[SOLVED] Should I buy a Laptop or build a PC

[asf1992]

Hi Guys,

I require a gaming system for home. Should I wait for the Asus A15 Laptop(4800H paired with 2060) @£1,300 or should I build a desktop @£1,071 with the following specs:

CPU: Amd Ryzen 5 3600 -- £200
MoBo: B450M PRO-M2 Max -- £80
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB x2 -- £95
GPU: INNO3D GeForce RTX 2060 -- £395
PSU: Antec NE650M -- £80
Case: Antec NX210 -- £86
Storage: Crucial BX500 240GB -- £35
Monitor: BenQ GW2480 -- £100

The factors which affect most are

• Heating issues
• Performance
• Would it suffice to run games for the next few years
• Upgradabilty

Also if you suggest going for a desktop, please let me know if I can improve the build at the same price range.


Thanks in advance.

 

[jeremyj_83]

There are advantages and disadvantages to both. The laptop will give you easy portability but no ability to upgrade anything. Typically in laptops the GPUs aren't as fast as their desktop counterparts. For instance, the laptop RTX 2060 will probably have performance closer to a desktop RTX 1660Ti than a desktop RTX 2060. The desktop will give you the ability to upgrade parts as time goes on and might be quieter. For a desktop build I would do something like this with the same 1300 Quid that you would use for a laptop.
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor (£190.00 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI X470 GAMING PLUS MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard (£104.98 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Team T-FORCE DARK Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory (£74.31 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN550 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£114.48 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB EVOKE OC Video Card (£349.99 @ CCL Computers)
Case: Fractal Design Focus G ATX Mid Tower Case (£46.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Super Flower Leadex III Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£89.99 @ Currys PC World)
Case Fan: Enermax UC-12EB 44 CFM 120 mm Fan (£11.84 @ Amazon UK)
Monitor: AOC CQ27G2U/BK 27.0" 2560x1440 144 Hz Monitor (£319.97 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £1302.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-24 17:40 BST+0100

If you went with a different monitor you could get the Ryzen 3700X instead and a nicer case. The case in this design comes with sound dampening material that will make it almost silent.
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor (£284.97 @ Laptops Direct)
Motherboard: MSI X470 GAMING PLUS MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard (£104.98 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Team T-FORCE DARK Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory (£74.31 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN550 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£114.48 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB EVOKE OC Video Card (£349.99 @ CCL Computers)
Case: Fractal Design Define S ATX Mid Tower Case (£74.97 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Super Flower Leadex III Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£89.99 @ Currys PC World)
Case Fan: Fractal Design GP14-BK 68.4 CFM 140 mm Fan (£17.47 @ Scan.co.uk)
Monitor: AOC C24G1 24.0" 1920x1080 144 Hz Monitor (£182.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £1294.15
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-24 17:43 BST+0100

The gaming performance of the two systems will be almost identical. The only big difference deals with the monitors. The RX 5700XT is good for 1440p or 1080p with high refresh rate. Both monitors do have FreeSync range of 48-144Hz which would make game play nice and smooth. The 1440p monitor covers 120% of sRGB color space vs the 1080p covers 96%.

 

[scout_03]

i would go for desktop easier to upgrade and good for gaming also i would had a hhd to store game and others data like picture with music on and keep the ssd for main os and virus software .

 

[asf1992]

Hi Jeremy,

Thanks for your reply. Forgot to mention, I would be building the system in india, where most of the parts provided are unavailable or are costlier than the western counter+parts.

The laptop would cost around 79,999INR while the desktop would cost around 75,900INR( you can check PrimeABGB for price refrences).

I am looking to build a system to play games like GTA V mafia and Assassin's Creed(along with their upcoming sequels) at 1080p with 60fps. So let me know if I am going overboard with any of the parts.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both. The laptop will give you easy portability but no ability to upgrade anything. Typically in laptops the GPUs aren't as fast as their desktop counterparts. For instance, the laptop RTX 2060 will probably have performance closer to a desktop RTX 1660Ti than a desktop RTX 2060. The desktop will give you the ability to upgrade parts as time goes on and might be quieter. For a desktop build I would do something like this with the same 1300 Quid that you would use for a laptop.
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor (£190.00 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI X470 GAMING PLUS MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard (£104.98 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Team T-FORCE DARK Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory (£74.31 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN550 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£114.48 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB EVOKE OC Video Card (£349.99 @ CCL Computers)
Case: Fractal Design Focus G ATX Mid Tower Case (£46.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Super Flower Leadex III Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£89.99 @ Currys PC World)
Case Fan: Enermax UC-12EB 44 CFM 120 mm Fan (£11.84 @ Amazon UK)
Monitor: AOC CQ27G2U/BK 27.0" 2560x1440 144 Hz Monitor (£319.97 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £1302.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-24 17:40 BST+0100

If you went with a different monitor you could get the Ryzen 3700X instead and a nicer case. The case in this design comes with sound dampening material that will make it almost silent.
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor (£284.97 @ Laptops Direct)
Motherboard: MSI X470 GAMING PLUS MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard (£104.98 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Team T-FORCE DARK Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory (£74.31 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN550 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£114.48 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB EVOKE OC Video Card (£349.99 @ CCL Computers)
Case: Fractal Design Define S ATX Mid Tower Case (£74.97 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Super Flower Leadex III Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£89.99 @ Currys PC World)
Case Fan: Fractal Design GP14-BK 68.4 CFM 140 mm Fan (£17.47 @ Scan.co.uk)
Monitor: AOC C24G1 24.0" 1920x1080 144 Hz Monitor (£182.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £1294.15
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-24 17:43 BST+0100

The gaming performance of the two systems will be almost identical. The only big difference deals with the monitors. The RX 5700XT is good for 1440p or 1080p with high refresh rate. Both monitors do have FreeSync range of 48-144Hz which would make game play nice and smooth. The 1440p monitor covers 120% of sRGB color space vs the 1080p covers 96%.

 

[geofelt]

If you require portability, buy the laptop.

Otherwise, a desktop is better.
You get a larger, more immersive display.
You have upgrade options for graphics.
Gaming laptops will have heat issues because of the necessarily tiny coolers.

 

[jeremyj_83]

Hi Jeremy,

Thanks for your reply. Forgot to mention, I would be building the system in india, where most of the parts provided are unavailable or are costlier than the western counter+parts.

The laptop would cost around 79,999INR while the desktop would cost around 75,900INR( you can check PrimeABGB for price refrences).

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor (₹12745.00 @ Amazon India)
Motherboard: MSI B450M PRO-M2 MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (₹6899.00 @ Amazon India)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (₹8143.00 @ Newegg India)
Storage: Crucial BX500 960 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (₹8099.00 @ Amazon India)
Video Card: ASRock Radeon RX 5600 XT 6 GB Challenger D OC Video Card (₹27199.00 @ Newegg India)
Case: Antec NX310 ATX Mid Tower Case (₹3695.00 @ Amazon India)
Power Supply: Antec Earthwatts Gold Pro 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (₹6599.00 @ Amazon India)
Monitor: LG 24MP59G-P 23.8" 1920x1080 75 Hz Monitor (₹9899.00 @ Amazon India)
Total: ₹83278.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-25 00:43 IST+0530
There are some things on that site that you sent that are cheaper. For 90 Rupees more from that site you can get the 650W Antec Earthwatts Gold Pro. That site also has the Ryzen 5 3500 which is 2000 Rupees cheaper than the 2600. If you were to mix and match from here and that site you could build a very good gaming desktop for about the same money.

 

[asf1992]

Hi Jeremy,

Thanks for the response.

My initial pick for the motherboard was the Msi M2 Max but thought that it would not hold the R5 3600. While for RAM I was checking the Gskill ripjaws V 3200 with 16-18-18-38 which is better than the corsair.

Just one question, isn't the RTX 2060 faster than the RX5600 XT (also considering 2060 is cheaper than the 5600XT in india)?

If I choose the 2060 my final build would look as follows:

Item	Price
Amd Ryzen 5 3600	16,500
B450M PRO-M2 Max	6,053
G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 8GB F4-3200C16S-8GVKB X2	7252
INNO3D GeForce RTX 2060	25,200
Antec NX210	3,050
Crucial BX500 240GB	3,159
BenQ GW2480	8,899
Antec Earthwatts Gold Pro Series EA650G	6,690
Total	76,803

P.S. I already have a 1TB HD drive.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor (₹12745.00 @ Amazon India)
Motherboard: MSI B450M PRO-M2 MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (₹6899.00 @ Amazon India)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (₹8143.00 @ Newegg India)
Storage: Crucial BX500 960 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (₹8099.00 @ Amazon India)
Video Card: ASRock Radeon RX 5600 XT 6 GB Challenger D OC Video Card (₹27199.00 @ Newegg India)
Case: Antec NX310 ATX Mid Tower Case (₹3695.00 @ Amazon India)
Power Supply: Antec Earthwatts Gold Pro 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (₹6599.00 @ Amazon India)
Monitor: LG 24MP59G-P 23.8" 1920x1080 75 Hz Monitor (₹9899.00 @ Amazon India)
Total: ₹83278.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-25 00:43 IST+0530
There are some things on that site that you sent that are cheaper. For 90 Rupees more from that site you can get the 650W Antec Earthwatts Gold Pro. That site also has the Ryzen 5 3500 which is 2000 Rupees cheaper than the 2600. If you were to mix and match from here and that site you could build a very good gaming desktop for about the same money.

 

[jeremyj_83]

Hi Jeremy,

Thanks for the response.

My initial pick for the motherboard was the Msi M2 Max but thought that it would not hold the R5 3600. While for RAM I was checking the Gskill ripjaws V 3200 with 16-18-18-38 which is better than the corsair.

Just one question, isn't the RTX 2060 faster than the RX5600 XT (also considering 2060 is cheaper than the 5600XT in india)?

If I choose the 2060 my final build would look as follows:

Item	Price
Amd Ryzen 5 3600	16,500
B450M PRO-M2 Max	6,053
G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 8GB F4-3200C16S-8GVKB X2	7252
INNO3D GeForce RTX 2060	25,200
Antec NX210	3,050
Crucial BX500 240GB	3,159
BenQ GW2480	8,899
Antec Earthwatts Gold Pro Series EA650G	6,690
Total	76,803

P.S. I already have a 1TB HD drive.

The 2060 and 5600XT are about equal so go with the cheaper. I would go for the Ryzen 3500 and take the savings and get a bigger SSD.

 

[asf1992]

Hi guys,

So I finally purchased a desktop. Please find the specs below:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/nRqNhg

Thanks guys.

Regards
Angelo