Poll: Your Computer.
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My Desktops for gaming, movies, and used for it's raw computing power when it comes to compiling my thousands of lines of code, my netbook is used for note taking in lectures and coding small bits and bobs since it doesn't have the power to do the rest.
I have a custom built gaming computer as does my parnter (though her's is currently undergoing maintainance).
They both have fairly good graphics cards, mine is pretty new and cost around £80. Can run most games on full with few framerate issues.
I have a laptop with a ATI4570 built in. runs most games on medium-high with very few issues (not to mention the 3D screen). My partner has a netbook (aspire one) that can barely run minecraft and has a broken trackpad.
We both use the Laptops more.
I much prefer my PC for programming and gaming. It's faster, has 3 Screens and a nicer keyboard. My laptop has a pretty sweet keyboard too (I refused to get a laptop without a proper sized numberpad)
While the desktops are great, and I love them to pieces, They're not as "social" as laptops. I'm lucky in that I had a job a while ago with no bills to pay, so I could afford both, most of my friends, however have laptops for portability (some travel 40 miles to University). When they're round it's just not practical to cram 4 people in a tiny room with 3 computers, much easier to have 4 of us downstairs on sofas and chairs and boxes and whatever else we can muster. Considering we all play minecraft the most together it allows for easy communication, to have something on the TV in the background and it'll run fast on most laptops. I also like playing Games/Document editing on my phone..
I suppose the end result is whatever works for each person. If you need portability either get a desktop pc and a tablet (as my friend is probably doing), or get a laptop. If you're not bothered you can splash out on a desktop and keep a smartphone just incase.
They both have fairly good graphics cards, mine is pretty new and cost around £80. Can run most games on full with few framerate issues.
I have a laptop with a ATI4570 built in. runs most games on medium-high with very few issues (not to mention the 3D screen). My partner has a netbook (aspire one) that can barely run minecraft and has a broken trackpad.
We both use the Laptops more.
I much prefer my PC for programming and gaming. It's faster, has 3 Screens and a nicer keyboard. My laptop has a pretty sweet keyboard too (I refused to get a laptop without a proper sized numberpad)
While the desktops are great, and I love them to pieces, They're not as "social" as laptops. I'm lucky in that I had a job a while ago with no bills to pay, so I could afford both, most of my friends, however have laptops for portability (some travel 40 miles to University). When they're round it's just not practical to cram 4 people in a tiny room with 3 computers, much easier to have 4 of us downstairs on sofas and chairs and boxes and whatever else we can muster. Considering we all play minecraft the most together it allows for easy communication, to have something on the TV in the background and it'll run fast on most laptops. I also like playing Games/Document editing on my phone..
I suppose the end result is whatever works for each person. If you need portability either get a desktop pc and a tablet (as my friend is probably doing), or get a laptop. If you're not bothered you can splash out on a desktop and keep a smartphone just incase.
I have a laptop for writing/working at uni.
I have a gaming/multimedia desktop rig for fun/writing.
I have a gaming/multimedia desktop rig for fun/writing.
Well then either I must have some sort of different Crysis Warhead or that website is bullshitting, because I ran it at maximum settings and it ran perfectly.Tubez said:
Amen to that.SenseOfTumour said:
I feel that my desktop is much better suited for gaming than a laptop, and it's easier and cheaper to upgrade it along the way.
Though I am considering an iPad, or more likely a Samsung Galaxy Tab, for my casual browsing.
In fact, I'm writing this on my father in law's iPad.
right now, a low end gaming laptop (3 years ago when i bought it it was a med - high end gaming laptop). im saving up for a new even lower end (for gaming) laptop. i need it smaller, lighter, and great battery life (going with the hp dm1z). imma build a desktop in the summer because of my 3d animation work.
I have a desktop that I use for some games, though it's not meant for high-end gaming, I just cant keep up with the hardware upgrades on my budget anymore. So I have my modest desktop for things like Minecraft and some RTS games, but I still use my laptop far more often since I usually just use PCs for web surfing and writing- much more convenient.
Acer Inspire 6530G
Turion 64 X2 RM-73 2.2Ghz
4Gb DDR2 (333Mhz) - Soon to see an upgrade to 8Gb 800Mhz ^_^
ATI Radeon 4570 512Mb (680Mhz / 500Mhz)
Don't let anyone tell you, you can't get modern gaming on a tight budget. This laptop has ran anything I've thrown at it, i.e, DAII, Mafia II, Fallout 3, the list goes on. It helps if you know how to balance and manage video settings, which I expect most people on the escapist do. Generally games a couple of years old run at high outputs or better and brand new games like DAII need to be scaled down a little. The only major issue is sacrificing play time for render quality. It CAN play DAII at mid-range settings with textures ramped up, but I can only play for an hour or so without having to close it because the keys are hot to the touch. If I pull everything down to the bare minimum I can keep going all day.
It's a great little laptop and bang for buck wise it was better than anything I could build on a tight budget. £330. It is also widely upgradeable if you know how, but a much riskier affair than any desktop upgrades I've done. The graphics board is independent; an second generation MXM standard (3.0 type a), which means it'll accept GPUs up to Radeon 4750 / GeForce 250M (though if the copper piping from a 250M, which is usually recycled from an Alienware M11x old model, would fit is another matter). The CPU can be upgraded but only by 200Mhz and a slightly wider Hypertransport band, so it doesn't seem worth the entry cost.
You can game on a laptop on a budget.
Turion 64 X2 RM-73 2.2Ghz
4Gb DDR2 (333Mhz) - Soon to see an upgrade to 8Gb 800Mhz ^_^
ATI Radeon 4570 512Mb (680Mhz / 500Mhz)
Don't let anyone tell you, you can't get modern gaming on a tight budget. This laptop has ran anything I've thrown at it, i.e, DAII, Mafia II, Fallout 3, the list goes on. It helps if you know how to balance and manage video settings, which I expect most people on the escapist do. Generally games a couple of years old run at high outputs or better and brand new games like DAII need to be scaled down a little. The only major issue is sacrificing play time for render quality. It CAN play DAII at mid-range settings with textures ramped up, but I can only play for an hour or so without having to close it because the keys are hot to the touch. If I pull everything down to the bare minimum I can keep going all day.
It's a great little laptop and bang for buck wise it was better than anything I could build on a tight budget. £330. It is also widely upgradeable if you know how, but a much riskier affair than any desktop upgrades I've done. The graphics board is independent; an second generation MXM standard (3.0 type a), which means it'll accept GPUs up to Radeon 4750 / GeForce 250M (though if the copper piping from a 250M, which is usually recycled from an Alienware M11x old model, would fit is another matter). The CPU can be upgraded but only by 200Mhz and a slightly wider Hypertransport band, so it doesn't seem worth the entry cost.
You can game on a laptop on a budget.
Other than GPU's and massive Hard Drives desktops are no better than laptops.
And of course a laptop with those specs is going to be better than a net book.
And of course a laptop with those specs is going to be better than a net book.
I got a laptop but I am looking for a gaming PC for StarCraft 2, yes I'm behind on the times don't judge me.
Laptops are all well and good, and modern high end laptops can be quite good for gaming purposes, but there's a trade-off: You're still gaming on a laptop. No matter how nice that laptop might be, it's still a mobile device with size and usability limitations. All of those can be overcome mind you, but if you're hooking up your laptop to a giant monitor, surround sound system, keyboard+mouse, etc, you're essentially using it like you would a desktop - if that's your "gaming setup", you can build a system with a lot more punch for your dollar by just starting with a desktop in the first place.
The thing about laptops is that the technology that goes inside them carries a cost premium - a lot of the components that go into a full-sized computer are nowhere near as small as we can actually make them, that's why we have laptops that can run modern high-end graphical applications while taking up a fraction of the space; miniaturization jacks up the price though, which is why traditional desktop components aren't "as small as we can actually make them". Then there's the issue of modularity - with a laptop there is really only so much wiggle room for "expansion" after the fact; depending on the design it may literally be impossible to upgrade.
If you need to have a mobile computer and also want to be able to game while you're out and about, then yes, purchasing a gaming laptop makes sense for you. If you're just looking for a computer to use in your gaming "sanctum sanctorum" and nowhere else, turning a laptop into a desktop fixture is counter-intuitive and not the most efficient use of your money.
The thing about laptops is that the technology that goes inside them carries a cost premium - a lot of the components that go into a full-sized computer are nowhere near as small as we can actually make them, that's why we have laptops that can run modern high-end graphical applications while taking up a fraction of the space; miniaturization jacks up the price though, which is why traditional desktop components aren't "as small as we can actually make them". Then there's the issue of modularity - with a laptop there is really only so much wiggle room for "expansion" after the fact; depending on the design it may literally be impossible to upgrade.
If you need to have a mobile computer and also want to be able to game while you're out and about, then yes, purchasing a gaming laptop makes sense for you. If you're just looking for a computer to use in your gaming "sanctum sanctorum" and nowhere else, turning a laptop into a desktop fixture is counter-intuitive and not the most efficient use of your money.
Okay, time to really stretch the e-peen. I have in my house the following:
Gaming Built Desktop:
=>AMD64 X6 1100 (3.3GHz)
=>16GB DDR3 Memory
=>1TB HDD (2x500GB)
=>ATI Radeon HD6970 2GB driving:
=>40' Samsung LCD HD TV
=>ATI Radeon HD4800 1GB driving:
=>Benq 24' HD Monitors (portrait mode on desk arms)
=>Win7 Ultimate 64bit
Gaming Laptop:
=>i7 Q720 (1.6GHz)
=>4GB DDR2
=>1TB HDD (2x500GB)
=>19' HD Screen
=>nVidia GTS250M 1GB
Netbook:
=>N450 1.6GHz
=>160GB HDD
=>1GB DDR2
=>WinXP Home
=>10' Screen
HomeServer:
=>Core2Duo E8500 3.16Ghz
=>4GB DDR2
=>4.09TB HDD
===>This is divided up among file serving, and automated backups. It's also where I do any kind of file conversion such as backing up the family DVD collection or large downloads such as game patches.
=>MS HomeServer 32Bit
These are all interconnected via Gigabit using a TPLink 24port Gigabit switch, which in turn also shares Internet to all the cabled devices, and a cheap wifi router is configured as an access point.
EDIT: The above are the computers that I personally own, there are also my grandparent's two computers, my brother's computer and laptop and numerous other devices such as media streamers, smart phones and an iPad.
Gaming Built Desktop:
=>AMD64 X6 1100 (3.3GHz)
=>16GB DDR3 Memory
=>1TB HDD (2x500GB)
=>ATI Radeon HD6970 2GB driving:
=>40' Samsung LCD HD TV
=>ATI Radeon HD4800 1GB driving:
=>Benq 24' HD Monitors (portrait mode on desk arms)
=>Win7 Ultimate 64bit
Gaming Laptop:
=>i7 Q720 (1.6GHz)
=>4GB DDR2
=>1TB HDD (2x500GB)
=>19' HD Screen
=>nVidia GTS250M 1GB
Netbook:
=>N450 1.6GHz
=>160GB HDD
=>1GB DDR2
=>WinXP Home
=>10' Screen
HomeServer:
=>Core2Duo E8500 3.16Ghz
=>4GB DDR2
=>4.09TB HDD
===>This is divided up among file serving, and automated backups. It's also where I do any kind of file conversion such as backing up the family DVD collection or large downloads such as game patches.
=>MS HomeServer 32Bit
These are all interconnected via Gigabit using a TPLink 24port Gigabit switch, which in turn also shares Internet to all the cabled devices, and a cheap wifi router is configured as an access point.
EDIT: The above are the computers that I personally own, there are also my grandparent's two computers, my brother's computer and laptop and numerous other devices such as media streamers, smart phones and an iPad.
I have a Dell Alienware laptop which I can use to play Crysis on maximum settings with absolutely no lag, so I don't think I'm ever buying a desktop again. Then again, I've had so much shit that I had to call tech support for that I might just throw it out my window. And it's not really a true laptop, whenever it's on, it CANNOT BE MOVED!!! Not even an inch. But it's still worth it as long as it doesn't fuck up again.
I am a desktop person myself, but due to budget limitations, I've been using a laptop recently.
That's not a mistype. I only had the funding for one computer, and I needed one that did all the typical desktop stuff in addition to all the typical class stuff. So, it had to be a laptop.
It's one huge laptop though. I will admit, if I had a lot of extra spending money, I would have gone with a good gaming desktop and a smaller laptop, but this will do for a while.
That's not a mistype. I only had the funding for one computer, and I needed one that did all the typical desktop stuff in addition to all the typical class stuff. So, it had to be a laptop.
It's one huge laptop though. I will admit, if I had a lot of extra spending money, I would have gone with a good gaming desktop and a smaller laptop, but this will do for a while.