Best gaming laptop under $200

Finding a new gaming laptop for under $200 is not possible, as modern gaming laptops with dedicated graphics cards start at a much higher price point (typically $600-$800 and up). The components required for a smooth gaming experience—a powerful processor, a dedicated graphics card, and sufficient RAM—are simply too expensive to be included in a new laptop at that price.

However, if your budget is strictly $200, here are your best options and what you can realistically expect:

What You Can Get for Under $200

Used or Refurbished Business Laptops: This is your most viable option. Business-grade laptops from a few years ago (like certain models from the Lenovo ThinkPad T or L series, or Dell Latitude) are built with durable components and often have better processors than new, ultra-cheap consumer laptops.

What to look for: A laptop with an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor from the 6th, 7th, or 8th generation is a good starting point. Look for at least 8GB of RAM, and ideally, an SSD (Solid State Drive) for faster loading times.

Gaming capability: These laptops rely on integrated graphics (like Intel HD Graphics). This means you will only be able to play older or less demanding games, such as:

Minecraft

Stardew Valley

Terraria

Older indie titles

E-sports games at low settings (e.g., League of Legends, CS:GO)

Chromebooks: Some Chromebooks are marketed as "gaming" devices because they can stream games via services like NVIDIA GeForce Now or Xbox Cloud Gaming.

What to look for: An Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE is a common example.

Gaming capability: You are not running the games on the laptop itself. You are streaming them from a powerful server. This requires a strong and stable internet connection. If your internet is unreliable, this option is not for you.

Why You Can't Get a "Real" Gaming Laptop

A true gaming laptop needs a dedicated GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) to render modern games. The cost of just a low-end dedicated GPU like an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 or AMD Radeon RX 6500M is more than your entire budget.

A brand new laptop under $200 will have:

An entry-level processor (like an Intel Celeron or low-end Core i3).

4GB of RAM (or less), which is not enough for most modern applications, let alone games.

A slow HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a tiny SSD.

An integrated graphics card that cannot handle anything but the most basic, older games.

In summary: To play modern games on a laptop, you need a budget of at least $500. For a $200 budget, your best path is to buy a used or refurbished business laptop and stick to older or less graphically intensive games.