It may be impossible for a gaming laptop to reach the performance of a high-end gaming desktop. However, there are ways you can improve its performance and optimize it for gaming. Doing so will make your gaming laptop run faster, improve its graphics, and, more importantly, will help you enjoy your gaming experience to the fullest.
Below is a list of ways on how you can optimize the performance of your gaming laptop:
How to Optimize Your Gaming Laptop
- Make sure your gaming laptop is dust-free.
- Upgrade important hardware components.
- Update the drivers of your gaming laptop.
- Update your unit’s Microsoft DirectX.
- Adjust your gaming laptop’s power setting.
- Enable the Windows Game Mode.
- Close any background programs or apps.
1 – Make sure your gaming laptop is dust-free.
The fastest and possibly the most effective way of improving the performance of your gaming laptop is to clean it. A dust-free gaming laptop will improve its performance and is the best way to physically maintain your unit. Dust is the enemy of your gaming laptop.
Since it is portable, any dust or dirt build-up will highly affect the unit as it reduces the airflow, which results in the unit getting too hot. If the heat builds, the main components of your gaming laptop will slow down. This will affect your unit’s overall performance. So the best way to deal with it is to remove all the dust. Most importantly, make sure that the vents are clear.
2 – Upgrade important hardware components.
Another way to make sure that your gaming laptop is on its top performance is to upgrade the essential components of your laptop. This will improve the performance and speed it up. There are three components in your gaming laptop that you can be upgraded:
- RAM – Upgrading the RAM will speed up and significantly impact your unit’s performance.
- Storage – You might want to switch up to a solid-state drive (SSD) or a fast M.2 storage to improve the performance of your unit when playing games.
- Battery – Your batteries will enable you to keep your games running, especially in their full settings.
3 – Update the drivers of your gaming laptop.
Updating your gaming laptop drivers will make it run better. All gaming laptops are based on the same hardware and architecture. This means that you need to keep its drivers up to date with whatever operating system you are using. Most drivers update automatically during OS updates.
So when it comes to your graphic drivers, you need to make sure that it is continually updated. If possible, you can set your hardware to automatically update or, at the very least, notify you whenever there is a new version or update for your driver.
4 – Update your unit’s Microsoft DirectX.
Microsoft DirectX is an essential software on any Windows gaming laptop. DirectX 12 Ultimate is its newest version. It was launched in 2020, and this latest update provides a shared library for your Windows and Xbox Series X/S systems.
If you are not sure about the current version of DirectX on your gaming laptop, you can follow these steps:
- Step 1 – Press the Windows key and R at the same time. This will open the Run dialog.
- Step 2 – Type in dxdiag.
- Step 3 – Wait for the Microsoft DirectX Diagnostic Tool to load and run.
- Step 4 – Go to the System tab and look for the DirectX version, which you can find at the bottom of the list.
If you see that your DirectX isn’t updated, follow these steps:
- Step 1 – Go to Start, then click on Settings.
- Step 2 – Choose Update & Security, then go to Windows Update.
- Step 3 – Click Check for updates.
Update the apps or software that will show in the list.
5 – Adjust your gaming laptop’s power setting.
The best way to enjoy the gaming laptop’s performance is to adjust its power settings as a portable device. Windows have different power management options, but to experience the best performance from your gaming laptop, connect it to a power outlet.
To adjust your gaming laptop’s performance:
- Step 1 – Click Start, then go to Settings.
- Step 2 – Go to System, then choose Power and Sleep.
- Step 3 – Choose Additional power settings and then select High performance.
- Step 4 – Click the Change plan settings, then Change advanced power settings.
- Step 5 – Check if all the power settings are set to their optimum levels.
Setting your gaming laptop’s power to high performance will definitely improve its gaming performance.
6 – Enable the Windows Game Mode.
Windows Game Mode is designed to optimize your gaming laptop’s system for gaming. Windows 10 and Windows 11 also have a new Game Bar which you can enable. The Game Bar will allow you to screen recording and stream your games.
To activate the Game Bar and Game Mode, follow these steps:
- Step 1 – Click Start and Settings.
- Step 2 – Click Gaming, then go to Xbox Game Bar.
- Step 3 – Enable the On Image, select the Game Mode in the left-hand panel.
- Step 4 – Switch it to On.
Once the Game Mode is enabled, your gaming laptop will run games on its optimum settings.
7 – Close any background programs or apps.
Another way to quickly improve the performance of your gaming laptop when playing video games is to close any background apps. Close any unnecessary programs and apps before launching any game.
You can go to the System Tray to check all the apps running in the background. Check any apps you don’t need, then right-click each icon and close it. Just make sure that you keep all the apps relevant to the gaming open. For example, you need the graphics card management app open.