long time PC builder here...thinking of going to a laptop instead

so i've been building gaming pc's since the early 90's and have enjoyed pc gaming, as well as the cost savings of being able to upgrade a few components in my rig every 2-3 years to play the latest games at decent settings. however, things have changed....

1. pc gaming isn't what it used to be at least in my case (i'm not a big WoW player and the only thing that excites me right now is Diablo 3. i dont like RTS games AT ALL and most FPS games i get for my 360 so i can play with friends and stuff)

2. married and have a 1 year old son - so basically when my pc starts messing up (fan goes out, or whatever) it's a CHORE now instead of it being fun like it used to be. its a chore because i dont have the time anymore.

i like having a separate keyboard/mouse and large external monitor and use the pc on a desk....so if i did indeed switch to a laptop, it would need to be in a docking station. anyway, i work in IT and ive noticed over the years that even the crappiest of laptops have fewer problems than the desktops. so i guess what im wondering now is....would i be better off sticking with a GOOD laptop instead of a custom built gaming rig?

what do you guys think? most of my gaming is now done on the 360...and i actually prefer it on the console now. although diablo 3 is something i'm really looking forward to.

Right now I'm in this situation, my main gaming desktop has basically crapped out on me and now sits in a corner gutted except the borked motherboard and burned out CPU. I don't have the cash really do do a new system with my bills and everything so I just been using my laptop which is a MacBook Pro late-2008 model. Really I have no use to push pc gaming right now like Crysis and have been mainly playing older games on it. I would check into companies like Sager or PowerPro. Check this site to kind of gauge what is going on http://www.powernotebooks.com/ They offer pretty competitive pricing that isn't insane like Alienware, Falcon Northwest or Voodoo.

Right now I'm in this situation, my main gaming desktop has basically crapped out on me and now sits in a corner gutted except the borked motherboard and burned out CPU. I don't have the cash really do do a new system with my bills and everything so I just been using my laptop which is a MacBook Pro late-2008 model. Really I have no use to push pc gaming right now like Crysis and have been mainly playing older games on it. I would check into companies like Sager or PowerPro. Check this site to kind of gauge what is going on http://www.powernotebooks.com/ They offer pretty competitive pricing that isn't insane like Alienware, Falcon Northwest or Voodoo.

xXDrPainXx

Right now I'm in this situation, my main gaming desktop has basically crapped out on me and now sits in a corner gutted except the borked motherboard and burned out CPU. I don't have the cash really do do a new system with my bills and everything so I just been using my laptop which is a MacBook Pro late-2008 model. Really I have no use to push pc gaming right now like Crysis and have been mainly playing older games on it. I would check into companies like Sager or PowerPro. Check this site to kind of gauge what is going on http://www.powernotebooks.com/ They offer pretty competitive pricing that isn't insane like Alienware, Falcon Northwest or Voodoo.

Well no "gaming" laptop is good for long term use, 3-4 years tops maybe 5 if you can stretch it. As far as features goes it comes down to what do you want in the machine, personally I wouldn't settle for any laptop with less then a 8600M GT in it and avoid getting something with a 4 or a 5 in it like a 9400M GT. You could probably get away with getting something with a 9600M GT in it to give you that extra year or 2. I used to have to game on a Dell XPS Gen 1 with a ATI 9800M and that thing last me from 2005-2007 and it did play Oblivion pretty decently on it.xXDrPainXx

but like i said, my pc gaming has gone downhill big time in the last 2-3 years. the xbox 360 has become my gaming platform of choice. so i hate to say it, but my awesome custom built rigs are no longer that necessary for what i want. i want a fast pc that can do every day stuff...i'm just wondering if a laptop is what i want or should i just save money and get a cheap Dell desktop or something.