Desktop vs laptop

[TheSenpaiOfTech]

I'm looking for a new machine to run my games on. I have been thinking about building a pc for £600 but I like the look of this laptop http://www.very.co.uk/dell-inspiron-15-7000-gaming-series-intel-core-i5nbsp8gb-ramnbsp256gb-ssd-156-inch-full-hd-laptop-with-4gb-nvidianbspgtx-1050-graphics-aluminium-silver/1600153252.prd?sku=sku19748303&cm_mmc=google-_-PLA+-+Electricals-_-Electricals+-+Laptops-_-na_85148978818&utm_medium=cpc&k_clickid=bbd9e07e-d172-4a40-a921-a7c7effeb768&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Shopping_Electricals&utm_term=na&utm_content=85148978818&profileid=402&keywordid=na&productgroupid=pg1324093&device=m&gclid=CjwKEAjw3KDIBRCz0KvZlJ7k4TgSJABDqOK7CJ4OF90kP6AWumHJ2A0hVXzxL8OfjToi2oAtUZ6waBoCgM_w_wcB
Is this laptop really that much less powerful than a £600 pc? (PS: £800 laptop as I don't have to buy headset,windows,monitor and keyboard

 

[captaincharisma]

yes, laptops don't have a lot of power so you could have an nvidia 1070 in a laptop but it will be weaker then a nvidia 1070 that in a desktop because they have to worry about battery life with a laptop

 

[JackNaylorPE]

You will still see many folks who find laptop gaming ridiculous. That's mostly based upon mindsets established years ago when gaming performance on lappies trailed far behind their desktop counterparts ... with the 10xx series from nVidia however, that distance has been drastically reduced. However if you are going to game on laptop, a) the entry point (w/ a 1060) is about $1150 and b) I would strongly recommend using a custom builder (i.e. Clevo Distributor) who specializes in gaming platforms.

15" w/ 1060 ($1125-ish)
https://lpc-digital.com/product/sager-np8155/

15" w/ 1050 ($700-ish)
https://lpc-digital.com/product/sager-np5855-clevo-n855hj/

Not that Clevo distributors are prohibited from advertising below a certain price point ... you can however negotiate lower prices w/ each vendor.

I would steer away from mass market brands who, other than MSI, don't actually "make" a single laptop.

The vast majority of laptops on the market are manufactured by a small handful of Taiwan-based Original Design Manufacturers (ODM), although their production bases are located mostly in mainland China. Major relationships include:

Quanta sells to (among others) HP, Lenovo, Apple, Acer, Toshiba, Dell, Sony, Fujitsu and NEC
Compal sells to (among others) Acer, Dell, Toshiba, Lenovo and HP/Compaq
Wistron (former manufacturing & design division of Acer) sells to Dell, Acer, Lenovo and HP
Inventec sells to Toshiba, HP, Dell and Lenovo
Pegatron sells to Asus, Toshiba, Apple, Dell and Acer
Foxconn sells to Asus, Dell, HP and Apple
Flextronics (former Arima Computer Corporation notebook division) sells to HP

Here's a site you might try ... assuming UK

http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/system/Fusion-SX-1050-Ti-Gaming-Laptop

 

[Eximo]

You don't typically game on battery, temperature is the driving factor in performance differentiation. FYI the 'mobile' 1070 is actually a larger GPU than the desktop version.

A gtx1050 is an entry level GPU, bu at that price point isn't bad at all. With the 1080p panel it should run just about everything, not at the highest settings though. A bit annoying they don't list the CPU model, but an i5-u class will be a decent dual core with hyperthreading at the worst, at the best a mobile i5

On a custom desktop you would have to factor in peripherals, an OS, and a monitor, but you could gain probably a GTX 1060 in there.

 

[Robert Pankiw]

The big difference for me in gaming on my laptop is that the nominal CPU clock speed is much lower. (mid 2GHz average) whereas a desktop will get high 3GHz. In games like Starcraft, that won't matter what so ever. In other games (Like those with lots of players online) that might make a difference.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G4600 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor (£72.37 @ Novatech)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H270M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£83.76 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£49.25 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial MX300 525GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£129.60 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 3GB 3GB Windforce OC Video Card (£183.98 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£29.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£47.98 @ PC World Business)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Full - USB 32/64-bit (£80.00 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £676.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-02 17:19 BST+0100

Questions about that laptop you linked.
It says "You get 16Gb of memory as standard" but the specs list "RAM Memory: 8 GB". Which is correct?
It has an i5 processor, but is that the newest Kaby Lake? Which i5 is it? If it is an HQ model, then it has 4 real cores no HT, which is nice. The desktop I put together has 2 cores 4 threads. On single threaded and lightly threaded tasks (most games) the Pentium I listed will do better all day every day (*Same core design, higher clock speed*). On heavily threaded tasks (Some games, especially multiplayer) then it is a bit of an unknown unless you research that game specifically.

I am inclined to go with the laptop for convenience, but I actually needed a dedicated keyboard and mouse, so those added costs are a wash.

P.S. The desktop has more RAM, and is much easier to upgrade in the future should the need arise. Also, it has noticeably superior graphics.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I occasionally game on battery (older nVidia x70 series) ... but only get about 75 minutes before I need to plug in. Today's models are much more efficient and faster. And tho the mobile 1070 has more cores, they run slower. But no, it's not physically as big a a desktop card.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/gtx-10-series-mobile-reveal/

http://wccftech.com/nvidia-pascal-geforce-gtx-1070-gtx-1060-mobility-benchmarks/

 

[Eximo]

I occasionally game on battery (older nVidia x70 series) ... but only get about 75 minutes before I need to plug in. Today's models are much more efficient and faster. And tho the mobile 1070 has more cores, they run slower. But no, it's not physically as big a a desktop card.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/gtx-10-series-mobile-reveal/

http://wccftech.com/nvidia-pascal-geforce-gtx-1070-gtx-1060-mobility-benchmarks/

I was referring to the core count, not the physical size of course.

I rarely game on my laptop, but when I do, it is plugged in. 740m or 750m I think in that one, been a while since I have had cause to turn it on.