Top 5 Things to Consider When Buying a Gaming Laptop
Because of their premium laptop prices , attractive and unique designs, and powerful hardware, gaming laptops are a different type of laptop than the standard multi-purpose computers used by most users around the world.
Of course, there are many people who need to play the latest games available in the market in a different way than with desktop computers, those who are looking for the perfect device that can support and meet all their graphics needs and provide an excellent gaming experience while taking advantage of the well-known capabilities of laptops such as portability. But when it comes to design, with illuminated keyboards and wide bezels, it is sure to catch everyone’s attention.
However, buying these types of laptops is not an easy task, as it depends on your gaming lifestyle - do you play a lot of these games, what kind of games...etc - and also the budget you are willing to spend. To help you simplify things, in this article we will highlight the important features that you will need to consider while shopping for a gaming laptop so that you can make the best purchase decision.
First: Portability
This is - in my opinion - the first and most important thing to consider when deciding on a gaming laptop : is it suitable for portability, or will it become like a desktop computer? You should be aware that there are different levels of portability in these types of laptops, as some are a little heavier than regular laptops, and others are so heavy that you cannot carry them on your legs for long periods or put them in a backpack and carry them from one place to another.
This is normal because, as we mentioned, these computers include powerful and heavy hardware and are far from the standard "laptop" standards known. In any case, if you plan to use this laptop only at home or move it from one room to another, there is no problem in buying a large laptop with a screen ranging between 17 and 18 inches, such as the Alienware 17. It is a large device and its size is heavy, but it will not be difficult to move if its use is limited to indoors.
On the other hand, laptops with a 13- or 14-inch display offer much better portability, and may weigh no more than 3kg. Because of their smaller size - compared to a standard 15.6-inch laptop - their battery life is longer, reaching at least 7.5 hours. Some good examples include the Alienware 13, Razer Blade, and Aorus X3 Plus V3.
Second: Graphics card
What distinguishes gaming laptops from regular laptops is not only the unique design, but also the internal components, specifically the graphics card. These laptops are equipped with the latest and most powerful graphics cards on the market to provide an excellent gaming experience with popular modern games.
But as you probably know, graphics cards are not the same, there are different generations and technical specifications of these graphics cards, so when you think about buying a gaming laptop , try as much as possible to look for the one that includes a modern graphics card and is equipped with VRAM memory capable of meeting the needs of games in the future, preferably not less than 4 GB.
Nvidia is the best when it comes to laptop graphics cards, with excellent quality, powerful performance and great features for users. While AMD is competing in this field, it is not at the same level as Nvidia.
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Third: Screen resolution and its features
There’s no point in having a laptop with a high-end graphics card that delivers excellent graphics and high FPS if it has a poor-quality screen that can’t enhance the graphics with vibrant colors and smooth motion. To avoid this terrible turn of events, there are a few things you should keep in mind when it comes to your gaming laptop screen.
First, it should have a resolution of at least FHD (1080×1920). Second, it is also preferable to have an anti-glare screen as the color quality is deeper. Third, it should operate at a refresh rate greater than 60 Hz to provide smooth movement and this will be very noticeable during gaming. These specifications will guarantee you an unprecedented gaming experience, as the screen is the only thing we look at during our time using the computer.
Fourth: Choosing between SSD and HDD
Do SSDs really help improve gaming performance? We provided a detailed answer to this question in a previous topic. But in short, the graphics processing task remains with the graphics card only and the hard disk has nothing to do with it, and therefore it does not directly affect the acceleration of games.
See also: Does using more than one graphics card really make the gaming experience better?
However, SSDs in particular have the ability to improve the gaming experience by speeding up the loading process when running any game, as you will not wait for a long time in front of the boot screen for each game. However, their cost is very high, especially if they are 1 TB in size to store all your favorite games.
At the same time, HDDs offer very large sizes at a lower cost, which is good if you don't care about the time it takes to start up games as much as you care about the large storage capacity. It ultimately comes down to your preferences, though most gaming laptops come with both SSD and HDD, which allows space for your game files and everything else you might want to store on your laptop.
Fifth: Keyboard
Of course, the above-mentioned components are very important in the gaming experience, but we should not forget the keyboard as well, because you will definitely use it every time you play any game. In general, the keyboards found in any gaming laptop are always distinctive and have a special style,
For example, the letters A, S, D, and W are distinguished by a different color from the rest of the other keys because they are the most used keys in video games. They are also equipped with customizable backlighting, and a higher response speed.
Additionally, there are additional keys that can be customized to perform a specific task in games, such as switching between weapons. However, if you are aiming for a truly enjoyable gaming experience, look for a laptop that includes a keyboard with a lot of gaming-oriented features and make sure that the manufacturer has software specifically designed to control this keyboard, such as Razer Synapse and AlienFX.
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Do you think there are other more important features to consider when buying a gaming laptop? Share your opinion with us in the comments section below.