Buying a gaming laptop can be difficult, especially if it’s your first time purchasing one. Advertising for this type of laptop is hard to understand especially with the lack of information in them.
It is not surprising that gaming laptops can be expensive, and that is why it’s important to be critical when planning to buy one. You may be overwhelmed with the information on the internet or when you’re talking to a salesperson.
Luckily, this article is here to help. To know more about the things you should know before you get yourself a laptop, keep reading!
Monitor
Your monitor can affect your gaming experience, but there are a few factors to consider first.
Resolution
The image output on the screen sharpens the more pixels appear on it as the resolution increases. Usually, laptops have a 1080p resolution, but newer ones have 1440p to 4k resolutions. But, as expected, the higher the resolution,the more expensive it gets.
Refresh Rate
A refresh rate at 60 Hz and 75-110 PPI is enough if you are a casual gamer. However, if you play competitively, 144 Hz and 110-140 PPI is a much better match for you. The best gaming monitors in the market have a refresh rate of 240 Hz with a screen resolution of 140 PPI. This kind of refresh rate is important when you’re playing professionally.
Screen Size
Laptops have varying sizes, but the most common ones are 14, 15, and 17-inch screens. Thinner bezels enable screens to be housed on more compact forms.
OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode)
These panels, which are available in most gaming laptops, feature pixels that generate light of their own instead of being backlight dependent. This enables them to attain deeper black levels and higher contrast than typical laptop panels, which are frequently LED-lit liquid crystal displays.
Graphics Card
Your graphics card creates the pixels that make up images on your screen. Graphics cards work with your CPU that makes for smoother frame rates and higher quality games in terms of resolution.
Every laptop available on the market has a GPU in their system. Although, they’re often included into the motherboard, and sometimes, this is enough. Regardless, if you’re looking for a more powerful gaming system, opt for an upscale GPU.
You can purchase a gaming laptop with a pre-installed GeForce GTX GPU. These GPUs are known to have lesser power than the cards in desktops. Even so, optimizations ensure that their performance is still on par with component systems.
Storage
Solid-State Drives or SSDs outperform hard disk drives or HDDs in terms of performance. They’re much faster than an HDD. This makes it possible for your system to load files and programs much faster, reducing game and system startup times. SDDs also lack rotating elements. So, this storage doesn’t heat as much as an HDD.
Modern day laptops have built-in SDDs. Aside from that, they also have multiple networks, and PCIe NVMe M.2. is the quickest among them. The storage of your laptop depends on your choice. It’s also possible to update your storage from a HDD to SDD, or add another one, which improves your overall system.
Battery Life
You may be thinking that you have to have your laptop plugged at all times while playing. But, because it’s a portable rig, you have to consider its portability. Being limited because you have to ensure that your gaming location has an outlet can constrain your gaming experience. To avoid this, check the laptop’s battery life.
RAM
Computer RAM functions similarly to VRAM, although it works with the CPU rather than the GPU. Your laptop’s speed depends on your RAM. When it comes to gaming, RAM can make the levels load faster and the details much sharper.
Level-up Your Video Game Play with a Gaming Laptop
Reading the spec sheet of the laptops you’re checking out will help a lot, and asking your gamer friends can elevate its difficulties, too. But the most important part is understanding the factors and specs that make a gaming laptop valuable. You don’t want to waste your hard-earned money buying something that’s not of quality.
