$1800 Gaming Laptop VS $1800 Gaming Desktop

[Knuffelbert]

If you want to game and would like to get good bang for your buck get a Desktop:
- Way more power at the beginning
- Fairly easy/cheap to upgrade
- If you have a problem with a part, you can replace it easily (by yourself), with a laptop you are usually screwed
- Quieter (usually because the PC is under the desk, the laptop a foot away. Also water cooling (if you have one) is a lot quieter as well
- Keyboard is cool, gaming laptops will often inadvertently heat the keyboard

Laptop if the above doesn't bother you and you are prepared to buy a new laptop once yours is outdated, rather than upgrade it. A gaming laptop is NOT very mobile. Low battery life time (even if not playing games), heavy and big (for a laptop )
If you need a laptop anyway for lectures or so, also don't get a gaming computer, the power consumption even in idle mode makes them very often unsuitable for this. Get a netbook instead, they last 6-10 hours and are fairly cheap.

Also on a desktop a dual screen setup is more comfortable and very worthwhile (and cheap) to get. I have two 21 inch, bought them for 150 pounds 5 years ago.

[DeltrusDisc]

After the first post or 20, this thread is basically over. ;p
Yes, $1,800, will get you a far superior desktop. You can get better desktops than laptops for less money. Period. I haven't seen a different case.

[Rorschlack]

people who buy laptops are idiots, i know this from experience.

Is it lonely down there, under your bridge?

[ayako]

Pros of a desktop:
1. More bang for the buck. If you like to play games, or are a gamer, then a desktop will be the best option. You can get better graphics, better monitors, faster processors, etc. Everything is bigger on a desktop so there is plenty of room to put in some nice features without sending up the cost.
2. Cost less. A desktop will usually cost you less money for the same or (almost always) better components. Althought you can sometimes find a new low cost laptop sometimes where the owner wants to sell at any cost, for multiple reasons.
3. Easier to use. Let's face it, with a desktop you can purchase a nice keyboard, mouse, desk, ect built for comfort. A laptop isn't always comfortable to use, especially if you are in the middle of traveling. (by car, bus, plane or ferry)
4. Easy to upgrade. A desktop is much easier to remove or add components to than a laptop.
5. Easy to keep track of. In other words, someone has to break in to get it.
6. More memory and hard drive space. The memory capacity and hard drive space are usually much greater (and cheaper) than for a laptop.

Cons of a desktop:
1. Stuck in one place. When you use a desktop you have to sit down in the same place to use it. No mobility. There are companies that have whole divisions devoted to moving equipment around because of this fact. When it comes to cons of a desktop mobility is the biggest and about the only one. All onther complaints can usually be fixed, or ungraded to be tolerated.

Pros of a Laptop:
1. Mobile. You can go anywhere you want to and still have access to a computer. Great for presentations for work. This is the greatest benefit of a laptop.
2. network connectability on the run. With a laptop you can connect with a wireless network on the move.
3. Useful for presentations, or demonstrations. Easy to lug around.
4. Runs on a battery so can be used even when the power is out.
5. At times you can find a seller that has multiple laptops and wants to get rid of it. In this case you can get a low cost laptop for cheap, or I should say an expensive laptop at a new low cost laptop price.

Cons of a Laptop:
1. Maintenance is difficult. You usually have to hire a professional if something breaks or goes wrong. Since the parts for a laptop need to be smaller this also makes them more expensive.
2. Repairs cost more. Since repairs need a professional they usually cost more, for the service as well as for the parts.
3. Everything is smaller. Meaning if you want to use a full size keyboard you have to plug in an extra keyboard, which means you have to carry around a bulky keyboard. Same for a monitor or other external devices.
4. More expensive than a comparable desktop.
5. Easy for someone else to pick up and carry off without your knowledge.

You guys are oversimplifying everything.

http://www.squidoo.com/laptop-vs-desktop

[komi54]

people who buy laptops are idiots, i know this from experience. A desktop will have way more performance, with less maintanance and easier access. plus trying to replace keys on your laptop keyboard is both expensive and painful

Ok going to just assume you mean for gaming because as said before my desktop wont make it to class. But even for gaming it all about how you game. I move around alot. (My apt. GFs Apt. friends cribs) Cant move a desktop to and from place to place everyday. When I dont move around day to day I will buy a desktop. Its that simple. If you only sit in your room and play games you are an idiot to buy a gaming laptop.

[anyaka21]

Something for thought. I have both desktop and laptop and what everyone says is true. You'll get more bang for your buck on a desktop. Of that there is no question. But truthfully in this day and age, you don't have to spend $1800 on a desktop to get great performance. Add that you probably already have a kickass monitor thus you can reasonably think about buying a very good desktop for say $1000-1200. Sure, not top of the line, but realistically something that will be very good and last for a while. You'll get 90% of the performance for a little over 50% of the price. Then you can use that extra for a simple decent laptop and yeah, they do make gaming laptops for under 1k. And while you might not be able to run WoW at ultra settings, they are still good enough to play at coffee shops or over at a friends house, etc... And with todays tech where it is you can probably even raid decently.

I currently have a gateway laptop that I bought at bestbuy for $600 and it runs WoW fine. It bogs down in 25 man type raids and the bigger Tol Barad fights, but maintains a decent 20fps in 10mans, more than capable for basic play. And yeah, I can take it with me and use it whereever, the convenience is amazing.

Thus I would definitely consider this way as an option too.

edit: another thing to consider. I have bought my last 2 desktops at a wholesale store where essentially you tell them the parts you want in the computer. Then they build it and charge a small fee for building it. $20. Totally worth it and avoiding the headache. Add that a lot of your local wholesale stores typically offer some "built" computers where they use the parts they typically stock.

edit #2 for example, www.enuinc.com, check under custom desktops or systems**

[Metallikiddd]

This. Also its much more difficult to upgrade a laptop than it is to upgrade a desktop computer, and you're going to have heat issues with most any gaming laptop.

this pisses me off. dell got it right with the 1st XPS gamer they came out with. it was thick and allowed for plenty of air flow. why did this change?

[Weebos]

If you have friends and do sweet LAN parties get a laptop, its pro.

[Deleted]

If you aren't planning to go to lan parties, i would say, just go with a desktop. Better performance. But surely a $2500 system (even from 3 years ago) should still run most games on reasonable settings, does it not?
Even if you are going to lan parties, I have a friend that just carries his desktop, screen, keyboard and mouse around when we do lan parties.

Also bear in mind that you'll have to buy a laptop cooler pad with your laptop. the NZXT Cryo still seems to be best laptop cooler on the market, it is just such a shame I can't buy it anywhere in Europe :/
Yes, I do own a Laptop, just because I didn't had the space for a desktop back when I bought this one (Which is near to 3 years old, Acer rocks ), however, after doing some redecorations and buying new furniture, I'm looking to spend a good €2500 on a new gaming desktop myself. However, I would also have to buy a new monitor and a set of speakers, since the only monitor i have here is a 17" 4:3 TFT screen, which i'm not planning to do any gaming on.

The main reason why I'm looking to spend that much on a system is because I'm planning to do some serious video editing and a 2600k and two 6970 will help with the overall rendering speed of videos.

[Shinryu]

Well I know I'm probably gonna rehash what everyone's said, but go desktop if you don't need the mobility a laptop offers. Though for what it's worth, my laptop is over 2 years old now, still runs WoW just fine at 40-60 fps. I guess that's another thing...what suits your gaming needs? Almost anything can run WoW these days, as it's not technically that advanced, but if you're into the new higher end stuff or (god forbid) 3d, you'll want the better stuff.

[nwo]

Most laptops are nearly impossible/wortless (for example:$1k for a GPU or $500 for a CPU) to upgrade, they run very hot, and they cannot be overclocked. Desktops on the other hand offer much better performance right off the bat, and you can overclock both the CPU/GPU to get even better performance and there is usually plenty of room to do so with the proper cooling.

[Rapret]

Desktop > Fridge > Microwave > iPod > Laptop > Ipad > "gaming laptop"