{"id":45088,"date":"2012-10-01T14:26:57","date_gmt":"2012-10-01T12:26:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/?p=45088"},"modified":"2012-10-03T00:37:28","modified_gmt":"2012-10-02T22:37:28","slug":"gaming-laptop-vs-gaming-desktop-round-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/hardware\/45088-gaming-laptop-vs-gaming-desktop-round-2","title":{"rendered":"Gaming laptop vs. Gaming desktop: round 2"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p>Ed: The original post of this article contained an error relating to the model of laptop used for the comparison. This has been rectified for the republished version.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>A while back MyGaming compared a high-end gaming laptop with a high-end gaming desktop, and found that the laptop ended up more expensive and less upgradeable, but was by far the superior choice when it came to portability.<\/p>\n<p>The gaming desktop was cheaper to build and could be upgraded as the years went by, but wasn\u2019t exactly the personification of \u201cgaming on the go\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than compare two high-end systems, this time we\u2019ll be comparing the <a title=\"MSI GE70 gaming notebook\" href=\"http:\/\/www.laptopdirect.co.za\/laptop_specifications.php?laptop=59826\" target=\"_blank\">MSI GE70<\/a>, a mid-range gaming laptop that offers great value for money, with a mid-range gaming PC to find out if the status quo has shifted.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">The laptop<\/h3>\n<p>MSI have slapped a mid- to high-end office notebook together with a decent dedicated graphics card and gaming body- the result is the GE70, a cost effective way to take gaming with you wherever you go.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the specs:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>CPU: Intel Core i5 3210M<\/li>\n<li>Motherboard: Intel HM76 chipset<\/li>\n<li>RAM: 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333Mhz<\/li>\n<li>Hard Drive: 750GB 7200rpm drive<\/li>\n<li>Graphics card: Nvidia GT650M GPU<\/li>\n<li>Screen: 17.3 inch 1600 x 900 non gloss display<\/li>\n<li>OS: Windows 7 Home Premium<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There is some cost cutting apparent on the GE70, but this allows it to be an attractive option to gamers. There is no SSD, the screen is a lower than Full HD resolution and doesn\u2019t support 3D gaming. Is features a mid-range Intel i5 processor, and ships with Windows 7 Home Premium.<\/p>\n<p>However, the system is still formidable for its price tag &#8211; R10,960 from Laptop direct.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_45331\" style=\"width: 609px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/MSI-GE70-upload.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-45331\" class=\" wp-image-45331\" title=\"MSI GE70 upload\" src=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/MSI-GE70-upload.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"599\" height=\"410\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/MSI-GE70-upload.jpg 942w, https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/MSI-GE70-upload-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/MSI-GE70-upload-250x171.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, 599px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-45331\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">MSI GE70 gaming notebook, quite a looker<\/p><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">The equivalent-power desktop<\/h3>\n<p>Now, to see how much an equally powerful desktop will cost:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>CPU: Intel i5 3450 ivy bridge processor (R1,950)<\/li>\n<li>Motherboard: Asus P8H77-M LE (R1,300)<\/li>\n<li>RAM: 2 x 4GB DDR3 1,333MHz (R400)<\/li>\n<li>Hard Drive: Seagate 1TB SATA 3 hard drive (R750)<\/li>\n<li>Graphics card: Nvidia GT640 \u2013 Asus (R1,300)<\/li>\n<li>Screen: LG 20\u201d LED 1600 x 900 (R950)<\/li>\n<li>OS: Windows 7 Home Premium (R1,050)<\/li>\n<li>Case: Coolermaster elite cool 311 (R350)<\/li>\n<li>PSU: Corsair CX500w V2 500w (R600)<\/li>\n<li>Keyboard: Logitech K360 wireless (R250)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With a total cost of R8,900, the equivalent performance desktop system retails locally for around R8,900 (prices were sourced from a range of local online retailers, rounded to the nearest R50).<\/p>\n<p>While the desktop needs a case, PSU and keyboard to be on par with the laptop, a desktop system that is slightly more powerful than the gaming laptop retails for R2,000 less than the laptop.<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t much of a difference when you factor in the mobility that the laptop affords gamers, who can now take their hobby with them wherever they go.<\/p>\n<p>However, that R2,000 can be what makes or breaks a deal on a gaming laptop for most gamers. The extra money can be spent on a 120GB SSD as well as an upgrade to a new monitor. Otherwise, GPU or CPU upgrade are both well within budget.<\/p>\n<p>Then, there is still the question of upgradeability. Apart from minor parts such as RAM and the hard drive, the laptop won\u2019t be easily upgradeable; and even if it is, it won\u2019t be to much more powerful components.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">Bottom line<\/h3>\n<p>At the end of the day, the cost of going mobile for gaming is around R2,000, and a severely limited upgrade path. If this seems worth it to you, there is no reason why you shouldn\u2019t go for a gaming laptop.<\/p>\n<p>However, if you don\u2019t plan on gaming away from home, the desktop should still be the PC medium of choice.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">Related Articles<\/h3>\n<p><a title=\"Gaming laptops and desktops compared\" href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/hardware\/29814-gaming-laptops-and-desktops-compared.html\"><strong>Gaming laptops and desktops compared<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Gaming laptop performance considerations\" href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/hardware\/39100-gaming-laptop-performance-considerations.html\"><strong>Gaming laptop performance considerations<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Gaming laptops: is now the time to buy one?\" href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/hardware\/43469-gaming-laptops-is-now-the-time-to-buy-one.html\"><strong>Gaming laptops: is now the time to buy one?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Which is best suited to your gaming needs?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":169,"featured_media":45267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1517,5531,1782,1702,21,1773,5203,45,2541],"class_list":["post-45088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hardware","tag-asus","tag-cooler-master","tag-corsair","tag-gaming-laptop","tag-headline","tag-logitech","tag-msi","tag-nvidia","tag-seagate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45088"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45268,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45088\/revisions\/45268"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}