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Laptop vs Desktop

McRackin

McRackin

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 27, 2008
Messages
284
I'm planning on shelling out around 1400-1500 (after taxes) on a new system, primarily geared towards gaming. Obviously the choice is clear, get a desktop computer because its cheaper (especially when I already have Windows/Monitor/KB/Mouse).

However, I'm also transferring to university and I could get some solid use out of a nice laptop even though to date I've been getting along just fine with the computers supplied by the my school.

So here I am debating whether to spend $1500 on a laptop or the same amount on a desktop that will surely have more juice. So I need some help from you guys to come to a decision. I really don't need a laptop for school, but it would be awesome. How much more power/lifetime am I going to get with a desktop? If I were to spend $1500 on a laptop for example, would a $1000 desktop be comparable?
 
With a $1500 budget not needing W7/LCD/KB/M I think I would get both.

Get a cheap laptop (under $300) for use in school as most laptops that can be had in the $300 range can easily handle school work.

Then spend ~$1200 on a nice gaming rig to occupy the time you aren't spent studying.

A friend of mine just bought a Dell 15" laptop with a C2D processor, spend ~$100 adding more RAM and a 250G HDD and buying a used CPU off ebay faster than what the one he got came with and it will handle school work just fine.

He also plans to build a desktop here soon with a budget around $1200 - $1500, primarily for gaming.
 
Its a hard choice. I have a netbook, Android Tablet, XPS Gaming laptop, i7 Gaming PC and a server.

A netbook is a good choice for $300-400. You can get a semi decent gaming PC for $1100. i5, GTX 560Ti, bluray, SSD, ~2TB storage.

On another note, my XPS 17" laptop cost $1600 fully loaded. Just bought it in May. After a coupon obviously. You could get a 15" XPS for aroud your $1500 mark that would be pretty sweet.
 
I agree with Skillz that your $1500 should be used on a cheap notebook for school and a gaming PC tower.

You can make a good mATX or mITX gaming machine for around $1200 (if not less) that has a good balance between compact size and raw performance. The primary focus will still be the video card, but that choice depends on the resolution you'll be using for gaming and the size of the enclosure.
 
McRackin said:
How much more power/lifetime am I going to get with a desktop?
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Honestly can't measure the lifetime of a system as it's very dependent on yearly budgets, user needs, and user wants.
McRackin said:
If I were to spend $1500 on a laptop for example, would a $1000 desktop be comparable?
Click to expand...
Not really. A $1000 laptop stands a good chance of outperforming a $1500 laptop.

As Skillz and tiraides have said, I recommend a cheap laptop + gaming rig. Thats what I did for college and it was just right. That laptop came in handy during class, group projects where everyone wants to meet up to do the work, or a way to kill time between multiple hour long gaps between classes.
 
I say go desktop + laptop route.

We just picked up 50 Acer Aspire One D255E netbooks at Wal-mart for $200+tax ea. Great price for a decent netbook. That's at least $1200 left to spend on your desktop.
 
I have a workstation laptop that was $1500 and performs similarly to a decent desktop build. I like having one capable machine rather than multiple.
 
McRackin said:
What about a laptop like the ASUS G53SX-A1: http://www.a-power.com/product-22428-776-1

I'm moving in January into a little shoe-box apartment and really don't want to spend 8 hour marathons playing BF3 in there.
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This is a solid notebook for the price/performance. But, get it from Amazon.com for $1,299.99 w/free shipping

You can also consider the ASUS G53SX-XA1 for $1,212.49 w/free shipping. Main difference is that this one is with 8GB vs 12GB. But, 8GB is already plenty.
 
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I agree with Skillz.

The last thing you want would be to have your expensive gamer laptop break down or be stolen. Not to mention the battery life on a gaming laptop sucks. Good luck taking notes.

The redundancy of having two systems is another plus.

Use the netbook for taking notes, updating word/excel. Use the gaming beast at home for actually writing your papers, etc. You will be MUCH more comfortable using this setup.
 
I agree, redundancy is great when things go wrong. I never needed a laptop in college, but times change, lol. I actually had two desktops. :p
 
Like I said earlier I have no practical use for a laptop that will actually help me with school. I hate seeing other people using their laptops during lectures and I will hardly ever pull mine out to do the same. Nothing beats pen & paper when taking notes, especially in calculus/econ/finance classes.

I just want a gaming laptop so I am comfortable staying on campus from 8am till 8pm and on weekends without feeling the need to come home. Blowing off some steam and stress between classes if you know what I mean.

With that said, I've never owned a laptop because the performance and cost gap between laptops and desktops have always been too large. I'm either getting one or the other, and I'm leaning towards a desktop. I'm just imagining the regret I'll feel if I find myself at school between 8am-8pm and during weekends and I'm unable to blow off some steam between classes without going home to do so.
 
I'm not sure what you're major is, but I'm a CS major and I don't even bring my laptop to class... heck any of them. But it is good for when I leave campus and need to complete work off campus. I do agree that having both is a great option. I will be building a new desktop soon that's for sure.
 
I'll echo others here: get both. I made the wrong choice when I went to college a few years back. 95% of my laptop time was at my desk in my dorm; I rarely needed the mobility and never the power while mobile.
 
Campuses have plenty of sockets to use but also plenty of competition to use them up. There will be days you will be relying on battery power and gaming laptops simply can't be used to game under those conditions.

If you are doing anything else besides gaming you are much better off spending cash on the handful of (literally when I was laptop prospecting this past Spring there were only 6 between all the companies that sell in the US) laptops that can be used for 6-12 hours non-stop. Most laptops operate under 4 hours with a battery and most gaming laptops are under 3 hours. (FYI I don't consider netbooks to be laptops)

That said there are plenty of benefits to having a laptop for campus life. As you already considered, being able to take your computer anywhere is going to be very helpful on the days you need to study away from home, but would benefit from having access to your computer.

A laptop can also be good to have with you on road trips which I think everyone has done occassionally in college.

Just don't buy anything with a screen greater than 15". Packing up a laptop in a suitcase is easy but a screen bigger than that can be a pain to pack in your backpack or man bag. Even moreso depending on how many textbooks you have to carry.
 
Solid advice there.

I think I'm really trying to convince myself to get a laptop even though I know the better route may end up being a desktop.

I live in the suburbs of Vancouver, about an hour and 15 minutes from my school. I'll be moving closer to my school at the end of the year, so when I'm not on campus I'll probably spend a lot of nights back in the suburbs staying at friends houses. I know if that's how it works out, I'll end up regretting not getting a higher performance laptop if I have a $1500 desktop sitting in my shitty little dorm by my school.

Anyways, im still 50/50. Not convinced one way or the other just yet but I'll make up my mind over the next week or so. Thanks everyone
 
Which school are you going to ?

Also, check out N C I X and memory express for deals on laptops and desktop parts

Why not say, $400 laptop, $1100 desktop ? You can get some pretty decent laptops for that much, these days
 
I think gaming has no place to be on a laptop. You have to buy seperate mouse and keyboard for first person shooter games.
 
Finishing up my term at Langara then I'm heading to UBC in January.

I'll probably stick with the desktop. My phone does everything in between the systems available to students on campus and my current desktop so I don't see the benefit in sacrificing that much performance for mobility.
 
McRackin said:
Finishing up my term at Langara then I'm heading to UBC in January.

I'll probably stick with the desktop. My phone does everything in between the systems available to students on campus and my current desktop so I don't see the benefit in sacrificing that much performance for mobility.
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The performance difference between a ~$1100 desktop and a ~$1500 desktop are marginal when you already have the items you mentioned.

With that being said, even if you don't use the notebook for school purposes, I'd still go with both for the simple fact that there are other things to do on a notebook to pass time than just gaming.
 
I see your point. The reason why I want to spend that much on a desktop is because I have a craving for my first solid state drive and blu-ray burner. I still need the performance because I will not settle with anything less than maxed out BF3 graphics =)

I think the thing thats nagging me is that I've never owned a laptop and I am not a home-bound person. I am always away from home and I enjoy being away from home. Other than my current desktop, the only thing that keeps me home is my shower and toilet.

As nerdy as it sounds, I want to bring BF3 with me wherever I go <3 LOL
 
Well to max out BF3, you'll just need a 6950 or 560 video card paired with a 2500k, which can be had within' a ~$1200 budget.

The laptop you mentioned previously is running with the 560M version of the 560, which means it's not as powerful as the desktop counterpart. It's about the equivalent of a desktop 8800 Ultra, 9800 GTX, 9800 GTX+, GTS 250, GTS 450 cards.

So if you wont settle for anything less than maxed out BF3 then you'll need to look for a laptop with a 580M or 6990M video card which means it will probably be above your $1500 budget. Not sure, as I haven't searched for laptops in a while.

Give me a minute to do some research, I'll see about getting you a system that can max out BF3 (on paper at least) and leave you a few hundred dollars to spend on a notebook.
 
Here ya go, this should be able to play BF3 maxed out.

$269.99 - XFX HD-695X-CNFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB
$84.99 - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2
$79.99 - LITE-ON Black Blu-ray Burner with Blu Ray 3D Feature IHBS112-04 - OEM
$94.99 - Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2CCA 2.5" 64GB SATA III
$314.98 - Intel Core i5-2500K w/ 1x MSI P67A-C43 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 combo
$46.99 - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333

The above build $900.22 shipped

If you want more space for other things, then I'd suggest going with this extra HDD.
$59.99 - SAMSUNG HD103SJ 1TB

With this hard drive, new total is $960.21 shipped

This leaves almost ~$500 for a case which I suggest one of these cases:
$60 - NZXT Source 210 Elite ATX Case
$60 - Cooler Master HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 ATX Case
$60 - NZXT Source 210 Elite ATX Case
$70 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K58W ATX Case
$70 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K56 ATX Case
$90 - Cooler Master CM690 II Advance ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$100 - Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$110 - NZXT Whisper WHI - 001BK ATX Full Tower Case
$100 - Lian Li PC-7FN ATX Case
$110 - Lian Li PC-60FN ATX Case
$113 - Velocity Micro GX2-W Silver Classic Aluminum Case with Side Window
$110 - Fractal Design Arc Mini Tower
$120 - Corsair Carbide Series 400R ATX Case
$130 - Fractal Design Define R3 Black ATX Case
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - Lian Li PC-9F ATX Case
$140 - Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$140 - Antec Performance One Series P183 V3 ATX Case
$143 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-002OR Black Finish w/Orange Trim Full Tower ATX Case
$150 - Corsair Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$160 - Silverstone RV02B-W ATX case
$178 - Silverstone RV02B-EW ATX case
$190 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case

I would probably stick with one of the $100 or less cases, so you can get a descent notebook for $300 - $400.
 
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