Wow, this has become an interesting thread! I got allot of good information, with special thanks to timppu!

Years ago i would have been one of those people saying don't get a laptop or a console. But there is no denying the convenience of laptops.... and PC game tight arsed developers forced me to buy a console.... I am 48 years old, so i remember the golden age of PC gaming when you were allowed to multiplay 1 game on several computers, This is great for the family gaming, but now, you have to buy the game outright for each computer! - F-that, just buy a console and multiplay that, problem solved!

Regarding laptop battery life... I vaguely remember buying laptops on Ebay years ago where battery options were available, you could chose 6 cell to 12 cell batteries. I used to always pay extra for the 12 cell, but i have not noticed those type of options are still around these days?

When Vista was coming out and even after that, 2GB was the usual Ram amount you were given. And Aero wants all of it. No surprise the laptops were a LOT slower than the XP counterparts.

Aero was basically a 3D preview tab switching option i never used added in Vista. Which is totally unnecessary, just eyecandy (Win+Tab?)

Merely personal opinion but I spent $1400 CAD a couple of years ago to buy a laptop in an emergency situation where I needed portability at the time. In addition to being an avid gamer, I am a developer and somewhat extreme power user with a wide variety of hobbies and interests that burn up CPU/GPU cycles out the wazoo.

Having said all of that I've come to believe that the concept of a "gaming laptop" is a misnomer. All laptops ultimately whether ultra low end bargain basement end of the market or ultra high end gamer or professional end of the market are basically just extremely overpriced miniaturized PCs that you pay twice as much for and get half as much. On top of that they're disposable PCs with little to no upgradability depending on the make/model chosen, and tend to have shorter lifespans.

While I desperately needed a laptop when I bought this one, and I went for a gaming laptop for screen size (17.3") and overall performance reasons rather than for gaming, and it is somewhat kick ass as far as laptops go... it is still hot garbage as far as PCs go.

If I were buying a new machine specifically for gaming, I would never ever buy a gaming laptop as my choice as it is the worst value for a computer that money can buy IMHO. You get the worst of both worlds, high price and low performance - relatively speaking compared to a gaming PC.

If someone absolutely needs the portability that a laptop provides and they can only afford to buy a single computer system, or only want to have one computer, and they are a gamer and plan on gaming on it then by all means I'd say go for it especially if money isn't an issue. But man, laptops are so disappointing when you're used to high end desktop/gaming systems. Laptops just can't hold a candle to that.

If one figures out the minimum performance of CPU, GPU and other components that they require and specs out a laptop that meets those needs and gets the pricetag for it. You can almost guaranteed build a PC with better specifications for less money. Even more true if you already own a PC or components and can reuse some of them and don't have to buy every single item.

So I'd honestly discourage anyone from buying a "gaming laptop" unless they absolutely need the portability and want to be able to play games on the go. I would quad-discourage anyone from buying any form of laptop to plunk on a table in their home permanently running on wall power being used exclusively non-portably also. I have some friends and family members who opted to buy a laptop to use as a desktop and never take it anywhere and it is such a massive waste of money IMHO for a mediocre computing experience even if you spend several thousand dollars on the thing.

I'm typing this on my "gaming laptop"... great as far as laptops go... terrible as far as computers go.

Having said all of that, good luck buying any kind of decent computer, CPU or GPU right now with these chip shortages and outrageous scalper prices etc. It's an amazing past year for technological progress, but terrible for actually being able to obtain anything without draining the bank.

Good luck with your research and acquisition no matter which way you choose to go!