A question from a noob :)

[Akuma07]

Hey guys,

 

New around these parts, only just discovered this site. Spent most of my life playing around with PC's, but I have fallen out of touch with the PC tech world in the past 3 or so years as I've had to focus on other things, but I'm still tech savvy enough to understand most of your advice, and how to build any PC I choose.

 

Over the past week I've decided that I will be upgrading my PC Gaming setup so that I can play some of the games coming out this year. Unfortunately my current PC is about 4 years old, and was only a mid-range PC at the time anyway.

 

The question is: Laptop or PC?

 

And before everyone makes fun of me for asking such a stupid question (PC's are obviously always better), hear me out.

 

My considerations are:

1. Power consumption - While I personally have enough disposable income to purchase either option, it's the ongoing electricity costs that will kill my family, and so buying a high-powered PC might be a concern for my family overall. People may scoff at this, but every little increase to a bill is noticeable to those monitoring their bottom line.
2. Heat - My house doesn't regulate heat very well, and it get's very hot as it is, a high powered PC would produce a fair amount of heat, and I don't really want to go through the pain of that.
3. Portability - Portability isn't a 100% requirement, more of a preference. A laptop could provide me with an all purposes solution to my media consumption, whereas a PC requires me to sit down in the one place and focus on the one thing. A laptop means I could use that while multitasking or watching TV etc Using mobile devices for web browsing and stuff is okay, but I get frustrated by the vast amount of web sites that are STILL not optimized to run on mobile browsers as of yet (we are in 2015!!!).
4. Noise - I need my system to be relatively quiet.
5. Upkeep - All of the laptops I've owned over the years have all been lower-end, but all have lasted for years without any technical issues. PC's on the other hand, I've had to replace several components. I want to be able to just set this system up and not worry about maintenance too much.
6. Space - I have limited space to put all this stuff. So huge towers aren't really an option.

Any advice you guys can give me would be great. Also, for those of you who think a PC rig is best, please detail what you think is the best build, I would like it to last a few years.

[007agentHP]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($189.99 @ Newegg) 

CPU Cooler: Antec KUHLER H2O 650 Liquid CPU Cooler  ($44.99 @ Directron) 

Motherboard: MSI H97M-G43 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($86.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($74.98 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($349.98 @ NCIX US) 

Case: Corsair 350D MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 

Power Supply: SeaSonic S12G 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($84.98 @ Newegg) 

Total: $970.89

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-15 22:21 EST-0500

 

this pc is good and meets all requirements

 

1. Very power efficient where most power should not exceed ~300 watts. psu is 80+ gold efficient meaning very efficient. thanks to Maxwell architecture, the gtx 970 draws 120w but performs well even at 1440p ultra. 

 

2. the cpu has a water cooler so heat on that would not be a problem. the gtx 970 runs Very cool due to Maxwell being so efficient.

 

3. its a micro atx case so its not a mid tower, and it is relatively small.

 

4. cpu has water cooler that negates noise and due to Maxwell, the 970 runs very quiet.

 

5. not really much maintenance because your using a prefilled All in one cooler so no maintenance except cleaning dust filters

 

6. space, its micro atx. key work MICRO

[Whorax]

1. Buy Nvidia GPUs. They're very efficient and powerful.

 

2. Nvidia GPUs or non-reference AMD cards. I've had my Lightning R9 290X for a day and SLI GTX 970s before that. Hasn't felt like a space heater as of yet.

 

3. Build a rig, then buy a cheaper notebook for media consumption if you need to.

 

4. Nvidia GPUs or really non reference AMD cards. I haven't heard my SLI GTX 970s or my Lightning R9 290x.

 

5. This one I can't comment on since I haven't particularly put my rig through the paces yet as it's fairly new. Pro tip: buy parts from good, reputable manufacturers.

 

6. You can fit nice stuff in a mid size tower.

 

 

With all of this being said, what type of build are you looking at (high end/mid end/low end)? What's your budget? I'll try to help more if you can give some more details.

[Lolzious]

A mini ITX build would be fine. An Intel CPU and Nvdia graphics card wouldn't take piss all for power, and you can also get mini ITX cases with support for 200/140mm fans (which will be very quiet)

[EpicAdom]

Honestly, laptops aren't that bad for gaming. I've been using an $800 HP ENVY laptop hooked up to my monitor and peripherals for like two years now. It has an i5 and an Nvidia Geforce GT 740m. I have to upscale 900p to my 1080p monitor but it's still an enjoyable gaming experience. If you're willing to pay 1000-1500 USD for a laptop then you can get something that can play games and work as an actual laptop, not a portable desktop.

[Akuma07]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far guys! This is great stuff and really helps me out in my search!

[iDeJayDzn]

There's always in home streaming available to you now, if you choose to build a PC. There's Steam's own software you can use and external devices you can use. With it been late where i am though... non come to mind.

[slightlyjaded]

Depending on budget, and workload, here are some options:

 

intel nuc.... A newer product with a miniscule form factor sold by most retailers as a barebones system (This is basically a laptop in a box without a screen, or peripherals.) You supply your own sodimm ram, storage, and wireless networking card. everything else is         integrated into something a little bigger than the size of your hand. useful for media consumption, and light gaming duties with integrated graphics. Minimal power draw. (if you buy this my advice is to plug it into your TV with a wireless mouse and keyboard, and have backup storage for all your media files)

 

Laptop.... exactly what you're used to. again good for light gaming, and media consumption, unless you're paying extra for a gaming laptop. Then your power draw scales with the graphics processing power of your system. still cheaper to run than most desktops.

 

Desktop/mini tower. ...This category can cover a lot. Power draw can be variable. My high end system consumes 50/70W on idle and 500W on overclock. Any power drawn results in comparable heat buildup. A smaller system with a lower end cpu and single lower end graphics card can consume even less especially with appropriate settings. Size is variable as well anything from the size of a console up to a behemoth like the 900D. As for the low end, I'm pretty sure the users of this forum have an unofficial contest going for console killers. not always recommended for low power draw, but interesting nonetheless.

[a_block_of_wood]

Hi Akuma,

 

I have a feeling we're in the same shoe. I too have been out of the loop for years, my last pc was built 7 years ago, and I'm currently using a 3 year old "multimedia" laptop (i5, gtx 555). I too am looking forward to build a new pc for up coming games, and have been doing a lot of research and consideration.

 

Here's just my opinion, you may or may not find it useful, but hopefully I can help in your research for a new pc.

 

1. Power Consumption: Try to calculate the time you spend gaming vs the time you spend idling/surfing on your computer. While you see laptop power bricks that has 60-120watt rating, and the desktop having a whoppin 600watt psu, doesn't mean they will use max power all the time. Last I counted for my use case, it'll cost me at most a big mac every week if I go the desktop route.

 

2. Heat: One thing to consider - You can actually put the desktop a little bit further away from you.  I currently sit in a semi-poorly ventilated corner of the room, with my laptop, and the heat it pumped out from it's little vent basically stayed at where you sit. Not to mention the hot keyboard when gaming. While a desktop will generate more heat, I think it's easier to manage, or at least more flexible.

 

3. Portability: Consider your performance needs. A powerful enough laptop would be a pain to move around. @Whorax has a point, instead of a powerful laptop, build a desktop and get a cheap laptop. They go for like what, $300 nowadays? Or just leave those unoptimized web page until you're at your desk.

 

4. Noise: Relatively to what? Heh. Laptop and you'll get a whiny little fan, depends on models of course. For desktop, you have a choice for quiet case and fans. It wouldn't be hard to find if "relatively" means when you're gaming.

 

5. Upkeep: My laptop have been fairly maintenance free. My old desktop? Mostly limited to cleaning out dust. With new cases nowadays, just get one with dust filters and you're pretty much done. Stick to reliable brands so you have less risk of parts breaking down.

 

6. Space: Stuff shrinks over time. I can build a desktop in a case smaller than my shoe boxes. If you think you can't fit a keyboard/mouse/monitor + a shoe box on your desk, maybe a laptop is for you.