How to Quickly Check If Your Computer Can Run a PC Game. How to tell if a laptop is good for gaming

Most laptops that aren’t billed as gaming laptops use Intel’s integrated graphics, which are cheaper and use less power. These gaming laptops typically offer both Intel integrated graphics and a dedicated graphics card, switching between them depending on what you are doing.

How to tell if a laptop is good for gaming in 2022

My answer is that the laptop that is best suited for live streaming would also be the perfect choice for gaming.

However, I would prefer the latest system with 6 cores, a core i9 with 16 GB of DDR4 RAM and over 6 GB of graphics with a minimum of 6-8 hours of battery.

This type of laptop is perfect for any gamer and games to run even heavy games without any problems. Keep in mind, however, that it won’t be an inexpensive laptop that’s easy to buy.

No doubt gaming laptops are so expensive they can create a big hole in your pocket, but if you’re a cuckoo gamer, you’ll have to spend it. Games are a good source of entertainment and we have to thank the production companies for providing us with up-to-date specifications specifically designed for games.

If you’re on a budget and want to stream well, gaming laptops are your best bet.

Some Famous games with their Basic Minimum Requirements

We’ll cover a few popular games and their minimum requirements to give you an idea of ​​what laptops are good for gaming.

PUBG System Requirements

PUBG has some specific requirements that can identify the need for hardware components.

How to find out if your laptop is correct for PUBG gaming and system requirements

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Requirements for PUBG
Processor: Intel Core i5-4430 / AMD FX-6300.
Memory: 8 GB RAM.
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 2 GB / AMD Radeon R7 370 2 GB.
DirectX: Version 11.
Network: broadband internet connection.
Memory: 30 GB of free space.
Operating system: 64-bit Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10.

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Fortnite System Requirements

Fortnite is another game that has certain criteria to launch

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Fortnite system requirements
Operating system: Windows 7/8/10 64-bit.
Processor core: i5 2.8 GHz.
Memory: 8 GB RAM.
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 660 or AMD Radeon HD 7870 GPU DX11 equivalent.
Video memory: 2 GB VRAM.

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system requirements for fortnite

Overwatch System Requirements

Just like this Overwatch has its own system requirements

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Overwatch system requirements
OS: Windows Vista / 7/8/10 64-bit (the latest service pack)
Processor: Intel Core i3 or AMD Phenom X3 865.
Video: Nvidia GeForce GTX 460, ATI Radeon HD 4850, or Intel HD Graphics 4400.
Memory: 768 MB VRAM, 4 GB RAM.
Storage: 7200 RPM with 5 GB available hard disk space.

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watch the system requirements

All of the above gaming tables contain the minimum criteria for a good game, but if you have the latest updated hardware, you can play with one flow without any interruptions. These are all the games that run better on cheap laptops and give you better options for choosing a good gaming laptop.

How to tell If a Laptop is good for Gaming

There are some tips; you must read when buying a gaming laptop. The first thing is the size of the screen. And remember that these are all my recommendations for my personal experience.

17 inch laptops

1. Stick to 16/17 Inches Screen Size:

I studied a lot about the best screen sizes for gaming laptops and as a result chose a 16 inch or 17 inch screen. The reason is that we used to play for entertainment and we prefer the cinema screen for that. 17 inch provides a full cinema view and higher resolution.

2. Say wow to High Resolutions of 4K:

How to check if a laptop is suitable for gaming? Of course with the presence of 4K resolution. Resolution permissions mean that the higher the resolution, the brighter the visions. There are many new gaming laptops on the market with Quad HD and 4K displays. It’s worth noting that the QHD screens have a resolution of 3200 x 1800 pixels, while the 4K screens have a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels. 4k is the best feature of gaming laptops.

I can say that 4K resolutions are changing the look of your laptop, so buying a gaming laptop with the 4K pick is a wise decision.

4K resolution

Note: Quad HD resolutions are four times sharper than 720p HD. Be careful not to confuse Quad HD with qHD (using the lowercase Q) as that means Quarter HD – with a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels.

3. Welcoming Processors with Core i7 and Core i9:

The best choice of processors for gaming laptops is one with a sir core and four cores. In addition, with the Core i7 and the latest Core i9. The Core i5 isn’t bad for gaming either, but as trends change, so do processor choices and preferences. So most people prefer Core i7, and now the company offers the latest Core i9.

intel i7 core

Intel Core i9

If your gaming laptop has a shorter battery life, this will interrupt your gaming activity. To play long hours, you need a laptop with at least 6 hours of battery life. That’s the minimum requirement, and if you want the best gaming laptop, all you need is a laptop with a 10-hour battery (in perfect condition).

Beware Intel Graphics

First, one big warning: if your computer uses Intel integrated graphics instead of a dedicated NVIDIA or AMD graphics card, you are likely to run into problems with newer, graphically demanding games.

Most laptops that aren’t billed as gaming laptops use Intel’s integrated graphics, which are cheaper and use less power. These gaming laptops typically offer both Intel integrated graphics and a dedicated graphics card, switching between them depending on what you are doing.

Many desktops also use Intel integrated graphics to keep costs down. However, for desktops, it’s usually fairly easy to buy and install a dedicated graphics card to give yourself a boost in gaming.

Intel’s embedded graphics performance has improved over the years, but not enough when it comes to gaming. Even the latest Intel graphics hardware is much slower than using a dedicated graphics card from NVIDIA or AMD. If you only have Intel graphics, you may not even be able to play the latest games on the lowest graphics settings.

Check Your PC’s Specifications Manually

We’ll cover the more automatic method later, but we’ll look at the manual method first. You need to know your computer’s hardware – first and foremost, the speed of the processor, the amount of RAM, and the details of your graphics card. You can find this information in a number of different ways, including browsing laptop specifications on the Internet.

However, the easiest way to find all these details is with the System Information tool. We recommend Speccy (the free version is fine), made by the same company that makes the excellent CCleaner. Download and install Speccy, then run.

The main summary screen shows what you need to know:

  • Processor type and speed in GHz.
  • The amount of RAM in GB.
  • The model of your computer’s graphics card and the amount of RAM your graphics card has on board.

Then check the system requirements for the game you want to run. You’ll usually find this information on the game’s website or on the website of any store that sells it. For example, it is located at the bottom of every game page on the Steam store.

Compare the information shown in Speccy with the details listed in the game. Pay close attention to the requirements for the CPU, memory and graphics card. After remembering your basic PC hardware, checking system requirements is as simple as browsing them and comparing them to memory.

You’ll want to note the difference between the minimum requirements and the recommended ones. The minimum requirements are what it takes for the game to work at all. Typically, you will need to run the game on the lowest settings, and it may not be a fun experience. If your PC meets the recommended specs, you’ll have a better time playing this game. You may not be able to tweak all your graphics options to their maximum settings, but you should find a nice, playable balance.

Note that on some gaming laptops (such as the Dell G5 15 series), battery settings are managed automatically. Regardless of your system, avoid less than optimal power settings when squeezing gaming performance out of your laptop.

Are Gaming Laptops Worth It?

The answer to this question, of course, comes down to your personal needs, desires, and budget.

Gaming laptops are worth buying as long as they are in line with your gaming and usage goals. If you want a portable and more powerful gaming experience that can also be tweaked a bit, this type of laptop is a good choice.

For example, if you travel a lot, portability may be important to you. Likewise, you may have other priorities, and as long as the gaming laptop meets your priorities, it’s worth the money. However, it’s better with the console if your goal is just to play.

Like all things, gaming laptops have their pros and cons – let’s take a look at them in detail.

Reasons to Buy a Gaming Laptop

Gaming laptops make a strong case for reasons to buy them.

1. Portability

If you have a gaming PC or console, you are tied to your room. This changes if you get a gaming laptop instead. Compared to consoles or desktops, these laptops are super portable and easy to carry around. You can take them to college, to a friend’s house, or almost anywhere you want.

2. Better Investment than Gaming Consoles

Console and laptop players are always waging war for better results. Even though the games provide an intense gaming experience, they are intended solely for gaming. So, if you have any videos to edit or presentations to make, you’ll need a separate computer for that.

Alternatively, a powerful gaming laptop lets you perform both tasks on the same machine. You can play games, you can work in college, you can watch movies – better package.

3. Future Ready & Powerful

They are built to run games that are already popular and games that have yet to be released. To do this, these machines are equipped with future-proof components that remain compatible with newer technology over the years.

This means that if you look at things from an investment perspective, you are spending your money on a laptop that will last much longer than the average laptop.

4. Better Resale

Gaming laptops get a better resale price compared to regular laptops and consoles. While you may be planning to keep your new gaming laptop for a long time, there may be times when you need to sell it urgently.

In these situations, you’ll get a decent price for a laptop as they tend to amortize more slowly compared to PCs and consoles.

5. Stylish

Along with top performance, they also provide a great user experience. Their high-quality design that uses the highest-quality materials gives you a better experience of using the latest technology in the market.

What’s more, they also have their signature side. RGB backlit keyboards and customizable lighting emphasize the beauty of these laptops, which look impressive in a circle of friends.

While gaming notebooks have many positives, they do have some negatives as well.

These are all perfect gaming laptops for the gamer. But you can also check out cheap gaming laptops in my previous article which will give you the best collection under $ 600 in 2022.

Lori’s advice

You have to prioritize your priorities. Not my priorities, because I guarantee they are different from yours. So, I advise you to find out what you value the most first, using a few general tips.

Of course, your budget is important, and so is the need to decide which games you plan to play the most, as games ultimately decide how to make trade-offs. Fortnite? You really don’t need a strong GPU, so it’s a great place to save money. Fan of AAA games? You’re better off a big, ugly model that has the most powerful GPU and (at least) quad-core CPU you can afford.

Remember that some aspects are more wise to sacrifice than others. For example, you can always get a cheap keyboard and mouse if the ones in your laptop suck. You can always buy a cheap monitor later if the dimmed low contrast laptop screen is starting to drive you nuts. If a 256GB drive seems tight, which it will inevitably be, there’s always external storage. (But your main drive should always be an SSD if you can afford it.)

Two things you won’t be able to change: CPU and GPU. You don’t really need more than a quad-core CPU unless you’re concerned about future-proofing, in which case a six-core might be a smart option, but dual-core isn’t a very good idea. If you play simulations, they’re especially CPU-intensive, so you probably want to try splitting your dollars in that direction.

acer-aspire-5-a515

The Acer Aspire 5 has a separate Nvidia MX series graphics card, which is good enough for gaming at 1366×768 resolutions at medium quality settings.

As for the brand, AMD processors prior to the Ryzen 3000 series are fine, especially if they’re in a model that’s much cheaper than the one with Intel’s counterpart. But the newest Ryzen 5000 series performs better than Intel’s newest competitors at similar prices.

For mobile graphics, unless your games have really low requirements, avoid Nvidia’s integrated lines and MX (which are just a step up). Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your point of view, Nvidia’s GeForce chips and AMD’s Radeon lineup seem to be better in some games than others, so it’s hard to say “this is the best option.”

If you decide to go with AMD, it really should be the current generation RX6000 series processor; work much better than previous generations. If it’s the RX5000 series then Nvidia is the better choice. If you can afford it, the GeForce 1660 Ti is clearly better than the GTX 1650 and, to some extent, the 1660. You definitely want at least 2 GB of video memory on the card, but 4 GB is often necessary to get high definition 1080p on all but the most demanding games.

Then check the system requirements for the game you want to run. You’ll usually find this information on the game’s website or on the website of any store that sells it. For example, it is located at the bottom of every game page on the Steam store.

How To Tell if a Laptop is Good For Gaming? [3 Obvious Tells]

A gaming laptop is called a gaming laptop for a reason. Their hardware components are significantly different from regular laptops and are much more powerful. Here’s how to find out if your laptop is suitable for gaming.

Graphics Card

GPUs tell you directly if your gaming laptop can handle demanding games.

There are two types of GPU – Integrated and Dedicated.

Gaming laptops have dedicated graphics cards while normal laptops have integrated graphics.

Dedicated graphics cards are much more efficient than integrated cards because they have their own video RAM.

And they were also made to play games. Not only that, they are also better for works related to graphics.

Software like Adobe Photoshop, CAD – to some extent – and cryptocurrency mining use dedicated graphics cards.

Clock speeds are in MHz. If you look closely at the laptop’s specification sheet, you can find out the RAM clock frequencies.

In the image above, the gaming laptop has a RAM clock frequency of 2666MHz. 2666 MHz means it is able to complete 2666 cycles per second.

The same is true for 1600 MHz. The speed of your RAM isn’t as important as the size of your RAM or the amount of RAM in your laptop.

Note: RAM speed is very important in AMD laptops.

This is because insufficient RAM can affect game performance. That’s why most gaming laptops come with 16GB of RAM.

Keyboard And Design

Another obvious feature of a gaming laptop is the keyboard. Gaming laptops have backlit keyboards. Some even let you customize the colors of the backlit keyboards. These are RGB keyboards.

rGB backlit keyboard

This gives a striking “player” appearance. There are also gaming laptops that have mechanical keyboards.

They are of high quality and have spring loaded mechanical switches under the keys instead of the rubber membranes found in normal keyboards.

They provide excellent touch response and are comfortable when typing. The downside is that they make a lot of noise when typing.

The design is also another clue if it’s a gaming laptop. Gaming laptops come with this striking look with stripes or lines running across the casing of the laptop.

Some lines are red or green. The shape of the laptop also looks aggressive. The exhaust looks terrible and the edges of the laptop are sharp.

The design is not always flashy and depends on the model and manufacturer. They took a minimalist approach.

Most gaming laptops no longer have flashy designs. And we focused on simple projects without lines and stripes.

asus rog strix

How To Choose A Laptop For Gaming?

The differences between a gaming laptop and a regular laptop are discussed. So how do you choose a gaming laptop?

You can check out the guide on how to find the best laptop for your needs. It fully breaks down the various components of the laptop and the role they play.

You should determine if you intend to use the laptop for light or intense gaming.

If you intend to use it for light games, laptops with NVIDIA MX graphics cards and Intel processors with the U suffix will suffice.

If you’re into seriously strained budget laptops with AMD APU processors, then you will get the job done. But don’t expect stellar performance.

Intense gaming will require powerful components, so you should take a look at the NVIDIA GTX, RTX, and AMD RX graphics cards in laptops.

For processors, you should be looking at Intel and AMD Ryzen processors that have the H and HQ suffixes.

In addition, the laptop should have a high display refresh rate of 120 Hz or higher, and the RAM should be at least 16 GB.

Be aware that gaming laptops that can run AAA titles at high settings more often than not have poor battery life.

Due to the powerful hardware in their housing. Although that is changing rapidly.

For example, the Gigabyte Aero 15x is a powerful gaming laptop. And it has one of the longest battery life of any gaming laptop.

Your premium gaming laptop will never match the performance of a gaming desktop at a similar price. But that doesn’t mean you can’t play the latest games. Rather, it puts extra pressure on you to make sure your laptop is optimized for gaming.

Overclock the Laptop Graphics Card for Optimized Gaming

Want to know how to improve the graphics on your laptop? The best way is overclocking.

Overclocking, while risky for a beginner, can force your graphics card to do extra performance. The tools are available for both AMD and Nvidia GPUs, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding something suitable.

The main problems relate to power and heat. Overclocking uses more electricity, so you’ll need to adjust your computer’s power settings accordingly (see below). But overclocking also increases the GPU temperature.

Usually the built-in cooling system of the laptop takes care of this. Regularly clean the heat sinks and fans as described in step 1. If not, the laptop will automatically turn off – for safety reasons – when it gets too hot.

Are you looking for an overclocking tool for your GPU? The most popular nowadays is MSI Afterburner, which is suitable for both Nvidia and AMD graphics cards.

You may enjoy some good overclocking results, but it’s something you need to do carefully. Our guide to Safe GPU Overclocking should help here.

Adjust Your Computer’s Power Settings

Few devices can enjoy a better job without efficient energy management. For laptops – devices designed for use away from a constant power source – energy management is important.

Windows provides some detailed power management options, but for a good gaming experience, plug your laptop into an electrical outlet.

Once that’s done, take a look at your computer’s power settings. In Windows:

  1. Click Start> Settings (or WIN + I)
  2. Select System> Power and Sleep> Additional Power Settings
  3. Select High Performance
  4. Click Change plan settings> Change advanced power settings
  5. Check that the power settings are set to the optimal level

Note that on some gaming laptops (such as the Dell G5 15 series), battery settings are managed automatically. Regardless of your system, avoid less than optimal power settings when squeezing gaming performance out of your laptop.

For automatic updates, you can select Always update this game, Update this game only when it starts, or High priority .

What to Look for in a Gaming Laptop

Wondering about the minimum specs for your gaming laptop? Different types of players can use different types of machines. Indeed, the most important specs for a gaming laptop may vary depending on the games you are going to play. Here are the specs and prices you can expect from the three tiers of gaming laptops.

Laptops for Indie and Casual Gamers

Laptops that fit this bill essentially fit the idea of ​​a low-cost gaming laptop. Some of the average gaming laptop specs you can find in this range include:

  • Discrete graphics processor with 2-4 GB of VRAM
  • Intel i3 / i5 or Ryzen 3/5 series processor
  • 4-8 GB of RAM
  • Probably a 128GB small SSD or a 500GB hard drive

Expect to pay in the middle of $ 300 to $ 700 in that range. You might be more likely to wait for a laptop deal to get the most out of your buck, especially since we tend to see some great Black Friday deals. Historically, we’ve seen higher-end gaming laptops in this category whose sales prices have dropped to $ 450 or $ 500 when they would normally be $ 750 or $ 800; however, this is not something you should count on.

Laptops for the Average Gamer

Moving from extreme solitaire to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt with playable frames per second will require the right tool to work (silver is for monsters, they say). Here you’ll take a look at the following specs for a gaming laptop:

  • Discrete GPU with 4-8 GB VRAM
  • Processor from the Intel i5 / i7 or Ryzen 5/7 series
  • 8-12 GB of RAM
  • Larger SSDs from approximately 256GB to 512GB and hard drives from 1TB or more (or even a combination of both)

Suggested prices for laptops in this range can be anywhere from $ 700- $ 400,200 as they cover most of the bell curve. Price reductions of 30% or more can offset several degrees of improvement over our inexpensive types.

Total War and Civilization fans may want a more powerful CPU instead, so you’d better look for a machine that has something like a Ryzen 7 4800H CPU and a GTX 1650 4GB GPU. This is an example of a Ryzen CPU so good it’s worth paying the list price as even its lower tier was causing ripples when it was released.

Laptops for Gaming Enthusiasts

This is where you’ll drop a pretty penny – possibly your pesky pennies as well. Expect to see:

  • More 6 GB + GPU
  • Intel i7 / i9 or Ryzen 7/9 series processors
  • 16 GB + RAM
  • Even 1TB SSDs

With such a high potential price cap, it’s easy to throw your money away on a gaming problem. Just watch out for very expensive systems with fancy marketing. Parting with thousands, in some cases as small as 400,000, is essentially a mobile desktop. Sights such as the Dell Alienware AREA-51M R2 gaming laptop equipped with the latest generation overclockable processor, RTX 2080 Super 8GB GPU and over 64GB of RAM, offer great views from the highest mountain peaks, but can hit prices like this high as $ 3800, if not more.

Prefer to save some college money from your firstborn? ASUS offers the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 Ryzen 9-4900HS gaming laptop with the RTX 2060 Max-Q 6GB GPU for around 400,350. It brings you into the RTX gaming world with enough performance and energy efficiency to earn the LaptopMag label of “longest-running laptop for games in history.”

What Makes a Good Gaming Laptop?

Wondering what to ultimately look for in a gaming laptop? In our opinion, it is a matter of finding a balance between price and performance. Desktops objectively offer the ability to maximize performance, but lack the portability that laptops provide. Today, even the heaviest laptops rarely compare to the combined weight of books worn in school. Processors are becoming more and more energy efficient, delivering higher performance at the same temperatures at a much outstanding competitive price.

In any case, you can expect laptop deals to drop mid-range models down to budget prices from time to time; however, don’t expect the crop cream to do the same.

Readers, what do you consider to be the most important specs for a gaming laptop? Do you have brand horror movies? Or maybe your favorite games? Let us know in the comments below!

Content Data Assistant

Chris works with the content team to find and deliver the best deals – and the worst dad jokes – you see on DealNews every day. When not immersed in a book, game, or movie with fluffy animals, he enjoys following his degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology.

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