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I own a personal MBP and 2 work MBPs. I am still in the market for a laptop like this. I would buy this for the express intent of being able to game when I go

I own a personal MBP and 2 work MBPs. I am still in the market for a laptop like this. I would buy this for the express intent of being able to game when I go visit my parents. I'm usually visiting them for 1-2 weeks at a time. I dont want to transport my gaming desktop for a visit of that length. Apple laptops are just not the same use case as this laptop.

Fire-Dragon-DoL 5y ago
I'm on the same boat but Steam Deck might actually solve the problem. Obviously it makes some compromises, but I should be able to buy a work laptop and keep games on the Deck
- HalcyonicStorm 5y ago
  Yes, I'm on the waitlist for the SteamDeck. My estimated shipment time is Q2 2022. That was before the last delay announcement so who knows when I'll get it. But I loooove handhelds.
MikusR 5y ago
For those cases there is GeforceNow, Stadia, Xcloud
- HalcyonicStorm 5y ago
  I am aware of those options. I avoid them for 2 reasons. 1) I'm hesitant to go to a service where I'm just leasing a game. Valve has proven to be a good steward (im aware of GOG being better in that you actually own the game). I've already bought $X000 of games on there over the years and my experience has always been good. I don't want to try another service where I have to rebuy games. 2) I live in NYC with a max 10ms ping to a server in a game. When I go to my parent's house, their network is stretched to the limit. The ping is much higher, the ISP provided bandwidth lower.
  - pram 5y ago
    JFYI you can play all your steam games on GeForce Now at least.
    - HalcyonicStorm 5y ago
      Wow! Ok, I will check it out. I'm willing to pay a subscription if I have access to my library.
Rebelgecko 5y ago
I'm thinking of picking up a laptop for a similar use case. In my case I'm deciding between the Air and a mid-tier laptop I can throw Windows or Linux on. One thing I wonder about is, if I go with the Air can I get by with cloud gaming? xCloud and Geforce Now work reasonably well, as does Steam's built in remote desktop.
ansible 5y ago
I assume that toting along a SFF desktop is a non-starter? Assuming you can get any GPU at a reasonable price, it is possible to build a relatively small and light desktop for less than a gaming laptop, and still get better performance. The size / weight will be greater though, and obviously it assumes you have a keyboard, mouse and monitor at the destination.
horsawlarway 5y ago
Honestly - just build a small form factor desktop. I tried really hard to make gaming on laptops work - and the result is that you get a more expensive, less capable machine. You'll end up spending 3 times the money, and are usually left disappointed (I know I was!). Most vendors will happily shove high end components into a box they know doesn't have the right thermals to keep everything running, so unless you're also dragging a freezer around to keep the thing cool - it will hit thermal limits pretty fast. At which point the nice cpu/gpu no longer matter, and god help you if you actually intend to use it on your lap (bank some sperm - because it will fry yours...). I can fit my current travel box (mini-itx InWin case, 20 inch display, keyboard/mouse, mousepad, power cable, hdmi cable) in a carry-on sized piece of luggage, with a smidge of space left over. Yes - it's still a lot bulkier than a laptop, but I can actually play games on it and have fun. Which is not really something my "gaming" laptops ever did very well. --- Bonus - if you retire it after 4-6 years, it makes a killer media pc. Most of my laptops were basically garbage after 3 years (Cheap plastic cases degrade/crack. Screen/keyboard are worn out and not economical to replace. Bad thermals decrease component lifespan noticeably.)
- HalcyonicStorm 5y ago
  I'm game if i can buy a 3080 or 3090 or an equivalent ATI. I love desktops so i have nothing against it.
  - horsawlarway 5y ago
    Usually you can fit a full-size card in most of the mini-itx cases. Not every full-sized card, but a full-sized card. I was lucky and building before prices shot sky high and availability became so limited, so it might be harder to find a card you know for sure will fit. There's a pretty large community around building small form factor pcs, and a lot of forums will have case/card compatibility lists.
    - HalcyonicStorm 5y ago
      Thanks for this suggestion! I didn't think about it at all. I will look into it. I'd rather have a small desktop that I can carry than yet another laptop. I completely agree with you that laptops degrade way faster than I like

Fire-Dragon-DoL 5y ago

I'm on the same boat but Steam Deck might actually solve the problem. Obviously it makes some compromises, but I should be able to buy a work laptop and keep games on the Deck

HalcyonicStorm 5y ago
Yes, I'm on the waitlist for the SteamDeck. My estimated shipment time is Q2 2022. That was before the last delay announcement so who knows when I'll get it. But I loooove handhelds.

MikusR 5y ago

For those cases there is GeforceNow, Stadia, Xcloud

HalcyonicStorm 5y ago
I am aware of those options. I avoid them for 2 reasons. 1) I'm hesitant to go to a service where I'm just leasing a game. Valve has proven to be a good steward (im aware of GOG being better in that you actually own the game). I've already bought $X000 of games on there over the years and my experience has always been good. I don't want to try another service where I have to rebuy games. 2) I live in NYC with a max 10ms ping to a server in a game. When I go to my parent's house, their network is stretched to the limit. The ping is much higher, the ISP provided bandwidth lower.
- pram 5y ago
  JFYI you can play all your steam games on GeForce Now at least.
  - HalcyonicStorm 5y ago
    Wow! Ok, I will check it out. I'm willing to pay a subscription if I have access to my library.

Rebelgecko 5y ago

I'm thinking of picking up a laptop for a similar use case. In my case I'm deciding between the Air and a mid-tier laptop I can throw Windows or Linux on. One thing I wonder about is, if I go with the Air can I get by with cloud gaming? xCloud and Geforce Now work reasonably well, as does Steam's built in remote desktop.

ansible 5y ago

I assume that toting along a SFF desktop is a non-starter? Assuming you can get any GPU at a reasonable price, it is possible to build a relatively small and light desktop for less than a gaming laptop, and still get better performance. The size / weight will be greater though, and obviously it assumes you have a keyboard, mouse and monitor at the destination.

horsawlarway 5y ago

Honestly - just build a small form factor desktop. I tried really hard to make gaming on laptops work - and the result is that you get a more expensive, less capable machine. You'll end up spending 3 times the money, and are usually left disappointed (I know I was!). Most vendors will happily shove high end components into a box they know doesn't have the right thermals to keep everything running, so unless you're also dragging a freezer around to keep the thing cool - it will hit thermal limits pretty fast. At which point the nice cpu/gpu no longer matter, and god help you if you actually intend to use it on your lap (bank some sperm - because it will fry yours...). I can fit my current travel box (mini-itx InWin case, 20 inch display, keyboard/mouse, mousepad, power cable, hdmi cable) in a carry-on sized piece of luggage, with a smidge of space left over. Yes - it's still a lot bulkier than a laptop, but I can actually play games on it and have fun. Which is not really something my "gaming" laptops ever did very well. --- Bonus - if you retire it after 4-6 years, it makes a killer media pc. Most of my laptops were basically garbage after 3 years (Cheap plastic cases degrade/crack. Screen/keyboard are worn out and not economical to replace. Bad thermals decrease component lifespan noticeably.)

HalcyonicStorm 5y ago
I'm game if i can buy a 3080 or 3090 or an equivalent ATI. I love desktops so i have nothing against it.
- horsawlarway 5y ago
  Usually you can fit a full-size card in most of the mini-itx cases. Not every full-sized card, but a full-sized card. I was lucky and building before prices shot sky high and availability became so limited, so it might be harder to find a card you know for sure will fit. There's a pretty large community around building small form factor pcs, and a lot of forums will have case/card compatibility lists.
  - HalcyonicStorm 5y ago
    Thanks for this suggestion! I didn't think about it at all. I will look into it. I'd rather have a small desktop that I can carry than yet another laptop. I completely agree with you that laptops degrade way faster than I like