Is PC gaming economically comparable to console?

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firebush03 said:

Also, to follow up my thread, yeah… PC is sounding very enticing. Getting to play everything that I can on my PS5 and more at similar (if not better) performance, alongside the added benefit of Steam, emulation (for retro games), free online, and simply having a nice PC to work on my studies with, it seems like a no brainer at this point.

The only remaining issue: Portability. The reason I love my MacBook, iPad, Switch 2, and iPhone so much is because I can very easily pick up everything I need, carry it in a bag, and move it elsewhere with an easy set up.

That said: How are gaming laptops? I don’t like the lack of freedom that comes in customizing specs and such, but this would easily be the most affordable option, as I could simply sell my MacBook and PS5 for a very nice $2,000 gaming laptop.

Gaming Laptops are quite a bit more expensive than a desktop PC of similar performance. This due to the miniaturisation needed, but also because it included a new screen, trackpad and battery which are not necessarily needed on a desktop PC. Those alone can easily increase the price of a laptop by a couple hundred bucks if they use good quality hardware.

Also, don't get fooled by the naming schemes, especially for GPUs. In general, the name of the mobile GPU is similar to the one on desktop, but the chip inside is more often than not an entire class below the one in the desktop variant. For instance, the desktop GeForce 5070 is a GB 205 chip with 12GB of VRAM. The mobile GeForce 5070 is a lower-class GB 206 with just 8GB VRAM and more comparable to a desktop 5060. While it has the same amount of CUDA cores than a 5060Ti, it's much lower clock speeds make it actually slightly slower than a 5060.

As a result, to get a laptop with a similar GPU performance as the 9060XT in my example (which is much more powerful than a 5060 AND has more than 8GB VRAM, which is limiting already in many games), I have to choose one with at least a 5070Ti. Going back to the same website I made that custom computer simulation above and looking for a suitable Laptop with similar performance, I think this MSI Vector with an Intel Cor Ultra  7 255 and 5070Ti GPU is the closest in terms of actual power - but it also costs over 2100€, more than twice the price of the desktop version even if I added Windows on top of the config.

Gaming laptops tend to be loud under load, can get hot during gaming or creative works that stress the hardware and have poor battery life compared to a MacBook. But as I showed you, you can get mobile PS5 (Pro) performance for about the $2000 that you mentioned. Just, unlike that laptop in the example above, make sure to have 32GB RAM - though to be fair, the RAM is generally upgradeable in gaming laptops.

Side note: Another option for you could be a mini PC with a Ryzen AI Max inside. Those don't come with peripherals like input devices or a screen, but otherwise almost fit in a pocket. Minisforum has one with 128GB RAM and 2TB SSD for 2399€, which considering the chip configuration and the fact that the chip is more designed for professional use despite it's gaming GPU, is a pretty fair price.