PCs. Gaming laptops kinda suck IMO, especially their cooling. They also can't really be upgraded and are much more expensive for the performance. For mobile PC gaming I much prefer a Steam Deck.
I should have read your comment before I replied. Couldn't agree more. Going back to a PC from a laptop soon and pretty excited about it.
No hate, but I've never understood gaming laptops. They are noisy, hot, almost always with severely nerfed performance compared to their equivalent non-mobile components.
They are heavy and bulky with poor battery life. They are often garish, which makes them less suitable for a professional environment if you're in a workplace where that matters.
It just seems like the vast majority of gaming laptops give you the worst of all worlds. Worse performance than a desktop rig, and none of the good things about a laptop, like portability, long battery life, etc.
To me, there are a few exceptions though:
- Gaming notebooks. You sacrifice a bunch of performance, but you at least gain back some of the benefits of a normal laptop like slimness, portability, battery life, etc. As long as you don't play super hardcore games, the thermal issue isn't a huge problem.
- Your work has a ton of travel and you are allowed to do it on your personal laptop. You can work and game on the same device. If you are traveling like every month flying everywhere for work, that makes sense to have a single device to do it all on.
Again, no hate, just my $0.02
For students a gaming laptop makes a bunch of sense, since taking a PC with you back an forth every time you go back home can be a major hassle.
One advantage is you get a lot of performance in a laptop form factor for much cheaper than an equivalent ultrabook
That's why I said one of the exceptions was gaming notebooks, something like the smaller Razer Blade laptops.
Laptops are uniformly awful.
You can't upgrade or replace the GPU or CPU, the hinge assembly is mechanically vulnerable, a cup of coffee over the keyboard is game over, the screen dies you've got a ridiculous cost to fix, the cooling sucks, the ergonomics suck, and you pay about double the price for half the specs.
You need a proper screen and keyboard at your desk anyway, so unless you're hotdesking with the thing, it's just going to act like a shitty desktop most of the time.
Have you seen the Framework 16? Not the most powerful gaming laptop, but you can replace anything (including the GPU and the mainboard).
More like gaming desktops or laptops. Desktop and laptop are a form factor, PC is just a personal computer. Rage all you want, apple users, a Mac is a PC.
I don’t understand who you are arguing with here
Anyone who will hear me rant!
These commercials https://youtu.be/qfv6Ah_MVJU?si=7uaDPCCRXXJ50_ES
Desktop, of course, simply for upgradability and better thermal management.
I have an AM5 system, so I'll be able to upgrade not only my graphics card, but my CPU as well, and have a modern machine that'll last me well into the 2030s. These days you can't even upgrade your RAM on most laptops.
There's also the fact that I don't really feel the need to game on the go, and modern smartphones have fulfilled my need to have a portable computer for everything else. When I did own a gaming laptop, I paid way too much money for it, and the battery didn't even last an hour playing something as basic as The Sims, so it had to be plugged in all the time like a desktop anyway. Within 4 years the GPU was too old to run anything at a reasonable framerate. Never buying a gaming laptop again.
Hm, Lenovo? Cus you just described my experience with them.
Dell, actually. Back in 2004 when they stated making gaming laptops with "upgradable" graphics cards. Except you could only upgrade within the same generation. So go fuck yourself if you actually wanted the latest GPU.
Also the motherboard failed twice on me. Thankfully within warranty but never again.
Gaming laptops are clunky, ugly, not practical (yeah, technically portable, but not very convenient), loud, hot, drink a lot of juice and always need to be connected to a giant power brick. The worst kind of computer
True, but most newer laptops aren't repairable unless they are the gaming ones.
Desktop. Powerful laptops don't have enough space for proper heat management. I had a laptop with a Xeon processor and I could get it up to 100C and it would shut off.
PCs. I've been living overseas for a couple of years and using a gaming laptop. I can't wait to start using a PC again.
Laptops can be good but in my experience for demanding games they can have thermal issues pretty easily. I'm not an expert though and maybe it depends more on the individual laptop.
Also the repairability and upgradability are huge things as well. I think desktop PC plus steam deck is my dream combo for all my gaming needs personally.
High end gaming laptops are a curse. It's a package that cannot be performant, you simply don't have a good space to cool it and keep it portable. Focus on it has made a big part of development in good hardware to be restricted to space and heat efficiency in a non optimal package.
Desktop is the way to go for gaming, you get much more affordable power and bang for your buck. If you want a machine for gaming you want a space where you can chill out and be confortable, desktop on a table with a good chair and nice monitors are the way to go and cheaper than the laptop counterpart.
Laptop is pretty handy for taking it to wherever you need it. But you cannot enjoy that high end performance on a comparatively tiny screen. If you are just carrying you laptop from desk with monitors and keyboard to another, you're just using a less effective and expensive desktop in two spots.
Even for working, it's handy to have a way to take your stuff elsewhere, but the way workstations work you'd much more benefit from having a cheaper desktop at you office and/or home and have a notebook to stream the content you need.
All the while all the money and research spent on high end laptops and graphs cards that live in them is being used to fuel a worse product that will invariably overheat and not work at full capacity.
There are use cases though. Things like truckers.
And people who work on ships too yeah. But that's not the norm, it's the exception
I'm also in the desktop camp. But I just purchased a Framework 16. The upgradable dGPU (assuming they release new ones) might make laptops more viable for gaming.
Assuming that by "PC" you mean desktop computers, that's what I prefer for gaming.
I prefer laptops, because they are mobile and doesn’t take up much space.
I don't care if they are "gaming" specific, but I like PCs because they are more customizable /upgradeable
Laptops, cuz I like to travel a lot and...4 years later now, I can still play the new games or go back to the old ones whenever I want to.
It's very convenient.
If I was in one place, I'd probably get a PC just cuz it's usually cheaper for the same hardware.
But I love traveling and I don't love extra possessions! And I love playing games now and then.
PC for sure. Upgradable, no battery to wear out. Significantly more power and dead silent. I take my laptop on trips, but those are pretty rare.
Many people I know don't have room to spare for a PC, small desk etc, nowadays for gaming handheld PCs are more and more obvious choice, as you could use them connected to a TV like a conventional console, and do actual work with a wireless kb/m combo, it's not ergonomic than a laptop IMO,
Personally I'd go ITX in a small <15L case
I use a desktop 99% of the time on my TV with a wireless keyboard+track pad and game with a Xbox controller. Though I'm definitely in the minority on that lol
Yeah, I considered selling my gaming PC and buying something like Legion GO, but it would require some sacrifices on my part
PCs. Gaming laptop underperform for price, are larger than non gaming laptops, and generally are less serviceable & durable. Just the entire market segment lags behind.
Desktop for sure. Though I've started to love using Steam Link in my home to stream to my laptop (or TV) to get the best of both worlds.
Same reasons as everyone else, it's more powerful, better heat management, upgradeable, and still allows me to stream to a laptop when needed. (I'll even use RDP to my desktop from my laptop most of the time to still get the power for work things too).
PCs. Who wants to be at the mercy of battery to game, deal with high heat, and take a major performance hit to be a laptop that you will have to plug in to the wall anyways if you want to game for a decent amount of time
I love both. And handhelds. And consoles.
I just like videogames and things that can run videogames. Videogame tech is cool.
I genuinely don't get why people have such a grudge against gaming laptops. It's like they got stuck regurgitating talking points from the mid 2000s. There have been so many super cool gaming laptops in the past couple of decades. Big, chonky powerhouses, sleek stealth workhorses, quirky nonsense builds... It's awesome.
Alright, alright, just because I got myself excited. Top three gaming laptops, rating for sheer cool factor with no regard for practicality or value for money, but in no particular order:
1- MSI GS65. It could be the Razer Blade, which is the OG, but the GS65 was legitimately the best of that first batch of thin and light gaming laptops that looked classy without looking tacky. It had a 1070 in it, it could run every contemporary game just fine and it made you look downright stylish working on a Starbucks. So cool.
2- ASUS ROG Flow Z series. Asus put a dedicated GPU. In a tablet. Like, up to a 4070, you can get in one of these. It's fat, it's clunky, it's underpowered for the hardware, it's heavy, it sounds like the speaker in your first smartphone... but guys, 4070 in a tablet, are you kidding me? How cool is that?
3- Framework Laptop 16. It's a modular laptop with a dedicated GPU module and a bunch of random configuration options. Gaming laptop lego. Again, how cool is that?
I know this is a gaming thread, but I bought a gen 1 framework laptop 13 DIY when they came out and all I can say is: buy it. The form factor of a MacBook but upgradeable and repairable. They now have AMD options that work with my gen 1. Excellent idea, great execution, can't say enough good things lol
Historically - desktops.
However - for the past ~3 years I’ve been on a laptop.
- Less power draw - if I need to run on solar.
- Data caps - run to a library if some game needs a 100gb update - this has partially been alleviated with Starlink.
- Work trips - ~2 hours of gaming on the hotel bed is needed after a day of meetings.
From a logical standpoint, desktops are better. However, I prefer laptops in case I ever have to be somewhere far, fast. Either way both will probably end up as e-waste in the future. But at least with a desktop you can keep the case and PSU.
I have a LAN party almost every single day
Build my own desktop after my first laptop broke. Didn't take more than a month for me to get a laptop as well. Couldn't live without the freedom to game in the garden when it is amazing weather.
The rest of my arguments are better told ... in song:
I'll take laptops over a Punch Card System (PCS) any day!
But it uses the most powerful GPU known to humans- Imagination!
Desktop. Gaming laptops end up being the worst of both worlds when it comes to power and portability. Weaker than a desktop, heavier and bulkier than a laptop. Makes it hard to game, and hard to carry.
Pc with steam deck for me. Although, my gaming has been 80-90% steam deck lately...
I prefer my desktop. But I can game 6 hours of not more of my work day since my job is to make sure the Internet works and stare at an email. So 99% of my gaming is on my laptop
It's down to the expected use case.
If you have some reason to want portability, like you travel for work or expect to want to game at a place other than you home, then a laptop is likely the right choice.
If you only expect to game at home and don't have a need to constantly move your system around, a desktop is usually a better "bang for the buck".Personally, I don't travel and don't have a need to move my gaming rig around. I also like having the ability to upgrade in a piecemeal fashion. So, I have a desktop. This particular PC of Theseus has been going for a decade and a half now and shows no sign of stopping.
You need to spend a lot of money for a gaming laptop to be good. The are really a compromise if you absolutely cannot have a PC where you are. Especially now with the steam deck.
Desktop first, steam deck very close second.
Laptops can stay very far away from my household
When I get a job and settle down, I definitely plan on getting a PC. It just has so much more bang for the buck, and you can actually use the entire performance. My laptop basically overheats immediately if there's an intense load on it, even though it has the raw power to actually run it. But the reality is that currently, as a student, a gaming laptop is a lot more practical to me.
I have my ipad for that.
Both, each have their place. I have a desktop in my office. Decent recent spec and kept fairly up to date.
Laptop I have a reasonable "gaming" spec in the lounge we both use it.
The laptop will always be a compromise. You cannot shift the dissipated heat from a full power gpu at all in that form factor, and most cpus are going to also be lower power editions because they need to work on batteries as well as connected to power. But they're still for sure usable.
Desktop will always outperform. Even the stock cpu and gpu options will perform at a higher tdp, and you can usually improve cooling in a big case to either improve stock boost frequencies, or over clock.
Physics is the limiting factor for laptops, both in terms of power delivery, and heat dissipation.
I haf a gaming laptop for over 2 years. Sold it this year to replace with a PC and I'm convinced I'm never going back to a laptop.
Laptops run noisy and hot. The hardware is tuned down for poorer performance compared to PCs. Using one is not ergonomic at all. It's a pain working around power management (I.e. forcing it to stay on to use as a server, etc), features like wake on LAN are hit or miss. They're overpriced compared to similar PC parts. They're hardly repairable or upgradeable at all.
I've made a much faster PC for almost the same cost I sold a 3 year old laptop for. The laptop was always used with a monitor, KB, mouse anyway. If the portability is required then the Steam Deck makes for a much better portable gaming machine and an old secondhand workstation laptop will be dirt cheap and fast enough for all your office needs.
I have use a gaming laptop since 2014 and miss being able to switch out components. The laptop I have is pretty modular and easy to service. Finding the parts at a reasonable price is not really possible anymore.
I'm not sure what PCS is, but I've never owned a gaming laptop. I game mostly on a desktop, or play games that can run on a fairly standard laptop. Though I've not had a laptop since 2018, and got by with a desktop and tablet.
They meant PCs, with the context meaning desktops. Not trying to be rude, to clarify, just giving context!
Yeah I got that, I was just poking fun. Cheers :P
Both. I like the customizability and power of a desktop, but I like the portability of a laptop. If you can afford both, why not have both. I often have my laptop set up next to my desktop for browsing/chatting while gaming and I also often just take my laptop to game when I go to friends' places. Also, they're both PCs.
2 years ago I would say PCs over laptops, owned a couple of gaming laptops and always ended up going back to desktops. Still have a decent, but relatively old desktop PC. Lots of gaming laptops generate a brutal amount of heat, so gaming in bed or holding the machine in your lap is not very comfortable. At the end you just sit at a desk plugged in, same as a regular PC. The only positive of a laptop is if you traveling a lot and want to play high end games it makes it possible.
However today I would go with the third option: handheld gaming PC. The Steam Deck absolutely changed my life how I game. I am finishing more games, I can play literally anywhere, anytime and its just so damn convenient. Sure, there are compromises, its not for everyone and AAA and multiplayer gaming is not really ideal, but neither of them interests me. For everyday PC stuff you need a docking station and connect up all peripherals to use them as a workstation, again not ideal but they all work as a full fledged PC as well.
Again, probably not everyones cup of tea, but it just suits me so damn well. Last year I did over 90% of gaming on handheld.
Also since the success of Steam Deck the competition is catching up fast and almost monthly someone releases a new handheld gaming PC so there are many options to choose from.
Desktop. However I’m looking at gaming laptops just to have a sturdy, powerful laptop for work. And I hate touch screens.
Gaming laptops are far too prone to overheating - either your manufacturer has drastically limited clock speed, your machine will brick itself as soon as you try to launch a performance intensive game... or you spent 7k+ on getting something from a niche company that slapped a jet engine on that sucker.
I really don't want to own multiple machines and certainly don't want to lwn a clunky desktop. I was quite happy with Stadia, but need to look at external GPUs through oculink as that would provide me with the best of two worlds.
Currently, my gaming is very light with rather si lle graphics.
Laptop:
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Cheap when buying used, meanwhile used PC parts still are insanely expensive. So on the used market in my country you get the most value when buying a used gaming pc.
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Especially cheap when considering I don't have to buy a laptop. A useful laptop would cost like 400€, I bought my gaming laptop for 900€ (3 months used, instead of 1400€), same performance in a desktop would cost 1000€+ So normal laptop + gaming desktop would be 1400€+, I only spent 900€.
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Portable. Not much to say here.
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Steam Deck
