Short Answer
A new gaming laptop will last based on how you are able to care for it. Nonetheless, it should generally give you the best possible performance for between 2 to 3 years on mid to high settings. For the hardware, that should be able to last for between 5 to 10 years, while a well-maintained laptop should physically last for over 10 years, by which time it may not be able to run the latest titles of the time.
There is a time to born and a time to die. That is true even for a new gaming laptop that looks as though it could last forever. Of course, a good laptop for gaming will last you for a long time but then, nothing lasts forever.
Unlike a desktop for gaming, there are limited things that you can do to make your laptop last for a very long time even though it costs much more than the former. Let’s look at how long your laptop should last.
How Long Will a New Gaming Laptop Last?
The main things that define how long a new gaming laptop gets to last are its hardware, how it is maintained, and the software.
The Hardware
Unlike what you get with the gaming console, a computer has different hardware that may need to be managed separately. With a gaming desktop, you can easily change some of the hardware to keep it up to date, but with a laptop, upgrading some of these hardware is not the easiest thing to do because the laptop is much smaller and not all the hardware could be upgraded because of the small size of the laptop.
GPU
The most important thing in a gaming computer is the GPU that it has because the GPU determines the types of games you will be able to play and your gaming performance.
In determining how long your gaming laptop gets to last, the type of GPU you use becomes very important because the GPU that comes with the laptop will remain significant to the future games you get to play on the laptop. A most advanced GPU like the GTX 1060 or even the GTX 1070 and higher GPUs will last much longer than a laptop that comes with a GTX1050.
One important thing to note is that because GPU’s are integrated on your motherboard, upgrading it will not be possible in most cases. This means that once the GPU is unable to run the latest titles, its time is already running out.
CPU
The CPU is yet another very important hardware for your gaming laptop. A core i7 may be the best one for long term use. For a lower end laptop, you may end up with something much down the line. Unlike the GPU, you will be able to upgrade the CPU of the laptop when you feel it is going obsolete, but the issue that arises is that it could lead to bottlenecking since you will not be able to upgrade the GPU.
Unfortunately, even when you want to upgrade the CPU, the options are not as broad as you would get for a desktop. More so, with a desktop, you will be able to upgrade other hardware to deliver a good performance and avoid bottlenecking as pointed above.
RAM
If it were to be simply the case of RAM, you may be able to use your new gaming laptop forever as RAMs do not only comes with all the power you need, but they are also easy to upgrade. Almost all gaming laptops now come with at least 8GB of memory and changing the module may just be one of the easiest things you can do.
Storage
This all boils down to the type of storage you are using; an SSD or HDD. While you will get a better performance with the Solid State Drive, you will get longer years of use with the Hard Disk Drive. The good news is that changing the storage is one of the easiest things you can do.
Cooling
One big irony with gaming laptop is that if you get one with a powerful GPU and CPU, it will be able to last for a very long time, however, it will give out so much heat that may put the longevity of the laptop on the line.
The bad news is that a laptop does not come with the kind of good cooling option that you get with a desktop. Nonetheless, with cooling pads, the life of the laptop will be much better.
Maintaining Your Gaming Laptop
The way you take care of your laptop will determine to a very large extent how long your laptop gets to last. A poorly maintained laptop may not give you up to four years of use, while a well-maintained one will last up to ten years or even more.
See Also: Gaming Laptop vs Desktop – Which One Is Better? [Simple Answer]
Laptops generally accumulate much dust so there is a need to keep cleaning it from time to time. Opening up the laptop is not something easy to do but with compressed air, the dust can be taken off. Apart from cleaning the laptop, the manner of handling it is also important.
The Software
Most gaming laptops run on the Windows operating system which releases newer versions almost every couple of years. Although it is not always that gamers get to update their operating system, that will be needed to be able to run some newer titles. Even for those that may want to have the recent versions released by Microsoft, their hardware may not be able to handle the demands of the Windows.
With Windows 10, Microsoft has decided to only keep updating the windows instead of releasing a new version, something that is quite good and should give more years to your gaming laptop. Unfortunately, no one can tell when a new version of Windows will be released.
Conclusion
As pointed above, your gaming laptop will not last forever, but with proper maintenance, it should be able to last you for a very long time. The different factors above are the main things that could add to the years of your laptop or take from it although other things such as the type of the laptop will also always count. For example, an Apple laptop for gaming, which is something that no gamer will advise you to get, may give you fewer years of gaming mainly because of its hardware, no matter how you try to maintain it. For other things, you will get more years with an Apple laptop, but not gaming.
