Gaming

[Troxellt]

this is some weird stuff i decided to go build a pc on pcpartpicker based of a gaming laptops specs and this is whats so weird, when i built it the price was as much as the laptop and the laptop still had a better gpu wtf how did we get to this point

[Poinkachu]

28 minutes ago, Troxellt said:

this is some weird stuff i decided to go build a pc on pcpartpicker based of a gaming laptops specs and this is whats so weird, when i built it the price was as much as the laptop and the laptop still had a better gpu wtf how did we get to this point

I call it :
"The price of expandability"

[Chris Pratt]

The cost of individual components, particularly GPUs has gone up dramatically. When a manufacturer produces something like a laptop, they have a relatively stable supply chain of bespoke parts, which overall contributes to lower cost. It's the difference of buying direct from a retailer or a wholesaler. The latter is always cheaper per unit, but you have to invest in a set number of units. Prebuilt desktops benefit in a similar way.

 

The other consideration, particularly on the GPU side, is that it's not an apples to apples comparison in many cases. A mobile 3070, for example, is not the same thing as a desktop 3070.

[Error 52]

Laptops being terrible for cryptomining probably helps. Though it's also helped that gaming laptops have really improved over the past few years, and we're seeing laptops that generally provide a lot better bang for the buck, such as the Lenovo Legion 5.

 

The flexibility and upgradability of a desktop PC are obviously big advantages, but honestly right now if you just want a computer you can game on a gaming laptop is not a terrible idea.

[Vishera]

40 minutes ago, Troxellt said:

the laptop still had a better gpu wtf how did we get to this point

A 250W desktop RTX 3070 will perform significantly better than a 160W  laptop RTX 3070.

[ADarkBard]

There was a time when laptops were significantly more expensive than desktops. Integration and economies of scale have made that flip around. That being said a typical desktop will still outlive a laptop by more than a few years.

[adarw]

a miner can buy a 3060 for 800, he can probly have 8 in one motherboard, a laptop with a 3060 might cost upwards of 1500(?), the desktop gpu performance is better and is cheaper. 

[Chris Pratt]

48 minutes ago, Arika S said:

but which one of those can you actually buy?

You can buy both, @Vishera was just making the same point I did. The mobile and desktop versions are not the same thing. A desktop 3070 is a much more powerful GPU than a mobile 3070. They cut down mobile parts, especially in power allowance, making them slower than their desktop counterparts.