How to Improve Game Performance on Laptop – 10 Tips and Tricks

Gaming on a laptop can be a great way to enjoy your favorite games without sacrificing portability and convenience. However, laptops are not always optimized for gaming, and you may encounter some issues such as low FPS, lag, stuttering, overheating, and battery drain. Fortunately, there are some tips and tricks that can help you improve game performance on a laptop and make your gaming experience smoother and more enjoyable.

How to Improve Game Performance on Laptop

Here are 10 ways to boost your laptop gaming performance in 2023.

Plug in Your Charger

I know this heading makes you curious about how plugging in your charger will help enhance your gaming performance. One of the simplest and most effective ways to improve game performance on the laptop is to plug in your charger while gaming. This will ensure that your laptop gets enough power to run your games at their full potential and prevent any throttling or power-saving modes that can affect your FPS and performance. Gaming on battery mode can significantly reduce your laptop’s performance and battery life, so it is best to avoid it unless necessary.

Here is How to Make Your Gaming Laptop Battery Last Longer in 2023

Use a Cooling Pad or a Stand

Another easy way to improve game performance on a laptop is to use a cooling pad or a stand to keep your laptop cool and ventilated. Gaming can generate a lot of heat in your laptop, especially in the CPU and GPU, which can cause thermal throttling and performance drops. A cooling pad or a stand can help increase the airflow and reduce the temperature of your laptop, which can improve your game performance and extend your laptop’s lifespan. You can also elevate your laptop or place it on a hard surface to avoid blocking the vents and exhausts.

Update Your Drivers and Software

Keeping your drivers and software up to date is essential for improving game performance on a laptop. Drivers are the software that allows your hardware components to communicate with your operating system and your games. Updating your drivers can fix bugs, improve compatibility, and enhance performance. You should especially update your graphics driver, which can have a significant impact on your FPS and graphics quality. You can use the official websites of your laptop manufacturer or your graphics card manufacturer to download and install the latest drivers for your laptop. You should also update your operating system and your games to get the latest features, patches, and optimizations.

Here is How to Update Your Drivers and Software in Windows 10

Adjust Your Power Settings

Another way to improve game performance on the laptop is to adjust your power settings to high-performance mode. This will allow your laptop to use more resources and power to run your games faster and smoother. You can access your power settings by clicking on the battery icon on your taskbar and choosing “Power Options”. From there, you can select the “High Performance” option or create a custom plan that suits your needs. You can also click on “Change Plan Settings” and “Change Advanced Power Settings” to tweak some specific settings such as processor power management, graphics power management, and cooling policy.

Optimize Your Game Settings

One of the most important ways to improve game performance on a laptop is to optimize your game settings according to your laptop’s specifications and preferences. You can access your game settings from the game’s menu or launcher and adjust various options such as resolution, graphics quality, anti-aliasing, shadows, textures, and more. You should aim for a balance between performance and quality, and lower the settings that have the most impact on your FPS and performance. You can also use some online tools or guides to help you find the best settings for your laptop and your game.

Use a Game Booster or Close Unnecessary Programs

Another way to improve game performance on the laptop is to use a game booster or close unnecessary programs that are running in the background. A game booster is software that can optimize your laptop’s performance and resources for gaming by closing unwanted processes, freeing up memory, and boosting your FPS. Some examples of game boosters are Razer Cortex, MSI Afterburner, and Smart Game Booster. You can also manually close any programs that you are not using while gaming, such as browsers, antivirus, and other applications. This will reduce the load on your CPU, RAM, and disk, and improve your game performance and stability.

Clean Your Laptop Regularly

Another way to improve game performance on the laptop is to clean your laptop regularly and remove any dust, dirt, or debris that may accumulate inside or outside your laptop. Dust can clog your vents and fans, reduce your airflow, and increase your temperature, which can affect your game performance and damage your laptop. You can use a soft cloth, a compressed air can, or a vacuum cleaner to gently clean your laptop and keep it dust-free. You should also clean your keyboard, touchpad, and screen to prevent any dirt or grease from affecting your gaming experience.

Upgrade Your Hardware Components

Another way to improve game performance on a laptop is to upgrade your hardware components if possible and affordable. Upgrading your hardware can significantly boost your laptop’s performance and allow you to run more demanding games at higher settings and FPS.

The most common and effective upgrades are adding more RAM, replacing your HDD with an SSD, and upgrading your GPU. However, not all laptops are upgradeable, and some components may be soldered or integrated into the motherboard. You should check your laptop’s specifications and compatibility before attempting any upgrades, and consult a professional if you are not sure how to do it.

Use DLSS or Other Image Reconstruction Techniques

Another way to improve game performance on a laptop is to use DLSS or other image reconstruction techniques if your laptop and your game support them. DLSS stands for Deep Learning Super Sampling, and it is a technology developed by NVIDIA that uses artificial intelligence to upscale lower-resolution images to higher-resolution images with minimal loss of quality.

This can improve your FPS and performance without sacrificing your graphics quality. Other image reconstruction techniques include FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution) by AMD, TAA (Temporal Anti-Aliasing) by Unreal Engine, and CAS (Contrast Adaptive Sharpening) by FidelityFX. You can enable these techniques from your game settings or your graphics card settings, and enjoy a smoother and sharper gaming experience.

Overclock Your CPU and GPU

Another way to improve game performance on a laptop is to overclock your CPU and GPU if your laptop and your hardware allow it. Overclocking is the process of increasing the clock speed and voltage of your hardware components to make them run faster and more powerful. This can improve your game performance and FPS, but it can also increase your temperature, power consumption, and risk of instability. You should only overclock your laptop if you have enough cooling, power, and knowledge, and use some software tools such as MSI Afterburner, Intel XTU, or ThrottleStop to monitor and control your overclocking settings. You should also do some stress tests and benchmarks to ensure that your overclocking is stable and safe.

The Bottom Line!

These are some of the ways to improve game performance on a laptop and make your gaming experience more enjoyable and satisfying. However, you should also remember that laptops have some limitations and trade-offs compared to desktops, and you may not be able to run every game at the highest settings and FPS.

You should also take care of your laptop maintain its health and performance, and avoid any practices that may harm your laptop or your gaming experience. Gaming on a laptop can be fun and convenient, but it also requires some optimization and adjustment. We hope that this article has helped you find some useful tips and tricks to improve your laptop gaming performance in 2023. Happy gaming!

FAQs – Improve Game Performance on Laptop