@MikkaQ said:
@sgjackson said:
"Shouldn't exist" is pretty harsh. I'm more than happy to admit if you're a more traditional PC gamer a desktop makes significantly more sense (and I hope I was clear in saying as much). You can build a quality desktop for 1000 dollars or so that'll beat the shit out of almost any gaming laptop in performance and longevity and you'll have a nicer, larger screen. However, there is merit in portability. It makes going back and forth from college significantly easier, and I really can't undersell how awesome it is to PC game from the couch, which is great for console ports.
An example: I've been playing a lot of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit recently. My laptop (an Alienware m14x) runs it at native rez (1600x900) with everything turned on at an average of 50 or so FPS and doesn't dip below 30. I do this often sitting on my couch with the machine in my lap, for an hour or two at a time. It's far from uncomfortable.
The tech used to power laptops now has improved by a pretty fair margin, and being dismissive of the concept because it doesn't fit your own needs is short-sighted. Like I said, it makes more sense to ask yourself why you want one, and make an educated decision based on benchmarks and reviews from there.
Yeah but if you just use the laptop to game on the couch for console ports... why not just play a console?
I believe in using the right tool for the right job. Couch gaming on a laptop sounds weird and defeats the purpose of leaning back and enjoying a nice TV. Like yeah it's nice that you can sit on the couch and run Hot Pursuit at 1600x900 at 50-30FPS, but I'd rather do the exact same thing on a 40" TV at 1080p at 60 FPS off my desktop, and just deal with hiding the long HDMI cable from the TV to the office, or you know.. play a console.
Anyway, I'm done with laptops at this point. They feel archaic and slow compared to the iPad. There's nothing I need a laptop to do that an iPad + Keyboard case can't, and it's lighter, has a longer battery, doesn't run hot and the resolution on the display is so high that text editing is like using a typewriter, I don't see a single pixel. It's the perfect portable experience. I keep the "real" work (as in not writing and not-emails) to my desktop, since no laptop is going to be able to handle or come close to the experience of editing uncompressed video across multiple monitors.
The reason I say "shouldn't exist" is because the technology just isn't there between the batteries, the gimped hardware and the sheer heat and weight of the machine to deliver a good gaming experience on the go. And even if we could deliver that perfectly, that is to say a laptop that runs cool, can play games for like 6 hours off the batteries and run them all on max, why would you need to? Just play with a phone or gameboy until you get home, I don't feel the need to have the latest greatest games at college or work, I can just wait until I get home.
I'll start with saying that I understand you don't value the mobility of a gaming laptop, that it isn't for you, and that is fine. To each their own. If you don't have a reason to use something, then there is hardly a reason for you to support or buy it. That said, there is also no reason to to spread misinformation to those that may have a use or need for something, regardless if you may not agree with it.
There are a lot of shit "gaming laptops" out there that I would never consider buying, nor consider giving advice to another to purchase. There are however a few reputable brands out there that are extremely high quality that won't break the bank either. When people say that gaming laptops use shitty components, they really are generalizing and obviously don't know the industry. Take Clevo for example, one of the largest botique laptop manufacturers out there that supplies hundreds of resellers. They provide a massive array of customization options for the customer on multiple different platforms, from little 14 inch basic machines to 18 inch monsters with desktop components and dual GPU configurations. These things are built to last with extremely sturdy chassis and name-brand components. Failure rates are very low, and warranty services are excellent through official resellers. My NP8170 is as sturdy as the day I bought it over a year ago, the hinge tight, no creaks in the chassis, solid.
Any gaming laptop worth its own weight will have a good cooling system, as Asus, Alienware, and Clevo have shown. Otherwise, it isn't worth considering, and falls into the category of "shit gaming laptop." I've never had my internal components get dangerously hot that there was a risk of damage, nor the chassis iteself anything beyond warm. Customizable fan profiles, like in a desktop, will allow you to keep your fans running at lower RPMs by kicking in before they are needed, reducing noise. I frequently overclock my GPU, increasing its temps, and still it is not an issue.
My laptop weighs 8.6 pounds, the power supply included. That fits in my bag easily, and allows me to take it wherever I want. It is a lot easier to take this light and compact package wherever you want to game than lugging around a tower, monitor, and cables. If you want PC quality gaming and mobility, a high end gaming laptop is a no brainer if you don't mind paying the difference. I often game on my desk in my room, or out in the living room on the TV, or go to a friends house with my system. Having the ease of portability for these scenarios is awesome and extremely beneficial to me, but again not for everyone. When you're on the road doing something that isn't exactly your idea of a leisure excursion, being able to grab my gaming rig and take it with me is a welcomed pass of the time.
Let's talk about the elephant in the room, battery and power. A gaming laptop should never be thought of something that you can play on unplugged for any reasonable amount of time. If that is anyone's dea of a gaming laptop, the reality check is that isn't how things are. These are to be thought of as mobile desktops. When you aren't plugged in, your performance is throttled, and the battery will run dry quickly depending on the power of your system. People with a misconception of what gaming laptops are aimed towards, which is portability between plug-in spots, should think twice if this is the right fit for them. I can't stress this enough. I will play on my 3DS on short commutes, or on a break at work if I want to play something, not even so much as to consider my laptop. Do I still value the portability of my system for the needs that I have? Absolutely, because I know what the machine was built for and how it caters to me. Others may not appreciate this quality, and again, that is fine. Many people do, however, and will continue to do so.
As for performance, mobile components have come a LONG way in the last few years. The advances in GPU and CPU technology in regards to the mobile platforms they are designed for are coming faster, and will continue to only get better as die sizes shrink, power consumption is decreased, and heat output allows for more performance and less downclocking due to heat limitations compared to their desktop counterparts. For gaming, I don't see how any of the current CPU offerings could be considered not enough, and most are overkill. Looking at GPUs, technology has now come far enough that you can get desktop GTX 570 performance out of a card on stock clocks. That is more than enough for any title on max at 1080p resolution and 60+ FPS, the odd exception here and there with a setting or two adjusted (Metro, The Witcher 2). The aforementioned GPU, the 7970M, will hold its own into the forseeable future, being a viable platform for at least a year or two. Next year we have the 8xxxM series to look forward to from AMD, and the 7xxM series from nVIDIA. Will the performance increase be as much from the previous generations, which was a huge leap, or be a smaller jump? It is hard to say, but things will only continue to get better and more powerful. Even my 6970M from last generation plays everything I've put up against it at 1080p and smooth frame rates, odd adjustments here or there, on ultra or high settings.
Sorry to write a novel, but the platform is extremely viable for those that want or need it. I won't go back to a desktop because I value the portability too much, and there are no issues with performance, and when I need more power I'll switch my GPU out for another one. Dislike the concept and have no need for it, but don't discount it for the market out there who see the value. Is it expensive, yes. Can I recommend lower-end "gaming" laptops for the price they are at? No, I cant. If you're willing to spend around $1500 though, you can get something top-tier that is a beast of a machine.
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