Laptop or Desktop

[Austin1994]

Internet, I need opinions! I am a college student (Computer Science), and looking to get a gaming computer. Currently I have a 2011 Macbook Pro, which SUCKS for any type of gaming. I need to know whether I should trade out my mac for a nice gaming laptop or get a budget-build desktop. The only gaming laptops out there that seem to stay cool and quiet are the 17" Asus and Alienware. Of course, these things are like 10 pounds though.
Thanks in advance!

 

[lmaonade200]

it depends on what your priorities are, if you must have mobility then laptop is the way to go, and if budget is your main concern then desktops would be better.

what you should look for in a laptop if you are going that route is one with GDDR5 graphics chips (or an SLI setup using DDR3 chips is fine also), many use GDDR3 which is literally half as fast. Most of the time you'll be looking to spend about 900 or more.

If budget is not a problem or if your budget is hefty (like somewhere in the $1500 range), then I would suggest getting a laptop, that way you can carry it around too, I'm a college student also and know how much we move around.

Just a tip if you do get a laptop, do not really think about the cool and quiet parts when buying a laptop, it's better to pick a very powerful laptop hardware-wise, and then replace some of the extras on there like the fan and the thermal compound, because no matter how "cool n quiet" the companies advertise it to be, you'll be facing heat issues in 1-2 years time anyway (because the thermal paste they use is absolute crap unless they specifically name a brand that you can search for and assess), this way you won't get nickel'd and dimed for so-called "features" like better cooling and noise management that they can heavily mark up the price on.

I know that opening up a laptop (and voiding the warranty) can be daunting at first, a while back when I opened up my XPS laptop for the first time I was scared shitless, but if you're really careful about sensitive parts and research on what to look for it's really not that big of a problem, I opened up my laptop to clean the fan and pieced it back together with no problems at all.

 

[Austin1994]

it depends on what your priorities are, if you must have mobility then laptop is the way to go, and if budget is your main concern then desktops would be better.

what you should look for in a laptop if you are going that route is one with GDDR5 graphics chips (or an SLI setup using DDR3 chips is fine also), many use GDDR3 which is literally half as fast. Most of the time you'll be looking to spend about 900 or more.

If budget is not a problem or if your budget is hefty (like somewhere in the $1500 range), then I would suggest getting a laptop, that way you can carry it around too, I'm a college student also and know how much we move around.

Just a tip if you do get a laptop, do not really think about the cool and quiet parts when buying a laptop, it's better to pick a very powerful laptop hardware-wise, and then replace some of the extras on there like the fan and the thermal compound, because no matter how "cool n quiet" the companies advertise it to be, you'll be facing heat issues in 1-2 years time anyway (because the thermal paste they use is absolute crap unless they specifically name a brand that you can search for and assess), this way you won't get nickel'd and dimed for so-called "features" like better cooling and noise management that they can heavily mark up the price on.

I know that opening up a laptop (and voiding the warranty) can be daunting at first, a while back when I opened up my XPS laptop for the first time I was scared shitless, but if you're really careful about sensitive parts and research on what to look for it's really not that big of a problem, I opened up my laptop to clean the fan and pieced it back together with no problems at all.

Well, that's the thing, either I sell my macbook pro (about $750-800 maybe) and get a gaming laptop at around $1300, or I use between 400 and 500 to get a desktop (I already have a copy of Windows 7). I just can't seem to find any laptops that are both semi-portable and that actually have power.

 

[lmaonade200]

you could visit newegg and see if there are any good deals around, what's your idea of portable though?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152404

there's this as an example, it has a nice i7 4 core/8 thread CPU with a GTX 770M graphics chip, which is roughly on par with a GTX 650Ti on the desktop, which is a mid-ranged card by today's standards, my friend who has an i5 and a GTX 650Ti can run BF4 on high settings smoothly for reference. While being 7.7 pounds, which is quite hefty for a portable computer but not as heavy as those desktop replacement laptops at least.

But of course, the cost is pretty damned heavy, being a laptop and all, if you don't mind your power PC being immobile you can always build a mid-high ranged PC for about 700-900 and have enough left over for a netbook/tablet for portable work also

 

[EvgaLover]

Desktop. Unless you're always traveling, then get a desktop. Desktops are much cheaper than laptops and they give more airflow and you can choose your own components

 

[kelfen]

Here are some good laptops in that range for good value

http://www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=415
http://www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=405

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=34-231-089

 

[nyczwillz]

Unless you really need something specific to mobility and gaming, there are actually a lot of choices to choose from. I personally build my PCs as a hobby but there are many deals on laptops and desktops.

If you don't plan on moving around a lot I'd say a desktop is a better choice purely on the fact they perform much better for the money. A $500 desktop would be equivalent to $700-$800 laptop or more.

Laptops
and
Desktops

 

[Austin1994]

Desktop. Unless you're always traveling, then get a desktop. Desktops are much cheaper than laptops and they give more airflow and you can choose your own components

Thanks, though at this point I have decided to wait until spring or summer. It would probably distract me from school
Prices for components seem to be at a high right now anyways.

 

[lmaonade200]

Desktop. Unless you're always traveling, then get a desktop. Desktops are much cheaper than laptops and they give more airflow and you can choose your own components

Thanks, though at this point I have decided to wait until spring or summer. It would probably distract me from school
Prices for components seem to be at a high right now anyways.

They really are, definitely wait for a fresh restock for the prices to tumble, just took a quick look at newegg and amazon, 190 bucks for an HD 7870 lol, that's what the HD 7950 was near at one point in time...