Hi friend, looking for the answer to the question, “How long do gaming laptops last?”Welcome to Roomkit. You have come to the right place. Since it has a bit subjective answer we will try to answer this in bit detail. In this article we will understand about the factors that decide the lifespan of your gaming laptop. Not only this we will discuss the tips that you should keep in mind to increase the life of a gaming laptop.
See, as I said this is a very subjective question, the answer also cannot be one specific number. It not only depends on its features and build quality but also how you use it and keep it.
So, if you don’t have enough time to give, in short I would say a good mid budget gaming laptop would definitely last up to 3-4 years. While a higher end gaming laptop can last for 5-6 years. This lifespan can also be extended up to 3-4 years more if you know the tips of how to do it. Basically the lifespan depends upon many factors like its own features, its usage how you use use it and the maintenance. So, let us discuss them one by one in full throttle as follows-
Table of Contents
Graphics (GPU)
When it comes to gaming laptop, GPU is the top most important factor as it is responsible to give you clear and crisp gaming visuals. Basically this is the first feature gamers look for in a gaming laptop. It decides how smooth and responsive your game play would be. Consequently it decides how immersive you can go for gaming. More immersive it becomes, more fun it would be to enjoy your game. So, the GPU (graphics processing unit) is a very important feature in a gaming laptop for sure.
In general, most gaming laptops come with the GPU of NVIDIA and AMD brand. Obviously because these are one of the most trusted brands out there. There is one term here in case of GPU, that isFPS(frames per second). More fps a GPU gives you, more smoother and responsive your game becomes.
So, coming to the point, how it would affect the lifespan of the gaming laptop. See, if you play beginner level games, then a low end graphics card would be sufficient for you. It also gives you lower fps (probably around 30). Now, if you start playing high end games with this card obviously, it would start overheating, affecting the cooling system and finally will last only for 1-2 years or may be few months. So, you should look for a gaming laptop that is having a really powerful graphics card and then you should go for high end gaming on that.
Some powerful graphics card areGTX 1650 and GTX 1650Tiin case of mid range budget. You can go forgraphics card of RTX seriesif you have high budget. These will work really good even after 5 years from now.
CPU
Now comes CPU of your laptop, we all know that CPU (central processing unit) is the brain of your computer. Sharper and powerful it is, the better it would be able to run applications on your device. And of course you wouldn’t be able to run games in full throttle if you have got a bad CPU. So, you should see what is the processing speed of your CPU, obviously faster CPU is better. And, the number of cores also decide the worth of CPU. Aquad or hexa core CPUwill be more expensive than a dual core CPU. So, if you are going for hard core gaming, a CPU with at least 6 cores (hexa core) should be your choice.
Also, at least i7 processor of Intel brand is a going good decision. While Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7 should be under first preference for AMD counter part.
Now, why I am recommending these, because a bad CPU will reduce the life span of your gaming laptop. Also, a high performing and powerful CPU will definitely last longer as it will have the capacity to handle heavy games.
RAM
Next, we have RAM that is also one of the deciding factors of longevity of a gaming laptop. RAM is basically a short term memory for data storage and transfer. RAM is the memory which is used for currently running apps, you might be doing multiple things like playing game, seeing your photos and surfing on the internet through browser. More RAM you will have more apps, you will be able to run simultaneously. This is the reason why experts suggest you to have enough amount of RAM so that your computer should not hang or run slow or overheat.
Now as I said more RAM you will have in your gaming laptop, more things you will be able to do simultaneously. Since games take high space of at least 3-4 GB, you shouldlook for 8GB RAM is your computer at least. If you buy a gaming laptop below 8GB RAM, it will start hanging, stopping and overheating. This will lead to reducing the laptop lifespan and obviously your laptop will get retired soon.
So, it is advisable to go for 8GB RAM in a gaming laptop at least. Also if there is an option of upgrading the RAM further, it will be like a cherry on the cake.
Build Quality
Generally people look at all the features when they go to buy a gaming laptop. For sure features like GPU, CPU and RAM are important but there are few more things that can help to increase the life of you laptop. One of them is the build quality of your laptop. Yes, you read it right build quality also enhances the lifespan of your gaming laptop. Better and stronger it is, more durable it becomes. Because many a times gaming laptop heats up (which is normal in case of gaming laptops), it has to handle heavy duty games or even if the laptop slips out form your hand. Strong build quality is always a better choice.
But the good news isgaming laptops in general come with powerful build systembecause being able to handle heavy tasks, companies make them strong.
Cooling System
Now comes the most ignored part of the gaming laptop, its cooling or ventilation system. The cooling system of a gaming laptop is made highly powerful as companies know that the laptop is going to handle heavy software and consequently powerful hardware have been place. These hardware on the mother board can heat up easily and a really good ventilation system is needed for that. In bit expensive gaming laptops dual fans based cooling system with AI enabled is installed, This works great for enhancing the overall performance of the laptop and consequently increasing the durability.
Regular Cleaning and Maintenance
You must have seen if a car or bike owner does not clean the engine and maintain it, his vehicle starts making noise, getting problems when starting the vehicle and even stops frequently while driving. Well, this is the result of not paying the needed attention of regular maintenance. Similarly in case of laptop although hardware and software both need time to time updates. But software will only work well when the hardware is strong enough to handle it. Since with time a significant amount of dust gets accumulated in the laptop, it increases the friction in moving parts. This can even clog the ventilation pipes of cooling system. Now to keep the hardware strong, it needs regular cleaning inside and outside.
Outside cleaning can be easily done with a soft and clean cotton clothe. But inside cleaning will need some care as you might also need to open the laptop with screw. Thankfully you have a solution that will remove the need of unscrewing the laptop. This iscompressed air, you need to buy an spray of compressed air that you can put towards all the ports of your laptop and all the heat pipes if possible. This will clean your gaming laptop to a good extent.
In case, even after cleaning your laptop shows the issue of overheating. There are few more things that you can do with your laptop. For that you can read this article.
Frequent Updates
The software in your laptop need regular updates time to time. This gives better security, smoothness and easiness to run your device. Not only the software but alsothe operating system itself (Windows in general) gives notifications of updatesthat you need to do on your laptop. Since internet connectivity is available almost everywhere these days, you can update your software at cheap price.
So, if you keep updating the OS(operating system) and your software including games. This will improve the overall performance of the laptop and ultimately enhance the lifespan.
System Upgrades
To make your gaming last longer, there is also one more option that you have. This will cover everything in your laptop because after few years in case the laptop starts lagging and does not give smooth performance, there is need of up-gradation of its internal components. For example in case your RAM is only 4-6 GB, few games might not perform well. Then time has come to upgrade the RAM and it can be easily done with the help of a laptop technician in the market at low price.
Other thing you can do is upgrade your storage from HDD to SSD. In case SSD is already there, you can upgrade this from 512GB to 1TB. This will enhance the overall speed of your gaming laptop. In my opinion, this will solve the problem of low speed and frequent hang of your device.
Lastly if your laptop has the option of upgrading GPU and CPU, you might go for that as well. But I think RAM and Storage up-gradation would suffice the work. And this will definitely increase the lifetime of your beloved gaming laptop.
Conclusion
As we have gone through all the aspects of the question “how long do gaming laptops last”. I think after all this information and detailed analysis you are now well aware and educated about almost everything of a gaming laptop.
But I would like to again puteverything in shortto get the idea of gaming laptop’s life as follows –
Gaming laptops are there to handle heavy tasks so you should go for laptop having powerful CPU, great graphics card, high RAM, SSD type storage, quality display and a great cooling system.
These are the tips that I want to give you asummary for longer lifespanof gaming laptop –
1. Keep your laptop clean inside and out and maintain it.
2. Keep all the software(and games) and operating system updated.
3. Upgrade hardware like RAM and storage if needed.
4. Replace the cooling fans and get the ventilation system clean in case of overheating.
5. Buy a gaming laptop of strong build. Although all gaming laptops come with great build quality but in case.
Let us now end the topic as it has become bit longer. So, we wish you the best for the adventures of your gaming journey. For reading the article till the end, a big thanks from Roomkit.