How to Keep Laptop Cool While Gaming Constantly

Modern gaming places significant strain on your laptop. Rendering high-quality graphics or producing fast-moving videos consumes significant power from your CPU and GPU. The harder your laptop has to work, the more power it will demand to run your games. This power demand creates heat, leading to overheating if you're not careful. Keeping your laptop cool while gaming will create smooth gaming experiences and increase your laptop's longevity.

When your laptop gets hot, you may notice irregularities when interacting with your games. Screen tearing, lag, and unexpected error messages are symptoms of a laptop that needs to cool down. Overheating can also cause your entire system to freeze and even make the blue screen of death appear. Most modern laptops automatically reduce performance when it reaches a specific temperature to avoid damaging your internal components. While this is a smart way to protect your laptop, it will make your favourite games virtually unplayable.

Follow this guide to keep your laptop cool while gaming.

1. Upgrade Your GPU

If overheating is a constant problem, invest in a laptop with a high-quality GPU. The Graphic Processing Unit (GPU) is responsible for helping your laptop create and render images, animations, and videos. A dedicated GPU frees your Central Processing Unit (CPU) to handle other tasks, which helps lower overall power consumption. High-quality GPUs accelerate the rendering process, making it easy for your laptop to produce realistic graphics and accurate colours. 

The ASUS ProArtStudiobook Pro 16 OLED is an example of a laptop with a high-quality GPU for rendering 3D graphics. This device features the impressive NVIDIA RTX™ A3000 12 GBGPU for professional-grade power. It also offers up to 4TB storage and 64GB RAM.

2. Play games on an elevated surface

Airflow is one of the most crucial factors in keeping a laptop cool while gaming. During intense gaming sessions, a lack of airflow will cause heat to build up inside your device. All laptops are designed with vents that must be exposed to encourage airflow. When you place your laptop on an elevated surface, the device is in the best position to stay cool. 

Avoid running your laptop on soft surfaces like your bed or a blanket. The cloth will act as insulation and speed up how fast your laptop gets hot. If you plan on an extended gaming session, a flat elevated surface ensures consistent airflow in your machine.

3. Adjust fan speed

If you have a laptop designed for gaming, you can use your gaming software to adjust fan speeds. If you have a long gaming session, turn on the fans as fast as possible. To access fan speed settings, you can use third-party programs like MSI Afterburner, ASUS GPU Tweak, and NVIDIA Inspector. You can adjust fan speed through your system's BIOS settings if you're an advanced user. Increasing fan speed is one of the best ways to learn how to keep a laptop cool while gaming.

4. Clean your laptop fans

As previously mentioned, airflow is one of the most critical factors in keeping your laptop cool. If you have problems with overheating, your fans are one of the first things you should check. Remove dust and debris from your laptop fans. Doing so helps your fans push heat away from your laptop more efficiently.

You can use compressed air to blow debris away from your fan. However, investing in a laptop with a self-cleaning system is better. ASUS ROG Flow X13 uses self-cleaning technology to keep your fans operating at a top capacity. You won't have to perform much maintenance because the laptop is already designed to minimize dust and debris.

5. Change in-game settings

In-game settings significantly impact how much power your laptop uses while gaming. Adjusting the in-game settings to match your laptop's capabilities. The optimal settings will help you play games without worries of overheating. Optimize texture quality, shadow quality, texture filtering, and other graphic settings to reduce how much power it takes for your laptop to run games. While high settings make games look more realistic, they require more power consumption, which leads to more heat.

6. Monitor laptop temperature

Keep an eye on your laptop temperature during long gaming sessions. Some software programs track the temperature of your laptop's internal components. Laptops that come equipped with gaming software by default will also be able to track internal temperatures. 

Your CPU and GPU should run between 75° to 85° Celsius (167°F to 185°F). Temperatures above 85° Celsius (185°F) indicate your laptop is approaching a danger zone, and you should consider ending your gaming session. Monitor your laptop's temperature regularly to ensure your device remains cool.