Laptops can be very costly, but they do not have to be if you know what you want. The more specific you are of your criteria, the more you can get.
We will mostly be looking at laptops with Intel processor here, but also AMD that some times give you more performance per dollar spent.
Either way, if that is your budget, then you are in luck. Here we are going to look into some of the best gaming laptops under $600 that you can buy. So without further ado, let’s look at our top picks for a low budget.
The Best Gaming Laptops under 600 Dollars
1. Acer Aspire E15 – Best Gaming Laptop under $600
First on our list is the Acer Aspire E15. Acer has been in the gaming space for a while now and has plenty of quality products that you can buy in 2020. The Acer Aspire E15 is another one of those great products. The laptop is powered by the Intel 8250U CPU that does not consume a lot of energy but does offer plenty of power for gaming.
You do not need to rely on the integrated graphics as the laptop has dedicated Nvidia MX150 graphics. This is not the most powerful graphics solution on the market right now but you can do plenty of gaming on this graphics solution with some settings tweaks.
8th Generation Intel Laptop
The Acer Aspire E15 offers impressive value for money. It has a lot to offer for the price. The dedicated graphics solution is not the most powerful in the world but it can handle light games and online multiplayer titles that are popular in 2020.
You also get 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD for fast storage. The laptop comes in Black with Silver accent. The design is subtle and you can take the device with you. The laptop is rated to have a battery life of around 15 hours but if you are working then you should expect to get around 7 hours and only an hour or 2 if you are gaming on it.
The keyboard and trackpad are impressive for the price and you do get backlights on the keyboard. You only need to open a couple of screws to get access to the RAM and storage. There is an empty storage bay where you can install and additional HDD or SSD to expand storage. You can also swap or upgrade the RAM if need be.
Related: Best Gaming Laptop under $700
Pros
- Great value for money
- Impressive keyboard and trackpad
- Backlit keyboard
- Upgradability
- Full HD display
Cons
- Screen brightness is low
- Not for power users
2. ASUS VivoBook 15 – Good Cheap Gaming Laptop
Asus is known for making great quality products and the ASUS VivoBook 15 is another great example of that. The laptop has a modern design with very slim bezels around the screen. Not to mention that it is powered by the AMD Ryzen 5 3500U chip that comes with Vega 8 discrete graphics. This graphics solution is much better than the integrated graphics that you get on Intel CPUs.
The laptop also comes with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. For under $600 you get a great keyboard with backlighting and a fingerprint scanner for easy access to the device and added security. The laptop is pretty thin and light, so you can take it with you wherever you go. Asus also provides a year of accidental protection in case something goes wrong.
Thin and Light Laptop
The VivoBook 15 is a great laptop for under $600. It comes with a great display and has a small footprint. The thin and light laptop is ideal for work and play and you can take it with you wherever you go.
The VivoBook 15 has a screen-to-body ratio of 88% which is very impressive indeed. It is great for work and play. You get all the ports that you would expect from a laptop in 2020 including USB Type-C.
Pros
- Thin and light
- Impressive IPS display
- Upgradable
- Accurate fingerprint scanner
Cons
- The power button is next to delete key
- Capslock does not have an LED indicator
3. Dell Inspiron 15 – Budget $600 Gaming Laptop
The Dell Inspiron 15 is a bit old but it still have decent specifications for a laptop in 2020. It is also one of the reasons why you can pick one up for less than $600. The laptop comes with the Intel Core i5-8250U Quad-Core CPU so it does have plenty of power to offer. Other than that, you also get 12GB of RAM which is more than other models on this list. The downside is that you do not have any dedicated graphics and will have to rely on the Intel integrated graphics.
It also comes with a slower 1TB HDD compared to other models on this list that come with SSDs. You can easily swap the HDD for a faster SSD if speed is important to you. Other than that, the laptop features a backlit keyboard which is decent to use, even if you type a lot. Dell is known for reliability, so you can rest assured that this laptop is going to stand the test of time.
Laptop with Touchscreen
The Inspiron 15 5000 is a very powerful laptop with decent hardware. This is an older model but it is more than capable of handling all kinds of workloads. You can even do some light gaming on it.
The Inspiron 15 5000 comes with plenty of ports including 2x USB 3.1, 1x USB 2.0, 1x HDMI and SD card reader. The stereo speakers are pretty loud and the audio quality is impressive for the price bracket.
Pros
- Crips display
- 12GB RAM
- Impressive build quality
- Touchscreen
Cons
- Included HDD is slow
- No USB Type-C
4. Newest HP 15
This HP laptop is not the latest model but it still has a lot to offer and comes in at less than $500 which makes it great value for money. It is powered by the Intel Core i5-7200U and you need to rely on integrated graphics but it can do daily tasks without breaking a sweat.
The laptop comes with 8GB of RAM and a 2TB HDD. The included storage solution is slower when compared to modern SSDs but it is ideal for mass storage. Plus you can easily change the HDD for a faster storage solution. The laptop has plenty of ports including USB 3.0, USB 2.0, HDMI 1.4 and Ethernet.
Also Great Pick
The HP 15 is an older model but it still has decent specs for 2020. It is a great value for money under $500. While the included HDD is slow it is ideal for mass storage and can be upgraded if needed.
The HD screen lots great and it is a touchscreen. The laptop is more than capable of running older titles such as Sims or light games such as DOTA2 and LoL. All things considered, this is a great laptop for everyday use.
Read also: Best Gaming Laptops under $400
Pros
- Great value for money
- 2TB HDD
Cons
- Included HDD is slow
- Integrated battery
5. HP Pavilion Touchscreen
The HP Pavilion 15 laptop is relatively thin and light but there are thick bezels around the screen compared to some other laptops on the market in 2020. The laptop comes in Silver with Black accents. The design is very clean. It is powered by the Intel Quad Core i5-8250U CPU which is efficient but you do need to rely on the integrated graphics.
The integrated graphics solution is not great but you can still do some light gaming on it and play some popular eSports titles with the settings turned down. The laptop also offers 8GB of RAM and a 1TB HDD. You get all the ports that you would expect from a laptop in 2020 included USB Type-C.
The HP Pavilion 15 is a great laptop for everyday use. It not only functions well but looks good while doing so. You can switch the HDD with an SSD if you want better speeds but other than that, you are good to use it as it is.
The battery is decent but it is not going to last you all day so you should take your charger with you. The display has vibrant colors and is a touchscreen which is a great feature to have. All things considered, this is a great laptop for the price.
Pros
- Clean design
- Power-efficient
- Touchscreen
- Reasonable price
Cons
- Included HDD is slow
- The battery could be better
6. Acer Aspire 5
The Acer Aspire 5 is another great thin and light laptop. It has a full HD display and while there is a bit of a chin at the bottom of the display, the sides are relatively thin. The laptop is powered by the Intel i5 8265 and it comes with 8GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. The specs are similar to the HP pavilion 15 but you get faster storage.
Laptop with Fingerprint Reader
The Acer Aspire 5 is a great thin and light device that you can use for everyday work. It has a reasonably powerful CPU and fast storage. If the lack of LED indicators for the caps lock and num lock does not bother you then this is a great laptop for you to consider.
The keyboard is backlit and the trackpad performs well. You even have a fingerprint scanner for an additional layer of security. The footprint of the device is small, even though it has a 15.6-inch display. The battery life is impressive too. Acer claims that you can get up to 9.5 hours but around 7 hours is more realistic for everyday use. That is still very decent for a Windows laptop in 2020. The laptop has all the ports that you would expect from a laptop in 2020 including HDMI, USB Type-C & USB 3.1. Wireless connectivity is on point and the sound is powerful as well.
Pros
- Impressive screen
- Slim bezels
- Small footprint
- Fingerprint scanner
- Powerful sound
- Backlit keyboard
- Aluminum build
Cons
- Vents are under the laptop
- No caps lock or num lock indicator light
7. Lenovo ThinkPad Edge
The Lenovo ThinkPad series is known for its robust industrial design that can stand the test of time and the Edge E590 is a perfect example of just that. The design of the laptop is very similar to other ThinkPad laptops that we have seen in 2020. It comes in all Black and has a subtle and clean design, which many people appreciate.
The laptop is powered by the Intel i3-8145U and comes with 8 GB RAM and 250GB SSD for storage. The CPU is power efficient and the SSD is quick. You do need to rely on the integrated graphics but that is ok if you are only going to do some light gaming. The price is very competitive when compared with other models that are available on the market in 2020. The hardware inside is decent and modern so you are not going to encounter any problems when doing your daily tasks.
The laptop comes with a backlit keyboard which is a great feature to have on any laptop. THe speakers are on the left and right sides of the device but are downwards firing so sound can get a bit muffled. The laptop has a matt finish which looks great but it will get fingerprints on it over time.
Best Business Laptop under 600
The Edge E590 is built well and offers impressive value for money. The audio quality is not great but other than that, this is a decent laptop for under $600 which you should consider if that if your budget.
The IPS 1080p display is bright and vibrant but the viewing angles are not ideal from the sides. As long as you are sitting in front of the device, that is not going to be an issue. The bezels around the screen are reasonable, they are not too thin but not to thick either.
The trackpad is impressive and has physical buttons on the top. It is offset to the right which is something that you should keep in mind if you prefer your trackpad to be in the middle of your device.
All things considered this is a solid laptop that is impressive value for money. This might not be the best looking laptop on the market in 2020 but I know that some people actually like the industrial design and prefer durability over looks when it comes to a laptop.
Pros
- Bright screen
- Robust build quality
- Backlit keyboard
- Modern hardware
- Fast storage
Cons
- Display viewing angles could be better
- Downward firing speakers
8. HP Pavilion
This laptop is an older model and comes with the AMD A10 APU inside but it is pretty decent for the price. It also comes with 8GB of RAM and a 1TB HDD which is slower than other storage solutions in 2020 but you can easily swap it for an SSD. At the time of writing, this laptop is discounted and costs less than $450 which makes it incredible value for money.
You can use the money you saved on faster storage. The laptop comes with a 17.3-inch 1080p IPS display and an optical drive. The AMD Radeon R5 graphics will let you play some older titles and a few modern multiplayer online titles.
17.3" Anti-glare Display
The Pavilion 17 does not have the latest hardware but it is impressive value for money keeping in mind you are getting a 17.3-inch laptop for less than $450. If you need a laptop with a big screen then this is a great option for you to consider.
The laptop comes with all the standard ports that you expect to see and even a USB Type-C port. The Pavilion 17 has a large display but it is relatively thin and light. If you need a laptop with a larger screen for every day work, then this is an option that you can look into.
Pros
- Modern design
- USB Type-C port
- Great value for money
- 17.3-inch 1080p IPS display
Cons
- Included HDD is slow
9. Samsung Chromebook Plus V2
The Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 is a thin and light laptop. The design is the device is nice and clean. The Black and Silver theme is like other laptops on the market in 2020 but remember that this is a Chromebook so you do not have the functionality of Windows. The laptop is relatively inexpensive when it comes to Windows laptops but you might feel that this is an expensive Chromebook and you would not be wrong.
This is a 2-in-1 device so you can fold it into tablet mode. Inside, you have the Intel Core m3 CPU powering the chromebook. This is not a powerful CPU but it can handle the Samsung Chromebook Plus just fine and can do most of your daily tasks. The device only comes with 4 GB of RAM and 64GB of storage which can be limiting. You will feel that the laptop slows down if you try to do too much at the same time.
You can take advantage of stylus support a swell. Which never needs to be charged. It can be used for editing, sketching and even taking screenshots. The 2-in-1 device comes with 2 cameras so that you can not only take selfies but capture what is right in front of you as well.
The Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 is a great laptop to have if you do not need a lot of storage. If you need something to stream content and do most of your work in the cloud then this is a great laptop for you in this price bracket.
While you do not get the functionality of WIndows. You do have access to the Google Play apps store and that means that you can download mobile games on the device as well. The laptop has 2 USB 2.0 ports and a single USB 3.0 port but no USB Type-C port.
Mostly the laptop is made of plastic so while it might look premium, it does not feel that way but it does have great battery life. It can easily last around 8 hours depending on the kind of work that you are going on it.
The Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 is a great device if you do all of your work in the cloud and do not really need all that storage. RAM can be limiting but you can upgrade that down the line if needed.
Pros
- 2-in-1 device
- Touchscreen
- Long lasting battery
Cons
- Plastic body
- Overpriced for a Chromebook
10. Lenovo Ideapad
Lenovo Ideapad 15.6-inch is an older device but that is one of the reasons why the price is so right now. It is only a year old and the hardware inside is very decent indeed. You get the AMD A10 chip with Radeon R7 dedicated graphics which will let you play a variety of games once you have tweaked the settings.
Other than that, you get 12GB of RAM and a 1TB HDD. While the included HDD is pretty slow compared to modern standards, you can upgrade to an SSD if you really need the speed. The screen is a 1360×768 panel so games are not going to look super awesome but you will be able to run them pretty well keeping in mind that this is a laptop from 2018.
1TB Hard Drive
For a little more than $400, the Lenovo Ideapad has a lot to offer. While the processor might be old, it does come with 12GB of RAM and dedicated graphics. The laptop performs well once you replace the included HDD with faster storage.
The laptop comes with all the ports that you expect from a device like this and you even get USB Type-C. It even has stereo speakers for great audio quality. The laptop is built well and has a premium feel to it. The design is thin and light but there are some thick bezels around the screen but I would be willing to let that go keeping in mind that it costs around $400.
A major drawback with this laptop is that the processor is pretty old. That means that the battery life is not going to be great and that performance is going to be affected to a certain degree as well.
Pros
- Sleek design
- 12GB RAM
- Dedicated graphics
Cons
- Old processor
- Poor battery life
How to Pick a Gaming Laptop Under 600 Dollars
We have looked into a couple of great options for laptops under $600 but if you are still looking for a definite answer then you can go with the ASUS VivoBook 15.
It has impressive hardware for the price, dedicated graphics for gaming and fast storage.
The next best option for an overall great laptop under $600 is the Acer Aspire E15. It also comes with impressive hardware, dedicated graphics, and fast storage. Both of these are safe options today.
Are Laptops Suitable for Gaming?
Back in the day, gaming laptops used to be thin and poor value for money. You needed to pay a massive premium in order to be able to game on the go but that is no longer the case. A lot has changed since then and in 2020 you can get a decent laptop which is thin and light, but also delivers impressive gaming performance for a reasonable price.
Whether or not something is worth it will vary from person to person but I can tell you that the premium on gaming laptops is lower than ever. You still have to pay a lot of money for the top of the line model with the most powerful graphics card or CPU but you have entry-level models that are reasonably cheap and mid-range versions that are fairly priced.
New technology like the Max-Q graphics cards has allowed gaming laptops to become thinner and lighter than ever. You do need to pay a premium for thinner models but you do have the option if you can afford it. Laptops in 2020 also come with desktop parts and can perform similar to desktops.
We have looked into some impressive options for less than $600 in this guide and you can see that there are plenty of options for you to choose from. You can get an impressive laptop with decent specifications on a budget, even in 2020. Just keep in mind what you are going to use the device for. Get the laptop that best suits your needs rather than your wants. That is the key here.
Summing Up
Laptops can be very expensive but they do not have to be if you know what you want. The trick is finding the best value for money. You can get a pretty decent laptop for around $600. It can be used for daily work, content creation, word processing and some light casual gaming on the side as well.
Here we have looked at 10 different options that you can choose from in 2020. Some models are a bit old but they still perform well and are great value for money just because they were released last year.
The ASUS VivoBook 15 and Acer Aspire E15 are our top picks. Both options feature impressive hardware, dedicated graphics and fast storage. They are also upgradable so you can add storage and RAM down the line if needed.
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