Gaming Gaming PC vs Laptop advice

[Mart1974]

I am a regular console gamer (PS5) but I have another property that I spend a few nights a month at due to work and I am thinking of ysing my idle time to do some retro gaming and play some games that I have devoted time to on the console (Skyrim & Fallout 4).

I don't want to spend a fortune but I am out of the loop in terms of PC specs for gaming. I have been looking at 2nd hand systems on ebay and not sure whether to go for a laptop or a desktop. I like the idea of a small form factor desktop but then am I hamstrung by what graphics cards will fit?

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Drawfull]

I am a regular console gamer (PS5) but I have another property that I spend a few nights a month at due to work and I am thinking of ysing my idle time to do some retro gaming and play some games that I have devoted time to on the console (Skyrim & Fallout 4).

I don't want to spend a fortune but I am out of the loop in terms of PC specs for gaming. I have been looking at 2nd hand systems on ebay and not sure whether to go for a laptop or a desktop. I like the idea of a small form factor desktop but then am I hamstrung by what graphics cards will fit?

Any advice would be appreciated.

I'd get a Steam Deck.

 

[Massive Spanner]

Small form factor cases have come on big time and will fit most modern graphics cards. The main issues are cooling and the fact that they're generally more expensive than normal tower PC's.

Whenever someone asks this question the first thing I ask back is - what's your budget?

 

[Mart1974]

Small form factor cases have come on big time and will fit most modern graphics cards. The main issues are cooling and the fact that they're generally more expensive than normal tower PC's.

Whenever someone asks this question the first thing I ask back is - what's your budget?

200 to 1k.

 

[Mart1974]

I'd get a Steam Deck.

I did think of that, but I want to play some old Amiga games and I am not sure if I can on a steam deck.

 

[Organic Potatoes]

My initial question based on my (suddenly old) 2080 laptop is what is your noise tolerance? Because they might make noise. Generally, if you don’t need to take them on constant travel I’d lean towards a small desktop. Like @Massive Spanner said they can do a lot these days.

Do you already have a monitor or TV in place to push video to?

 

[Mart1974]

My initial question based on my (suddenly old) 2080 laptop is what is your noise tolerance? Because they might make noise. Generally, if you don’t need to take them on constant travel I’d lean towards a small desktop. Like @Massive Spanner said they can do a lot these days.

Do you already have a monitor or TV in place to push video to?

Yes, I have decent docking station and monitor set up for my work laptop, but the laptop is locked down.

 

[Drawfull]

I did think of that, but I want to play some old Amiga games and I am not sure if I can on a steam deck.

To quote Valve, it's a PC. You can do almost everything on it (apart from some multiplayer AntiCheat stuff, which could be a deal breaker unless you install Windows).

Nevertheless, it definitely emulates Amiga although I haven't tried that particular system. There is a good front end, Emudeck, that sets up everything for you so you just need to populate the ROMs folders for each emulator, and for those systems that I've used it for, it was fine - but it's better to have curated ROM sets rather than just loading 12000 games onto it in my experience.

If you want to play on a bigger screen, docking was never really an issue for me with the deck but regardless, it's been greatly improved over the past 12 months to improve compatibility and QOL so if you do need to play on a bigger screen for the kind of stuff you're going for it's good, with expectations in check for modern titles.

 

[Mart1974]

To quote Valve, it's a PC. You can do almost everything on it (apart from some multiplayer AntiCheat stuff, which could be a deal breaker unless you install Windows).

Nevertheless, it definitely emulates Amiga although I haven't tried that particular system. There is a good front end, Emudeck, that sets up everything for you so you just need to populate the ROMs folders for each emulator, and for those systems that I've used it for, it was fine - but it's better to have curated ROM sets rather than just loading 12000 games onto it in my experience.

If you want to play on a bigger screen, docking was never really an issue for me with the deck but regardless, it's been greatly improved over the past 12 months to improve compatibility and QOL so if you do need to play on a bigger screen for the kind of stuff you're going for it's good, with expectations in check for modern titles.

Can you play keyboard and mouse?

 

[vanthaman]

Can you play keyboard and mouse?

yes just plug it into a usb dock and its like having a desktop pc. you can also dual boot windows on an SD card.

 

[Drawfull]

Can you play keyboard and mouse?

Yes, either a dock or bluetooth/usb

 

[Iron Stove]

I have a gaming rig and a Steam Deck, Used to have gaming laptops as well before. All serve their purpose. Gaming rig is the best in terms of power obviously, but the Steam Deck is a really really cool device where I played 60% of the time this year as it's so cool to be able to play games in bed / on the couch after a day at the office. If you're OK with not maxing out the latest games and maybe play them at 30-40 fps locked @ 800p then it's a very awesome device. There are so many cool games on Steam or older AAA titles like Dishonored 1 or something that don't require a lot of horsepower which you will be able to max out at 60 fps.

Gaming laptops are like the inbetween compromise. I kind of miss having a beefy rig that you can stow away although something like "17 inch is limiting in some games to me. Didn't get as much shit from gfs for the man cave corner though , but I do love the combination of gaming rig and Steam Deck. Start on the PC then continue the save seamlessly on the Steam Deck through Cloud saves. As PC parts have become ridiculously priced the Steam Deck is a great deal really.

 

[Chairman Steve]

As soon as I saw the thread title and even before opening it, the two words that came to mind were ‘Steam Deck’.

If you’re not too bothered about having the best graphics possible, then I’d go for one. Take advantage of the regular Steam sales and Valve being probably the most pro-consumer company on the video game market. You can sync up a Playstation and Xbox Bluetooth controller to it, even the Nintendo Switch Joycons (there’s even an option to tailor the Deck button layout to replicate Switch button layout in the Settings menu).

Steam Deck can function as a handheld, a video game console and a PC. You can install Windows on it no problem (Steam Deck uses SteamOS as it’s primary OS which is a modified Linux OS), so it can function as your run-of-the-mill laptop.

 

[arthurka]

I'd get a Steam Deck.

Agree it's great

 

[Massive Spanner]

I dunno, as great as it is, it’s ultimately still a handheld above all else. If you’ve €600 to spend I’d think about whether you would actually play handheld at all or prefer a full sized screen. If you do think you’ll play handheld then yeah it’s the obvious option.

 

[Acheron]

I would go for a PC unless you're ok with playing in a laptop screen and require the mobility of a laptop. For graphics card you could get something cheap from the used market although the RX 6600 and RX 6600 XT are a good value if you want something new that can play games at 1080 with max settings.

 

[hobbers]

Get a small form factor with a 1650.

 

[rimaldo]

what pc should i get for a 6 year old who will likely only use it for a bit of homework, practicing some basic coding, playing the likes of roblox and minecraft and watching porn?

i don’t want to spend a load but would like something that will last him 5-7 years. budget up to £1,500.

 

[Massive Spanner]

what pc should i get for a 6 year old who will likely only use it for a bit of homework, practicing some basic coding, playing the likes of roblox and minecraft and watching porn?

i don’t want to spend a load but would like something that will last him 5-7 years. budget up to £1,500.

I assume you'd prefer a pre-built rather than building from scratch, then?

£1,500 would get you something way, way over what it sounds like he needs. That's verging on premium gaming PC territory.

 

[rimaldo]

I assume you'd prefer a pre-built rather than building from scratch, then?

£1,500 would get you something way, way over what it sounds like he needs. That's verging on premium gaming PC territory.

yeah can’t be arsed with building it.

happy to pay less and spend the difference on monitors etc.

 

[Massive Spanner]

yeah can’t be arsed with building it.

happy to pay less and spend the difference on monitors etc.

Something like this would probably do him well. If you get it without Windows 11 and are willing to just get a windows 10 key off amazon or somewhere and install it yourself off a USB then it's £950. Leaves plenty of budget for a decent monitor, mouse, keyboard.

Might be better/cheapers sites than overclockers but I don't know the UK market that well.

 

[do.ob]

The concept of a fully assembled PC is to use one or two nice components (e.g. case/CPU/GPU) as bait and then fill out the blanks with subpar hardware. Shitty PSU/Cooling/Case/Disks, somehow they will shove some garbage down your throat. It's like entering a shop and saying "hey, I'm a sucker, have your way with me".

On the other hand building it yourself is really simple painting by numbers stuff. CPU coolers can sometimes be a bit annoying to install and a small case can cause problem, but both issues can be avoided with 5 minutes of research. The rest is fool proof child's play. So I strongly suggest you look up a hardware community of your choosing, go to the help section, ask for a list that fits your requirements, or let them proof your own and then just build it yourself.

 

[rimaldo]

The concept of a fully assembled PC is to use one or two nice components (e.g. case/CPU/GPU) as bait and then fill out the blanks with subpar hardware. Shitty PSU/Cooling/Case/Disks, somehow they will shove some garbage down your throat. It's like entering a shop and saying "hey, I'm a sucker, have your way with me".

On the other hand building it yourself is really simple painting by numbers stuff. CPU coolers can sometimes be a bit annoying to install and a small case can cause problem, but both issues can be avoided with 5 minutes of research. The rest is fool proof child's play. So I strongly suggest you look up a hardware community of your choosing, go to the help section, ask for a list that fits your requirements, or let them proof your own and then just build it yourself.

you underestimate just how much i can’t be arsed with all that and how much i’d like just to chuck the whole thing back at someone if it breaks, rather than troubleshoot exactly which component is broken and what needs replacing.

 

[do.ob]

you underestimate just how much i can’t be arsed with all that and how much i’d like just to chuck the whole thing back at someone if it breaks, rather than troubleshoot exactly which component is broken and what needs replacing.

It's your money and time, so I won't argue against that sentiment. But I'd at least consult some UK based hardware forum, so they can point you into a direction where you won't get ripped off completely.

 

[Acheron]

what pc should i get for a 6 year old who will likely only use it for a bit of homework, practicing some basic coding, playing the likes of roblox and minecraft and watching porn?

i don’t want to spend a load but would like something that will last him 5-7 years. budget up to £1,500.

You could buy a laptop with that budget and with a desktop you could buy something that meets your criteria for considerable less money.

 

[rimaldo]

Something like this would probably do him well. If you get it without Windows 11 and are willing to just get a windows 10 key off amazon or somewhere and install it yourself off a USB then it's £950. Leaves plenty of budget for a decent monitor, mouse, keyboard.

Might be better/cheapers sites than overclockers but I don't know the UK market that well.

thanks mate!

 

[Acheron]

Something like this would probably do him well. If you get it without Windows 11 and are willing to just get a windows 10 key off amazon or somewhere and install it yourself off a USB then it's £950. Leaves plenty of budget for a decent monitor, mouse, keyboard.

Might be better/cheapers sites than overclockers but I don't know the UK market that well.

That is a nice configuration with more than enough performance my only gripe would be the processor and small case but even then it's not that big of a deal as he's not building the thing.

 

[van der star]

Thinking of getting back into gaming this year, don't know if i should get a gaming laptop or build my own rig. Don't want to spend more than €1k, preferably. Planning on hooking it up to my flat screen and game with a joystick or wireless keyboard and mouse from my sofa. Any tips? The last PC i built was almost 10 years ago and I'm not sure i have the time and the energy these days to do all the research required.

 

[van der star]

Was looking through Amazon just now but none of the pre-built rigs look like they're worth the money. Either that or Italian Amazon is bollocks.

 

[fergiewherearethou]

Thinking of getting back into gaming this year, don't know if i should get a gaming laptop or build my own rig. Don't want to spend more than €1k, preferably. Planning on hooking it up to my flat screen and game with a joystick or wireless keyboard and mouse from my sofa. Any tips? The last PC i built was almost 10 years ago and I'm not sure i have the time and the energy these days to do all the research required.

It's nearly impossible to build a gaming PC with 1k when only a decent/good video card is around 600. I was contemplating on building a PC as well, but I always get close to 2k without a monitor and peripherals.
Usually, pre-build rigs have only a decent case, video card and processor and the other components are really trash, worst motherboard, worst RAM and a shite power supply.

 

[MiceOnMeth]

If I didn't already have a gaming PC I'd definitely have my eye on a steam deck. 400 quid for a handheld PC with the power of a base PS4 is quite something

 

[MiceOnMeth]

It's nearly impossible to build a gaming PC with 1k when only a decent/good video card is around 600. I was contemplating on building a PC as well, but I always get close to 2k without a monitor and peripherals.
Usually, pre-build rigs have only a decent case, video card and processor and the other components are really trash, worst motherboard, worst RAM and a shite power supply.

You could always build with pre owned components. Gtx 1080ti is still a great 1080p/1440p card and can be got fairly cheap now maybe 250 quid? Ryzen 3600 or similar CPU for 70 quid. Still expensive but not nearly 2k all In

 

[fergiewherearethou]

You could always build with pre owned components. Gtx 1080ti is still a great 1080p/1440p card and can be got fairly cheap now maybe 250 quid? Ryzen 3600 or similar CPU for 70 quid. Still expensive but not nearly 2k all In

I know what you mean but I was referring to new components with warranty and that price is for a mid PC with a 3060ti/3070 graphics card and a fast i7.
You can surely still play games on 1080ti but it's an old card when we already have the 4000 series.

 

[Igor Drefljak]

I've not read the comments, but do yourself a huge favour and don't get a gaming laptop, they're fecking awful

Reasons -
Terrible battery life for day to day use
Sit in a room with the hoover on for an hour, thats what it's like when gaming
In summer, you'll have to sit naked because of the heat they throw out
When they get hot, they start to lag and underperform
You get twice the PC for the same price

Pros -
You can heat your house in winter for a fraction of the price

 

[fergiewherearethou]

I've not read the comments, but do yourself a huge favour and don't get a gaming laptop, they're fecking awful

Reasons -
Terrible battery life for day to day use
Sit in a room with the hoover on for an hour, thats what it's like when gaming
In summer, you'll have to sit naked because of the heat they throw out
When they get hot, they start to lag and underperform
You get twice the PC for the same price

Pros -
You can heat your house in winter for a fraction of the price

I really don't know what gaming laptops you have used, but I've had a completely different experience.
I've owned a few Asus Rog and Lenovo Legion and although they sometimes may run a little hot near the vents, I've never found that to be a big issue. A PC without quality coolers, with bad airflow case and a cheap power supply makes hell of a lot noise and heat than a good gaming laptop, but maybe you don't notice it if you don't have the unit near you.
A decent gaming laptop is around 1k if you manage to make twice the PC for that amount then I envy you.

A quality PC unit will surely perform better in games, last longer, it is easier to upgrade, overall, the gaming experience is much better than with a laptop, but the costs are much higher in today's market.

 

[SilentWitness]

I'm thinking of getting a laptop to play FM on when I'm travelling. Anyone recommend a good laptop that is c. < £200 and can run FM comfortably and other indie games like Phasmo?

 

[SilentWitness]

I'm thinking of getting a laptop to play FM on when I'm travelling. Anyone recommend a good laptop that is c. < £200 and can run FM comfortably and other indie games like Phasmo?

Anyone good with pcs that thinks this would suffice for this purpose?

https://microdream.co.uk/hp-elitebo...windows-10-professional-64-bit-ultrabook.html

 

[Herman Toothrot]

Anyone good with pcs that thinks this would suffice for this purpose?

https://microdream.co.uk/hp-elitebo...windows-10-professional-64-bit-ultrabook.html

It'll run it no problem, not sure how well with the 3D engine if you use it.

Looking at the FM specs, it recommends a dedicated video card, so depends if you care about the 3D or not, I never use it.

 

[SilentWitness]

It'll run it no problem, not sure how well with the 3D engine if you use it.

Looking at the FM specs, it recommends a dedicated video card, so depends if you care about the 3D or not, I never use it.

I prefer the using the match engine yeah. I guess what worries me is getting this and it runs fine with 2024 but then in 2025 when they upgrade the match engine it doesn't cut it.

 

[Herman Toothrot]

I prefer the using the match engine yeah. I guess what worries me is getting this and it runs fine with 2024 but then in 2025 when they upgrade the match engine it doesn't cut it.

Yeah, that is a risk. I'd keep looking. 16GB or RAM is great, if you can find something with a dedicated video card too, you should be good.

Maybe others playing with non-dedicated GPU laptops could advise.