unit. All of Intel’s older mobile CPU ships with UHD graphics. There have been several changes to the graphics unit from UHD 600 to UHD 630 graphics. The Iris Pro graphics is the latest set of graphics processing units. All the processors have specific graphical processing units called EUs.
AMD Radeon/Vega iGPU:
AMD, on the other hand, have created their own graphics card for retail sale. The Radeon graphics card is an integral part of AMD’s company. The Ryzen CPU uses the Vega architecture in its iGPU. Each of the CPU has a fixed amount of Vega units ranging from 3 to 8 compute units. It also has its older Radeon architecture for its A-series mobile CPU. But the Vega graphics has surpassed the older Radeon architecture.For a gaming laptop under $500, the AMD’s Radeon graphics are superior to all of Intel’s offerings. The AMD graphical unit is far superior to Intel’s. For the best graphical performance, AMD’s iGPU is the best. It gives the best performance for its price. AMD has its fair share of making GPUs. The performance of the AMD iGPU is way better.The graphics card seems more powerful than Intel’s offering. But AMD’s iGPU is notorious for taking up RAM for better graphical performance. For all AMD iGPU, AMD advises users to buy higher capacity RAM. Most of the iGPU take 2 GB RAM to run at its fullest. For AMD’s iGPU to run, you need to sort out your RAM first.
Memory
Memory is another integral part of the system. RAM comes in different sizes UDIMM, SODIMM, DIMM modules. The laptop utilizes the SODIMM module, which is small, making them compact and densely packed with RAM chips. RAM also has a different generation of development. To date, there are only four generations for RAM; DDR4 is the latest.The memory configuration also dictates the system’s performance. All the systems are favored to perform faster in Dual-channel memory configuration. Occupying 2 of the RAM slot enables Dual Channel configuration mode. Single-channel configuration isn’t that bad. Dual-Channel memory increases a hefty 20% to 25% FPS in-game. So better get a dual-channel RAM configuration for better performance.Memory affects the FPS of a game. The games use RAM as a caching storage unit for faster data conveyance. In 2020, 8GB memory is the baseline for all gaming systems and laptops. Games are resource-heavy and chug your mind for better performance. So 4GB is an OK option, but we suggest the 8GB or even higher for gaming. If you also buy a 4GB version one, you can still upgrade the RAM, making it a viable choice to pick.The RAM featured on the laptops has a speed of 2400 MHz or 2666 MHz. That is a proper specification for Intel-based laptops. It’s not the best RAM speed, but it will work. Ryzen depends on the RAM and RAM speed for better performance. The older AMD CPU doesn’t depend on RAM, but they still use RAM for their iGPU. Even though being an older CPU, the AMD A-Series APU uses system memory for its iGPU.
Storage
Storage is a crucial part of any system. The technology has gone from a spinning hard disk to the solid-state drives. In 2020, all of the laptop ships with Solid State drives. Solid-state drives use NAND flash technology to store data allowing for faster read and write speed. SSD has been developing, each generation increasing the read and write speed. As the SSDs improved, their size decreased from 2.5 inch SSD to M.2 8820 form factor. The SSD rate has evolved from SATA III (600MB/s) to NVMe (2000MB/s).Hard drives are older but still reliable. The magnetic disc inside the hard drives saves data. The data is stored and read using the read/write head inside the harddrive. The hard drive utilizes the mechanical components increasing high chance of part failure. The hard drive has a read and writes speed denoted by their RPM. Faster the RPM better the read and write speed. The hard drives have rated speed of 5400RPM, 7200RPM, and 10000RPM. The 7200RPM and 10000RPM are the best hard drives.Using a 5400 RPM or lower speed HDD may cause performance issues. The user might face freezing and lag spikes in-game due to slower hard drives.Comparing the hard drive with the SSD, the SSD is far superior and has faster read and write speed. The hard drives are not as soon as SSD but are way cheaper. SSD is expensive, but its small compact and usage of non-mechanical components make it more reliable. The SATA III SSD is faster than your average HDD, costing slightly higher. The NVMe SSD is way expensive but way reliable and quicker than SATA III SSD.
Can I upgrade the CPU or GPU in my laptop?
No, the CPU in the laptop is soldered to the motherboard. Only a handful of laptops come with replaceable CPU sockets. But most laptop manufacturers solder the CPU onto the motherboard. The same goes for the GPU as well. The integrated GPU is present on the same substrate as the CPU. Some new models like the Alienware Area 51-M have specially engineered hardware. The specially built laptop allows more flexibility and more path for upgradability. But for all general laptops, there is no way to upgrade the CPU or the GPU.
Can I upgrade the RAM on the laptops?
Yes, Laptop’s RAM can be upgraded. Laptops usually have 2 RAM slots, the manufacturer populates only a single slot. If you have a single RAM slot, you can swap the existing RAM with a higher capacity.Some of the laptops come with soldered memory meaning you can’t upgrade the RAM. We advise taking higher capacity RAM (16 or above) or adding maximum capacity of memory.
Final Thoughts:
So here are our top picks for gaming laptops under $500. It was tough to find these devices. Not all the $500 or sub $600 category laptops can handle gaming. These are the few gaming gems we found for the price range. Yes, they are not fully gaming laptops. But they do push frames for a decent gaming experience. We advise taking more RAM for the AMD systems.During sales, the sub $600 and $600 gaming laptop price falls. The $600 gaming laptop has a discrete GPU giving more performance. AMD’s iGPU is good enough for its laptop. It is good to see an iGPU go head to head with a discrete GPU. So always look for sales and holiday events for better pricing on these laptops.So What did we miss or what did you think about it? Is there another laptop that we missed? Interact with us by commenting down below. We have all ears for your suggestion and support.
