guideslaptop hardware guidecheap laptops for gaminggaming laptops under 500 dollarsgaming laptops under 800 dollarsgaming laptops under 900 dollarsgamings laptops under 1000 dollars cheap laptops for gaming reviewed dell inspiron 15 7000 series the best gaming laptop under 800 dollarsif you re looking for a cheap gaming laptop or you re looking to add a mobile device to your digital arsenal there are plenty of cheap laptops for gaming that are perfectly suited to delivering an entry level experience for 3d gamers . with the advancement in processor technologies the integration of gpus and the increasing horsepower that can be had in an affordable computer finding gaming laptops under 500 dollars is now a reality.but while it s possible to find a budget gaming laptop our research has shown that some of the best cheap laptops for gaming can be had for under 700 or 800 dollars . higher end gaming laptops can still be considered cheap compared to just a few years ago at around the 1500 dollar price band . at overdrivepc we re focused on giving you the information you need to make a decision as to what the best solution is for your budget.you can easily drag and drop gaming laptop 2016 models below for a quick spec comparison as well as check the lowest prices and get the best discounts . be sure to scroll down for our picks for best entry level budget laptops and read more about what makes these computers special . compare cheap laptops for gaming name image brand rating processor cpu base boost speed memory graphics storage screen size resolution dragheredragheredragheredell inspiron 15 7000 gaming series i7559 763blk core i5 dell inspiron 15 7000 gaming series i7559 763blk core i5 dell inspiron 15 7000 series gaming i7559 2512blk core i7 dell inspiron 15 7000 series gaming i7559 2512blk core i7 dell inspiron 15 touch i5555 2866slv amd a10 8700p dell inspiron 15 touch i5555 2866slv amd a10 8700p dell inspiron 15 7000 gaming series i7559 763blk core i5 dell5 star average rating intel core i5 6300hq 2.3 3.2 ghz8gb ddr3l 1600nvidia geforce gtx 960m 4gb gddr5256gb m. 2 ssd15 inch 1080pview pricefull review dell inspiron 15 7000 series gaming i7559 2512blk core i7 dell4 .5 star average rating intel core i7 6700hq2 .6 3.5 ghz8gb ddr3l 1600nvidia geforce gtx 960m 4gb gddr51tb hdd 8gb ssd cache15 inch 1080pview pricefull review dell inspiron 15 touch i5555 2866slv amd a10 8700p dell3 .5 star average rating amd a10 8700p1 .8 3.2 ghz8gb ddr3l 1600amd radeon r6 ddr31tb hdd15 .6 inch 768pview pricefull review what is a gaming laptop a gaming laptop looks just like any other laptop . it has a screen keyboard touch pad speakers and inputs outputs . with a gaming laptop you can have it all . you can surf the web work on presentations browse social media and everything else that you could do on a smart phone but you can do one thing that other devices can t play pc games . what sets a gaming laptop apart from your run of the mill laptop is the balance of hardware that for the price delivers the highest 3d frame rates in its class.in order to achieve this performance there are three important components that need to be taken into consideration . anyone can max out their budget and buy the best of every category but it takes research that we ve done for you to find the right mix of hardware to deliver performance in a budget laptop.here are the best cheap laptops for gaming right nowdell inspiron 15 7000 series i7559 763blkdell has hit the sweet spot with this 15 inch gaming laptop . they ve stripped out all of the unnecessary frills and focused on building a balanced system that delivers high frame rates for an excellent price . it s our choice for best gaming laptop under 800 dollars . read our full review.a quick overview at the heart of the system is the extremely powerful but very affordable nvidia geforce gtx 960m . based on nvidia s maxwell architecture this gpu also sports 4gb of fast gddr5 memory.the intel core i5 6300hq delivers high frequencies up to 3.2 ghz which is fantastic for games that like more speed not cores . while it lacks hyperthreading that technology is not as crucial in games and compromises would have to be made in price or performance to move up to the core i7.the included 256gb m. 2 ssd is fast delivering several times the performance of a traditional hard dive.there s a second bay for a larger traditional hdd for additional storagethe 8gb of ram is a single stick configuration but it is easily upgraded to dual channel memory with the addition of another 8gb stick of memory.dell inspiron 15 5000 series i5555 2866slvbelieve it or not there are gaming laptops under 500 dollars . in fact this gaming laptop is closer to 400 dollars than it is 500 but it s not without compromise . while most gaming laptops have a discrete or stand alone graphics processing unit the 3d graphics engine is actually integrated into the cpu of this laptop . amd has a very unique product in that they own their own graphics division radeon technologies group as well as the cpu technology that goes into their apu products . this puts them in the unique position of delivering entry level 3d gaming without the need for additional graphics horsepower . it s not high end but it ll run games . read our full review.a quick overview the dell inspiron 15 5000 series has an amd a10 8700p apu rated at 1.8 ghz with a 3.2 ghz boost . it has two processor modules and four total cores.integrated into the apu is a radeon r6 graphics core with 6 compute units 384 shaders and support for the latest 3d technologies like directx 12 . it utilizes the system memory for both the cpu and the gpu.the 1366 768 resolution panel is about the maximum resolution you can expect to play 3d games so it s ok that you re not getting a crisper 1080p panel.it includes a 1tb 5400rpm spinning platter hdd for the os but can be upgraded to an ssd which we recommend.it comes with dual channel 8gb 2x4gb of ddr3 memory which also delivers the bandwidth the apu needs to deliver maximum frame rates.most important components for gaming computersgpu the graphics processing unit is going to be the make or break starting point for a gaming laptop . this is the chip that is primarily responsible for displaying the images you see in a game . it does all the lighting handles the complex characters and brings environmental effects to life in a realistic manner . given the makeup of today s hardware technology found in the gpu and cpu and the way games take advantage of that technology the gpu is currently the most important component when choosing a good gaming laptopnvidia currently designs and builds some of the most popular mobile gpus . their primary gaming brand is geforce . you ll find geforce gtx chips in many popular gaming laptops . these chips range from entry level to super premium . typically a mid range gpu like the 960m is good enough to run most modern games on medium to high quality levels and 1080p resolutions . when paired with gddr5 memory and at least 2gb you ll get the most out of the chip . gpus paired with ddr3 memory especially those equipped with less than 2gb are not going to provide anything beyond a low detail setting experience at 720p resolution at best.currently both amd and nvidia are in the middle of launching new mobile graphics solutions at the high end that will bring increased power and efficiency to the market . we re excited to see how they play out and will be reporting on any new laptops that may come out with the mid range more affordable versions as they happen.cpu the cpu actually plays second fiddle to the gpu . the central processing unit is a general purpose computational device . it handles the housework and feeds the gpu the information it needs to create the 3d environment you see on your screen . it also handles getting information from your hard drive putting it in memory and also communicating with the various components in your laptop to ensure that your inputs from your mouse and keyboard are handled appropriately as well as manage devices like your network card.intel currently leads the market in processor design and manufacturing . their flagship technology for consumers the core brand is sold in everything from laptops to tablets servers and workstations . for affordable gaming laptops we stick with the core i5 variants . these chips hit the best price to performance ratio that you re going to find . what it lacks from the i7 hyperthreading it doesn t need . it provides you with four cores and high frequencies . it s just right.memory there s two types of memory not to be confused with storage that comes in the form of a hard drive more on that later gpu memory and system memory . gpu memory on a discrete add in card not integrated into the cpu gpu will sit on the board itself . there are several types of gpu memory . listed from slowest to fastest they are gddr3 gddr5 gddr5x and hbm hbm2.system memory is used by your operating system applications and your hardware inside of your pc . if you have too little system memory your computer will go to the storage device to create virtual or paged memory pools . that is an extremely slow and inefficient method and will lead to slow downs during games and delays in loading levels.system memory comes in two flavors for consumers today . ddr3 and ddr4 . while ddr4 does not bring any revolutionary technology to market it does increase frequency and decrease power consumption which is always the goal of new hardware . however it s expensive . a well balanced gaming laptop under 1000 will mostly likely have a low voltage variant of system memory called ddrl which has some of the lower voltage characteristics of ddr4 . however the frequency increases on ddr4 have not yet materialized at their current speeds . time will tell on that.storage there s two types of storage devices for gaming laptops and that s mechanical or solid state . mechanical drives with spinning platters and mechanical read heads have been around since the 50 s. yup the 50 s. the ve gotten smaller faster and hold more data but the concept has been the same . over the past 10 years however a new technology that was once only found in very high end pcs is now cheap enough to be found in many gaming laptop configurations . that is the solid state drive . without any moving parts and made up of stacks of memory that still retain data when they don t have power an ssd is sometimes the most visceral difference in performance a person will witness when coming off a mechanical drive . it really is something to see . always get an ssd if it s in the budget.read our buyers guide to get more information on the hardware inside if your laptop.what kind of games can i play on a cheap laptop for gaming it s important to go into a purchase for an affordable laptop that you intend to game on with a reasonable set of expectations . you will not be able to crank all of the details to max . if that s what you want you ll need to spend a bit more . but what we re trying to find is the best performance at the best price that