Laptop Or Desktop For College?

So i'm going to college in vermont next year and I need a new computer thats gunna replace my Xbox for gaming (i've wanted to start pc gaming for awhile now, this is my excuse to buy a computer capable of it). I know a laptop offers me the mobility I need but I don't want the gaming I do to destroy this computer in 2 years. Are my fears that my laptop will burn out warranted? I'll be playing battlefield 3, Skyrim, Borderlands 2 and a bunch of others but mostly games like that. 

This is the Laptop: http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np6370-clevo-w370et-p-4796.html

Finally, is all this laptop crap silly? should I just go with a desktop? 

I have a laptop now that I could theoretically use for class and just keep the desktop in my room but its like a 10 year old macbook that i've kind of been looking forward to junking

Thank You

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don't buy a gaming laptop

Gaming desktop, netbook/cheap laptop or tablet for portability.

And yes, all this talk of laptops is silly. The power in a laptop isn't anywhere near the power in a desktop.

straight to the point I like it

get a desktop. get a laptop.

you can get a referbished thinkpad with a new battery for arround 200 bucks, or a decent laptop that can play most games on medium/high for arround 500.

 

personally, when i got to uni, gaming became very limited, maybe once a week... and its normally on the xbox with my girlfriend who is back at my home town. i have a laptop and a gaming pc, but the gaming pc isnt even plugged in. i use my laptop for everything. IF you know your are going to be gaming a lot then get a desktop. if your going into any hard STEMs based major, dont bother with the desk top.

Saw a T-series on craigslist with all the bells and whistles for $60

yeah, thinkpads are amazing. they are the poor-mans toughbook. my only gripe with them is they dont have the 10-key part of the keyboard... and i program a lot. love me that 10key

I mean the laptop seemed like the best option because it can do everything (in moderation) while still remaining mobile. I saw on another post that gaming can wear down a laptop alot due to excessive heat, poor ventilation etc. how often would I have to be gaming to really do that? Would 2-3 hour stints a couple nights a week really shorten my laptops life that much?

Get a nice, solid, custom build PC for gaming, and buy some cheap-ass laptop so you can move around and always be connected!

I'm also not aware of what the internet set up is gunna be like once I get there, is it quite difficult to get desktops running on wifi? 

Get a cheap used laptop or maybe a chrome book, replace the mechanical hard drive with a small SSD to make it a bit snappier and add to battery life. Then get an External hard drive for your work/notes done while in class, then you can do work on each. Try to make sure the build quality is strong enough for all the transportation too. That Nexus 7 seems nice though! The tablet alternative could work better because laptops hinges and screens can be pretty flimsy. I just dunno how comfortable it'd be typing on it.

Focus on the gaming desktop and get the thought of a gaming laptop out of your head.

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=78803

also buy one of these

http://www.google.com/nexus/7/

it has a little omph and then some

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/F2bL

This is the build I just came up with do you guys see anything I could improve on or any obvious problems? 

Thanks for all the input guys, especially Rinzler. 

its win with vnc, had a download manager running on it as well through my N56U. Plus with the major benefit you can do everything remotely (ssh, vnc, yadda-e-yadda). You can even run ubuntu natively if you know what you're doing.

Also:

http://teksyndicate.com/forum/android

Also before we go any further whats your budget? do you have an outline of exactly what you want?

that just went over my head no idea what any of that meant lol

I'd like to have all my peripherals and the rig for a grand if thats possible.

It can be done, you could even throw a tablet in there

yeah lol I mean that doesnt need to go into the budget i'm making good money at my job so theres time to look at tablets later

 

you're already taking the right steps, lateral thinking is the right way to go