Knowledge of the electrical power consumption of a gaming laptop is very useful information for those who wish to save money on their electricity bills and for those who are thinking of purchasing a gaming laptop.
Aside from the importance of battery life, power consumption is something that gamers (and eco-conscious people like me) should be aware of.
The average energy consumption of a gaming laptop is 180-300 Watts per hour. This is 50% higher than a mainstream laptop and 85% lower than a gaming desktop computer.
Furthermore, this is mostly influenced by screen resolution, processor speed, and graphic card power.
In this article, we will look at the different factors of how much a gaming laptop uses and the best ways to save power when playing games on your computer!
Energy Consumption Factors
1. Screen Resolution
One of the most significant factors that affect energy consumption is the resolution of a screen. Higher resolutions require more power, and gaming laptops always come with the highest possible screen resolution.
Those who need very high frame rates to achieve an immersive experience will use 1440p or even 4K screens. On the other hand, those who are simply interested in gaming casually will use 1080p displays.
The brightness of the screen is also an important factor to consider for energy savings. For example, a 100-nit screen uses more power than a 400-nit screen.
2. Processor Speed
The grade of CPU must also be factored in. Lower-grade CPUs need more energy to perform the same functions than high-quality ones, such as the Intel i7 and AMD Ryzen 9.
The central processing unit of a laptop is what determines its energy use and higher-grade processors are better for this purpose as they require less electricity when performing tasks than lower-quality models that will end up costing consumers more over time due to their reliance on greater amounts of power usage.
3. Graphic Card
The Graphical Processing Unit or GPU handles the high-end graphics that most modern games require. In choosing a gaming laptop, the GPU is the foremost consideration because it determines how well your game will look and play.
Higher power GPU consumes higher electricity costs because the GPU will need extra memory and voltage in order to function at optimal performance levels.
Consuming Less Power
Here are some of the things to do or buy if you want to lower your gaming electricity usage.
1. Gaming Laptops with Higher-Performance CPUs and GPUs
If you are contemplating buying a new gaming laptop, make sure that it has an i7 processor since this is the most energy-efficient CPU on the market today!
2. Use a cooling pad
If you are playing for long periods of time, you might want to consider using a laptop cooling pad which will provide extra ventilation as well as ease in dissipating heat from the vent.
3. Use power-saving settings and upgrades
The energy consumption can be further minimized by lowering screen brightness and resolution while also disabling other nonessential features in the Task Manager.
4. Do not overcharge your laptop battery.
Although most laptops now come with Lithium-Ion batteries that can be charged at any time (without damaging the battery cells), it is still best to charge your laptop’s battery up until 80-90% of its maximum capacity and then unplugging it.
This method will enable you to save money in the long run as plugging your laptop for a long time consumes more power.
Computing the Actual Energy Usage
Although the above methods are effective in reducing electricity consumption, they do not give you an accurate reading of how much power your gaming laptop really uses. There are two ways that you can employ to know the amount of power that you use.
1. Manual Computation
In every laptop, you can easily estimate its approximate level of energy usage by taking into account charger wattage (adapter).
To find out how much power your laptop consumes, look at the charger and multiply its wattage by 0.8 for a rough estimate or use an online calculator to get more accurate numbers.
2. Electricity Usage Monitor
The best way to determine this is by using a portable electricity meter. The meters are very easy to use and much more accurate than the manual computation method as they will also tell you exactly how many kilowatts per hour your laptop is consuming at any given moment of time.
To know the energy usage, plug it into your laptop for 10 minutes to record its real-time usage!
Conclusion
If you are thinking about buying a laptop for gaming, don’t forget to consider how much power it uses.
The more watts your computer needs, the heavier it will be and the less battery life you will have. There is no one size fits all when it comes to finding an optimal wattage for a laptop but there are some general rules of thumb that can help narrow down which computers might work best for you.
