There are so many reasons why you may need to choose a new gaming laptop over time.
Maybe the latest games won't run on your current system?
Or perhaps you can run the latest games, but your laptop randomly reboots just as the action gets good?
Regardless of the reason you should be aware of some tips to ensure that your new purchase
gets you the results you re hoping for.
This is DIY in 5.
Hey everyone! My name is Trisha and you are watching DIY in 5
the show where we make tech simple enough that you can do it yourself in 5 minutes or less.
Today we are discussing gaming laptops and how to choose the correct one based on your needs.
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Luckily for all of us, it has never been easier for gamers to get their hands on great hardware.
The GPU shortage continues to lessen and good deals are abundant.
But how do we choose the right gaming laptop for our needs?
While desktop computers are often preferred as they are more upgradable
and can eek out more performance than their sleeker counterparts,
laptops save you the backache of lugging your mid-size tower and all your peripherals on vacation, on a work trip, or to a lan party.
There is no need to fret, as these days laptops can also have high-spec hardware,
giving you the best of both worlds.
When looking at the type of hardware you want in your new gaming laptop,
there are a few things to keep in mind.
First, your laptop's display.
Most people have great displays at home but when you are on the go your laptop screen
will be your main screen more times than not.
Some of us prefer larger screens and some of us prefer smaller screens.
However, the key is to find the size that gives you the best visual acuity
based on how well or not well your eyes see.
When you are testing this you need to check resolution so for example a 17-inch screen
will need to have a higher resolution screen than a 13-inch in order to achieve the same visual acuity.
Now let's look at refresh rate.
Refresh rate is how many times per second the screen can show a new image, and this is measured in hertz (Hz).
Each hertz equates to one image.
To put this into perspective, a 100Hz screen will display 100 images every second.
When it comes to your refresh rate, higher is better.
We recommend at least a 144Hz for silky-smooth gaming.
And if you play fast-paced games competitively, you may want even higher than that.
Stardew Valley fans, you can save a buck or two in this department because with cozy games
you may not even be able to tell the difference.
Secondly, let's talk about the brain.
Not our brains, but our laptop's brain aka the CPU.
Here, you'll want to focus on clock speed and core count.
We should aim for a clock speed
that gives us enough headroom to play the games we want based on our quality settings and expected frame rate.
The core count is also important as it will allow the CPU to handle more tasks at one time.
Gaming laptops are typically also good at simulation, video editing, programming etc
so if you know that you will be using your laptop in this capacity, the more cores the better.
So head over to the website of your favorite game or games and double-check with the developer
on the recommended CPU clock speed and choose accordingly.
Next, all laptops have at the very least a low-performance integrated GPU,
and this does suffice for most standard users.
Most gaming laptops are easily purchased with a GeForce GTX GPU factory fitted.
These GPUs are generally a less-powerful version of a desktop card of the same series,
but optimizations mean that they would definitely perform at a similar level to plug-in systems.
After that, and we talk about this all the time on this channel,
remember that solid-state drives outclass their mechanical counterparts.
They are faster in every way.
They load files and programs faster and also reduce the start time of your games.
Almost all laptops come with an SSD.
We previously covered the different interfaces including PCIe NVMe M.2
which should be your weapon excuse me your drive of choice if you are looking for a laptop specially outfitted for gaming.
Now I know I said earlier that desktops are typically known for their upgradeability,
not laptops BUT more laptops than ever are letting owners upgrade at least certain components.
Which is great, because sometimes you need additional storage after your laptop purchase,
and something like the Kingston FURY Renegade SSD, would fit the bill.
It supports the latest Gen 4x4 NVMe controller and 3D TLC NAND
and provides a cutting-edge performance that benefits games and other tasks that rely on fast hard drive access.
Finally, let's discuss RAM.
Sometimes, laptop RAM can also be upgraded at a later date.
So it's not absolutely critical that you have your final ram configuration
when you are purchasing your new machine.
However, please double-check that your laptop can be upgraded with the storage and RAM capacity that you desire.
For most games, 16GB is fine but I personally would go with 32GB of ram just to be safe.
If you do decide to upgrade, look for fast ram such as the Kingston FURY Impact DDR5,
an Intel XMP 3.0 certified SODIMM with speeds of 4800MT/s and capacities up to 64GB.
With capacities like that RAM will never be an issue.
So, to recap, when shopping gaming laptops, keep in mind display size, resolution
and frame rate, CPU cores and clock speeds, look for a dedicated GPU,
SSD storage and at least 32GB of RAM.
Now wave goodbye to the blue screens of death from earlier and game with confidence because
there is no lagging over here.
And a great system can sometimes even give you a competitive advantage.
It is now time to go game, again my name's Trisha Hershberger and you've been watching DIY in 5!