by You’ve been diligently saving up for your next gaming rig, and now it’s time to go shopping. Little by little you discover that you were not aware of which way to go between a gaming laptop and a gaming desktop. You start weighing them against each other, but can’t clearly decide which is best for you. This is where we come in and objectively help you figure out which one to spend money on. Anyway, you’re not alone, this is a dilemma many gamers have faced for years.
The problem here is that the differences between a gaming desktop and a gaming laptop are pretty obvious, but each has its strengths. And the majority of players can only afford to buy one at a time. Others may be limited by available space, and so they go with a gaming laptop. For others, it’s a matter of preference that they have to have a massive RGB-lit tower next to their mechanical keyboard. This post is for the undecided shopper who is open to both options. Let’s get started.
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1. Portable gaming machines are more portable than desktops
I know this isn’t exactly breaking news to anyone, but it’s a very critical factor to consider before taking the plunge. Even a giant 17-inch gaming laptop can be folded up and easily fit into a backpack, making this an easy win for gaming laptops. On the other hand, even the smallest desk will be considerably cumbersome to carry around.
This is because you have to consider the screen, keyboard and CPU as individual components among accessories such as a mouse. If you need a gaming rig that you can easily move around with, a gaming laptop will be the obvious option. What if mobility is not a factor in your assessment? The reason may be that you have a notebook for your other work-related tasks. Your options are still wide open, so let’s move on to the next factor to consider between a portable gaming laptop and a gaming desktop.
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2. A gaming desktop is more upgradeable than a laptop
In general, most desktop components are designed to be much more replaceable and upgradeable than laptops. You can change and upgrade pretty much every component on a desktop from motherboards to CPUs and even power supplies. On the other hand, very limited components of a laptop can be upgraded. For example, you can’t upgrade the motherboard, cooling system or CPU on most laptops. A key point here is that during the purchase you can build a fully customized gaming desktop for yourself.
With laptops, you can choose and buy from the limited options configured for you by the manufacturer. The most experienced builders of desktop gaming rigs configure systems so that they can continue to upgrade to the latest components for years to come, the same cannot be said for a laptop.
Also, beware of pre-built desktops that use proprietary motherboards that are not standard sizes, thus limiting their upgradeability. Most laptops will limit the upgradeable components to memory and storage.
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3. Costs: What is more expensive to buy
It’s quite difficult to compare desktop and gaming laptops directly in terms of cost due to the wide range of possible configurations. But by stacking several similarly equipped laptops and desktops against each other, a trend will emerge. The trend will be for the gaming desktop to be marginally cheaper than the laptop with equivalent hardware.
But to be fair, this is before you include a monitor for your desktop as well as other accessories like a keyboard, mouse or speakers. So, when you factor all of this into the cost of a gaming desktop, you’ll end up with a similar price to the laptop. I would like to call this a tie between the desktop and the laptop because there is no clear winner.
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4. Performance
Pound for pound, dollar for dollar, a gaming desktop will always beat a similarly priced laptop in terms of performance. I say this because performance will 100% depend on the specs you choose. This is to explicitly say that a $3500 gaming laptop will most likely outshine a $1500 desktop. That said, similar hardware will always perform better on a desktop than on a laptop.
All this is due to better heat dissipation from better cooling facilities on the large desktop chassis. Consequently, lower operating temperatures will lead to improved performance. A desktop form factor also allows for liquid cooling. Performance-wise, we’d have to give it to desktop gaming rigs, although some portable innovations are plugging the gaps.
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Conclusion: Gaming Laptop vs Gaming Desktop
To summarize the above factors, we have found that desktop gaming machines are easily upgradeable and more powerful than portable gaming machines. Desktops are also easily customizable during purchase because you can build whatever you want, your imagination is your limit. On the other hand, if you are looking for a computer to carry around while saving space at home, a laptop is the sensible choice.
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If you want a lot more performance in a laptop, you might have to cough up more money than you would for a desktop. Because a laptop is less upgradeable, you may have to throw it away after a few years and buy a new one. That said, when it comes to gaming, do you lean towards laptops or desktops? Let us know your allegiance through the comments section below.
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