6 Things to Think About before Buying Your Gaming Laptop
When we speak of gaming laptops, they're not created and targeted for every consumer. Generally, these products are all about display, performance, as well as the high technical aspects, present compared to standard laptops. These are geared towards people looking for something portable that gives them the performance needed for all of their gaming needs.
Moreover, these products are excellent alternatives for gaming PCs, and are perfect if you are someone that likes to game will being on the move. They pack similar specifications as their bigger desktop brothers by including high-end specifications while keeping things compact.
So if you are set on finding the ultimate gaming laptop for all of your PC gaming, here are some things one needs to consider before purchasing.
What Kind of Games Do You Usually Play?
So, you are keen on buying a gaming laptop, but before you drop your hard on cash it is important to think about the games that you actually want to play.
Why? Because the games that you want to play will help determine the gaming laptop specifications that you will want to look out for.
RTS (Real-Time Strategy) games generally require lower computing power compared to other games. If you are someone that primarily plays RTS games you could probably save yourself a few dollars by not needing to buy the biggest, baddest laptop out there.
If you're planning to play the latest triple-A titles such as Assassin's Creed, Cyberpunk 2077, or Watch Dogs, you'll definitely have to think of power… a good amount of it. This is where you will be needing to look at a gaming laptop that packs the latest-gen graphics card, a powerful CPU, and a good chunk of RAM.
Should you be a person that focuses primarily on competitive shooters such as Counterstrike, you would be best of focusing on a decent mid-range graphics card and ensuring that you choose a laptop that has a high refresh rate monitor.
The gaming laptop you're eyeing must handle the titles you want to buy and play. Only spend what you need to but ensure that it does everything that you need it to.
What to Look for In A Good Laptop Screen
Generally, size, refresh-rates, and resolution influence everyone's gaming experience. So, you have to make sure that you choose a gaming laptop with a quality screen.
The Screen's Display
It's common for people to overlook this part. However, do note that the screen that is used for the laptop is just as important as the hardware inside.
When choosing it is important that you consider the size of the screen. Most gaming laptops feature 15" and 17" displays. There are some laptops that offer larger and even smaller screen sizes, but the most common is 15” and 17”.
Generally, if you can opt for a gaming laptop with a larger screen size then go for it. Gaming on a larger screen often gives you a better all-around gaming experience, but it does come at a cost.
Firstly, having a larger screen will often mean that the price will be higher. Secondly, having a larger screen will require higher spec hardware to be able to power it. Lastly, a larger screen does add to the overall size and weight of the laptop which could be an issue depending on your specific use case.
The Resolution
Avoid displays that are lower than 1920 × 1080 resolution. Laptops that have reduced resolution are rare, but if there's one in a shop you're buying from, forget it. 1080p gaming is the perfect resolution to game at for most people as it provides great image quality but it also easier for the hardware to run.
3840 × 2160 or 4K screens is something to consider for your gaming laptop should you have the money the spend. This will give you the best overall visual experience, but keep in mind that you will need some beefy hardware to game on a display at this resolution.
The Refresh Rate
What you’ll commonly see are screens supporting 1080p resolution coupled with a 60Hz display. For most gamers out there those specs are enough, but if you can go for a higher refresh rate then do so.
Try and aim for a gaming laptop that supports at least a 144Hz refresh rate, which is starting to become the standard amongst gamers. The higher the refresh rate of a monitor, the more times an image can update every second. This leads to a smoother image being displayed. In a nutshell, the faster the refresh rate you can get, the better the visuals will look.
The other added benefit of a higher refresh rate is that a higher refresh rate generally leads to lower response times. This means that the input lag in games will be much less, so, when you press the fire button in CS: GO, the action will be displayed instantaneously on your screen.
Simply put, the higher the refresh rate the better. Something like the AORUS 15P gaming laptop that supports a 240Hz refresh rate will aid in giving you the best gaming visual experience possible.
What Kind of GPU Do You Need?
One of the most important components for any gaming rig is the graphics card. This is especially true for gaming laptops. A quality, powerful GPU for a gaming laptop is important. Without it, you won’t be able to produce the frames per second needed to comfortably be able to play your games.
If possible, you want to look for a gaming laptop that sports either the latest generation GPU such as the RTX series from Nvidia or the previous generation cards such as the GTX series.
If you are an AMD fan there are options like their Radeon RX 5000-M series.
If you don’t require the best hardware out there and you are happy to compromise on the graphics quality a little for some of the latest games you should opt for something like an RX 5500-M or GTX 1650. You will be able to play most of the current games on medium graphics settings.
For mid-level gaming, a good card for your gaming needs is the GeForce RTX 2060. With this, you will be able to enjoy most games with your graphics settings set to high.
If you are someone that is wanting to play the latest games out there and not have to compromise on graphics quality, you will be looking at the latest RTX series of cards. Something like an RTX 3070 or RTX 3080 GPU will allow you to crank out most games at max settings without breaking a sweat.
What Hardware Specifications Should I Consider When Picking a Gaming Laptop?
It's not always possible to upgrade an existing laptop with fresh hardware, so think ahead. Consider how you'll utilize your system and what games you'll play. An excellent step in selecting a gaming laptop is prioritizing needed features.
Here are the additional hardware specifications that you should consider before buying the laptop:
CPU
A solid processor is what you'll need for gaming. With that, you can ensure that you have sufficient processing power for your CPU to deliver the best performance. For most games today, all Intel processors above Intel i5 are fine, but Intel i7 is highly recommended if you want to get the most out of it.
RAM
Although the RAM doesn't directly affect FPS, its speed can make or break your gaming experience. So, choose a gaming laptop with a minimum of 16GB RAM. For better performance and a bit of future-proofing, get one that has 32GB RAM.
Storage (NVMe and SSD)
When it comes to laptop shard drives you should only really consider SSDs. To get the best performance you would want to include an NVMe drive such as the AORUS Gen4 SSD 1TB NVMe as your primary drive as this will increase the performance of the laptops operating system substantially.
By using an SSD for your games, you will see an improvement in gaming performance. This is particularly noticeable when loading games, moving between areas of a map, and game load screens.
SSDs easily outclass older HDDs in most areas when it comes to gaming.
Need Additional GPU power? Consider an External GPU
An external GPU, such as the AORUS RTX 3080 GAMING BOX, can help provide desktop-quality graphics. You may already have a gaming laptop that has perfectly acceptable components in it but the graphics card is letting you down. An external GPU could prove to be a perfect solution for you that won’t require you to buy an entirely new gaming laptop.
External GPUs plug into your laptop and accelerate the graphics performance by handling all of the graphics processing instead of using your internal graphics card.
If you are interested in using an external graphics card, it is important to check that your laptop is compatible with it first.
Determine Your Budget and Stick to It Where Possible
At the end of the day, the hunt for purchasing your gaming laptop is based on how much you're willing to pay. The good thing is that there are tons of options available which makes sticking to a budget easy.
Determine how much money you are willing to spend and try your best to stick to that budget. If you make sure to do your research before buying you will often find an option that will give you what you are looking for at the price that you are willing to spend.
Where possible find an upgradeable gaming laptop. This will allow you to upgrade some of the hardware at a later date which could help keep the cost down on the initial purchase.
Knowing the budget for a gaming laptop while choosing the best specifications is vital. This way, you can make the most out of your money while ensuring you have a great gaming experience.
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