The world of gaming has become more of a passion for many than a simple pastime in recent years. All gamers know the struggle of finding the right gaming device that will give them all the features they desire without breaking the bank. Don’t fall for anyone telling you that you need to spend £1000 or more to get your ideal gaming machine. Technology is also moving at such a rapid speed that what you used to think was the ultimate PC or laptop, is now in fact a gamer’s worse nightmare. And what you think might be too cheap, actually gives you the best value for money, while offering everything that you are looking for.
There are countless options to choose from no matter where you look, however, if you are new to buying a gaming machine, you should read this article first. There are no less than five main components that you need to consider before making your final decision.
Fast Graphics with Least Lag
The graphics card is usually the first thing that any gamer will look at. The graphics card is what will give you the best-looking game without experiencing lag. The general rule of thumb is to go for what is new on the market. This, unfortunately, may set you back way more than you would expect, so don’t be scared to try out second-hand sets that are still in good condition. You will find that for many people, as soon as the newest NVIDIA or Radeon card is out, they sell their old one, even though it works perfectly well.
This is great news for any gamer that can’t afford the latest models but still wants to play the same games. Just keep in mind not to buy a graphics card that is older than two generations. This will ensure that the technology is still supported by the manufacturer and there won’t be massive differences between a used chip and a brand spanking new one out of the box. Some games also only run on very specific recommendations with high capabilities, so you might have to pay a bit extra if you want to play a game that has only just hit the market.
Storage Capacity
If you have ever run into a problem where your PC or laptop is running slowly, you have most likely been asked how much RAM you currently have. Random Access Memory (RAM) is exceptionally important and one of the very basic components of any gaming device. The RAM will determine how fast your laptop performs. Essentially, the more programs you need to have running at the same time, the more RAM you will need to accommodate the extra load. In saying so, too much RAM won’t give you any added benefit, so don’t go out and buy hoards of the stuff. You only need enough to handle the programs and games that you want to run.
The standard gaming laptop runs optimally with between 16 and 32GB of RAM. If you have a look, the new Lenovo Ryzen 5 Gaming Laptops that have recently been released come with a standard 16GB. These gaming laptops are built with gamers in mind, so you will easily find what you are looking for.
A cost-effective idea is to search for a solid state drive. These hard drives can don’t replace your current RAM, but rather act as an add-on for when your motherboard can’t take any more RAM chips. Another big plus with SSDs is that you will get more storage space and performance power for a much cheaper rate than if you bought RAM for the same capacity.
Choose Screen Size and Resolution Carefully
Another major consideration for any gaming laptop is the picture quality. Obviously, you will want the best graphics with a big enough screen to see everything. Just be aware. Some manufacturers know that screen size is important to gamers. Instead of focusing on both size and picture quality, you might get either a massive screen with poor quality or the other way around.
Whether to go for a bigger screen or a better resolution is a personal decision, and every gamer is different. The most important features that you want to have is a good aspect ratio, high refresh rates, and higher resolution than the standard laptop. The preferred size for a gaming laptop is 17 inches, and anything over or under that size will depend on your personal preferences.
Choose the Right “Brain”
Your gaming laptop cannot run without the central processing unit or CPU. This tiny component is what tells your system to interact and process any instructions you give it. Anytime you click on a game to run it, your CPU has to work in the background and communicate with all the other necessary components. Choosing the right CPU is probably the hardest part of choosing which gaming laptop is ideal for your needs. The CPU is the one gaming component that you shouldn’t buy cheap. Rather spend a bit extra to get something that will last you until the next generation.
There are three things that you need to look at: the core count, clock speed, and optional features that come as standard with the CPU. With core count, the more cores the CPU has inside, the more processing power you have. Multiple CPU cores mean that you can run many more applications and install more robust hardware without any downtime or sacrifice in quality. The clock speed defines how many cycles the CPU can execute in any given second. Measured in Ghz, you want the highest clock speed possible. Additional options that could give many benefits are CPUs that can be set to prioritize certain tasks over others. This helps to preserve battery power by allocating sufficient resources and power to your cores without overclocking your system.
Connections and Ports
Your gaming laptop is not just about the performance and how great the graphics look. There are a lot of other aspects that you need to remember, such as headphone jacks, SD slots, ethernet cables, and additional USB ports.
Gaming desktops and laptops come with a minimum of two USB ports, but that is never enough so think to the future about all the possible pieces of equipment that you may want to connect. If you prefer to play with your headphones on to block out any outside noise, you need to have at least a 3.5mm port. This is what most headsets and speakers use. An SD card is great to store your game data on or just to expand your storage capacity.
Additional Features
Once you have found a gaming laptop that will run the games you play without any hassles, you can start to shop around for additional features that could improve your gaming experience. OLED, for example, is the preferred screen technology because each pixel produces its own light. You won’t need to rely on backlights, and with OLED you will get a much deeper image with greater contrast. Another feature to keep in mind is cooling. If your laptop regularly overheats or the fans get blocked easily, your hardware will wear down quicker and you will experience lag.
The most important factor that determines the laptop you choose is what you plan on using it for. If you want to connect another monitor then you should priorities the CPU. If you stream your gameplay to create content, then you need a high-resolution display, robust CPU, and no less than 32GB of RAM. There is no definitive way to choose the best gaming laptop, it all comes down to what features you find the most value in.
