Guild Wars 2

so I mainly play GW2 on my laptop but some people say that gaming can kill my laptop. i don’t like to play on my desktop because its old and slow. does gaming shirten the lifespan of a laptop? BTW i have a dell xps 14z .

Yes and no. Gaming on a laptop can reduce its lifespan simply due to the fact that many games stress a system and create a lot of heat. For a laptop thats a major issues with its lack of space internaly.

In general, “gaming laptops” are a misnomer. What I mean by that is, things like the graphics card wont be supported properly with driver updates, it may not have required technology for a specific game title or it may just not be compatible at all.

The way to look at it is this; Take a look at the inside of a high end desktop PC. Do you really think laptop can cram all that inside such a small chassis? Of course not, so stuff gets “cut off” to make space and reduce the size.

A desktop will be superior in gaming to a laptop even if both have identical specs, simply because the desktop has no need to compromise the tech for heat/size isssues that plague laptops.

Lexandro.1456:

In general, “gaming laptops” are a misnomer. What I mean by that is, things like the graphics card wont be supported properly with driver updates, it may not have required technology for a specific game title or it may just not be compatible at all.

This is simply flat not true. Both ATI and Nvidia have and have had for a long time ‘unified’ drivers which update at the same rate as desktop GPUs. In other words, every time there’s an update for the desktop driver version of the GPU, there’s one for the mobile version. As for compatibility between the major GPU makers and mobile vs desktop variations of the chips – I have yet to hear of any major issues at all that have happened to mobiles and not desktop variant GPUs.

Translation: In the 4 years that I’ve been using mobile Nvidia GPUs, I haven’t come across a single problem that’s specific to the mobile version of my Nvidia GPU.

Lexandro.1456:

The way to look at it is this; Take a look at the inside of a high end desktop PC. Do you really think laptop can cram all that inside such a small chassis? Of course not, so stuff gets “cut off” to make space and reduce the size.

A desktop will be superior in gaming to a laptop even if both have identical specs, simply because the desktop has no need to compromise the tech for heat/size isssues that plague laptops.

A desktop, assuming similar components, will almost always be superior in performance. There’s no arguing that. However, if you need the mobility that a laptop offers then there ARE gaming laptops that do a very good job of playing games because they’re specifically designed to do so. Asus, MSI, Alienware and Sager all make very good laptops that work very well with the latest games.

A laptop will get just as hot as a desktop pc, while having far fewer means of getting rid of the heat. A small fan is usually everything. Furthermore, laptops are typically used in bed, on your lap, all circumstances where the bottom side is covered by cloth. That ramps up internal heat. All of that eats into the life of your laptop.
It is no coincidence that non-gamers usually get 5+ years out of their laptops, while gamers struggle with 2 years.

If you value your laptop, play on lowest settings, even with a “dedicated” graphics card. It’s just to reduce the internal heat. If playing in bed or on the couch, put a wooden or plastic board under your laptop to create breathing room.

Jandus.2834:

This is simply flat not true. Both ATI and Nvidia have and have had for a long time ‘unified’ drivers which update at the same rate as desktop GPUs. In other words, every time there’s an update for the desktop driver version of the GPU, there’s one for the mobile version. As for compatibility between the major GPU makers and mobile vs desktop variations of the chips – I have yet to hear of any major issues at all that have happened to mobiles and not desktop variant GPUs.

Translation: In the 4 years that I’ve been using mobile Nvidia GPUs, I haven’t come across a single problem that’s specific to the mobile version of my Nvidia GPU.

It is absolutely true. In point of fact Nvidia and AMD both state specifically that mobile version of its GPU are NOT officially supported by driver releases. It is why AMD specifically has a “mobile compatability” test software to see if a mobile GPU can actually run on standard release drivers.

If you knew your GPU hardware you would know that mobile variants are often custom made for a particular vendor that very often have custom “tweaks” that preclude them from using AMD/Nvidia release drivers. This is not always the case, and you can get mobile GPU’s that are indeed compatible with release driver but they are not all guaranteed to be that way.

Its precisely why sites like laptopvideo2go exist, for GPU’s that are not officially supported by vendors but are indeed capable of using release drivers.

Translation; You have never had a problem, and are unaware that issues like I spoke of even exist hence your statement that I am wrong, which is incorrect.

In point of fact a number of system build vendors were sued because they knowingly sold laptops with defective mobile Nvidia GPU’s around 2 years ago. HP had a massive recall of a large number of laptops due to this suit. You may not be aware of it, but as a person who works in the industry I am fully aware of the issue.

And as a final note; AMD no longer has “unified” drivers, the company stated last year that it would no longer make drivers “unified”. It is why they now have seperate “legacy” drivers and current “release” drivers.

Lexandro.1456:

It is absolutely true. In point of fact Nvidia and AMD both state specifically that mobile version of its GPU are NOT officially supported by driver releases. It is why AMD specifically has a “mobile compatability” test software to see if a mobile GPU can actually run on standard release drivers.

If you knew your GPU hardware you would know that mobile variants are often custom made for a particular vendor that very often have custom “tweaks” that preclude them from using AMD/Nvidia release drivers. This is not always the case, and you can get mobile GPU’s that are indeed compatible with release driver but they are not all guaranteed to be that way.

Its precisely why sites like laptopvideo2go exist, for GPU’s that are not officially supported by vendors but are indeed capable of using release drivers.

Translation; You have never had a problem, and are unaware that issues like I spoke of even exist hence your statement that I am wrong, which is incorrect.

In point of fact a number of system build vendors were sued because they knowingly sold laptops with defective mobile Nvidia GPU’s around 2 years ago. HP had a massive recall of a large number of laptops due to this suit. You may not be aware of it, but as a person who works in the industry I am fully aware of the issue.

And as a final note; AMD no longer has “unified” drivers, the company stated last year that it would no longer make drivers “unified”. It is why they now have seperate “legacy” drivers and current “release” drivers.

I can see what you’re referring to here and that’s the NON-gaming laptops that are out there. Regular laptop computers with Nvidia/ATI chips are sometimes custom made for these or used to be. This is true. But what I was responding to was GAMING laptops – specifically the ones that are made by Asus, MSI, Alienware and Sager. As for Nvidia (for one) specifically NOT supporting them, that’s just plain wrong. Just jump over to Nvidia and have very much up-to-date drivers specifically for notebook computers (probably for these gaming laptops that I’m referring to) – I think your information on this is dated.

Anyways, my point of responding was to point out that gaming laptops do very well with games from the manufacturers that I’ve listed. There’s a ton of myths out there that they overheat and are problematic and for the most part that’s just not true. They are designed to run well under stress and some of them have very efficient cooling systems to prevent them from getting anywhere near overheating when playing current titles.

As for the OP’s system – it looks like a general multi-purpose laptop. With these I’d keep a close eye on CPU and GPU temps. If either one gets close to 100c in temp then you’re in trouble. For a laptop if you hover around 60-80c for GPU and the same for CPU under load then you should be alright.

Jand

As part of the NVIDIA Notebook Driver Program, this is a reference driver that can be installed on supported NVIDIA notebook GPUs. However, please note that your notebook original equipment manufacturer (OEM) provides certified drivers for your specific notebook on their website. NVIDIA recommends that you check with your notebook OEM about recommended software updates for your notebook. OEMs may not provide technical support for issues that arise from the use of this driver.

Direct from Nvidia. They specifically state its a “reference” driver and not a general release driver, and tell users to visit OEM vendors for customised drivers. Any and all issues that arise from using it are the sole responsability of the user.

Even if a laptop says its “gaming ready” or similar it is by no means guaranteed that a game will work on it. Infact I have seen plenty of laptop gamers with high end systems including sli and crossfire setups that are simply incompatible with various game titles.

It all comes down to one simple fact; A laptop by its very nature has parts that technology is “removed” from it to allow it to fit in to a smaller area. If you really want to “game” do it with a desktop, other wise it is extremely easy to run in to issues (hardware/software ) you have no way to resolve.

The answer is no.

Whatever your gaming rig is (laptop or desktop) just make sure it is adequately ventilated.

Just a hint based on personal experience: buy a laptop cooler that sucks air from underneath not the models that blows air to the laptop.

We have a biannual cleaning cycle and our office (and personal) laptops that use the former has less dust/dirt in the cooling fan.

(Edit: former not latter)

As weird as it sounds, with the advent of the i3-i5-i7 CPUs which have built in HD 3000 or HD 4000 intel graphics card, I would very strongly recommend using the built-in intel GPU for sporadic gaming.
Current generation Intel CPU/GPU hybrids are very temperature efficient, and the HD4000 series is not bad. It’s not good either. As I said, for sporadic gaming, like on business trips, on holiday or while visiting family.

If you want top graphics on your laptop … you’re doing something wrong. “Gaming laptop” is an oxymoron. It is a pure marketing term, such devices do not exist.

my cpu temps are between 69-74 degrees. that should be alright, right?

Yeah, if those are load temperatures, then that is fine.

So long as those temps dont trip any throtlling then yes those temps are fine.

Gaming on laptops CAN shorten their life span but ONLY if ur overheating them, or constantly running hot (not necceserily a overheat but its not good).

Choose a laptop wisely. If its for gaming, be prepaired to spend alot. And make sure that not only are the internal specs good, but make sure the chassis/case has good airflow.

As others have said, if u ever have it on ur lap or on a material surface like a quilt or pillow..make sure u have a board of some kind under the laptop otherwise the material will stifle the air vents.

My laptop used to overheat and throttle just browsing complex websites, even ones such as TPB, (its a old laptop) when i used it when in bed. I soon started using my small platic chopping board ,that i normaly use to sit my mouse mat on when using my desktop, to put under the laptop. it no longer gets that hot and throttles.