And What Do You Need To Consider When Deciding?
And What Do You Need To Consider When Deciding?
Choosing whether to buy a desktop or a gaming laptop can be quite a daunting task – it’s a huge investment, so having the right piece of tech to suit your needs is important. While a major consideration is whether or not you want a portable gaming setup, there’s a lot more to it than that! We’ll delve into the pros and cons of each, addressing a few things in particular:
Without further ado, let’s get started!
While a rewarding hobby, gaming is certainly an expensive one. It’s important to consider how much money you’re willing to spend on your setup – generally, laptops will skew less expensive, though higher-end gaming laptops can rival desktops.
For gaming laptops, you can expect entry-level laptops to begin around $500-$600, though these tend to be fairly low in performance – increasing your budget to even $700-$800 will open you up to some fantastic options while keeping it affordable (and these laptops often have great deals – thanks to a promotion from Best Buy, I was able to get my normally $800 HP Envy for only $500!). High-end laptops can go all the way up to $2500 and beyond, but generally speaking, you can expect a range of $800-1900 for a quality laptop.
On the flip side, desktops can start out a bit more expensive, though the price is still in your hands – a pre-built desktop can start around $700 for an entry-level gaming PC, but jump all the way up to an average of $2000-$4000 for a higher-end PC. A custom-built desktop that’s more entry-level or mid-range will hover around similar prices as a pre-built PC, but on average cost a bit less if you’re building a high-end desktop. Custom desktops can also cost less in the long run, as when it comes to upgrades, you can buy individual parts rather than having to purchase an entire new build.
Overall, for cost, gaming laptops tend to win out – they start cheaper, and on average, are less expensive even when it comes to purchasing something with higher-end capabilities. However, just like pre-built desktops, wanting an upgrade will often mean needing to buy an entirely new setup.
If the answer is none – you will probably want to stick to a laptop or a pre-built desktop. Those who are tech-savvy, however, might find a lot of joy in building their own setup. While pre-built desktops tend to be cheaper in the long run, building a desktop from the ground up can be quite daunting. Luckily, those who build their own PCs tend to be generous with their knowledge, and are often more than willing to lend a hand.
Technically speaking, pre-built desktops can be customized – however, this is more difficult, and often comes with the risk of voiding your warranty. If you’re comfortable with building, beginning with a custom build is easier and cheaper.
Laptops, meanwhile, are generally the least customizable – they’re an excellent choice for those who want to fire up a game the moment they take their prize out of the box, but if you see yourself wanting an upgrade within a few years, it may be better to either save for a higher-end laptop, or dip your toes into the world of custom builds.
This is, of course, what your build is for – there’s nothing worse than buying the game you’ve been looking forward to for months, calling off work, and locking yourself away for the next eight hours to immerse yourself in a new world… only to discover the game doesn’t run on your computer. But how do you avoid this?
The most surefire way to determine whether or not you can run a game is to check its Steam page before buying it – Steam very helpfully lists a game’s system requirements on every store page, giving gamers a chance to check what both the minimum and recommended requirements are in order to play a new game.
For those who aren’t very familiar with PC specs, this might not mean much – but sites like PCGameBenchmark can scan your hardware and tell you if a game can be run, along with what hardware you might be missing. For example, I wanted to know if my laptop was able to run The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. A quick scan told me that it didn’t meet the minimum requirements, since while I have a powerful enough CPU, my GPU isn’t powerful enough, and I have nowhere near enough RAM.
Of course, checking the system requirements every time you’re interested in a new game is a bit tedious, but generally speaking, the larger, graphically impressive games – the ones that have file sizes of dozens to hundreds of GB – like Oblivion, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Hades II are better suited for either desktops or higher-end laptops. If you’re itching to play smaller, often indie games, like Fields of Mistria, Nubby’s Number Factory, or the highly awaited DELTARUNE, a laptop will suit you just fine. Most cozy games will run fantastically on both laptop and desktop – and there’s certainly plenty of them out there.
In the end, the choice is yours, and yours alone. But, as a good rule of thumb:
Laptops:
✅ Comparatively low cost
✅ Low effort
✅ Portable
❌ Lack of customization
❌ Lower-end models can’t run many powerful games
Pre-built desktops:
✅ Low-to-no effort
✅ Can run more powerful games
❌ Not portable
❌ Difficult to upgrade without replacing them, making them more expensive in the long run
Custom desktops:
✅ Cheaper in the long run, and can be upgraded over time
✅ Can run more powerful games
❌ Not portable
❌ Take planning, research, and time to build
So if you have a lower budget, don’t need or want a lot of customization, and are looking for a portable setup that doesn’t need higher specs, a gaming laptop is the right choice for you. If you want to play more powerful games and don’t mind being tied to a desk, your best bet is either a pre-built or a custom desktop, depending on how much control you want over the parts inside your PC.
Now you’re equipped to start thinking, and to do the fun part – start shopping! NewEgg is a fantastic resource for buying PC parts, and also has a selection of laptops and pre-built desktops, along with a stunning amount of sales. Best Buy and Amazon are also excellent places to search.
And once that’s out of the way… Happy gaming!
