Life span of gaming laptops

I'm just wondering how long do gaming laptops before they encounter any problems, and what are the most common problems encountered with these laptops?

I bought this laptop for school works and I didn't expect that I will be using it a lot for games. Thanks!

 

I think upgradeitus is the biggest cause for old gaming laptops sitting in the corner.

 

Like the poster above said. Usually they start having problems long after you get upgradeitus. I usually get about 2 years use out of them before I upgrade. I've owned three of what you would call gaming laptops and none of them has given me any issues.

 

It takes about 1 year until you encounter with the "worn out" problem

 

the longevity and effective life span of your laptop mainly depends on good maintenance, first, opening for inspection and cleaning the inner parts, keeping updated anti virus, monitoring constant temps while using, maybe repasting gpus or cpus. weekly defrag etc.

the most common problem maybe the temps since gaming laptops usually require more power compared to mainstream, somehow heat should be minimized, maybe occassional OC if you are a bencher. other than that the gaming laptop maintenance is just as basic.

 

I'd say if you're an avid gamer about every 18-24 months you'll want/need something better for gaming just because requirements call for it. But it's rare that something "wears out" or "fails" in that time frame. Just push your machine hard when you first get it and if it lives through that, chances are good it will survive a solid two years at least. Overvolting and higher than spec'd heat can result in premature wear though (we're talking 90C+). But keep that under control and you should be in good shape.

 

about 2 years I would say, not only for gaming though.. I had 2 gaming machines, 1 workstation and 2 casual laptops, all I exchanged in 2 years (well, except for my asus g53sw, that lasted about 6 months..)

 

My envy has lasted about 2 1/2 years, so far no problems and recent games released like Skyrim and ME3 run at 1080p.

I think the most common problem for a gaming laptop is that it gets outdated and can't run recent games anymore after a few years.

 

My Gateway P 6860FX lasted about 4 years and finally gave in to the NVIDIA Bump issue that plagued the 8800M GTS. All with good maintenance.

 

Depending on how picky you want your gaming settings to be but usually 2-4 years. A desktop is longer lasting and easier to upgrade. (Cheaper too!)

 

I'd say about 1.5-2 years.

 

depends though, 2 years can be reached fairly easily but the useability is expected to cap out at 3 years, by then requirements of games are generally much higher than what your machine could potentially handle

 

the 1.5-2 year life that's only assuming you will constantly play the upgraded Battlefield Series right? But someone that plays StarCraft or Diablo or MW3. Those games generally don't require to much to play so in that case would last longer such as 3-4 years.

Is that correct?

 

The ebb and flow of software and hardware advancements is not happening at a constant rate of acceleration.

Recently this has been driven primarily by console hardware tech, which has been completely flat for the past four or five years.

On the average, AAA games have become more optimized rather than more demanding. Most of the newer games released in 2011 and 2012 run just fine on 3 and 4 year old PCs that still can't run Crysis or Metro 2033, although they are starting to make better use of faster, multi-threaded CPUs.

No idea whether the next console gen will result in more demanding games or simply better optimized games.

 

3.5 years and my clevo is still going strong.
will be upgrading this year though as video rendering does struggle a bit.

 

Honestly, it's changing what with the drastic increase of console-to-pc ports. It used to be about 2 years if you get a mid-high gaming laptop. I'm sure for the next generation of consoles, if you get a laptop which almost matches the hardware in the consoles, it will last the lifetime of the console.

 

MS says no new XBox in 2012.. i figure it will be Christmas 2013 before a new one hits.. even then, software wont catch-up, console port wise for another 6 months after that..

Realistically, i double a new XBox will get much more horsepower than a desktop 7850.. and even then, today's 6990M/580M will probably keep up OK.

If you spend your money well, you can probably get away with 3+ years of performance before upgraditis sets in.

 

If I won't be able to play the games 2-3 years from now, that's fine with me. I'm playing an outdated Battlefield, the most recent game that my laptop has is Skyrim which I don't play anymore.

Like I said, I bought this laptop for college works and I hope it will stay for awhile before it slows down for its true purpose.

 

1-2 years until the new architecture come out and you can no longer upgrade your current gig.

 

I think that's probably a fair assessment. After all, the consoles are not likely to be upgradeable, and MS / Sony / Nintendo will certainly attempt to recoup the cost of development by waiting several years before releasing new models.

 

This is for people who absolutely MUST have a certain frame/sec and refuse to tweak.

Mine is 3.5-4 years old. It still plays games just fine, I just have to accept that Enthusiast settings at 1080p on a 46" TV aren't realistic.

There is no problem with "is it functional" or "will it boot". It is just behind the tech curve.

Note, I have to say that even in the desktop world, 1-2 years usually means you WANT to upgrade too. Let's say you purchased 2 years ago... you probably don't have a PCI-Express 3.0 slot. If you just HAD to have that... you are upgrading Motherboard/GPU at the very least.

Desktops are easier and allow more options, but for the ultra-picky, it doesn't really matter. It all depends on HOW picky you are.

 

I have to say that I am happy with the Console-PC trends as it allows me to use my 9800m gts and still max modern games like Skyrim, Batman AC, Assassin creed Rev etc. and get very smooth fps.

You don't need more than a card like mine with at least 1gb of VRAM, and a dual core with 3.3 ghz to run all current games extremely well. Even The Witcher 2 ran a very smooth 30 fps average on my system with no compromise in settings, except for the extreme Uber Sampling etc.

Skyrim right now, with at least 50 mods installed, HD textures, realistic lighting, better meshes etc. is the best looking and most immersive game in my library by far!

3 years + running, this Laptop was a great purchase!

 

My laptop is nearly 2 years old, and it still runs very well. I'm essentially running a 5870M, which is pretty much all I need for now. Plus, I've never aimed for 60fps, so as long as things long decent at 30fps, I can survive.

Plus, once this card stops being good enough, I'll buy a 6970M/6990M and that should last me another year or two.

 

Aye I dint say it as a fact, just my personal opinion . as logn as i could afford it and sell the old stuff at the right time, it wont cost much getting the new tech.

 

The usability of gaming laptops largely depends on the user.
It also comes down to what types of games you play, which settings you use, etc.
On the settings bit... going past 'high' options in games is usually pointless.
You 'gain' practically nothing in terms of visuals, and yet the performance hits are larger.
Crysis 2 is a perfect example of this.

I agree that a high-end gpu in a laptop can last you about 4 years.
People overestimate hardware revisions that happen.
I will also concede the point that numerous hardware increases in power quite a bit in that time span, but look at my signature... it still serves me well even today, and I got it in November of 2008 (of course, I upgraded the cpu and the RAM in the meantime and the HDD) - plus I don't have a desire to play games like Crysis 1 & 2 since they aren't my cup of tea.
Mass Effect series is something I'm much more into, and my system drives it fine maxed out.

On the point of console ports... never-mind if your hardware is on-par or surpasses consoles... certain games will simply run BAD regardless because of them being horribly optimized - to that end, graphics achievable on consoles should be able to run smoothly on a gpu such as mine even - but some games can't do that because they require much more powerful hardware (it's also part of the market strategy to get people to upgrade).

 

Gaming laptops can last you a few solid years, 4-5 is quite possible. Yet, as others mentioned, you have to learn to maintain your beast, occasionally clean from dust, replace thermal paste/pads, keep an eye on temps during load.

Important to note that there are different levels of gaming laptops. There are low budget ones with mediocre graphics and average cooling. The components used in those are normally of the lower quality and such systems won't last long. If you are serious about getting a true gaming machine and have a thing against consoles or desktops, I'd only recommend AW or Clevo as those 2 have the most robust components including cooling, highest performance and build quality. If you don't need to run all the latest games at max possible settings, you might want to consider a business grade notebook (Dell Precision, HP Elitebook, Lenovo ThinkPad W). Those have pro gpu's that can run most demanding games on high (especially the 5010M and FirePro M8900). Business class notebooks are also very good when it comes to reliability and warranty. I have a 9 year old ThinkPad that was purchased for NWN release and still runs all the games of its time like a champ - zero hardware failures after 4000+ hours of gaming.

But of course, it comes down to price in 90% of the cases.

 

You just have to decide, spend ~ $1000 and expect to replace after two years, or ~ $2000-$2500 (or more) with possibly a CPU and/or GPU upgrade and and replace after about four years. All depends on games you play though. If it's primarily MMO's well you can easily use a machine with an IGP in many cases. If you catch the lastest FPS's well then you will want/need more horsepower. One thing to consider is that Xbox and Playstation next gen consoles will most likely be coming out in the next two years. That may raise requirements significantly.

 

Yep the upcoming Ivy Bridge integrated graphics are going to be pretty powerful.


Crysis Warhead, 50.9fps @1680x1050

Skyrim, 33.4fps @1680x1050

 

i forgot to mention that aside of buying a gaming laptop..the best upgrade to consider is the warranty..whenever there's some issue mosty in a gpu you can replace/upgrade for a better price with good rep haggle..giving at least 2 years unless you extend the warranty. all iam saying is..warranty upgrade is the best upgrade for gaming laptops imo. be on the safe side.

 

Really? Am I the only one who have the "worn out" problem after a year?

Keyboard keys not so tight anymore
The "new" smell is gone
Dust is probably inside my notebook
Hardware is outdated i.e there is something better on the market
Cooling paste isn`t probably working optimal anymore
There are some hair/dust/etc under my keyboard

I usually sell my laptops when this phenomenon occur

 

Oh I have one more year to upgrade

 

While its fun to have a new laptop, I actually prefer a laptop after I have had a chance to make it mine and do the first stages of maintenance on it. "New Smell" is something I do not prefer.

This doesn't mean I don't want some new hardware... only I am loathe to sell something I know works so well and take a chance on something new.

 

My wife has been buying a new MBP every year and sellling her old one for a few hundred dollars less. When you factor in the tax deduction, I think she might be coming out ahead

In my case, as long as I can do my work and run most of the recent games, I don't see any need to upgrade. Perhaps when HP launches the Ivy Bridge envy 15...