If you are in the market for a new laptop, you are spoilt for choice. The variety of different machines available speaks volumes about how integral portable computers have become to our daily lives. Whether it’s business or pleasure, a laptop exists to fit your needs. A new breed of laptops has been evolving in tandem with business and home computers, one that on the surface seems single-minded in its purpose. I am, of course talking about the gaming laptop.
If you wanted to play games on the go, a gaming laptop is a perfect solution. Packed with high-performance parts, these machines are designed to replace your desktop, but what about non-gamers? Depending on your needs and wants, a gaming laptop could fit nicely into your life, even if you have no interest in video games.
Built to last
Gaming laptops are usually aggressively styled and aren’t for the shrinking violet. An upshot of this design, however, is the durability. Take a look at your average gaming laptop, and you will see premium plastics and aluminum. Even if you have no interest in games, a sturdy laptop that can take a beating is a very useful thing indeed.
High powered
Modern games need a lot of processing power to run smoothly; as a result, a gaming laptop needs to pack a punch. In the past, games where dependant on powerful graphics cards, something that was hard to cram into a slim laptop. Times have changed, and now games rely just as heavily on the CPU and RAM. Gaming laptops represent excellent value for someone chasing a high-powered laptop for video editing, music production or design work.
Large, fast screens
Blazing performance is wasted on a sub-par display. If your game is running at 60 frames per second and your monitor only refreshes at 50hz, you are missing frames of detail. Gaming laptops (especially the higher-end models) are equipped with large and fast screens for the best gaming experience. All this power and silky smooth refresh rate translate brilliantly into a media laptop. A rapid refresh rate is perfect for watching sports and action movies.
Lots of connections
Tablets, 2-in-1 and ultra-books have carved a chunk out of the portable computer market due to ultra-portability. An Ultrabook can be impressively powered and have a nice screen but will be too slim to have many useful ports. While manufacturers have adopted USB-C as standard, many users need legacy ports. A gaming laptop isn’t concerned as much about being light and slim and will feature a vastly superior array of ports and connections.
They just look cool
Yes, this is subjective, and perhaps the aggressive style isn’t your cup of tea. Many gaming laptops appeal to the 6-year-old inside of us, with curves and lines like a supercar and brimming with vents, blades and high-tech materials. Gaming laptops will also feature customizable lighting systems, allowing you to change the way your computer looks. Alienware has pioneered this lighting system, and it’s hard not to fall for the charm of a glowing beast waiting to eat up any task you throw at it.
Gaming laptops can easily be dismissed as a “gaming PC lite” reserved only for hardcore gamers but they are so much more. Durable, powerful, and with amazing displays, a gaming laptop is a viable everyday computer. If you need a powerful laptop with all the ports and connections, it would be hard to go past a gaming laptop. Artists and creative types will benefit from the powerful GPU/CPU/RAM combination without paying top dollar for a “pro” model laptop. Gaming laptops are constantly pushing the envelope and are for more than just gamers.