What computers to buy for Chess? [Solved]

[j2mcgreg]

Just my 2 cents. If you really want to compete in computer chess and need A LOT of power, I'd recommend you rather go for a desktop system than a laptop. Cost/performance and heat dissipation should be much better for these.

That's true to an extent, but money is an issue for @keos and high end desktops definitely have "sellers' market" pricing.

[MadMax]

Are laptops that cheap nowadays? I'm not super up-to-date when it comes to recent hardware, but I'd expected for similar performance a laptop would always be the more expensive choice.

Also note the mobile version of a GPU has A LOT less performance than the desktop version even if the naming is the same.

See for example here: https://technical.city/en/video/GeForce ... e-RTX-3060

[Buck Fankers]

Also note the mobile version of a GPU has A LOT less performance than the desktop version even if the naming is the same.

I will second @MadMax here. In the past, for the same amount of money, you always got better performance with desktop.

Or saying it other ways, same performance will cost less with desktop.

With laptop, you get portability. With desktop, you get performance. OP should be able to save money or get better results with the desktop comparing to laptop.

[j2mcgreg]

Are laptops that cheap nowadays? I'm not super up-to-date when it comes to recent hardware, but I'd expected for similar performance a laptop would always be the more expensive choice.

Also note the mobile version of a GPU has A LOT less performance than the desktop version even if the naming is the same.

See for example here: https://technical.city/en/video/GeForce ... e-RTX-3060

The problem with the comparison is that nowhere are the specs for the laptop and desktop that were used as test benches, listed. Without that information, the comparison is meaningless.

[j2mcgreg]

This is about getting keos the most bang for his limited budget. The problem with desktops is that the market for them has shrunk quite dramatically over the last few years and has become a sellers market where prices remain fairly constant year over year. A desktop equipped with a RTX-3060 (but otherwise similarly spec’d to a gaming laptop) is in the $1200 -- $1300 range and a monitor that will get the best out of that card will ad another $200 -- $300 to the overall price. On the other hand, the laptop market is highly competitive due to economy of scale:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economies_of_scale

This means that while laptops buyers will see substantial price cuts during the annual June -July inventory clearouts the same won’t be true for desktop buyers. This is key to keos’s situation. He can afford a marked down gaming laptop, but a slightly discounted gaming desktop is still beyond his reach.

[keos]

https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-IdeaPad-C ... =8-2-fkmr0

Couldn't this be a better candidate?

[j2mcgreg]

Personally, I don't like the build quality of the Ideapads. Your mileage may vary.

[keos]

I understand, they are considered the cheapest on the market but if it is capable of "doing the job" ... and if Linux is installable ...

What do you think ...? trying to put yourself in my situation ...

[j2mcgreg]

I understand, they are considered the cheapest on the market but if it is capable of "doing the job" ... and if Linux is installable ...

What do you think ...? trying to put yourself in my situation ...

What's the most you would be comfortable spending?

[Buck Fankers]

The problem with desktops is that the market for them has shrunk quite dramatically over the last few years and has become a sellers market where prices remain fairly constant year over year.

Ah, I see, had no clue, my bad and thanks