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How to choose the best gaming laptop

BY READERS DIGEST

23rd Mar 2021 Technology

How to choose the best gaming laptop

For a long while, the PC was the gaming computer of choice; however, as laptops have become increasingly sophisticated, they have become a popular and acceptable choice for gamers.

The GPU

The GPU, or graphics processor, is the most important part of the hardware to consider when looking at gaming laptops. Laptops that have larger graphics cards facilitate a higher quality gaming experience. When you are looking at a laptop’s graphics processor, you not only need to consider the size of the card but the card’s memory too. A card with large RAM means that it can render higher graphics.

Central Processing Unit

The central processing unit, or simply the CPU, is the core component of your computer. Essentially, the CPU is the brain of your computer; it is a chip that is located inside the motherboard of your laptop. The central processing unit is responsible for controlling everything that happens on your laptop. This means that it can hugely impact your gaming experience.

Random Access Memory

A laptop’s random access memory, or RAM, is responsible for storing game data and making that data accessible. This means that the more RAM that your laptop has, the more effectively you’re applications and games can run. When you are looking for the best gaming laptop, you should not consider anything below 8GB of RAM. This is considered the absolute minim needed for gaming. The ideal amount of memory for a gaming laptop is 16GB. Anything above 16GB is considered unnecessary, as the majority of games won’t use more data than that.

Storage

Finding the right storage for your gaming laptop can be a little bit tricky. Ideally, you want a lot of storage to hold all of your gameplay data. However, laptops with very large hard disk drives tend to run slower. Alternatively, some laptops have solid-state drives (SSDs) instead of hard disk drives. Solid-state drives are much quicker than HDDs, but they are also much smaller than hard disk drives. The best gaming laptops have both solid-state drives and hard disk drives. If this type of laptop is out of your budget, then you should look for a model with the highest SSD possible. A high SSD drive will enable your laptop to run your games quickly while providing enough storage space.

Laptop Display

A laptop display screen can also have a big impact on your gameplay experience. There are a few considerations to make when it comes to finding the best gaming laptop display; the first is screen size. Most laptops have a screen size between 13 to 18 inches. The majority of gamers prefer larger screens, those above 15 inches. However, this will also depend on what else you intend to use your laptop for. If you plan to travel with your laptop, you might want to choose a smaller size, as larger screened laptops are usually heavier. You should also look for a high-resolution screen to ensure clarity when playing. The best gaming laptops will have a refresh rate of over 60hz to ensure responsive graphics.

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