Connect your Gaming Laptop to your TV with these simple steps!

Connect your Gaming Laptop to your TV with these simple steps!

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There might be some games that you might prefer playing on your TV while sitting on the couch instead of on your gaming laptop’s tiny screen. 

 

This could be especially true in a case where you want to play a cinematic game like God of War or Shadow of Tomb Raider that is just amazing when it comes to the art design and graphics.

 

So today we are going to discuss how you can connect your gaming laptop to your TV and play games on a bigger screen with minimum hassle. 

 

What you will need

Before we go into how you can connect your gaming laptop to your TV, we would have to first look at a couple of things.

 

Check your ports

When connecting your gaming laptop to your TV, you need to first check what video output your laptop supports. 

 

Most gaming laptops come with an HDMI port so this shouldn’t be too hard. If you have something like the Razer Blade 13 that only has USB C ports, then you might need to get a USB C to HDMI dongle.

 

On the TV side of things, you should first check if your TV supports HDMI 2.1. HDMI 2.1 allows you to output at 4K@120Hz. This allows you to get a buttery smooth experience at 4K.

 

 Do note that for this to work, your gaming laptop should also have an HDMI 2.1 port. If your gaming laptop only has an HDMI 2.0 port then you would be able to get 4K&60hz max, even if your TV supports HDMI 2.1.

 

If you have bought a new TV from 2020 onwards, then there’s a high chance that it may have HDMI 2.1. Most TVs have their HDMI ports labeled.

 

 So if your gaming laptop has HDMI 2.1, then make sure that you plug it in on the correct port on your 4K TV.

 

Get the appropriate cables

Now that you know what ports your TV and laptop have, get them. Unless you are using HDMI 2.1, you don’t really need anything fancy, any regular HDMI cable would work fine. 

However, if you are planning to utilize the features of HDMI 2.1, then make sure the cable supports HDMI 2.1.

 

If you are using any dongle or conversion cables, get them too

 

Get the appropriate peripherals

Now chances are that if you plan to game on your TV, you will probably sit back on a bed or a couch. And for that, you will need wireless peripherals. 

 

If you plan to play with a controller, then your best option would be an Xbox Controller

 

However, if you play games that require a keyboard and mouse input, then you need to buy wireless gaming peripherals. But keep in mind that it will get pricy. So we recommend going with a controller if you want to save money.

 

Connecting your Gaming Laptop to the TV

Now that you have all the cables and peripherals necessary, let’s connect your gaming laptop to your TV.

Step 1: Connect the HDMI cable to your gaming laptop’s port

Step 2: Connect the other end of the HDMI cable to your TV’s appropriate HDMI TV port.

If your TV and laptop support HDMI 2.1 and you are planning to utilize it fully, carefully plug the HDMI cable into the HDMI 2.1 port on your TV.

 

Setting your PC resolution settings

Adjusting Windows display settings

Once you connect your TV via HDMI, go to your display settings and click select duplicate these displays. Also, make sure that your display resolution is the same as your TV resolution. This means that if you have a 4K TV.

 

If your gaming laptop fails to detect your 4K TV resolution, then manually change it to 3840 x 2160

 

In case the windows UI scaling is a bit off, go into the windows scaling settings and change the scaling settings size accordingly. 

 

We prefer going with the windows recommended one, however, you can mess around and choose the one you prefer.

 

Use resolution scaling in games if possible

Here’s the thing, very few gaming laptops can actually play games at a higher resolution like 4K with a stable framerate. So we prefer that when you actually boot up the game, you tone down the render resolution to something achievable like 1080p.

 

Adjusting settings on your TV

Firstly, go into your TV picture settings and change it to PC mode. Also if you find that a part of your screen is cutting off like your taskbar, then you might need to turn off the overscan settings of the TV.

 

This setting may also be labeled such as Screen Fit, Aspect Ratio, or screen adjustment. Just play around with the available presets and choose the one that suits you the best.

FAQs

 Is TV or monitor better for gaming?

A traditional TV may not be suitable for gaming, however, modern TVs come with gaming-focused features such as high refresh rates and lower latency such as the LG C2, which may make TV a better choice for gaming.

 

Is there a downside to using a TV as a monitor?

Yes, there is a downside to using a TV as a monitor. This is because they have relatively low PPI which makes them look worse when you are looking at them from a short distance. 

 

Furthermore, regular TVs aren’t optimized for PC behavior like waking up from sleep which can make it a bit of a hassle to use them.

 

Does connecting your laptop to TV via HDMI decrease gaming performance?

No, connecting your laptop to your TV via HDMI does not affect performance.

Is the HDMI port good for gaming?

Yes, HDMI is great for gaming. With the support of HDMI 2.1, it’s capable of playing games on 8K@60Hz or 4k@120hz which is amazing for gaming. 

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