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00:00Now seems like a pretty good time to ask the question,
00:03should you buy a gaming laptop or a desktop PC?
00:07Gaming laptops are so much better than they used to be.
00:10With all new graphics cards and new processors,
00:13including AMD's fantastic Ryzen 5000 series,
00:16high refresh rates, 144 and 240 hertz are standard now,
00:20with high-end laptops pushing 300 and even 360.
00:24Plus we're now seeing these quad HD resolution
00:26gaming laptops also with high refresh rates.
00:29And the better specs are paired with sleeker
00:31and more compact designs,
00:33much improved cooling and noise levels,
00:35although it does still depend on the laptop,
00:36plus some really interesting new form factors
00:38like this Zephyrus Duo SE with dual 4K screens.
00:43And of course, with the ongoing issues
00:45around availability of desktop GPU and CPUs
00:48and sadly skyrocketing reseller prices.
00:51So now seems like a pretty good time to buy a gaming laptop,
00:55but what about desktop PCs?
00:57So for this video,
00:58I've actually partnered with AMD, CyberPower and MSI.
01:02Everyone's chipping in on this one,
01:04but particularly CyberPower who sent over
01:06this incredible pre-built gaming PC,
01:09complete with a 12 core AMD Ryzen 5900X
01:13and an MSI Radeon 6800XT.
01:16And the best part is you can actually win this.
01:18It is a UK only competition, I'm afraid,
01:20but we're giving away this PC
01:22along with some fantastic MSI peripherals,
01:25including their RGB Vigor mechanical keyboard
01:28and the ultralight gaming mouse.
01:29Although I am keeping the MSI Dragon,
01:31this is too cute to give away.
01:33And I'll also put links to this exact PC
01:35and CyberPower's configurator
01:37where you can spec your dream PC
01:39or gaming laptop in the description as well.
01:43Okay, I hear you.
01:44Who's really buying big, expensive gaming laptops like this?
01:47Why not go for a desktop gaming PC
01:49that's more powerful and probably cheaper as well?
01:52I mean, desktops are more flexible
01:54when it comes to upgrading and expansion.
01:56They're also usually more powerful.
01:58They run cooler and also have water cooling options.
02:00And generally they just offer a lot more bang for your buck.
02:03Desktop GPUs also get a serious speed advantage.
02:06The RTX 3080s in these super premium Asus gaming laptops
02:10aren't anywhere near as fast as the desktop version.
02:13In my tests, the MSI Radeon 6800XT
02:16in this all AMD prebuilt CyberPower system
02:19was between 55 and 130% faster in the games I tested
02:24than either of these high-end laptops,
02:26albeit with NVIDIA's equivalent GPUs.
02:29But more importantly,
02:29not all laptop graphics cards are made the same
02:32because we've got 3080s with TGP, so total graphics power,
02:37anything from 80 watts up to 150,
02:40which has a 73% faster base clock.
02:43And the crazy thing is if a manufacturer
02:45uses the lowest power 3080,
02:47it's actually slower than the highest power 3060,
02:51which can all get so confusing.
02:53And to make matters worse,
02:54every laptop manufacturer and OEM
02:57is a little bit different about how they tell you.
02:59Some put it front and center when you buy a laptop,
03:01other ones you have to dive into
03:02the technical specifications to find out.
03:04But the point is as impressive and powerful
03:07as these new gaming laptops are,
03:09it's more confusing than ever to actually buy one.
03:12And this is something you just don't have to worry about
03:14when you're buying a desktop gaming PC.
03:16You're unlocking all the potential performance on a desktop
03:19with the much higher power components
03:21and of course the better cooling,
03:22while also paying a lot less
03:24than the closest spec rival laptop.
03:26So these are all good reasons
03:28why you might want to avoid a gaming laptop.
03:30And it kind of makes sense.
03:31I mean, you're paying more for a tightly engineered product
03:34that's designed to occupy a fraction
03:36of the space a desktop does,
03:38while also having to cram in a keyboard,
03:40a touch pad, a big battery, as well as the display.
03:44So as usual, it comes down to what suits your needs,
03:46your lifestyle and your constraints,
03:49whether it's space, money or time.
03:51Now I love building PCs.
03:53There's something really satisfying
03:54about researching and buying the components,
03:56having them all arrive, put them together,
03:58pressing the on button for the first time
04:00and it booting up and posting.
04:02It feels like a rite of passage for any PC gamer.
04:05And it is enjoyable most of the time when it works.
04:08But chances are, unless you've built a few PCs before,
04:12you will hit snags, especially if you're impatient like me
04:15and good cable management is just something
04:17that other people worry about.
04:18So building your own PC isn't for everyone.
04:21It takes time.
04:22It's great if you enjoy doing it
04:23and you've got some experience,
04:24but not ideal if you don't.
04:26Laptops and prebuilt PCs, on the other hand,
04:29are a whole lot easier.
04:31Plus you're getting manuals, servicing and customer support
04:35and also crucially warranty as a package
04:37if anything goes wrong.
04:39Buying a prebuilt desktop or a laptop
04:41from a retailer like CyberPower lets you spec your PC
04:44pretty much exactly how you'd want.
04:46And crucially, you can pick what would otherwise be
04:49an unavailable GPU and CPU
04:51without having to wait an absolute age to get it
04:53or worse, paying two to three times over the retail price
04:56from a scalper for a card that for all you know
04:59has been worn out as part of a crypto mining rig.
05:01Being a PC gamer now is probably the toughest it's been,
05:05well, in my entire lifetime.
05:07And so this does cut out some of those issues
05:09because they can source the components, the GPUs and CPUs,
05:13which to us mere mortals just are not available.
05:17Now, to be fair, prebuilts do usually cost
05:19a little bit more than doing it yourself.
05:21But if you do factor in the excessive GPU reseller prices,
05:25right now prebuilt is likely to work out cheaper.
05:28And of course, it's also built by professionals
05:30who do this for a living and can do cable management
05:33in ways that I can only dream of.
05:35Not just that though, because you can be smart
05:37with how you spec your PC.
05:38For example, if you went with an all AMD build like this
05:41that comes with a recent Ryzen CPU and a RX 6000 series GPU,
05:46then you're getting some extra boost to gaming performance
05:48thanks to features like smart access memory or SAM.
05:52And it's basically a much faster way for the CPU and the GPU
05:55to transfer data to each other.
05:57And so it gives the processor and the graphics
05:59full access to each other's memory.
06:01And this can then help boost your framerate in games
06:03that have been updated to take advantage of it.
06:05So that's lots of vague waffling from me,
06:07but let's actually put these to the test
06:09and see what kind of numbers we can get from them.
06:11And so we've got this high-end cyber power rig
06:14against the closest spec laptops that I could get a hold of.
06:17We've got the Asus ROG Strix Scar 15
06:19and also the Zephyrus Duo 15.
06:21It is worth noting that the 3080s used in both these machines
06:25are 115 watt TGP parts.
06:28I do realize we're using Nvidia graphics cards in here
06:30and AMD graphics in here,
06:32but this is just meant as a sort of high level comparison.
06:36Unless you literally win or buy this specific PC,
06:39desktop specs are always gonna vary as our laptops.
06:41So yeah, this is just to give you an idea
06:44of the kind of performance difference
06:45between laptop parts and desktop parts.
06:48And so in Hitman 3's benchmarking tool
06:51with maxed out settings,
06:52the desktop managed a 43% higher framerate at 1080p,
06:5752% higher at 1440,
06:59and was a massive 90% faster at 4K.
07:02And it equates to getting just over 50 FPS on the laptop
07:05versus just under 100 FPS on the desktop
07:08with this 6800 XT.
07:10In Call of Duty Warzone with ultra settings,
07:13the desktop was 57% faster at full HD
07:16and almost twice as fast at 1440 and 4K.
07:19And here I did actually have to drop the settings down
07:22a little bit on the Zephyrus at 4K
07:24to hit that constant 60 FPS.
07:26And finally in Rainbow Six Siege using ultra settings again,
07:29I saw between 115 and a 130% boost at each resolution.
07:35And the good news is I was able to max out
07:37the 165 Hertz panel on the Scar 15 at 1440p,
07:41which felt amazing to play.
07:43Okay, so with all that said, what are my big takeaways?
07:46Well, number one, I think you can have a great experience
07:49with a gaming laptop.
07:51I think these are a little bit too expensive
07:53for most people, including myself.
07:55I think the sweet spot right now,
07:56if you are gonna go out and buy a gaming laptop,
07:59will be in the area of about 1000 to 1500 pounds.
08:02And that will get you an RTX 3060 or even a 3070,
08:06144 or 240 Hertz 1080p screen,
08:09the latest Ryzen 5000 chip like the 5800H
08:12and 16 gigs of RAM.
08:13And I think that kind of spec for that kind of money
08:16is really, really good value actually.
08:18Number two, desktop PCs are undeniably
08:21just a lot more powerful.
08:22We're getting higher wattage parts
08:24and also much better cooling.
08:25So in terms of raw performance, you can't beat a desktop.
08:29And you'll get this advantage,
08:30regardless of whether you go for lower or higher in hardware.
08:33So no surprise there really,
08:34but it is amazing that laptops can get close
08:38and the gap will be even narrower
08:39with something like the MSI GE76,
08:42which gets a full fat 150 watt 3080.
08:45Number three, and the biggest performance differences
08:48we're seeing are at 4K.
08:50So something like the Zephyrus Duo SE
08:52with a 4K screen isn't ideal for gaming,
08:54although you can of course always just drop the resolution.
08:57But that's why most gaming laptops top out at 1080p
09:00or even like this guy, 1440,
09:02which I think is actually a much better balance.
09:05So of image quality and performance in this form factor,
09:07although a high refresh 1080p is still my recommendation
09:11for the best value gaming laptop.
09:13Number four, and this isn't something
09:14we've really talked about a whole lot,
09:15but you do have to ask yourself
09:17how important is having this portability
09:20because you're getting all these restrictions
09:22with the size, the power, the price
09:24in order to have something you can carry in a backpack
09:27or take with you.
09:28Because it is also clear that you are getting more bang
09:30for your buck with a desktop.
09:31Although on the flip side,
09:32you are gonna have to pay for a gaming monitor
09:35and all the peripherals to go with your desktop,
09:37which are well built in with a laptop.
09:39So I think personally,
09:40I'm more of a desktop gaming PC kind of guy,
09:42but what about you?
09:43Would you go for the laptop or the desktop?
09:45Let me know in the comments below.
09:47And if you do wanna see more from me,
09:49if you enjoyed the video,
09:49which hopefully you did by watching the whole thing,
09:52don't forget to hit that subscribe button below,
09:54ding that bell and like button
09:56and all those annoying YouTuber things.
09:58But don't forget to click on the gleam link
09:59in the description for a chance to win this PC
10:02from CyberPower.
10:03And I will also leave a link if you wanna check this out
10:05or even spec a PC for yourself.
10:07And I'll see you next time right here on the Tech Chat.