Gaming Laptop vs Gaming PC: Are Gaming Laptops better than Gaming PCs?

It is often difficult to decide which type of gaming device you should buy. Should you purchase a gaming laptop or should you go with a gaming pc? The answer largely depends on your needs and preferences. If portability is important, then the gaming laptop may be the best choice for you. On the other hand, if upgradability or customization is more important to you, then a gaming pc might be right for you. In this blog post, I will compare these two devices in order to help you make the right decision about which one you want!

What is a Gaming Laptop?

A gaming laptop is a powerful, mobile device optimized for gaming. It has the best components to handle high-end graphics and demanding games that require top performance. These laptops are usually expensive, but they offer more gaming power in less space compared to desktops or even some other laptops without a dedicated graphics card.

2021 flagship asus rog zephyrus 15 gaming laptop 15.6" fhd 144hz ips amd 4 core ryzen 7 3750h (beats i7 8750h) 24gb ram 1tb ssd gtx 1660 ti max q 6gb backlit kb win 10 + icarp wireless mouse

What is a Gaming PC?

A gaming PC (also known as a “gaming desktop”) can be described as having all of its major parts built into one case. All of the parts can be upgraded to play the most demanding games on the highest settings. They’re also cheaper than the most powerful gaming laptops.

budget gaming setup

What are the pros of a gaming laptop and a gaming PC?

Gaming Laptop

  • Uses less space
  • Has everything build-in
  • Can be used anywhere

Gaming PC

  • Has better GPU and CPU power
  • Can be upgraded with ease
  • Is more customizable

What are the cons of a gaming laptop and a gaming PC?

Gaming Laptop

  • Fewer ports
  • Can’t upgrade the CPU/GPU later on
  • Graphics card won’t last long for AAA games

Gaming PC

  • You won’t carry this around
  • Is way heavier
  • Still need to buy a keyboard, mouse and screen

What lasts longer: a gaming laptop, gaming PC?

A gaming laptop will give you less longevity because the graphics card and CPU (and maybe soon the RAM) aren’t upgradable. You can do this with a gaming PC, so a PC can run you much longer.

The question is will you upgrade in time? For example, my own home computer is running for 6 years, and still going strong. The parts needed, like the CPU and RAM, to upgrade my PC are not available anymore or very expensive because those are outdated. The GPU however could still be upgraded, but my CPU will be the bottleneck.

Winner: Gaming PC will last longer

Is a gaming laptop CPU faster than a gaming PC?

It used to be so that a gaming laptop would be much slower than a gaming PC. Nowadays a gaming laptop has an equally fast CPU compared to a gaming PC. However, a gaming PC can have just a little advantage when it comes to thermal cooling especially in big cases you can easily cool the CPU much better than in a laptop.

Winner: Both, with gaming PC having a slide edge

Which is more portable: a gaming laptop, gaming PC?

A gaming laptop is more portable because it’s a lot smaller and lighter than a gaming PC. However, if you’re only gaming at home or just need something for school then you’ll probably want to get a gaming PC. It will save money and the hassle of carrying around your gaming laptop.

The only drawback with laptops is their short-lived batteries which typically need to be charged up again after a few hours of gameplay so make sure you keep them plugged in while playing!

Winner: Gaming laptop, though you could build a mini ITX or buy a NUC PC

What is cheaper: a gaming laptop, gaming PC?

When considering buying a gaming laptop or a gaming PC price is something you’ll definitely watch for. I tried my best to find comparable specs for the systems. Know that most gaming PCs are just way better at cooling and can give you better speeds but you’ll need to add a screen, a keyboard, and a mouse.

PartsGaming laptopPre-built gaming PCCustom gaming PC
CPUAMD Ryzen 9 5900HSAMD Ryzen 9 5900 AMD Ryzen 9 5900
GPUNvidia RTX 3070Nvidia RTX 3080Nvidia RTX 3070
RAM16GB16GB16GB
Storage512GB1000GB512GB
ScreenWQHD 165HzASUS TUF VG27AQASUS TUF VG27AQ
Keyboard & mouseBuild-inLogitech MK120Logitech MK120
Price$2,399.99$3.137,47$2,935.17
Gaming laptop is the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 (2021) and the pre-built PC is the ALIENWARE AURORA RYZEN™ EDITION R10 GAMING DESKTOP

Winner: Gaming laptop, although not as fast as a PC, comparing spec names the Gaming laptop is way cheaper

Is a gaming laptop as good as a gaming PC?

No, a gaming laptop isn’t as good. The one thing that makes this different is the graphics card which can be upgraded on a PC. On a gaming laptop, it’s stuck inside and you have to buy an entirely new system if your screen dies or something like that happens.

Besides the straight-up performance, there are plenty of other advantages for both laptops and PCs! A gaming PC has more ports than most laptops so if you’re looking to plug in things like controllers and speakers then the PCwill probably work better for you because it’ll have all those options whereas with many laptops they only come with two USB ports usually so no audio jack options either. Gaming computers also tend to last longer before becoming.

Can you upgrade a gaming laptop and a gaming PC?

On a gaming laptop and a gaming PC, you can upgrade the RAM and storage with ease. However, a gaming PC also lets you upgrade the motherboard, GPU, and CPU. This means you can upgrade your PC throughout the years using some old parts and some new parts, while with a gaming laptop, you need to buy a whole new device.

How well can you customize a gaming laptop, gaming PC?

A gaming PC is much more customizable than a gaming laptop. You can customize the color, resolution of your display so that it suits you best and there are many different cases for them too so they’re not all exactly the same. With a gaming laptop, on the other hand, you have to use what’s available which means if it doesn’t come with pre-built color then you’ll be out of luck.

Does a gaming laptop consume more electricity than a gaming PC?

A gaming PC will consume more electricity than a gaming laptop because the CPU and GPU not needing to be limited in use. The energy usage is also dependent on your settings; if you’re playing games at their highest quality it’ll use much more power than when they are set to medium or low.

However, there’s still no definite answer as we only know that laptops need about 95 watts while desktops can go up to 240 W (although some models are available with less).

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