SFF or Laptop?

I

ilkhan

[H]F Junkie
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Im thinking ahead about how much I need to spend to build/buy a new rig around next febuary (sp?). Primary focus will be gaming and general usage, only thing it wont do is storage, as I will be running this (downgraded) as a file server.

Anyways, with (LAN) gaming as a focus, I need to decide which way to go, SFF or laptop. Laptop is of course easier to setup for gaming, but its a PITA to upgrade. Games Ill be focusing on (and thus, sys requirements): SupCom, quake wars, UT2K7, etc.

I'll have a M1210 for my primary computer, (with external screen/KB/M/etc) and that will cover my mobile needs. But it wont game nearly as well as this rig will be required to.

Im thinking either a 17" laptop, tricked out on CPU and all, which would be expensive, around 2k Im thinking. Or I could go for something like a Qpak, getting everything from scratch. Id probably end up buying a 17-18" gaming screen and a 24" primary screen (and sell this 20, probably). The laptop would have a screen with it too of course, the built in one.

Tis early I know, but just between SFF or laptop, which would everybody pick and why?
 
As you said, a laptop is a PITA to upgrade. A SFF is not. Go with SFF. ;)
 
think about it this way...with the sff the hardest thing to transport is the screen and if youre on the move a lot(trains/planes/college) then get the laptop..

if you just want portability for lanning then a sff is better
 
Newer laptops are pretty upgradeable compared to those only half a year ago or so. Even Dell laptops can go from the 6800 to 7900, processor upgrade, etc.

If your really into lanning I would say get a laptop because I have one and I've gone to so many more lan parties. Its also a lot lighter then even small SFF comps.

You can get a really good laptop for just over $2000 and by good I mean equivalent performance to that of a $1500+ desktop. Look into Sagers (http://www.xtremenotebooks.com | http://www.powernotebooks.com/ | http://www.hypersonic-pc.com/2001/index.asp)

Thats just my opinion.
Heres my review and pics: http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?p=2148138#post2148138
 
Mayhs said:
think about it this way...with the sff the hardest thing to transport is the screen and if youre on the move a lot(trains/planes/college) then get the laptop..

if you just want portability for lanning then a sff is better
Click to expand...

though, unless he has an outlet in trains and planes, he won't be using it very much if he expects top of the line performance.
 
Least said:
though, unless he has an outlet in trains and planes, he won't be using it very much if he expects top of the line performance.
Click to expand...

true...but around two and a bit hours of general usage or 1 and a half hours of gaming is better than nothing :p
 
SFF is cheaper for the same hardware in a laptop....
 
But in the end a $2000 laptop performs equal to a $1500 sff and weighs 40 pounds less. Not only that it is ready to go in 2 minutes and has everything you need in one bag. Not a suit case ;)

just throwing the other side of the scenerio out there
 
A year or 2 down the road you can sell the laptop to upgrade to a new one if needed. they hold their vaule pretty decently...
 
Go with the laptop. Customize it exactly like you want it, and it should hold it's ability to play games for at least a year or two. By then most people are ready to upgrade again anyways.

The two things that tipped the scales are the monitor, and general useage. Carrying around a monitor, a bag full of cables, keyboard/mouse and a computer is a big hastle. The main thing is even though you're wanting this as a gaming laptop, you can bring it with you on every trip you go on, basically keep it with you all the time. Try and do that with even the smallest SFF.
 
Factorxfiles said:
The two things that tipped the scales are the monitor, and general useage. Carrying around a monitor, a bag full of cables, keyboard/mouse and a computer is a big hastle. The main thing is even though you're wanting this as a gaming laptop, you can bring it with you on every trip you go on, basically keep it with you all the time. Try and do that with even the smallest SFF.
Click to expand...
If I need to game a little on the go, the M1210 will cover it. It wont have a 7900 (or 8xxx series) GPU, but that little 7400go will work for low resolution. I think thats what is tipping towards SFF for me. And besides, if I went laptop it would be like 17", not nearly portable. Thats what the M1210 is for.
 
GLSauron said:
If I need to game a little on the go, the M1210 will cover it. It wont have a 7900 (or 8xxx series) GPU, but that little 7400go will work for low resolution. I think thats what is tipping towards SFF for me. And besides, if I went laptop it would be like 17", not nearly portable. Thats what the M1210 is for.
Click to expand...

ha, they have 19 inch laptops too now :D
 
17" laptops are still more portable than any SFF. Not that you'd really want to carry around a big laptop like that, but you *could* if you wanted to. It's just one thing no pc can do, just figured i'd mention it.
 
Laptops usually will not last you as long as PCs because of the lack of an upgrade path. I say small form factor all the way. Go with a small LCD screen and get a Shuttle or an SG-01.
 
I've carried laptops, Shuttles, an X-QPack and a plethora of mATX towers from different makers to various LAN parties all over Florida, from Miami to Jacksonville, and to QuakeCon twice.

My vote is for a laptop.

The ease of portability the lappy provides makes up for the percieved lack of upgradability. The last "upgrade" to my gaming rig involved a new motherboard, cpu and ram, video card and a pair of Raptors. When DX10 and the new games are out it will be time for me to do another "upgrade" :rolleyes:
 
well heres the plan for the moment anyway:
M1210 to be ordered within 2 weeks

Ill then sell most of the desktop (CPU/GPU/Mobo/Case/Etc) and replace them with the cheapest things I can get with a PCI-E x4 slot (for my raid) turning it into a fileserver. Im gonna save that, the funds I get for selling my i8000, and some paychecks and upgrade to a merom CPU when they get released (as well as paying a good chunk of the M1210 off).

Around feb or whenever supcom is released, Ill build up a Qpak/mATX SFF to use as a prime/gaming box. At that point Ill re-evaluate.

Since Im not gaming enough to justify the 7800GT, and the M1210 will be just as fast as my current box, and still dual core, I dont lose anything, while gaming portability. I dont even lose out on my screen, as I can connect to my 2000FP still, albeit on VGA rather than DVI. Current mouse/KB/sound/etc will be used with the M1210.

How does that sound as a plan?
 
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