3 ms·
Oh yes, it makes a _huge_ difference. Most modern laptops use constrained, low power CPUs and GPUs. They are dog slow. Even my 5 year old desktop is substantia
by nvarsj 7y ago
Oh yes, it makes a _huge_ difference. Most modern laptops use constrained, low power CPUs and GPUs. They are dog slow. Even my 5 year old desktop is substantially faster (like, builds take half the time kind of difference) compared to my <1 year old max spec'd thinkpad.
Possibly the only laptops that could compare to desktops are gaming laptops, and I know developers who buy things like the Razer gaming laptop to try and get desktop-like performance.
- 8draco8 7y agoFor me the problem with gaming laptops for work is their GPUs. I honestly don't need anything beyond build in Intel GPUs but I would love to have powerful CPU + a lot of RAM. Highend GPUs are driving prices of laptops very high so essentially I'm paying a lot for hardware that I would never use. That's why I prefer desktops, there is no problem with having Threadripper and 128GB of RAM in case with some basic $30 used GPU.
- nvarsj 7y agoI think good GPUs are necessary to support external monitors. My thinkpad really struggles to power two external normal DPI monitors. If I had high DPI I don't think it would even be possible. I suspect the gaming laptops with their full powered GPUs, usually Nvidia or AMD, would have no problem powering several high DPI external monitors.
- 8draco8 7y agoThat's true but still you don't need Titan to power two 4k monitors, probably good old 750Ti or even older GPU will be enough. For me it's even easier because my sweet spot is one 1440p display (that's where I work most efficiently) so anything will be good enough for me.