Image: IDG / Mark Knapp
Ah, Roblox. Described as a game creation platform, you can do everything from design an amusement park to chat with friends at a virtual diner. It’s also a great way for kids to flex their creative muscles.
But what kind of laptop hardware does it take to run Roblox properly? Lucky for you, Roblox can practically run on a potato, so you don’t need an ultra-powerful laptop with the latest bling. An Intel Core i3 processor with a clock speed of 1.6GHz or higher will do you just fine!
So, here are the best cheap laptops to play Roblox on. Not only are they affordable, but they’re also decent everyday machines. We’ve personally tested and reviewed every single one of these.
Need even more options than this? Check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops under $500.
Acer Aspire 3
PCWorld / Robert Strohmeyer
PCWorld / Robert Strohmeyer
PCWorld / Robert Strohmeyer
The Acer Aspire 3 is a real standout for performance and features. In addition to earning 4 out of 5 stars in our comprehensive review, it also nabbed the top spot in our best laptops under $500 roundup.
Overall construction is quite sturdy for a $325 laptop, the full-sized keyboard is “a joy to type on,” and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320U CPU is powerful enough to handle Roblox. (The game’s minimum requirements call for an AMD Radeon R7 240 CPU or higher.)
You’re also getting a solid array of connectivity options, including one HDMI port, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and one USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 port. Not bad for a budget laptop.
The Acer Aspire 3 is only $325Buy it now at Walmart
Acer Aspire Go 15
IDG / Mark Knapp
IDG / Mark Knapp
IDG / Mark Knapp
If you’re working with a mega-strict budget, the Acer Aspire Go 15 is a great option—especially because you can pick it up for just $299 at Acer’s online store right now.
In addition to its 1080p display and 53.9 watt-hour battery, it also has a wide port selection and a comfortable keyboard. Again, you don’t need a powerhouse to run Roblox, so its Intel Core i3-N305 CPU should be more than enough, especially if you enjoy classic user-created games like Work at a Pizza Place and Royale High.
That said, according to our review, the Intel UHD graphics struggled “when running a YouTube video in one window and doing just about anything else in another.” As long as you temper your expectations and don’t have too many apps running at once, you can expect reliable performance out of this sub-$300 machine.
The Acer Aspire Go 15 is only $300Buy it now at Acer
HP Laptop 14
Mattias Inghe
Mattias Inghe
Mattias Inghe
The HP Laptop 14 is a great choice for a long-lasting, sub-$500 laptop. In our review, it lasted a whopping 15 hours on a single charge with light use—a phenomenal result that means you don’t have to go looking around for an outlet so often.
As for hardware, it’s pretty darn good, especially for such an inexpensive laptop. You’re getting an Intel Core i3-1315U, Intel UHD Graphics 64EU, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage. That’s more than enough power to play Roblox and plow through schoolwork on the side.
The HP Laptop 14 also weighs just a little over three pounds, so it’s a travel-friendly machine. Great for playing Roblox on the go!
The HP Laptop 14 is only $435Buy it now at Amazon
Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
If you like big screens and you cannot lie, then the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE is the one for you.
The display is a sizable 16 inches with a resolution of 2560×1600 and a refresh rate of 120Hz, which “gives the laptop an edge if you’d plan to play games on a cloud gaming service that supports high refresh rates like Nvidia’s GeForce Now,” according to our review.
This laptop is also powered by an Intel Core 5 120U and it’s packing 256GB of SSD storage, which “feels roomy when the largest locally installed apps are just a few hundred megabytes.”
And in case you’re wondering, yes, you can play Roblox on a Chromebook—in fact, you can find it in the Google Play Store. Just make sure ChromeOS is up to date!
The Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE is only $450Buy it now at Best Buy
Acer Chromebook Plus 514
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
IDG / Matthew Smith
If the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE has too big of a screen for you, check out its smaller-screened sibling!
The Acer Chromebook Plus 514 is currently on sale for $350 at Amazon, so this is an economical option for tight budgets.
It comes with 8GB of RAM, which is “more RAM than similarly priced competitors,” according to our review, which is important for handling many simultaneous tasks. (According to Roblox‘s minimum requirements, you only need 1GB of RAM. But more is preferred, obviously!)
This laptop also comes with an Intel Core i3-N305 and 512GB of SSD storage—that’s enough power and storage for running Roblox. Roblox isn’t the most demanding game in the world, but it can sometimes bog down laptops. This laptop won’t feel a thing.
Connectivity is also great with two USB-C 3.2 ports, two USB-A 3.2 ports, one 3.5mm combo audio port, and one microSD card reader. This diversity of inputs will allow you to plug into a different monitor or keyboard, if your heart desires.
The Acer Chromebook Plus 514 is only $350Buy it now at Amazon
Author: Ashley Biancuzzo, Associate Editor, PCWorld
Ashley Biancuzzo manages all laptop and Chromebook coverage for PCWorld. She’s been covering consumer tech since 2016, and her work has appeared on USA Today, Reviewed, Polygon, Kotaku, StarWars.com, and Nerdist. In her spare time, she enjoys playing video games, reading science fiction, and hanging out with her rescue greyhound.
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