Laptop VS Desktop Gaming

While laptops have an obvious advantage of portability they are far from equal when it comes to comparing them with a desktop gaming computer.

Unfortunately Intel and nVidia use naming conventions that are somewhat confusing...

For example one of the fastest CPu's found in a gaming laptop is the Intel Core i7 4700HQ. While it is called a Core i7, it is only marginally faster than the Intel Core i5 4690K. The "Core i7" certainly makes it sound a lot faster than a "Core i5".

One of nVidias fastest graphics cards available in high end laptops is the Geforce GTX870M. The nVidia Desktop GeForce GTX 750ti is faster than the GTX870M. An 8 Series graphics card sounds faster than a 7 Series card but in fact is slower.

A Laptop with an Intel Core i7 4700HQ and a Geforce GTX870M wil set you back upwards of $2,500, yet to achieve similiar speeds with a desktop gaming computer would be less than $1500. The reason for this is quite simple, you pay extra for miniaturisation and portability.

A typical $1500 gaming laptop would have an Intel Core i7 4700HQ and a Geforce 840M graphics card, while a Desktop Gaming Computer would have an Intel Core i5 4690K and a GeForce GTX 750ti.....

Passmark Graphics Benchmark..

Futuremark 3DMarkvantage Graphics

BioShock Infinite 1920 x 1080 - Ultra preset + DX11 ( 46.7 Frames per Second vs 13.5 FPS )

Crysis 3 - 1920 x 1080 - Very High preset + 16xAF + 2xSMAA ( 20.4 Frames per Second vs 6.3 FPS )

As you can see in the above charts there is a significant difference between a Laptop and a Desktop Gaming Computer.