Replace desktop with laptop?

[Insomniator]

I currently have an i5 2500k with R9 390 desktop and am looking for an occasional travel/gaming laptop.

With the mobile pascal however, you don't really sacrifice anything GPU wise anymore. I can get a 1060 or 1070 laptop with a 6700/7700 for ~$1200 which would also end up being better than my current desktop. Around 5 pounds... not bad for travel either.

So its kind of stupid to use a worse desktop 98% of the time. I guess I can't overclock the laptop CPU's like my 2500k is (although stock 67/77 is probably still better than my 2500k at 4.4). So whats the point of a desktop? All I play are Overwatch/Blizzard games (nothing too intense), I don't have tons of storage (256GB SSD/1TB HDD would be fine).

I like the idea of rebuilding my desktop, but even a simple GPU and platform upgrade would run ~800, when I can get an entire laptop for not so much more.

 

[Ketchup]

Overclocking isn't what it used to be IMO. Can't upgrade too much in a laptop down the road, but you already knew that. I hook my laptop up to a nice screen, mouse, and keyboard, and I can't tell unless I wanted to game (mine doesn't have gaming graphics). For needing mobility, there is no reason not to if you have the money.

 

[CuriousMike]

Would a mobile 6600/7700 and mobile 1060/1070 really be better than your desktop?

Your current desktop setup is not power or thermal constrained.

I know mobile variants are usually cut down... so, a desktop 6600 is more powerful than a mobile 6600, and a desktop 1060 is more powerful than the mobile variant.

The R9-390 is "in the ballpark" of a desktop 1060 (slower, yes, but not yuuugely).

If you want a mobile gaming rig, it sounds great.

Your i5-2500k with a desktop 1070 would be a big upgrade for gaming.
The laptop you layout would not be a big upgrade... but it would be portable.

 

[Valantar]

Would a mobile 6600/7700 and mobile 1060/1070 really be better than your desktop?

Your current desktop setup is not power or thermal constrained.

I know mobile variants are usually cut down... so, a desktop 6600 is more powerful than a mobile 6600, and a desktop 1060 is more powerful than the mobile variant.

The R9-390 is "in the ballpark" of a desktop 1060 (slower, yes, but not yuuugely).

If you want a mobile gaming rig, it sounds great.

Your i5-2500k with a desktop 1070 would be a big upgrade for gaming.
The laptop you layout would not be a big upgrade... but it would be portable.

What I'd say exactly (except that there's no such thing as a "mobile 6600" unless you mean the 15W 2c4t 6600u ).

Doing a full platform upgrade on an i5-2500k is unnecessary unless you have the money to spare. Stuff a new GPU in there and reap huge performance benefits. Moving up to an i5-7600k won't give you your money's worth in terms of gaming performance.

OTOH, Pascal laptops seem amazing. Two years ago, I would never have considered a dGPU laptop. Now, they seem great. Although both the CPU and GPU will be limited by both power and cooling (and thus throttle), they all seem to perform admirably.

If I were you, I'd look for a reasonably priced GTX 1050/1050 Ti-equipped laptop plus a GTX 1070 for your desktop. That would give you the best of both worlds, for roughly the same price as a GTX 1060 laptop.

 

[Murloc]

laptops are thermally throttled even if the GPU is the same. Also battery duration and weight can be more or less important for mobility depending on your situation (ideally I'd like to walk without anything at all on me, so the lighter the better and even better if I can leave the brick at home).
Plus laptops get expensive quick if you don't want compromises (e.g. you want a big SSD).

Personally I'd buy a new GPU, and keep the laptop light and possibly not too pricey, and play lighter games or just watch tv series for those 2 hours of boredom that may happen during a trip, as it's not going to be a great experience anyway compared to using it with a keyboard and a monitor.

So you need to ask yourself how much gaming when out of the house you'd really do.

 

[Insomniator]

Yeah, I don't need/want a GPU upgrade for my desktop now anyway.

I just picked up an MSI GS43VR... 6700k, 1060 -- 14"/4lbs. Really nice machine for the money ($1075) and very portable for how powerful it is, but I'm still not sure I'm going to keep it. I can probably get a lighter ultra book with a better screen and better battery life for half the price. Will have to think about it!

 

[Alienware Gamer ALX]

I currently have an i5 2500k with R9 390 desktop and am looking for an occasional travel/gaming laptop.

With the mobile pascal however, you don't really sacrifice anything GPU wise anymore. I can get a 1060 or 1070 laptop with a 6700/7700 for ~$1200 which would also end up being better than my current desktop. Around 5 pounds... not bad for travel either.

So its kind of stupid to use a worse desktop 98% of the time. I guess I can't overclock the laptop CPU's like my 2500k is (although stock 67/77 is probably still better than my 2500k at 4.4). So whats the point of a desktop? All I play are Overwatch/Blizzard games (nothing too intense), I don't have tons of storage (256GB SSD/1TB HDD would be fine).

I like the idea of rebuilding my desktop, but even a simple GPU and platform upgrade would run ~800, when I can get an entire laptop for not so much more.

if you play outside, you can trash your desktop, but if you re at home you can save some money using it for years