Laptop vs m-itx/atx

[chevyfan454]

So I've been posting a lot on here lately and I greatly appreciate everyone's help so far, but I'm now lost on what I should do. I finally picked and decided on a gaming laptop and almost pulled the trigger and ordered it when I realized I could build a desktop in small form factor and get much more out of it than I ever could a laptop in the same price range, especially for gaming. Gaming will be the main use of this computer. I need something small and portable because I travel a lot for work, which is why I first though hey a laptop wouldn't be bad. However, the more I read into I saw where some people were building desktops in an m-itx or even m-atx and traveling with them. What's the better option here? We mostly travel in vehicles, but there are times when we fly to our job locations due to working all over the country. I worry that packing a desktop, monitor, keyboard, etc into a suitcase or bag would just lead to something being broken.. any input?

 

[Scottray]

Packing up even an small form factor itx system is still going to be a hassle, especially for air travel. Then, there's loss or damage if you have to check it in. Let's face it, a laptop is meant to be portable. Look for a laptop with an i7 CPU and a GTX 1070 GPU.

 

[chevyfan454]

Has anyone ever built a m-itx and used it for traveling though? How did it work for you? Is it something that's doable and better than buying a laptop, or should I just order the laptop? I want to know about other's experiences