I don't understand why people choose laptops

[BorisDaBlade]

I play almost exclusively on a mid range laptop. It’s all about portability. Sure it’s not going to look stunning at 30fps, but I’ll take the freedom of being able to take it anywhere I go over being locked to a desk. I still benchmarked at Very High.

I agree that suggesting a laptop over a tower if you’re on a budget is probably not the best, but after you figure in components, monitor, and peripherals, you’re getting upwards of $500 dollars. There are lower end laptops at that price point that can run this game just fine.

Also, if someone isn’t tech savvy enough to build one piece by piece, they're going to pay a lot more for a prebuilt tower.

[Rockette]

Is this forum running out of things to be angry about or something? We crying about personal / financial / lifestyle choices now?

Bravo, Official Forums

[Hyperia]

I have found that people game on what they have and that is most often a laptop. If they get serious about this game, they will eventually get a better system or a PS4.

[Soraki-Muppe]

Some choose laptops since they can only afford to have one pc and they need that one pc to be mobile. And looking at my stationary beside me, sure it is more powerful then a laptop but it sure isn't mobile.
It is a combination of needs and financial resources.
Also, for some people a stationary pc is daunting, all the different parts to chose from and such. For these people a laptop just feels safer since they do not have to do anything with it beside using it.

[RyuDragnier]

In my case, I first started FFXIV all the way in 2.0, back when I had to spend 8+ hours on the college campus. The laptop was the best bet, I had access to notes, homework, everything, and could still play FFXIV even while on campus. That mobility is amazing when you don't have the time to stay at home. And if you end up hanging out at the houses of friends and family a lot due to helping out, a PC just isn't going to cut it.

[miraidensetsu]

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

In my case, my laptop is the only computer available to play FFXIV. And no, I haven't enough money to buy a desktop sometime soon.

EDIT: And a PS4 system is NOT cheap where I live.

[MistakeNot]

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

Many possible reasons, at least one of which ought to be obvious to anyone: They already have a laptop, and do not want/afford to spend the money a second computer.

[WhiteArchmage]

I got my laptop so I could still play while visiting my then-boyfriend in another country, now I mostly just use it to surf the internet and watch random crap on youtube. Being able to game or just do anything while in bed or on a trip is easier than packing up my PS4 wherever.

[KisaiTenshi]

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).

Want to know the real answer to this? You won't like it.

Laptops tend to have a higher build quality than a desktop, thus they are far more portable than lugging around a desktop to do what we affectionately referred to "lan parties" of the late 90's and early 2000's.

Once WiFi became a standard thing (eg Wireless B around 2004) on a laptop that didn't require an expansion card, the idea of gaming on a laptop took off. I had a "gaming" laptop in 2004, I ran the FFXI benchmark on it and... well I wasn't going to play it on it. In fact No MMORPG produced during the 2000's was actually capable of being played on a laptop unless it had a dedicated nVidia or ATI part, and even still, the parts picked by the OEM's were only a fraction of the power of the desktop. What you bought in a $1000 laptop was equal to a $300 desktop.

Up until relatively recently (and by recent, I mean nVidia Geforce GTX 7xx parts and later) hybrid graphics were not even a consideration, and only available on really pricey business workstations. As of the Geforce 10 series (eg 1050 Ti, to 1080 Ti) the desktop parts and laptop parts are now equal. So any laptop purchased in the last 2 years that was built as a "gaming" laptop is equal or better than a desktop under most conditions.

A laptop maxes out around 300 watts. An equal desktop is around 800 watts. If you do not have the luxury of buying a $2000 laptop with a Quadro M4000 (aka GTX 980) or better, the desktop is cheaper, but not portable. All gaming laptops are more like "portable desktops" and are not battery efficient, with a battery that typically tops out at 90 minutes, where as you can get like 12 hours out of a tablet (Eg Microsoft Surface) but it will literately melt if you try to do any long gaming sessions on it.

If you plan to spend hours (eg 4+ hours/day) then you should not use a laptop, as few laptops are designed to run that long at full power, and the noise will certainly tell you that you've overburdened it. If you have pets, or smoke anything, definitely do not use a laptop, as the fans will get clogged very quickly. For everyone else, any laptop with a Geforce 1050 Ti or better is capable of playing the game at 1920x1080 with all settings turned on, and thus the only obstacle is input devices, which laptop keyboards and touchpads tend to be complete rubbish. You're better off playing with a controller.

But I digress, in many cases people are forced to live in cramped conditions at universities, or even just living in cities like New York NY, and Vancouver BC, and space is at a premium. The first thing you get rid of is your gaming rig, because you simply will not have the space for it in a room that can't even fit a queen size bed.

[Gemina]

I travel a lot for my work, taking several days away from my playing time every month. I also pay a monthly sub. To me, a laptop makes logical sense.

Granted, I play on PS4 and don't have a laptop but I would like one for this sole purpose. It's what bugs me the most about being away from home.