Gaming has become a lot more accessible from the times when it used to be, Nowadays, if you are looking for a laptop or any other device to game on, buying it is not going to cost you a lot of money. There are a lot of affordable options available and you can pick the best option with ease the point here is that if you have been looking for something good, then getting your hands on it should not be difficult.
That is why we have taken it upon ourselves to find the best gaming laptops under 400. The point here is rather simple, we want to ensure that you are not running into any issues as far as the gaming performance is concerned in the price tag, and you still get a good overall experience, something that is not easy to find.
So, without wasting more time, let’s get started, shall we?
In a Hurry? These are the Best Gaming Laptops Under 400
Finding the right gaming laptop can be a tough task but if you genuinely want something that works for you and something that is good, have a look at our list and you would be good to go.
1. Acer Aspire 5 A515-46-R3UB
Best Thin and Light Laptop
Reviewing the Best Gaming Laptops Under 400
Now, as far as gaming laptops under 400 are concerned, you can find some great options, to be honest. However, I would let you know that if you want something that can play all the AAA titles, you might want to look elsewhere, as these laptops are mainly catering to beginners.
With that out of the way, let’s get started, shall we?
1. Acer Aspire 5 A515-46-R3UB – best laptop under $400
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Pros
Cons
Bottom Line:
The Acer Aspire 5 is an excellent budget laptop with a powerful enough Ryzen CPU and integrated graphics that can handle most casual games with ease. The laptop delivers good performance, excellent battery life, and a great value for money.
Acer as a brand has a lot of recognition in the market and this has been there for the longest time. We have seen them deliver some amazing laptops ranging from budget options to flagship gaming hardware. The point is that if you are looking for a good gaming laptop or a laptop in general, then Acer is the company that has you covered.
The specs are mentioned below for your convenience.
- 15.6″ Full HD IPS Display
- AMD Ryzen 3 3350U Quad-Core Mobile Processor
- 4GB DDR4
- 128GB NVMe SSD
The Acer Aspire 5 came to my desk and I was thrilled to take a look at it. You normally do not get such fine laptops in these prices but you would be more than surprised to know that this is an excellent laptop for the price you are paying.
I am going to start by telling you that if you have been in the market for a gaming laptop that delivers great performance overall in terms of battery, then this laptop will more than deliver that for you. During my use, I got around 7 hours, which is an impressive battery life.
Another thing that I love about the laptop is that the overall construction is not just sturdy but looks great too and the laptop can easily be carried around with you.
The combination of Vega 3 and Ryzen 3 CPU is a good one and for most of the casual games, you are absolutely not going to run into any issues. The Acer Aspire 5 is also great when you are talking ergonomics.
During my use, the only thing that I did not like about the laptop was how it would heat up under certain loads but other than that, nearly everything is perfect.
In conclusion, the Acer Aspire 5 is an excellent laptop that you should invest in if you are looking for great value for money and good overall performance. You would not be disappointed, that is what I can tell you.
Best Thin and Light Laptop
2. ASUS VivoBook 15 – Gaming Laptop under 400
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Pros
Cons
Bottom Line:
The Asus VivoBook 15 is an excellent thin and light laptop with a decent screen and a set of specs. If you are looking to get into something that works really well and manages to get all the basic tasks done, then this laptop is a great choice for entry-level gaming and productivity.
Asus as a company has come a long way and have delivered some exceptional products, as well. The VivoBook series is Asus’ way of delivering budget-friendly offerings that do not cost a lot but still manage to deliver good overall performance.
To be honest, when this laptop showed up on the table, I was surprised because I was not expecting Asus to deliver so much but hey, here we are and what you are getting is something exceptional, to say the least.
- 15.6” FHD Display
- Intel i3-1005G1 CPU
- 8GB RAM
- 128GB SSD
With that out of the way, the VivoBook 15 wins me over thanks to its gorgeous IPS display that is plenty bright, you do not get to see such displays every day but here we are, and things look rather amazing, to say the least. Another great thing here is that this is perhaps the thinnest laptop that we have looked at in some time, so if you have been in search for something that is thin and light, this is an excellent choice.
The 10th generation processor works great and does not drain a lot of battery, and you are also getting 8 gigs of RAM which is more than enough.
I have used the Asus VivoBook 15 for a good amount of time but the one thing that I have issues with is the mediocre speaker quality.
Overall, if you have been in the market for something thin and light and something that just works without creating a hassle, then getting your hands on the VivoBook 15 is a good choice.
Best Laptop for Beginners
3. HP 14 – Great laptop for beginners.
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Pros
Cons
Bottom Line:
The HP 14” is a surprisingly light and powerful laptop that boasts an impressive set of specs and is available for barely a lot of money. The performance is good and the laptop has all the things that you would require from a modern offering.
HP as a company is known for delivering some of the best laptops that you can find in the market. Everything ranges from budget offerings to some of the highest-end laptops. The HP 14” is something that is made for people who are not really going to spend a lot of time on intense gaming sessions but still want to spend some time playing casual games.
The laptop comes with an AMD Ryzen 3 CPU coupled with an AMD Radeon Vega 3 GPU, the combination might look like it is not enough for higher-end games but overall, the performance is more than satisfactory in most cases, especially when you are talking about casual gaming.
- 14″ HD AMD
- Ryzen 3 3.5GHz
- 4GB RAM
- 128GB SSD
- Radeon Vega 3
The chips used in this system are also excellent when you are talking about efficiency, so if you do want to use the laptop for longer times, the battery life is another great thing here, to be honest.
Another good thing is that the laptop itself is fairly small and compact. So, if you do want to carry it around, that should not really be a problem.
My only issue with the laptop is the fact that you are getting just an HD resolution. However, since you’ll be running most casual games, the resolution is perfect here.
Overall, the HP 14” surprised me in more ways than one and easily managed to become one of the best budget laptops for beginners. Granted, it is not the fastest machine out there but for what you are paying, it is an excellent device to get your hands on.
4. Lenovo IdeaPad 3i – Cheap gaming laptop under 400
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Pros
Cons
Bottom Line:
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3i is an excellent budget laptop that comes with a number of improvements and is not going to cost you a lot of money. It works really well and gets the job done without any issues that might come in the way.
It would be unfair to say that Lenovo has not managed to make an impact in the market; the company has been around for as long as one can remember and for those who are wondering, the laptops that they have are excellent and range from a number of options and we are going to look into some really good ones. The IdeaPad 3i to be specific caught my attention and I have decided to have a look at this laptop and see what it is all about.
Before we get started, let’s get the specs out of the way.
- 15.6″ FHD Laptop
- 11th Gen Intel Core i3-1115G4 Processor
- 8 GB DDR4 RAM
- 128 GB PCIe NVMe SSD
Now, it should not come as a surprise to anyone that for the price you are paying, the laptop itself is excellent I did try running some of the basic games on it and those ran without any issues. If you have been searching for something that gets the job done without costing a lot of money, this is a great way to get started.
I also love the fact that the laptop actually keeps up with the appearances so if you have been searching for something that has a modern look to it, then this laptop is a great choice that you should be looking into.
Last but not the least, I do appreciate how good the battery life on this laptop is as most of the time, laptops that we have been using are average at best, and that is not what we want, to be honest. So, good battery life is always appreciated.
Honestly, I don’t think there are any other issues that I did run into aside from the fact that the laptop tends to get hot when it is under load but other than that, I cannot think of anything going wrong.
5. HP 15 – best laptop under 400 for Students
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Pros
Cons
Bottom Line:
The HP 15 is an excellent laptop for students that do not cost a lot of money but still allows for ample productivity and that too without hindering anything else that might come in the way
It is safe to say that we all know HP for delivering some amazing laptops and it is only fair that you are exploring the entirety of their lineup before you go ahead and pick the laptop that you want. Now, it is not uncommon for the company to come up with something that is on the affordable end and the HP 15 is just that and more as this affordable laptop can be yours and it delivers great overall performance, too.
With that out of the way, the laptop is good because of how basic it is, you are not going to find any frills this time around but if you are in the mood for some basic gaming, then this laptop is more than good for that and it will not come in the way of how it works, so it is always better to look into that. You can have a look at the specs below.
- 15.6” HD Display
- Intel Pentium Quad-Core N5000
- 8GB DDR4 RAM
- 128GB SSD
Specs-wise, you are looking at a rather basic package but honestly, there is nothing wrong here because you still are getting a great laptop overall. For the price you are paying, it would be hard to get something better and for the most part, it works really well, so that is a good thing.
What else is there? The design language on this laptop follows most of the modern laptops in the market, so I cannot really complaint as far as the design is concerned, I would say that it is designed really well.
Most of the laptop is made out of plastic, however, so you will have to be certain that you are keeping that in mind but that is about it.
Overall, the HP 15 is a great laptop that is not going to cost you a lot of money and it will run most of the things and that too, with ease.
6. BiTECool NesBook – Best battery life Laptop.
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Pros
Cons
Bottom Line:
The BiTECool NesBook is one of the most affordable laptops in the market that you can get your hands on with good looks, a great set of specs, and an excellent value for money, as well. The laptop is not going to bother you at all.
Every now and then, we run into laptops that are on the more affordable end but at the same time, they do deliver excellent value for money and the best thing is that when you compare them to higher-end laptops, you are getting something that is excellent all around. With that said, the good news about the BiTECool NesBook is that this affordable laptop can easily go head to head with some of the more expensive options.
You can look at the specs below and judge for yourself.
- 15.6”Full HD IPS Display
- Intel Celeron J4125 Quad Core CPU
- 8GB RAM
- 256GB SSD
The specs are what you would expect from a laptop that is going to cost you this much and there is nothing wrong here, to be honest. I would say that you are getting a great overall laptop here and it is going to work really nicely, for the tasks that you have.
I did run some of the basic games on this laptop and most of them ran fine. However, I would highly advise that before you go ahead and start running the games that you want, be mindful of the situation because if you are not doing so, things can go awry and we don’t want. The basic games, however, work fine.
Thankfully, the battery life is another thing that I like, and the full HD IPS display is a much-welcomed addition as it works really well on this laptop and it never really creates an issue.
My only concern that comes up often is the fact that the Celeron processor might not be the most powerful offering and can hold back some tasks but that is about it.
Overall, I would say that the BiTECool NesBook is a great offering for the price you are paying. It never really creates a hassle for anyone and works just fine.
Related Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best laptop to buy for under 400?
- The Acer Aspire 5 that I featured in this list is the best gaming laptop to buy for under 400 as it delivers great performance and value for money.
What is the best gaming laptop under $300?
- You can find some excellent laptops in this roundup that you can get, sometimes, these are available for under $400.
What is the best low-budget gaming laptop?
- This honestly depends on the budget you have and based on that, you can pick the best laptop at that price. It is not something that is complicated at all.
Conclusion
For anyone who has been searching for a good laptop and does not want to spend a lot of money, this entire list caters to your requirements and the best thing is that you do not even have to worry about spending a lot of money. The laptops featured in this list are affordable, can play most casual games, and look really well, at the same time.
