How to Buy a Gaming Laptop

If you want the best performance when playing PC games, and if you prefer laptops, then you need to be careful when buying gaming laptops. Here are some tips on how to buy a gaming laptop.

1. Make sure the laptop has a good processor. Intel is known for having better processors them AMD; however, AMD is much cheaper. Try getting an I5, I7, R5 or R7.


2. Watch out for graphics. If you have a bad graphics card your laptop will not be able to run games. So, you have to watch out for that really carefully. Buy a laptop with AMD Radeon graphics card. Those are not too expensive and are really good. The 7730M model is a good start, since it is not expensive and it can run most games on high settings.


3. Get as muchIf you have extra money, buy a laptop with an SSD. They are really fast, and with that in your laptop, you are ready to go!

 RAM as you can afford. Your gaming laptop needs at least 8GB of RAM. If it doesn't, don't buy it. You'll get the best performance with 8GB or higher of RAM.


4. Have a big hard drive. It is not that important, but you have to be aware that you can't put additional hard drives in laptops and you know that games require a lot of space on hard drive. So if you run out of space, you will have to buy external hard drives which are not that fast when they are "out".

5. Buy laptops with extra years of guarantee. Some companies offer 1 year, and that is definitely not enough. At least 2 years of guarantee can guarantee you longer laptop life. For example, DELL offers laptops with 3 years of guarantee, and they also have really good laptops. You should probably check them out first.

6. If you have extra money, buy a laptop with an SSD. They are really fast, and with that in your laptop, you are ready to go!

     While the desktop remains supreme among many PC gamers, sometimes you just need something a bit more portable. A gaming laptop is a rig on the go, with the power to play games in a size you can take with you.

But when you’re buying a gaming laptop, you’re not just looking at specs. You’re looking at a whole computer, including a built-in keyboard and display. Here, we explain all of the decisions you’ll have to make when buying a gaming laptop so you can get the best one for your needs and budget.

Quick Tips

• Get a good GPU: Most games are GPU-dependent, and you can’t upgrade these in laptops. A good GPU will ensure your laptop plays games at high settings for a few years.
• Consider upgrading later: Many, though not all, gaming laptops let you upgrade your RAM and storage.
• Pick resolution or speed: The fastest 144Hz displays only come at 1920 x 1080 resolution right now, so a 4K screen will be slower.
• Get a good keyboard: You don’t want to play your games on something mushy or stiff.
• Battery life will probably be bad: Very few gaming notebooks get 8 hours or more on a charge, and you need the power supply to get the best performance anyway.

What other specs should I look for?

While the GPU is important, you’ll also want to be on the lookout for a good CPU, enough RAM and lots of storage space.

• CPU: Depending on your budget, you can get a very powerful Core i7 CPU or even one that you can overclock such as the Intel Core i9-8950HK. You can also find laptops with desktop CPUs. However, most games benefit more from a quality GPU than a CPU so you can definitely get by with a Core i5 processor.

If you see something older than the most current Intel 8th Gen Core (model numbers begin with 8) or with less power, consider saving a bit for the latest quad-core or hexa-core processor. CPUs usually aren’t upgradeable, so you’re making this choice once.

• RAM: Gaming can be RAM intensive, and 8GB is what we recommend for even average productivity tasks. If you can, you should go for 16GB on a gaming PC. A laptop with a GTX 1050 or 1050 Ti usually comes with 8GB. Once you get to a GTX 1060 or higher, some will come with 16GB of RAM. If you can’t get your laptop with 16GB of RAM now, consider upgrading it in the near future. Memory is upgradeable in many gaming laptops, so this is an area that you can consider boosting later if you’re handy with a screwdriver.
• Storage: Hard drive or SSD? Why not both? Some budget gaming laptops will come with only a hard drive (usually 1TB), but the majority of gaming notebooks also include a small SSD to serve as a boot drive. It’s not uncommon to see a 128GB SSD and 1TB HDD working in tandem. If you can get a larger SSD you may see decreased loading times, but that will also cost you quite a bit more money. Make sure you get a faster, 7,200-rpm HDD as opposed to a 5,400-rpm HDD.

Like memory, storage is often upgradeable in gaming notebooks. So if you need more space, you can toss in a 2TB or larger HDD.

What should I look for in a display?

Displays are often overlooked but are hugely important. If you’re not connecting a laptop to a monitor, the built-in screen will be how you see all of your games.

• Size: Most gaming laptops have 15 or 17-inch screens, though there are a few huge systems that have 18-inch panels and a handful of 14-inch systems. What size you like is matter of personal preference, but remember that the larger the screen, the bigger and heavier the laptop.
• Resolution: Never get anything less than a 1920 x 1080 display. It’s rare to find one with a lesser resolution, but if you do, run. If you have a GTX 1070 or GTX 1080, you may want to consider a 2560 x 1440 display. 4K (3840 x 2160) screens are an option on some gaming laptops, but you'll need an RTX 2070 or RTX 2080 to do it, and you still may need to turn down some settings, especially if you enable ray tracing.
• Refresh rate: Most laptops you’ll see will have 1080p resolution and a 60Hz display. And for many gamers, that’s absolutely enough. Higher resolution displays (2560 x 1440, 3840 x 2160) are pretty, but top out at 60Hz. That’s why for some gamers, 1080p may be the best option. Some vendors offer FHD displays with a faster, 144Hz refresh rate for smoother gaming. Of course, you need a great GPU and to play on settings that emphasize frame rate over graphical fidelity to take advantage.
• Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync: Some gaming notebooks, particularly on the high-end, support technologies that sync the display with the graphics cards, which eliminates screen tearing and ghosting.
• Avoid touch screens: While not inherently bad, touch screens are unnecessary on gaming notebooks (some 2-in-1 models notwithstanding). They kill battery life and can make the display overly glossy.

What should I look for in a keyboard?

If you get an entry-level gaming keyboard, you’re going to get chiclet keys with LED backlighting. But there’s so much more to consider:

• Key Travel: This is how far down you can press a key. In general, we prefer keys with over 1.5 millimeters of key travel, and if you hit 2mm, that’s even better. This can keep you from “bottoming out,” or hitting the keyboard’s frame. When you get to some really expensive laptops, you can even find mechanical keys.
• Actuation: This is how much force you need to apply to a key to press it down. We usually like it between 65 and 70 grams, which is enough to provide resistance without feeling soft.
• Macro Keys: It’s more difficult to find macro keys on gaming notebooks than on desktop keyboards, but it’s not impossible. A good set of programmable macro keys will let you easily complete the most common tasks you complete in games. There’s usually custom software by the laptop manufacturer for this.
• Anti-ghosting and n-key rollover: These are two features that will keep you performing at your best in games. Anti-ghosting means that when you mash on several keys for combos or perform several actions, they will all register. Additionally, n-key rollover means that each key is independent of the others and will be registered no matter which other keys are being pressed.
• Backlighting: While budget gaming laptops will provide backlighting, it’s either just red or white. The best keyboards have RGB backlighting. Some do it by zone (or section of the keyboard), while others allow customization on a per key basis. Some even let you change the lighting depending on the game.