If you’re a gamer like me, you probably get this question a lot: are gaming laptops worth it? Well, there’s no easy answer to that. Gaming laptops are not cheap, they usually cost around $1000 – $1500, so you want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth.
That’s why in this blog, I’ll compare some of the most common arguments around gaming laptops, such as how they stack up against gaming PCs or regular laptops. I’ll also weigh the pros and cons of owning one, so you can decide for yourself if a gaming laptop is right for you.
Gaming Laptop vs Gaming PC
This is one of the most heated debates among gamers: Are gaming laptops better than gaming PCs? To settle this once and for all, let’s look at how gaming laptops compare to gaming PCs in different aspects.
Nowadays, gaming laptops are built with similar components as gaming PCs, such as dedicated graphics cards and powerful CPUs. But there’s a catch: the hardware of a laptop is more limited than that of a PC. That means the GPU on a laptop won’t perform as well as on a PC. But why is that? Let’s find out more.
Cooling systems
This is the biggest difference between a gaming PC and a gaming laptop. Gaming laptops are notoriously known for running hot after extended hours of gaming. Which in the long term can cause a huge decline in performance and hardware failure.
Even though big laptop manufacturers like ASUS, MSI, Dell, etc. have been working to improve their cooling systems by adding more fans and heat pipes like the ASUS TUF and Dell Alienware lines, this is nothing when compared to PCs.
PCs have a longer history than gaming laptops, which means brands have had more time to improve their cooling systems. PCs also have more space inside their cases to fit larger and more efficient fans and heat pipes. This allows PCs to run for longer without overheating, which extends their lifespan.
Moreover, PCs offer more options to customize their cooling systems, such as liquid cooling or RGB lighting, which can make them look more attractive. Gaming laptops, on the other hand, will never have this advantage.
CPU and GPU performance
You might think that gaming laptops and PCs offer similar performance because they can have the same processor, graphics card, and a similar amount of RAM and storage. But if you assume that your gaming laptop with an RTX 3070 TI will perform the same as a gaming PC with the same graphics card, well, my friend, I’m sorry to tell you that that assumption is nowhere near the truth.
The main reason is that the graphics cards on PCs and laptops are not the same. Gaming laptop graphics cards are designed to fit the limited space of a laptop.
For example, the RTX 3070 TI on a laptop has fewer CUDA cores, Tensor units, RT cores, and memory bandwidth than the RTX 3070 TI on a PC.
This means that PCs will always have better performance than laptops with the same graphics card. And the higher the price, the bigger the gap will be.
Of course, this also depends on what games you play. If you want to enjoy demanding games like GTA 5 with max settings and Ray Tracing mod, then you need a PC. But if you just want to play casual games like Dave the Diver, then you won’t notice much difference.
Portability
This is an obvious and somewhat unfair comparison, but everything has to be taken into consideration, right?
The gaming laptop is clearly more portable than the gaming PC. But don’t think that the gaming laptop is very portable either.
If you have a gaming laptop, you would know that it needs to be plugged in most of the time to perform well.
Yes, gaming laptops have batteries, but using them on battery should be a last resort rather than a regular option because gaming laptops will run very slow on battery.
But still, it is much easier to carry a laptop with a charger than to move a whole PC setup to another place.
And don’t forget about the weight. Gaming laptops are not light. They usually weigh around 4 to 6 pounds, which can be quite heavy to lug around for long. And that’s not including the power brick and other accessories that you might need.
Value
This might be the most important aspect after all. Why didn’t I call this price comparison you might ask? Because there are many more nuances around this. So I will only talk about the value of your money or what kind of performance you will get for the price?
Surprisingly, the price range of a gaming laptop or a gaming PC is not very different. The lowest you can get is around $1000 (You can get gaming laptops for under $800 but don’t expect too much from them). For example, the HP Pavilion Gaming Desktop or the ASUS TUF Gaming F15. And the higher you are willing to pay, the better the performance you will get.
But here’s the key point. The value you get from a PC will always be higher than a gaming laptop. Because the PC is much larger, there’s more room for improvement.
If your PC is running slow, you can easily fix it or upgrade it with a better CPU or GPU. Hence PCs can last longer. In contrast, gaming laptops don’t have the luxury of easy upgrading. Sure you can fix it when something breaks but you can’t upgrade your CPU or graphics card like you can on PC. This makes the lifespan of a gaming laptop much shorter than a PC at the same price.
So if you’re looking for a gaming device that gives you more value for your money, then you might want to choose a gaming PC over a gaming laptop. Unless you really need portability or web browsing on the go, then a gaming laptop might be worth it for you. But keep in mind, that you’ll have to sacrifice some aspects like performance, cooling, and upgradability.
Expensive vs Affordable
If you are considering between an expensive and a cheaper option for a gaming laptop, here are a few things you should consider to get the most out of your money:
| Factor | High-end | Budget |
| CPU | Faster and smoother | Slower and choppier |
| RAM | More memory | Less memory |
| GPU | Dedicated graphics card | Integrated graphics card |
| Cooling System | Multiple fans | One or two fans |
| Keyboard | Robust with RGB backlighting and extra keys | Basic with no frills |
| Battery Life | Shorter | Longer |
| Aesthetics | Flashy with shiny logos and lights | Simple with minimal decorations |
| External Ports | Many ports for connecting devices and accessories | Fewer ports, keeping it minimalist |
| Portability | Heavy and bulky, hard to transport and fit in small spaces | Lighter and slimmer, more convenient to travel with and use on different surfaces |
| Display Refresh Rate | High refresh rate, making games look smooth and fluid | Low refresh rate, making games look choppy and laggy |
| Material | Metal or premium plastic, more durable and sturdy | Cheap plastic, more prone to damage |
I have broken down these factors in more detail in our blog about the best budget gaming laptops. If you want to learn more about them, consider visiting that blog here.
Pros and Cons
After analyzing and comparing gaming laptops to PCs, here’s a summary of all the advantages and disadvantages of owning a gaming laptop.
Pros
- Compact and powerful: The main appeal of gaming laptops is that they are portable devices that can offer as much power as their desktop rivals. A high-end gaming laptop can easily compete with or even outperform a budget gaming PC in terms of performance.
- High versatility: A gaming laptop is not only great for gaming but also for other tasks that need more computing power than a regular laptop can provide. Such as designing, video editing, etc. A gaming laptop also has a high-quality display that can improve your gaming and viewing experience.
- Unique design: Gaming laptops have a distinctive look that sets them apart from other laptops. They have a muscular design with RGB lighting and customizations. Even the more subtle ones like the Lenovo Legion Pro still have the signature gaming build. Many gaming laptops like the ASUS ROG Strix G15 G513RC-HN090W also have unique colorways and customizations.
Cons
- High prices: Gaming laptops are extremely pricey. If you want a laptop that can handle demanding games, chances are you have to invest in a higher-tier laptop. I’m talking about $1-2k at the bare minimum to get a powerful and durable laptop. That’s much more expensive than regular laptops or even some desktop PCs.
- Noisy: One of the most annoying things about gaming laptops is that their cooling systems are extremely noisy. If you play games in high resolution, chances are you won’t be able to hear your game clearly due to the noise. This also makes it impossible to communicate with your teammates using the built-in microphone because all they’ll be hearing would be the sound of the fan.
- Easy to overheat: As I have discussed earlier, with our current technology, there is no way to put a good enough cooling system into the compact design of a gaming laptop. Which makes them quite easily overheat. Overheating can cause performance issues, crashes, and hardware damage over time.
- Short lifespan: Having your laptop run hot for long periods of time will undoubtedly make its performance worsen over time. But there’s another layer to this. You can’t upgrade your gaming laptop. Once you buy it you will have to stick to the machine forever, there’s no way you can upgrade the CPU or GPU and with the speed at which games are becoming more and more demanding, in 3-4 years, your gaming laptop won’t be able to run games anymore and you will have no option rather than buying a new one. So are gaming laptops worth buying? Well, it depends on how often you play and how much you value portability and battery life.
Final Thought
So that was a lot to take in, let’s sum everything up with a table:
| Aspect | Gaming Laptop | Gaming PC |
| Performance | High, but limited by heat and power | Very high, can be customized and upgraded |
| Cooling | Adequate, but noisy and prone to overheating | Excellent, can be customized and upgraded |
| Value | High, but expensive and hard to upgrade | Higher, cheaper, and easier to upgrade |
| Portability | High, but heavy and short battery life | Low, bulky, and not mobile |
| Versatility | High, can do other tasks besides gaming | High, can do other tasks besides gaming |
| Design | Unique, flashy, and customizable | Unique, flashy, and customizable |
As you can see, gaming laptops are portable, powerful, and stylish gaming devices that can let us enjoy gaming anywhere. But are they worth it? Well, it would be worth it if you want to game while traveling a lot. But for most gamers, that’s not really our thing, right? So it would be smarter to invest in a gaming PC.
