How to get more FPS on a gaming laptop: power modes, GPU switching and cooling

TUREFF• •0

A gaming laptop can perform very differently depending on how it is set up. The same model can run a game smoothly on one desk and stutter on another, purely because of a power setting, a missing charger or a blocked vent. Before you lower every graphics option, work through the laptop-specific causes first.

Plug it in

This is the single most common reason for poor performance. On battery, most gaming laptops cut the power to the graphics card and processor sharply to protect the battery and keep it alive longer. Play with the charger connected, and use the charger that came with the laptop: a weaker USB-C charger may power the machine but not feed the GPU at full speed.

Set the right power mode

There are usually two layers of power settings:

Windows: in Settings, under System and then Power & battery, set Power mode to Best performance while gaming.
The manufacturer's control app: most gaming laptops ship with their own utility that has modes such as silent, balanced and performance (the names vary by brand). The performance mode usually raises power limits and fan speeds. This setting often matters more than the Windows one.

Make sure the game uses the dedicated GPU

Most gaming laptops have two graphics processors: a low-power one built into the CPU and the dedicated gaming GPU. Windows normally picks the right one, but not always.

In Windows Settings, go to System, then Display, then Graphics, find the game and set it to the high-performance option.
Many laptops also have a MUX switch or a dedicated-GPU-only mode in the manufacturer's app or the GPU control panel. It routes the display straight to the dedicated GPU and can noticeably improve frame rates in some games. It usually needs a restart and uses more battery, so switch it back when you are away from a socket.
If you play on an external monitor, connect it to a port wired to the dedicated GPU where possible; the manual or the manufacturer's site will say which one.

Keep it cool

Laptops throttle, which means they slow down automatically, when they get too hot, and there is far less room for cooling than in a desktop.

Play on a hard, flat surface. A bed, sofa or lap blocks the intake vents underneath.
Raising the back of the laptop slightly improves airflow; a stand or even a book works. Cooling pads help some models and do little for others.
Dust builds up in the fans and heatsinks over time. Cleaning the vents with short bursts of compressed air helps; opening the laptop for a deeper clean may affect your warranty, so check first.
A noticeably hotter, louder laptop than when it was new is a sign the cooling needs attention.

Settings that give the most back

Laptop screens are often high resolution for their size, which costs frames.

Use an upscaler. DLSS, FSR and XeSS render the game at a lower resolution and rebuild a sharper image, usually giving a large boost for a small loss in clarity. Use whichever your GPU and the game support, starting from a quality preset.
Lower the heavy hitters first: shadows, volumetric effects such as fog and clouds, ray tracing, and render distance in open-world games. Textures mainly depend on video memory; keep them high if your GPU has enough.
Cap the frame rate to a little under your screen's refresh rate. It reduces heat, which can make performance steadier over a long session.

Drivers and software

Install the latest graphics driver from the GPU maker, or through the laptop maker if its own driver is required for features such as switching graphics.
Keep the manufacturer's control app updated; fan and power profiles are often improved in updates.
Close heavy background programs before playing: browsers with many tabs, cloud sync, recording software you are not using.
Game Mode in Windows (Settings, then Gaming) is on by default on most systems; leave it on.

Know what your laptop can do

Laptop graphics chips often share a name with desktop cards but run at much lower power, and the same chip can be set to very different power limits in different laptops. Check reviews of your exact model rather than benchmarks of the desktop card, so your expectations are realistic. Got a laptop that still struggles after all this? Share the model and the game in the comments and others can suggest what to try.