Are you looking to buy your first-ever gaming laptop? Or perhaps you’re planning to replace your old one? Whatever your reason is, you want to extend your laptop’s life for as long as possible.
With more people playing video games amidst the pandemic, the demand for gaming laptops and consoles are likewise on the rise.
Since a gaming laptop can cost over a thousand dollars, you need to keep it in great shape for as long as you can. Thus, you need to learn how to future proof your gaming laptop.
But how exactly do you do that? What are the best ways to protect your laptop from various challenges that may come over the next decade?
Continue reading below for five of the most effective ways to care for your gaming laptop.
1. Your Future Proof Mission Starts with Your Room
One of the most common places people keep their gaming laptops is inside the bedroom. But regardless of where you place your laptop, your future proof task begins in that same room.
For starters, you need to clean your room first. Interestingly, an average home in the United States accumulates around 18 kilos of dust every year.
Furthermore, around half of the dust comes from human skin. Most of the skin shedding ends up near your desk where you place your gaming laptop.
For starters, dust can build up and affect your laptop’s cooling system. When this happens, your laptop becomes less efficient. It will also increase your laptop’s temperature, especially when playing extensively.
Thus, practice vacuuming your entire room regularly. Focus on your bed, desks, and pillows. If you are a smoker, don’t smoke near the laptop. Instead, light up your cigarettes outside or in a different area. Particles from your cigarettes can also contribute to dust accumulation.
Also, cover your laptop after using it. Don’t leave the screen open since dirt and dust can easily find their way through the keypad. When removing debris from the keypad, use canned air.
Keeping your room clean should be part of your routine maintenance.
2. Get Right with Your Security
Aside from protecting your gaming laptop against dirt and dust, you need to keep it safe from hackers. Even if your laptop’s main purpose is gaming, there will be times when you will use it for browsing the web.
There will be times when you will go to various sites and visit different gaming forums. Sometimes, you may unknowingly click a link that hackers put up. But with an antivirus system in place, you reduce the risk of cybercriminals hacking your account and affecting your laptop.
The rule of thumb is to install at least one antivirus program on your laptop. Having one in place enables your laptop to detect malicious attacks on your laptop. Moreover, the antivirus program will take immediate action to eliminate the threat.
Hackers are wiser now more than ever, and one of their favorite targets is online gaming enthusiasts. They hack the latter’s gaming accounts to steal their identities.
Apart from installing a reliable antivirus program, you need to be careful when logging in to different online gaming platforms. If you need to hunt for gameplay tips, don’t go to unverified sites.
Neither should you download any third-party software from dubious sites.
3. Master the Temperature
Another crucial aspect of extending the life and performance of your gaming laptop is the temperature. You need to learn how to manage the temperature of your device.
When playing intense video games, your laptop tends to work double-time. Sure, if you’re using a top-tier gaming laptop, this shouldn’t be much of a problem. But if you fail to control the temperature surrounding your laptop, it may lead to some technical problems.
Too much heat is the bane of computers, particularly for the processors inside. This is the reason why your laptop comes with a built-in fan. It works by expelling internal heat.
But if there is obstruction near the fan vent, the fan will not function at an optimum level. When this happens, the internal heat will increase. And after it reaches dangerous levels, your laptop will overheat.
Thus, you need to regulate the temperature of your laptop. For starters, invest in some cooling pads. These pads work by elevating your laptop to lower its temperature. This small elevation creates additional space for your laptop’s ventilation system.
The more airflow your laptop enjoys, the lower its internal temperature will be. Also, you want to avoid using your laptop on the bed or over your blanket.
Additionally, invest in a reliable surge protector. This will protect your hard drive from burning during electrical fluctuations.
4. Your Mouse is Your Friend
Your mouse may be small but it plays a big role in making your laptop last longer. Yes, most video games require a mouse pad. But in times when you’re using your laptop for other functions, continue using your mouse instead of your laptop’s trackpad.
When you use your trackpad or touchpad too often, its coating will wear off faster. Moreover, the lack of moisture in the air will hasten the oxidation of the trackpad.
When the coating wears off, it will expose your trackpad. In turn, you still start experiencing phantom cursor movements.
When hunting for a mouse, it doesn’t need to be the wireless type. However, a wireless mouse does come with some advantages. It offers more mobility, though it requires a battery or two.
But if you wish to take your mouse game to the next level, invest in a gaming mouse. This type of mouse comes with programmable buttons that will make your gaming experience more seamless.
5. Open up and Upgrade
Last but not least, you need to open up your laptop and give it a good round of thorough cleaning. ideally, you should do this at least once a year.
Thankfully, opening up your laptop is not as hard as it looks. All you need is your trusty screwdriver to get the ball rolling.
Flip your laptop-upside down and begin unscrewing the bottom part. From there, the first things you will see are the back cover and the motherboard. Take a small piece of cotton ball and apply a small amount of concentrated alcohol.
Begin wiping the dusty parts that you see. You may also use a soft brush to take out the thick dust. The good thing about alcohol is it dries up quickly.
As for the exterior portion, be sure to clean the key areas like the air vents and holes.
Don’t hesitate to upgrade some of the components if necessary. This is crucial especially after the first year of using your laptop. After the first year, your laptop may already have a significant amount of files.
In turn, it may be running slower than before. Furthermore, some of the websites and applications that you use may have larger system requirements. Hence, upgrading your gaming laptop’s memory, storage, and the battery is crucial.
The Parts That Matter Most
How long does a laptop last? The answer to this question varies, depending on some key factors. And one of the most important factors is the key parts inside your gaming laptop. These are the key elements that play vital roles to give you that top-notch gaming experience.
And when we talk about future-proofing these parts, you need to identify what they are and what they do. First, there is the Graphics Processing Unit or GPU. As the name implies, it is the hardware that generates the images you see on your screen.
Because of its integral role, it creates a lot of heat.
The disc drives also play a vital role in your gaming laptop’s performance. They are responsible for reading information that your laptop uses to function accordingly.
However, not all gaming laptops use the same kind of disc drives. Some feature a hard disc drive (HDD) while others use a solid-state disc drive (SSD).
The HDD has been the default disc drive for several decades. However, an SSD is the better option for many reasons. First, it can take impact whenever you carry and jostle your laptop.
Another is its lightweight construction. This makes the SSD a fixture in some of the latest gaming laptops.
And if you’re searching for quality laptops from reputable manufacturers like Lenovo, you can check out www.lenovo.com for some good finds and great deals.
Take Your Video Gaming to the Next Level
Learning how to future proof your gaming laptop will do you wonders in many ways. It will help you maximize your investment and get the most out of your laptop’s performance. But taking your gaming experience to the next level requires more than future-proofing.
Check out our other articles for more tips on video gaming and computer use.
