Laptop or desktop???

Excuse my awkward question but I would be interested to know from hardcore fellow gamers if their preference would be to use a gaming pc laptop notebook or the desktop version.

Do you do a lot of traveling with overnight stays or are you a student?

Notebooks. I'm far too mobile to want to be tied down to a desktop, which isn't something that can exactly be moved willy-nilly. Desktops have been slowly dying for the last many years (notebooks passed desktops in sales several years ago), and the trend isn't likely to reverse anytime soon.


Desktops, though, have a few advantages. You can get superior performance for less (especially if you build it yourself), plus can actually be upgraded (RAM / hard disks are the only things generally upgradable on laptops). Thunderbolt might help with the latter (such as eGPUs), but Thunderbolt is pretty much only on Macs at this point, with it appearing on PCs later this year once Ivy Bridge drops (AMD's "lightningbolt" isn't comparable).

We've been saving Paragon City for eight and a half years. It's time to do it one more time.

My main system is a desktop.

I do, however, have a laptop for the long overnight shifts I pull on weekends. It's not as powerful or functional as my desktop machine. But it works for gaming, some streaming video, etc.

Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.

My CoH system is a mid-range laptop. It runs fine. I don't have realistic access to the high end graphic settings (I can play on the highest settings, but the frame rates are really low). For mid settings it works great. And the laptop is more convenient in that I can take it places easily if I need to, and I can put it away in a desk drawer too, to reclaim space on desk too.

My main system is a desktop with dual 24" monitors... it's just a lot nicer than a laptop. That said I do have a high powered laptop I use on the road for video editing (and the occasional game) since I spend about half the year traveling.

I used to be a laptop guy, but now I just use a desktop. Not being as mobile does suck, alot of that comes down to preference and what other uses you need your computer for. But with a desktop it's a whole lot easier to upgrade, to preserve, to replace parts, etc. And I love my 22 inch screen

I started CoX when I was still building towers for fun, but eventually moved to laptops because of school. Since that adventure's over and with other issues I've been running into recently, I'm highly pondering another tower. Sucks though as I'm running out of space in my room!

Unless you need to be mobile, go desktop

When my Desktop fell over (not sure if it was a virus or old harddisk) I plugged my monitor, gaming keyboard and mouse into my laptop and have had no trouble at all (it is a core i5). The only thing is they never put out video card driver updates and I always get that annoying warning on the title page.

Given the option I would prefer a desktop simply for the performance value and easy of upgradability. That being said I am currently running on a 17 inch laptop with a fairly high-end spec and a case/hardware that are designed for ease of access and upgrade. After getting this Sager rebrand I will probably never buy anything but botique gaming laptops, having easy access to everything is worth the price. (Particularly when space is at such a premium that a desktop is unfeasable)

I definitely prefer a desktop for gaming. I have a bigger screen, better speakers, I can build it myself, and I get considerably better performance for the same amount of money.

I do have a netbook for when I'm travelling, but I can't play CoH on it. It's just for surfing the web really.

Unless you have money coming out of every orifice, desktops are the only real option for gaming. Laptops cost far more for the same level of performance, and they cap out at a lower level. And then there's the upgrade thing - you're pretty much stuck with the performance capability you initially buy on a laptop.

And of course, if you ever need to get it repaired, desktops are better about that too. Laptops generally need to be dismantled and rebuilt to fix any given part, whereas a desktop simply pops open and you can reach most of the interior. More money spent or saved in that department.

EDIT: Oh, and a lot of laptop GPUs simply don't work and play well with games in general.

Desktop for hardcore gaming.

More room to upgrade, and you have more options to do so for most models.

If you travel a lot, a laptop might be a better plan if you want to game from anywhere.

You have to realize the reason Laptop sales have been up. People need to have one, that doesn't that mean they don't also have a desktop. If you are in school or lots of jobs you have to have a laptop now. Most people I know have a laptop but own a desktop, in fact most of said people own 2 or 3 desktops and some even have server racks. Oh did I forget to mention that most people I know work with computers on a daily basis. 2 are computer repair techs, another a programer and a over worked does everything computer guru and me I own 3 computers. My main, my secondary/data server, and my older computer which is now missing some parts namely the hard drive, stole it and put it in second computer. When I get a chance, aka when I start school, I will build another computer and get a laptop.

One of these days I want to build a computer that is 2 computers in 1 case so I can lanparty with myself, yes lanparties are dieing but it would be fun and cool or I can Dualbox hehe.

When I play with my kids, I use my HP Envy 15. There are graphics glitches when I encounter too many water or lighting effects at once and I basically loose visibility as the screen doesn't clear properly when it repaints the image on the screen. I regularly have to do something to force the screen to repaint. I used to play on my older MacBook Pro but it wasn't keeping up with the new zones. I think you really need a good laptop or to turn things pretty far down to get a good gaming experience.

When I have the chance I use my kid's XPS system. The experience there is really sweet!. 27" 1920x1280 with good sound and a sub woofer. Makes the room shake with those super strength KA-BOOMS! That is where CoH shines for me.

My main machine is a desktop and it is my preference. Larger monitor, better sound, more upgrading options. It's also wired and not WiFi, which helps.

I do have a laptop that the daughter uses for CoH if I'm on the desktop, and I also occasionally use it if on the go. Heat issues are my main concern with that machine. The smaller screen also leaves me wishing I had more room for all the UI goodies I want to keep open. But this is the price of mobility.

I just can't imagine needing to play CoH at the dining room table, in the bed, in the laundry room, in the garage, in the hot tub, etc, to make "portable around the house" as a valid reason for me to use a laptop as a primary gaming machine.

It's like asking if you should by a 4 wheel drive vehicle or a 2 wheel drive vehicle. If you don't see a need for a 4WD, you probably will be better suited to go 2WD. Only you can really decided that.