Five valuable tips for those who are trying to play on an old laptop

Laptops are not very well suited for the role of gaming computers. Even those models that are positioned by the developers as “gaming” are in fact a compromise solution. On a PC, it is most convenient to play, lounging in your favorite gaming chair in front of a large monitor, with a comfortable keyboard, a good mouse or a set of game controllers. Forgoing all this in favor of portability, the user loses a lot of pleasant sensations. But sometimes there is simply no other way. If you intend to use your laptop as a gaming machine, take a look at these tips.

Don’t try to max out

For the money that can be used to assemble a good desktop gaming machine, you can afford a laptop with very mediocre characteristics. With all your desire, you cannot force such a computer to deploy modern AAA games at high graphics quality settings. And not everyone will go to the low ones.

The most reliable recipe — play something that does not require high performance. If you have to be content with a weak laptop — replay the immortal classics. Games like Morrowind, Neverwinter Nights or the first parts of Fallout run even on very weak laptops from a decade ago. However, there are modern games that do not require large and thick graphics cards. There is, for example, the hit platformer Cuphead and many other indie projects that take not graphics, but plot and atmosphere.

Lower your game resolution

If you’ve lowered your graphics settings and the game still lags, try lowering your screen resolution. This is a very reliable recipe. The fewer pixels an image consists of, the fewer resources are required to draw it. After all, it’s better to have a smooth-running but slightly angular shooter than a beautiful slideshow.

Keep order

Over time, a lot of various garbage accumulates in the laptop system (as, indeed, on a desktop PC) — the remains of remote programs, junk entries in the registry, etc. All this can greatly slow down the work of weak machines. Use special programs for cleaning the system, like CCleaner.

Before starting the game, make sure that no other applications are consuming system resources. Close everything else. If necessary, turn off especially gluttonous processes through the task manager.

If your laptop has a discrete graphics card, update its drivers to the latest version.

By the way, the advice to “keep things in order” applies not only to software. All computers are sensitive to overheating, but laptops, due to the dense layout of internal elements, are especially so. During the game, the computer will heat up especially strongly, so make sure that dust does not accumulate in it.

Ensure driving comfort

As already mentioned, a laptop is always a compromise. But you can provide yourself with minimal gaming comfort if you bring your favorite peripherals with you.

I, for one, can’t stand low-profile laptop keyboards. And if I have to leave and work with texts remotely, I definitely take my keyboard with me.

As experience shows, playing on a laptop keyboard is also not very convenient. Therefore, it is better to get a normal keyboard and mouse in advance. And if you’re going to play platform games like Hollow Knight or the aforementioned Cuphead, get a PC compatible gamepad. Such a game controller takes up very little space, so you can always carry it with you in your laptop bag. And it is also best to play platformers and fighting games on it.

Watch your charge

Very often, a user who is used to a desktop computer, and then was forced to transfer to a laptop, forgets to monitor the battery charge level. Games are incredibly gluttonous. The advice to keep an eye on the battery level may seem strange, but I myself fell into this trap a couple of times. You decide to pass ten minutes of the game, get carried away, and after three hours the computer suddenly turns off.

In order not to be left with a dead laptop, do not forget to pay attention to the battery level. Play with a connected charger, or stock up on powerful power banks.