Welcome to the best gaming laptops under 400 dollars.
If you are a gaming lover and trying to find a 400 dollar gaming laptop, you won’t have to worry about it.
I’m here to provide you with an honest and reviewed buyer’s guide. I know your thirst for gaming with this budget, and you want to enjoy modern games on that laptop.
Well, I’ve got you covered.
I made a list of the top 10 best budget gaming laptops under 400 dollars. After in-depth research on this topic, I found these laptops, and I checked every laptop’s hardware, including build quality, whether it’s worthy or not in this price range.
Just keep reading! And stay with me!
No doubt, the gaming world has become modern over time. As modern games are coming with futuristic graphics, they can’t run on low graphics memory like those old versions of PCs and laptops. And then they use play station because they can’t afford such expensive laptops and computers for gaming.
I was also playing games on my old and turtle-walk PC years ago.
But at that time, there was no powerful graphics card like the Nvidia 3080 to run games on higher settings or ultra settings.
And yes, it is also true the revolution in video games just began just a few years ago.
There are many expensive laptops like MSI 0GT76 Titan and ROG Mothership GZ700 in the market and online stores specially built for gaming purposes they can run the games on extreme ultra settings.
But you are here to buy the cheap gaming laptop for under 400 dollars, and I would say before choosing the best one for you. Must consider these specifications on your laptop.
And if you can spend $400 plus, then go for the best laptops under $600.
If you’re in hurry, check out the tops 3 best budget gaming laptop under 400:
Best Gaming Laptops Under 400 Dollar 2021
| Image | Product | Details | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
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Lenovo IdeaPad 3 |
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Acer Aspire 5 (A515-55-378V) |
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HP 15.6-Inch (1W830UA) |
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2021 Newest Acer Aspire 5 (AMD CPU) |
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ASUS VivoBook 15 |
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Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5 |
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HP 15.6-inch (AMD CPU) |
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2019 Newest HP |
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2020 Lenovo IdeaPad 3 |
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2020 HP |
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Let’s check out one by one!
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Best Choice
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
GPU: AMD Radeon Vega 8
RAM & Storage: 8GB & 256GB SSD
Display: 14-inch full HD screen
Battery life: 7 plus hours
Weight: 3.3 pounds
If you have 400 dollars, then this device is really made for you, as the Lenovo Ideapad 3 is an affordable laptop with excellent performance. It has the specifications which you will find in any other expensive laptops under $400.
It has a beautifully sleek design with a comfortable keyboard and durable chassis. But the chassis isn’t thick or thin. It looks like other ordinary laptops but it is really a value for money machine.
Performance: Lenovo offers you a reliable dad-to-day performance as this laptop is packed with AMD’s Ryzen 5 3500U processor. You will really enjoy the powerful performance of all types of everyday tasks. Whether you’re working from your home office, a student needs a lightweight, affordable laptop for school.
But if you think you can’t play games on this machine, then you’re wrong because it’s processor can run all games till 2020 but in low settings. not very low!
Display: Lenovo IdeaPad 3 comes with a 14-inch full HD screen with 1920 x 1080 resolution, and It’s hard not to criticize such an inexpensive laptop for having a not-so-bright display. However, it offers you a full HD panel, which provides you sharper images.
RAM & Storage: There is an 8GB DDR4 RAM built-in and 256 GB SSD Storage, which is pretty nice to boot up the machine or any games within seconds. Yes, as I said, it looks like an ordinary laptop, but it’s not! Storage and RAM are enough for gaming and multitasking.
GPU: The laptop has AMD Radeon Vega 8 graphics. This is enough to run the pre-installed Windows 10 OS and keep you powered throughout the day on basic tasks without slowing down. AMD Radeon Vega 8 graphics offer no more than casual gaming capability. If gaming is your hobby, you’ll need to select a more expensive notebook.
Ports: It has a limited port selection. But you don’t miss the virtual ports. It doesn’t have a USB Type-C port, but you get a pair of USB 3.0 ports, a single USB 2.0 port, an SD card slot, HDMI 1.4 port, and a headphone/mic jack including Wi-Fi 5.
Battery life: The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 has incredible battery life with 7 plus hours. Isn’t it good? That’s quite interesting for a budget laptop.
Acer Aspire 5 (A515-55-378V) Best With Battery Life
CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i3
GPU: Intel UHD graphics
RAM & Storage: 4GB & 128GB SSD
Display: 15.6″ FHD Acer BlueLightShield
Battery life: Nearly 11 hours
Weight: 3.97 pounds
The laptop has premium looks and fancy features under this $400 if you have in your pocket. It includes all those specs you might need to run games, video editing, and drafting. No doubt it’s a mid-range machine.
In the previous article, we talk about the best laptops under 600 dollars, and yeah. They all are perfect in that price range.
As I would say, this machine is perfectly compact and value for money.
Performance: Acer Aspire 5 is powered by the 10th Gen Intel Core i3-1005G1 Processor. And the same performance you can see in 2020 DELL 15 3000. Honestly, the latest Gen processor will let you do gaming without any lags.
Display: If we talk about its display screen, it has a stunning 15.6″ FHD with narrow bezels Acer BlueLightShield that will protect your eyes. The colours and tones are pretty lovely while rendering. The colours are well saturated, warm, and rich, and the contrast is excellent throughout. Overall, it’s a substantial visual experience.
RAM & Storage: As for the ram and storage, it has 4GB DDR4 On-Board Memory, 128GB SSD storage.
GPU: Acer Aspire 5 comes with integrated Intel UHD graphics, which will quickly let you play on average graphics settings.
Ports: The system has a USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 1 port with two USB 3.1 Type-A Gen 1 ports, a USB 2.0 port, an HDMI 2.0 port, and an Ethernet port.
Battery life: Nearly 11 hours of battery life is excellent for using off the charger at home without worrying about plugging in. If the Aspire 5 will be your go-to machine for commutes, a day of classes, or travel, it will last a good while, even if it’s not the most compact laptop in the world.
HP 15.6-Inch (1W830UA) Best With Display
CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i3
GPU: Intel UHD graphics
RAM & Storage: 4GB & 128GB SSD
Display: 15.6 inch HD micro-edge
Battery life: Nearly 8 hours
Weight: 3.7pounds
This notebook is offered by HP. A well-known brand for providing excellent computers and laptops for every kind of usage. Under a $400 budget, this machine is compact and affordable for low-end gaming, photo editing, or everyday use. Let’s talk about its specs.
Performance: The laptop is powered by Intel 10th Gen i3-1005G1 with a turbo technology processor. The base frequency is 1.20 GHz up to 3.40 GHz. And you may know the device offers you a mighty processing speed to do gaming or running adobe products for editing or designing.
Display: The laptop contains a 15.6 inch sharp, micro-edge, and high definition display panel. And you know for gaming purposes you should have a clean and sharp screen that provides you a better experience, thanks to HP.
RAM & Storage: This notebook comes with 4 GB DDR4 SDRAM and 128GB SSD built-in. The SSD storage is so fast to boot up your laptop and your every game, including software, whether working on Adobe Photoshop or anything else. Also, you can do multitasking with 4GB DDR4 RAM.
GPU: Well, this is an essential component of every laptop for gaming. HP has built-in integrated Intel UHD Graphics under this price tag. Also, it has an HD webcam with dual speakers. By the way, Speakers quality is good
Ports: In this notebook, one USB 3.1 Type-C port, and two USB 3.1 Type-A ports. Also, you have one HDMI port. Apart from that, you have WiFi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.2 facility. The laptop is running on Windows 10 Home operating system.
Battery life: From battery life, it has excellent battery life. you can work on it for a long time. So don’t worry about its battery.
2021 Newest Acer Aspire 5 (AMD CPU) Best Cheap Gaming Laptop
CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i3
GPU: Intel UHD graphics
RAM & Storage: 8GB & 128GB SSD
Display: 15.6 inch FHD nano-edge
Battery life: 5 hours plus (supports fasting charging)
Weight: 3.75 pounds
Acer Aspire 5 made with silver aluminum, which means it is lightweight and a lovely modern notebook. You can’t ignore the aspire 5 laptop under $400. It’s weight is nearly 3.9 pounds, which makes it slim and lightweight.
But not that too much. Although the laptop is not specially made for gaming purposes, its excellent performance and super battery life will keep you doing gaming for many hours on medium settings.
Performance: With AMD Ryzen 3 3200U, it will give you out-class understanding. AMD is well known for multitasking and gaming processors, as they offer excellent performance. You can use this machine for multitasking as well as for designing, without lags. It will never disappoint you regarding performance.
Display: The screen on this laptop is worth it by itself as It has a 15.6 inch full HD wide IPS display. Screen quality is excellent, with crisp text and vivid colours when the backlight is set to its maximum level.
RAM & Storage: 4GB DDR5 RAM and 128 GB SSD has built-in.
GPU: There is AMD Radeon Vega 3 Graphics installed. Although not very powerful, the graphics card is not very powerful, so as I mentioned above, it will let you do gaming on medium settings. You can play games on 720p resolution.
Ports: For the ports, one USB 3.1 port and two USB 2.0 ports are available on both edges. Also, it has one HDMI port.
Battery life: As for the battery life, it can give you up to 7.5 hours battery backup. That means you can use it for a long time.
ASUS VivoBook 15 Also Consider
CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i3
GPU: Intel UHD graphics
RAM & Storage: 8GB & 128GB SSD
Display: 15.6 inch FHD nano-edge
Battery life: 5 hours plus (fast charging)
Weight: 3.75 pounds
One of my favorite laptops on this list is not any ordinary laptop. An ultra-slim bezel and its stunning design urged me to include the Asus Vivobook 15 on our list.
There is no doubt it’s a lightweight and comes with respectable specs under 400 bucks. It’s a fantastic budget where you will get the best of both design and specs.
And today, I’m excited to tell you all about its specs.
Performance: I’m quite happy to tell you that Asus Vivobook 15 is powered by the 10th generation Intel Core i3 1005G1 dual-core processor with a maximum speed of 3.4 GHz. The laptop is fast regarding processing speed, which will give you a smooth experience on 720p gaming.
Display: You can appreciate that Asus offers you a 15.6 inch Full HD nano-edge (88% screen to body ratio) display. Under this budget, it’s impressive.
RAM & Storage: A nice 8 GB RAM (DDR4), as well as an SSD with 128 GB of capacity, and you’ve got yourself a powerful multitasking laptop that lends itself as the perfect solution for anything from college students, video game plays, photo editing as well as video editing.
GPU: This device contains integrated Intel UHD Graphics graphics. If you’re planning on using it for graphically intensive tasks – such as hardcore gaming.
You will surely be disappointed with graphics performance on heavy activities, but you can play games on 720p and enjoy the smooth gameplay. This laptop can also play 1080p games, but you will face lags.
Ports: There are two USB 3.0, two USB 2.0, one USB Type-C, one HDMI 2.0 port, a combo headphone/mic jack, and finally, a microSD card slot.
Battery life: It does quick charge, charging up to a 60% battery capacity with just 50 minutes connected to a power outlet. Many customers said that it gives 5 hours plus on average use quickly.
Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5 Best Lightweight Gaming Laptop
CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i3
GPU: Intel UHD graphics
RAM & Storage: 4GB & 64GB SSD
Display: 13.3″ FHD IPS panel, anti glare
Battery life: 10 hours
Weight: 2.97 pounds
We reviewed about five gaming laptops under $400, and I would say that this Chromebook is packed with extra features under $400. For people like you who love convertible and versatile laptops for everyday tasks, the Lenovo Flex 5 is made for you whether you wanna play games, or you are a designer, drafter, etc.
This is best for you only if you really want to do such things. But if you plan to buy only gaming purposes in high graphics settings, I will not recommend this notebook is not a gaming laptop, but as I mentioned above, this is a versatile 2-in-1 laptop.
Performance: Lenovo flex 5 is powered by the latest 10th gen Intel Core i3 CPU. Generally, the CPU can handle many of your works without any problem.
Display: This 2-in-1 Chromebook has a 13.3 inch Full HD IPS panel. There is a responsive touchscreen. You can work and play in any mode. The display is anti-glare, configured with narrow bezels to minimize screen clutter, let you enjoy streaming video, movies, games, and more, with clear and vibrant detail.
RAM & Storage: There is 4GB DDR4 RAM, which lets you multitask. If you run like 15 chrome tabs with different web apps, including HD video streaming. you can use occasional android apps like Facebook or Adobe Lightroom at the same time.
As for the Storage, it’s equipped with a 64 GB Solid State Drive. This single feature is disappointing in this Chromebook, but you are thinking right to upgrade the Storage. You can expand it quickly.
GPU: The device is equipped with integrated Intel UHD Graphics. Although it’s not very impressive for gaming purposes, it’s ok with minimal settings.
Ports: On the left edge, you’ll find a USB-C port, a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port, a headphone jack, and a microSD card reader. On the right, there’s an additional USB-C port. And yes it comes with a WiFi 6 technology for non-stop conectivity.
Battery life: The laptop comes with a fantastic battery life with up to 10 hours of backup. This is huge. Those who travel frequently and want a good battery life laptop for school, work, and play.
HP 15.6-inch (AMD CPU) Best Choice
CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3200U
GPU: AMD Radeon Vega 3
RAM & Storage: 8GB & 256GB SSD
Display: 15.6″ 1366 x 768 HD diagonal display
Battery life: 10 hours and 45 minutes
Weight: 3.75 pounds
HP (15-ef0021nr) is a budget laptop with mid-range features and specs to meet your daily tasks, especially for gaming on average settings. Yes, it can play games in moderate settings easily. The laptop comes with impressive specs and features under this price, especially its long-lasting battery life and a thin micro-edge bezel design.
This mid-range laptop has two variants of the processor. If you want to get some extra performance regarding processor speed, go with AMD Ryzen 7 3700U. But if you have a $400 budget, I suggest you go with AMD Ryzen 3 3200U.
Performance: This machine will keep you productive and entertain you everywhere and give you reliable performance in every situation. HP 15 laptop is powered by AMD Ryzen 3 3200U, Dual-Core, 2.6 GHz base clock, up to 3.5 GHz max boost clock. In this price tag, it’s a good deal. You can stream, surf, and speed through tasks.
If you go with AMD Ryzen 7 3700U, then you have to spend more bucks.Display: It contains a 15.6-inch 1366 x 768 HD diagonal display. The screen is BrightView and micro-edge (82% screen to body ratio) along with WLED-backlit. You can enjoy an immersive multimedia experience with a maximized viewing area.
RAM & Storage: There is a fast solid-state drive 0f 256 GB, which allows it to boot up very fast. You can imagine it boots up in seconds, so you enjoy a speedy experience with SSD.
Besides this. It has 8GB DDR 4 RAM, which is not upgradeable. With the 8GB RAM, you can multitask and work on many applications without any problems or lags.
GPU: The laptop comes with AMD Radeon Vega 3 graphics. The graphics performance is average on games.
Ports: HP 15 has two Type-A ports, a SuperSpeed USB Type-C port, Media Card Reader, 45W smart AC power adapter, HDMI 1.4b output, and a Headphone/Microphone combo. Also, you have in terms of connectivity is the WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0.
Battery life: In terms of battery life, it contains up to 10 hours and 45 minutes of battery life on mixed-use.
2019 Newest HP Best With Touch Screen
CPU: 8th gen Intel Core i3
GPU: Intel UHD 620
RAM & Storage: 4GB & 128GB SSD
Display: 14″ touchscreen (1366×768) 60Hz
Battery life: 6 hours plus
Weight: 5.4 pounds
Once again, we are going to talk about the HP laptop. Most of the users would probably find it influential under a $400 price. In fact, this laptop is an imposing piece of machinery. It’s sleek and light, and you would be pleasantly surprised by the 14-inch touchscreen with narrow bezels. It looks awesome.
Some people will like it, especially if you tend more towards the business end of the marketplace. Well, The laptop you are looking at here comes with Windows 10 Home in S-mode with Ash Silver Keyboard Frame. As it has a backlit keyboard. So you can use it in the evening when the light level is turned low in the living room.
Performance: This machine is powered by Intel i3. It is an 8th generation processor. The base frequency of the processor is 2.10 GHz, but it can be pushed to 3.90 GHz.
Display: The display is a 14-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 1366×768. It does refresh at 60Hz, but it will not allow you to compete at a world-class level in games unless you have transcendent talent. The panel type is flat if you could not tell from the picture.
RAM & Storage: The SATA SSD 128 GB is built-in . and you can upgrade it up to 2 TB SSD. You can use a SATA M.2 or a PCIe M.2 SSD in this unit. So you will get maximum performance as if money is not a problem. There is a 4GB DDR4 RAM installed in it, with a speed of 2400. And you also have two slots available.
GPU: The graphics card would be limiting for most games as it uses an on-board Intel UHD 620. And couldn’t be used for high-class gaming. But if you upgrade the ram up to 64GB. You may get a little bit more performance. This is my opinion.
Ports: It comes with all the necessary ports, so you don’t have to worry about ports.
Battery life: The battery life isn’t horrible. If you continue surfing the web on a laptop with average brightness, honestly, you will get 6 hours plus battery life.
2020 Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Best With Large Screen
CPU: 10th gen Intel Core i3
GPU: Integrated graphics
RAM & Storage: 4GB & 256GB SSD
Display: 15.6″ IPS FHD anti-glare coating
Battery life: 5 hours plus
Weight: 5 hours plus
Ideapad 3 is one of the more affordable laptops on the market. It belongs to simple office work, but it is packed with the latest generation processor. Available under $400. Built quality and performance could be one of the best devices ever under this price, no problem if you want to play the game on low settings. You will really be impressed by its beautiful design and narrow-bezel display.
Performance: Lenovo is still offering this boy with 10 gen intel core i3 processor. Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is much faster and smoother than the base-spec Microsoft Surface Go 2, which has an Intel Pentium CPU and more expensive than the IdeaPad.
Display: The screen is 15.6 inch IPS Full HD with anti-glare coating. Although this is not a touchscreen laptop, the hinge lets it fold back by 180 degrees. However, it’s a TN (twisted nematic) panel.
RAM & Storage: IdeaPad 3 has 4 GB DDR4 RAM and 256 SSD storage.
GPU: You don’t get a very impressive graphics card, just the integrated graphics part of the Core i3 processor.
Ports: As usual, there is a USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports. But you will note get USB Type-C, which seems a head-scratcher in 2020.
Battery life: Once you charge, it gives you 5 hours plus battery backup.
2020 HP Best With Small Screen
CPU: AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
GPU: AMD Radeon graphic
RAM & Storage: 4GB & 128GB SSD
Display: 14-inch (1366 x 768) anti-glare
Battery life: Up to 10 hours
Weight: 3.24 pounds
This laptop is a perfect choice for students, entrepreneurs, and those who are crazy about video games. Although it’s motherboard is not made only for gaming, it would be not wrong to say that you can play video games on average settings with a minimum of 20 frames per second. You will not believe Its processor is surprisingly beast under this price.
Despite that, it’s not so bulky as it’s just 3.2 pounds and small like tablet size, making it perfect for students. Or if you like to travel, believe me, it could be your companion.
Performance: The laptop is powered by AMD Athlon Silver 3050U that easily beats the Core i5-7200U. So you can say it’s a powerful processor for this laptop.
Display: The laptop has a 14-inch diagonal display with 1366 x 768 resolution. Additionally, it is an anti-glare and micro-edge display with WLED-backlit.
RAM & Storage: I mentioned above, this device comes in different variants of RAM and storStorage under 400 dollars price you will get 4 GB DDR4 RAM and 128 GB SSD for basic multitasking. At the same time, SSD offers you a fast file transfer facility boot-up speed.
GPU: There is an AMD Radeon graphic installed in it, which will allow you to play games on average settings. So it’s great.
Ports: As for the ports, there is a USB 3.1 Type-C, two USB Type-A, and also an available HDMI port. The sound quality is okay.
Battery life: Up to 10 hours of battery life means you have long-lasting battery life.
Buyer’s Guide For Best Gaming Laptops Under $400
- GPU (Graphics card) essential component
- CPU (Processor)
- Display Size
- RAM
GPU (Graphics Card) Essential Component
In this modern gaming world, your laptop must have a perfect graphics card. Graphics chip is the mother component in any gaming laptop. But it’s not that mean, you have an ideal graphics card but not have an appropriate processor with that GPU.
So you should have the right combination of both GPU and CPU. and if talk about about the best manufacturers!
- Nvidia
- AMD
So when you decide to buy a laptop with dedicated graphics under 400 bucks, keep in mind this component.
CPU (Processor)
As I said above, if you have a perfect graphics card, you must have a CPU of at least Core i3 with a minimum 8th generation under $400. The right processor will give a fast and smooth gaming experience without any lags. When you edit photos or render high-quality videos.
You need more cores in the CPU and a higher clock speed. But wait, it won’t be so much for gaming. So I would say, don’t forget while buying a good gaming laptop under 400 dollars for you.
Display Size
It’s another major part of the laptop. You have good graphics memory. You have a fantastic processor, but you don’t have a full display screen, then it’s all in vain.
For a fair gaming experience, you must have at least a 15-inch display screen.
A small display won’t give you a great gaming experience. And yes, I would recommend an IPS panel for video games. This type of display screen will provide sharp and accurate colours—So keep in mind when you choose a laptop for gaming purposes under this price tag.
RAM
Now it’s an essential question of how much RAM you will need to play video games. Are you thinking that 8 GB RAM is enough for a smooth gaming experience?
And my answer is definitely YES. 8GB RAM is enough for multitasking and gaming purposes for this budget. RAM plays a vital role in a laptop while playing games.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What Is The Best Gaming Laptop Under $400?
All the laptops included in this list are good gaming laptops. You can use the perfect one, but I want to share with you that my vote is for Lenovo IdeaPad 3 and HP 15.6-Inch.
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Do Gaming Laptops Overheat?
Overheating is related to graphics cards. Most people try to play games on integrated graphics cards on higher settings, and that’s why they face overheating problems. I don’t say that integrated graphics cards are not compatible with gaming but are compatible with low-level gaming.
Even though I had played games on Intel UHD Graphics 620 for a long time on medium settings
Conclusion
Finally, the list is over. So I have enlisted the best and cheap laptops under $400 after in this list. If you read the whole article, you have noticed that every laptop on this list is not perfectly designed for gaming purposes. The laptops mostly made for gaming have great graphics cards, a powerful processor, and a massive number of latest generation RAM. But there are very expensive to buy.
I will also update this list if I noticed any other best gaming laptops under 400 dollars.
Cheers.
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