Why gaming laptops?

[Beliyal]

I don't have a gaming laptop, because those things are way too expensive for me, but I have a laptop. Not really designed for gaming, but I play all games on it and it runs perfectly. I have yet to see how it'll run next year's games, but I've been running the games from the last year and this year on maximized graphic settings and without problems. Asus makes some really great laptops, even if they're not specifically for gaming. I had one before, and it endured all kinds of torture for 4-5 years, but then ran out of space and was too old really, for my needs at least. I got a new one last year and I expect it'll last about as much as the previous one. The old one still works perfectly fine though, will soon have 6 years and it's been cleaned and had the operative system reinstalled, so I could use it for everything, but gaming, some more. And the new one will, I suppose and hope, have a similar life, maybe a bit more endurable gaming wise.

And why a laptop? Well, I'm a student (I bet you got a lot of answers like this). I move from my birth town to my college town all the time and a desktop is really impractical. I also love laptops because I can move them around, make myself comfortable wherever I want and so on. Also, I'm going skiing every year and I can carry it with me to have something to do in the hotel. It's practical and suits my needs and if I had the money, I'd get a good gaming laptop. Not that there's something wrong with this one, but still. I saw some really great Asus' gaming laptops, but they cost a fortune (and yes, I'm an Asus fangirl).

 

[DarthScorpio11]

Maybe these people are in college and don't want to have to lug an entire desktop + monitor out of storage every year.
<---- Is a college sophomore and wants desperately to own a gaming laptop, but has nowhere near the funds.

ummm...why not. I'm in college, and have grant money. I had a little over 1000 left over for the semester, so i brought myself a gaming laptop

 

[Robert Ewing]

Yeah, the only real reason for a gaming laptop is portability. Having the specs of a fairly high rate desktop that you can carry around in a bag is quite an achievement.

I do want one, but they're a tad out of my range.

 

[duckfi8]

I have a gaming laptop because I live in a small house and I do not have a room to myself that I can keep a desktop in.

 

[Creator002]

I'm currently in the transition from laptop to desktop. I originally got a laptop because I thought "Hey, PC gaming in a portable case!", but I jumped the gun. I thought it'd be great to be able to game with friends over LAN without having to lug a desktop everywhere. However, I shortly realised that the laptop is NOT suited for gaming. Overheating is probably the biggest issue. Even Minecraft makes my laptop want to die.
People probably just don't realise that laptops are suited as "computers", not a gaming console. They think "a computer is a computer".

EDIT - Mind you, I bought a laptop, not a GAMING laptop, if that makes any difference.

 

[SUPA FRANKY]

I use my laptop to watch workout videos, and I have a tendency to move around my house, so a laptop is pretty much a necessity.

 

[coheedswicked]

exactly this... i have a gaming laptop... would much prefer a desktop but its just not feasible right now to be lugging around and despite gaming laptops being heavy (about 9 lbs i think for mine)its much lighter than a gaming desktop at 40-50lbs. and much more portable. i can just put my laptop, power cord and mouse into my bookbag.

 

[Flyingchciken93]

I currently have a laptop and a computer neither of which is especially good for gaming but both are mediocre all round, im debating whether to sell my laptop and get a gaming one and keep my computer for others stuff or buy a gaming computer and keep the laptop for other stuff. Any suggestions either way??

 

[teisjm]

I got mine for several reasons

1. I already have an more or less equally powerfull gameing PC
2. I can use the specs in it, to have a portable PC capable of working 3d graphics programs.
3. I can bring it to work, and the nature of my job allows me to spend somewhere between 2-4 hours durring a 7 hour shift of my work time playing games/working with 3d.
4. I can easily bring it along to friends places, unlike my stationary computer, which is stuc at my appartment unless i have acces to a car.
5. While a complete luxury, and not an actual buying point, having acces to 2 computers capable of running games is nice, when having friends over.

 

[C95J]

I use a gaming laptop because it is very small, very easy to carry and suits me fine. I don't care if I could buy a bit of a better desktop for the same price, I prefer to be able to carry my laptop around all the time.

Overheating is never a problem with my laptop as well, so that definitely isn't an issue.

 

[Zeekar]

I agree that a gaming laptop is generally a bad idea. From personal experience, I've had one, and it goes obsolete far quicker than a self-built PC. Plus, it is more susceptible to damage.

To answer the question, though -- why you'd want one -- from the perspective of someone in college who lives with a girlfriend that hogs the main computer all the time, it seems like a really great thing to have!

No more explanation needed, I think.

 

[IronStorm9]

Maybe these people are in college and don't want to have to lug an entire desktop + monitor out of storage every year.
<---- Is a college sophomore and wants desperately to own a gaming laptop, but has nowhere near the funds.

ummm...why not. I'm in college, and have grant money. I had a little over 1000 left over for the semester, so i brought myself a gaming laptop

Keyword: Sophomore. I only budget about $1000 for the entire year. That includes meals and my meds. I also don't have grant money

 

[crudus]

Like I stated in the OP, just get an ultraportable or a regular laptop. It will be half of the weight at least(a tenth if you get the ultraportable).

You're forgetting how small college dorms are. There is barely enough space for essential things like storage for clothing and stuff, but there is NO room for a rig.

Really? My friends and I managed to stuff four desktops into a dorm room(sure monitors were sitting on laps, but we did it!). There were two desktops in most dorm room at my college.

At the same time I can max out a heavily modded Just Cause 2 if I am feeling gamee while waiting for those damn magical things called fish my grandfather promises me will bite the bait.

Ok, I can understand the people who have to go to 30 countries in a year, but I don't understand this. Why go fishing if you are going to just play your computer anyway? It almost seems to miss the point entirely unless you have a LAN going on your fishing boat.

It's pretty easy to see that the numbers that you are getting, 700 dollars for a gaming desktop, is based ENTIRELY around building the computer yourself, though you never once mention it.

Yes I do. In everyone but one of my posts in this thread.

Putting it that way though makes it sound like an addiction.

In the end, I think this is the thing I am having trouble wrapping my head around. I had many people quote me (I just got done going through 15!) and say "so I can play games on the here, here, here, and here". It makes me think "why is it necessary to play there (regardless of the device you have)"? Yes, there are the people who travel a lot, and I can understand that. Although the people who say "so I can play WoW/Crysis/Just Cause 2 at McDonalds, in lectures, or waiting for a bus" (may or may not be actual examples in this thread), really make it hard to understand where they are coming from.

To answer the question, though -- why you'd want one -- from the perspective of someone in college who lives with a girlfriend that hogs the main computer all the time, it seems like a really great thing to have!

The laptop or the girlfriend?

 

[Sateru]

I work as a caregiver in someone else's house during the night, which means I just clean shit (sometimes literally cleaning fecal matter off of the bathroom walls). So I have a laptop... It's not quite a gaming one, but it can play some games pretty well (I have Fallout 3 and NV along with Dragon Age). I just like the portability, and the fact that I can easily take it to work with me. In fact, it is my major console of choice, even trumping the DSi, and PSP as a preference. When I get home, I don't really wanna get on a desktop, or be on an video game console. I just wanna get to bed. So yeah...

 

[ShatteredBlack]

I have a gaming laptop, and my reason for having it is simple.

I do FIFO(Fly-in, Fly-out)-work in Western Australian mines. A side effect of having so many 'rough' men in one place is that all minesites have to be 'dry' to prevent idiots ruining everything.

So, I bring my laptop + mouse + power cord for each 2-week stint up north, which I couldn't do with a desktop. I can take it with me relatively easily, but when I get home I can hook it up to external monitor, keyboard and speakers and I have a mid- to high-end desktop machine.

It's simply the most reasonable thing to do.

 

[Tim_Buoy]

some people just don't want to have to deal with 2 machines simple. Or they're like me and my family which like to game with each other during family get togethers and don't want to lug around monitors and a tower everytime.

That was my reason for buying my ASUS laptop. I could have baught a cheaper laptop, but as the money was not my "own" (long story short, mother anf father controlled my purse strings), there was no way I could convice them to buy a desktop for gaming. Needing a laptop for school, and not being able to swing for a gaming desktop, a gaming laptop was my answer. A gaming laptop is not perfect, but it is a reasonable option if you dont want to fuck with two computers.

Though, I dont play too many PC games, all the ones I own are Oblivion, FO3, COD:BO, Homefront, and Brink, as well as a few F2P MMOs ive tried.

Really? i bought an asus as well. What model did you get.