How long a gaming laptop lasts may vary depending on a number of factors, including how well you maintain your laptop, how you treat it, and even luck.
The Short Answer
Generally speaking, a new gaming laptop should typically last between 3-5 years.
The Longer Explanation
As a general rule of thumb, a mid-range gaming laptop should last closer to 3 years, while a more expensive higher-end model may get you closer to 5. Based on this, if you already have a 2 year old mid-range gaming laptop, you might be looking to upgrade in a year or so.
It Depends on Future Game Requirements
It is difficult to predict how stressful future games will be, so treat this as a rough estimate based on our past experience.
It depends on what types of games you’re actually playing. If you’re only playing less demanding indie games, your new laptop will likely be usable for much longer. On the other hand, if you want to always play the latest AAA titles at higher settings, then it’s not going to last as long.
Spending More Money May Not Be The Answer
There’s no guarantee that spending more is better. Buying a mid-range $1500 gaming laptop now and a new $1500 laptop 3 years after that will probably provide a better experience compared to getting a $3000 gaming laptop up front to last for the same 6 year period.
Ways to Make Your Gaming Laptop Last Longer
There are things you can do to make your laptop last longer. This will extend the lifespan of your gaming laptop, meaning you won’t have to upgrade as often.
Extending Laptop Lifespan with Upgrades
It may be possible to get more life out of your gaming laptop by upgrading it. However, it depends on what your limitation is.
If you need more memory or storage space, most gaming laptops have the option to upgrade both. Most game performance comes from the CPU and GPU though.
Unfortunately, most gaming laptops do not have upgradeable CPUs or GPUs, so your only option is to replace the entire laptop with a more powerful model.
A Fresh Install
Over time you can lose performance simply by having an older Windows installation with lots of bloatware that slowly accumulates over time. Before buying a new gaming laptop, you could try a fresh installation of Windows with the latest drivers to see if that gets you a free performance boost.
Regular Maintenance
Simple maintenance like cleaning the dust out every 6-12 months goes a long way. Ultimately, treat the laptop with respect and in most cases there’s no reason it won’t keep working – at least at a basic level, because:
Technically, Gaming Laptops can last MUCH Longer…
As we’re talking about gaming laptops, we’re speaking in terms of playing games. I still have my first laptop from 2008 that technically boots up Windows and can be used for basic tasks, but it cannot play any modern games. Again the point here is that it depends on the workloads and games you plan on running as to how long a gaming laptop lasts.
Luck Plays a Role
To some degree, how long your gaming laptop lasts will depend purely on luck. Every product from every brand has a failure rate. Nothing in life is perfect. Any laptop could instantly die a day after you buy it, or 6 years later. Hopefully if this does happen, it’s within the warranty period. My point is, in most cases, as long as you treat your laptop with respect, it should last many years without problem.
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