If you’re one of those who consider that a laptop can be also great for gaming, you’ve come to the right place. Moreover, if your budget is limited to $400, but you do want to enjoy gaming experience in most of modern games, keep reading!
$400-worth laptops can launch modern games at 1080p and higher with few compromises in graphics settings, which is a more than enough for many gamers.
No doubt, traditional desktop PCs and more expensive laptops offer more in terms of quality and graphic settings, but the performance you get from a $400-worth gaming laptop can be more than good enough. Have a bit more budget to spend or want to play games at higher settings? In that case also look at our selection of gaming laptops under $600.
We’ve put together a chart to save you from tedious research and help you choose the best gaming laptop under 400$ according to your requirements and budget.
Top 10 Gaming Laptops Under $400 Ultimate Chart
| Photo | Title | Rating | Price | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop | $344.00 | Amazon | |
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Lenovo IdeaPad 3 | $470.00 | Amazon | |
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ASUS VivoBook 15 | $345.99 | Amazon | |
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2020 Newest HP 14" Laptop | Amazon | ||
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ASUS VivoBook Flip 2020 | Amazon | ||
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2020 Dell Inspiron 15 | $398.00 | Amazon | |
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Newest HP Pavilion | $169.99 | Amazon | |
|
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2020 Dell Inspiron 15 | $398.00 | Amazon | |
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Microsoft Surface Go | $170.00 | Amazon | |
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2020 Lenovo Chromebook Flex 3 | $192.00 | Amazon |
Consider Before Buying a Gaming Laptop Under $400
- GPU: 3D Graphics Engine. In today’s world, videogames are all about graphics, which is why when choosing a gaming laptop, consider what kind of graphic card, or GPU, it features. You’ve probably heard about two graphic card manufacturers-giants: AMD and Nvidia. Most laptops in the $300–$500 price range are powered by integrated graphic cards which are not powerful enough to play heavy 3D games. If you want 3D gaming look at options with graphic cards from AMD and Nvidia that come as a separate unit.
- CPU: Not Crucial, But Still. Even though your laptop’s CPU is not as critical as the GPU, but it is still important to consider the best option. If you’re shopping for a laptop exclusively for gaming, look for a fast and more advanced CPU. A CPU with more cores and with a higher clock speed will be very beneficial for video encoding and photo editing, but it won’t do much for 3D gaming experience. So keep that in mind since we’re discussing gaming laptops today.
- RAM: 8 GB is What You Need. How much RAM your laptop has plays a direct role on the quality of gaming experience you’re getting, so keep that in mind when shopping for a gaming laptop. However, many people think that the more the better. But in the case of RAM, 8 GB is enough to get the most out of the vast majority of today’s games.
- Display: Important Stuff. You can’t run a decent videogame without having a good display. But here’s the rub: most gaming laptops feature twister nematic LCD displays, which offer faster response times, but their off-axis viewing can often destroy the gaming experience. IPS displays are recommended for their better color accuracy, but they are more expensive.
Top 3 Best Gaming Laptop Under $400 Reviews
1. Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop
Our overall winner in the budget laptop category is in our view also the best gaming laptop under 400 dollar. Why?
First of all, its 15.6 inches full HD widescreen screen is great for gaming. Secondly, the sound quality is above what you see of competitors in this budget category. And lastly, the overall specifications like the latest generation processor, AC WiFi and port selection are all pretty good considering this laptop costs less than $375.
2. Lenovo IdeaPad 3
Our runner up is the the newest Lenovo IdeaPad 3. The IdeaPad comes in various iterations, but for this category we suggest to go for the 14 inch model with AMD Razen 5 CPU and Vega 8 Graphics. Although 14 inch is on the small side for a gaming laptop, it keeps the price close to $400 while the upgrade in CPU and GPU makes it a lot more suitable for gaming. Although build quality and battery life of the Lenovo is ok for this category, we recommend this budget-friendly laptop as it has a good display (especially if you manage to get one with an IPS screen), it has a good keyboard for typing and has in integrated SD slot.
2. Asus VivoBook 15
Although the Asus VivoBook in the selected configuration normally is a bit above $400, it made it to our top 3 gaming laptops under 400. In this Intel i3-powered configuration with 8GB RAM it is a strong allrounder. The quality of the display and, like the Lenovo, the battery life are only just on par. However, the premium design, available ports, and small bezels (88% screen-to-body ratio) make this Asus Vivobook a strong contender in the budget gaming category.