Best gaming laptops under $400 with great specs

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Key notes

  • It is difficult finding a good gaming laptop under $400 for everyday use.
  • This article helps you find the best laptop that offers bang for your bucks.
  • Check out the latest games to play on your new laptop by visiting our dedicated Gaming Section.
  • For more laptops buying guides check out our Laptop Hub.
budget gaming laptop

Since the gaming laptops require a dedicated GPU to perform well, these laptops are usually on the expensive side of the spectrum.

However, not all of us is a hardcore gamer and want a laptop for school work and some casual gaming without breaking the bank.

Gaming laptops under $400 are an excellent choice for school going students and working professionals. These laptops offer an outstanding balance of power, performance and value.

In this article, we have listed the best gaming laptops under $400 to help you get the best value for your money.

What are the best gaming laptops under $400?

Acer Aspire 5

  • Excellent battery life
  • Good performance for the price
  • Superfast SSD
  • 15.6″ Full HD backlit display
  • Windows 10 S

Acer’s Spire 5 is an AMD Ryzen powered laptop with good performance and battery life for the price. It is powered by Ryzen 3 3200U processor complemented by Vega 3 integrated graphics. This hardware combination offers decent performance for office work and casual gaming.

The thin and lightweight structure houses a 15.6″ Full HD display – further complimented by a super-fast 128 GB SSD for blazing-fast performance. The laptop only has 4GB of RAM that can be expanded using the expansion slot.

The built-in backlit keyboard gets the job done. For connectivity, it comes equipped with USB 3.1 Gen 1, USB 2.0, and HDMI port out of the box. The Ryzen CPU and GPU combo make it an excellent choice under $400.


ASUS VivoBook F512DA

  • Good build quality and premium look
  • Affordable
  • Good performance with all Ryzen CPU and GPU hardware
  • Good battery life
  • The display could have been better

Being one of the biggest gaming laptop manufacturers, Asus has top of the line gaming laptops from its TUF series, but it also has a budget under $400 gaming laptops such as VivoBook F512DA.

The ASUS VivoBook F512DA is a Ryzen 3200 U powered laptop with Vega 3 integrated graphics offering optimal performance for both professional work and gaming.

ASUS VivoBook F512DA features a 15.6″ Full HD display, 4GB of RAM, 128 of SSD, and Windows 10 Home out of the box. For connectivity, you have a card reader, HDMI, USB 3.1, and 2.0 support.


Lenovo IdeaPad 3

  • Good build quality
  • Solid performance for the price
  • NVMe 256 GB SSD drive
  • Good battery life
  • The keyboard is not backlit

Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is the third budget gaming laptop in this list that comes with the same Ryzen CPU and GPU combination as earlier laptops. A simple office laptop with enough power to take on your casual gaming sessions with ease.

Powered by a Ryzen 3200U CPU and Vega 3 graphics, Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is a well-built laptop for the price. It also houses an 8GB RAM stick with an empty expansion slot, a 256 GB of SSD drive and comes with Windows 10 installed out of the box.

Additionally, it features a standard set of connectivity features including Bluetooth, WiFi, USB 3.1 and 2.0 ports and an HDMI port. Included web camera shutter is a nice touch for privacy concerned people.


ASUS F512JA-AS34 VivoBook 15 

  • First pro
  • Second Pro
  • First con
  • Second con

If you would rather put your money on an Intel laptop, consider the Asus VivoBook 15. This is the lower-end variant of Asus’s VivoBook 15 lineup, but features similar design language, build quality, and decent performance.

Featuring a 10th Gen Intel i3 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128 GB of SSD, Asus VivoBook 15 offer good performance for an entry-level intel laptop. The gaming aspect of the device is fully dependent on its UHD graphics, that can run last-gen games at lower settings.

It also has a fingerprint sensor, backlit keyboard and comes with Windows 10 Home installed out of the box. For connectivity, there is a USB Type_C and USB Type-A Gen 3.2 ports along with HDMI, WiFi and Bluetooth functionality.

The relatively large 15.6″ Full HD display offers a good viewing experience for personal use.


Finding a gaming laptop under $400 can be a difficult task, due to hardware limitations.

Hopefully this guide will help you find the best laptop for your money.

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