You bought a gaming laptop with a smooth 120Hz display, but something doesn’t feel quite right. The motion might look choppy, or your frame rates aren’t matching the screen’s potential. A high-refresh-rate screen is a fantastic feature, but to truly experience its buttery-smooth benefits, a little bit of setup is required. Let’s walk through the key steps to make sure your laptop is performing at its best.
Check Your Windows Display Settings
First, let’s make sure Windows is actually using the 120Hz mode. Right-click on your desktop and select Display settings. Scroll down and click Advanced display settings. Here, look for the Refresh rate dropdown menu. Select 120Hz from the list if it isn’t already. It’s a simple step, but it’s surprisingly common for systems to default to a lower rate.
Adjust Your Game’s Graphics Options
To take full advantage of 120Hz, your laptop needs to render games at or near 120 frames per second (FPS). Head into the graphics settings of your game. Look for options like V-Sync and consider turning it off, as it can sometimes introduce input lag. Then, start by lowering demanding settings like shadows, anti-aliasing, and ambient occlusion. The goal is to find a balance between visual quality and achieving a consistently high frame rate that matches your display.
Manage Your Power Plan for Performance
Laptops often ship in power-saving modes to conserve battery, which can severely limit gaming performance. Plug your laptop into the wall, then open the Windows Control Panel and go to Hardware and Sound > Power Options. Select the High performance plan. For many gaming laptops, there will also be a manufacturer-specific plan, like a “Gaming” or “Turbo” mode, which is usually the best option to choose.
Update Your Graphics Drivers
Outdated graphics drivers can cause all sorts of performance issues. Keeping them updated ensures you have the latest optimizations for new games. You can visit the NVIDIA or AMD website directly to download and install the latest drivers for your specific graphics card. Doing this manually often provides a cleaner installation than relying on Windows Update.
By following these steps, you’re ensuring that both your hardware and software are aligned to deliver the smooth, responsive gaming experience that your 120Hz laptop was built for. A few minutes of configuration can make a world of difference, letting you enjoy every fast-paced moment exactly as the developer intended.
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