Online gaming has taken off around the world in recent years and has become one of the most popular ways for gamers to have fun. When you consider the thrills online play offers, plus the social element it contains, this is no surprise.
Playing games online has also become widespread due to the range of choice it offers to players. While online video games might be the most obvious example of this, playing casino games digitally is also very popular. This makes it important to keep an eye out for the best live online casinos that carry awesome games to enjoy.
Whatever type of games you like to try out online, the device you play them on makes a huge difference. Many people use laptops to game with because they are a portable, handy way to go about it. But what specs does your laptop need to smash online gaming?
Display
Although it is easy to jump right into CPU, GPU and memory specs for your gaming laptop, it is also essential to consider the display. This is because the right display type can have a real impact on your gaming experience. It can also affect how well you see what is happening in games and your overall success in them.
Screen size is a common place to start and you will usually want to go for a 13, 15 or 17-inch screen. Any smaller than this could leave you feeling frustrated and may compromise your online gaming experience. It is also key to factor in resolution rates when thinking of gaming laptop displays – higher resolutions provide clearer images and for this reason, you need at least 1080p for the best results.
CPU
The CPU is a core part of any laptop you use for gaming and essentially acts as its brain. This sees it processing instructions generated by games, and sending signals for other system components to action. Due to this, the spec of your laptop’s CPU has a major influence on its performance and how exciting your sessions are.
But what should you be looking for in terms of numbers? Clock speeds of 3.5GHz to 4.0 GHz are considered decent figures for gaming online and are worth hunting down. Many online gamers will also look for CPUs with multi-core tech, as this helps them get more done in a shorter time.
GPU
In the same way as knowing what to do when building your own PC is important, knowing what the best specs for your online gaming laptop are is also crucial.
A laptop’s graphics processing unit (GPU) is naturally crucial for making games look awesome and producing sharp, clear images on your screen. As a result, they are worth thinking about and have a big impact on how good the online games that you enjoy will look.
Refresh rates are always worth considering for GPUs, and 144Hz is generally the standard that gamers choose as a minimum. For better results, you can go up to 204Hz or even 360Hz – as long as the rest of your laptop’s specs can handle it! The amount of memory available on gaming laptop GPUs is also key and at least 4GB of GPU RAM is usually the best option.
RAM and overall storage
These are perhaps the last major things to think about when it comes to the spec of your gaming laptop. But why is this the case?
RAM is important because it temporarily stores vital information that your CPU needs when playing games. Without a good amount of RAM, your games might run slow, feel unresponsive or not work at all. The modern online gamer will usually look for at least 16GB of RAM.
Storage options such as solid state or older mechanical drives are important as they provide permanent storage on your laptop for saved games. Solid state drives (SSDs) tend to be considerably faster and are the storage option to go for. The excessive demands many modern online games come with means that SSDs with 1TB of capacity are often the best choice.
Specs are key to any good online gaming laptop
Playing games online is lots of fun and something many people around the world love to do. If you enjoy gaming on a laptop, the specs of your device will have a major say in how enjoyable the whole experience is. Even for the most avid online gamer, though, knowing which specs are most important and what you should be looking out for isn’t easy. If you find yourself struggling with this, our handy guide should help.