laptop vs desktop

hello,
you have probaly seen my threads about me getting a new pc for myself soon.
if i got a desktop i would be forever wondering what OS to get and what graphics card to get etc etc.
but with a laptop you get the same laptop for the same price but now it has vista instead of xp saving costs.
i dont need a good graphics card becauee i only play one online game and that will work as long as the cpu is good enough.
so a laptop seems ideal.
but you cant upgrade a laptop so its it is when you buy it.
also almost all laptops have bulti in wireless cards.
but with a desktop i can upgrade it later if i want to e.g. get a better cpu etc.
but if i got a desktop it would have to be placed upstairs since thats the only place i would have room for it.
i also hate lots of cables so i like the idea of a laptop.
laptops are more expensive than desktops but can be moved easy.

weighing up the pros and cons of deskop and laptops is hard so i hope someone can help me add some more pros and cons
i think ive got quite alot of pros and cons for both thou.
thanks in advance
lodore

 

Hi lodore,

Using both a laptop and desktop, I feel strongly that one should never buy a laptop strictly for home use. In doing so, 'you will pay a lot more for less'. A laptop brings with it a lot of user-inconveniences, such as a cramped keyboard, a touchpad (which is a poor substitute for a mouse), plus those that you mentioned. Sure you can always connect a separate keyboard and mouse, but then you lose a lose a lot of the laptop's portability.

If you think you would use your laptop away from your home, then it may make sense to consider getting one. Otherwise, I say forget about it.

 

Here are the things you can upgrade on a laptop:
CPU, memory, hard-drive, disc drive, wireless card, sound card(pc card) and you can/will also be able to use external video cards if Asus' new product is any good through he expresscard slot.

 

thanks for your imput Pvsurfer.
the thing is if i had a desktop there is only one place to put it and thats upstairs.
I prefer to use a pc downstairs but i cant seem to find room.
where my pc is now is like the perfect place but since this pc will stay here when i get eiether a desktop or laptop i cant place it there.
im trying to work out what graphics card for a pc i would need just to play the sims 2 and the expansion packs but no other games and if i got vista then i would want a graphics card to do the above and display the full aero.
thanks for the imput viking storm.
how can you upgrade the cpu in a laptop i didnt think you could?
lodore

 

When it comes to bang for the $$ a desktop wins hands down. However as mentioned by VikingStorm laptops are upgradeable depending on it`s original configuration, what the mobo. will support, just like a desktop. I know several people who have bought laptops as their only PC. But then they also bought a larger stand alone flat panel monitor (I plan on this as well), separate keyboard and mouse to use when docked. Sort of the best of both worlds, mobile or at home on their desk, but more $$$.

 

Their connected to the mobo. in the same fashion as any processor depending on the socket type. Just a bit more cramped for space. One thing to keep in mind with a laptop, the heat build-up potential due to the confined space is potentially greater. I never operate my laptop lying flat on any surface. I`m sure the newer ones are far better at cooling but my old Thinkpad gets quit warm on the bottom in the area of the HDD and processor.

ADD`EDUsually the cost of a shop working on a laptop is higher too. If you plan upgrades in the future you may want to learn to work on them yourself.

 

i have found out that for £500 for the laptop i got a amd TL-52 and only on board graphics... and vista home premium
but for only £400 for a desktop i can get a 7300gt graphics card a an intel core duo 1.8ghz processer which is alot better deal.
for around £440 i can have the above for the desktop plus an external HD for backup
it seems on the dell website they only ship with monitors
I already got a monitor.
so it seems its got to be a desktop.
thanks for your imput Thunderz
lodore

 

Hello,

I don't think I'll buy a laptop for home use unless it's a fifth or sixth computer. I do have a laptop from work and I hate it. It's a corporate cookie with 70 processes at startup, 40 of which I had killed the second day at work.

Anyhow, desktops offer so much more, are so much more flexible, upgradable. Laptops are good for people who need to work on the move, present at conferences, impress chick when travelling by train etc.

Laptops also have annoyingly small and unfriendly keyboards - I hate them. And touchpads are even worse.

Go with the desktop.

Mrk

 

Impress chick,with a laptop?LMAO!

 

Hello,

You sit there, play with the mouse, scrolling up and down. And when they take interest, you explain how wise you are, being an engineer or such, with laptop and stuff and all mighty gangsta attitude.

Sadly, I have seen many a moron do the above. Except I would do it with KDE.

Mrk

 

Again,LMAO!If said chick is that,not dumb but STUPID,why waste time?Unless some guy is that hard up.

 

Let's give women more credit,what say?

 

without one hell of a compelling need for mobility,
Id be square in the desktop camp

1. typically a far better (or at least capable of being improved)
thermal solution, which directly leads to longer life (for the computer )

2. since you dont move desktops much, and provided your not a dimwit that places one under the desk where it gets kicked, the life expectancy of the HDD is still better than a laptop (all the smaller platter, acceleration gizmos not withstanding) better data reliability.

3. Anything you buy for it can be swapped to other boxes (if compatible)
a great advantage in troubleshooting and lengthening the utility value past the weakest link of a turnkey solution.

4. You can't "really" build your own laptop (well you can but its a bitch)
and get stuck with the pre-sold OS plus generally a butt load of crapware.
If that means Vista, add another strike. (In the event your forced, turn the OS back in for a rebate)

5. Used laptops are a substantially greater risk than used desktops, did they treat them as a football? Have a bad appreciation of thermal realities? Properly recharge them, drain them to catatonia regularly? This preface is a consideration that new laptops are generally what one would want, but are invariably expensive. Most of that investment will evaporate away within months. Whereas in a desktop you can buy back from the bleeding edge into some damn powerful bang for your buck. (with new components)

conclusion
if you "need" mobility, what do you need it for? will a truly ancient (and cheap) laptop do? Take a risk, plan on a new HDD and battery. You could buy 5 for the price of a new one. You might buy an old one and a desktop back from the cutting edge for the same price.

whenever Im forced to shrink from dual 21" monitors into a wee little laptop LCD I feel like Ive been stuffed into a cardboard box, and whenever Im forced to use a damn touchpad instead of a proper 5 button mouse, I seriously want to kill something or someone (upto and including myself )

 

It's much more likely that a laptop would get stolen or dropped than a desktop unit. How important is being portable?
Rick

 

ok basically there is one room in the house that will be the right size for the desktop. that is what used to be my sister's room but she's at university so its only used in holidays. its just annoying i wont be able to put it anywhere downstairs. so portablity erm.... not sure.
i will try to find a location that is downstairs for the pc because i would hate to have my pc upstairs.
lodore

 

With everything already said by other posters, I would add just this: while the glamor (value) of newly bought desktop inevitably diminishes in time, this process is much quicker with laptops - you will lose more money in same time. That said, a laptop is 2-3 times more expensive than the desktop with same specs. Laptops are a sort of luxury...

Cheers

 

my pc is two years old and fills quite slow these days......
i think unless i need the portability i should get a desktop.
since my budget is only around £400-500 the desktop will give me alot better value.
plus later on i can maybe get a raptor HD
so i think it will have to be a desktop.
but still make comments.
lodore

 

lodore, maybe you should consider a small form factor PC (such as those from Shuttle XPC or build your own). its still upgradeable (tho limited) like a PC but it takes up less space.

 

can you get one for around £400-500?
lodore

 

prebuilt? probably. or you can build your own too.

 

ye prebult
i cant find much on a google search for pre bulti small form factor pc's
all it needs is a e.g. 7300gs or gt graphics card, one 80gb HD and a 1.8ghz intel core duo processer no more no less.
or even an amd 3800 instead of the core duo.
that should fit in a small form factor pc no problem but i cant find links for pre bulti ones hopefully someone can?
would you need a special smaller mobo for the smaller case? and a half height gpu? if building myself?
i was just looking at the barbone compact pc's socket 775 at scan.
e.g. this one
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=151227
does it come with the mobo and psu?
lodore

 

Get a desktop,Quad Core,8800GTX,and 8g of ram, Running Ubuntu/Gnu Linux

 

would be nice if i could afford that
lodore

 

Lodore,
How often have you performed an upgrade of your current system?
What I mean is, a desktop is more flexible, but only when you open it and perform the upgrades.
It sounds to me that your heart goes to a laptop, but you fear that you would loose the nature of replacable components of the desktop.
I would be happy with a decent laptop, it has advantages...

 

lodore,
I agree with Wilbertnl. I have a desktop sitting in a room that is very inconvenient to where I spend most of my time in the house. Some friends told me about refurbished laptops at HP (small business models) -- they have had good service out of them. A few weeks ago when HP ran a "spring break special" upgrading the service agreement from 1 year to 3 years, I bought a laptop (hey, they also threw in a mouse! ). I love the mobility, but don't know if I would want to play games on it.