Buying the right laptop is a bit challenging in any price bracket. Multiple big-budget brands are competing to hook a buyer through expensive branding and competitive products. Companies have been churning out products very frequently with varying consistency in all aspects. No succeeding or preceding model of laptops is guaranteed to be competitive just because of a brand name anymore. It’s wiser to shortlist laptops as per each model’s performance. Thankfully many blogs and companies do great laptop reviews. A buyer simply has to go through them.
Gaming laptops
Key factors:
- High price tag
- Premium build and design
- Higher specifications
- Longer utility
- Less portable
1. High price tag
Even towards the lower end, gaming laptops are priced higher than non-gaming ones. The price varies depending on the specifications. A single model of laptop with vastly different specifications can be a few hundred to a couple thousands of dollars apart. Gaming laptops usually occupy the high-mid to high price bracket.
2. Premium build and design
It isn’t quite a gaming laptop without radical designs, a sturdy build, and overblown RGB. To help squeeze out your money’s worth, companies will throw several million dollar budgets towards developing cutting-edge competitive products. Higher power components can require much more well-engineered and/ or beefier designs.
3. Higher specifications
The Graphics processor makes a gaming laptop a gaming laptop. These laptops will more than often boast top-tier parts. Gaming, video editing, and advanced scientific computing workflows typically demand such hardware.
4. Longer utility
Due to the hefty build quality, design, and specifications, such laptops usually last many years. You can expect decent performance and durability. The long-term utility is a very important indicator of a brand’s reputation and dominance.
5. Less portable
Unavoidably, gaming laptops are futuristic billowing slabs of silicon, metals, and plastics. Despite progress in conventional manufacturing, gaming laptops remain an engineering marvel on “how to cram”. Two kilograms is the average weight of gaming laptops. The simple reason being the CPU and the GPU usually requiring larger cooling apparatus and larger batteries.
Non-gaming laptops
Key factors:
- Broader price range
- Functional design
- Energy efficiency
- Lightweight
- Form factors
1. Broader price range
Office, school, and casual work, you can find laptops at multiple price ranges which will do most everything in varying degrees of efficiency.
2. Functional design
These laptops will prioritize functionality over excess designs and features. Meaning simpler repair jobs and more ease in sourcing replacement parts. Sleek aesthetics in silver or black without any RGB lighting is the norm. You won’t find laptops in here that looks like a Lamborghini hood or an alien mothership.
3. Energy efficiency
Often not featuring top-tier CPUs, GPUs, high refresh rate, and higher resolution monitors, non-gaming laptops are without a doubt more energy efficient. Batteries can last longer on a single charge. Even more, efficiency can be derived through various power plan settings.
4. Lightweight
Non-gaming laptops are usually very portable. The sleeker, streamlined bodies weigh in at a kilogram, more or less. Using one in an economy airline seat is fairly convenient. The smaller footprint also enables you, the user, to be more mobile during travel.
5. Form factors
2 in 1 convertible laptop (tablets with keyboards), Ultrabooks, Chromebooks, portable workstations (laptops with desktop-grade components). Non-gaming laptops are built for every imaginable market. The most portable being the Ultrabooks and the 2 in 1 laptop.
So those are the basic differences between a gaming laptop and a non-gaming laptop. Whatever you pick, be sure to read or watch product reviews. If buying from questionable sources, also watch a few unboxing videos.
PS- I have not included Macbooks in this comparison.