We’re going to talk about gaming laptops and what you need to know about before buying one. Buying a laptop might seem like a piece of cake but when it comes to be able to play on it, it’s actually a lot to have in mind probably more than you might think.
There’s a lot to cover in this post so there’s really no time to waste
With that being said let’s get started now before we dive into the meat of this post, Who am I to really talk about these?
I am glad you asked..
I’ve been into computers Tech and gaming since I can remember. I am a geek I have built computers my whole life.
I eat breathe and I sleep these type of stuff I’ve also worked in this industry. I know what I’m talking about.
Today I’m going to list the top 5 things to have in mind before buying a gaming laptop in 2017
Let’s jump into the list.
1. Specifications and hardware.
This is definitely the number one thing you want to be looking at when buying a gaming laptop. It is mainly the CPU and the GPU in the laptop that is going to determine if you’re going to be able to play Overwatch the upcoming Star Wars Battlefront 2 without any stutter in high frame rates with all the details.
It is not the resolution on the screen the hard drive or the amount of RAM. Since laptops are very limited when it comes to upgrade ability.
I recommend that you save up a decent budget before buying a gaming laptop because there is not that much you can do about it to run your favorite game any faster in the future without buying a new one.
You can obviously get a new harddrive and get some more RAM but the CPU and the GPU which are the two main components to make your laptop run smooth are into the main board on the laptop and it cannot be changed or upgraded.
You want to be sure that your laptop has at least 4 CPU cores, don’t ever buy a laptop with Intel Celeron CPUs these are only fitted with two cores. Dual core was cool and fancy 10 years ago, in 2017 it is not an option any longer.
When you are looking for a gaming laptop always have an eye on the CPU and how many course it has as you probably know the GPU or the graphic card in laptop is equally important.
If you want a game on your laptop stay away from Intel HD graphics and Iris graphics and the GeForce. These GPUs are not built for gaming in first place and the performance of any of these GPU are terrible in games, instead you want to look for either and Nvidia GeForce GTX series or the AMD Radeon R5 or 7 or the R9 series which are built for gaming in mind.
2. Connectivity
You want to be sure that the gaming laptop you’re buying carries at least two or more available USB ports and not the USB type-c. You want to have the solid USB type A connector because you’re going connect your gaming mouse and possibly your mic or gaming headset as well.
Many headsets today comes with USB instead of the traditional 3.5 millimeter connector. If you don’t want extra USB adapters hanging onto your gaming laptop pay some extra attention to the number of USB ports.
3. The Battery Life
The battery life might not be the first thing in mind when you’re looking into buying a gaming laptop and the main reason for that is probably because in the past gaming on the go on the laptop was almost impossible, and you were glad if you could make it last for an hour.
But now technology has evolved to a point where it’s actually possible to gain several hours.
If you are interested in gaming when you are traveling look for a laptops that are equipped with the GPU from the Nvidia 10 series as they are the most energy effective.
4. The Temperatures
The heat has always been one of the biggest concerns around gaming laptops because it’s difficult to fit high-end components into such tight areas and at the same time keep everything cool and quiet.
Someone would have asked me a few years ago what gaming a laptop they should get I would have told them to avoid buying a gaming laptop simply because all the heat problems makes it a deal-breaker.
But again thanks to the progress made in technology this is not the case anymore. We have finally reached a point where you can play games on laptop without burning yourself.
Again be sure that you pick up a laptop with the latest technology as this heat problem has improved a lot in recent years.
5. The Screen
720p, 1080p, 1440p or 4k and what about input lag and what about viewing angle?
There’s a lot to think about here,
ProTip: Everything above 1080p or full HD is simply not worth it, to be able to run games in 4k on a small laptop without any stutter or hiccups is still not possible. If you don’t want to spend a ridiculous amount of money.
So instead of getting a gaming machine with 4k display save yourself all the headache and money and get one with 1080p display instead with better viewing angle because gaming on anything above 1080p won’t be stutter free.
When we’re talking viewing angles here’s the word to keep in mind..
If you find ISP on the display screen you can be pretty sure that the viewing angle is going to be all right, IPS are well known of having great viewing angles. You’re buying a more expensive gaming laptop however you can be pretty sure that the display is going to have generally good viewing angles even if it’s a non IPS panel.
Conclusion
These are the top 5 lists to look over before buying a gaming laptop. Specifications, connectivity, battery life, heat and screen. There is a lot of things to keep in mind before buying a gaming laptop as you can see you can save a ton of money and frustration if you just educate yourself so that you have the better understanding on what you should look out before buying.
If you have any questions regarding what type of laptop that you should get or what graphics card you need to have if you want to run high-end games without stutter, feel free to drop any questions in the comment section and I will do my best to help you.
