Gaming laptop or gaming desktop???

Hi I am thinking about getting a gaming laptop or gaming desktop. Mobility isn't an issue, I only game sitting at a desk. I already own a 2 year old HP dv6 that can game pretty well with an i7 and gt 650m, and I was wondering if I should upgrade to a Lenovo y410p which is only 800 dollars, or instead build a 800-1000 dollar gaming desktop? I have never built a gaming desktop, and the laptop's power for it's price already seems pretty awesome, so would a gaming desktop on this budget even be that much more of an improvement?

Can someone offer their opinion on the matter, and maybe recommend possible custom builds that I should consider?

EDIT: Wow I totally put this in the wrong forum.

 

Desktop in terms of power(how strong the system is, not tdp)

For this money, Desktop will crush any laptop. As far as custom builds go, I would say it depends if u want the latest hardware or not. Maxwell on Desktop is coming soon(I posted a lot of about it in Maxwell thread), approximately July this year,

I would save up till summer and do a custom build then. Also, cpu refresh will follow close to end of summer. Then come back, but choose a Desktop forum as there will be more people who are better aware what is best to buy.

 

Build a desktop for sure. i5-4670K and GTX 760 if you need something now. Otherwise wait for refreshed Haswell i5 and mid-range Maxwell in a few months.

 

Really there are only three reasons for buying a notebook over a desktop;

1) portability
2) size
3) weight

If the above do not apply to you then a desktop would serve you better.

 

Desktop.
This is a nice build to do your part selection.

 

If you don't need portability, always go desktop.

Just as an example, for under $2200 you could get this desktop build with 4770K + H80i water cooler on Gigabyte Z87X-UD3H board, 16GB 2133 RipjawsX ram, GTX 780Ti, 500GB SSD + 1TB HDD, and Win7. Depending on how you plan on using your system, you could probably opt for a much cheaper air cooler and less expensive ram, so you might be able to just scrape by with $2000. Also, opted for an 850W PSU so if you decide to add a second GPU for SLI down the road you can.

Now to get similar performance with a laptop, you'll need a 4940MX + 880M SLI, and those alone will cost more than $2000. Building a laptop with 4940MX + 880M SLI and 2133 ram will definitely push you past the $4000 mark. Not to mention GPU upgradeability will be questionable at best.

 

Desktops are generally cheaper and more powerful than laptop computers but are pretty much just disadvantageous in the mobility area. Otherwise, if you don't need to frequently bring your gaming rig to places, you're better off with a desktop

 

Desktop for sure. The performance is significantly better for your dollar. If you need help selecting parts, there's plenty of us here and on other forums that can help you put together a parts list.

I enjoy gaming on the go so I have both a laptop and desktop, but much prefer gaming at my desktop where I have a dedicated desk, comfy chair, and 5760x1080 Eyefinity setup.

 

Desktop is king for gaming when it comes to price and power, it is a lot cheaper and notebook mobility chipsets are quite a bit slower then the high end desktop GPUs.

Laptop gaming is ideal if either desktop space is a premium, you need mobility, and you don't mind alot of the caveats like still requiring you to be plugged in in most cases, and you will be dealing with hot spots.

 

That's pushing it to an extreme. You can do fine with a 4810MQ + 880m SLI + DDR3 1600 or 1866 + SSD + HDD for < $3000. But still the desktop makes more sense financially. With a desktop, for decades, I've been able to get by fine with $2k for a whole new setup and about $500 a year for upgrades to keep relatively current (new GPU one year, new CPU and RAM next, new GPU next, new motherboard and CPU, new RAM and GPU... etc). Just don't buy the absolute top end, because you pay a premium for it which will drop price in half in six months, and usually the GPU or CPU one notch down costs half as much to begin with but is 80-90% the performance of the top end.

 

Newegg.com - Avatar Gaming I5-4576 Desktop PC Intel Core i5 4570 (3.20GHz) 8GB DDR3 1TB HDD Capacity Windows 8.1 64-Bit

This is one of the better deals out there for a desktop off the shelf. I would add the two year warranty for some peace of mind and it's still a relative bargain.

 

I'd move back to a desktop setup in a second if I didn't need to be constantly mobile. Categorically more configuration options and 30% cheaper (and imminently cheaper and easier to upgrade).

Probably the best and most-overlooked advantage is you can re-use parts you really like longer. For example, I used to have a custom-made water-cooled wood case ( this one actually) -- I used this case for years as for my desktop rigs until I finally sold it last month. I also have a favorite 30" 1600p screen I've been using for three years. There is no laptop I've kept for longer than 1 1/2 year.

 

If mobility isn't a concern, definitely get a desktop. You can keep your laptop to play some older games if it comes to a time when you're not home for a while; it's still pretty capable.

 

30% cheaper? I think that's lowballing. I always thought rule of thumb was you can build a desktop for at least 50% cheaper than the price of a comparable laptop. So a $1K desktop performs as well if not better than a $2K laptop. Anyway I'm just stating the obvious. Price-to-performance wise desktops win by a landslide but gaming notebooks have their place, same as it's always been, and laptops are just gonna keep getting better as technology progresses. Stating the obvious again.

 

With mobility not being an issue kinda renders this question moot doesn't it? If it will spend 100% of its time on a desk then get a desktop.

 

Probably right there, especially when you figure in my re-use point.

 

Wow, that is a really nice case! I have a $130 case and thought $300 is more than I'd ever want to spend on a case, but you've changed my mind. You were lucky that was still around when you bought it a month or so into that thread.

But back on topic, I agree that if portability isn't a concern, go desktop. It's cheaper, more upgradeable... there's not any big disadvantages if you've got the space and won't need to move it often.

 

The best part about a desktop is that you can UPGRADE. You can re-use many parts over and over.

 

Thanks. The guy who built it is a true craftsman. Pictures don't even do it justice. He even made a custom letter for the front with my last name's initial to replace the one that was there. When I bought the case I really looked at it as an heirloom piece. Unfortunately, space is a premium in Manhattan apartments (especially according to my wife ) so it had to go. Luckily, a bar/club bought it from me and the use it in a Steampunk-theme display.

It's hardware like this that you fall in love with (re)using that really makes desktops superior to laptops.

 

I know what you mean. Laptops seem to just get crappy and old and then it is time to replace the whole thing. Desktop parts I can get nostalgic about after how long they have been with me.