Gaming laptops aren’t targeted at everyone and focus on gamers who seek a device that offers a pure gaming experience. There are a host of brands like HP, Asus, MSI, Razer, Dell that have their offerings in the gaming laptop category. But which one is the best and what should you keep in mind before buying a laptop. We list a few things you should keep in mind before forking out a handsome amount of cash on the right gaming laptop.
The right hardware (CPU+GPU)
High intensity games like Assassins Creed or WatchDogs use a lot of power and hence you need a processor that can handle them with consummate ease. An Intel core i7 quad processor is a must if you’re looking for a lag-free gaming experience. Some people who don’t want to spend too much money can opt for a dual core i5 processor as well. The i5 processor though would leave you feeling a bit shortchanged so go for a laptop that has the core i7 quad processor. Gaming laptops like HP’s Omen series or Lenovo’s Legion series all have the Intel i7 quad core processor. In fact, most gaming laptops that are priced above Rs 100,000 will at least have this processor.
If the CPU is important then the GPU is equally critical deciding factor in buying a gaming laptop. GPU, or the Graphics Processing Unit, puts in a lot of hard work in a gaming laptop. The NVIDIA Geforce GTX is the appropriate GPU to go for. The high-end laptops boast of GTX 1080 or GTX 1070 GPU. However, laptops that have GTX 1060 or GTX 1050 are suitably equipped to handle enough gaming pressure.
Appropriate RAM and VRAM
What’s under the hood is what really counts. After ensuring that the GPU and CPU have enough power and capability, pick a laptop that offers higher RAM and VRAM. Stating the obvious, the more the RAM the better your gaming experience on the laptop. A gaming laptop with 8GB RAM should do the trick but don’t settle for anything less that that.
Solid and bright Display
1920 * 1080 – that is the minimum resolution one should look for in a gaming laptop. There are top-end laptops with QHD (25601440) or even 4K (38402160) resolution but they do cost a lot. For instance, the MSI Titan gaming laptop has 4K display and costs around Rs 3.35 lakh. However, even for hardcore gamers a display resolution of 1920 * 1080 should be enough.
Ample Storage:
Storage is an equally important part of a gaming – for that matter any – laptop. We would recommend getting both SSD and HDD, with a minimum of 1TB for the latter. Most gamers end up saving the progress of a lot of games, hence they need a lot of storage space.
Keyboards and touchpads
Look for a laptop whose keyboard offer decent ‘key travel’. It’s very essential that you’re comfortable with the keyboard and touchpad of a gaming laptop. See if you can get a keyboard which has customised backlit keys – a lot of Asus laptops offer this feature. The key travel depth should be close to 2mm for comfortable use of keyboard for gaming purpose.
Also, ensure that the gaming laptop you buy has good sound output. The audio component of a gaming laptop should be really good to get the best experience.