It’s impossible not to get attached to the gaming laptops we’ve formerly used as our primary systems. However, inevitably, these machines fail to keep up, so we relegate them to the abandoned technology draw until their eventual destruction. But this doesn’t need to be the case, as older gaming laptops can still offer enormous potential as work and study devices. With a little effort, you can give these systems new life, even after you’ve stopped using them to collect extra lives.
Preparing Your System
The only real step to converting your system is cleaning its hardware and software. Starting with hardware, it’s normal for laptops to get filled with dust over time. This can clog the cooling systems, leading to thermal throttling, decreased performance, and increased chances of damage.
To address this issue, it’s best to open your laptop up and clean it out manually. It can be difficult to figure out how to open different laptop models, so be sure to use a YouTube guide if possible so you don’t make any mistakes. Clean dust with a can of compressed air (making sure not to spin the fans with it), and follow a guide if necessary to help.
“Laptop Fan Macro” – nick@ via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Next is to manage the software. Computers become naturally filled with extraneous software over time, which can degrade performance. If you have your original copy of your operating system disk, a complete reformat is the ideal way to clean off any unneeded software. If you do take this route, be sure to search the laptop for any files you want to save and store beforehand.
Otherwise, you’ll want to look through the installed programs and remove everything unrelated to work or study. It’s also a good idea to run a malware scan with a program like Malware Bytes to eliminate anything lurking in the background.
What Are These Systems Still Capable Of?
Exactly what an older gaming computer can do depends on the specific system, but if it was abandoned recently because it couldn’t keep up with newer games, it’s still a powerful work/study system. Work and study software is almost always much more performant than gaming software, so as long as you’re not rendering images, you should be fine.
Many work or study systems can also be performed via websites, which are especially well-catered to low hardware demands. For work, this is well-demonstrated by Office 365, which takes Microsoft Office to the cloud so it can be accessed through a browser with only minor computing power necessary.
A prime example of the study can be found on this website, where you can learn about poker hands order. Information on scoring for hands like the Royal Flush or Straight is contained straight in images and text, which is typical of many work and study services. A website like this is made to run on less-power mobile devices like smartphones, so older gaming computers have no issues at all.
Stay Distraction-Free
With only a little work behind you and the knowledge of what you’re capable of, you’re almost ready to go. It doesn’t take much effort to reach this step, but you still need to watch what you do next. It’s easy to get caught in old patterns with old gaming machines, reliving the glory days. Remember, that’s what newer systems are for; keep this system just for work and study, and you could see huge benefits from its offerings in the years to come.
