8 Easy Tips on How to Maintain A Gaming Laptop in 2021

Did you just buy a gaming laptop? 

Are you looking for ways to maintain your gaming laptop and extend its life? 

I know you have spent some money to get that gaming laptop and want it to last as long as possible.

Don’t worry, I got you. You have come to the right place! 

These tips help me to extend my laptop’s life for up to 7 years.

In this post, I will share 8 tips plus a bonus tip on how to maintain a gaming laptop. 

Tip 1: Cool Down Your Laptop 

Tip 2: Undervolt your CPU and GPU

Tip 3: Repaste Your Old Thermal Paste

Tip 4: Use External Keyboard and Mouse for Your gaming laptop

Tip 5: Get Your Laptop Checked Up Regularly 

Tip 6: Always Plug Your Laptop to A Power Source

Tip 7: Get a Good Anti-Virus 

Tip 8: Shut down your laptop from time to time

Let’s get started!

Tip 1: Cool Down Your Laptop 

Keeping your laptop cool is one of the most essential parts of maintaining a gaming laptop.

Tip 1: Cool Down Your Laptop

We know that heat is the number one enemy of your gaming laptop, especially in your gaming laptop’s life expectancy.

Why? Because heat can cause irreversible damage to your laptop. 

So what can you do to keep your laptop cool?

Here are some tips: 

1. Clean Your Laptop’s Fans 

The fans are the most essential part of your laptop, as it helps to keep your laptop cool.

Over time, dust and dirt can block your fans. This will cause your fan to work harder and will increase the chance of overheating your laptop.

To prevent this from happening, make it a routine to clean your laptop’s fan every 2 months. 

2.Use a Cooling Pad 

A laptop’s built-in cooling system is not enough to keep your laptop cool.

If you are going to be using your laptop for more than 2 hours, I would suggest getting a cooling pad. A cooling pad will help to keep your laptop cool. 

3. Don’t Use Your Laptop on Soft Surfaces

Don't Use Your Laptop on Soft Surfaces

I see people using their laptop on their bed and on the carpet all the time. This is a big no-no. 

Why?

Because the soft surface will block the airflow and prevent your laptop’s built-in fan from working properly. 

This will cause your laptop to overheat very quickly.

I suggest getting a hard surface such as a table to place your laptop on.

4. Don’t Eat or Drink Near Your Laptop 

Eating or drinking by your laptop is a big no-no. Why?

Because if any food or liquid drops into your laptop, it will cause severe damage. 

You don’t want to have to buy a new laptop just because you are eating while you are on your computer.

Also read: 5 Easy Ways to Cool a Laptop While Gaming in 2021

Tip 2: Undervolt your CPU and GPU

Most people don’t know this, but you can actually undervolt your CPU and GPU. But what is undervolting?

Undervolting is the process of decreasing the amount of voltage supplied to your CPU and GPU. 

Undervolt Your CPU And GPU

By doing this, you will be able to decrease the amount of heat generated by your CPU and GPU. Plus, it comes with some benefits.

For example, you will be able to increase the lifespan of your laptop’s hardware.

Many people think that undervolting your CPU and GPU can lead to a drop in performance, but that is not true if you do it right.

I have undervolted my CPU and GPU for more than a year, and I haven’t noticed any drop in performance. 

In fact, I got a boost in performance because now the CPU and GPU

don’t have to work as hard to complete the task. 

I suggest that you do your own research on how to undervolt your CPU and GPU. There are many guides out there.

I personally use Throttlestop to undervolt my CPU and GPU. 

Tip 3: Repaste Your Old Thermal Paste

Repaste Your Old Thermal Paste
Image source: Amazon

Thermal paste is used to conduct heat away from your CPU and GPU. 

It is used to fill the gaps between your CPU and your heatsink, and the gaps between your GPU and your heatsink.

Over time, thermal paste dries up and loses its effectiveness. After a few years, I have noticed that my laptop’s CPU and GPU got hotter than before.

This is due to the fact that the thermal paste has dried up and lost its effectiveness. 

When this happens, you need to reapply a new layer of thermal paste.

I suggest that you do your own research on how to reapply thermal paste. 

There are many guides online that can help you with your specific gaming laptop models. 

I personally use Arctic MX-4 for my thermal paste. It is cheap and do the job really well in my experience.

Tip 4: Use External Keyboard and Mouse for Your gaming laptop

Image source: Asus.com

If you are a heavy gamer, then you should consider getting an external keyboard and mouse for your gaming laptop. 

Using an external keyboard and mouse will take some time to get used to, but it is worth it.

It will also preserve your laptop’s keyboard and trackpad because now you are using the external ones and shift all the heavy workloads to these external accessories.

If you are like me and tend to be on your laptop for more than 8 hours a day, I suggest that you get an external keyboard and mouse.

Image source: Amazon
Image source: Amazon

I personally use a Razer Huntsman Gaming Keyboard and a Logitech G502 Gaming Mouse Combination.

I have been using this keyboard and mouse for more than 3 years now, and I am delighted with the quality. 

Plus, it delivers a better gaming experience for me. 

Sometimes, my gaming laptop’s keyboard is not responsive enough or fast enough and causes me to lose some games. 

That is why you want to invest in an external gaming keyboard and mouse combination. 

Not only do you get a better gaming experience on your gaming laptop, but it also helps you preserve your keyboard and trackpad from the heavy burden.

Tip 5: Get Your Laptop Checked Up Regularly 

If you want your laptop to last for more than 5 years, then you should get it checked up by a professional at least once every year.

Laptops are very complex machines. Many things can go wrong with it if you don’t maintain it well. 

A good technician can find potential problems with your laptop before they become significant issues.

I personally take my laptop to a local computer shop in my area.

They check my laptop for malware and viruses and make sure that everything is running smoothly.

They also update all of my drivers and check if I have the latest BIOS. 

They usually take care of everything for me, and all I have to do is wait for them to do their thing.

Tip 6: Always Plug Your Laptop to a Power Source

Always Plug Your Laptop To A Power Source

If you don’t want your laptop’s battery to die out really quickly, then you should always plug your laptop into a power source when you are using it.

You see, the way most laptop battery work is that while you are using your laptop, a small amount of power is continuously being drained from the battery even if you are plugged into a power source.

This is to keep the laptop’s battery alive. This also helps you to extend your battery life. 

By plugging in your laptop all the time, you will decrease your battery Charge Cycle.

This is the number of times you can completely deplete your battery and then recharge it back to 100%.

For example, let’s say you have a laptop that has a 1000 charge cycle.

This means that you can completely deplete your battery and then recharge it back to 100% 1000 times.

If you unplug your laptop and use just the battery until it is depleted, you have used 1 charge cycle.

If you then charge the battery back to 100% and then use just the battery until it is depleted again, this counts as another charge cycle.

But, if you keep your laptop plugged in to the power source

while using the battery, this does not count as a charge cycle. 

This is why it is vital to always plug your laptop into a power source while you are using it.

You can extend your battery life significantly by doing this. 

Also, if you have a laptop with a removable battery, I suggest that you use your laptop when the battery is removed and keep on connected to the power source. 

This will prevent wear and tear on the battery, and it will last a lot longer. 

Tip 7: Get a Good Anti-Virus

Get A Good Anti-Virus

Malware and viruses can really wreak havoc on your laptop. 

If you don’t have an anti-virus program, then I suggest that you get one immediately.

How can malware and viruses damage your laptop, you ask?

Well, these malicious programs can really slow down your laptop and sometimes cause it to overheat. 

The worst thing that can happen is for your laptop to get hacked entirely.

This can lead to a lot of problems.

Problems such as identity theft, having your bank account drained, and even your laptop getting wholly taken over by a hacker. 

This can be prevented by using a good anti-virus program.

I personally use Bitdefender, which is an excellent anti-virus program.

It is also very easy to use and can be set to automatically scan your laptop regularly.

It also has a very low impact on your laptop’s performance. I highly recommend it.

Tip 8: Shut down your laptop from time to time

Shut Down Your Laptop From Time To Time

You might be wondering why I have included this tip in a post about making your laptop last longer.

Well, you see, laptops are designed to be used on a regular basis.

If you leave your laptop on all the time, it will wear out a lot faster. 

The constant heating and cooling that occurs when your laptop is on are not good for the hardware.

Now, I know what you are thinking. Why not just use hibernate instead of shutting down your laptop?

Well, you can, if you want to, but I still suggest shutting down your laptop from time to time. 

This is because hibernating uses up a lot more battery power than just shutting down your laptop.

If you are going to be away from a power source for more than a few hours, then I would suggest shutting down your laptop.

Just remember to hibernate or shut down your laptop before you leave it.

This will help your laptop last a lot longer than if you just leave it on all the time.

Bonus Tip: Play on a slightly lower settings

If you are serious about gaming, you might not want to hear this, but I will suggest that you play games on the lowest settings.

This might not be the most fun thing to do, but it will definitely help your laptop last a lot longer.

Playing games on the lowest settings won’t look as good, but it will help prevent your laptop from getting too hot and potentially crashing.

This is because most games require a lot of processing power, which takes a toll on your laptop.

If you are going to be gaming, then I suggest that you play on the lowest settings. 

This way, your laptop will last a lot longer, and you can still enjoy your favorite games.

Final Thoughts

So there you have it.

8 tips plus a bonus to help you maintain your gaming laptop in 2021.

These tips extend my gaming laptop’s life for up to 7 years.

Now I want to hear from you. Do you have some tips to extend your laptop’s life?

Share it with us and leave down some comments below.

About the Author
Hi, I'm Steve. I'm a proud gamer. I have been active within the gaming sphere for 30+ years. As gaming is something I enjoy very much, I want other people to enjoy it also. That is exactly why I started this blog.

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