Gaming Laptops: is it a Matter of Style Over Performance?
February 12, 2011 by Meesansel Rahc
Filed under Gaming Laptops
Copyright (c) 2008 Titus Hoskins
Years ago when gaming laptops first hit the market many serious gamers laughed at the whole notion of using a laptop for gaming. These first gaming laptops simply were not up to the power and performance of a gaming PC. No contest. A desktop computer simply gave you higher performance than a gaming laptop.
While that last statement is still probably true, the gap in performance has narrowed significantly in recent years. Laptops have increased in performance with the introduction of more powerful mobile dual processors or even quad processors enhanced with dual graphics cards via SLI technology.
As we go into fifth and sixth generation laptop technologies and platforms… the performance gap will soon be wiped out. Especially when you consider some gaming laptop specialists are actually giving you desktop components in a laptop. Same performance as a desktop only packaged in a laptop. However, calling these laptops is a bit of a stretch because you won’t be sitting with these heavy mutant creatures on your lap for any long periods of time.
Regardless, laptop specialists like Alienware, Sager and Rock in the UK, are turning out these computing monsters that can easily rival the gaming desktop PC. The only thing more shocking than all that raw power and performance is the price tag. You do have to pay a hefty price for all that style and performance.
The major drawback or disadvantage of going with a gaming laptop – there’s little room for upgrading. With a gaming PC, you can always upgrade to the latest technologies because there are usually slots open and space to expand… you can even upgrade to a larger monitor if you like.
However, with the gaming laptop the only things you can realistically upgrade are the RAM (memory) and the hard drive. In a gaming laptop everything is so compact and reduced in size to fit into such a small package, there’s little space for upgrading. Many serious gamers dismiss owning a gaming laptop for this very reason.
The other major reason is price since you can get more power and performance in a gaming desktop PC for a cheaper price than going with a laptop. Again, the gap is closing but it’s still no contest. While laptop prices are steadily falling, you can still get a better gaming rig at a lower price if you go the PC route. In addition, larger monitors are now at 24 or 25 inches on some desktop systems so laptops can’t compete with the display visuals if bigger is your thing.
Then the only other question that has to be asked:
Why are gaming laptops so bloody popular?
Mainly because of the “Cool” factor. Don’t laugh, these gaming rigs, especially those high priced monsters, are the essence of cool. They look spectacular and in our very shallow world looks do count. Just like many people who buy high performance sports cars more for the looks rather than for the performance; it is a matter of style over performance for them.
Then there is still the portability factor since laptops, even those 10 or 12 pound monsters, are still more mobile than a bulky PC Tower and Monitor. You can take all that “cool” style and design along with you, no matter where you go. Simply put, even though batter life is next to nil, a gaming laptop is mobile. You can take it with you and show it off.
So is it a matter of style over performance?
Not really, looks may be one factor why gaming laptops are so popular but without the high performance and extreme computing power, these systems would be dead in the water. For in the end, where gaming is concerned, performance is still king. Gaming laptops get the job done, perhaps not as cheaply as their desktop rivals, but you can usually play the latest games on these pimped-out monsters.
In the end, gamers want the performance first and the looks are secondary. But they will probably still ‘show-off’ all that style nonetheless, to friends and to other gamers. Even so, with gaming laptops, it is more a matter of performance over style.
The great thing about today’s gaming laptops, you don’t have to sacrifice one for the other. If you can afford the hefty price tag, you can have all that style plus all the performance you need, neatly packaged in your own gaming laptop.
Rory Reid takes you on a tour of the 17.3-inch Asus G73 gaming laptop;this is the first that features the ATI Radeon HD 5870 GPU — ATI’s fastest mobile graphics card to date. The model sold in the UK, the G73Jh, also features an Intel Core i7-720QM CPU, 1TB of storage, a Blu-ray drive, and 8GB of DDR3 memory. It’s available now for around £1900.
Voodoo Envy gaming laptop HP PC alien custom computer
 | C $326.47 (25 Bids) End Date: Thursday Feb-17-2011 23:17:24 PST Bid now | Add to watch list |
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@migur77
Their sell many of faulty g73 my model is cool, temp that you describe are insane my is coolest gamig laptop i ever bought and silent like they advertise, but i was lucky enough to get one with random static noise (faulty motherboard) for me.. asus is no choice any more because who let so many faulty laptop go to sell?, still if you get new model (fixed) you will be v happy.. just dont try to buy cheapest i did and i already regretted
@lakai39 Wow wtf do you fking know, i bet you dont even own either of these computers so shut ur face.
i bought it on its release best gaming laptop then i bought alienware not soo gud asus G73 is the best
@itsjustpolitical alienware is crap
I have the newest Asus G73, way worth the investment. This thing is beast and can handle almost ANYTHING!
ahh so its fast??? I think we are all eager to know DOES IT BLEND!!!
fk asus its all about alienware
@migur77 so it can boil water? i dont think so…
I almost cryied when he mentioned the Crysis part..
.. well to be totally honest i wept for 5 min
WORDL’S BEST OF THE BEST IS “MSI” COPYPASTE THIS AT SEARCH
>>> CES 2011: MSI Big Bang Marshal 8 PCIe x16 slot Motherboard – PC Perspective
@cokefan3 Design is important, not for looks but for heat management, if im paying 200$ more of a machine that is better at heat manageing, looks nicer and runs just as fast then i will (If you do care about that 200 well then you shouldnt be looking at alienware sadly..i agree overpriced for some reason.)
alienware laptop is ugly, desktop is eh, 2004 model was the best,
people stop hating on alienware, its like a car, if you want something that’s flashy and fast you buy a GTR, if your more hands on and independent you buy w/e the fuck you want and work on it till you buy a new one
if your a noob and wanna go “pro” buy alienware or some other trust worthy big company, you can trust them and you can slowly build and upgrade your computer, if not and you have time, build w/e the fuck you want
@DMoneyyxx If you like the alienware just because of its design, might as well be a mac user. YOU ARE A DISGRACE
@Localcf yes
for alienware, you pay a lot for design
@DMoneyyxx if you want you can paint this yourself, (seal the went’s and the keyboard an monitor with masking tape and start painting
) spraypaint works. you cant do that on a alienware now would you?
PS: if you do try it i take no responsability (dunno if sayd it correctly) for the outcome, you you fuck up its your fault, not mine
@TheMagicalTouch but, this laptop here its just blank there is no gaming type picture on it then makes people want to buy it more?? and i never actually owned an alienware.. i really wish just because its good for gaming and has a nice alien theme . So why are alienware desktops failures?? cuz i might be buying an asus or alienware laptop in a couple months
@DMoneyyxx this is very similiar to to the alienware laptops, and btw… ALIENWARE DESKTOPS ARE FAILURES!!!
looks like it having low fps
:D:D
It looks very boring to look at!! ALIENWARE DESIGN IS SOO COOL!!!
how much does it weigh. is it better then the m17m
Over priced lul.
Am i the only one laughing at the UK brit?
@delta9LouDog
creative are pre installed software(3-5) that allows you go to more in dept with the sound, it allows you to use the sub woofers and to manage your sound output with great precision. The problem is that those software tend to cause huge problem(compatibility problem).
Since those software arent needed for anything critical uninstall and delete everything with “creative” in its name, after that you can go download steam/skype
if you want to manage your sound then use Realtek
@CoIdAshes whats the creative software i plan on using steam, can you elaborate?