Laptops aren't meant for gaming, buy a desktop instead...

[Richdog]

How much longer are we going to have this recycled and redundant advice posted whenever someone mentions anything about buying a gaming laptop?

Laptops are nowadays MORE than viable as gaming machines due to advances in mobile architecture... the 7970M has the power of a desktop 7870, and the Nvidia 680M is based on the FULL 680M desktop part, except with lower clocks. Added to this, the recent i7 Ivy Bridge CPU's are roughly equivalent or close enough to the i5 quad core desktop CPU's, which we all know are awesome for gaming. The next gen of AMD and NV GPU should be pretty damn good too, with significant increases in speed for the same amount of juice.

Yes, we all know that desktops are more economically and upgrade friendly, but laptops are the perfect choice nowadays for people with the money to spend on them who want enough power to last a couple of years, and most importantly, who want mobility. The freedom to take your laptop to bed or any room in the house to or away from wife and kids. The freedom to simply take it on the plane to your family for that extended Christmas holiday in Belgium. The freedom stick it in your backpack and nip round to your mates for an impromptu LAN session. You simply cannot do that with a desktop.

Besides, Clevo's and Alienwares (and some others) are upgrade-friendly if they use the right MXM sockets, certainly not to the extent that a desktop is, but enough to stick a more powerful CPU and a next-gen GPU in there and get another lease of life out of it after a couple of years

So please, stop trying to patronise other people who decide to buy a laptop for gaming, they do it knowing full well what they are getting, and it's getting pretty old now.

 

[Deleted member 77746]

How much longer are we going to have this recycled garbage posted whenever someone mentions about buying a gaming laptop?

Laptops are nowadays MORE than viable as gaming machines due to advances in mobile architecture... the 7970M has the power of a desktop 7870, and the Nvidia 680M is based on the FULL 680M desktop part, except with lower clocks. Added to this, the recent i7 Ivy Bridge CPU's are roughly equivalent or close enough to the i5 quad core desktop CPU's, which we all know are awesome for gaming. The next gen of AMD and NV GPU should be pretty damn good too, with significant increases in speed for the same amount of juice.

Yes, we all know that desktops are more economically and upgrade friendly, but laptops are the perfect choice nowadays for people with the money to spend on them who want enough power to last a couple of years, and most importantly, who want mobility. The freedom to take your laptop to bed or any room in the house to or away from wife and kids. The freedom to simply take it on the plane to your family for that extended Christmas holiday in Belgium. The freedom stick it in your backpack and nip round to your mates for an impromptu LAN session. You simply cannot do that with a desktop.

Besides, not only is Clevo's and Alienwares (andsome others) are upgrade-friendly, certainly not to the extent that a desktop is, but enough to stick a more powerful CPU and a next-gen GPU in there and get another lease of life out of it after a couple of years

So please, stop trying to patronise other people who decide to buy a laptop for gaming, they do it knowing full well what they are getting, and it's getting pretty old now.

I agree.

The freedom to take your laptop to bed

awww cute. Don't forget to give it hugs and kisses.

 

[Richdog]

I agree.

awww cute. Don't forget to give it hugs and kisses.

...that 3.5mm stereo jack port is there for a reason yo!

 

[charsi]

Have to agree. I like my laptops portable and just powerful enough for playing hi def videos and web. Gaming should be done on desktops.
All this is assuming you are a normal person with a fixed income, if you are filthy rich and want a gaming rig you can lug anywhere then by all means get a gaming laptop.

edit: This comment is my official entry for the "I didn't read the OP, only the thread title" competition.

 

[tom_e]

Have to agree. I like my laptops portable and just powerful enough for playing hi def videos and web. Gaming should be done on desktops.
All this is assuming you are a normal person with a fixed income, if you are filthy rich and want a gaming rig you can lug anywhere then by all means get a gaming laptop.

 

[Richdog]

Have to agree. I like my laptops portable and just powerful enough for playing hi def videos and web. Gaming should be done on desktops.
All this is assuming you are a normal person with a fixed income, if you are filthy rich and want a gaming rig you can lug anywhere then by all means get a gaming laptop.

best "I didn't read the OP, only the thread title" post ever.

But come on, a "normal person with a fixed income" can still afford a gaming laptop... or do you think most people earn bugger all?

 

[Pabl0]

I had a P170EM and it was great, but it just doesn't compare to a desktop of the same price, going from a 7970m/i7 to a 7970 and i5 it just blows it away, I know you can say on paper they have strong specs, but sitting in front of the things its completely different.

Though I agree to a point, they have got many times better over the years and can be a viable alternative to a desktop if you need mobility, though let be honest with a 17" laptop and above for gaming your going to want a desk and mouse, maybe a gaming keyboard and once you've got that, you might as well have a desktop and a normal (cheaper) laptop for other guff.

Just my 2p.

 

[Richdog]

I had a P170EM and it was great, but it just doesn't compare to a desktop of the same price, going from a 7970m/i7 to a 7970 and i5 it just blows it away, I know you can say on paper they have strong specs, but sitting in front of the things its completely different.

Though I agree to a point, they have got many times better over the years and can be a viable alternative to a desktop if you need mobility, though let be honest with a 17" laptop and above for gaming your going to want a desk and mouse, maybe a gaming keyboard and once you've got that, you might as well have a desktop and a normal (cheaper) laptop for other guff.

Just my 2p.

But that again (like many people who argue against a gaming laptop) does not address the aspect of wanting a mobile gaming solution.

 

[charsi]

best "I didn't read the OP, only the thread title" post ever.

I do feel a bit stupid right now for not reading the OP.

But come on, a "normal person with a fixed income" can still afford a gaming laptop... or do you think most people earn bugger all?

I don't mean normal people can't 'afford' gaming laptops, but its better to invest in a desktop since you get better performance for the same money. And most people are happy to have the ability to game in one room only where their desktop is.

 

[Richdog]

I don't mean normal people can't 'afford' gaming laptops, but its better to invest in a desktop since you get better performance for the same money. And most people are happy to have the ability to game in one room only where their desktop is.

But would those people you're talking about generally be looking at buying a gaming laptop? People who want to game only in one room generally do buy a desktop... people who want to take it other places buy a laptop. All I see is the same argument being repeated... desktop is better value and more upgradeable... but I think most people who buy a laptop for gaming know that before making their choice.

Honestly, if people are saying there is no market or demand for gaming laptops vs desktops then I am pretty flabbergasted.

 

[MasterPlan1]

i7-3610QM, GTX660M, 24Gb RAM, 120Gb SSD, 1Tb HDD, 15.6" FHD Matte screen... £880...

vs (I went comparable specs, for a full system, graphics performance is likely to be better, CPU is on par..)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-2600 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £239.99
1 x KFA2 GeForce GTX 660 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Assassin's Creed III PC Game £167.99
1 x BenQ G2255 21.5" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black £99.95
1 x Asus P8H77-V Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £90.98
1 x Intel 330 Series 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail £83.99
1 x BitFenix Ghost Silent Tower Case - Black £74.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £61.99
2 x GeIL Black Dragon 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD316GB1600C11DC) **OcUK Exclusive** £61.99 (£123.98)
Total : £957.36 (includes shipping : £11.25).



Bit of a moot point when saying "desktops are cheaper" and with Haswell having a new socket, all IVB\SB boards will be obsolete, so no upgradability there. Just GPU.

 

[iv-tecman]

Been laptop gaming for over two years now. At first I was forced down the route of gaming via laptop. Missus decided that me upstairs in the spare bedroom was rude and wanted me in the living room with her in the evening...

I REALLY missed my desktop to start with, I was forced to use a Dell Studio with a i5 540m 4GB 1GB 5650M - not the greatest of specs when you consider I'd been desktop gaming with a i5 8GB 5870, so the fps loss was noticeable..

Metro 2033 stood no chance, and witcher 2 was another casualty. Yet, saved me from having to give up the hobby. sold ALL my desktop stuff, including the desk when my daughter was born. Purchased on an impulse a Samsung 700GA which had a much stronger 6990M GPU but Metro 2033 and Witcher 2 werent great performers, even on a 6990M.

However, recently the upturn in GPU power from a mobile GPU really has gone up and the latest 7970M and 680M are near as you'd get to desktop performance to comparable GPU's, and I don't think the cost of these GPU equipped laptops are that great comparable to a Desktop.

In a funny twist of fate, missus has now said - maybe time to get a desk again, just ordered a Alienware M17x with a 7970M, won't be cancelling as I'm now sold that mobile gaming has a place, I love being able to take my laptop to work and play games when I'm doing the oncall shift and its dead.

Taking my laptop when on Holiday so as I can play movies etc..

Coupling a laptop up to external keyboard, mouse, screen and speakers is just as good as any desktop.

I actually asked my gf only last night, if I got a desktop, and she remembers how big they were would you think its a good idea? Her answer, how do you propose to use that in the living room to play movies on the telly or sit with me a few evenings a week?

Mobile computing is growing, quickly. OCUK have been pushing mobile computing quite a bit, they stock a good range of laptops and accessories for laptops.

I don't think I'll ever buy another desktop based on -

Desktop size
Power gap of desktops to comparable laptops is lower now
Mobile computing - love this concept

just sold my Samsung to pay for the Alienware, with discounts I COULD not have got a Desktop and KEEP my laptop for other stuff, I'd have had to have a static desktop and no way to play games whilst mobile.

for me, its the obvious choice..

 

[charsi]

That kind of price comparison is unfair since I have been using the same monitor, cabinet and power supply in at least the last 3 main computer I have had all lasting me more than 5 years. (monitor is a dell 22inch bought in 2006, cabby is cm650 and psu is corsair 600). Every time I do a major upgrade I also get a hi spec secondary computer. You Just can't do that with a laptop. So it is expensive to game on a laptop. If you can justify the premium for the mobility you get then thats okay.

 

[Nimdok]

I've been toying with the idea of getting a laptop - sure it's easier to keep upgrading and swapping out bits in a desktop to keep up with the times, but I LAN a lot with friends and having a portable computer is really tempting me at the moment. Apart from the obvious advantages it would also save me having to go by car every time and lug it around from point A to B.

 

[iv-tecman]

So we would save maybe £300 by reusing an older screen, keyboard, case and PSU.

Last time I did a desktop upgrade, I remember having to replace quite a bit of it to get it back up to spec..

the only item I kept was the mouse, keyboard and monitor... Rest I had to upgrade and I sold the rest off to help fund the upgrade.

I tend to buy a new mouse every couple of years as lets be honest, they last for a few years before you end up breaking them if they are used a lot, ok a decent mouse could last 3 - 5 years...

Last screen i had was a 22", if I'd still kept it, I'd have upgraded it by now anyhow to a 24" 1080 display with HDMI...

I can honestly say, that upgrading a desktop can be expensive if you do it each year or want the latest, but if you leave it a while, say a few years the number of components you can reuse lowers, so its no different give or take a few hundred quid.

Either way, top end PC gaming is expensive for the rigs to play games. Just with a laptop is more portable and slightly less powerful..

 

[MasterPlan1]

That kind of price comparison is unfair since I have been using the same monitor, cabinet and power supply in at least the last 3 main computer I have had all lasting me more than 5 years. (monitor is a dell 22inch bought in 2006, cabby is cm650 and psu is corsair 600). Every time I do a major upgrade I also get a hi spec secondary computer. You Just can't do that with a laptop. So it is expensive to game on a laptop. If you can justify the premium for the mobility you get then thats okay.

Not really, whenever I build a new PC I always get a new case just purely because the old one is usually pretty skanky after a few years of use and I get bored of looking at it, also it's good to replace a PSU every few years too as they become less efficient. Monitors, maybe... But monitor tech is always nice to keep up on too, especially with the price of 3D screens coming down in price as well.

Also it should be noted, I forgot to add a PSU in on that spec sheet, so that's another £60-100+ on top of what I had priced.

And your comment with regards to when you upgrade you get a second high spec machine... It'll take a *long* time for my i7 laptop to be deemed low spec and worthless, at least 3years+ unless things drastically change.

I also agree with iv-tecman... the missus hates it when I hole myself up in the bedroom and game, so laptop on sofa works out better, plus I get to do my cert studies wherever I am.

 

[KiiYzOo]

IMO, laptops now are a very good option in terms of gaming, I've been looking into getting one, and I'm halfway there in terms of money, and I am going to get one still, I priced up a p170em with an i7 3630qm, 8gb of ram, a blu ray drive (it's around £17 more over a dvd one) and a 7970m, this wasn't with windows or a hard drive, and it came out a whole £80 more than this spec, which is what I would spend my money on, no cheaping out or anything, I also put a 7870 in as that is what a 7970m is comparable to:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £269.99
1 x MSI HD 7870 Twin Frozr III OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ FARCRY3, Nexuiz & Sleeping Dogs PC Games £199.99
1 x Corsair Graphite 600T Midi Tower Case - Silver £149.99
1 x MSI Z77 MPower Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £149.99
1 x PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply - White £69.98
1 x OcUK Tech Labs - H2O Performance Intel Liquid Cooling Solution (Socket LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/2011) £31.19
1 x No Fan Required £0
1 x No Fan Required £0
1 x No Thermal Paste Required £0
1 x Avexir MPower Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CM) £29.99
Total : £901.12 (includes shipping : FREE).





as I said, the price difference is minimal, and with the laptop you have a screen, mouse and keyboard built in already, unlike the desktop, it may not be the best to use the trackpad and the integrated keyboard for gaming, but still you have to pay extra to get them with a desktop.

and as someone mentioned before, the upgradeability with the clevo p170em will be almost exactly the same as the desktop, granted you can change the case, cooling and have more hard drives, but with the core components you can only really upgrade the graphics card when a new generation comes out (with intel)

 

[quickshot89]

When I do come to replace my desktop machine, it will be with a laptop, granted im using a shuttle so I get the best of both worlds, the portability to me is important

FYI, my 2010 MBP runs games pretty well too

 

[phill1978]

Im agreeing with the power being there vs desktop. Given that not everyone runs the top CPU with the top card in sli / crossfire. A laptop ivy bridge, 8gb ram and a 7970m / 680m is going to run all games on max for some years to come ( 5yrs? and more for lesser settings)


However. The screen on a laptop is generally poor. The batteries fade over time (buy two at purchase) the keyboard isnt interchangeable and could get damaged easily with no cheap fix. The drivers for the laptop gpu are different to the desktop and there have been many issues for people. There are other misses like getting DTS-HD or 4k support from the HDMi.
the noise they can make is often louder than people expect or want. the better the power the heavier and less mobile they are.

dont get me wrong, a gaming laptop is a fine thing for the well healed and less desk clutter and almost wire free is amazing for some, but if you start to add external monitors or peripherals it becomes much the same. Also dont forget socket wear, if your constantly plugging in DP/HDMi at each move to a larger external monitor ala HTPC in living room the ports will get damaged over time.

they are after all said and done U-SSF PC's with a built in keyboard and mouse.

you have to REALLY need the portability to justify one over a standard SFF pc with wireless keyboard and mouse. and even then the portability must still reasonably exisit which it often doesnt from a larger laptop.

they are a trinket, a toy, a charm.

 

[bartledvd]

i grabbed to msi GE60 couple weeks ago for kids xmas purely as we do not have space for to extra pc's for money could have got better spec clevo but its kids xmas present no way i was going to give them something that ugly with other bits n pieces was around £2200 total its mostly just for them to play minecraft together skylanders and my daughter wants sims 3 biggest reason for me getting them a laptop each is stick it in a bag of they go to their nans or friends happy as can be.
If it was for my personal use i would not have a laptop i do not lick keyboards hate touchpads and there all ways to low down for me.
I hope when my son is old enough to get a paper round or maybe Saturday job he will get into building and tinkering with pc's but he's only 8 right now and would rather just play something