A gaming laptop can be a good alternative to a gaming PC for gamers who want to enjoy their favorite games on the go. If you are looking to buy a new gaming laptop but are not sure where to start, then keep reading to find out more about what to look for in a gaming laptop to make the best decision for your needs. Buying a laptop for gaming is a little bit different from buying or building a gaming PC.
GPU
For laptops that are designed for gaming, the GPU is going to be the main component. It plays the biggest role when it comes to the amount of performance that it can deliver. The GPU that you get on your laptop will determine what kind of games you can enjoy. If it’s weak, then you may only be able to play older games, or you will need to use lower settings for playing top titles. The good news is that you can get a cheap graphics card for gaming that is fairly powerful.
Display
The laptop’s display is just as important as the GPU that it comes with. If you are going for a low- to medium-budget laptop, then one of the most crucial things to do is make sure that the laptop comes with a screen resolution that is not going to hurt your performance in-game. If you have a bigger budget, then there are other important display features to consider such as the refresh rate.
Battery Life
Gaming is quite a power-heavy thing to do so most of the time, it’s going to eat through your battery life very quickly. Many gamers who use a laptop will keep it plugged in as much as they can when they are gaming. However, many people who want a gaming laptop make this decision so that they don’t have to be confined to one space. Because of this, it’s worth going for a laptop with a longer battery life. Bear in mind that the duration from one charge provided by the manufacturer might not always be gaming-specific, so it may not last as long when you are gaming. Check reviews before you buy to see what other users have had to say about the battery life.
Cooling
While it might not seem like the most important thing to consider when buying a laptop for gaming, the cooling system is actually more critical to laptop performance than you might realize. Heat is the enemy of all computer components and electronic equipment. Laptops are much more compact compared to a PC, with components that work very closely together. This can cause excessive heat. Because of this, a good cooling system must be in place to prevent the laptop from getting too hot and forcing your CPU and GPU to work at lower speeds to cool down, which will impact your game performance negatively.
If you love gaming, then a gaming laptop can be a good way to keep on playing on the go. However, before you make this big purchase for your gaming setup, bear these points in mind.