I don't understand why people choose laptops

I don't want the desktop in the living room, it's large and not that aesthetically pleasing but if I had to play strictly in the spare room it wouldn't be worthwhile because I only like hanging out there when no one else is home. The ability to play in a central area of the house without setting up another piece of furniture is important to me, so my laptop is perfect even though portability in the sense of being able to actually travel isn't an issue.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JackHatchet

How do laptops hold up physically?

Has anyone ever gamed on one for like 4 hours a day over several years without any part failures?

---

As someone who literally never owned anything else than a laptop - it holds up just fine. My games run smooth, Graphics are great and everything works as intended. About the part failures.. weeeeell, since I'm not using my laptop only for games, I usually crash my harddisc after 4,5 years regulary (might be a curse on that part? lel) But even that can be fixed easily, if not I am in the mood to a new one :p
Why I stay with a laptop? It's mobile. That's my main reason. And I'm happy with it o/

The price difference isn't that much these days.

I play on a high end laptop 1060gtx i7 16gig ram. Cost me £1100 which is typically only a couple of hundred quid more than the same spec pc. Not a vast difference. You might find the same spec cheaper with EOL parts but they typically aren't upgradable very much either.

It's lightish (2.8kg without the external DVD) it's portable I can play in any room in the house. Even in bed if im off with the flu or something. And if I so desire can hook it up to my av receiver and play 5.1 surround sound 46 inch screen and still have a full 60 fps on games.

It also draws less power than a desktop with equivalent specs which means cheaper electric bills. Which offsets the extra 200quid I paid over time.

Oh and I can take it with me when work sends me away for days at a time. Something to blast in a hotel room.

It's a no brainer.

Of the last 3 I've owned only 1 has ever developed a fault which was the motherboard and cost me £126 to get fixed which included shipping costs sending laptop back to manufacturer.

Edit they also seem to hold value better than desktops. When I got my current one. My old i5 8gig ram with GTX870 graphics was sold on eBay for £511. Almost half the price of my current one. Effectively means my current laptop cost me £600. And will probably last me 3 maybe 4 years before I replace it.

The question then becomes why would anyone limit themselves to a desktop? (Semi rhetorical)

Also not so much recently but I have been known to take my laptop to the bathroom with me when i've been waiting in a dufy finder queue for almost 2 hours and need a poop... you just know if it was in another room you would have missed the ding...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JackHatchet

To the haters. I didn't ask my questions to hate on laptop users. Because laptops vs desktops isn't an 'obviously' subjective question as some people seem to think. There's a lot of logical and objective reasons for both camps. And those reasons are what I wanted to know. For example, a lot of folks started off with laptops growing up, and it became an acquired taste. That's an explaination I would have never considered had I not asked, and people not answered. And while sometimes 'sticking with something' because you grew up with it isn't always the most logical choice--I do understand it, and respect it. It's why I use an iPhone. It was my first smartphone (after a Razer), and I never gave android a chance. Now I stick with what I know best, and that's my reason. It doesn't mean I think less of other people's choices. I asked a question, because I didn't understand those choices. I have respect for everyone who answered my curiosity.

---

I dont mean and didnt meant to be rude, but: Your "question" in the OP came off as pretty rude to me, hence my first comment/post here. You even called it a "rant" which isnt something you do out of curiosity most of the time, but because something irks you in a negative way (like bards not using their songs and denying me their sweet, sweet crit-buff in expert-dungeons).
I dont know wether or not english is your native language and wether or not that played a role in your choice of words - and I also dont know if this advice is welcome at all, but: If you're asking something out of curiosity, then you should try to make it sound like that - "I dont understand this (because I never owned a laptop), can someone explain me their reasons to use one? I would like to understand why!" - not coming off as if you're almost belittling people for a choice they made for themself and that has no impact on you.
At least to me your OP didnt seemed curious but had more the vibe of "OMG how can you be so stupid to pick a laptop over a desktop, I dont get it!!"

Many people travel in their line of work and use laptops for gaming. I have a friend who is a VP for a company to where he has to travel at least 3 times a week from Canada to areas of the US.

Then there are some people who just like it for convenience.

I play on both desktop and laptop. Desktop when I'm raiding with mouse + kb, and laptop with xbox 360 controller.

Why?

I love being able to plop a pillow on my back, blanket on my lap, my laptop on a cooling pad on my blanketed lap with an xbox 360 controller in hand. It is amazingly comfortable. I love doing this when doing gathering/crafting and watching twitch streams on the side with an overlay program.

And laptops are super mobile, I'm a college student so in the two hour gap in my classes I get hop on FFXIV when I'm on campus.

I just returned after being gone for quite a long time. I was playing on a Surface and it couldn't handle this game, so I was not playing anything and then tried WoW for a bit (BFA was terrible).

I just got a new gaming laptop and now I can play this again. Woohoo!

I got a laptop because I travel for work and it takes up less space than a desktop. It just makes sense for me. This computer can easily handle this game and probably most games and will be able to for at least a couple of years. I can also take it with me when I travel for work or vacation. I typically have it hooked up to monitors and a sound system- but it also has a really nice screen, so I can watch movies on it when I travel as well.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KisaiTenshi

Most new laptops use SSD or NVMe hard drives, which is what dies first in most laptops. Desktops with SSD's still have delicately mounted heat sinks, and unsecured cables. The most common failure points with desktops are the cables attached to the motherboard, and the CPU heatsink being dislodged. On high end gaming systems, you also have the PCIe GPU cards being jostled out of the card slot. That is all a factor of build quality. Laptops are tightly engineered, and can take a lot more abuse now then they could even 4 years ago before SSD's were large enough to actually play games on. Thank Apple for that trend. You'd be amazed at how solid laptops are.

The most common thing broken on a laptop today is the PSU connector, and the screen because people use too small of laptop bag/backpack and someone sits/steps on it.

---

I repair computers (both laptops and desktops) for a living. I have seen a failed heat sink mount 1 time in my career. As for unsecured cables, cable management is part of building a machine correctly and with today's cases it isn't even hard. Cable failure is the most vanishingly rare component failure across both desktops and laptops. PCIe GPU cards are not jostled out of the slot unless they are mounted improperly (which is difficult to do) and the machine is moved a lot (defeating the purpose of a desktop). Laptops are more "tightly engineered" only in the sense that they are made to take up less space and weigh less. They also cannot take much more of what I would consider abuse (rough handling, dropping them) than before. I see people all the time who break the hinge mounts on their machine by opening and closing the screen by the corner (please don't do that, use the middle and be gentle). At the end of the day with a laptop you have a circuit board mounted to light weight plastic, which can be surprisingly brittle.

The most common failed components across both laptops and desktops are the motherboard and power adapter / power supply. (If you're talking damaged through misuse on a laptop that would be the D/C in jack and screen) In terms of life expectancy laptops usually make it 3-5 years on average, desktops 5-7 years on average. There is of course variation to this depending on how it is used.

Again I'm totally fine with people choosing a laptop (it's their choice), but laptops are not superior to desktops in general. It's a trade off which is right for some but not others.

lmao laptops are good

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JackHatchet

(This rant was trigged by the FFXIV graphics are too hard on my PC forum post where someone recommended the user who can't afford a new computer to buy a laptop. They don't have money for a better PC, why would you recommend a laptop? Terrible performance/price ratio compared to a desktop).

---

Facebook and Tumblr are over yonder. ---->

To be fair I've been wanting to build a new pc for a while now but man it's surprisingly difficult to find lateral cases (desktop not tower)

The eventual plan is going to be to build a pc that I can sit on the shelf under my tv and use that for gaming. If I can ever find some good lateral cases that is.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dzian

To be fair I've been wanting to build a new pc for a while now but man it's surprisingly difficult to find lateral cases (desktop not tower)

The eventual plan is going to be to build a pc that I can sit on the shelf under my tv and use that for gaming. If I can ever find some good lateral cases that is.

---

Technically most standard desktop tower cases can be simply laid on their side to function as such, so that is always an option. The only really issue with that would be any optical disc drives would then be vertically aligned which could be annoying. You could always just get a case that doesn't have front bays for optical drives and then get an external drive to plug in.
Here is one that would work like that.

You can find cases like what you are looking for, however they tend to mostly be micro-atx which comes with it's own limitations, but may fit your needs.
Here is one of those.

I know I have seen some more mid-tower or bigger sized cases like what you are talking about, but I can't recall where at the moment.

Just poke around and I'm sure you'll find one.
Here is a list of good case manufacturers.
Cooler Master
EVGA
Thermaltake
Corsair

Or you can always check Newegg
Cases on Newegg

There is also the option of buying a prebuilt mini gaming computer and then later upgrading where you can as needed.
Asus ROG GR8 II

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JackHatchet

My work gifted me a laptop about 2 years ago, and I've honestly only ever used it maybe 3 times for work? And about 6 times for lan parties. My full-tower these days isn't nearly as portable as the mid-tower I had in highschool/college. So for a quick 6 hour session--I can suffer through a laptop. Though I still pack my own mouse and keyboard, and I cringe at using a smaller screen compared to my desktop's 30in. Now I don't complain about that laptop too much, because as a work-gift--who can complain? But if I had to pay 1,500 dollars for it of my own money. There's no freaking way I'd even come close to getting my money's worth out of it.

---

I used company assigned laptops for years in addition to my own. Unless I'm on the road I always use external keyboard, mouse and monitor. I just plug them in push the power button and close the lid.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lumivyory

I'm pretty sure if it's a high-end gaming laptop it can take at least days without restarting.

The thing with laptops is that you need to watch how much they heat up and be sure to clean them from dust and change the thermal paste at least once a year, otherwise it might heat up too much and literally burn out. Especially if you use them for gaming which makes most of them heat up more than usual.
I only had one laptop die for still unknown reason (I think motherboard died) but my oldest one lived for at least 5 years with me playing games on it all the time.

---

I've never really had heat issues as I tend to only use my laptop on solid surfaces. I think heat becomes and issue for folks who use laptops in bed, on the carpet or their lap because of the obstructed vents and due to the materials having more lint and dust to be sucked in.


In the end the reliability of a laptop like anything depends upon how it has been treated. Throw it around or use it in dirty environments and it won't last as long as a unit that has been treated well and kept clean.

For me I don't own a dedicated computer for gaming. I only have one laptop and I have to make do with it for everything. If my conditions were better I would own a good desktop.

To prevent starting another thread, I was wondering if I could get some suggestions for a laptop that can run ffxiv? I do have a desktop, but there are times where I'll be on the go, so I would really appreciate any help on finding a laptop that can run the game. Someone suggested this, but I've heard mixed reviews on it.

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron...ptop+1050ti%27

again any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Claviusnex

I've never really had heat issues as I tend to only use my laptop on solid surfaces. I think heat becomes and issue for folks who use laptops in bed, on the carpet or their lap because of the obstructed vents and due to the materials having more lint and dust to be sucked in.

---

I barely ever take my laptop off my table but it still starts heating up at one point or another forcing me to clean it :'(
Teach me your secrets

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lumivyory

I barely ever take my laptop off my table but it still starts heating up at one point or another forcing me to clean it :'(
Teach me your secrets

---

https://scjdmcdn.azureedge.net/~/med...2223A599F9CC81

:D

Can't answer that other than maybe laptop brand or model differences. I've historically used higher end Thinkpad laptops due to my company supplying them for work and because of the great prices I could get through the employee sales program. If I can figure it out maybe I'll write a book. ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Claviusnex

Snip

---

Lmao you just made my day
Well next time I leave my laptop for cleaning in the hands of professionals I should maybe ask them, surely they know XD

I use a gaming laptop i got. Yea its not a gaming pc but it does what a gaming pc should do for me. It runs basically all my games no issues, i dont usually have heat issues, and its got a lot of the new stuff. when i got it i was told i was getting it for cheap cuz its a Samsung oddesy gaming laptop. its supposed to have heating issues, yet ive encountered none. i'd love to get a gaming pc, but that will happen when i move out / see how much money i have to spend after.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ranetsu-Akagane

To prevent starting another thread, I was wondering if I could get some suggestions for a laptop that can run ffxiv? I do have a desktop, but there are times where I'll be on the go, so I would really appreciate any help on finding a laptop that can run the game. Someone suggested this, but I've heard mixed reviews on it.

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron...ptop+1050ti%27

again any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

---

You'd need to give people an idea of what budget you can afford.

Personally I am a fan of companies like Xoticpc that offer custom desktop and laptop builds or prebuilts for a reasonable price.

While I do my own desktop builds, when I've helped people I know shop for a gaming laptop I've gone through them.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TouchandFeel

You'd need to give people an idea of what budget you can afford.

Personally I am a fan of companies like Xoticpc that offer custom desktop and laptop builds or prebuilts for a reasonable price.

While I do my own desktop builds, when I've helped people I know shop for a gaming laptop I've gone through them.

---

Sorry about that, I can do $700 to$900

Let me respectably explain why many people choose laptops over a desktop (in my opinion):

It is true that gaming on a desktop is much better than gaming on a laptop (except gaming laptop) because of its hardware that help improving the performance and quality of gameplay for the users. But you should keep in mind that buying a pre-build PC is very expensive, and even though building a PC is cheaper and more convenient, the weakness of desktops is that they are static. Imagine that you are a normal worker, but you also love gaming and you travel a lot, would you be able to carry your desktop anywhere to play? Definitely not, which means people also consider mobility as a quality in choosing the right gear to work and game on.

Gaming laptop is a great option for the people I mentioned above, but with the price around $700 above for spec that could play modern games with good quality and performance, unless you are really loved by your parents that would buy anything for your need of gaming, not many people will be able to afford them. Thus normal laptops are the final option for the rest, and as one of them, I find gaming experience to be not as good as how I used to game on a PC. But in a situation where my financial is poor, and I have to travel around as a student, having a laptop that is able to play games at an acceptable performance is good enough for me. If you don't like being a poor gamer, just work hard and buy a gaming laptop. But it is still recommended to play on a PC than on a laptop.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Claviusnex

https://scjdmcdn.azureedge.net/~/med...2223A599F9CC81

:D

Can't answer that other than maybe laptop brand or model differences. I've historically used higher end Thinkpad laptops due to my company supplying them for work and because of the great prices I could get through the employee sales program. If I can figure it out maybe I'll write a book. ;)

---

Thinkpad Yoga for school work here, and I game with it with 18-25 fps in FFXIV. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I really like the keyboards on laptops, the keys being flatter and smaller just feel more comfortable for my smaller hands. I haven't seen any desktop keyboards like that. (If there are any like that, please link :))

Why does something that has literally no impact on you upset you so much? That's the real question here.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NessaWyvern

I really like the keyboards on laptops, the keys being flatter and smaller just feel more comfortable for my smaller hands. I haven't seen any desktop keyboards like that. (If there are any like that, please link :))

---

They exist. Those type of keys are often called chiclet keys.
Chiclet keyboards on Newegg

I am going to be extremely kind and assume you are not a troll trying to start a flamewar here.

It is portability. The fact that a laptop is portable is a very very good bonus if people want to game on the go or do other things on their computer such as reading emails and write things and such while they commute. I have both a desktop and a laptop, but if I could only have one I would pick laptop every day of the week as I spend a lot of time not at home.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ranetsu-Akagane

Sorry about that, I can do $700 to$900

---

Hmm ... That range puts you in a funny spot, if you could save up a bit more and bump it up to $1000 - $1200, your options will be much better.

The Dell you linked is okay, sort of, but doesn't have enough RAM in my opinion.

This MSI laptop is pretty much specs and cost equivalent to the Dell but I trust MSI more with gaming laptops than I do Dell. The site that's linked will also let you customize some bits of the laptop which would let you bump up the RAM to 16gb with the price coming in at around $1000 not including any potential shipping or tax.
That one is a bit bigger than the Dell at a 17.8'' screen as opposed to a 15.6" which I personally see as a bonus, but that does make it more bulky if you will be carrying it around a lot. Pretty sure there was a 15.6" version for the same price on the site though.

- Portability
- Space concerns
- Comfort - preference for the laptop on lap or the keyboard layout etc
- The gap between gaming laptops and desktops is not as wide as it was in the past

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TouchandFeel

Hmm ... That range puts you in a funny spot, if you could save up a bit more and bump it up to $1000 - $1200, your options will be much better.

The Dell you linked is okay, sort of, but doesn't have enough RAM in my opinion.

This MSI laptop is pretty much specs and cost equivalent to the Dell but I trust MSI more with gaming laptops than I do Dell. The site that's linked will also let you customize some bits of the laptop which would let you bump up the RAM to 16gb with the price coming in at around $1000 not including any potential shipping or tax.
That one is a bit bigger than the Dell at an 17.8'' screen as opposed to a 15.6" which I personally see as a bonus, but that does make it more bulky if you will be carrying it around a lot. Pretty sure there was a 15.6" version for the same price on the site though.

---

I'll save up a bit more, and go with extra ram thanks for the info.

I use a pc mainly but I have a laptop for when i go visit the bf or family seeing pc isn't really travel friendly XD. Though i have to plug in my keyboard and mouse when i play on laptop seeing the laptop keyboard is awful to target with as a healer.

I got a laptop because I stopped gaming for a while and mostly browsed the internet. I have no idea how to build a PC, and I liked the fact that I could take a laptop with me during vacations. Now that I'm back into gaming I regret my choice because I have to play FFXIV on the lowest settings and even then I lag and have long loading screens. I'm getting tired of it, so I'll probably have to learn how to build a PC soon.

Don't see problem if ones want use a laptop after all didn't they say this game coming to the switch which is worse than a laptop.

I use a laptop because XIV is the only PC game I play. I'm mostly a console gamer. With a PC I can play XIV but also use it for work and stuff. If I had a desktop its only purpose would be an FFXIV box.

I'm surprised how many people travel

i have a desktop and have been fine with it for several years but recently i've been thinking about...i kinda wish i had a laptop lol
obviously a nice gaming laptop but hecka expensive??? but my reason is my fam and i are going to be moving soon-ish into one big house for raisins and i'd like to be able to move around for when i wanna be social and around ppl and when i rather be a nerd by myself in my room lol
but i don't appreciate how laptops get really hot..... i would prob have to look into the cooling thing someone linked earlier
unfortunately my comp is not old and defunct enough to think abt a new thingaroo just yet
but i get the appeal, if you don't live by yourself and don't want to always be either by yourself or around other ppl

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by boopadoop

snip

---

In a case like yours where you have a good gaming desktop but would potentially like to have a bit more mobility for playing but within a single household, you could look into some game streaming options that would allow you to stream from your desktop to a device hooked up to a TV or other display.
Devices that I know of off the top of my head that do this are the Steam Link, Nvidia Shield (would need to have a Nvidia card in your desktop and not Radeon) or another laptop (doesn't have to be powerful) that you install Steam on.

Keep in mind that if you were game streaming like this it will potentially introduce a bit of noise/visual degradation and input lag. You will also need to be able to either connect your desktop and device to the router via a hardline or have very good wi-fi between everything. With a good enough connection you can get the visual noise and input lag down to pretty much imperceptible levels.

It's definitely a bit of a hassle, but could be a potentially cheaper option for you.

I myself have a Steam Link hooked up to the TV in my living room and I will sometimes stream certain games to it if I want to stretch out a bit while I play them. I always play FF14 at my desk though since I need my Mouse+Keyboard setup for this game.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JackHatchet

I'll never understand why someone would choose to game on a laptop over a desktop.

I've had friends, and even dated a girl for several years who gamed almost exclusively on a laptop. I don't get how people can have an office space capable of accommodating a desktop, and still choose to go with a laptop. I can understand people who are always mobile, but most aren't.

Laptops offer less quality for more cost in almost every situation. They're rarely upgradable, and they're more fragile. I just cannot fathom why someone would choose a laptop over a desktop if they're just going to sit at a desk in their house to game.

(This rant was trigged by the FFXIV graphics are too hard on my PC forum post where someone recommended the user who can't afford a new computer to buy a laptop. They don't have money for a better PC, why would you recommend a laptop? Terrible performance/price ratio compared to a desktop).

---

Why people choose laptops? A lot of people don't have enough space for a normal PC or want to use their "PC" when they are not at home.
You can play this game on a laptop without problems but thats not a laptop for people who don't have money.

I'm one of those Laptop exclusive cats, I have always liked them since they started making gaming and specialist type laptops.
I can't think of anything worse than being stuck at a desk with a keyboard and mouse and a large box pumping out heat and noise, I like being able to move around =^.^=


I don't use just any old laptop though, the one I have is a beast.

I use a laptop because I am moving my computer from home to school to work every single day. I would like to save up for a desktop. Having both would be amazing for what I do.

However, I have a very powerful laptop since I need it to run things like Unreal/Maya, so FFXIV does not suffer in the slightest.