With multiple manufacturers, features and price ranges to choose from, buying a new laptop for a college or high school student can be difficult. If the student is also a PC gamer, the decisions are even more complicated -- leading you to consider systems with faster processors, more RAM, and greater graphics capabilities than other students might need.
Is a gaming laptop appropriate for a student?
Yes, a system designed for gaming will also support virtually any student computing need, from writing papers to running advanced engineering and animation programs to posting photos on social media. But using a gaming laptop for school will involve some compromises:
Gaming laptops are heavier
Gaming laptops, while much smaller than desktop PCs, are still among the least easily portable laptops on the market. Their big hard drives, large displays and advanced cooling components push some gaming laptops to 3 4 kgs or more.
Gaming laptops are more expensive
Gaming laptops equipped with the latest processors, higher RAM, advanced graphics cards and high-resolution displays will inevitably carry price tags higher than other systems. This is especially true for those who buy customized systems with specially selected features and components.
Of course, not every gaming laptop is "too heavy" or "too costly." The leading PC manufacturers each offer multiple preconfigured gaming systems with various weights, performance levels and price points. The key for bargain hunters is to seek a preconfigured system with the gaming features you need [see below] at the price you can afford.
Student gaming laptop specifications
So if we assume that a typical gaming laptop has enough computing power to also support everyday student pursuits, then buying a student gaming laptop will involve questions such as "How fast a processor should I buy?, How big of a hard drive is needed?", and "What display resolution is best?" In each case, you'll have a wide range of choices depending on your budget.
Processor
Clock speed matters, so choose a processor chip or CPU that cycles rapidly enough [higher than 3.0 GHz] to meet the demands of today's advanced, multi-player PC games. Analysts have historically preferred Intel processors for game play [especially the current Intel Core i5, i7 and i9 series], but the latest CPUs from AMD, such as the AMD Ryzen chip, have also gained attention for their gaming performance.
Make sure your processor has multiple cores, too -- quad core CPUs are the favorite of most gamers today. Some processors also offer "over-clocking" capabilities that permit the CPU to run faster than its rated speed for short periods -- which could be ideal for gamers seeking a competitive edge.
RAM
One area where student-oriented laptops might need to be upgraded for gaming is RAM, the quick-access memory that keeps programs running smoothly by holding the most critical data where it can be used immediately. Budget student laptops with just 4 GB RAM won't fully support today's multi-player streaming games.
Instead, most reviewers say 8 GB of DDR4 RAM [the current standard] is the minimum for gaming, with 16 GB sometimes preferred for the most advanced, VR-style games with 4K video. Remember, too, that different RAM modules [like processors] run at specific cycle times, so a system whose specs show 8 GB DDR4 2400 MHz will provide a small but measureable performance boost over one whose RAM is listed at 2133 MHz.
Graphics
Laptops with integrated graphics are OK for playing basic PC games such as Minecraft, Civilization V, Thimbleweed Park, and so on. However, you'll need a dedicated graphics processor or GPU to run today's most popular multi-player game environments [anything in the Battlefield or The Witcher series, for example]. The GPU on a gaming system also needs a significant amount of video memory or VRAM [2 GB at a minimum, with 4-6 GB better for most games].
Keep in mind that laptops with advanced displays, such as QHD [1440p] or UHD/4K [2160p], will require increasingly capable GPUs in order to support the more detailed imagery while maintaining the minimum frame rates required for smooth game play. Consider looking for GPUs with Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync technology to reduce image tearing and stuttering.
Display
When it comes to display size for gaming, bigger is better. An everyday student laptop display measures about 13 inches diagonally, but gaming laptops often run from 15" to 17" for better viewing. In terms of resolution, gaming laptops offer everything from standard HD [720p] to Full HD [1080p] to Quad HD [1440p] and Ultra HD/4K [2160p]. Most analysts say a Full HD display is sufficient for PC gaming and can support the minimum 60 frames-per-second rates required for realistic game action.
Other important game-related display specifications include refresh rate [how quickly the display can change the color of an individual pixel] and response time [the time it takes to move from one still image to the next]. Analysts recommend a minimum refresh rate of 60Hz, with 120Hz better, especially for 3D environments. Response times vary widely, but most experts say gamers should look for 5 ms or less.
Storage
Storage comes in different sizes and speeds, both of which can impact their use by PC gamers. Active gamers who load 20-30 different games on their laptops will want total storage space of 800 GB to 1 TB. Solid state drives [SSDs] will boot up faster and feed game data to the CPU more rapidly, but they are more expensive than traditional magnetic drives [HDDs]. For HDD systems, spin rates of 7,200 RPM or higher are recommended by many analysts [although many games can work well on drives running at 5,400 RPM].
Additional features of student gaming laptops
Shopping for a student gaming laptop involves myriad smaller choices, too. Here are some of the other features and options you'll have the opportunity to consider:
Thin-bezel or no-bezel displays
reduce the width of the thick plastic edge that surrounds many laptop screens, enabling some models to be little larger than the display itself. This can be important when buying game-oriented, large-display systems.
High-response keyboards
with significant key press depth or "travel" are preferred by many gamers, since they give better tactile feedback. Gamers need to know -- with just their fingers -- that they have successfully activated each key-controlled game action they need.
Speaker and microphone quality
can be an important consideration, too. While gamers typically use headsets, especially when using desktop PCs, those who plan to carry their gaming systems with them will want to know how they'll work without a headset, too.
How can I save on a student gaming laptop?
Keep the following items in mind if you're looking for ways to save money on a student gaming laptop:
- Buy a smaller hard drive: If you can live with loading just 5-10 games on your laptop rather than 20-30, then a smaller hard drive will be OK for you. And if you can't live without the fast boot times of a solid state drive, consider a hybrid system that uses a small allotment of flash memory for booting but relies on traditional magnetic storage for everything else.
- Forget the touch screen: Touch screens use more power and will reduce the amount of unplugged game time you'll get. Plus, while many smartphone-style games are touch-dependent, far fewer advanced PC games require touch controls.
- Use an external monitor: Some game players prefer to plug in an external monitor, anyway. And doing so could save money, as some high-resolution display technology is cheaper in a stand-alone monitor than when built into a laptop.