Re: Heeuge! build me a pc! / performance woes
Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 11:21 am
Unfortunately, that's one of the problems you're always going to run into if you want a gaming laptop. No reasonably priced computer can be expected to keep up with new games for more than 2-3 years.
With a desktop that's not a major setback as you can upgrade bits and pieces to keep it going. My CPU and motherboard are around 4 years old now and in desperate need of replacement, but because I've been able to replace my RAM, hard drive, graphics card, case and monitor I can struggle along for a little while longer and even play games like Crysis without it looking like complete crap. If I was still running the exact same spec I was running 4 years ago I wouldn't have a hope of even playing WotLK at a respectable framerate (not that I can anyway in Dalaran, meh).
But with a laptop, upgrading piece by piece isn't an option. You might be able to get more RAM, maybe even swap out the hard drive, but you're not going to be able to replace the screen, graphics card, motherboard or processor (or at least it's very unlikely you'll be able to do so). When it's time to upgrade you need to replace the whole thing, and that gets pretty expensive.
That's the price you pay for portability, though. Desktops are much cheaper to keep up-to-date, but carrying them around is a bitch. Laptops are expensive, but you can carry them around in a bag over your shoulder without having to do weight-training beforehand.
As far as always getting the latest and greatest goes, unless you want to pay a massive premium you're never going to get the best of the best. I'm waiting for i7 because I reckon I can struggle along until it comes down in price. If you can do the same then I'd suggest you do so, because i7 is a big step up in performance compared to Core 2 Duo (just as Core Duo was a big step up from P4). Unfortunately it's also a big step up in price at the moment as well. Whether or not it's worth the cost right now is up to you.
With a desktop that's not a major setback as you can upgrade bits and pieces to keep it going. My CPU and motherboard are around 4 years old now and in desperate need of replacement, but because I've been able to replace my RAM, hard drive, graphics card, case and monitor I can struggle along for a little while longer and even play games like Crysis without it looking like complete crap. If I was still running the exact same spec I was running 4 years ago I wouldn't have a hope of even playing WotLK at a respectable framerate (not that I can anyway in Dalaran, meh).
But with a laptop, upgrading piece by piece isn't an option. You might be able to get more RAM, maybe even swap out the hard drive, but you're not going to be able to replace the screen, graphics card, motherboard or processor (or at least it's very unlikely you'll be able to do so). When it's time to upgrade you need to replace the whole thing, and that gets pretty expensive.
That's the price you pay for portability, though. Desktops are much cheaper to keep up-to-date, but carrying them around is a bitch. Laptops are expensive, but you can carry them around in a bag over your shoulder without having to do weight-training beforehand.
As far as always getting the latest and greatest goes, unless you want to pay a massive premium you're never going to get the best of the best. I'm waiting for i7 because I reckon I can struggle along until it comes down in price. If you can do the same then I'd suggest you do so, because i7 is a big step up in performance compared to Core 2 Duo (just as Core Duo was a big step up from P4). Unfortunately it's also a big step up in price at the moment as well. Whether or not it's worth the cost right now is up to you.