Best Gaming Laptops Under $200 in 2024 Reviews, Buying Guide

We have all been in a place where gaming on a budget was not something easy. Take it from someone who has spent a long time trying to figure out the right products just so he could get the proper gaming experience. Things get hard especially if you are a student because in those situations, you really have to figure out what you are going to do.

If you have been searching for the best gaming laptop under 200, then I have some solutions for you. I do understand that finding such laptops is not going to be as easy but considering how I have used most of these laptops and tested them, too. I can say that if you are looking to play some casual games, these laptops will more than help you in achieving that.

So, we are not going to waste anymore time and start looking at the best cheap gaming laptops under $200, then this round up is for you because as a student, having something that is cheap and affordable is very, very important. So, let’s not waste time and have a look, shall we?

If you are in a hurry and you want to pick up the best gaming laptop under $200, look no further and navigate through our list and you will be able to find the best one with ease.

Reviewing the Best Gaming Laptop Under 200

Now, before I start, it is important to know that I have only picked a handful of laptops to ensure that the reader does not end up in any confusion as to which product they should be choosing. Again, this varies from person to person but we live in a world where catering to everyone’s requirements is better than none at all.

So, without further ado, let’s get started, shall we?

Lenovo as a company has established itself as one of the best when you are talking about good laptops and other hardware, as well. Sure, they might be best known for their Yoga lineup of laptops along with their Legion lineup of true, gaming laptops but what if I tell you that they cater to the college-going students just as much?

The Lenovo Chromebook S330 is just that; an excellent Chromebook for the college-going student but you know what is the best thing about this? Well, you can actually go ahead and play some games on it, too. Now, being a Chromebook, this laptop is not capable of running the AAA titles you would expect but you have access to the Google Play Store, and therefore, countless games that you can play in your downtime.

For specs, this is what you are getting.

• 14-Inch FHD Display
• MediaTek MT8173C
• 4GB RAM
• 64GB expandable storage.

With that said, the Lenovo S330 brings one of the best values that you can get in a Chromebook, it actually delivers on the promise and the best part is that more often than not, you are getting the laptop for under $200 as it is frequently on sale.

With that said, if you are looking to put long hours into your college work, or just playing some casual games, you would be happy to know that the battery life is another promising thing here, so you can actually not worry and still get a good experience.

The overall design of the Lenovo S330 is another thing that caught my attention and if you want something that looks way more premium than the price suggests, this is really a great offering, especially with the thin bezels surrounding the laptop.

With all this goodness aside, the only issue I have is that the laptop does have limited CPU performance but as long as you are running all the supported apps and games, you should not have issues.

Overall, the Lenovo S330 is an excellent Chromebook not just for college students but for anyone who is looking to go ahead and play some casual games in their free time. It delivers great performance and does not hinder the day-to-day experience either.

Acer is another company that has excelled at delivering excellent products throughout its history and the Acer Spin 311 is no different, to be honest. Granted, it is just another Chromebook that you are looking at but get this, you are getting 8 cores in this bad boy, which means that the CPU can easily handle most of the intensive tasks that are meant for Chromebooks without slowing down.

Now, the best thing about the Acer Spin 311 is the fact that you are getting a convertible laptop; which means that should you wish to, you can go ahead and use it as a tablet, and considering how Chromebooks are optimized in that sense, you should not have any user experiences that are unwanted. The entirety of the experience would be great through and through.

This is what you get with the Acer Spin 311.

• 11.6″ HD IPS Touch.
• MediaTek MT8183 Processor
• 4GB RAM.
• 32GB eMMC expandable storage.

Moving forward, the keyboard on this thing is absolutely amazing; I am someone who types a lot on a keyboard owing to the nature of my work and I have been used to mechanical keyboards all my life. So, it is really something that you should be looking into. If you have assignments to type, or even if you just want to work on your laptop, the Acer Spin 311 is a great option.

Considering how this laptop is a touch screen, you would expect some sort of protection for the screen itself, and I do have good news for you as the screen is protected by Gorilla Glass, which should ensure a better experience overall.

Now, as far as gaming is concerned, the processor in this manages to handle most of the aspects just fine. It is a MediaTek chip that we are talking but for the most part, all the games on Play Store should work just fine, and this includes the single and multiplayer games. Plus, there is Bluetooth as well, so you can always connect your controller and be on your merry way.

Now, the one thing that I do not like about the Acer Spin 311 is the fact that the screen, although is great, does not have a lot of brightness and is on the dimmer side.

Overall, I would say that this Chromebook is an exceptional value offering for anyone who is looking for a good experience. I cannot really complain about it to anyone, so you would be more than happy with it.

Moving further, we are going to spend some time looking at an amazing offering from HP, something that has been around for some time now and this is also the first Windows laptop that we are going to talk about. So far, we have looked at some excellent Chromebook offerings but this time around, we are finally shifting our focus towards a Windows-based laptop and in case you are wondering, this is a good one.

Now, first things first, this is one of the budget laptops available in the market, so you cannot expect t to perform miracles. Once you have made a note of that, you can go ahead and start exploring more about it. For starters, you are getting one of the best-looking designs that I have seen in any affordable laptop, and on top of it all, it actually is sturdy enough, too. So, it definitely is something that you will like.

• Intel N4000
• 4GB RAM
• 64GB eMMC expandable storage
• 14-Inch WLED

What else is there? Well, you are getting a laptop that is going to be really, really easy to carry around thanks to how light this thing is and you also get an HDMI output in case you want to connect an external display with this laptop.

The best thing, however, is the 11-hour battery life that makes the whole user experience infinitely better. So, if you have been concerned with that, it really should not be an issue in most cases. You can easily start your day with the laptop and still have a battery lift by the end of the day.

The laptop also has expandable storage, so that is definitely something that you should look forward to, especially if you do want to have more local storage onboard. The gaming performance is average at best, and it should run all casual games just fine but do not expect it to run AAA titles as that is not going to be the case.

I do have some concerns here, to be honest. For starters, the screen is not as good as one would hope, and 32 gigs of internal storage can be limiting for some people in general.

Overall, the HP Stream remains to be perhaps the best budget laptop that you can buy. If you are looking for something that is not going to cost you a lot of money and will still get the job done, this is a great offering to look into.

Samsung is one of the companies that should never be overlooked when you are talking about good laptops. Sure, we all know the company for mainly delivering excellent smartphones and tablets but the South Korean firm also excels at ensuring that you are getting some great laptops, too. It does not matter what your budget is, Samsung always has something for everyone.

With that said, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 4 is a slightly old offering but that does not mean that it is not good enough. This has been reviewed by me a number of times and I have spent a good amount of time using it, as well. For anyone who wants something solid, this is certainly a great option.

The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 4 brings a nice set of specs.

• 11.6-inch
• 64GB eMMC expandable memory
• 4GB RAM.
• Intel Celeron Processor N4000

For starters, if you have been searching for something that is cheap and compact, then this is definitely a great option that you should go for because the Galaxy Chromebook is actually cheap and compact. So, if you want something that you can carry around with ease. So, if you have been looking for something in that sense, this is a great option.

Thankfully, the thing that I want the most on any laptop, the keyboard, is comfortable enough and if you are looking forward to typing for longer hours, this actually is going to allow you to do that without any issues that might otherwise come in the way.

Another thing to like about this Chromebook is the fact that the battery life is great, which means that if you do want to go ahead and use it for longer periods, you should not have any issues coming in the way of how you plan on using a laptop, in the first place.

So, what is the bad news about this Chromebook? Well, nothing much, to be honest. The display is average at best, and there are not enough ports available.

Overall, I would say that the Galaxy Chromebook 4 is an excellent budget device that is built for anyone who is looking for a good overall experience. It is cheap, works really well, and can play casual games just fine.

The next laptop on this list is another one from HP and this time around, we are still looking at something good and powerful enough. For those wondering, HP has been around for some time now, so they know what they need to be doing. The latest HP 14 is the one that has managed to catch our attention a number of times and to anyone’s surprise, it actually is a pretty solid device, to begin with.

Now, the good thing about this laptop is that it possesses the same, great battery life that we have come to expect from the budget offerings in the market. So, if you have been searching for something along those lines, you would be more than happy to know that the battery life here is not disappointing at all, the opposite if you ask me.

• Intel Celeron N4020
• 4 GB RAM
• 64 GB Storage expandable storage.
• 14-inch Micro-Edge HD Display

However, there is a lot more to this laptop than just the battery life, as you would get to know soon. The design of this laptop is another highlight here. HP has done a great job with the design; which actually looks really well executed, to a point that you would never have to worry about something that is not classy enough.

With that said, the battery life is another great thing and if you are looking into some casual gaming, the laptop should serve you well, and that too, without any issues.

I honestly do not have a lot of issues with this laptop but I would tell you that the display is on the dimmer side and if you are looking for high-performance gaming, then you might want to look elsewhere.

Overall, the HP 14 serves to be a good laptop that is not going to cost you a lot and will actually deliver good performance, too.

We are slowly moving towards the end of the list and another product that comes to mind is the CHUWI HeroBook Air. I know, it might sound like something that is not as good as some of the other options but if you have been looking to get your hands on something solid and something that delivers a good performance overall and value for money, then this is the way to go.

Now, the first time I took a look at the CHUWI HeroBook Air, I was not sure what to expect. However, after spending some time with it, I realized that this laptop is a great value for money overall and if you have been looking for something that works really well, this is the way to go and it certainly will not let you down.

Moving further, I do like this laptop for the fact that it is one of the most affordable offerings in the market, so if you have been looking for something that is not going to cost you a lot and still deliver good value, this is it.

Since it is a Windows-based laptop, if you are looking to run some basic games, it really should not be an issue for you, to be honest. Just be mindful that the laptop is best suited for entry-level games, and nothing higher-end.

You can check out the specs below.

• 11.6″ HD Screen
• Intel Celeron N4020
• 4GB LPDDR4 RAM
• 128GB SSD

As you can see, the specs are decent at best, it is not going to break any ground but for the price you are paying, it certainly is good for those who are looking to get something that is good and works really well.

Moving further, the laptop does have a nice battery, so if you want to use it for extensive tasks, getting your hands on this laptop is not going to make issues worse for you since it works well for the most part.

Honestly, the only thing that I do not like about this laptop is the fact that you are getting some big bezels around the corner, but that is about it.

Overall, I would say that the CHUWI HeroBook Air makes for an interesting offering for those who are not in the mood to spend a lot of money. It is not going to cost you a lot of money.

We are finally done with all the laptops on the market and the last one that we are going to take a look at is the Packard Bell CloudBook 15, this laptop is not going to do anything for you that the other laptops have not but if you have been searching for a CloudBook 15-based laptop, then this one is the one that you need to go because honestly, it does work really well in most cases and that too, without confusion.

For starters, this 15.6-inch laptop comes with Windows 11 and if you are not up to date, Windows 11 is an excellent choice for gamers and students alike, so this certainly works wonders and without any issues that might otherwise come in the way. You can look at the rest of the specs below.

• 15.6-inch IPS FHD display
• Intel Celeron N4020
• UHD Graphics 600
• 4GB RAM
• 128GB SSD

As you can see, in terms of the specs, the CloudBook is already better than some of the other laptops that we have featured here and to be honest, this certainly is a good thing because for those who have been looking for performance, it certainly matters a lot. The large IPS display is always good for people who are looking for some media consumption. Not just that, the Windows 11 experience is always something that I have thoroughly enjoyed and the battery life is excellent, too.

My only issue with this laptop is that at 15.6-inch it might be a bit too big for some people but other than that, it is a great laptop for everyone who is looking to get into the world of entry-level gaming and laptops in general.

Lenovo as a brand has never failed to amaze me; they offer some stellar products and the pricing is just right. However, more often than not, a lot of people overlook Lenovo’s budget offerings that come in the shape of Chromebooks, which are excellent, by the way. The Lenovo Chromebook C330 is just that, and more. As it positions itself as an affordable Chromebook capable of stellar performance and all the tasks that you would want to take care of.

• 11.6″ HD Display
• MediaTek MT8173C
• 4GB RAM
• 64GB storage.

With that said, I think the one thing that everyone can agree upon is that the biggest selling point here is the fact that this is one of the most affordable convertibles on the market. So, if a convertible is something that you are genuinely excited about, this is the one that you should be going for.

The touch screen on this Chromebook is excellent as it is responsive, and works really, really well. You are also looking at something that is affordable, and you will not have to spend a lot of money, either. The battery life is the one thing that surprised me the most as this Chromebook managed to deliver a stellar battery life through and through; something that you do not get that often.

You can even go ahead and play some basic games if you want; almost all the games available on the Play Store will work just fine. So, for anyone who is into casual gaming, this is an excellent purchase.

My only actual issue with this Chromebook is about the bezels that are a bit thicker, but that is about it.

Overall, if you are looking to get your hands on the Lenovo Chromebook C330, I would say that it is a stellar offering that works really well in all cases, and does not create any issues, either.

Related Guides

• Best gaming laptops under 300
• Best gaming laptops under 400
• Best gaming laptops under 500
• Best gaming laptops under 600

Frequently Asked Questions

Which low-budget laptop is best for gaming?

• All the laptops that we have mentioned in this round-up are excellent for gaming, especially if you are talking about casual gaming, then these laptops are amazing.

What’s the best laptop for 200?

• The laptops mentioned in this round-up are going to be great for gaming under 200.

Which laptop is best for gaming?

• That honestly depends. The purpose of this round-up was to talk about all the great laptops that you can get without spending a lot of money. If you want something casual, then this is a great offering.

Conclusion

Being a gamer on a budget is not something that is easy for a lot of people because you end up getting your hands on something that is not good or something that might not be up to the task. So, if you have been looking for a good gaming laptop for a good price, then this article is for you.

In this round-up, we gathered all the great laptops that one can find in the market and the purpose is simple, to be honest. We want everyone to have access to good overall laptops without any confusion that might come in the way. So, if you have been searching for something good and affordable, this round-up is going to help you a lot.