The world is moving toward mobility and portability, and that means now you have more options than ever before to take your gaming with you. Gaming laptops offer a balance between the hardware needed to play demanding 3D games, but the practicality of and portability that laptop users demand.
Those same advances in technology means that now, more than ever, you can get a great gaming laptop for under $500 that is powerful enough to play all but the most intense games on the go.
But to ensure you have what it takes to play your games, you need to make sure you have the right components that will stand the test of time, but will not break the bank. Find more option at netbooknews.com
Graphics Card
The most important consideration for gaming is going to be the graphics chip your computer has inside of it. You can chose from integrated chips -- meaning that is part of your CPU, or discrete chips, which are separate from your CPU. The former is the cheapest and though it has historically been frowned upon, performance has gotten quite good these days. Depending on what kind of games you play, this could very well be enough. World of Warcraft, or other games with that graphics load will likely be just fine.
A discrete is your best bet if you want to play more intense games, but you will have to pay for the cost of having another chip. If you can find a gaming laptop for under $500 with a discrete chip, that will be a great deal. The consideration also is these use more battery power, so if ultimate portability is key, go integrated but be prepared to take a slight performance hit.
Processor and Hard Disk
For most gaming situations you will want an Intel Core i5 processor or better. The i5 is the mainstream choice, while an i7 will get you better performance, but it will cost you a lot more and if you don’t need to play the absolute best games, then an i5 will do.
When it comes to disks, then solid state disks (SSDs) are best but they do not provide the most space. If you want to load up a lot of games, then having a large SSD will likely blow your budget. While traditional harddrives are a lot slower, they are multiple times as large. They also lead to longer load times, but once the game is loaded you are good to go.
Flexibility
The most important thing to optimize around, however, will be the price tag. You may have a brand that you like, but to hit the price you're looking for, you will need to make sacrifices. The laptop you find may not even be branded as a "gaming" laptop, but whats important is that it has enough power to play the games you want. Thankfully we've weaved our way though this for you to help you find the optimal gaming laptop for under $500.
5. Dell Inspiron 13 i7347-50sLV Gaming Laptop (<-- $478.99 Click to Buy on Amazon)
The Dell Inspiron proves that you can have your cake and eat it too. The laptop, while its not an i5, offers a potent 4th generation i3 that is as powerful as AMD mobile variants, and enough to churn through most games. But what this has that others do not is the ability to flip over as a convertible laptop with touchscreen.
4. HP 15-d020nr 15.6-Inch Touchscreen Laptop (<-- $389.00 Click to Buy on Amazon)
Intel is the market leader when it comes to processors. That means they demand a premium for their product to pay for the research and development their company does day in and day out. So a good strategy is to swap out that expensive Intel processor for an AMD, and that is exactly what HP did here.
You get a relatively large screen with touch capability and a quad-core CPU that should make non graphics intense games sing.
3. Toshiba Satellite C55-C5241 (<-- $419.00 for Used, Click to Buy on Amazon)
This laptop features an Intel i5 processor with a stunning 8gb of RAM. That should be enough for all except the demanding games. Standout features include a massive 1TB harddrive and a nice 15 inch display. Careful, the pixel density is not that great, but it will be enough for full screen tasks and games.
2. Acer Aspire F15 (<-- $549.00 for Used, Click to Buy on Amazon)
This Acer does heavy duty work without taxing your wallet. Coming with a bright 15.6" display, it features a fast Intel i5 processor running at 1.7 GHz. This should be enough to get through many of the popular games on the market, and with 8gb, this will also let you have the best experience in your 2D desktop as well.
1. HP Laptop 15-ay011nr (<-- $459.00 for Used, Click to Buy on Amazon)
This is a nice laptop that also has a solid state disk for ridiculously fast load times. The screen is a high resolution 15 inch display, in fact the best display on our whole list, but it also comes with 8gb of memory. The CPU is enough to get through most games and being HP, it even comes with a DVD burner for all of your back up needs.
