Things to Check Before Buying a Gaming Laptop

An expert named 5 things to check before buying a gaming laptop.
The main advantage of a laptop is mobility, but the upgradability of such devices is limited.
When choosing a gaming laptop, it’s easy to overpay for unnecessary features or miss out on features that will impact performance. PC Gamer’s editor highlighted five things to consider before buying.

The main advantage of a gaming laptop is mobility, but upgradeability is limited. Most models allow you to replace or upgrade the SSD, and sometimes even the RAM. The screen, processor, and graphics card will remain in use until the end of their lifespan.

1. Screen diagonal
For most users, a 16-inch laptop is the optimal choice. It combines a large screen with a reasonable footprint, making it ideal for gaming, work, study, and travel.
This display makes it easier to see fine details and play games in high resolution. On a 14-inch screen, the image can appear too cramped, especially in games where it’s important to spot enemies against the surrounding environment.

Compact models also have their advantages. They fit more easily into a backpack and are more convenient for travel. However, a smaller chassis sometimes comes at the cost of lower performance due to limited cooling options. Furthermore, compact gaming laptops are often more expensive than their larger counterparts.

2. Check if there is an additional SSD slot
Storage capacity is another important criterion. Many gaming laptops are equipped with 1 TB or less of SSD storage, which can quickly become insufficient for modern games that occupy hundreds of gigabytes.
Therefore, the expert recommends checking in advance whether your laptop has an additional NVMe SSD slot. This will allow you to install a second drive and increase available space without replacing the existing drive.

This is especially useful if you need to migrate data or expand storage in the future. However, even some expensive laptops, including the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 and Razer Blade 14, only offer one SSD slot.

3. The video card is more important than the processor
When choosing a gaming laptop, it’s important to consider that the graphics card has a greater impact on performance and frame rates in many games than the processor. Therefore, in most cases, it’s best to choose a more powerful graphics accelerator, even if the processor in this configuration is slightly less powerful.

It’s also important to consider the graphics card’s power consumption. The GeForce RTX 5060, with a power limit of 45W, may be slower than the GeForce RTX 5050, which operates at 100W.

4. Don’t overlook RAM
Another common issue with gaming laptops is using one RAM stick instead of two. This configuration doesn’t utilize all available memory channels and can reduce system performance.

In dual-channel mode, the processor receives higher memory bandwidth. The difference depends on the task: in some applications, the performance loss may be significant, while in others, including some games, it will be negligible.

Always look for dual-channel memory or a configuration like 16GB (2 x 8GB) in the specifications. This will help you avoid buying a model that loses some of its potential performance due to poor configuration.

5. Match your screen resolution to your video card’s capabilities
Even a top-end graphics card doesn’t guarantee that a laptop will be able to effectively utilize the display’s full capabilities. If the GPU isn’t powerful enough for the chosen resolution and high refresh rate, the extra cost for the display won’t be worth it.

The author recommends aiming for a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels for laptops with an RTX 5060 or lower. For models with an RTX 5070 or higher, consider displays with a resolution of 2560 × 1440 pixels or close to it.
The expert believes that a 4K display for a gaming laptop isn’t the most rational choice. Even powerful mobile graphics cards are limited by power consumption and cooling, so running demanding games at this resolution may require image scaling using DLSS. Furthermore, on a small display, the benefits of 4K don’t always justify the additional cost.