$1000 to Spend: Laptop vs Desktop and Peripherals

[fayari]

I have exactly $1000 to spend. I have to choose between a gaming laptop vs a desktop. I have no spare monitor, keyboard, mouse, or any reusable computer parts so I'd have to fit those into the budget too if I get a desktop. I also slightly need portability but a cheap netbook/laptop will do that so that's a small consideration, but still a consideration since I won't buy it if I get a gaming laptop. Suppose the monitor and the peripherals as well as the cheap laptop end up to $500, I'd have about $500 to spend on the desktop.

Will I be able to build a $500 gaming PC that will outperform the $1000 gaming laptop I could buy?

Would it be more convenient to just buckle up and get one machine instead of getting two?

In five or so years, would I be glad I bought the desktop/laptop combo, considering I have to replace the cheap laptop with another one while simply upgrading the desktop but would likely have to replace the entire gaming laptop?

I am really conflicted about this decision, so any help/advice you guys can offer would be extremely appreciated.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Go desktop any day. Not sure why you need both.

 

[ronintexas]

Gaming on a desktop is the best bet - you can customize with your choice of GPU and CPU - where the laptop is going to be very limited in choices. A laptop will never perform as well as the desktop.

What do you need the laptop to do?

 

[Cons29]

unless you need portability.. desktop is the way to go hands down.
biggest advantage, upgrades. and you don't have to replace everything.
in a laptop, if it gets too slow for current games.. you have to buy a new onem it's like buying a new one with monitor keyboard and all even if you technically still have them (on the other laptop).

 

[fayari]

Go desktop any day. Not sure why you need both.

Gaming on a desktop is the best bet - you can customize with your choice of GPU and CPU - where the laptop is going to be very limited in choices. A laptop will never perform as well as the desktop.

What do you need the laptop to do?

unless you need portability.. desktop is the way to go hands down.
biggest advantage, upgrades. and you don't have to replace everything.
in a laptop, if it gets too slow for current games.. you have to buy a new onem it's like buying a new one with monitor keyboard and all even if you technically still have them (on the other laptop).

I need the cheap laptop because I need internet access that isn't constrained to tiny phone screens and mobile sites when I'm out of my office. It'll be used for work and file syncing. The desktop is for gaming and work that needs powerful enough specs. I am aware that desktops are more powerful than laptops. Since I do need the portability afforded by the laptop (whether it be via a cheap one or a gaming laptop), are you guys advising me to get the desktop laptop combo?

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Then combo I would do. A $650 desktop and $350 laptop will do.

 

[digitaldoc]

http/www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-15-3531-laptop/pd?oc=dncwc3002b

You can get the laptop down to $300 as it is a basic machine, and you won't do anything other than basic tasks on it. This is key as a budget of $500 is too tight for a desktop if you want a graphics card, and need a monitor and OS as well.

 

[dasulman]

http/pcpartpicker.com/p/7M7jbv
http/www.amazon.com/Acer-Chromebook-11-6-Inch-Touchscreen-Moonstone/dp/B00H7WF22K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416321808&sr=8-1&keywords=acer+720p&pebp=1416321810635

 

[fayari]

http/www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-15-3531-laptop/pd?oc=dncwc3002b

You can get the laptop down to $300 as it is a basic machine, and you won't do anything other than basic tasks on it. This is key as a budget of $500 is too tight for a desktop if you want a graphics card, and need a monitor and OS as well.

So $300 for laptop, $120 for 1080p monitor, keyboard and mouse if I can get a good deal, and $580 for a desktop with mid-tier graphics card. Will that $580 desktop even be able to outperform a $1000 gaming laptop?

I mean, I just found a $975 gaming laptop with an i7-4710HQ, 500GB+8GB SSHD, 8GB ram, 15.6 inch 1080p screen with 860m and Windows included. It would perform roughly at the same level as the i5-4690, with a 750 Ti and similar storage and ram. With the price of Windows that I'd have to buy myself (my work needs Windows-specific software), this desktop configuration will fall around the $600 mark just to match the laptop performance. For that price, I'd rather just buy the gaming laptop and not deal with the hassle of multiple machines. If I'm going to build the desktop, I'd expect it to outperform the gaming laptop. That's the entire point of getting a desktop anyway.

Sigh* The desktop laptop combo is starting to look pretty bleak now.

 

[fayari]

http/pcpartpicker.com/p/7M7jbv
http/www.amazon.com/Acer-Chromebook-11-6-Inch-Touchscreen-Moonstone/dp/B00H7WF22K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416321808&sr=8-1&keywords=acer+720p&pebp=1416321810635

Your desktop build costs over $700 and includes no monitor, OS, keyboard or mouse in the price. Buying the peripherals and OS will cost me another $220 or so, bringing the cost up to $920, meaning I'd have $80 dollars for a cheap laptop. I don't think this'll work.

 

[dasulman]

http/pcpartpicker.com/p/7M7jbv
http/www.amazon.com/Acer-Chromebook-11-6-Inch-Touchscreen-Moonstone/dp/B00H7WF22K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416321808&sr=8-1&keywords=acer+720p&pebp=1416321810635

Your desktop build costs over $700 and includes no monitor, OS, keyboard or mouse in the price. Buying the peripherals and OS will cost me another $220 or so, bringing the cost up to $920, meaning I'd have $80 dollars for a cheap laptop. I don't think this'll work.

sorry! I typed that during a lecture - wasn't really paying attention.
try this rig instead: http/pcpartpicker.com/p/YWHgqs
that and the acer chromebook should do fine.
the equivalent $1000 laptop would be the y50 with a gtx 860M. the 860M is about as good as a 750 Ti. so this rig with a 280 blows it out the water.

 

[digitaldoc]

Increase the budget for the gaming desktop, I got your notebook down to $229!

http/www.amazon.com/15-6-Inch-Dual-Core-Intel-Laptop-500GB/dp/B00L49X8E6/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1416347180&sr=1-3&keywords=laptop

Gaming notebooks are not that great, and the desktop you put together will outperform it at the budgets we are talking about. Also, the advantage of the desktop is that you can upgrade parts over time, while the notebook will not have that option.

 

[fayari]

http/pcpartpicker.com/p/7M7jbv
http/www.amazon.com/Acer-Chromebook-11-6-Inch-Touchscreen-Moonstone/dp/B00H7WF22K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416321808&sr=8-1&keywords=acer+720p&pebp=1416321810635

Your desktop build costs over $700 and includes no monitor, OS, keyboard or mouse in the price. Buying the peripherals and OS will cost me another $220 or so, bringing the cost up to $920, meaning I'd have $80 dollars for a cheap laptop. I don't think this'll work.

sorry! I typed that during a lecture - wasn't really paying attention.
try this rig instead: http/pcpartpicker.com/p/YWHgqs
that and the acer chromebook should do fine.
the equivalent $1000 laptop would be the y50 with a gtx 860M. the 860M is about as good as a 750 Ti. so this rig with a 280 blows it out the water.

This should work! I'd be sacrificing quite a bit of processing power for the gaming experience, though, so I'm tweaking your answer to fit my processing needs by upgrading to the i5-4590. I'm not buying the chromebook, but instead, I'll have the $230 Asus with Windows included that digitaldoc suggested. That puts me to around $100 out of budget, but I can shell up the extra $100 if it means gaming with a 280.

Thanks to everyone who helped!