I don't understand why people choose laptops

[NYCAcimStudent]

Actually, there are those of us who PREFER to game on a laptop! And it isn't a money issue with me. I get the best gaming laptop I can and just enjoy my gaming in bed. It is so relaxing to have my laptop with me that I don't think I would ever purchase a desktop again. My sister agrees.

Some background: I live in NYC! Especially if you are living in a studio apartment or have multiple roommates and all of your stuff needs to fit in your bedroom, space is a commodity. It's not just that a desktop is larger but you also have to have the furniture for it. That takes up even more space.

When I was in the 6th grade, my parents bought me my first desktop. I used desktops exclusively until I got my own apartment and the new job needed me to be able to work from home. I needed mobility to take the computer to work and back home, so I bought a laptop for the first time. What a change! As soon as I started bringing my laptop into my bed with me (as I am right now), I was immediately converted and had no wish to go back to sitting at a desktop.

Laying in bed and playing, I sometimes can accidentally fall asleep for 30 minutes with the laptop still on my lap. I am already in my bed! Bliss...

[splinter1545]

Well, to put this ignorant question into perspective, I chose to play on a laptop just because it allows me to. I originally got it for school, but since it comes with a good CPU and a dedicated GPU, it's also good for light gaming. Not to mention, due to the portability, I can play it anywhere I have internet access.

So, yeah. I doubt people think that laptops are better than desktops. But it's not you to decide what people play on. And this question can be answered by yourself if you took a few mins to think outside the box.

[MOZZYSTAR]

I choose laptop becaaause...


1. I can game anywhere in any position (I often game while laying on my stomach for some reason). I like playing in my room, in the living room, outside on the deck, etc.
2. I also use my gaming laptop for my art (and, at some point, going to try animation), which requires demanding programs (I get less lag with a better computer)
3. Laptops are smaller and take up less space. Even if I had the space at a desk (I actually don't own a desk), I think desktops are really bulky. Not a fan

[WaterShield]

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.

Umm...what? Desktop parts are cheaper because they are larger. Making smaller things is more expensive and causes power loss. Ergo a Desktop in a 1 to 1 comparison with a laptop wins in terms of power (portability is an entire different can of worms). Are laptops as laughably bad as they used to be, no but they are still not equal to an equivalent priced desktop. Now there is some variation to this as in when you compare a very cheap desktop to an extremely expensive laptop. But so long as we are talking about power to money ratio... Desktop is more efficient. (This may vary in your country depending on availability of parts)

People do not buy laptops for higher build quality over a desktop. They do it because portability is more important to them, which is fine. Any electronics purchase such as this is always a person finding their preferred balance of Price point, Power, and Portability.

[SenorPatty]

I'll never understand someone who makes a thread about a thread in a thread.

They could've just stayed in that thread instead of making a thread about that thread but they threaded here to make a thread.

Mimicked threads just don't have that same point and quality as the other thread? Why would someone make a new thread here.

...

...


Yes, I know where the door is. Yes, I'm getting out.

[JackHatchet]

Why start a new thread?

Why derail a thread not about laptops? Or are you encouraging me to derail a thread and rant about something else? This is why lalfel are evil!!!

[MOZZYSTAR]

Umm...what? Desktop parts are cheaper because they are larger. Making smaller things is more expensive and causes power loss. Ergo a Desktop in a 1 to 1 comparison with a laptop wins in terms of power (portability is an entire different can of worms). Are laptops as laughably bad as they used to be, no but they are still not equal to an equivalent priced desktop. Now there is some variation to this as in when you compare a very cheap desktop to an extremely expensive laptop. But so long as we are talking about power to money ratio... Desktop is more efficient. (This may vary in your country depending on availability of parts)

People do not buy laptops for higher build quality over a desktop. They do it because portability is more important to them, which is fine. Any electronics purchase such as this is always a person finding their preferred balance of Price point, Power, and Portability.

This ^ This is basically the reason why I choose laptops. Even my #2 reason above is influenced by portability because I can take my laptop fro home to class to studio, et cetera. (Could I get those fancy tablets instead? Yes, but they're not as diversed and the ones I've gotten in the past have heavier duty wires in comparison to a laptop, which I don't like at all. Makes it less "portable" to me.) I can't speak for everyone, but I personally sacrifice power-to-money ratio for the sake of lifestyle preferances. I know I can get a more powerful desktop than my laptop for cheaper, but I think the portability is worth the extra money because that's what accomodates my lifestyle and preferences.

[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?

(I'm surprised how many people encouraged me to derail the original thread that triggered me, even though this conversation that I'm talking about has absolutely nothing to do with the original thread (about game performance). I don't think it's polite to derail a thread, and people trying to pick on me for having the audacity to not derail a thread with an original topic that's spawned at minimal of 3 pages is just as perplexing).

[Claviusnex]

I played WoW pretty much daily on a laptop for several years before switching to FF XIV. I even started playing XIV on that same laptop as my desktop I used for real work at the time wouldn't handle it. I'm not sure how it would do with Stormblood. While I don't use that laptop for online gaming anymore it is still in service for my financial and consulting work with all of its original parts. I'd have to look it up to get the actual age but it is over 8 years old as I had it before I retired.

[Hyperia]

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?

(I'm surprised how many people encouraged me to derail the original thread that triggered me, even though this conversation that I'm talking about has absolutely nothing to do with the original thread (about game performance). I don't think it's polite to derail a thread, and people trying to pick on me for having the audacity to not derail a thread with an original topic that's spawned at minimal of 3 pages is just as perplexing).

When I gamed on a laptop, I raised it up by sticking a marker under it and then put a fan on the side to blow air below and over the top of it to keep it cool. Worked really well until Titan EX said this far and no farther... then I had to replace my trusty laptop with a desktop.