Until recently, I was a PC gamer who loved tinkering with my tower to squeeze extra performance out of it. I’d built multiple gaming rigs over the years and loved the freedom of choosing my parts and the challenge of putting them together. Each build felt special, and I never considered getting a soulless gaming laptop because I thought they were a step down and couldn’t deliver the same performance.

This changed when I started traveling frequently and needed a laptop for the road. I could have bought a slim and lightweight model, but I chose a bulky gaming laptop instead — I wasn’t willing to give up my gaming and needed something to do while waiting to catch the next flight. The smaller display and built-in keyboard took time to get used to, but I think I made the right decision.

Let me share my experience and explain why I bought a gaming laptop instead of a desktop or handheld and haven’t looked back.

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1

Portability

Ready to go anywhere

You can’t argue with a laptop’s portability, which makes it practical for long plane and train journeys or shorter trips around town. Now that I’ve ditched my desktop, I like the freedom of working in the garden or coffee shops instead of my office. There’s no longer a fixed location that I need to be at during specific times in the day, and I feel calmer and less stressed because I can access my work and games wherever I like.

It only takes me a minute to disconnect my laptop and pop it in the bag with my mouse and charger. If I’m planning to work, I add a portable monitor for optimum productivity if I’m working and leave it out when I’m on a gaming break. I once carried my desktop and monitor to weekly LANs, but there’s no chance of that happening now, and it’s strictly for home use only.

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2

Convenience

No assembly required

I used to spend hours meticulously planning my PC build and selecting each part individually. Nowadays, I’m too busy with work and would rather buy a laptop from a trusted brand because I know it’ll have quality components. I can rest assured that everything is working correctly, and I don’t need to worry about a monitor or keyboard either — it’s all built in.

A new laptop’s plug-and-play nature makes life easier than installing motherboards, CPUs, and other hardware into a tower. It also gives me peace of mind because I can return the whole unit if there’s a problem instead of troubleshooting all the parts of my build to see which is causing an issue.

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3

Decent performance

Easily handles gaming and other tasks

One of my biggest worries when switching to a gaming laptop was the performance downgrade, but my fears were unfounded. When comparing like for like, my laptop won’t compete with my desktop’s full-sized graphics card, but it is equal in most other areas. This comes down to individual requirements, and users wanting more RAM slots and upgradability are better off with a desktop. I was looking for relatively good performance without worrying about upgrades, and a laptop ticked the boxes.

I primarily use my laptop for work and watching content, with gaming as a secondary consideration. The fact that my laptop can handle any game and has an integrated 144Hz display is good enough for me and doesn’t affect the fun factor. I understand its limitations and don’t care about the highest graphics settings or frame rates, as long as I can enjoy the gameplay.

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4

More desk space

Less clutter

I once loved showing off my stylish tower and massive display. Now, I’d rather have more space and less clutter on my desk. My 17-inch laptop takes up a fraction of the space of my old PC, and I use the extra room for external speakers and drawing in my sketchbook.

I can still add my standalone monitor when I miss the PC-like feel. It easily connects to my laptop, and I get similar graphics performance to my desktop. I could also add my old keyboard, but I don’t bother; I stick to the integrated one because it has a more comfortable angle when paired with a laptop stand.

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5

Works on battery

Indoor or outdoor use

Where I live, there are often power cuts, and using my laptop for a few hours without electricity is a lifesaver. My work gets done on time without setbacks, or I can play games to pass the time. Working without a power cord is one of the main reasons I can be outside in the garden, which is more peaceful than sitting in my office all day.

But what about gaming performance? I can’t enjoy the latest demanding titles on the battery because the GPU doesn’t get enough power to support them. However, countless older titles aren’t resource-hungry, and my laptop can easily handle them without breaking a sweat, so I can still satisfy my gaming itch without power.

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