Best gaming laptop under 500

Table of contents:

• Cooling system
• Keyboard
• Sound
• Conclusion

The display of a number of Best gaming laptop under 500 support HDR image output, and are also Pantone certified. The latter means that behind the screens of such laptops you can not only play, but also professionally process photos or videos. And of course, one cannot fail to mention the thin bezels on modern screens. This is another modern trend, and it is worth noting that it is very important. For example, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus S GX502 gaming laptop received frames with a thickness of 6.2 millimeters.

Cooling system

The cooling systems of modern laptops have long ceased to be a simple bundle of a radiator with a fan. No, they also exist, but this is only part of the overall system. The main difference between a laptop cooling system and a stationary one is its dimensions so that the laptop remains thin. And this is the main problem in production.

Unique fans with thin blades, high-efficiency intelligently controlled turbines, channels for ejecting dust outside the case, heatsinks with more fins due to reduced thickness, and the use of liquid metal as a thermal interface. All this makes ROG notebook cooling systems highly efficient and relatively quiet.

In addition to the classic tricks, ASUS engineers have developed an active cooling system, which is endowed with the same Zephyrus GX501, the "tail" part of which was revealed when the laptop was opened. This greatly increased the air flow both for air intake and for its ejection outside, and has a positive effect on the efficiency of heat dissipation. Also, many laptops are endowed with a similar system called ErgoLift, which raises the bottom of the laptop above the surface. This also has a positive effect on the quality of ventilation components.

Well, in exceptional cases, a removable water cooling system is added to the laptop. There are very few such models on the market, you can literally count on the fingers. And the most notable of them is the ASUS ROG GX800VH. Two GeForce GTX 1080 video cards were installed inside it (this is not found in every PC), and the processor was top-end for its time - Intel Core i7 7820HK (ref.: Gaming). And at the same time, all this iron could be accelerated, so the CBO was very handy. The laptop was delivered in a suitcase - a removable block with a "dropsy" simply would not fit in a regular box.

Keyboard

Another extremely important thing for a gaming laptop is its keyboard. Let's start with what can't be seen. Namely, from the keystroke mechanism, which is hidden under the button cap. On conventional scissor keyboards, the actuation point of a button is about 3/4 of the way the key travels when pressed. And with ASUS gaming laptops, the trigger point is in the middle of this path. That is, the shot or action in the game takes place even before the button is fully pressed.

Another important thing that fans of fighting games and slashers are well aware of is click logging. Many keyboards cannot handle more than five simultaneous keystrokes. Of course, this is quite enough for working in Word. But in games, especially in fighting games or shooters, the “forward”, “left”, and “reload” keys can be pressed at the same time. And sometimes even a "jump". A regular keyboard may miss processing one of these keystrokes or go into a stupor, making the player's character an easy target.

And finally, you can not go past the size and location of the keys. In gaming laptops, more space is deliberately left between the keys to prevent accidental touching and pressing them. The lower left Windows button can be locked and unlocked with a keyboard shortcut, and basic actions like volume control and microphone control are displayed separately - separate keys have been created for them. By the way, the SCAR III G731G, like many other ASUS gaming laptops, has increased the height of the gap and lengthened the left shift.

Well, some laptop manufacturers did not waste time on trifles, and installed mechanical keyboards in their gaming laptops. Because of this, these laptops have become much thicker than the vast majority of their competitors. But, on the other hand, manufacturers can claim that real "mechanics" are used here.

The LED lighting of a gaming laptop or peripheral has gradually become a necessary option in the gaming environment. First, it's beautiful. Such peripherals look especially good on streams. And secondly, the SCAR III G731G keyboard supports setting the backlight for each key separately. Do you want to highlight only the WASD buttons, or mark important keys in strategies with different colors? Please. Customize zoning with backlight? It's easy too. For greater efficiency, the backlight is placed on the lower perimeter of the laptop, illuminating a small area in the dark.

Moreover, if all accessories, like a laptop, support ASUS Aura Sync lighting, then their LEDs can be synchronized with each other. As a result, the player has a huge number of options for setting the backlight.

Sound

Games are not only graphics and story. Sound is equally important as it helps create the right atmosphere. And in order for this very atmosphere to be conveyed correctly, the SCAR III G731G received high-quality speakers directed to the sides, as well as an intelligent amplifier. The latter will suppress various sound distortions even at maximum volume. As a result, the owner of such a laptop will not complain about the lack of “tops” or “bottoms”.

We have already written a lot about the differences between gaming laptops and ordinary ones, but it was decided to leave something interesting for a snack.

Due to the combination of powerful hardware, thin manufacturing process, and a powerful cooling system, the hardware of ordinary laptops can be slightly overclocked in automatic mode (for example, GPU Boost for NVIDIA video cards), and top versions of gaming laptops (For example, G703) generally have an overclocking mode, when the frequencies increase more than the official values ​​for the CPU and GPU. At the same time, their cooling systems cope with the increased load.

Increased display refresh rates, as well as advances in graphics cards, have made it possible to bring NVIDIA G-Sync technology to laptops. With its help, the refresh rate of the display is synchronized with the frame rate that the video card creates. And as a result, the picture on the screen becomes smooth, and “tears”, “friezes” and other artifacts disappear from it.

Until recently, one battery charge lasted only half an hour - just enough time to move the laptop from one outlet to another. Now, thanks to modern hardware, and especially the developments of Intel and NVIDIA, such laptops can work in normal (not gaming) mode for up to 8 hours. This is enough for both work and watching movies. Of course, this is only true if the laptop received switchable Optimus graphics.

Also, gaming laptops have become more autonomous thanks to NVIDIA Battery Boost technology - when you start games in laptop offline mode, the FPS rate is locked at 30 frames per second (this frequency can be changed), and the video card will not consume too much power. As a result, you can play for several hours on a single battery charge.

Conclusion

Gaming laptops have come a long way in recent years, both in terms of performance and energy efficiency. Buying a modern gaming laptop, you can be sure that its power is enough for both games and work. We hope that after reading this article, the difference between regular and gaming laptops has become clearer.