15.6 vs 17.3 inches?

[Deleted]

Currently, I have a 15.6 (which I don't use to game; and I didn't properly game in ages on a laptop/computer) and it seems to be potentially not enough to comfortably play

In market for a gaming laptop and I am not sure if it is WORTH IT to get a bigger screen at a cost of a more worse CPU/GPU (for example, get an i5 instead of i7 (both 8th gen), and Nvidia 1050 instead of 1050 Ti/1060)

What are you experiences?

I remember having a 17.3 like 10 years ago and I remember it feeling nice, especially when I upgraded from 13.3. Not sure if 15.6 will cut it. IMHO, no point in getting better graphics if you're not really going to see it all on a smaller screen, or is the screen size difference not as big as I think?

[Temp name]

It's not that big a difference if you ask me. 15.6" is what I prefer for laptops when I have to game on them.

Any reason you're looking at gaming laptops instead of gaming desktops though?

[Deleted]

Can't seem to find any where I live (Cyprus) or even online (like Amazon UK (or anything really will do)). All desktop options that I have found seem more expensive and worse.

[Illiterate]

Are you looking for a laptop or gaming PC? If you want a laptop, get the 15". If you want a gaming PC, get a gaming PC.

[Blackmist]

I remember having a 17.3 like 10 years ago and I remember it feeling nice, especially when I upgraded from 13.3. Not sure if 15.6 will cut it. IMHO, no point in getting better graphics if you're not really going to see it all on a smaller screen, or is the screen size difference not as big as I think?

I'd just get the smaller one and plug it into a bigger screen or keyboard depending on which of those you want.

You can upgrade those later, but you can't upgrade the CPU and GPU (normally).

[Stewedsnail]

I only really play diablo 3 and Wow and i play both exclusivly on my 15" Macbook Pro, personally this is perfect screen size for a laptop, 17 is Just too heavy imo.

[Didly]

If you're doing any sort of traveling - 15"

If it's a true desktop replacement - 17"

The bigger the laptop, the bulkier and more unwieldy it becomes. Those 17" gaming laptop power bricks are beasts.

When I was traveling for work, 15" was ideal- it allowed for the performance I wanted with the portability I needed from a laptop. I found 17" to be pretty much unusable for me on airplanes, hotel lobbies, basically anywhere that I wasn't able to "set it up" as if it were a desktop. Plus the battery life is atrocious.

I think the ideal travel gaming laptop is an i7 + GTX 1060 machine that's still slim and portable, with a reasonable sized power brick, yet you get *most* of the performance you need without going overboard.

Edit: Also don't fall in the trap of going 4K on a screen that small. Ideal for this segment is a 1080p high refresh rate display. My preference these days is MSI gaming laptops.

[Temp name]

If you're doing any sort of traveling - 15"

If it's a true desktop replacement - 17"

The bigger the laptop, the bulkier and more unwieldy it becomes. Those 17" gaming laptop power bricks are beasts.

When I was traveling for work, 15" was ideal- it allowed for the performance I wanted with the portability I needed from a laptop. I found 17" to be pretty much unusable for me on airplanes, hotel lobbies, basically anywhere that I wasn't able to "set it up" as if it were a desktop. Plus the battery life is atrocious.

I think the ideal travel gaming laptop is an i7 + GTX 1060 machine that's still slim and portable, with a reasonable sized power brick, yet you get *most* of the performance you need without going overboard.

Edit: Also don't fall in the trap of going 4K on a screen that small. Ideal for this segment is a 1080p high refresh rate display. My preference these days is MSI gaming laptops.

I could also see a reason to go 1440p if you need the more virtual screen estate. 4k just makes it nearly impossible to drive, and you'll end up scaling to 150% or 200% anyway, since you can't read anything on it

[Deleted]

Really? Because I just found multiple sites(based in Cyprus) that offer gaming PCs and parts. Weird.

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Pretty much this. Get the most powerful hardware you can and add a screen if you need more real estate. I still think an actual desktop would be the better choice, though.

I feel dumb - I have found some relative websites as well but the choice seems very limited, as well as seemingly I get a better deal by buying a laptop, instead of a desktop and monitor.

[Shakadam]

In my opinion and experience, gaming laptops are always terrible. It's simple physics really; Gaming needs high performance, high performance means high power usage, high power usage means lots of cooling needed. Due to size limitations laptops can't do cooling with large, slow-spinning fans so they need to do it with small, fast-spinning fans. The end result being A LOT of noise.

If you can live with that massive drawback then more power to you, go for 17" because 15" is just gonna make the experience even worse than it already is.

[lloose]

15.5 or 14" if you HAVE to have a laptop.
Desktop if you just are looking to build a computer.

Laptops are impractical if you don't travel a lot. They are more expensive and performance isn't remotely close to what you would get with the "same" parts on a desktop. Meaning a 7700k runs circles around a 7700HQ (the laptop version of the 7700k).

[Deleted]

What about getting a 15.6" and hooking up an external monitor (21.5"+?)?

[Temp name]

What about getting a 15.6" and hooking up an external monitor (21.5"+?)?

As long as the laptop has a display output it should work.

The reason people are saying to get a desktop is that they're better bang for the buck though.

[TwentyTwelve]

I use my laptop as a 2nd pc when i have someone round and we want to play a little, plug the laptop into an external monitor with external mouse/keyboard, runs games like wow, CS:GO, League fine. They're not demanding but yeah.

Depends on the specs ofc but for basic 1920x1080, i don't think you'll have issues.

But as others have said, PC is the way to go if you're not buying the laptop due to moving around a lot, you can probably build a pc for 2/3 of the price of a laptop you're thinking of buying and the pc would perform better and last longer.