Dilemma!! Laptop... or desktop?

Teknobry

Teknobry

Teknobry

Associate
Joined
1 May 2007
Posts
1,971
Location
Manchester. UK
Not as simple as it may sound, lol.

My situation - Currently have a desktop pc
3200 AMD 64 venice, (2ghz OC'd to 2.5ghz)
1.5GB DDR 3200 RAM
Radion Sapphire X1600 512mb G/gard
17" crappy CRT

This rig has been ok, but does need a good overhall - ie scrapping and new system bought, lol.

My problem - In October I start a new job, and in the first year I'll be spending 8 months away (mon - fri, then driving home for the weekends)
I'll be staying in a hotel, and in the evenings after work, I'll be bored and will start to get withdrawl symptoms from CS and other games!

So, my choice:

Do I buy a gaming laptop - spend £1,000 on the best system I can.
Pro's of this are: ease of portability, although it won't be used when I'm on the move, its a lot easier to transport back and forth than a desktop.
Cons - Far more expensive, pretty much non upgradable, also just not as good as a desktop for gaming.

Or.. upgrade my old desktop system/buy a new one, and bring it with me back and forth each week.
Pro's - cheaper than the laptop, also better for gaming.
Cons - Its biiiiig! also I'd feel a bit daft bringing desktop/monitor/keyboard etc through the hotel to my room, lol. Also, I'd be getting a new monitor, and i'm not sure how robust TFT monitors are to knocks and bumps?

Any suggestions? I'm really stuck with what to do!
I've seen those small cube style PC's, those would be fairly easy to bring in the car, they any good?
 
depends on desperate you are to play games in the evening but tbh i'd feel a bit of a tool if i lugged a desktop/monitor around with me to a hotel (even if it was a shuttle/tft).
 
skanky said:
depends on desperate you are to play games in the evening but tbh i'd feel a bit of a tool if i lugged a desktop/monitor around with me to a hotel (even if it was a shuttle/tft).
Click to expand...

I just find shooting people a good way to wind down after work, lol. I suppose I'd be bringing it into the hotel on the sunday night, and then taking it back with me friday afternoon...so its not toooo bad dragging it about...hmmmm. dunno.

How fragile are TFT's?
 
Tfts aren't massively fragile but you have to be careful about hitting the front of the screen on objects, think of a calculators screen when you press down on it but worse if it gets hit hard (different technology in many cases but same effect).

The gaming laptop is probably your best bet, try to make sure it has a decent graphics card and then if necessary sell it after the first year. :)
 
What about a laptop and Docking station?

Meaning you get the best of both worlds....and you may not need to spend a £1000, depending on what games you play.

You could always buy a console to take around with you?
 
optimus said:
What about a laptop and Docking station?

Meaning you get the best of both worlds....and you may not need to spend a £1000, depending on what games you play.

You could always buy a console to take around with you?
Click to expand...
docking station will be pointless and extra fluff to carry around. most laptops have the required connections for things like usb etc to not need a dock.
 
skanky said:
docking station will be pointless and extra fluff to carry around. most laptops have the required connections for things like usb etc to not need a dock.
Click to expand...

I mean a docking station, monitor etc at home....not to lug around.
 
I wouldn't spend £1000 on a good laptop when you can spend it on an amazing desktop.

I've seen people recommend a PDA for that sort of situation, its not exactly BF2, but it has pacman :D
 
optimus said:
What about a laptop and Docking station?

Meaning you get the best of both worlds....and you may not need to spend a £1000, depending on what games you play.

You could always buy a console to take around with you?
Click to expand...

Console is out of the question, I'll be using the pc/laptop to check emails, flame people on forums etc :D

The kinda games I play - counterstrike source, HL2, Left 4 dead (well, when its released) Medieval 2, battlefield 2.

I have a PDA, and whilst UFO and chess are great... there is no teamspeak option or CS:S zombies on it, lol.

The docking station is an interesting idea, something I've not thought of. Only problem is it means more expense on top of an expensive laptop.
 
i think in your case it'll youll be a lot better off with a laptop even though can get a really good pc for £1000..

for a grand you should be able to get a decent laptop with core duo 2ghz cpu, (at least) a 7600go, 1gb ram and again at least 100gb of hd space.

and you can just carry around a mouse and keyboard with you so you dont have to play on a cramped keyboard..
 
Update your graphics card in your desktop and buy a semi decent laptop, which has an integrated graphics card.
Most semi decent Dell's come with a 7900.
 
Steve09 said:
Update your graphics card in your desktop and buy a semi decent laptop, which has an integrated graphics card.
Most semi decent Dell's come with a 7900.
Click to expand...


he wants to play games on the go so an integrated gfx card wont really help him

you can get a laptop with 2ghz processor 2gb ram 160gb hd and a 7900 from dell for £973 which is a bit of a bargain imo.
 
Last edited:
Egosh said:
he wants to play games on the go so an integrated gfx card wont really help him

you can get a laptop with 2ghz processor 2gb ram 160gb hd and a 7900 from dell for £973 which is a bit of a bargain imo.
Click to expand...

Huh?
I said a semi decent Dell laptop has a 7900 card in it.
If I meant on board graphics I would have said :)
 
Egosh said:
i think in your case it'll youll be a lot better off with a laptop even though can get a really good pc for £1000..

for a grand you should be able to get a decent laptop with core duo 2ghz cpu, (at least) a 7600go, 1gb ram and again at least 100gb of hd space.

and you can just carry around a mouse and keyboard with you so you dont have to play on a cramped keyboard..
Click to expand...


Is the 7600 go any good though?

I've been told if I'm getting a laptop for gaming to get the 7950GTX, the only problem is, it doesn't come in the dell 970, (the one for (£900 odd quid) its only shipped in the M1710, which is a mint laptop, but cheapest I can get that for is £1300 :(

Bah...this descision is annoying the hell out of me, lol.
 
7600 is mid range i wouldnt expect wonders from it but it'll run the games you play albeit at low quality/resolution

7900 is fine and i doubt youll see a huge difference between a 7900 and 7950..

can you even get a gtx for laptops? thought you can only get Go versions..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom