Gaming is one of the most popular pastimes. Its popularity has been growing throughout the years, and the recent pandemic has encouraged the growth even further.
Gamers have different options as far as platforms go. Some stick to consoles, while others prefer a dedicated gaming desktop computer.
Laptops are an option, too. However, they are the least popular of the three. One of the reasons for that is how laptops seemingly have lackluster hardware and power. And it’s especially true for older models.
Having said all that, if you have a laptop that you’d like to use for gaming, don’t give up yet. There are multiple ways to optimize it for a better gaming experience.
1. Clean the Dust
Start with cleaning the dust. Over time, there is bound to be dust and other filth that accumulated over the years.
Many laptop owners are reluctant to clean the dust themselves. They are afraid of taking the device apart. It requires experience.
If you feel similar, then why not find someone who is an expert at cleaning dust inside laptops? Leaving the task in the hands of a professional will make you feel safe, and paying some money for it is worth it.
After all, if you decide to clean yourself without prior experience and break the laptop, you will have to pay more.
Once the dust is removed, the laptop should overheat less, which, in turn, helps with its overall performance.
2. Get Laptop Accessories
Laptop accessories vary from dedicated gaming controllers to external storage devices and cooling pads.
It ultimately comes down to your budget. If you have some spare money and want to invest it in your gaming laptop, then getting an accessory or two is a worthwhile idea.
The first thing for gamers is to have a reliable gaming keyboard and mouse. The latter is a must since you have a trackpad on a laptop. And the integrated keyboard is hardly ideal, mostly because of how flat the keys are.
A cooling pad is also an interesting suggestion. Gaming puts an extra toll on the internal hardware, causing it to overheat. Having a third-party cooling source minimizes the issue.
3. Free up Storage
Modern video games require a lot of storage. Some AAA games take tens of gigabytes, so you need to be mindful of how much free space you have on your laptop.
Learning how to check storage on MacBook or another model and how to get rid of unnecessary files are not difficult.
Temporary data like cache and app extensions don’t make up for much space, but you can still use a cleanup tool to get rid of it.
Go through the media you downloaded over the years. Perhaps there are duplicates that you can simply delete?
If removing files is not really an option, you can go for external storage. Hard drives or the cloud should work.
4. Scan for Malware
Don’t underestimate how much damage even small viruses can do. If you are not careful, then malware snowballs out of control and causes significant damage to the device.
Even if you are careful, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Get reliable antivirus software and scan the device. It might take a while for all the files to be scanned, but it is a necessary step nonetheless.
In addition to having an anti-malware tool running in the background, you should also get in the habit of running active disk scans on a regular basis.
5. Consider Hardware Upgrades
Hardware upgrades are tricky for laptop owners. Unlike desktop computers, laptops are not as flexible. They often come with integrated pieces of hardware that you cannot remove. And if you do, the odds are that you might damage it and cause yourself more problems.
Still, some laptop models are not as strict with their integrated hardware. You can spend some time looking at the available options and compatibility. If there is an opportunity to add additional RAM or connect an external GPU, then do it. Hardware upgrades are one of the best options for those looking to boost their gaming experience on a laptop.
6. Disable Background Apps
Check whether there are any redundant background processes. On MS Windows, launch the Task Manager. On macOS, use the Activity Monitor.
Sort running processes by resource usage. If you notice that there are applications or other tools that you don’t need, disable them.
It’s possible that some of these processes launch themselves automatically after you boot up the laptop.
The startup item list is something you can reduce, especially if you forget about quitting an application that launches itself after the computer loads.
7. Tinker With Game Settings
Reducing graphics means sacrificing some quality as far as visuals go. However, it is much more enjoyable to play a video game when it runs smoothly, even if the overall visuals are not of the highest quality.
Most video games have different graphic settings that let players choose what they want to reduce to save on the system resources.
Regardless of what game you’re playing, if it has a Settings section, open it and see how you can adjust the graphics. Disabling shadows, reflections, etc., may not seem like that big of a deal, but it still makes a difference.
8. Install Missing Updates
If your laptop is missing updates, you should prioritize downloading and installing them. For the most part, OS updates get released to fix potential bugs and improve the device’s security. At the same time, it offers overall performance improvements, which means having a better time playing video games.
Also, speaking of a laptop’s operating system, you should not hesitate to give the device a clean slate by reinstalling the OS completely.
Conclusion
To sum it all up, there are a fair few methods to optimize your laptop’s performance and have a better time gaming.
Make the most out of the information mentioned in this article. The more tips you apply to yourself, the better your laptop will be, and you will have fewer issues running even those video games that are quite demanding.