why are laptops so bad? These are some typical questions in every future laptop gamer’s mind. There are many reasons why laptops are not good for gaming, but there are many reasons as to why laptops ARE good for gaming.
You see, some laptops are specifically made for gaming, some are specifically made for office use, some are specifically made for video editing and so on and so forth.
Every kind of laptop has a particular concept behind it, a particular reason why it was built , and if it’s not used the right way, then it can definitely get damaged or worse, it could die.
So in this post, I’m going to tell you what kind of laptops are good for gaming and what kind of laptops are bad for gaming.
In general, you should avoid getting laptops that are for office use, you could play light games on them such as sims, or minecraft, but don’t expect those office use laptops to run heavy games like GTA 5 and witcher.
Because if you try to do that, your laptop might end up getting overheated or damaged in some kind of way.
So without further ado, let me educate you on this crucial matter.
Only Some Laptops Are Bad For Gaming
There are some laptops that are bad for gaming, as stated above, some laptops just aren’t made for gaming, they’re made to run ordinary tasks and applications.
But when you try to run heavy games on them, they start to overheat and in rare cases , even restart themselves.
So you should avoid gaming on laptops which are made for office work, for school work , or for any kind of regular task.
Especially if its an old generation laptop, then you should definitely avoid gaming on them.
Can Normal Laptops Be Used For Gaming?
This is a very vague question, there are many types of normal laptops that can be used for gaming, and in some cases, you can even connect an external graphics card to transform your normal laptop into a gaming laptop, but more on that later.
What im trying to tell you is that the vast majority of normal laptops can be used for gaming, but it doesn’t mean that they should be used for gaming.
You see, normal gaming laptops aren’t built as sophisticated as a gaming laptop, they don’t have proper cooling channels, proper fan blades or fans, and the design as well.
Since gaming laptops are specifically made for gaming, they have a sleek design , a good number of fans, vents and so much more.
Even if you do manage to run games on normal laptops make sure that they’re not CPU or GPU intensive games, that is, they should be used for running light games only.
Why Are Gaming Laptops So Weak?
This is a misconception among many laptop and PC users. Gaming laptops specifically aren’t weak, laptops in general are.
What i mean by that is all laptops in general are weaker, but if we define “weak” then it categorizes into two parts.
Being weak physically, in terms of build quality and overall design, or being weak in terms of specifications
Let’s talk about both kinds of weaknesses
- Being Weak physically: This is an obvious one, all laptops are weaker in terms of build quality and sturdiness, they have to be kept away from water and liquids since you don’t usually use an external keyboard with them , they also have to be kept in bags and of course, not be dropped.
- Being Weak Internally: Being weak internally means components, laptops need to house tons of different components inside them , unlike Desktop computers, they don’t have much space so the components have to be squished and cramped up together, and that’s where portability comes into play.
So overall, laptops are weaker than desktop computers, but that’s a sacrifice when you want portability, and some laptops are even faster than desktop computers, for example, an i5 9th generation laptop is always going to be faster than an i5 6th generation desktop computer.
But if we compare i5 9th generation laptop processor to the i5 9th generation desktop processor, then the desktop processor beats the laptop processor by a significant margin.
Is It Ok To Game On Laptop?
It depends on the type of laptop. If we’re talking about gaming on an old laptop, then forget it. You cant, and even if by any chance you do manage to run the latest games on an old laptop, then be prepared for overheating issues and a reduced battery life.
HOWEVER, if you’ve purchased a latest gaming laptop then you can enjoy as many latest games as you want, from old games to new games, to Esports games. Basically, the most demanding of games can be run on a gaming laptop.
Why? that’s because gaming laptops are specifically made for that, they’re made to do gaming, they’re heavy duty gaming laptops and so, they allow you to play almost any kind of game on them.
How Many Hours Can You Play On Your Gaming Laptop?
Good question, you can game as long as you want. 10 hours, 20 hours or 30 hours, nothing is going to happen if you have a well maintained gaming laptop.
Also, i would advise you to keep your laptop on charge while gaming, otherwise the battery will only last upto 3 hours with a heavy gaming session.
That’s because gaming laptops are designed for short gaming sessions, although the battery life may be a bit of a nuisance , but overall , you could definitely enjoy for as long as you want, provided that your laptop has a good cooling and venting system. And it’s put on charge while gaming.
Cooling pads for laptops are a great way to maintain your gaming laptop and keep temperatures in check for longer gaming sessions, without having to worry about overheating issues, and that brings me to my next point.
If you plan on gaming longer on your laptop then make sure that it’s clean and free of dust.
PROS and CONS Of Owning A Gaming Laptop?
Let’s talk about the advantages first.
Advantages Of Owning A Gaming Laptop
- Portability: This is the number one advantage when it comes to owning gaming laptops, you can carry it anywhere and game anywhere you want. You’re very limited if you have a desktop PC , which makes gaming laptops a slightly better choice.
- Design: Everyone knows that gaming laptops are the holy grail of gaming. They’re like the iphone of gaming, with a sleek and stylish design and an attractive look which draws attention from every where.
- Normal Laptop: If you’re wondering “can gaming laptops be used for other things?”, then the answer is YES! they function exactly like a regular laptop, infact, giving 5-6x better performance than regular laptops, because of the gaming optimized hardware.
Disadvantages Of Owning A Gaming Laptop
- Poor Battery Life: You can only enjoy your gaming sessions if your laptop is charging while gaming, now hear me out, what im trying to say is that gaming on battery will only make your laptop last 3-3hours depending upon the laptop model, so that’s a major disadvantage of owning a gaming laptop.
- Overheating: This isn’t a disadvantage per say. It’s more of a concern, gaming laptops can get overheated if not kept properly while gaming, they need to be on a flat surface to get plenty of room for ventilation.
- Pricing: Gaming laptops are very pricey. A really good gaming laptop will cost you almost $1000-$1200. But they’re worth every penny.
Should A Non Gamer Buy A Gaming Laptop
A gaming laptop is perfectly fine for non gamers. Whether you intend to work on your laptop or game on your laptop, it makes no difference.
Why? Because gaming laptops are essentially normal laptops but with a massive performance boost, so if you’re a non gamer then you can easily get by with a gaming laptop as well.
But be mindful of the fact that since gaming laptops have accelerated hardware, they naturally consume more battery as compared to normal laptops.
And oh, they’re almost 1.5x more expensive than a normal laptop.
Is It Okay To Use Gaming Laptop Everyday?
Of course, heck, I own a gaming laptop as well so my laptop is powered on almost 10-12 hours per day, out of which 7-8hours go into doing work and 4-5 hours go into heavy gaming sessions.
By the way, I own a lenovo legion 5. It’s a great gaming laptop.
So, getting back to the point, is it okay to use a gaming laptop everyday? in short, yes it is, as long as you have good room ventilation, and your laptop is placed on a flat surface, you could use it every single day for gaming and work.
Will GTA 5 Damage Your Laptop?
GTA 5 was released on PC over 7 years ago. But it is still one of the most demanding games, with a file size of almost 100GB and tons of graphics options.
So i understand that it raises a concern, but not to worry if you own a gaming laptop, because gaming laptops are meant to withstand heavy games and deliver maximum performance.
But if you have a normal laptop, without a dedicated GPU (graphics processing unit), then you’re well on your way to destroy your laptop.
Use your laptop for work exclusively and don’t try to run heavy games on it , because it will eventually reduce the life of your laptop.
Does Gaming Reduce Laptop Battery Life?
This is a controversial subject, but here’s my take on this.
Gaming does reduce battery life. Because there’s a correlation. Now what is that correlation?
In most of the cases, when you start to game on your gaming laptop, you plug the charger in for maximum performance, and you game on your laptop while it’s charging.
Now what you do is that you as a laptop gamer don’t realize that after a few minutes , when the battery health has reached 100% , you don’t plug out the charger and keep gaming.
This places load on the battery and as a result of that , reduces battery life and may even inflate your battery due to overheating.
But there is a solution for it, most of the latest gaming laptops come with an integrated software that enables your gaming laptop to cap the battery once it reaches a certain percentage. And this feature ensures that you game while keeping battery life and health under control.
For example, my Lenovo Legion 5 comes with the “Lenovo Vantage” software to keep cap the battery health at 60% while I’m gaming.
For older gaming laptops, there are many softwares like Battery Limiter to limit the battery charge to a certain percentage.
So in short, yes gaming does reduce battery life of your laptop, IF NOT TAKEN CARE OF PROPERLY.
If you limit the battery while gaming, then rest assured, your battery life won’t reduce.
Should I Buy A Gaming Laptop For Work?
That depends upon the kind of work, if it’s video editing, photo editing or anything related to graphics, then you should definitely get a gaming laptop.
But don’t buy a gaming laptop if your main aim is office work, because it’s not going to be worth it, plus the battery life of gaming laptops , on average, is short, so definitely don’t invest in gaming laptops if you intend to use it for normal purposes.
Is It Worth Buying A Laptop For Gaming?
100%. As we’ve discussed in this post numerous times, gaming laptops are worth every penny, mainly because of their portability.
Conclusion : Why Laptops Are Not Good For Gaming
Laptops are good for gaming, but it depends on your scenario.
If you like to work and don’t have time to play games then it’s not worth buying a gaming laptop.
However, if you like to work and you want to play games at the same time, then definitely invest in a gaming laptop, its worth it.
Here’s a list of the best laptops for gaming under 600, you can have a rough idea of which cheap gaming laptop is good for you.
