How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last?

While there is some truth to this, as the demands of various applications become higher and higher, most laptops will last a relatively decent amount of time, and this can be extended by good practices and looking after your laptop properly.

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A laptop is an investment, and a gaming laptop is even more so as these devices are often more expensive due to their more powerful components and better cooling systems.

However even gaming laptops do tend to have a limit on how long they will be effective, and while this is longer, they can start to slow down over time.

In this guide we’re going to look at how long gaming laptops typically last and what causes them to become slower, as well as some key things you can do to help extend their lifespan and help them last that little bit longer, squeezing as much value out of them as possible.

How Long Will Your Gaming Laptop Last?

Most standard notebook laptops that are in the mid-range will usually last 3 to 4 years, however, a good mid-range gaming laptop should last 4 to 5 years quite comfortably, especially if it’s looked after properly.

A high-end gaming laptop could last 6 years or more, due to the more powerful components, so although there is some variance, generally you can expect your gaming laptop to last a fairly long time, although not as long as desktop computers.

It’s possible for laptops to last longer than this, however, especially if you make some key upgrades in the right places, but we’ll touch on this more later.

While it’s not always the case that a more expensive laptop will last longer, it is quite common as more powerful and expensive laptops can handle the increasing demands placed on them as time goes by and software becomes more demanding to run.

Generally, the longevity of your device will depend on several factors including its componentry, how well maintained it is, the development and changes in software, and your usage of the laptop.

What Affects Gaming Laptop Lifespan?

There are several factors that affect laptop longevity. 

The first is the componentry that’s included with the laptop. A higher power CPU will be more able to handle the increased complexity of software as time goes by, and a powerful GPU will future proof your performance against the continually developing fidelity of video games.

A good amount of RAM is also important as the demands on RAM will increase as time goes by, and an inadequate amount of RAM will make your laptop unresponsive and slow, and will badly affect the performance of almost all aspects of your computer from games to even simple browsing tasks.

Ample storage space is also really important as operating systems and software is continually updating, leading to a lot of bloating that smaller storage spaces often can’t handle.

Boot times will also start to feel very sluggish, particularly if you don’t have a good quality SSD for your OS to be installed on.

In short, while the components of your laptop have a fixed efficiency and performance, the demands placed on them are forever changing, which means they’re always getting a little slower as they become older.

Adding in the general wear and tear that gaming laptops face due to the increased temperatures and loads they are put under can burn laptops out much more quickly than desktop gaming computers.

However, there are things you can do to extend the life of your gaming laptop.

How To Extend Your Gaming Laptop Lifespan

Protecting the performance of your laptop is really important, and can buy you a lot of additional efficiency and longevity.

While the eventual death of your gaming laptop is sadly an inevitability, you should follow as many of the below tips in order to hold it off as long as possible. 

Regularly Clean Your Laptop

We don’t just mean giving the keyboard a wipe down either. Cleaning the laptop inside and out helps reduce and eliminate dust build-up, which is one of the main threats to your laptop’s longevity.

Dust has a nasty habit of clogging vents and fans, starving your components of cooling air, raising temperatures, and stressing your components making them perform worse and potentially damaging them in the long term.

Use a microfiber towel to keep dust away from your computer, and use compressed air to clean vents and fans of dust.

If you’re serious about this you can even dismantle your laptop to really deep clean the dust out of it, but be very careful you don’t damage it or void any warranties when doing this. If in doubt seek professional advice on this.

Temperature Management

Monitoring the temperature of your laptop is really important, and there are tons of free and useful tools for this. If your temperature is too high it’s time to give your laptop a break or allow it to cool down, to avoid damaging your components.

Use Good Charging Habits

Battery life is another aspect of your gaming laptop that can start to fail, especially if you don’t follow good practices while charging.

Always try to cycle your laptop battery properly and don’t leave it plugged in while the battery is in place as this can damage the battery function in some cases.

Upgrades

You can consider small upgrades to elements of your PC to extend performance and lifespan.

Adding additional RAM, upgrading the GPU or CPU, or even adding storage are all ways you can do this, however, some are simpler than others and not all of them will solve your laptop’s problem. Seeking professional advice is best to make sure you diagnose and treat your laptop’s problems properly.