Can alot of gaming break laptops?

I have been hearing a lot lately from friends and what not that computers tend to punk out after so much use.

I am on my computer a lot. And it is ALWAYS on even if im not there.

And I can get into some crazy gamer days, where I just game nonstop for a long time.

I just want to know some peoples idea on the subject.. Will computers give under the consistent load?

Should we gamers be worried about our investments?

From CAL CSS players to WoW addicts, will the 8+ hour game days break our laptops?

:]?

 

it wont break but would shorten ur laptop life span i believe but well dun worry about it... But not turnnig off ur computer is something u shouldnt do.

 

It should be fine provided that it was designed correctly to begin with. Your job is to keep the fan(s) and air ducts clean.

 

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You should turn off your computer while you are sleeping, at least.


The lifetime of a component is measured in hours. So by leaving it on 24/7, you are reducing the lifespan by about 50% (approximately).

One big factor is that the fans will continue to suck up dust/humidity while you are sleeping, which may cause overheating if you don't clean out the fans regularly.


Gaming is intensive and will wear down components, but the good news is that even while gaming regularly the lifespan of the laptop will still be about 4+ years, so you're likely to have bought a new computer by then.

 

A friend of mine had a 3 year old latitude, he averaged 4 hours of BF2 a day and the laptop was left on the rest of the time. He was in the top 10 players in the world. He has had an LG S1 for a couple of years now and have lightened up on gaming to about half of what he used to.

The S1 has lost a few letters from the keyboard, which has became discustingly black. When he's not gaming, he's on his what is now a 5 year old Latitude. The Latitude's left palm rest, right next to the mouse pad has went from dark grey to black. Other than that, it's in good condition. Even better than the S1. My brother has an identical S1, he uses an external screen and keyboard and he nevers shutdown except when he reboots. It still is in excellent condition.

It really depends on the laptop itself. I think you would be fine on the Compal

 

haha that's a funny story but i don't understand how he can play BF2 on a latitude?

 

Considering the expected life of laptop components without any external damage (such as fire or a metal bat), I don't find it important to shut down the system at night. By the time a component fails due to age/regular usage it is time to get a new laptop anyway.

Just keep the keyboard and palmrest clean by using a damp sponge or cloth when the system is off every once in awhile. Also clean out the vents and fans regularly.

If you must keep your laptop working for 5+ years, then it might be a good idea to turn off the computer once in awhile.

Then again, I still have a Dell Inspiron purchased in 2001 that runs like a champ. That thing was left on 24/7 for at least 5 years, after that I felt the need to shut it down for extended idle periods (more than a 2 days). I even spilled a bottle of rubbing alcohol into the keyboard (at least 1/3 of the bottle) and that didn't phase it!

The only components that died due to age were the lcd backlight (which I replaced for $8) and the hard drive (which had been running for almost 6 years and was replaced by a much larger drive).

A well designed system should last for a VERY long time.

 

As long as you take care of your system, it will take care of you.

A system is only as good as the care that it gets.

You guys know me and my lectures for taking care of your notebooks... especially if they are gaming notebook.

- if you are not using your system, turn it off
- always monitor temps (to watch for temp spikes)
- clean out the system with compressed air every 2-3 months (the vents and fans are clogged up around that time)
- do not use notebooks on laps, couches, beds... ONLY USE on hard, flat, clean surfaces (preferably a good notebook cooler).
- remove your battery if you intend to always have the system plugged in to AC.

 

components are stressed much more turning off and on than staying on constantly, HD's, motherboards, PS's, everything is stressed when you turn it on, thats why most components fail at startup, i keep my laptop on 24/7 and the HD's never turn off

the biggest killer in a laptop is heat, thats why gaming will shorten its lifespan, not how much of the time it stays on but how much heat it experiences, by this logic an ultraportable running games with an IGP wont last as long as a 17" laptop running games with an identical setup (i use IGP example to keep heat output equal)

also im not sure if this applies to other laptops, but on mine when you remove the battery and run it on AC, the CPU is downclocked to 1200mhz from 2000mhz(in my case) and can never clock above that even at full use, its not my power settings its a hardware design issue, check it yourself if you want

 

You said that when you do not use it we must turn it off but how about when I leave it to download stuff. Can I leave it on?

How about if I use 8400m G? does it generate more heat than it's more powerful counterparts? Also are you saying it is okay to leave my laptop on when downloading stuff?

 

Using compressed air can be really bad, as it just blows the dust around in your system. The best thing to do if possible, is use a vacuum, but carefully.
It really is a good idea to turn your system off when you don't use it, but if you need to download something, download it.

 

When using compressed air, is it ok to just blow it into your laptop? Or should we remove parts of the chassis to use it inside?

And what kind of program is recommended for monitoring temperatures.

I know my left palm rest gets annoyingly warm during play.

 

Here are some temp monitoring prog i use regularly.

GPU: RivaTuner/I8kFan (Dells Only)
CPU: RMClock/I8KFAN (Dells Only)
HardDrive: SpeedFan
Mem, Chipset, fan control: I8kFan.

 

From what i heard if you r not careful with the vacuum, it'll create static electricity within the cooler.. the moment u touch it.. zap.. there goes ur lappy.. just remove the whole cooler out and clean it.. or stick with compressed air. (P/S: Learn to blow the dust out, not into the system =.=)

 

Cleaning guide: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=180280

For monitoring temps:
- Notebook Hardware Control
- Intel Thermal Analysis Tool
- Mobile Meter
- http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=81852

And I agree with anarky321 about the "turning on/off is stressful for components" and heat wear.

 

Purely electronic components like circuit boards have a very long lifespan if cooled properly. Do you think it's a coincidence that most RAM manufacturers offer lifetime warranty? Altough its true that ram doesn't heat up nearly as much as a gpu. Under normal use conditions, the first component that usually fails is the HDD, but HDDs are pretty cheap fortunately. As for the other components, there shouldn't be any problem if they're properly cooled. They can last a long time even if youre gaming. GPUs for example are designed to take temps of over 100C.

As an example, my packard bell lappie has been on all this day downloading, as well as many other days for about 10 months. But this is just because this model has a pretty good cooling system. After a day of downloading its still very cool(only a little over room temp). When gaming it gets pretty hot, but not to the point that you can't put your hand on the left palmrest(where the GPU is located). the only part that is what i would call uncomfortably hot is the vent with the fan, but that's understandable.

So i think this system will last another few more years.

 

The first 2 things to blow up, would most probably be the GPU and the HDD.. the others are quite tough.. agreed on wat bubba said

 

And those are the only two components that have legitimately failed through normal usage on my computer.

I'd say next in line to die would be an LCD CCFL (the backlight), but now that LED backlighting is growing that will become a thing of the past.

 

I agree of the HDD, but i don't see why a properly cooled gpu couldn't last as long as a DIMM for example. GPUs are designed to work at 100C, so i don't see why they would be damaged if the temps are good(under 80C).

 

I crack 2 cards.. desktop cards... gaming+laptop+no laptop cooler -> trust me, the gpu will go away faster than the hdd..

 

i've had similar experiences. 4 out of 5 times something goes wrong w/ my laptop or desktop, it's the GPU that died.

 

Hopefully if it happens, it wont be at school.

Maybe I'll build a pc this summer.

Who knows.

 

I OC my card, but I stop when load temps get to 75C, which is where I am now. (550/650... hit 76C one time... but only for a second)

 

Yeah, I OC my 8600M GT too. But it seems extremely cool even at 600/500. It's around 60-65C under heavy gaming.

 

That depends on how hard you smash your head against the keyboard after dying from being knifed.

 

Well, I forgot to add the second part to my post about the OC. The reason I say that, is that I am trying to make my GPU life stay in tact.

 

You can also put it on sleep.

 

You mean, like kill it?
EDIT: Oh, you meant stand by ROFL

 

I don't know about that, but yes, you should do it carefully. But using compressed air can be worse.

 

i think most laptops (i know HP for sure) are test to many static shocks so that probably won't work. you would literally need to smash your laptop to break it....or use a flamethrower, a real one.

 

Well actually extreme gaming can break parts. Like the Gpu, CPU or hdd.
Overusing any component or running it in stress mode will eventually wear it down. But for heaven`s sake, in 2 years even if the laptop won`t be dead, it won`t game anything anyways since it will be too outdated. And newer laptops will spring, cheaper,on par with their time etc.
Says a guy who`s HP is close to 2 years and still games on it LOL