There comes a point in every tech-lover’s life where they must decide: Gaming desktop or gaming laptop? It is a difficult choice indeed, especially when there are excellent sales on both. Do you snag one of the awesome gaming laptop deals, which you can take anywhere, or do you go with the gaming PC deals for a static setup?
Truthfully, we cannot answer that question for you, at least not directly. We can help you decide, though, by exploring some of the reasons why you would want one over the other. You’re gonna need it, too, since Dell is offering the G5 Gaming Desktop for $700, or $230 off, and the Alienware Area-51m R2 Gaming Laptop for $2,000, or $1,230 off.
Should you buy a gaming PC or a gaming laptop?
When you break it down, there are pros and cons of both types of computers. Deciding which fits your playstyle or workstyle is a matter of looking at what each type of system offers.
Laptop pros
- Much more portable.
- They use less energy.
- Excellent connectivity.
- Built-in peripherals.
Laptop cons
- Discreet graphics.
- What you buy is what you get.
Desktop/PC pros
- Customizable (hardware).
- Lots of power.
- Bigger screen size.
- Powerful graphics.
Desktop/PC cons
- Not as portable for LAN parties.
- They use lots of energy.
Ultimately, the best way to decide between the computer types is to choose where you will be doing most of your gaming. If you’re going to be gaming at home a lot from a desk, then a desktop PC is best. If you need portability and will be gaming out of your home often, then a gaming laptop is best.
Dell G5 Gaming Desktop — $700, was $930
The Dell G5 Gaming Desktop has a 10th-generation Intel Core i5 6-core processor with a 12MB cache and clock speeds up to 4.3GHz. Plus, there’s 8GB of DDR4 RAM, an AMD Radeon RX 5300 GPU with 3GB of GDDR6 VRAM, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth built-in. For storage, you get a 256GB M.2 PCIe NVM2 solid-state drive and a 1TB 7200 RPM 3.5-inch SATA drive. All of that is only $700, which is $230 off the normal price ($930).
Alienware Area-51m R2 Gaming Laptop — $2,000, was $3,230
The Alienware Area-51m R2 Gaming Laptop is rocking a 10th-gen Intel Core i7 8-core processor with a 16MB cache and clock speeds up to 4.8GHz with Turbo Boost Max 3.0. You’ll also get 16GB of DDR4 RAM, an Nvidia Geforce RTX 2070 Super with 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM, and a 512GB solid-state drive. The 17.3-inch FHD display has Tobii Eyetracking technology built-in, supports a native resolution of 1920 x 1080, and has a refresh rate of 300Hz at a response time of 3 milliseconds. In our Alienware Area-51m review, Matthew S. Smith said it’s “worth every penny.” He also said it offers top-tier gaming performance. Normally $3,230, you can get the Area-51m for $1,230 off, which means the final price is $2,000 with free shipping. Availability is limited, so act soon if you’re interested!
More gaming laptop deals available now
Want a gaming laptop that’s a bit more affordable? How about a different brand? We rounded up all of the best gaming laptop deals that are available right now. Check them out below.
Editors' Recommendations
- Wholesale laptop deals: How to buy cheap computers in bulk
- This Alienware gaming PC with an RTX 4090, 64GB of RAM is $1,000 off
- Hurry! The Razer Blade 17 gaming laptop is 44% off today
- Get $750 off the Dell XPS 17 laptop this weekend
- Alienware sale: Get up to $1,000 off gaming laptops and PCs
