Laptop Vs Tower for Gaming

This may sound like a pretty noob question but is there a big difference between high end graphics cards on laptops and high end graphics card on a tower?

Cheers

 

High end graphic cards require more power and more space to fit cooling system.

Try and fit this into laptop. Yes, impossible, isn't it.


Therefore they cut down performance and separate fan from GPU to fit it inside laptop. I would say it becomes around 15-20% less powerful than desktop's graphic card.

 

Ah thanks man. So if i was looking into a high end gaming laptop with a good graphics card, do you think there will still be certain games that I would struggle to run smoothly? Or am I just better off getting a tower?

 

Laptops high graphics are more computer usage, more expensive, more processing needed. Trade off is convenience of a laptop. Tower is better in every other aspect.

 

What you mean more computer usage? You mean more CPU needed? So essentially the only reason I would buy a gaming laptop is for convenience? Cheers

 

Yes, more CPU is used on the laptops.

Generally, yes, that's correct - convenience is king with laptops but it usually comes at the cost of performance and other specs, plus they're more expensive as well.

If you don't need that portability I would suggest a desktop every time.

 

^^that and it is much easier to change/upgrade tower components in future.

 

Thanks bro. I mean portability is quite appealing to me as I do move around a lot, however I'm starting to feel that I may just buy a generic laptop for work related stuff and then buy a separate tower for gaming. I suppose if I get a cheap enough laptop I should be able to save money either way.

It's easier to change/upgrade tower parts? I mean i wouldn't even know where to begin changing either a laptop or a tower, but this is good to know. Cheers

 

I'd personally do exactly that. You can find very cheap functioning laptops (as low as $200-300) that will do everything you really need for work related stuff, then you can deck out a rig that you'll use for gaming with the bulk of the cash.

 

Sweet, thanks for the help. I currently have a 2014 macbook pro, which I only bought for production. Its packed to capacity and i literally cannot delete a single thing, as all my audio software takes up all the space.

I've tried to play a game or 2 on it, and it fucking fails hard. But now im sort of stuck in a crossroads because my most recent update took up all my remaining space, I barely have room for work documents.

So I think i will get a cheap laptop for work, and get a tower for gaming.


I wouldn't have bought the macbook pro if it wasnt easier
to find audio software. And i guess the UI is what i need.

I do realise that it's probably insanely overpriced for what it can do. But oh well.

 

Why don't you just upgrade SSD storage instead buying new laptop?

 

You can't upgrade the recent model macbook pros. Its all like soldered to the motherboard or something i think.

 

Sounds like a good plan. Good luck man.

 

I have a 960M in my laptop, a GTX 690 in my tower.. Let's do a comparison..

Nvidia GTX 960M vs GeForce GTX 690 (SLI Disabled)
Userbenchmark Effective 3D Gaming GPU Speed: 25.6% vs 52.2%
Nvidia GTX 960M - 86th / 516
Nvidia GeForce GTX 690 (SLI Disabled) - 33rd / 516

My 690 is pretty much 4 years old now and my 960M is less than 6 months old, yet the tower dominates the laptop.

Don't get me wrong, games are playable.. However, it still ever so slightly stutters even on titles such as CS:GO.

I wouldn't even want to see a comparison between that and a latest tower card.

 

Gaming laptops are hardly ever used as primary machines. The only ones worth your while are thick, heavy, and huge (basically slightly smaller desktops with a screen slapped on). You'd be forking out $2k+ for those. It's just not worth it unless you HATE staying in one spot and are OK with being limited in terms of upgrading and repairs.

I would only ever recommend someone get a gaming laptop if they already had a desktop for gaming and only want the laptop for on-the-go. I did that. I have a tower (the true powerhouse) and a mid-tier gaming laptop for light gaming at university or at a friend's house.

 

Huge difference, but when you go from being a laptop gamer to a desktop gamer you truly realize what you were missing out on

 

I wouldn't say impossible ;p

 

Like I said, impossible. What they did there was break down GPU, remove outputs, remove cooling system and remove heat sink. They only kept PCI with chip. This whole process costs extra 3 grand and what's the point of it?

 

There's a significant differences; however, if you want to compromise you can get yourself a laptop you want and run a GPU of your choosing in an external case so you can still do some high-end gaming.

 

you need to take in consideration the really low end cooling aspect to laptops graphics cards and desktops. laptops create more heat and usually are poorly cooled. usually have higher cpu usage. just a thought.