Continued from “Specifications of a Gaming Laptop – Part 1”

4. SSD

Solid-State Drives or SSD’s are the ultimate storage solution. An SSD is necessary for storing games and the Operating System and seriously reduces the load and boot time of a game. Endurance of an SSD refers to the length of time it will take to wear out the drive while storing data. Since SSDs have no moving components in contrast with Hard Disk Drives (HDD), they last longer and are able to withstand physical accidents without the loss of data.

SSDs are undoubtedly more expensive but they are faster and have higher endurance in comparison to HDDs.

5.  Display and Size

1080p (1920 x 1080 pixels) resolution is the essential minimum display for any gaming laptop and seems to be the dominant resolution in the computable future. Bear in mind that the larger the screen, the more cumbersome the laptop will be and the greater the power consumed e.g. a laptop with a 15.6 inch screen will weigh at approximately 2.6-3kg whereas a 13 inch laptop will weigh at approximately 1.5kg.

Different screen resolutions

Extra Factors to Consider

Cooling

Gaming laptops will heat up when running power hungry games. The cooling system of a gaming laptop should be considered before purchase. It is also recommended to add a cooling pad to help with the over-heating issues.

Operating System

The Operating System does not have a huge bearing on gaming needs so this shouldn’t influence your choice of laptop to any great extent.

Headphones

Very few gaming laptops come with good quality speakers, noise cancelling headphones are a good purchase with any gaming laptop to help improve and enhance the user experience.

Conclusion

• GPU should be considered before buying a gaming laptop since it will determine the gaming quality and graphics of the game
•  CPU is the next priority and preference should be given to quad cores over dual
•  RAM can range from DDR – DDR4 and is responsible for the space the games will run in. Aim for 8 to 16 GB
• SSDs are important for storing games and the Operating System and decreases the load time of a game
• 1080p resolution is more favourable. Laptops with large screens will be heavier and the battery life will suffer