When you’re playing games on your laptop, does it sometimes get too hot and you think how can I keep my laptop cool while gaming? This is a common issue gamers face as running highly intense games on laptops increases the risk of overheating.
In this article, we will discuss the 10 best ways to keep your laptop cool while gaming.
But before we get into that, there are a few things we have to understand such as the reasons why laptops heat up and how to know if they’re heating up.
Contents
- 10 Best Ways To Keep Your Laptop Cool While Gaming
- How Will I Know If My Laptop Is Overheating?
- Risks of an Overheated Laptop
- How To Prevent Your Laptops From Overheating in The First Place?
- What To Do If Your Laptop Starts To Overheat?
- What Makes Laptops Heat Up?
10 Best ways to keep your laptop cool while gaming
1. Use a Laptop Cooler
Laptop coolers are pads that offer external fans for your laptop. To use it, place the pad under your laptop and plug it into its USB port.
If you don’t want to place your laptop on a hard flat surface, some coolers allow you to place it on the bed. These coolers make sure that the vents of the laptop are not blocked on the soft surface.
2. Adjust Your Power Settings
Set the power settings to balanced while playing games as this will help keep it cool.
While you’re at it, check the system cooling policy and change it to Active.
3. Close Unused Programs
Avoid running unnecessary programs, especially while playing games. If you’re not using a program, it is always better to close it to reduce the load on the processor.
Once the processor has less load, the laptop will run cool.
4. Upgrade your hardware
Gaming laptops are high-performing laptops and have high power-consuming components. These components are powerful but the downside is that they produce a lot of heat. This is one of the reasons why high-end gaming laptops always heat up.
However, upgrading the hardware such as the RAM will allow it to carry more load without putting too much stress on the laptop.
This will give the laptop a performance boost as well as prevent it from heating up.
5. Avoid Sunlight
Never place nor even use a laptop in direct sunlight. We all know that sunlight heats things. Therefore, using a laptop in direct sunlight will allow it to heat up faster.
Also, placing or using a laptop in an environment such as a car might potentially heat it.
6. Play games at lower FPS
Playing games at a higher FPS allow them to run faster and smoother.
However, including such high-performance activity in an already high-performing system puts it under a lot of pressure. It begins to heat up once it is under that kind of pressure.
Therefore, it is advisable to play games at a lower FPS to keep your laptop cool.
7. Reduce your graphics settings
Playing games at a higher graphics setting is fun because the images and video quality are so much better.
However, just like the FPS, this puts the graphics card under a lot of pressure which can cause the laptop to heat up.
Although playing games at lower graphics settings might not be that fun and will result in lower-quality images and videos, it certainly will keep your laptop cool.
8. Adjust the speed of your fan
When the CPU temperature rises, the fan speed should increase. This doesn’t always happen though.
However, to ensure that the fan speed adjusts as temperature increases, the BIOS – Basic Input and Output System – settings have to be checked.
To get to the BIOS settings, there are keys you will have to press depending on your laptop’s manufacturer. The keys are either F1, F2, F10, F12, or DEL.
Once you are in the BIOS menu, you have to:
- Go to Advanced Settings
- Locate the settings for the fan below the hardware monitor configuration
- Either set it to default or customize it according to your preference
9. Proper Use of Thermal Paste
Ever heard of thermal paste? Now you have.
It is a kind of grease made from zinc oxide and silicon that distributes heat between the CPU, GPU, and the heat sink. To buy thermal paste available in the market, follow this guide.
However, Thermal Pastes tend to dry up after a while which compels them to lose their effectiveness.
It is important to reapply the thermal paste when it dries up to help with heat distribution in your laptop so that it can remain cool while you play games.
However, to reapply Thermal Paste, you first need to remove the dried over paste from the last time. Follow this guide to remove Thermal Paste easily.
You should note that applying thermal paste can be quite technical so here’s a guide that will help you apply the perfect amount of thermal paste perfectly.
10. Temperature monitoring software
To check the temperature of your laptop, you should invest in temperature monitoring software.
This software provides you with information that will allow you to make sure that your system doesn’t get too hot. We recommend using Core Temp for real-time Temperature readings.
How will I know if my laptop is overheating?
Now, it is important to note that a hot laptop doesn’t necessarily mean it is overheating.
Here are some sure signs of an overheating laptop:
- The fan runs faster than normal and makes loud noises
- Specific parts at the back of your Laptop where the hardware is located are very hot
- Your system lags when performing simple tasks
- Some of the programs you’re running suddenly freeze
- The laptop shuts down on its own and takes a while to start again
- Other parts such as the mouse and keyboard either stop working or are hot to the touch
- Error messages that warn about your laptop overheating
Risks of an Overheated Laptop
There are some dangers to overheated laptops.
They are:
1. Short Lifespan
A laptop that gets too hot usually faces issues such as abrupt shutting down, lagging as well as programs suddenly freezing. This will increase the likelihood of it crashing.
2. Injury
It has also been said that an overheated laptop can cause scalds as well as can potentially cause infertility in men. This can happen if the hot laptop is placed on their laps for a prolonged duration frequently.
How To Prevent Your Laptops From Overheating in The First Place?
It is well known that prevention is preferable to remedy. To extend the lifespan of your laptop and enable it to perform seamlessly, you must prevent it from overheating.
The following guide will prevent your Laptop from overheating:
1. Regular Cleaning
As earlier said, the constant running of the fan gathers dust and dirt. Removing the accumulated dust and dirt will enable it to work properly which will, in turn, prevent it from overheating.
Also, use compressed air to unclog the vents.
2. Laptop Placement
A hot laptop can be a result of its placement. Placing a laptop on a soft surface covers the air vents which gives it less breathing room. The less breathing room your laptop has, the hotter it gets.
Therefore you should always place your laptop on a hard flat surface so as not to cover the air vents.
3. Cool Environments
Using your laptop in hot environments can cause it to heat up. Therefore, ensure that you always use your laptops in cool environments.
4. Check your fans
Always check your fans to make sure that they’re working properly. If you notice issues such as; fans not moving, fans moving slowly or too fast, then it is probably faulty.
Ensure that you check for faulty fans and ensure that they are fixed before using the laptop.
What To Do If Your Laptop Starts To Overheat?
Your laptop is overheating and you have no idea what to do?
You’re in the right place.
Simply follow this guide when your laptop starts to overheat.
- Switch off your system, unplug it from the socket and Remove the Battery. Then leave it to cool.
- Make sure that there is no dust or dirt in the vents or fan. If there is, clean it immediately with compressed air.
What makes laptops heat up?
Are you wondering why your laptop always heats up? This can be due to several issues which will be explained below.
1. No breathing room
It is quite amazing the way a laptop’s hardware components are stacked into it to produce one compact and sleek device.
Although this design is admirable, it doesn’t leave breathing space for the hardware. A lack of breathing room can cause the laptop to get too hot.
2. Accumulation of Dust
A laptop can also heat up when there is an accumulation of dust on the fan. The constant running of the fan will surely collect dust and dirt.
A dirty and dusty fan doesn’t run as effectively. When this happens, the laptop starts to heat up.
3. Covered Vents
Your laptop might get a bit too hot if the vents of your laptop are covered.
The vents get blocked if you place your laptop on a soft surface such as your bed or your lap.
Conclusion
An overheated laptop is dangerous to the system as well as the user. However, following the above-mentioned guide will allow your laptop to remain cool while gaming. Even when it does overheat, this article has described what to do in such a situation. Hopefully, now you know how to keep your laptop cool while gaming.
