Do Gaming Laptops Get Slower? All You Need To Know

Laptop gaming lag is a significant source of annoyance for PC players. Playing graphics-intensive games like Batman: Arkham Knight, Crysis 3, or Battlefield V will most likely make it more apparent. Are you here for Do Gaming Laptops Get Slower?

Do Gaming Laptops Get Slower?

Yes! The following are the causes of gaming laptop slowdown:

• Dust buildup in fans may result in thermal throttling.
• It will be bloatware if you fall for those annoying toolbars and “free” screensavers.
• Hard disk fragmentation slows down how quickly games, operating systems, and all programs load.
• Programs running in the background eat up resources on the PC.
• If not used on the correct surface, overheating may occur due to a lack of airflow.
• Outdated or incorrect game drivers the hardware and games may now be more optimally optimized thanks to new updates.

A laptop’s FPS (Frames per Second) is the amount of time it takes for a game to run smoothly. In addition to low FPS and choppy frame rates, you may notice that your system freezes or is slow to respond to input from your keyboards, mouse, or controller.

Sluggish computers might cause an unplayable gaming experience. To increase gaming performance, it is crucial to identify what is causing lagging in the first place. Some of the reasons that may be affecting your laptop will be discussed in this post.

Symptoms Why Do Gaming Laptops Get Slower?

Game systems are becoming slower. The accumulation of dust on laptop heatsinks and cooling fans is the most common cause of reduced performance over time. The cooling performance of the CPU and GPU is diminished as a result.

Over time, regular use of your computer will cause it to slow down. Over time, the performance of your hard drive or solid-state drive (SSD) will decline, giving the impression that your system is slower. This problem arises for a variety of reasons:

Your Laptop Lacks RAM

The faster your CPU can access and update the data and assets it needs to run games and other programs, the better off you’ll be with plenty of RAM. If your laptop’s RAM runs out, your CPU is forced to fetch data from your storage device (SSD or HDD), which is significantly slower.

Stuttering and lagging might occur from this decrease in performance. Gamers need at least 8 GB of RAM to play games. You may need more than 8 GB of RAM if you plan to multitask in addition to playing games.

Some capabilities, such as ray tracing, may necessitate more RAM if enabled. Call of Duty: Black Ops III is a fantastic example. If you want to use ray tracing, you’ll need a minimum of 12 GB of RAM.

Gaming With The Wrong Graphics Card

Dedicated graphics cards (distinct from the CPU) are standard in gaming laptops; however, some also use integrated graphics cards (embedded in the CPU). Which has its memory, a dedicated GPU typically outperforms an integrated GPU (VRAM).

The dedicated CPU renders visuals faster, so it’s suggested that you use it when playing games. This is the best option for smoother gameplay with no stuttering or lagging.

To make the dedicated graphics card the primary GPU, you’ll need to access the GPU management panel on your Nvidia or AMD graphics card.

High-End Gaming On A Low-End Laptop

Anti-aliasing, ambient occlusion, shadows, and ray tracing need a lot of rendering and processing power from the graphics card. The time it takes for an action to appear on screen is directly proportional to the power of the GPU in your laptop.

Using a low-end gaming laptop makes this even more apparent. Modern games should be playable on high-end desktops with current hardware at high settings. If you’re using a low-end laptop, you may have to sacrifice some visual quality to keep the graphics card from overworking. Disabling features like ray tracing from the game options menu is part of this procedure.

Not Updated Your Laptop’s Drivers For A Long Time

It’s critical to keep your graphics card drivers up to date if you want your gaming laptop to perform at its peak. Nvidia and AMD continually update their graphics cards to provide new features and correct faults. Another essential factor in improving performance is keeping the DirectX driver, enabling games to communicate directly with audio and video applications.

Insufficient System Requirements For Your Gaming Laptop

There are a variety of hardware requirements for all software, including games, to operate smoothly on a computer. If your laptop isn’t up to snuff, you’ll probably have lag issues when gaming. Your hardware is most likely to blame if you notice that your computer lags when playing particular games.

A laptop’s OS RAM or storage can be upgraded if the fault is with these components. You might want to consider getting a new computer if you have a problem with your laptop’s CPU or GPU because these components aren’t upgradeable on most gaming laptops.

You Are Gaming Without A Charger

Dedicated graphics cards and high-performance processors are required for gaming laptops. This explains why they can’t play games for as long as ordinary laptops when they’re operating on batteries.

When you On your laptop on battery, it automatically switches to power-saving mode to extend the life of your battery. As a result, the processor and graphics card are deprived of the necessary power.

As long as there are no power constraints, the CPU and the GPU can operate at their full potential. Consequently, unplugging decreases overall performance and undesirable side effects like lagging. As a bonus, you won’t have to deal with those obnoxious pop-ups while you’re in the middle of a game and need to plug your laptop in to recharge.

Unnecessary Background Programs

Too many programs running in the background might also cause a sluggish computer if you have too many programs. Besides CPU and RAM, some programs can cause latency and slow down your PC by performing random scans and updates. You don’t necessarily need to start a program to run it in the background, so be aware of this.

When the computer is booted up, several of these apps begin to run automatically (when you turn on your laptop). If you want to see all the applications that startup with Windows, you can use the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl +Shift+Esc.”

This page will show you all the running processes and the CPU and memory used for each one. Disabling an application can be done by right-clicking on a process. Anti-malware software such as Malwarebytes can also be used to scan and remove harmful software from your operating system (OS).

You Have Several External Devices Connected

It’s possible to overburden your laptop by using external devices like monitors, gaming mice, keyboards, and screens. They save the CPU, RAM, and sometimes the GPU resources that would otherwise be used for gaming on your laptop.

The amount of lag you experience is determined by the hardware in your computer and the connected devices. Because the graphics processing card must work harder to generate high-resolution images quickly, an external monitor may cause more significant lag than a keyboard or mouse.  

Online Gaming Requires Fast Internet

There is a good chance that your internet speed is to blame if you notice that your laptop lags when playing games online on services like Steam or Google Stadia. An internet connection that is stable and fast is necessary for online gaming.

Online gaming necessitates constant data transfers back and forth between your computer and the server. When you touch a key on your computer and wait for the server to respond, you have a bad internet connection (latency). As a result, you should look into your Wifi or Ethernet internet connection speed to rule it out as an actual problem. Speed Test is an excellent place to check your internet speed.

How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last?

Gaming laptops in the midrange often last 3–4 years, while those towards the high end can last 4-6 years. However, they can endure longer with reasonable care and upkeep. The hardware has a ten-year lifespan. However, it may not be able to run today’s software.

My Laptop Run Game Slower Than Before

On laptops, a steady performance decline over time is typically caused by the cooling fan and heatsink vanes becoming encrusted with dust. The laptop’s ability to keep the CPU and GPU cool suffer.

Conclusion

To find Do Gaming Laptops Get Slower? You first need to discover what’s causing it. The variables listed above are the most typical causes of laptop lagging while gaming. One of the most general reasons for unexpected laptop Lag could be the result of recent software or hardware installation or software update, or even the opening of a suspicious file.

Frequently Asked Questions