Gamers tend to have electronic preferences when it comes to gaming. In the case of gaming PCs and laptops, there has been a long-standing debate on which one is better for all gamers. While some gamers love the look and feel of ATX towers with RGB lighting connected to a curved monitor and a mechanical keyboard, others might want a laptop that they can store away without hassle.
However, various preferences aside, which is the better machine for gamers? When it comes to portability, upgradability, cost, and performance, which is better for gamers: PC or laptop?
In this article, we hope to demystify this debate by looking at the four factors listed below. We’ll also cover both the advantages and disadvantages of gaming PCs and gaming laptops. So, without further ado, let’s jump right in!
Portability
“Portability is an easy win for gaming laptops,” says Bella Compton, a business writer at Paper Fellows and OXEssays. “A typical modern-day laptop can easily fold up and fit in a bag, along with their chargers. A gaming desktop, on the other hand, requires a lot of assembling and disassembling when traveling or commuting with it, since it consists of the desktop itself, the monitor, and the keyboard.”
Verdict on Portability: Laptop
Upgradability
Many gamers love the prospect of building their own gaming rig. While building a laptop isn’t possible, building a gaming PC is far easier (especially for beginners).
Building a gaming PC allows you to do the following:
- Customize parts of the PC
- Add a better GPU
- Incorporate a faster RAM
- Add a new CPU (in conjunction with your current case and power supply)
As you can see, desktops are the most upgradable, because pretty much almost everything on them is replaceable. Whereas, laptops don’t allow for much customization.
Verdict on Upgradability: Desktop
Cost
Now, this category is trickier, because the pricing of both gaming PCs and laptops varies across brands and retailers. While older generations of computers lower in price, newer generations tend to cost more. Despite supply and demand, the price ultimately depends on how popular a gaming PC or laptop is.
However, with gaming desktops having twice the space as laptops, more space must be more money to spend on it, right? Unless a laptop is from a newer generation than the desktop…. But still, prices for the two may vary.
Verdict on Cost: There’s no contest.
Performance
Finally, when it comes to performance, there’s a big divide between gaming PCs and gaming laptops.
“Since performance depends on the specs that you pick, it’s certain that a gaming desktop will outperform a gaming laptop,” says Isabel Pratt, a web developer at Lia Help and Boomessays. “Unless the desktop is a lot cheaper than the laptop, the performance will be better on desktop. Desktops have better cooling and heat dissipation, which allows for lower temperatures to give gamers a stronger performance. Laptops, on the other hand, are more likely to heat up more, which can affect their performance.”
Verdict on Performance: Desktop
Conclusion
So, now that we’ve gone in-depth on gaming PCs and gaming laptops… which is better for gamers? Here’s a recap!
A gaming PC is still powerful and upgradeable when it comes to cosmetics. While prices vary for desktops, customizable parts – and customizing in general – can help save people money.
Meanwhile, a gaming laptop is best for portable gameplay. While laptops vary on prices like desktops, you might not be able to customize a laptop as much as you can with a PC. That means, if the laptop isn’t performing as well as it used to, then you would have to replace the whole thing, which can end up costing you.
So, ultimately, gamers may fare better with a gaming PC – or, at the very least, they’ll look at gaming PCs FIRST before they look at gaming laptops. Based on the pros and cons that were presented in this article, it seems that the gaming PC has a bigger advantage than the gaming laptop, despite all gamers having their own preferences at the end of the day. In other words, while gaming PCs are best for some people, other people will still want a gaming laptop. The choice is yours!
Happy gaming!
Lauren Groff is a gaming writer and editor at UKWritings and Essay Writing Service. She is also a contributing writer to numerous gaming publications. In her free time she tutors students at sites such as State Of Writing.
