Affordable and Portable gaming desktop

[bthizle1]

I´ve been considering a laptop for some time now, however I do not like the idea of it overheating so easily, not being upgradable, and expensive compared to a desktop. Anyways, I do not really have my own ¨place¨ so to say right now so portablity is pretty important (will most likely have to take it in various plane rides). I was thinking perhaps building a fairly portable desktop and then using the money left over I would have spent on the spendy gaming laptop on a cheaper $300-400 one. So my budget for the desktop would be around $700-$800. I´m assuming I could build something that´s on par or better than this laptop:

http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8230-clevo-p151sm1-p-584...
sager np8230 ($1,200)
CPU: i7 4700mq haswell
GPU: GTX 770m

Any advice, or possible builds? I was looking at the new prodigy mATX case that´s coming out, perhaps that´s a possibility? Is a mid tower really going to be TOO heavy-akward to transport when needed?

I´d mainly be playing RPG´s and Strategies, especially the Total War series, including the new Rome Total War II that´s coming out. Also, I currently have no OS, and am leaning towards windows 7 due to game compatability.

 

[mfenn]

Was there anything wrong with updating your other thread?

Anyways, I will repost my question that went unanswered before:

I agree that buying a cheap-ass monitor at every stop seems kind of lame. Whether it makes financial sense or not depends on how much you move around. What's your average length of stay?

 

[Torn Mind]

If it fits whatever you're transporting it in, then it will work. Micro ATX cases are usually over 16 inches long and 14 inches tall; they probably weigh a good 7-10 lbs empty. Their width is usually over 7 inches. There are mini-ITX cases out there in which they are like a giant stack of printer paper.

Here's a sample build.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1b4zZ

 

[bthizle1]

Was there anything wrong with updating your other thread?

Anyways, I will repost my question that went unanswered before:

It´s hard to say really, I´m going to be in the states for some time (maybe 5 months or so) then I´d probably be headed to Costa Rica for who knows how long (maybe 3-6 months) from there I´m uncertain. The thing is I am sort of in the process of looking for a place to call ¨home.¨ So maybe it really does make sense to buy a laptop, although it frustrates me very much, because it will only depreciate in value rapidly, unlike a dekstop that I could later on simply upgrade.

But honestly, do you all think that say the sager np 7370 or the sager np 8230 could run games on high settings more or less for the next 2 years persay? I´m more concerned about whether they could play the Total War games (new ones especially) and the new Rome Total War II that´s coming out soon. They are fairly demanding games, both on the CPU and GPU.

 

[mfenn]

It´s hard to say really, I´m going to be in the states for some time (maybe 5 months or so) then I´d probably be headed to Costa Rica for who knows how long (maybe 3-6 months) from there I´m uncertain. The thing is I am sort of in the process of looking for a place to call ¨home.¨ So maybe it really does make sense to buy a laptop, although it frustrates me very much, because it will only depreciate in value rapidly, unlike a dekstop that I could later on simply upgrade.

But honestly, do you all think that say the sager np 7370 or the sager np 8230 could run games on high settings more or less for the next 2 years persay? I´m more concerned about whether they could play the Total War games (new ones especially) and the new Rome Total War II that´s coming out soon. They are fairly demanding games, both on the CPU and GPU.

The GTX 770M in the NP8230 is basically the equivalent of a desktop GTX 660 with slightly lower clocks. That's honestly not that much slower than what you'd be able to put in an $800 desktop.

 

[bthizle1]

It´s probably on par with say a GTX 650 ti or so. However at $800 I could buy an equivilant mini itx system that is portable and than spend $300-400 on a cheap laptop that can be used for everything I need but gaming. Plus I´d have the option of upgrading the mini itx in the future, whereas with the laptop I don´t...and even if I did it´d be much more expensive.