'Gaming performance comparison' amid unprecedented demand and supply challenges, laptop vs. desktop PC

With the launch of the GeForce 30 series mobile products, the long-standing debate over whether desktop or laptop is more suitable for gaming has come to the fore. The main purpose of most users considering a GeForce 30-series PC is gaming.

In recent years, the debate has become more complex. With the dramatic improvement in CPU and GPU performance, demand and price fluctuations have risen to an unprecedented level. Nevertheless, if you look at the key criteria, there are mostly clear winners, and you will be able to draw the best conclusions according to the priorities of each person wishing to buy. 

Portability

Gaming laptops are generally the heaviest of all laptops and weigh an average of about 1.8 to 3.6 kg. The top model almost feels like carrying the engine body. Still, even the heaviest laptops are lighter than desktops. The latest products, such as the upcoming Asus ROG Flow X13, are gaming laptops powered by the Ryzen 5000, yet weigh only about 1.36kg and are actually surprisingly light. 

First, let's look at how and where to use a gaming PC. The importance of portability in a pandemic situation is a bit low, but it's clear that there is an advantage in the ability to quickly move from the dining table to the terrace on a beautiful spring day. You can play games in a peaceful and quiet study, but you can edit videos or use a powerful gaming laptop to record your own performances in the garage.

If you don't want to be limited by mobility, you'll need a gaming laptop instead of a desktop. 

Winner: Gaming Laptop

Value for money

As portability is natural for gaming laptops, value for money is usually a basic strength of desktops. Desktop components cost less to complete or manufacture than full laptops. 

Unfortunately, recently, the supply of GPUs for desktops has not been smooth, so the difference in value compared to the cost of laptops has decreased. For comparison, the 8-core Core i7-10700K CPU was replaced with a GeForce RTX 3060Ti, 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD, 32GB RAM, case, operating system, mid motherboard, 750 watt PSU, cooler as guided on the PCPartPicker site. Made up together. For the sake of the process, a 240Hz, 24-inch 1080p panel, mechanical RGB keyboard, mouse and speakers were also added to match the accessories included with the laptop. 

Including all the accessories you need to buy from scratch, a single gaming desktop cost about $2600. Equivalent to this configuration is the MSI GE 76 Raider notebook ($2,900), an 8-core core i7-10870H, GeForce RTX 3080, 16GB video RAM, 32GB RAM, 1TB PCIe M.2 SSD, operating system, 17.3in. Equipped with a 300Hz panel. 

As an example, the virtually assembled desktop is a specification equipped with GeForce RTX 3060 Ti. If you put the GeForce RTX 3080 in exactly the same way as the comparable MSI laptop, the desktop price would be $3,300. 

In short, without all the accessories, the cost-effectiveness of a desktop is higher than that of a laptop. Unfortunately, the price of desktop GPUs has risen outrageously, and gaming laptops are now even more competitive.

Winner: Surprisingly, it boils.

Possibility of upgrade

It wasn't completely ahead of the laptop in the expected competitiveness, but if you want to use the hardware as long as possible, a standard desktop PC is the ultimate representative. Desktop PCs can be upgraded anyway, even after they are old or at the end of their life. 

Larger gaming laptops are still the most upgradeable laptops, but even in this case, you can usually only increase the amount of RAM and storage. The CPU and GPU are usually integrated into the mainboard and cannot be upgraded. Some Intel-based laptops allow you to connect an external graphics device via the Thunderbolt port, but in that case, a desktop would be more suitable. 

In fact, few users perform major component upgrades with laptops, so the upgradeability is a feature that only those who plan to use it for a very long time consider it. Their top priority will of course be the desktop.

Winner: Gaming Desktop

Performance

In the competitive comparison, we compared a laptop with a GeForce RTX 3080 with 16GB of RAM and a desktop with a GeForce RTX 3060 Ti with 8GB of RAM. Laptop specs are higher because limited power and heat almost always affect performance. 

In fact, in the current generation, Nvidia again used different dies for the GeForce RTX 3080 and GeForce RTX 3080 notebook GPUs. By specification, the GeForce RTX 3080 laptop has a bit more cores than the GeForce RTX 3070 desktop GPU. By limiting the laptop's power and heat to 150 watts, the performance of most games is slightly inferior to the desktop 3070. In fact, the same can be said between the RTX 3060 Ti and the RTX 3070 desktop GPU in gaming.

This is why the GeForce RTX 3080 desktop is superior to the GeForce RTX 3080 laptop, even with the same model number.

As for the CPU, a regular gaming laptop (not a big truck-sized laptop with a desktop chip) has a maximum of 8 cores, whether the CPU is Intel or AMD. There is no such limitation on the desktop. 

Before making a decision, remember that performance really matters only if you're using it to the fullest. Today's gaming laptops can run games and most applications incredibly fast.

If you want better overall performance beyond your primary purpose, the desktop is the right choice.

Winner: Gaming Desktop

Availability

You're still struggling between gaming desktops and gaming laptops, but if you're ready to pay for it right now, then you have to think about whether you can actually buy the product. The latest NVIDIA GeForce 30-series GPUs are either incredibly expensive or hard to find. Buying the GeForce GTX 3060 Ti for an official selling price of $400 will take you enormous luck. Even if you're looking for a product, you may have to pay twice the list price. I searched for GeForce RTX 3080 in New Egg, but only 'out of stock' information pops up.

When looking for GeForce 30 series laptops on New Egg, at least 20 can be ordered and 5 can be pre-booked. It is unclear whether this situation will last for a long time, but the advantage is that you can actually purchase it, not just look at it. 

Winner: Gaming Laptop

Conclusion

If you are trying to draw a final conclusion by adding the points of each division, I recommend not to do so. PC is a product for each individual, so you need to listen to it according to your needs. Instead, it's a good idea to compare the importance of each category. For example, if you want to keep using one PC for 10 years, the desktop is highly flexible and can be upgraded, making it a good choice. For those who want to use the powerful computing power on the terrace in the spring sun, of course, the portability of a gaming laptop will be key.

The key criteria for value and performance can change weekly, if not daily. The higher the performance, the more expensive it. Due to the shortage of new desktop GPUs, gaming laptops and performance are now more valuable than ever.