For the last couple of years, gaming has emerged as the root of entertainment. Thanks to major companies such as Acer and MSI which has made it possible by manufacturing high-quality machines. You can agree with me that initially people preferred using desktops to play games. Since the evolution of laptops a few years ago, people have been able to play games using these devices.
What is the main impediment that faces most gaming enthusiasts? Have you ever purchased a gaming laptop? You can attest that it is a hectic task finding the perfect laptop for your gaming needs. If you want to have a reliable gaming laptop, you must have enough knowledge. A high-quality laptop will fulfill all that you have been looking for. Also, it will give you good value for your money.
Being the prime choice for game lovers, they come at different prices, shapes and configurations. You will come across multiple options for gaming laptops. A good gaming laptop comes with power to play any game. We have come up with a detailed guide that will arguably help you to find the best gaming laptops in the market.
A big issue with gaming laptops is the heat that the cpu produces while gaming, read more about that in our article “Do all gaming laptops overheat?”
BUDGET
There is no doubt that it is one of the most crucial elements to consider when purchasing a gaming laptop. Do you want a laptop that robs all your savings? Although the budget depends on individual choice, you should make sure that you have the best value when purchasing the product. In most cases, a laptop that costs around $500 can handle all games. It boasts of good processing and graphics abilities. With that in mind, you should buy a gaming laptop based on your demands. To play higher FPS efficiently, you need to have a reasonable budget.
PORTABILITY
What is portability? This is simply the function of both weight and battery life. You should not expect your battery to last for long when playing games. With that in mind, you are recommended to play all your games with the charger plugged in. What is the essence of plugging in the charger? You will be able to utilize the full performance of the CPU and GPU. Gaming laptops are quite heavy when compared to common laptops. This is self-explanatory.
What makes gaming laptops heavy? They have an extremely large hybrid storage drives and also GPU. These are the features behind its heavy chassis. You should look at the size of its screen if you want to know whether the gaming laptop is portable. Usually, many gaming enthusiasts prefer purchasing a gaming laptop with 13.4 screen size.
Although you will have an easy time when carrying this laptop, it will not have the required configurations for a gaming laptop. A laptop with screen size 17.3 will give you stress when carrying it. The best thing about this type of laptop is that it will come with heavy elements. In most cases, these elements are compatible with all games. In that case, you might be wondering about the best laptop to buy in terms of weight.
You should decide on the laptop to purchase based on how you play your games. If playing games is your hobby, then you should consider buying a laptop with a 15.6 screen size. What if you love large screens? A gaming laptop with screen size 17.3 will be a great choice. You will never come across a gaming laptop with less than 3lbs. Many laptop companies manufacture gaming laptops that weigh more than 5lbs. Therefore, you should look at your gaming needs before making your purchase.
CPU
There is no doubt that the CPU is the most important part of any gaming laptop. Do you know that watchdogs and battlefield use an extremely high amount of horsepower when compared to the previous generation of computers? If you have a good budget, you should consider purchasing a gaming laptop with a powerful Core i7. If you are a dedicated gamer, you can even look for a laptop with desktop CPUs. It is good to know that most games require quality GPU or CPU. A dual-core i5 can also be reliable if you have a tight budget. But in time it may perform poorly.
If you want a reliable gaming laptop, you should avoid AMD quad-core like the plague. People who have purchased the cores have claimed that they are quite weak when compared to the quad-core processors. You should make the best choice simply because CPUs are not upgradable.
RAM
What is the best RAM when it comes to gaming laptops? For average productivity tasks, 8GB is the most recommended. At times people prefer purchasing gaming laptops with 16GB RAM. If you happen to buy a gaming laptop with less than 16GB RAM, you should make sure that you can upgrade it.
How do you know that your laptop has 16GB RAM? All its specs are detailed on the spec’s page. It is good to keep in mind that the more the RAM, the better your gaming experience. Therefore you should never settle for anything less than 16GB RAM. You will never regret purchasing that gaming laptop. You will be guaranteed that it will fulfil all your gaming desires.
KEYBOARD
Do you know that you will be spending most of your time pounding on the keys? This means that you should go for the best keyboard. It should provide you with extreme comfort. You will always have an unforgettable experience. In most cases, experienced gamers prefer using a separate or mechanical keyboard when playing games. What should you look in that case? The best way to know whether a keyboard will be reliable is to look for reviews from previous customers who have purchased it in the past.
Also, you should ask for recommendations from close friends and family members. They will guide you based on their experience with the specific keyboard. This is a crucial feature that can’t be ignored. You might have noticed that laptops offer keyboards with a variety of backlighting. Why do manufacturers include this feature? You will have full freedom to play games in low light conditions. There are white and red backlighting features. Recently, RBG color backlighting features have been developed. It depends on the amount of budget you want to spend on your laptop.
A red backlight looks beautiful and comfortable at the same time.
WHAT SHOULD YOU LOOK FOR IN A KEYBOARD?
- Key Travel. This is how far you can press the key. The most preferred keys are about 1.5 millimeters. Although they are expensive, some of the laptop brands will come with mechanical keys.
- Actuation. Do you apply force when pressing a key? Keys of about 65 grams will provide the necessary resistance without even feeling soft.
- Macro keys. It might be hard to come across a gaming laptop with macro keys. But if you find it, you will easily complete your tasks on the laptop.
STORAGE
Do you know that storage has a great impact on the overall system? It is an important feature that should never be ignored. You might have seen some laptops that come with only a hard drive. Usually, 1TB is the most common. Nowadays, many laptops manufacturers are designing laptops that include a small SSD. What is the function of the small SSD? It mainly serves as a boot drive.
It will be very hard to come across a gaming laptop with 128GB working in tandem. You will notice decreased loading times if you get a gaming laptop with a large SSD. You should prepare a good budget. Are you sure that storage is upgradeable in gaming laptops? You can purchase a 2TB if you need more space.
CONNECTIVITY
You can agree with me that you concentrate more on GPU and storage when purchasing a gaming laptop. Connectivity is arguably one of the most important features you should put into consideration. Many game lovers take this feature for granted. Over time, you will notice that your laptop is not supporting specific connectivity. We have analyzed the connectivity options you should consider when purchasing your gaming laptop.
802.11AC Wi-Fi
Laptops with 802AC will perform three to ten times more than the older version. Such laptops boast of data rates of up to 1gigabytes per second. How are the high rates achieved? Have you ever heard about wireless signaling enhancements? These enhancements include:
- Having more simultaneous transmissions.
- Using channels that have numerous signal frequencies.
Also, this feature has a beam form. This means that you will have an easy time connecting to your Wi-Fi even in crowded areas. You can attest that you might like to have a secure and wireless connection when playing your games. It will be very advantageous.
ETHERNET
For the last couple of years, it has been losing its popularity after the emergence of Wi-Fi technology. Do you need a secure internet connection? This is the best choice more so if you are carrying your gaming laptop to places.
BLUETOOTH TECHNOLOGY
This is a must-have feature that your gaming laptop should have. How can you use Bluetooth technology? It will be of much help more so when you want to set wireless connection with numerous devices such as speakers and mouse. Multiple devices nowadays are compatible with Bluetooth technology.
VIDEO CONNECTIVITY
Are you a serious gamer? Do you want to enjoy a bigger screen? In that case, you should look for video out port.
DISPLAY
Do you know that display is the most important piece of hardware in a gaming laptop? Screen resolution, contrast and black level are some of the most common words when we talk about the display. Here are some of the terms you should clearly understand when purchasing a gaming laptop.
1. SCREEN RESOLUTION
You might have come across this word in the past. What does it mean? It is all about the number of pixels packed into the horizontal areas of a given display. These numbers are very confusing. In most cases, these resolutions are listed as 4K or even QHD. These terms refer to the number of pixels packed into the normal resolution. Which are the cheapest displays in the market? FHD and 1080P resolutions have emerged as the most affordable. This means that any laptop with these resolutions will definitely be affordable.
2. CONTRAST RATIO
Why does display manufacturers love to use contrast ratios? They have quite impressive numbers that are very easy to slide in. What is contrast ratio in the first place? It is the ratio of the luminance between the brightest color and the darkest color on a certain display. With a high ratio, all your images will look more refined.
WHAT YOU SHOULD LOOK FOR IN A DISPLAY
- Size. The size of the screen depends on your personal preferences. You should keep in mind that the larger the screen, the heavier the laptop.
- Refresh rate. As a gamer, you need to play in settings. That is the reason why 1080p is highly considered as the best option.
- Avoid touch screens. Over the years, touch screens laptops have been gaining a lot of popularity. They are not necessary for gaming sessions. They will kill your battery with time. In addition, they are also known to make the laptop display glossy.
WHICH ARE THE MOST COMMON GAMING LAPTOP BRANDS?
- Asus. They have established themselves as a reputable laptop manufacturer. They are popular for their high-quality products. They have developed a gaming center software that includes storage and RAM usage. In addition, their products come with Aura Core program. This allows you to have red backlighting.
- Acer. As for now, this company is one of the most trusted laptop dealers. What is the best thing about Acer products? They are very affordable when compared to other brands. It comes with a predator application that allows you to monitor your CPU.
- HP. This list can’t be complete without featuring this brand. It have been in the industry for many years. With that in mind, you can imagine the quality they must be producing. Their gaming laptops have always been praised by customers.
- Lenovo. It was recently redesigned to be more minimalist. They mainly focus on CPU and RAM.