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Play a PC like a console?


Spoony

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This is probably a dumb question for many of you but please bear with me!

I’ve never had a gaming PC before but I have an Oculus 2 and I’d like to start playing more VR PC games (please no suggestions like “get a better VR headset or whatever - that is what I have and will be using). I have a laptop that is older than life itself and can barely operate google chrome these days so I need a new one. I basically want a laptop that can quickly do pretty simple things like download and watch films but I also want to play VR games.
 

That being said, if I’m blowing cash on a laptop capable of playing VR games, I figured I might as well get a very decent gaming laptop. So that leads me to two questions that I should be grateful for guidance on:

1) What would you recommend (budget isn’t really an issue as I’m in the market for something top end so I can give it another million years before I buy another laptop)? I’ve done a bit of Googling and Alienware laptops seem to come up a lot. 

2) I’ve thought about getting a PS5 but if I’m getting a good gaming laptop I feel like that should be how I play games. But I have no interest at sitting at a desk - I’d like to sit on the couch with a controller just like a console. So another question is - can you use a PC like a console if you hook it up to the TV and buy a controller?

Thanks!!!

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1) Start taking a look at gaming laptops by Asus or MSI. For some of them you are probably looking close to about 2k spend. But there are varying specs and customisations that you can make depending on where you order it from. There are others available but it sounds like you want to go big or go home - however if I wanted a laptop to play games on, those mentioned are where I would be looking. (Lenovo also have a decent gaming laptop). 

Alianware are ok, but they cost a lot because of their branding, however they don’t actually make any components. Same with Razer. 
 

2) Yes. Check what ports your laptop has, the majority of the gaming ones will have at least a HDMI port. Once plugged in the TV will just act as a normal monitor. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Actually was looking to come on here to ask a similar question - I would probably be looking to play more strategy games (Total War, Age of Empire); is there any other recommendations for say a budget of between £500-£1000? I know of the reputation of Alienware but don't want to pay for something just because of a label. 

 

 

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3 hours ago, cyrusr said:

Actually was looking to come on here to ask a similar question - I would probably be looking to play more strategy games (Total War, Age of Empire); is there any other recommendations for say a budget of between £500-£1000? I know of the reputation of Alienware but don't want to pay for something just because of a label. 

 

 

For that sort of budget you’ll probably be hunting in the Acer type of range as they have a bunch of laptops available with varying specs. I can’t comment too much on how the perform though...

Alianware are Dell owned, so they are ok laptops generally, but come with a lot of extra crap that you’ll spend ages sorting. 

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  • 1 month later...

im not up on VR etc, but you can defo play a PC (or laptop) like a console, in the sense of a controller and hooked up to a screen or tv.

When i play games like Cyberpunk or Witcher 3, i always use a controller similar to the XBox controller, i cant get by with keyboard and mouse for certain types of games.

You can get cables to divert your laptop screen to a larger separate screen, or a TV screen etc no problem, anything is possible, just depends how much effort and money you want to put in to it!

 

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I got an MSI laptop for just over a grand. Only issue I've had with it is it's super heavy and actually hurts if I use it as a literal LAPtop for too long. I never thought it would be an issue, but the thing is a TANK.

The great thing about the law of diminishing returns (why games look less and less of a leap graphically from generation to generation these days) is you don't really need to upgrade your hardware as often as you used to with PC gaming. If you get a laptop for around £1100~£1300 right now, you'll probably be set for a long while.

As previously mentioned, as long as you look for a laptop with a HDMI port, you're golden. Also, there are tonnes of USB and wireless controllers available for laptops, just make sure you get a laptop with enough USB ports (splitters always seem to make controllers a bit less responsive, in my experience).

If it helps, here's some specs for what your new laptop would need to run Oculus 2: Oculus Quest 2 System Requirements; What do you need to run the Oculus Quest 2? (republicworld.com)

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