Laptops better than desktops?

[Ricky 49]

Ok, whilst discussing with my friend who is much more knowledgeable about computers than I am, I explained my problem that my desktop PC is simply not up to scratch with todays PC games as I had to put both the resolution and textures/effects on low with a few mediums to play any modern game. So I longed for a machine to be able to put all these things on high settings for today's games.

i know there are PCs out there which can do just that but are very expensive even the custom spec ones can be pricey at times and I certainly lack the knowledge to upgrade my current pc

My friend told me his laptop he purchased a half year ago had cost the same as my pc which I purchased a year ago (both were around £700/ $1,005) . His laptop of the same price crushes my pc into the dust in terms of specs

So I?m left wondering how a bigger unmoveable thing is so much worse for its portable counterpart of the same price?

 

[Ricky 49]

you may have a point there

my desktop was custom made by a uni and has the words

"we only make computers for education on the side of it"

so perhaps i got the wrong comp?

 

[xenus87]

My friend told me his laptop he purchased a half year ago had cost the same as my pc which I purchased a year ago (both were around £700/ $1,005) . His laptop of the same price crushes my pc into the dust in terms of specs

So I?m left wondering how a bigger unmoveable thing is so much worse for its portable counterpart of the same price?

Hardware moves pretty fast if you want to keep up with the games requirements.

For that same £700 now you could quite easily build a pc which will run pretty much anything out there on high settings at a decent resolution. The PC im using now only cost £700 6 months ago and could run crysis @ 1680x1050 on a mix of medium/high settings with a tweaked config.

Its those horribly overpriced prebuilt computers that places like PC world sell + the price of bleeding edge parts that make people think setting up a decent gaming setup costs you thousands of pounds every few months to play modern games.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

It entirely depends on the vendor and just how knowledgable the person setting the specs is. By and large there is no real reason why a laptop at any price point is going to be faster than a desktop as it takes a fair amount of time to develop the laptop sized versions of each component. Often the result is that you'll be unable to purchase the top of the line components for a laptop no matter how much you're willing to spend.

If you're really hunting for a bargain, the key is to build your desktop yourself. Yes, it requires far more effort than purchasing one pre-built from a vendor, but you save yourself a fair amount not paying for the convienance.

 

[Ricky 49]

fuck i need to build up knowlege

i feel quite the noob

 

[Daveman]

It's about how you buy it. Don't go for a premade PC, build it yourself, that's the key to saving money because when it's all there they usually whack on about £100-£200 on the price tag and I know a lot of people will tell you this too. Going to sites like ebuyer will save you a lot of money. My PC can run any game I want perfectly fine (in fact my friend with a PS3 is envious of the high quality I get in Oblivion) and I got it over a year ago and it wasn't that pricey.

 

[Dessembrae]

Ok, whilst discussing with my friend who is much more knowledgeable about computers than I am, I explained my problem that my desktop PC is simply not up to scratch with todays PC games as I had to put both the resolution and textures/effects on low with a few mediums to play any modern game. So I longed for a machine to be able to put all these things on high settings for today's games.

i know there are PCs out there which can do just that but are very expensive even the custom spec ones can be pricey at times and I certainly lack the knowledge to upgrade my current pc

My friend told me his laptop he purchased a half year ago had cost the same as my pc which I purchased a year ago (both were around £700/ $1,005) . His laptop of the same price crushes my pc into the dust in terms of specs

So I?m left wondering how a bigger unmoveable thing is so much worse for its portable counterpart of the same price?

Were they bought from a mainstream computer company? That would explain it. If I spent that sort of money now, I could build a computer which pounds all laptops into the ground.

every laptop? for a mere £700! there are some REALLY good ones you know! admittedly...you will probably have to spend like 3X times the amount you need for a desktop one >.<

 

[peachy_keen]

I really think it depends on the individual. I know that's a copout answer, but the truth of the matter is that if you need mobility a leeetle more than storing every game on god's earth on your hardrive, then you should go with a laptop.

Personally, I recently bought an Asus laptop for under 1,000 and it plays games pretty beautifully on it. Yeah, I can't store all my games on here, but I'm okay with that.

 

[wordsmith]

Generally if the price is the same, what a laptop gains in portability it loses in performance. If you're aiming for a gaming rig, I would go with a Desktop 100% of the time. If you're looking for a machine to work on/listen to music/play the odd game whilst on the move, go with a laptop.

Punch for punch, dollar for dollar, a Desktop is a better games machine.

 

[RavingLibDem]

really? I've always found the opposite, with desktops being much better at playing games, as most laptops always have the problem of simple heating up too much

 

[Theo Samaritan]

My friend told me his laptop he purchased a half year ago had cost the same as my pc which I purchased a year ago (both were around £700/ $1,005) . His laptop of the same price crushes my pc into the dust in terms of specs

A year ago, you got ripped off. Heavily so.

Eggo has a nice spreadsheet of todays hardware combinations and cost. You can more than easily build a med-high spec PC for £600 or less these days.

 

[Inverse Skies]

I've always liked laptops better. Sure the specs aren't as good, but with wireless internet I can happily sit on the couch as I do anything on the net. Ahhh wireless, legendary.

 

[keptsimple]

I think everyone should just have both then you don't need to worry about getting a laptop of a PC.

Yeah, but then you have to worry about having an empty checking account.

I have a laptop with a decent video card. I'd like to have a more powerful desktop, but I already need the laptop for school/work, so laptop it is.