If you're on any computer or online gaming forums, I bet you've seen posts from newcomers to the hobby asking for advice on their first PC release. Historically, this would translate into a plethora of advice from all sides on the best components for every budget, where to look for great deals and general installation advice, and being a part of it generally felt like part of a community. elitist). In the last six months, those usually helpful responses have probably turned into something more like "good luck." For anyone who doesn't know, we are currently experiencing a stock shortage of high-end graphics cards and processors that has made it nearly impossible for ordinary people to get their hands on the hardware needed to build or upgrade their computers. Yet for whatever reason, in these frustrating forums and social media threads surrounding out of stock inventory, I never see people talking about gaming laptops as an alternative option. Yes, it's not the best option for everyone, but as someone who often gets the chance to put laptops and desktops through their paces, anyone who turns down gaming laptops in 2021 misses a beat. Since AMD has yet to release its Radeon 6000 series as a mobile GPU, I'll focus on the technology that I've actually used and tested. I can't wait to get my hands on some of Team Red's offerings in the future, but recent iterations of Nvidia with the latest RTX 3000 Amp hardware, frankly, blew my mind and erased a stigma I had about buying a laptop. for games.
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But a desktop PC is cheaper/upgradable/etc...
I'm not trying to erase the fact that the desktop vs. laptop argument will have a clear winner depending on your situation, but a lot of this is done assuming you can go to the store and buy what you need with little difficulty. and at the manufacturer's recommended price. We live in a strange world right now, and the “wait for the next generation of hardware before upgrading” argument has been going on for years. Due to the combination of the global silicon shortage reducing production, scalpers using bots to buy stocks available for resale and hugely inflated prices and the rise of cryptocurrency which led to crypto miners buying game cards to build Huge mining farms, people have been trying in vain to buy equipment for months and it doesn't seem to be getting any easier any time soon. During this time, I found mobile versions of this much-sought-after technology available on a number of brand-name gaming laptops at sites like Amazon, Best Buy, and other regional stores in the UK and Australia. There's an argument that a desktop is a better option given how easy it is to upgrade components at a later date, which is probably a good thing when stock returns to shelves. This is pretty valid, and given the difficulty of upgrading a gaming laptop, this is potentially a better 'durability' option. A gaming laptop is also an expensive purchase, so I appreciate that it's easy for me to say "buy this for $2000 instead of a GeForce RTX 3070 GPU with a suggested retail price of $500," but the current climate doesn't really Do that. very clear choice right now. Because resellers and retailers are inflating prices due to demand, it's highly unlikely that you'll find your desired graphics card at the price set by Nvidia as a guide. If you're looking to make major upgrades to your desktop system beyond the GPU, or just getting started in the world of PC gaming, you might be happier buying a new Nvidia Ampere gaming laptop now than waiting for parts. to build a computer. and the cost will likely be negligible, especially considering the cost of a monitor and keyboard.
Okay, but laptops are less powerful, right?
(Image credit: Future) Without beating around the bush, yes. But in practice, that won't make much of a difference unless you're looking to build something outrageous like a GeForce RTX 3090 with the most powerful Intel or AMD Ryzen processor available for your system, especially if you play mostly games. Online titles to prioritize. cadence in awesome graphics. We review and test gaming hardware and devices frequently, and are rarely disappointed with high-end laptop deals. Products like the Gigabyte Aorus 17G or the Alienware m17 R4 have literally handled everything we've thrown at them with satisfying frame rates and great performance on everything from competitive FPS titles like Apex Legends and Fortnite to graphically intense behemoths like Cyberpunk 2077 and Assasins Creed. . Valhalla. And yes, these devices are expensive, but even the cheapest offering, like the Asus TUF Dash F15 (available for as little as $1,099 / £999, around AU$1,400) packs features like ray tracing, a 144Hz display, and more generation hardware. . This makes gaming laptops the perfect choice for college students or workers who travel frequently and may not have enough cash to spend on a separate machine for work and play. Many of the builds we've seen announced at CES 2021 this year have embraced a 'hybrid' aesthetic that looks sleek and professional, incorporating flashy RGB lights for gamers that can be turned off during work hours.
Will I still have ray tracing and DLSS?
(Image credit: Mojang) Yes, these features are still included in GeForce RTX graphics cards on desktop and mobile, so you won't be missing out if you choose to go the laptop route. For the unknowns, DLSS stands for 'Deep Learning Super Sampling' and is a frame rate booster powered by Nvidia AI. This greatly simplifies what it is, but this feature has been hailed as a way to have ``future-proof'' hardware that would normally struggle with demanding tasks like upgrading graphic scaling. A demanding game can handle medium settings at a playable frame rate, but when you enable DLSS, you can boost the graphics to a high level without sacrificing valuable FPS. This makes it the perfect companion for RTX gaming given the criticism surrounding ray tracing. The results can be mind-blowing, as I found myself playing Minecraft RTX, but often at the cost of sacrificing frame rates. With DLSS, you can simply scale that backup and have the best of both worlds. And that's not all the AI help you'll get in optimizing your games if you use Nvidia-powered gaming laptops. Dynamic Boost 2.0 senses where power should be prioritized between your GPU and CPU, shifting the demand between them as needed, not only helping to improve your overall gaming performance, but also ensuring optimal power efficiency. Another AI-based technology is Whisper Mode 2.0, which helps communicate your chosen minimum frame rate to the laptop's hardware, matching temperature and fan speed. In short, the device will never be as loud as it needs to be, instead switching between 'fans off' and 'little jet taking off when you open Steam'. The result is, overall, a surprisingly quiet device outside of running very demanding programs, so if fan noise were an issue for anyone living in a shared space, they could definitely benefit from it.
Something that gives me an advantage?
(Image credit: Riot Games) Yeah, that too. You get some of these laptops with up to 300Hz display, and 144Hz is common across the board, so anyone who mainly plays rated esports games will appreciate that you can take a laptop with you to local events (remember?) Without cluttering up your office setup. in a vehicle or train. On the subject of esports, there's also Nvidia Reflex, a feature that reduces latency in games like Rust, Valorant, and Fortnite to the period of time between you clicking a mouse button or pressing a keyboard, so that the game in your screen respond as fast as possible. It will make very little difference to anyone who isn't an absolute chef in competitive online titles like the one above, but the pros are optimizing these things for a reason. Even a few microseconds can make the difference between winning or losing. I'm far from a diamond in some ways, being the typical dwarf that should be used in most FPS titles (my comfort is in MMO and RPG titles), but even I can see the difference in all of these features, especially compared to older hardware. My desktop personal computer until recently had an Intel i7-7700K processor and a GeForce GTX 1070 Ti GPU, still a respectable build even by today's demanding AAA standards. But every new gaming laptop I've tried with this platform has completely wiped the floor with it. Load times are cut in half, games are wonderfully crisp and bright with RTX and DLSS, and the 144Hz/300Hz displays were a huge difference from my own 60Hz display. Some even had built-in mechanical keyboards that were a significant improvement over the usual designs, so all you need is a decent gaming mouse and you're good to go. If you're looking to make some serious upgrades to your own system, or from scratch, I'd highly suggest looking into gaming laptops rather than fighting others to buy desktop hardware in the current scarcity. Desktops will always have their place at the top of the food chain, but until people can actually get their hands on reasonably priced components, you're going to have just as much fun gaming on a powerful gaming laptop. Today's best gaming laptop deals
