How do you balance performance and portability in a gaming laptop?

When considering gaming laptops, the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is generally more important to prioritize over the CPU (Central Processing Unit) for most gaming experiences. While both are essential, the GPU is the key component responsible for rendering graphics and handling complex visual tasks. Most modern games will also lean on new GPUs due to the complex visual requirements that are often being pushed with modern games. It's always ideal to find the right balance however when deciding what to spend more money on with your own specific budget.

- laptop GPU is 10%-50% less powerful than desktop, sometimes even more, so if you want a proper gaming experience with high resolution and fps, consider buying desktop PC - NVIDIA's 40x series graphics cards are much more efficient, so don't hesitate to upgrade from previous generation models

Gaming laptops can be close to a desktop performance. Even though GPUs and CPUs are the mobile versions, usually that means that they share some resources and limit their power consumption to handle better the battery and the temperatures. Using laptop specifications, you should look for some benchmarks on the top games that you want to play. Example: 1080p 60hz/144hz are the most common resolution and refresh rates. You don't need a RTX 4080 for that; with something like a 2070-3060, you are good to go for several years. If you want to play at 1440p or 4K or higher Hz, you might to get the last generation possible, now being a 4070 or 4080. In terms of CPU, any modern (11 gen+) top-of.the line i5 or any i7 would work.

Modern games are becoming larger in file size increasingly fast. Investing in good storage will be a priority as laptops tend to cut back on storage specs when being sold. Account for the initial game size which most modern games are running around 90gb and then account for future file updates which can range from 8gb-50gb+. The minimum recommendation would be 1TB with an ideal starter of 5TB for storage.

16 GB RAM is still widely popular and acceptable in the gaming space. It is still powerful enough to run a lot of the popular games these days and there is no need for 32 GB RAM just yet. It doesn’t hurt to get ahead of the curve if you can afford it for a better user experience!

I suggest that you have a 3-disk configuration for storage in a gaming PC if possible. - A fast SSD for your system and most used apps (not games). This can be a 256 or 500 GB one. - A fast SSD for your main games that you play regularly or you expect to play for a long time. This should be the faster disk on your system with at least 1TB of size. This will hold the AAA games and your permanent games like League of Legends or CS2. - A third disk, can be an SSD or HDD. It doesn't need to be super fast, but the faster, the better. Here, I suggest 2 to 4 TB. You will place here all your non important programs, small games, personal documents and multimedia. With this configuration, your system will be super fast and easy to supervise.

- ssd is a must have nowadays - more ram - more apps you can use at the same time, more active browser windows, etc. - 16 gb is not enough already, it will be fully consumed by your browser, OS and background processes

- Once you try 144 Hz screens, you can't go back. Your experience will be so much smoother - Ips screens are usually more expensive, but better for the good picture and your eyes

If you never cared about framerates and fps, let me tell you that you are missing a whole new world. The jump from a 60hz display to a 144hz or 240hz one is awesome. The amount of smoothness that you can achieve in your games will be radically improved, especially in FPS games, where you can even get an advantage on your enemies. Also, being able to know the advantages between IPS, VA, TN, or OLED panels can make your gaming experience improve drastically. At this moment, the best for gaming are IPS and VA. In terms of keyboard, you should look for something that adapts to you. Choosing the form factor (60%, TKL, Full), membrane or mechanical (tactile, clicky, linear, optic) even wired or wireless, are all viable options.

If you're using a Gaming Laptop, you're buying it to play games with quality. This quality requires a good GPU first and a good CPU second. These components, which run games with high performance, naturally get hot and need good cooling. Today's gaming laptops manage to fit all computer components in a depth of about 1-2 cm. Of course, cooling in such a narrow space is not easy. For this reason, fans can run at very high speed. Desktop PCs have similar cooling, but since there is more space inside the case and the PC case is not so close to you, you may not hear the cooling sound as much as in a gaming laptop. As performance increases, so does the need for cooling, and as long as there is fan cooling, this noise is inevitable.

- Gaming laptop can't be silent and cold, just accept it - To improve cooling and reduce noise, consider buying a laptop stand with active cooling

Avoid gaming in environments with poor ventilation or high temperatures, as this can exacerbate heat buildup. Consider using laptop cooling pads to improve airflow and reduce temperatures. Look for laptops with advanced cooling solutions that effectively channel heat away from critical components to prevent thermal throttling and ensure consistent performance.

- Usually gaming pc has it's own software to optimize settings, using it should be enough for good gaming experience - Nvidia geforce experience has pretty good game ready setups - If you have an AMD graphics card, be prepared to struggle with drivers and settings :D

You should have a backup of your PC after you do a clean install. Install whatever you want, all your game installers and clients, your regular tools and back it up. When gaming on a PC, you might end up with a lot of external programs, drivers from keyboards, controllers, Bluetooth adapters and a handful of programs that can slow your PC. Having a copy of a clean system ready will make your cleanups faster and more secure. Write in a Google Docs the list of your programs, create some shared folders for important files, save a copy of the installers in an external HDD and write the folder route where you have to pick up your files (Minecraft worlds are a bit hidden, don't delete them as I did) every time you do a clean install.