Computer Gaming: Laptop Versus Desktop

Whether you're shooting down enemies in Half Life 2 or unraveling a mystery in Dreamfall, computer gaming has been a popular hobby for more than a decade. Gamers have a choice when it comes to what they play with. They can sit at a desk with their tricked out desktop PC, or travel from coffee shop to coffee shop playing games on their laptop. If you're trying to decide whether to invest the portability of a laptop or the affordability of a desktop, there are some issues to consider.

Portability
Laptops, of course, are more portable. It's easy to unplug this thin computer from the wall, put it in a bag, and carry it to a party or friend's house. With desktop PCs, this is a lot harder. Desktop towers are heavy and bulky. Not only that, there are many components to a desktop that would be needed as well, including a large monitor and the keyboard and mouse. Since all of these things come in one tiny package, the laptop wins the portability debate.

Upgrading
Since gaming technologies get more advanced every year, the components of your computer will become obsolete pretty quick. New computer games are always demanding the best possible equipment. Because of this, you'll need to be able to upgrade the components of your computer pretty easily. This can be done cheaply with a desktop computer, but is almost impossible with a laptop. Most laptops don't allow upgrading for parts like hard drives and graphics cards. This means that if you do get a laptop, you'll probably have to replace it after a year or two.

Size
In line with portability, there are some vast size differences between desktop and laptop PCs. Since laptops have all of their peripherals built into the unit, the size can be pretty small. Desktops, on the other hand, have big and bulky parts that come separately. Size matters. If you like it small, go with the laptop.

LAN Parties
One of the geekiest of all gamer activities is LAN parties. Bring your computer to a friend's house and network all the computers to play games together. Although a lot of the LAN party participants bring along their desktop computers, it's easier to bring a laptop. Still, a large part of LAN parties is showing off your hardware. Desktop PCs often seem way more impressive than laptops because the cases can be customized and they can hold better equipment. If you want the prestige of a nice setup, choose a snazzy desktop. If instead you just want an easy computer to bring with you, choose a laptop.

Price
Since money is an issue and selling point for people, this is the most important category when choosing a computer. The unfortunate fact is that laptops are a lot more expensive than desktop computers. I decided to customize two computers on Dell.com. Both computers were virtually the same in terms of components, but one was a laptop and one was a desktop. I chose the best equipment needed for gaming, which included a 2.16 GHz processor, 2GB RAM, and a 512 Geforce video card. With all these similar components, the laptop came out at $3328 and the desktop came out at $1827. That means you can get a desktop computer that is virtually the same as a laptop for about half the price. That's quite a big difference! Adding on the fact that you can't upgrade laptops, desktops are definitely the way to go in terms of price.

The choice between laptop and desktop gaming is largely a personal one. The knowledgeable consumer will have to decide whether price or portability is more important to them. Research each computer well before making the purchase. Either way, be happy with what you get. Whichever you choose, you'll still be able to kill those zombies with ease.