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General discussionCollege student opinions needed: gaming laptop, or cheap lap + good desktop?(37 posts)solved(37 posts)solved
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This is my favourite topic
Posted April 17, 2018
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Telika: And again, adults who play videogames are creepy.
FTFY. At least that is what other people keep telling me, video and computer games are for kids.
Post edited April 17, 2018 by timppu
Posted April 17, 2018
The latter.

Better experience (not just for game performance on desktop, but also productivity performance [and battery life, weight] on laptop -- and lack of distraction from games). And probably cheaper.

AND you don't want to be that [expletive] playing games in class.
Post edited April 17, 2018 by mqstout
Posted April 17, 2018
@Luned: I'd probably go for middle ground and buy a laptop ($550-750) which could serve for both school stuff/gaming and save the rest of the money for something else. There are a lot of good laptops within that price range - not cheap but not expensive either which would serve her purposes.
Post edited April 17, 2018 by PainOfSalvation
Posted April 18, 2018
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Luned: So my oldest will be heading off to college in the fall. I'm not certain whether we want to go with buying her a gaming laptop, or a cheaper, light laptop for classes (she's not planning on being an engineering/IT major) and a desktop gaming rig. Pricewise, I think we could come out about even either way.

I could use opinions from current college students, especially US students, as to whether the desktop takes up too much dorm room space to be worthwhile. I think Microsoft often offers a student PC deal including an Xbox One around August; not sure if that's another avenue worth considering.
It depends on their space availability.

I have very limited space, so I own a MSI Phantom Pro, a 14" gaming laptop that has an i7-7700 and a GTX1060 in it.

I can play ANY game out there, do satellite imaging and GIS work at university, and literally fit it in the "tablet" pocket of my (admittedly large) ScotteVest that I wear.

The sweet deal was that it cost me $1500 (I believe they're down to $1200 now on NewEgg and Amazon) when it first came out, not much more than a decent gaming desktop would if you're buying it off the rack rather than building it yourself, and is infinitely more portable unlike the previous 17" 14# monstrosity or full dower desktop that I owned before it.

There is one downside, however, the lack of upgradability for laptops means that five years from now I'll have to buy a new one rather than a motherboard/CPU and new GPU to upgrade a desktop, though with MSI quality and pricing I'm not really opposed to that, and I can pass my current laptop on to my kids (like I do with phones and everything else electronic that I go through an upgrade cycle with) to keep the tech chain going.
Post edited April 18, 2018 by liamphoenix
Posted April 18, 2018
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liamphoenix: There is one downside, however, the lack of upgradability for laptops means that five years from now I'll have to buy a new one rather than a motherboard/CPU and new GPU to upgrade a desktop, though with MSI quality and pricing I'm not really opposed to that, and I can pass my current laptop on to my kids (like I do with phones and everything else electronic that I go through an upgrade cycle with) to keep the tech chain going.
How often do the motherboard and slot technology change nowadays?

Back when I was still a (primarily) desktop gamer, motherboard slot and RAM technologies kept changing so often that when I finally felt that maybe I should buy a new graphics card and maybe more RAM to give my aging desktop some more life, I ended up buying a whole new desktop anyway as so many technologies had already changed, e.g. I didn't have suitable high-speed slots for modern graphics cards, the RAM sticks I was thinking of buying were already considered ancient technology, CPU sockets had changed etc., and quite often even the default motherboard form factor had changed too so that new motherboards wouldn't necessarily fit into my old desktop case. Heck, in some cases even my old monitor was considered too old, new graphics cards preferred different kinds of digital output.

So, I usually bought a whole new desktop, maybe even a monitor, instead of upgrading single components within. So just wondering if the standards are still changing so rapidly? My "newest" monitor uses DVI-D port, I presume modern graphics card don't support that but require either HDMI or DisplayPort or whatever is nowadays the preferred display port... Thunderbolt 3?
Posted April 18, 2018
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PainOfSalvation: @Luned: I'd probably go for middle ground and buy a laptop ($550-750) which could serve for both school stuff/gaming and save the rest of the money for something else. There are a lot of good laptops within that price range - not cheap but not expensive either which would serve her purposes.
This.

If you can hang on a little bit, we should start seeing some better options in the AMD Ryzen / Vega laptop options. Good CPU performance, reasonable gaming performance (way better than Intel integrated!), and there are already some options around $700USD.
Posted April 18, 2018
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timppu: How often do the motherboard and slot technology change nowadays?
More than I'd like, but I tend to buy a top of the line CPU and motherboard and then let it sit until I end up running into issues, I had an AMD FX-4100 until a few years ago when I upgraded it to an Intel i7.

The RAM, thankfully, was still compatible even if it was MUCH slower than what I would've bought if I picked it up then. Not that I really noticed, I mean even slow RAM is still pretty fast.

Since PCIe came about I've had less issues with peripherals, bibe if this ISA/PCI/AGP constant upgrade cycle where your sound card won't work in the new box because the mobo doesn't support the ISA interface.
Posted April 18, 2018
College student has time for gaming?

But if so, I'd go the two PC route. And that's coming from a creepy laptop gamer who apparently didn't get the memo that you can't get good results on a gaming laptop.

My main reason is redundancy. If the laptop craps out she's not left completely in the lurch, since the desktop can presumably take over homework duties until the portable can be repaired or replaced. And if the desktop has a hiccup, the portable is still there for school work. To that end, make sure that she has a good backup scheme set up.
Posted April 18, 2018
Depends on what she's studying of course but personally I always had pdfs, online researches, my own files and programs and the random video or iTunes open when I was studying, so using a laptop feels really restrictive to me for serious work, nothing beats a good clean desk with a big screen and a real mouse.
... except more screens ;)

That said, often enough I would have liked to have something portable when working in the library or during classes so like others id probably suggest the 2 computer route. Decent PC to work at home and a small netbook or laptop (or maybe even just a good tablet) to work on the go - not a huge loss if it drops or gets stolen (and less likely to get stolen if its inexpensive) but still capable enough to do some light work.
Post edited April 18, 2018 by ignisferroque
Posted April 18, 2018
I think the deciding factor is if she has long-term plans to live in the same place for next few years. If she's going to spend the whole year in college and only come back home during the summer, where she will presumably have access to your computer, then the laptop+desktop combo is probably better.

A gaming laptop is generally a bit of a hassle, so I'd never recommend it unless special circumstances are involved. I know because I have one. Therefore, if she plans to move around, say by transferring to a different college to finish her major, or if she does a year abroad as an exchange student, or if she dedicates her summers to internships God knows where, in that case, the gaming laptop is the better choice.
Posted April 18, 2018
Both can work: a good gaming desktop (and you can even find some mini-towers which pack a punch but are space conscious) and a lightweight cheap laptop for class work, or a mid-range laptop that can do both... but, just to worry about one less thing and keep things organized (with the added option of being able to play games during class, woohoooooooooo... just kidding :P), I'd go for a single multi-role laptop.

Newer generation laptops can be quite cheap, slim and offer decent 1080p gaming performance without getting too heavy and hot during normal operation - they will however pack a fan that gets somewhat noisy to borderline annoying during gaming sessions depending on the laptop configuration/build, but you can take your pick of more quiet ones by reading online reviews.

I would go for a 15.6" laptop with a Nvidia 1050/1050 Ti/1060 card or AMD/Radeon equivalents - they are reasonably priced, offer decent 1080p gaming performance (do expect to lower some settings in more recent games on everything except the 1060 perhaps) and most importantly don't look & feel like something you'd break your back carrying around. Obviously they are not ultra-slim either, but a modern gaming laptop with the above mentioned graphic chips should be about as thick as a regular laptop was 3-4 years ago.

I usually go for ASUS laptops (have owned 3 so far, all have performed admirably), but to be honest there are plenty of good options out there, so pick what you think is best.

Of course there are still people out there who think gaming on a laptop is madness, and to be honest I would not call it ideal, but the hardware has come a long way in recent years, so imho there's no reason to downplay the mobility that a gaming laptop can provide.
Post edited April 18, 2018 by WinterSnowfall
Posted April 18, 2018
Depends on what they need it for. I'd say just go with a desktop (if needed), and not a gaming one, go with something lighter and simpler. Barebones or refurbished, Up to a $300 investment plus monitor/keyboard/mouse/cables.

Honestly seen and got a good $100 refurbished computer for friends that was quite powerful for the price, and likely able to play quite a few older games.

Honestly computers are a huge distraction. Go with notebooks (pen and paper), and have them work on the weekends or have simple jobs to keep the debt down...
Post edited April 18, 2018 by rtcvb32
Posted April 18, 2018
Unless the student needs the machine power in class, I'd go for a cheap laptop and a strong desktop.

Gaming laptops sacrifice portability for power, and they are really tasteless in their appearance (IMO), being designed to stand out at a LAN party among all the other overdesigned and glowing gadgets. Laptops are generally not very nice to work on: there is no comfortable position, the keyboards are not particularly good and trackpads are awful compared to mice, and the keyboards are always off-center (horrible ergonomics). If someone is expecting to spend any longer stretches of time at a computer, then nothing beats a well set-up desktop computer. You can adjust the keyboard, screen height, chair height, desk height, mouse position, etc. exactly to fit your physique, instead of having to put up with the "one size fits none" of laptops.

The main advantage of a laptop is that it can be used on the go. Therefore I would prioritize portability over power: how long does the battery last? How heavy is the machine? How many accessories do you have to carry with you? I would also suggest putting a lightweight GNU/Linux distro on the laptop instead of the more resource-hungry Windows (this also has the benefit that you have a free as in freedom operating system).

The downside of two machines is the trouble of keeping them synchronized. You want to have your projects, emails, appointments and contacts on both machines in sync. There are cloud services for that, and if you don't trust proprietary services (and you shouldn't), you can set up your own cloud. If you don't have a server (and who does?) get a hard-drive and one of those single-board computers (like the Beagle Bone or Raspberry Pi) and you can make your own local cloud. Or you could do it the old-fashioned way and have your projects on an external hard drive and just plug that into the machine you are working on.


EDIT: Oh, I forgot one important point: If one machine breaks you still have to other one to work with. As someone with only one computer, the idea of it breaking is a pure nightmare. Sure, I have regular backups, but those backups still need a machine to run on.
Post edited April 18, 2018 by HiPhish
Posted April 18, 2018
Speaking as a current (UK) student, I went down the gaming-desktop-and-cheap-laptop route (in fact, I took the latter to extremes and was given the laptop for free, but that's another story). The desktop fits fine in my room; I've had it either on top of or to the side of my desk, depending on the configuration of my room in a given year. If the university (or other accommodation provider) is particularly stingy with respect to space or desk size your daughter may have issues (particularly if she also wants to do handwritten work on the desk). Hopefully you'll have had a chance to see the rooms at open days by this point, though, so you should be aware if that's an issue. If the university doesn't offer accommodation (for the full degree), then...I have no firsthand experience with private providers (yet) since my college has offered it for all four of my years. But I imagine that at worst it would mean rejecting one or two options for not having a big enough desk.

The bigger issue for me has been transporting the desktop to and from university. I don't live too far away so my family has come up to collect me and my stuff at the end of term, but it's still meant it's had to be carried up and down flights of stairs and installed in its locations and home or in college six times a year. Earlier this year (my fourth) the fan started coming loose and I had to get it replaced. Not a major issue - it only cost me about £10, though I didn't dare use the desktop until it was fixed - but annoying and it could end up being more serious.

If you're planning on having your daughter use public transport to bring her things to and from her university at the end of term, a desktop will be more of a problem - you don't want to have something that big to take with you, and it won't enjoy the trips either. The only solution I can see there would be for her to manage with just the cheap laptop while at home, and leave the desktop at the university. And that relies on the university either not letting out the room to other tenants during the holidays, or offering a safe place to store valuables - and that's something you should definitely check, particularly if it's a more famous/touristy university.

Also, you're very generous buying a gaming computer for your daughter - I had to buy mine myself!
Posted April 18, 2018
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HereForTheBeer: College student has time for gaming?
Hey, my first couple years in College, I majored in skiing, beer, and video games. Not necessarily in that order.

That may have been a contributing factor to me taking six years to finish my degree though.
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General discussionCollege student opinions needed: gaming laptop, or cheap lap + good desktop?(37 posts)solved(37 posts)solved
(37 posts)solved