Budget gaming laptop - possible?

[Deleted member 18121]

Afternoon all

Back in the day I used to play battlefield 2 online via the pc and loved it. Now I'm a bit older and have less time/space but am in need of a laptop.... So I wondered about combining those needs and getting something that can handle both day to day tasks and some gaming.

The old rule of thumb used to be the most gigs of RAM and the most gigs of graphics card memory - so I assume that still applies, but is it different with laptops than desktops?

any guidance much appreciated.

BTW - am happy to go second hand/refurbished and budget up to £500ish

 

[Lazkir]

I doubt it for that price, my missus has a gaming laptop that's about two years old now (Cost about £1000) at the time. Laptops with similar specs are still in the £700 price range.
The main thing is the onboard GPU, that's what really bumps the price up.

Are you still looking at Battlefield FPS games?

 

[GreiginFife]

As Lazkir says you will struggle at that budget. Memory and GPu are important as you would expect and is exactly the same as desktop requirements but with one major drawback that you can do little about, the issue of thermal throttling.

Essentially gaming laptops are decently specced on paper but suffer from thermal issues after a short time of use under heavy load.
Many people buy gaming laptops but end up just using them as normal workstations.

I have built numerous compact gaming deskptops for sub £500 recently, but would steer clear of laptops personally.

 

[Deleted member 18121]

Are you still looking at Battlefield FPS games?

Battlefield specifically for the online multiplayer games....thats what I used to enjoy most, I'm not interested in story mode.

I have built numerous compact gaming deskptops for sub £500 recently, but would steer clear of laptops personally.

So really it would be better to buy a desktop wouldnt it? I have screens and other peripherals at home already so just need the unit. Any suggestions?

 

[Lazkir]

Battlefield specifically for the online multiplayer games....thats what I used to enjoy most, I'm not interested in story mode.



So really it would be better to buy a desktop wouldnt it? I have screens and other peripherals at home already so just need the unit. Any suggestions?

Definitely build your own, it will be cheaper and better spec. Plenty of places to guide you through it if you're not confident, plus we'll help on here if you need us to.

 

[GreiginFife]

Battlefield specifically for the online multiplayer games....thats what I used to enjoy most, I'm not interested in story mode.



So really it would be better to buy a desktop wouldnt it? I have screens and other peripherals at home already so just need the unit. Any suggestions?

Yes, my advice to clients is always avoid a laptop unless portability is your main requirement.
Futureproofing is easier with a desktop.

Look at the AMD Ryzen 2nd or 3rd Gen processors, there are great deals on the 2nd gen R5 2600 at the minute and its a total gem of a processor. You could get away with a GTX1060 6GB or even a RX570 8GB GPU for starters.
If you have peripherals and portability is NOT your key requirement then gaming is always, always best on a desktop.

 

[Reemul]

As Lazkir says you will struggle at that budget. Memory and GPu are important as you would expect and is exactly the same as desktop requirements but with one major drawback that you can do little about, the issue of thermal throttling.

Essentially gaming laptops are decently specced on paper but suffer from thermal issues after a short time of use under heavy load.
Many people buy gaming laptops but end up just using them as normal workstations.

I have built numerous compact gaming deskptops for sub £500 recently, but would steer clear of laptops personally.

I have been Laptop gaming for 5 years now. Used to have a an ASUS RoG with a GF980m in. Worked amazingly well, before that I have been a PC Gamer since the DX66 era (along time) There was no issue with heat at all, performance was excellent.

The 2 issues which were not issues for me were the battery lasted around 1 hour when playing intensive games and it was not really portable, it was pretty heavy.

2 weeks ago I upgraded to a HP Omen 17 with a GF2070 card etc.

The reality is they aren't cheap, the Omen was £1,500 but it's bloody good.

I don't think you can get a decent gaming rig for less than £700 - £800 but don't let anyone tell you Laptops can't game, they totally can and with little issue outside of price (size is also not really an issue as there are a few decent slimmer options these days as well). I personally just don't want to have a full desktop set up and having a great gaming laptop that sits behind the sofa and is pulled out for some serious gaming is great especially since the kids came along.

But if you have the room for a desktop I would go for that every time, better value for money and a lot easier to keep upgraded.

 

[GreiginFife]

I have been Laptop gaming for 5 years now. Used to have a an ASUS RoG with a GF980m in. Worked amazingly well, before that I have been a PC Gamer since the DX66 era (along time) There was no issue with heat at all, performance was excellent.

The 2 issues which were not issues for me were the battery lasted around 1 hour when playing intensive games and it was not really portable, it was pretty heavy.

2 weeks ago I upgraded to a HP Omen 17 with a GF2070 card etc.

The reality is they aren't cheap, the Omen was £1,500 but it's bloody good.

I don't think you can get a decent gaming rig for less than £700 - £800 but don't let anyone tell you Laptops can't game, they totally can and with little issue outside of price (size is also not really an issue as there are a few decent slimmer options these days as well). I personally just don't want to have a full desktop set up and having a great gaming laptop that sits behind the sofa and is pulled out for some serious gaming is great especially since the kids came along.

But if you have the room for a desktop I would go for that every time, better value for money and a lot easier to keep upgraded.

As a systems builder with 20 years behind me, I stand by my view that laptops should be a 'mobility' play and that any laptop, regardless of how specced or priced will suffer throttling when under load. Some may fare better than others but in the main they will all throttle when a desktop wouldn't.

Decent gaming rigs (desktop) are becoming more achievable in the lower price brackets thanks to AMDs Zen architecture.
My son has a secondary system with R5 2500G, RX570 and 8GB 3000 RAM on a B450 motherbaord that came in at £480 and has had no issues on any AAA rated title to date.

 

[Reemul]

As a systems builder with 20 years behind me, I stand by my view that laptops should be a 'mobility' play and that any laptop, regardless of how specced or priced will suffer throttling when under load. Some may fare better than others but in the main they will all throttle when a desktop wouldn't.

Decent gaming rigs (desktop) are becoming more achievable in the lower price brackets thanks to AMDs Zen architecture.
My son has a secondary system with R5 2500G, RX570 and 8GB 3000 RAM on a B450 motherbaord that came in at £480 and has had no issues on any AAA rated title to date.

Edit: My pointless reply deleted, i bow to your superior 20 year building experience

 

[GreiginFife]

I never said it wasn't achievable, that you have fabricated for yourself. What I said was they will throttle, it's built in to their design. The space constraint is the issue. Christ a full ATX system will throttle if cooling space is insufficient.

My time as a system builder doesn't mean my opinion is greater than yours. But using that experience I would never consciously promote a laptop over a desktop unless portability was the key requirement. If you would then good for you.