Gaming Laptops are TOO EXPENSIVE!!!

A PS3 goes for about $400 these days. Probably equal or less for a XBOX360.

You can get a powerful gaming desktop PC for less than a 1K, or for less than 2K you can get a very powerful i7-powered rig with a high-end graphics card. You can splurge of course and pay up to 3 or 4 or 5K to get a monster gaming desktop, but that's overkill.

However, for gaming LAPTOPS, to get a laptop that can play the latest games at high settings you have to pay around 3K. And that's not even getting the performance of a desktop at less than 1K. To get the best laptop on the market you have to pay anywhere from 4 to 5K. And even with the latest gaming laptop, with a Quad processor and a 280M, you still don't get the performance compared to a desktop prices thousands less.

Basically, with laptops, you pay thousands more for less performance, than you can get with a desktop. It's not right. You should not have to pay more than 3K even for the latest gaming laptop. Portability should not come with such a high price coupled with a sacrifice in performance (compared to a desktop).

 

What prices have you been looking at? I got my gaming laptop for $1200 and it has pretty reasonable specs. It's a Gateway P-7811 FX

Vista Premium 64
Core 2 Duo at 2.26 ghz
GeForce 9800M GTS (512 and 65nm version)
4GB Memory, DDR3 1066 Mhz.
7200 RPM Hard Drives.

 

They are expensive, but all that research and design work that goes into the integration of the whole package, the cooling system, the keyboard, the media buttons, the screen, the mobile GPU, everything... and making all this work under conditions desktops never see (being carried around and used in all sorts of environments) mean that the extra cost of development has to be paid for by the consumer. Are they overpriced compared to what we should be paying for them, even considering that they cost much more to develop on a dollar/performance ratio for the manufacturers? Yes, because the gaming laptop market is smaller than that of gaming desktops, and they're also much harder to assemble from cheaply bought off the shelf parts like a custom desktop, so the manufacturers can charge a premium for these machines and we'll all pay for it because we have no other choice. I have one of these gaming machines (M1530), and I know I could have bought a very sweet desktop and a huge monitor for what I paid for this thing, but I'm still happy with my purchase because the mobility this thing brings me over my old desktop is invaluable.

 

i paid 2300-2500 for my Alienware comp. The great thing about it? I can take it anywhere I want, it allows me to game anywhere I want. I think you have to take into account the R&D that must take place to design a gaming laptop. Also, like Dan said, many parts are custom made, so manufacturers can charge a premium for custom parts.

 

Err, what? Nowadays, most popular gaming laptops are priced $1000 - $2000, with people moaning and complaining if the price goes above $2500. The best laptop on the market can be had for $2200, the Asus W90VP. It can easily match the performance of many desktops, even beating a lot. It can get 20K in 3D06, though after a massive OC, which beats most desktops out there.

 

Obviously. You pay a price for portability.
You have to factor in the cost of the monitor, input devices, speakers, etc. which are not a part of a desktop. Fitting all that into a much smaller package is by no means a simple feat.

 

There are some good deals out there. Sure.

But I just preordered the new Clevo M98 for over $5K!!! I am not happy about that. The only really new thing about that laptop is the 280MSLI. The Quad processor has been seen before as have all the other features in it. I don't think it is fair I have to pay so much more just for the new graphics card.

Some laptops are pretty expensive, some are affordable. The ASUS w90 is a good model, but won't play Crysis at high settings at maximum resolution

 

I think you are missing a bit of the point there mate,
laptops arent just gaming rigs, or you would be absolutely correct but laptops are also important for other aspects of people's lives like work and school, etc...

so....

 

may I ask from where?and why are you sure that m98 will?

 

Your on drugs man, < 999$ USD can get you a laptop with a 9800M GS or higher.

In Canada it is very tough to find laptops instore with a good GPU. I managed to find one, but usually its very hard, so just order it. However gaming laptops aren't that expensive for something reasonable.

 

Umm... there'll always be a laptop that can cost more than a car, and there'll be people who are willing to pay for it to crank out a few more frames at maximum settings. If you're willing to pay that much, I don't think you should expect anything else, as you are requesting the most cutting-edge machine out there.

 

Cuz its a laptop, its hard to fit big things into small things. Its not right to have to pay so much for taxes, its not right for people to act certain ways, its not right that life is unfair. But hey, its how it is and complaining wont do anything.

And theres always the expensive computers, why are you comparing ps3 and then saying PC's are so expensive to crank games maxed. a PS3/Xbox360 couldn't run Crysis in anything above Mediumish.

 

You can build a fantastic gaming desktop that will play most games maxed out in 1080P, 60FPS for under $400, or $500 with a 19" LCD, but of course if you know what your doing.

Good gaming notebooks are also quite cheap. Of course you pay a price for the portability and game anywhere ability, but it's actually not THAT bad. If your looking at certain overpriced boutique notebook builders like what voodoopc (used to be), then your looking in the wrong spots. You can get a great gaming notebook for under $1500, infact most new and upcoming gaming notebooks are catering to this price segment. I don't even know where you CAN get a notebook over $3k anymore unless you max out the specs on a high end one with unnecessary parts, like SSD's and core 2 Extreme CPU's, or dual high end video cards.

 

1st up nobodies forcing us to pay these prices.

2ndly at what stage is it a gaming laptop is it 3d Mark 06 8000, 10000, 12000 14000??

$5k now that is insane!! : ) PLEASE buy insurance dude.

 

I ordered it from eurocom.com. Was it a mistake?

 

Also could depend were you live. People in USA got it the best, Canada is pretty lucky too, we can order from the states on the internet. Other countries are in a similar position. But some places just get screwed paying hi prices and poor availability and no option to ship world wide.

But I agree, most gaming notebooks go for $900-$1800 USD now days, pretty darn affordable for a laptop. As time goes by computers will get cheaper. I remember when I used to have to spend so much for a gaming desktop and now gaming desktops are dirt cheap. Next its gonna be the laptops that become more affordable, already what laptops can do now its strides ahead anything anyone would have thought.

Laptops, gaming? No one would even think of this years ago, laptop GPU performance is increasing steadily and pretty affordable too. Its easy to complain, but just take a look at the work going into these laptops and what they are having to do.

Just look at netbooks, they can outperform older P3's easily. And they are cheap, your complaint isn't about laptop prices. Its about the cutting edge, and the cutting edge will always be expensive, and there will always be games that can benefit from it. And thats just life.

Life is TOO EXPENSIVE!!!

 

This thread is closed due to cross-posting.