Everyone knows that for the same money, you can get better performance, greater flexibility, and more options with a gaming desktop compared to a gaming notebook. In a pure value versus performance rundown, a desktop will win hands down every single time. There are several reasons why a notebook will always be more expensive than a comparable equipped desktop. 1. Inclusion of LCD monitor, keyboard, mouse, and battery. 2. Miniaturization of components is more expensive. 3. Re-engineering those components to use less energy and provide same performance. The chassis, LCD screen, and a new battery can easily surpass $400 in value for even a value notebook. These components are expensive and can make up as much as 50% of the cost of the notebook. Not only that, but the miniaturized components are costly to engineer due to the higher thermal and energy constraints compared to desktops. Intel has no qualms about selling 150W CPU for desktops, but you will be hard pressed to have that in your notebook without burning a hole in your pants. But this article is not about what the best value is, but instead can laptops compare with desktops with gaming. The answer to that is yes and no. Yes a decently equipped laptop can play any current PC game, including Crysis, on moderate in-game settings. No a laptop cannot compete with a desktop with a 4.0 GHz CPU, 12 GB of 1600 MHz memory, and quad-SLI graphics. Some of the current games on very high settings almost require a super computer to run properly, but that is why you have your choice of settings. Games will still look great on medium settings while keeping framerates at playable levels. In fact, game makers know that 90% of their customers use mid-range systems. For example, the recommended system requirements for Far Cry 2 are: 1. CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo Family, AMD 64 X2 5200+, AMD Phenom or better 2. Video Card: NVIDIA 8600 GTS or better, ATI X1900 or better 3. Graphic Memory: 512Mb 4. Memory: 2 GB. If we build upon the above and compare apples to apples in notebooks compared to desktops, you will see that maybe the difference is not so great. As you can see, the desktop does provide quite a boost in performance. The reason for that is that mobile video cards and desktop video cards are not the same. That mobile 9600GT has 32 cores while the desktop version has 64 cores. With only half the graphics power, the score just about dropped. The main reason why people think laptops are not good at gaming is the naming schemes that these companies use to name their components. NVidia will call a mobile and desktop GPU by the same name, but have wildly different hardware. For example, take a look at the differences between the desktop to mobile equivalents here. As you can see, notebook video cards are 1 or 2 steps below compared to desktop hardware by the same name. This does nothing but confuse the customer and wonder why his new notebook does not perform the same as his desktop with equivalent hardware. Unlike a desktop where all video cards use the same slot, notebooks use something called MXM modules. MXM (Mobile PCI Express Module) was developed so that notebooks used a standard PCIe x16 slot so that end-users could eventual upgrade their notebook GPUs. Unfortunately, manufacturers have been slow to adopt the standard and even those that use it, do not provide an easy way to upgrade the notebook. Not one company sells MXM modules directly, mainly due to cost, complicated installs, and differences between MXM modules. MXM modules come in different sizes and certain MXM modules cannot be used in other MXM slots. Because of this lack of upgradability, only the high-end notebooks have GPUs that actually can compete against desktops. Our best pick for a high-end notebook is the Clevo M860TU, but choosing the same configuration options as above puts this notebook at about $1900. While not terribly expensive, the same performance can be had for almost half the cost with a comparable desktop. However, what you loose in price, you gain back in so many different ways. Let me explain below. As you can see, a notebook offers features that a desktop just does not normally carry. The one feature which is completely invaluable is the portability factor. A lightweight notebook will run 4 lbs while a heavy gaming notebook will run 8 lbs. A lightweight portable desktop will usually be around 20-30 lbs while a heavy gaming desktop will weigh as much as 80 lbs or more. If you need to take your system anywhere such as business, travel, or LAN parties; then a notebook just makes so much sense. So in the end, a gaming notebook cannot compete against a gaming desktop in raw power or value. But a gaming laptop has its advantages which completely flip around the value equation if you need portability and the features notebooks provide.
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