Is Gaming Dangerous on a Laptop?

[codyw]

I was talking to someone today and was telling them how I do a lot of gaming on my laptop PC. They said that a lot of gaming can in time do damage to a normal laptop if it's not equipped with the right kind of hardware. They also said that the inside of the PC can get too hot during game play and either melt components inside or potentially catch on fire.

Since I am very addicted to playing The Sims 3 and all available expansion packs currently out, is gaming a really good idea on a laptop? I don't really have $800-$1,000 to go and buy an actual gaming PC right now.

 

[Layback Bear]

IMO laptops are not made for high end gaming for just that reason, HEAT. Heavy working of any computer creates heat. Laptops are not very poor at removing heat. When you constantly get electronic components very hot it shortens their life. It designed to shut down before melting or a fire accures. I would suggest Googling for cool pads for laptops and other cooling devices. They help some. Always make sure the intake/outtake ports are clean and not obstructed in any way.

 

[bassfisher6522]

Along with layback bear excellent advice and if you're still keen on using a laptop. They do make gaming laptops but at a premium...usually around $1200 to start. Some a little more and others a little less.

If your laptops warranty is expired, you have the option to mod the laptop. You can cut out the factory small vent port and expand it and then install a fan. There are some nice videos on the subject on youtube.

 

[codyw]

Thanks for the info. My laptop's not even a year old. It's an ASUS, which I really like, so the warranty is still good. I was thinking about upgrading the RAM because I have been having an issue with playing the Sims 3 and expansion packs. I have noticed the physical memory during game play range from 40%-90%. Any where in between these figures, sometimes the game will just stop working and quit. It's usually unexpectedly and when you're playing, you're usually focusing on the game, not on the memory usage. However, hot air does blow out the left side vent. I have ordered a cooling fan which hasn't gotten here yet (Amazon.com: Cooler Master NotePal X2 Laptop Cooling Pad with 140mm Blue LED Fan (R9-NBC-4WAK-GP): Electronics)

I also have a medium sized desk fan that sits near my PC when I play so it does get plenty of air intake.

 

[billytale13]

If you are concerned about overheating, what I did (because my laptop would overheat often), is in the power options i limited the cpu to run maximum to 60%. That reduced my heat by 20C, but didn't affect my gaming at all. The sims 3 is not a very pc intensive game, so I don't think you will have much of an overheating issue.

 

[Anthony]

Best thing you can do to a laptop at the moment is throw an SSD into it, as well as a noticeable performance increase you also reduce the heat, better battery life and if your ram does get used up and has to use the swap file the SSD would help with that too.

Best thing I ever did to my laptop!!

 

[codyw]

I'm glad to hear the sims 3 isn't a big intensive game on a system. I would play it on my MacBook but it's almost 6 years old, and the performance during game play is kind of choppy and jerky. It takes away from all the fun.

 

[logicearth]

Pffft I swear people are fools. Playing high-end games on a laptop not designed for gaming will not damage it. Because the game will barely run for pete-sake. I have had my laptop since 2007, a Dell Insprion e1705 (17" 1920x1200), defiently not made for gaming. came with an Intel Dual Core Processor (2 GHz), 2 GBs of the slowest RAM available, puny ATI Mobility Radeon x1400 (128 MB dedicated VRAM). I played Crysis on this thing. No heating issue, no melting explosions, nothing. I even play newer gen games like Mass Effect 1 though 3. And yes, I have played the Sims 3 on this computer as well.

 

[codyw]

Well now I feel better. As long as I keep it cool during game play and overall take care of the PC (like I have been doing), there shouldn't be any worries. It has a CORE i5 processor by Intel and 6 GB of RAM. That should be suitable for the sims. That's pretty much the only games I play on it.

 

[Layback Bear]

I'm sorry if I led people the wrong way. Let me try again.
The harder you work a computer, any computer, laptop, desktop or the ones in that buggy on Mars will create more heat. Laptop dissipate heat poorly compared to a desktop. Any computer works better and last longer if it is cooled. The computer that is kept cooler will work better than one that is hot. That's the reason computer are cooled. How hard one wants to work a computer or how much money and time one wants to spend keeping the computer cooler is up to that person. Can you play games on a laptop without extra cooling, absolutely. If one doesn't mind the game slowing down because of heat, that's also fine. My desktop has 10 fans and as of now has never give a problem because it has too much air blowing through it.

 

[codyw]

I see your point, however, like I previously stated, I have a medium-sized desk fan that sits next to my laptop when I play the sims 3, and I also ordered a cooling pad. If computers aren't really made for game playing, I'm not sure why games are programmed and written for the computer platforms when in time, they supposedly shorten their lifespan. But, you need to have fun somehow...as long as you have enough airflow, then there shouldn't be too big of an issue.

I Googled the issue last night in regards to the sims 3 crashing like it does on me when the physical memory reaches a certain point. One user on a forum said that it's because Windows has a setting enabled by default called Data Execution Prevention (DEP). Adding all of the sims 3 games and expansion packs to the list will prevent Windows from terminating the process or "interfering". I have yet to have success with that because I have not added all the expansion packs to the list. Hopefully it fixes the issue I am having with the unexpected terminations I get with the game.

 

[Layback Bear]

Inside Asetek Labs - Liquid Cooling an Overclocked Alienware Laptop - YouTube

Just for your enjoyment.

 

[codyw]

I am starting to ponder something...

After adding all my Sims 3 games (including expansion packs) to the DEP list I mentioned, the game is still freezing up and quitting. A friend and me get together about every other weekend and play the game together on our own laptops. She has a Dell, I have an ASUS, and she never has that problem with the game quitting on her. Thinking and comparing her system to mine, I am wondering something...would my security product POTENTIALLY be interring in some way with my gaming experience? I gave her a copy of Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security 2012 and I have Kaspersky Internet Security 2012.

Like I said, I'm starting to wonder...
Who else plays The Sims 3 and what do you have on your system for protection? It seems like since I added these games to the DEP list, the game crashes aren't as frequent like they used to be. I feel like I am getting close and closer to the solution... :huh:

 

[Layback Bear]

You just might of hit on some thing. Very good point. Try this for a test; Remove Trend Micros. Use their prescribed method to remove it. Install MSE. Many of us use it.

Microsoft Security Essentials - Free Antivirus for Windows

If it helps well great. Do keep this in mind. Two different computers with different specs will act and perform different. MSE is free from Microsoft. If you so desire you can always put Trend Micro back on you computer.
Please note: One anti virus on one computer at a time. Disabling one and running the other is not going to work. They will battle each other. Let us know how things go.
Say hi to your friend. Have her register to our Windows 7 Forum.

 

[codyw]

I didn't originally have Trend Micro installed on my PC, I had Kaspersky. However, I have removed Kaspersky and installed Trend and will test the game and see what happens. If the game crashes like it has been with Trend installed, then I know that Kaspersky wasn't too blame. My reasoning for thinking this was I've noticed in the past Kaspersky can be very finicky, touchy on certain things, and very sensitive and sometimes can "overprotect" you on files that have no malicious intent whatsoever. Because I have seen that firsthand, that just immediately got me thinking...

I will see what happens and post my findings.

 

[codyw]

I am amazed! After removing Kaspersky, the game lasted me at least 45 minutes before it quit on me again.
I was so happy! Here, I thought I solved the issue. The physical memory reading during game play averaged between 70%-74%. When I would save the game, it would jump up to 80%-85%. I left the game idle for about 10 minutes and returned to my PC to find the physical memory at 88%. When I moved the mouse in the game to continue playing, the window turned white and it wasn't responding.

What on earth could be causing this!?! The laptop is getting plenty of air intake during game play, DEP is set correctly so I'm not sure what else could be causing the issue.

Suggestions anyone?

 

[Layback Bear]

The next thing I would look into would be msconfig. I will explain. When you boot many programs and 3rd party services might be starting also. They are not need at that this time. They will run in the background and use resources. They should run when you or Windows tell them to. Here is what you do.
Start and type in msconfig and go to Start Up and uncheck everything except your security programs, mouse and key board. While you are there go to Services and in the lower left corner put a check mark in Hide All Microsoft Services. Uncheck everything thats left except any security you might have running. Close msconfig and reboot. Don't worry these things will still work when you tick on them or when Window 7 tell them to. What I also do is use a little free program Filehippo Updater.
FileHippo.com Update Checker - FileHippo.com
I use a icon on the desktop to check for updates at least once a day. It will check programs like Flash, I.E. Java, Ccleaner and many more for updates. You will no longer need those programs running in the background calling home checking for updates automatically and maybe in the middle of a game. You must check yourself.
NOTE: Do not mess with Windows 7 Services.

 

[codyw]

Msconfig is the next item on my list. However, I am not marking this threat as solved just yet, however, I was reading somewhere on a forum long and far away on the internet tonight about a user experiencing an issue similar to this. They disabled the custom content before playing the game and didn't have an issue. They also had the games added in the DEP list. I disabled the custom content in my game and played the game for about an hour with no disruptions whatsoever. I am noticing that since Trend is installed on my system that the memory during game play and "work time" on my PC it is relatively low. When Kaspersky was installed, it jumped around a lot and during game play, it was ALWAYS high!

Perhaps I may have found my answer...not sure yet... :huh:

 

[codyw]

I see some questionable processes running. I don't know if they would be culprits to my game crashing on me or not. (See attached)

The only one that I know of for sure in the bunch is the winlogon.exe but the other ones look a little strange... :huh:

 

[x BlueRobot]

Games are not really designed to work with laptops, you could go and improve the memory, hard-drive and the graphics card (I'm sure most laptop graphics cards are onboard anyway), but at the cost of more heat?

Excessive heat can melt components and cause long-term damage; my friends laptop got so hot that the case started to produce a weird burning smell of plastic with the CPU shutting the system down eventually.

If I was you, I would buy some cooling pads or additional fans, with regular cleaning of the fans inside the laptop and air vents on the laptop with compressed air or raw lung power