by Abie Anarna
You’ve had your gaming laptop for quite a while now, and you’re already starting to feel its age. On the one hand, maybe it’s its way of telling you that you are sorely in need of the next high-end laptop to last you another two, maybe three years before the next one. On the other hand, you may not have enough cash on you (a rather common affliction, or so I’m told), leading you to maybe consider getting laptop replacement parts and perhaps upgrade its video card or RAM stick. And then you’re reminded that laptop parts are rather hard (and a bit expensive) to come by, being that laptop manufacturers purposefully specialize each part to make sure that you get replacements from them and only them.
Lucky for you, I have a, um, third hand to offer. Best of all, it won’t cost you an arm and a leg (yeah, I’ll stop with the manual fixation now). The third option is improving your laptop’s performance through software upgrades and setting adjustments. Here are five things you can do to prolong your laptop’s life at virtually no cost.
1. Always Install the Latest Drivers
When it comes to video games, video cards are often the deciding factor of how good your games will look. As such, top graphics processing unit (GPU) manufacturers NVIDIA and ATI are constantly one-upping each other, not just in the specs of actual video cards released, but also in the driver updates given to said video cards.
The video capabilities sold with your laptop (whether on-board or not) are set to factory standards. It would do you well, then, to constantly check the website of the manufacturer of your laptop’s GPU to keep your machine updated. Doing so could increase your gadget’s performance by as much as 20%.
It should also be noted that driver updates aren’t just applicable to graphics cards. These also go for sound cards, and occasionally, motherboards (although this usually only happens when a motherboard compatibility issue needs to be resolved).
2. Overclock the GPU’s Settings
Desktop users are no strangers to overclocking. Laptop users, however, aren’t, since only a select few laptop CPUs allow their settings to be overclocked. There are some laptop GPUs that allow this, though; and if your laptop has this, you might as well make use of it.
When you overclock your GPU, you only have to worry about two settings: The core clock and the memory clock. Try to experiment at which levels both settings work best while still staying stable. The thing to remember is not to jump to higher levels from the get-go. 5% increments are a safe bet.
3. Check Your Laptop’s Power Settings
A computer’s power settings determine how much power is allotted to certain parts, like processors and GPUs. Whereas PCs allow you to just max the settings, laptop power settings vary constantly depending on the available power source.
If you’ve got a power socket and your laptop’s battery charger handy, you have the option of maximizing your laptop’s power settings to achieve higher performance levels in games.
4. Adjust Graphical Settings In-Game
This one depends on how well you can tolerate doing away with certain graphical features in games. In my case, since laptop screens are often smaller than desktop monitors, I find that I don’t really need to have a game’s resolution set to maximum since the difference in pixel count wouldn’t be easily discernible anyway. In another case, if you’re the type of gamer who doesn’t take much premium in accurate metallic reflections, you can opt to set this setting at lower levels.
Again, mileage varies from gamer to gamer; and experimentation is a must.
5. Shut Down Unused Background Applications
As a last resort, you may also turn off any programs running in the background which you don’t really need. For example, since I play most of my games offline, I can opt to turn off torrent programs, auto-updaters, and antivirus scanners; and that’s just for starters.
Running programs are usually indicated in the notification tray. Shut down running programs from there as needed.
And there you go: Five ways of extending your gaming laptop’s usability without having to spend a single penny. Who says you need to purchase laptop replacement parts to play better games on your laptop?
More Information:
Abie Anarnais a writer and blogger who specialize writing about technology. She has a big concern for technology and reducing e-waste that become her theme in writing. She writes for LaptopAid.com to help her Audience in reducing e-waste and finding the right laptop spare parts.
Source: http://www.PopularArticles.com/article444047.html
You’ve had your gaming laptop for quite a while now, and you’re already starting to feel its age. On the one hand, maybe it’s its way of telling you that you are sorely in need of the next high-end laptop to last you another two, maybe three years before the next one. On the other hand, you may not have enough cash on you (a rather common affliction, or so I’m told), leading you to maybe consider getting laptop replacement parts and perhaps upgrade its video card or RAM stick. And then you’re reminded that laptop parts are rather hard (and a bit expensive) to come by, being that laptop manufacturers purposefully specialize each part to make sure that you get replacements from them and only them.
Lucky for you, I have a, um, third hand to offer. Best of all, it won’t cost you an arm and a leg (yeah, I’ll stop with the manual fixation now). The third option is improving your laptop’s performance through software upgrades and setting adjustments. Here are five things you can do to prolong your laptop’s life at virtually no cost.
1. Always Install the Latest Drivers
When it comes to video games, video cards are often the deciding factor of how good your games will look. As such, top graphics processing unit (GPU) manufacturers NVIDIA and ATI are constantly one-upping each other, not just in the specs of actual video cards released, but also in the driver updates given to said video cards.
The video capabilities sold with your laptop (whether on-board or not) are set to factory standards. It would do you well, then, to constantly check the website of the manufacturer of your laptop’s GPU to keep your machine updated. Doing so could increase your gadget’s performance by as much as 20%.
It should also be noted that driver updates aren’t just applicable to graphics cards. These also go for sound cards, and occasionally, motherboards (although this usually only happens when a motherboard compatibility issue needs to be resolved).
2. Overclock the GPU’s Settings
Desktop users are no strangers to overclocking. Laptop users, however, aren’t, since only a select few laptop CPUs allow their settings to be overclocked. There are some laptop GPUs that allow this, though; and if your laptop has this, you might as well make use of it.
When you overclock your GPU, you only have to worry about two settings: The core clock and the memory clock. Try to experiment at which levels both settings work best while still staying stable. The thing to remember is not to jump to higher levels from the get-go. 5% increments are a safe bet.
3. Check Your Laptop’s Power Settings
A computer’s power settings determine how much power is allotted to certain parts, like processors and GPUs. Whereas PCs allow you to just max the settings, laptop power settings vary constantly depending on the available power source.
If you’ve got a power socket and your laptop’s battery charger handy, you have the option of maximizing your laptop’s power settings to achieve higher performance levels in games.
4. Adjust Graphical Settings In-Game
This one depends on how well you can tolerate doing away with certain graphical features in games. In my case, since laptop screens are often smaller than desktop monitors, I find that I don’t really need to have a game’s resolution set to maximum since the difference in pixel count wouldn’t be easily discernible anyway. In another case, if you’re the type of gamer who doesn’t take much premium in accurate metallic reflections, you can opt to set this setting at lower levels.
Again, mileage varies from gamer to gamer; and experimentation is a must.
5. Shut Down Unused Background Applications
As a last resort, you may also turn off any programs running in the background which you don’t really need. For example, since I play most of my games offline, I can opt to turn off torrent programs, auto-updaters, and antivirus scanners; and that’s just for starters.
Running programs are usually indicated in the notification tray. Shut down running programs from there as needed.
And there you go: Five ways of extending your gaming laptop’s usability without having to spend a single penny. Who says you need to purchase laptop replacement parts to play better games on your laptop?
More Information:
Abie Anarnais a writer and blogger who specialize writing about technology. She has a big concern for technology and reducing e-waste that become her theme in writing. She writes for LaptopAid.com to help her Audience in reducing e-waste and finding the right laptop spare parts.
Source: http://www.PopularArticles.com/article444047.html
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