Best Gaming Laptops under $500 in 2025

If you’re trying to stay under $500, finding a capable gaming laptop can be tough. I’ve reviewed almost everything available on Amazon, Best Buy, and Newegg, and most laptops in this price range come with integrated graphics. The best you can find is a Ryzen 7 processor with Radeon RX Vega 8 integrated graphics, which is fine for light gaming, but not ideal if you want real performance.

If possible, I’d recommend stretching your budget a bit. Notably, around $600 offers more options with dedicated GPUs. It’s also worth keeping an eye on Amazon’s flash sales and limited-time deals, when gaming laptops can be on sale for much less than their regular price. 

After digging deep into current market options, here are the best gaming laptops I’ve found between $450 and $600—models that deliver decent performance without breaking the bank.

 For laptops under $500, laptops with AMD’s Radeon RX Vega 8 integrated graphics are your best bet.

Now, if your budget absolutely can’t go beyond $500, finding a capable gaming laptop gets pretty tough. At this level, the best option remains a Ryzen 7 laptop with integrated Radeon RX Vega 8 graphics. It won’t compete with the RX 6550M or RTX 4050, but it’s still solid for lighter gaming. Older AAA titles like GTA V, The Witcher 3, and Skyrim all run fine. Even demanding games like God of War can be playable if you’re willing to lower the resolution — I’ve seen YouTubers get surprisingly smooth results that way.

If you can stretch it just a bit (under $600), you can get a laptop with a dedicated graphics card

Though options in this price range can still be limited, the HP Victus Gaming Laptop with the RX 6550M graphics card is the best you can find.

It comes in two memory configurations: 16GB and 8GB. The 8GB version tends to sell out quickly, and even the 16GB model has limited stock. So if you’re interested, act fast.

According to technical.city benchmarks, its performance is about 4% higher than the RTX 3050 (4GB mobile version), and its CPU slightly outperforms Intel’s i5-13420H.

A renewed model of the 8GB HP Victus Gaming Laptop can be found for as low as $450, but I don’t recommend the 8GB memory configuration.

The 8GB RAM just isn’t enough for gaming, or even everyday productivity. That being said, it’s worth spending about $30 more to upgrade to 16GB. Amazon reviewers have echoed that gameplay is smoother with the upgrade. 

Best Pick: But you’ll need to raise your budget to around $650.

If you can raise your budget to around $650, the MSI Thin 15 and HP Victus are hands down the best choices. Both come with an Intel i5-13420H processor, an RTX 4050 dedicated GPU, and a 144Hz FHD display — easily the most powerful specs you can get at this price point. The value for money here is exceptional.

Both MSI and HP are top-tier brands known for solid build quality and reliable customer support. Right now, the MSI model tends to be a bit cheaper, so your final pick really comes down to personal preference.

Quick heads-up: stock is extremely limited — both models only have a handful of units left. If one of them fits your needs, don’t wait too long to grab it.