How to Buy a Gaming Laptop

Everything you must have acknowledge to select a laptop for gaming.

While many PC gamers still prefer the desktop, there are times when you just need something a little bit more portable. A laptop used for gaming is a portable gaming setup that combines portability with gaming capabilities.

But you don’t only look at stats when you purchase a gaming laptop. You are viewing an entire computer, complete with an integrated keyboard and display. Here, we go through every choice you’ll have to make when purchasing a gaming laptop so you can choose the best option for your requirements and price range.

Quick Tip

• Get a good GPU(Graphics Processing Unit): The majority of video games require the GPU, which laptops cannot update. Your laptop will be able to play games at higher resolutions for several years if it has a powerful GPU.
• Think about upgrading later: Many gaming laptops, though not all, allow you to update your storage and RAM.
• Either Resolution or speed: A 4K screen will be slower since the fastest screens now available only support 1920 x 1080 resolution at up to 360 Hz.
• Buy a Quality Keyboard: It will become difficult for you to play your games while using something mushy or stiff.
• Battery life is likely to be poor: Few gaming laptops can run for eight hours or longer before needing a recharge, and the optimum performance requires a power supply anyhow.

Which GPU do you require?

This is one of the most important selections you make when purchasing a gaming notebook since even while some games utilize the CPU, the bulk are still GPU-reliant. The majority of gaming laptops now available use Nvidia GeForce GTX or RTX GPUs.

The RTX 30-series cards, which range in price from the RTX 3050 to the RTX 3080 Ti, are the most recent graphics cards in the Nvidia series.

The Radeon RX 6000M series from AMD includes the RX 6300M for low-cost systems, the RX 6700M and RX 6800M for midrange and high-end systems, as well as the top-of-the-line RX 6850M XT for increased performance. However, we anticipate a fresh lineup of AMD discrete GPUs to arrive in laptops later this year.

A word on Max-Q: Until you purchase an RTX 30-series laptop, it may not be obvious if it has a Max-Q GPU. Find out how to identify RTX 30-series laptops with Max-Q GPUs. The easiest approach to determine if an Nvidia GPU will satisfy your needs is to review the specifications, which increasing numbers of manufacturers are now providing in full.

• Entry-level gaming: A GTX 3050 or RX 5500M will let you play most games, although on average settings if you don’t need to play on the maximum settings. You’ll have a little bit more power with a GTX 3060, and we believe it’s visible and well worth the money. You can expect to pay around $800 and $1,100 for a laptop with all these cards, though recently we’ve seen them being a little more expensive, probably because of the component shortage.

What additional specifications should I check?

While a GPU is vital, you should also search for a strong CPU, adequate RAM, and a lot of storage.

• CPU: You may get a very strong Core i7 CPU or even an overclockable Core i9-12900HK depending on your budget. There are also laptops available with desktop CPUs. However, a good GPU rather than a powerful CPU is what most games benefit from, thus a Core i5 processor will work just fine. Consider making a little amount of savings if you find anything that is less powerful or older than the most recent Intel 12th Generation Core (model numbers start with 12). Since CPUs are often not upgradeable, this decision must be made just once. The most current is Intel’s 12th Gen Core components for mobile, which were released this year.

• RAM: Gaming may consume a lot of RAM, thus we advise 8GB even for jobs requiring ordinary productivity. If you can, get a gaming PC with 16GB of memory. Typically, a laptop with a GTX 3050 or 3050 Ti has 8GB of memory. Some graphics cards with a GTX 3060 or above will have 16GB of RAM. If you can’t acquire a laptop with 16GB of RAM right away, think about upgrading it soon. If you’re skilled with a screwdriver, you can consider upgrading the memory on many gaming laptops in the future.

• Storage: SSD versus hard drive? Why not neither? Most gaming notebooks additionally feature a tiny SSD to act as a boot drive, while some affordable gaming laptops will simply have a hard drive (often 1TB). A 128GB SSD and 1TB HDD functioning together is commonplace. The loading times could be faster if you can obtain a bigger SSD, however, this will cost you a lot more money. Make sure you choose a faster HDD with 7,200 rpm rather than 5,400 rpm.

Storage on gaming laptops is frequently upgradeable, much like RAM. Therefore, you may insert a 2TB or bigger HDD if you require extra space

What qualities Should a display have?

Displays are frequently disregarded yet are crucial. All of your games will be displayed on the built-in screen if your laptop isn’t connected to a monitor.

• Resolution: Never settle for a screen resolution of less than 1920 x 1080. One with a lower resolution is uncommon, but if you really do, go immediately. Some gaming laptops provide 4K (3840 x 2160) displays as an option, but you might still need to adjust some settings, particularly if you activate ray tracing. A 1440p middle ground is being shipped with an increasing number of laptops, which is a great option.
• Size: Although there are a few enormous systems with 18-inch panels and a few 14-inch systems, the majority of gaming laptops have 15 or 17-inch screens. Whatever size you pick is a question of personal taste, but keep in mind that a laptop’s size and weight increase with the size of its screen.
• Avoid Touch Screen: Touch displays on gaming laptops are unneeded, yet they are not always bad (some 2-in-1 models notwithstanding). They reduce battery life and can provide an excessively glossy display.
• OLED: (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display alternatives are becoming more common in gaming laptops. While having slower refresh rates than LED displays, they frequently feature deeper black levels and more vivid colors. However, some gamers are concerned about the potential for burn-in on these panels.

What qualities should a keyboard have?

Chiclet keys with LED lights are what you’ll get with a budget gaming keyboard. But there is much more to take into account:

• Actuation: This is the amount of pressure required to depress a key. The ideal weight for us is often between 65 and 70 grams since it provides adequate resistance without feeling flimsy.
• Key Travel: This is the maximum keystroke depth. In general, we like keys with a key travel of at least 1.5 millimeters, and 2 millimeters is even better. By doing this, you can avoid “bottoming out” and striking the keyboard’s frame. Even mechanical keys may be found on certain very pricey computers.
• Macro Keys: On gaming laptops, finding macro keys is trickier than on desktop keyboards, but it’s still feasible. With a solid set of programmed macro keys, you can execute the majority of game-related chores with ease. The laptop maker often provides special software for this.

What about a battery life?

The quick answer is that you shouldn’t depend on your gaming laptop to be incredibly portable.

To maximize the performance of your GPU when playing games on your laptop, keep it plugged in at all times. If you don’t, your laptop will be lucky if it lasts an hour of gaming. According to our tests, most gaming laptops have limited battery life when doing other things, but they never last as long as ultraportable without discrete GPUs. A gaming notebook won’t be what you need if you need something to last 8 hours while you work.

Some do last a long time, but the display suffers as a result, and you shouldn’t play all of your games on a screen that is too dark, dull, or incorrect.

Thankfully, more gaming laptops are compatible with USB Type-C and barrel chargers. The latter can give you a boost if you’re working on productivity but won’t provide enough power for gaming.

Conclusion

Now that you know what to look for in a gaming laptop, the question becomes where to find one. Obviously, there are many different brands and models to choose from, and it can be difficult to decide which is right for you.

One way to get started is to look at the different types of laptops that are available. There are traditional gaming laptops, which are designed for playing games on high settings. These usually have faster processors and more powerful graphics cards, and they often cost more than other types of laptops.

Then there are thin and light gaming laptops, which are designed for portability. Some people think that they don’t usually have the fastest RAM and GPU but now you can get a gaming laptop according to your requirement and design. You may buy a slip laptop by adding more RAM and GPU into it by paying more amount rather than buying a fat or heavy machine.

But keep in mind that you have to focus on these main things while buying a laptop:

• GPU
• CPU
• Display

GPU for Gaming Laptop

Graphics processing unit or GPU for short, is one of the most important components in any gaming laptop. It’s responsible for rendering 3D images on the screen and making the gaming experience more realistic.

The best GPUs for gaming laptops usually come with dedicated graphics chips that offer high performance, power efficiency, and long lifespan. The most popular GPUs for gaming laptops include Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080, 1070, 1060, and 1050.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 is the most powerful and popular GPU for gaming laptops. It’s built on the latest Maxwell architecture.

CPU for gaming laptop

CPUs are the heart of any gaming laptop. A good CPU will help speed up the overall performance of the device. When choosing a CPU for your gaming laptop, it is important to consider the type of games you will be playing. Some games, like Sims 4, Pubg, require a more powerful CPU to run smoothly. Other games, like Overwatch, can be played on a lower-powered CPU without any problems.

When choosing a CPU, it is also important to consider the price and features of the laptop. Laptops with more powerful CPUs will typically cost more money. However, a more powerful CPU also comes with more features, like faster clock speeds and more RAM.

Display for gaming laptop

Gaming laptops are marketed as powerful machines that can handle the most demanding games. This is true, but they also need to be able to show off the graphics and gameplay in a clear and concise way.

The display on a gaming laptop should be large enough to show the most detailed graphics and gameplay, while also being bright and colorful. It should also have a high resolution so that text and icons are clear.

Some gaming laptops come with a built-in display that is better than what most people would use on a regular laptop. This display is usually a high-resolution screen that is designed for gaming.