The best gaming laptops do not normally come cheap, but in 2012 when there are dozens of multimedia notebooks for sale to choose from, there are some good options available for you if you are looking to spend under $500. Being on a budget can be frustrating, especially when you want to buy something expensive like a portable computer. However, in our modern day, it’s much easier to get a hold of quality affordable notebook computers than ever before. If you are an entertainment fan and shopping for a cheap gaming laptop, you will have to settle for a model that doesn’t have as many features or advanced technology as a more expensive multimedia notebook around $1000. But, even those portable computers are not as advanced as those priced around $1500 or more, so you basically get what you pay for. The good news is that just because the most inexpensive models are not as advanced, that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth buying.
You can still get some really nice gaming laptops under $500 if you shop around, and the reviews below will help get you started and give you a great idea of what to expect. There are a number of reasons as to why these are so affordable; some of them do not have the most powerful processors, or long battery lives, or a huge amount of storage space. Perhaps they lack a few extra add-ons like USB ports or a DVD drive, or the graphics technology is not as advanced. Regardless of the reason, these multimedia notebooks are still some of the best options available in 2012 for such an inexpensive price.
The Best Cheap Gaming Laptops Under $500 – 2012
Dell Inspiron M5030 15.6-Inch Multimedia Notebook
Average Price: $420
Dell is a popular brand that is well-known for their discount prices, and the Inspiron is a model that is very highly-rated as one of the greatest portable computers on the market. The Inspiron M5030 is specifically designed for entertainment purposes and comes with a laundry list of amazing features that set it apart from its sibling models and make it an excellent choice for the best cheap gaming laptops under $500 for sale today. They come with a relatively powerful AMD SempronTM v160 that runs at 2.3 GHz, which is pretty good for a budget processor. In terms of storage, these discount multimedia notebooks have a 250 GB hard drive with 4 GB of DDR SDRAM space. In terms of entertainment technology, the Dell Inspiron M5030 features a brilliant 15.6-inch High-Definition LED TrueLife 1366x 768 LCD Display through an advanced ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 graphics card. These gaming laptops also have a few other nice additions such as the 3 USB 2.0 ports and the 1 VGA video out port. Weighing in at about 7 pounds, it’s rather portable as well.
Acer Aspire AS7739Z-4439 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop
Average Price: $450
The Acer Aspire has been considered one of the best notebook computers ever since they were first released, and this particular model is not only very affordable, but is also ideal for gamers and entertainment fans for a slew of reasons. These multimedia notebooks feature a massive and vivid 17.3′ High-Definition widescreen LED-backlit display with true 16:9 aspect ratio. This display is powered by an advanced HD Graphics card with up to 128 MB of graphics RAM. The Acer Aspire has a lot of great features surrounding its display and screen resolution, but the processor is probably the best part about these cheap gaming laptops under $500. They run on a super powerful Intel Pentium Dual-Core processor that operates at 2.13 GHz. In addition to the the fast processor that allows you to perform tasks at amazing speeds, this Acer multimedia notebook has 4 GB of RAM and a 320 GB hard drive, giving you a decent amount of storage space for your games and applications.
Toshiba Satellite L775-S7307 15.6-Inch Entertainment Notebook
Average Price: $430
Last but not least we come to another consumer favorite, the Toshiba Satellite. This particular model makes for a great gaming laptop because it has integrated features that compliment the entertainment aspect of portable computers. The High-Definition widescreen LED-backlit TFT display with TruBrite technology and large 1600 x 900 resolution makes multimedia applications look incredible when compared to the other Toshiba Satellite models. Some of the other features that make it stand out are the multi-in-1 card reader, the doubles-layer DVD +-RW/CD-RW drives, 256 MB of graphics RAM, Windows 7 operating system, a built-in webcam, and a 6-cell lithium ion battery. These cheap gaming laptops are relatively powerful and fast as well with the Intel Pentium 2.1 GHz processor, and they can hold a decent amount of storage with its 4 GB of DDR3 memory.
By doing some simply searches on the web, you could probably find a few other great discount multimedia notebooks under $500 for sale, but these are definitely some of the most popular and top-rated available in 2012. Based on the technology and features that the cheap gaming laptops listed in these reviews possess, it’s easy to see that you can still buy a quality portable computer for an affordable price.
