Question upgrade current pc or buy new gaming laptop?

[Cslim278]

Alright so I'm in a bit of a quandary here. I bought a gaming desktop from cyberpower PC in 2013 and am now questioning if I should dump money into upgrading it or buy a new laptop for gaming. I'll throw in the spec list at the end. I used the PC mainly for a year or so of world of warcraft. It hasn't received too much usage since I bought it so I haven't upgraded a single piece of hardware. Now that I'm beginning to entertain the idea of WoW gaming again, I'm not sure how much of my hardware needs to be replaced. I used it a bit about a year ago and the HDD(I think) was starting to go out. I'm a novice to say the least when it comes to working on my rig so keep that in mind before you want me to tear everything out and replace the motherboard(which may need to be done at this point idk). When upgrading the memory, I wanted to make the switch to SSD but I think my liquid cooling system is only for hard disc? I just have far more questions than answers and just want to know if this rig is a lost cause or if I could make it work by just swapping out a few pieces of hardware. My performance needs are essentially to play world of warcraft at descent FPS and highish graphic quality. Sorry if that's too vague. Let me know if I didn't explain something enough or if you have any other questions

Spec List:
Code: BLKPEARL $1,587.00 x 1 $1,587.00
CyberPower Black Pearl
CyberPower Black Pearl

*BASE_PRICE: [+1220]
BLUETOOTH: None
CAS: * Cooler Master Storm Stryker Full Tower Gaming Case w/ 200mm Fan, Integrated Fan Controller, Front USB 3.0 & X-Dock, and Easy Carry Handle [+26]
CASUPGRADE: None
CD: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
CD2: None
COOLANT: Standard Coolant
CPU: Intel(R) Core™ i7-3820 Quad-Core 3.60 GHz 10MB Intel Smart Cache LGA2011 (All Venom OC Certified)
CS_FAN: Maximum 120MM Color Case Cooling Fans for your selected case [+15] (Green Color [+0])
ENGRAVING: None
FA_HDD: Vigor iSURF II Hard Disk Drive Cooling System [+21] (1 x System)
FAN: Corsair Hydro Series H90 High Performance Liquid Cooling System 140MM Radiator & Fan [+46]
FLASHMEDIA: None
FREEBIE_VC: None
FREEBIE_VC2: None
GLASSES: None
HDD: 2TB (2TBx1) SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Drive)
HDD2: None
HEADSET1: AZiO GH808 USB Circumaural Gaming Headset w/ Foldable Microphone [+43]
IEEE_CARD: None
IUSB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
KEYBOARD1: AZZA Multimedia USB Gaming Keyboard [+5]
MEMORY: 16GB (4GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Quad Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
MONITOR: 19" Widescreen 1366x768 Sceptre X195W-NAGA 5ms TFT Active Matrix LCD Display LCD (Black Color) [+125]
MONITOR2: None
MONITOR3: None
MOTHERBOARD: (SLI/CrossFireX Support) MSI X79A-GD45 Plus Intel X79 Chipset Quad Channel DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ Winki 3, OC Genie II, 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, 3 Gen3 PCIe X16 & 4 PCIe X1
MOUSE1: AZZA Optical 1600dpi Gaming Mouse with Weight Adjustable Cartridge [+4]
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Microsoft(R) Windows 7 Home Premium [+0] (64-bit Edition)
OVERCLOCK: No Overclocking
POWERSUPPLY: 800 Watts - Standard 80 Plus Certified Power Supply - SLI/CrossFireX Ready
RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
SPEAKERS: None
TABLET: None
TEMP: None
TUNING: None
TVRC: None
USB: None
USBFLASH: None
USBHD: None
USBX: None
VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 2GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card [+82] (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
VIDEO2: None
VIDEO3: None
WNC: None

 

[N0ddie]

I'd say the only thing you could reuse from your current PC would be the power supply and HDD (as a game storage drive, you want an SSD for the OS).

Also, whats is yer budget?

 

[goldenbear994]

I think updating the HDD to an SSD will be enough. And as Noddie said, you might want to upgrade the PSU to a Gold one.

 

[TheNameIsJambo]

I just bought a PCSpecialist Vortex IX - PCSPECIALIST - Configure the VortexIX 15 to your ideal requirements.

The performance gap between desktops and laptops is diminishing to the stage that you don't need a desktop - or at least, I don't, in my opinion. You just need to be willing to have to pay the premium to replace all of the components at once, as opposed to buying a new GPU and a stick of RAM every couple of years until the CPU is obsolete.

See the spec. of my new laptop below:

Spoiler: Laptop Details

Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 15.6" 4K Glossy OLED Widescreen (3840x2160) (No G-Sync)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor 9750H (2.6GHz, 4.5GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2070 - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Battery
Vortex IX Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
COOLER MASTER MASTERGEL MAKER THERMAL COMPOUND
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
MULTI COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

Obviously, that's a reasonably high-end gaming laptop. You could get something much cheaper that would suit your WoW needs!

Give these custom laptop chassis folks a look. You might see something you like.

 

[Sloppy Bob]

I've had nothing but high-end laptops for years and am now about to dip into the world of building my own PC.

Laptops are ultimately fragile compared to PC's. My current one, an Alienware refurb has lasted about 4 years and that's by far the longest of any laptop I've had. I've replaced some parts on it and replaced the thermal compund on the CPU and GPU but it's shutting down when under load due to heat. They're hard to work on, difficult to source parts for and very rarely upgradeable. Cooling is an issue and you pay a large premium for the form-factor.
You could spend the same money on a PC and a laptop and the PC would have a much higher spec or you could spec your PC the same as the laptop for a lot cheaper.

If you try to get a decent size screen on them as well @ 17" plus then forget taking it anywhere with you other than around the house or if you're taking the car. Lugging a 17" laptop around all day on public transport isn't fun. I only did it once.