Desktop or Laptop?

[Berryracer]

I have switched from Desktops to Laptops about 7 years ago and never looked back. Especially as the specs of laptops have become very fast these days. I do however always get a desktop replacement (17 inch screen, good graphics chipset) even thought the laptop stays at home all the time. I just like the idea more that should I need to take it with me somewhere I easily can...

Do people buy desktops anymore?

 

[OBLAMA2009]

i leave my stuff on all the time and i like 1900x1080 so i have to have a desktop. desktops also have fewer quirks, unlike say, my new hp laptop the sometimes wont boot when i turn it on. also i hate the hassle of having to unplug something and set it up. ill always keep a couple desktops wherever i spend a significant amount of time. laptops sometimes only feel snappy because they have low res screens

 

[mnewsham]

i leave my stuff on all the time and i like 1900x1080 so i have to have a desktop. desktops also have fewer quirks, unlike say, my new hp laptop the sometimes wont boot when i turn it on. also i hate the hassle of having to unplug something and set it up. ill always keep a couple desktops wherever i spend a significant amount of time. laptops sometimes only feel snappy because they have low res screens

My last laptop was 1920x1080, quad core i7, and AMD HD6990m GPU, with 8GB of RAM and a 240GB SSD, it was no slouch.

That being said, i prefer the ease of changing parts and cleaning a dekstop as well as the lower price for the same performance. (and I can get 2560x1600 😀 easier than a laptop)

 

[OBLAMA2009]

My last laptop was 1920x1080, quad core i7, and AMD HD6990m GPU, with 8GB of RAM and a 240GB SSD, it was no slouch.

That being said, i prefer the ease of changing parts and cleaning a dekstop as well as the lower price for the same performance. (and I can get 2560x1600 😀 easier than a laptop)

desktop parts are more durable. if you left a laptop on 24/7 im sure the power supply would burn out in a year, or something else would go bad at an inopportune time that would be expensive to replace. ya never have to worry with a desktop

 

[mnewsham]

desktop parts are more durable. if you left a laptop on 24/7 im sure the power supply would burn out in a year, or something else would go bad at an inopportune time that would be expensive to replace. ya never have to worry with a desktop

it's like you didn't read the next line down... I agree with desktops being superior, you were saying laptops have lower resolution, which really isn't true as 1920x1080 15 and 17 inch screens are getting more and more common.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

it's like you didn't read the next line down... I agree with desktops being superior, you were saying laptops have lower resolution, which really isn't true as 1920x1080 15 and 17 inch screens are getting more and more common.

yeah but theyre a lot more expensive and hard to see on laptops. i didnt know they have 1900x1080, at least on many. arent most 17 inches 1600x900. if i could only have one computer it would definitely be a nice desktop

 

[mnewsham]

yeah but theyre a lot more expensive and hard to see on laptops. i didnt know they have 1900x1080, at least on many. arent most 17 inches 1600x900. if i could only have one computer it would definitely be a nice desktop

If you are looking at cheap consumer laptops from staples, office depot, etc. Then yeah, most laptops will be 1366x768 or 1600x900 or something similar, however with actual decent quality laptops ($700+) you get decent quality 1920x1080, and if you are willing to pay for it you can even get a 12.85" screen with 2560x1700 resolution, which is more than pretty much any desktop display (besides new 4k TV's coming out)

 

[frozentundra123456]

If you are looking at cheap consumer laptops from staples, office depot, etc. Then yeah, most laptops will be 1366x768 or 1600x900 or something similar, however with actual decent quality laptops ($700+) you get decent quality 1920x1080, and if you are willing to pay for it you can even get a 12.85" screen with 2560x1700 resolution, which is more than pretty much any desktop display (besides new 4k TV's coming out)

Problem is more than resolution. I have a 15in laptop for work and a 23in monitor for my desktop at home. Both are 1080p, but I guarantee you that any kind of productivity work is far easier on the 23in screen.

Desktops also run cooler, can be upgraded and repaired, and give more performance for the money.

 

[mnewsham]

Problem is more than resolution. I have a 15in laptop for work and a 23in monitor for my desktop at home. Both are 1080p, but I guarantee you that any kind of productivity work is far easier on the 23in screen.

Desktops also run cooler, can be upgraded and repaired, and give more performance for the money.

Does anyone not read what I actually wrote in my FIRST reply? I even voted for desktops being superior...

All I am really doing is calling out oblama for talking BS when he said they dont have good resolution, I fully agree desktops are much better for price, performance, and for ease of use.

sheesh

 

[jaqie]

desktop parts are more durable. if you left a laptop on 24/7 im sure the power supply would burn out in a year, or something else would go bad at an inopportune time that would be expensive to replace. ya never have to worry with a desktop

Not true, and also not true.
I buy used laptops and use them for chatting and other things (which depending on their age, some of mine are rather old, is hard work for them)... some of them stay on 24/7 and I have never had one 'burn out' a power supply or any other problems, except the original hard drives dying because I am clumsy and bump them a lot.

Cheap desktop parts fail far more often than the laptops in my experience, with the exception of laptop keyboards and also when the laptop is abused, but then again desktop keyboards wear out on me very quickly too, except for unicomp model M (true buckling spring keyboards, still made new). Good desktop parts are the only desktop parts that are very reliable.

For the curious, I have a toshiba pentium dual core (like core 2 duo, lower fsb, less L2 cache) 1.87GHz with 3GB ram 15" widescreen laptop.... an ibm x41 12.1" pentium mobile 1.5GHz with 2GB ram... Dell laditude C810 P3 1.13GHz with 14" 1600x1200 dsiplay, geforce4go 32mb video module.... and I just bought for $25 shipped on ebay a toshiba portege 2000 pentium 3 mobile 750MHz ultraportable laptop (forgot screen size and res, very close to my x41 almost certainly).

 

[frozentundra123456]

Does anyone not read what I actually wrote in my FIRST reply? I even voted for desktops being superior...

All I am really doing is calling out oblama for talking BS when he said they dont have good resolution, I fully agree desktops are much better for price, performance, and for ease of use.

sheesh

My comment about screen size was in reply to your post, but the other parts were just general comments.

Actually, I dont have a smartphone, but a tablet for portable computing. I really hate the tablet though.

For most people, I think a desktop for ease of use and longevity and a smartphone is a good combination. Maybe in a few years, you will only need a phone that can plug into a dock with a big screen (edit--and real keyboard), but you still have a basically throw away device if it breaks or becomes outdated. I also would not be willing to give up windows.

 

[Torn Mind]

Laptops are good for bringing with you and downloading from the faster public WiFI.

Desktops give you more oomph and a big ass monitor.

I like both.

 

[Drsignguy]

Both have their advantages and both can be very reliable as long as you take care of them. I like the easy access that a laptop/tablet offers when traveling. As for desktops, the girth and guts of them can be awesome. I mainly use my desktops for DC and I need the horsepower. Laptops are for my surfing, finance and other minor activities so I don't interfere with the work the desktops are doing. But when I decide to game, I stop F@H on my main PC and enjoy my time.
As for buying PC's, I don't know many in this forum who do? Building them is what I prefer. I bought 1 computer, my 1st computer in my early years. That was in 1994. Since then I have always built them. ��

 

[BrightCandle]

Laptop monitors tend to have worse colour balance and latency than the desktop ones. So while the resolutions can be decent the monitors themselves often aren't as they favour power saving over accuracy or performance.

Desktop GPUs are without a doubt considerably faster. Desktop graphics are cheaper and dramatically better for games.

Desktop CPUs have much better base clocks which means on heavy utilisation they perform quite a lot better. In addition on the desktop you can get CPUs that have more cores and high clock speeds and boosts. All in all CPU performance is somewhat higher although its not as big a difference as graphics.

For the same price you should get more performance on a desktop compared to a laptop. Its not as big a difference as it was 5 years ago bit there is still a price difference.

 

[amabre]

I prefer desktop

 

[stargazr]

I switched to laptops for a few years. I still do a lot of stuff easier accomplished on a desktop so built one about three years ago. Also upgraded to a 24" Dell monitor.

I have my old IBM T60, and occasionally use it for surfing while watching tv or travelling.

 

[corkyg]

I don't see it as a "either or" choice. I have 2 desktops and 2 laptops. The laptop is for travel - desktops don't do that very well. When at home, I prefer to use the desktop (actually, floortop!) 🙂

What ever turns your crank.

 

[Zodiark1593]

My last laptop was 1920x1080, quad core i7, and AMD HD6990m GPU, with 8GB of RAM and a 240GB SSD, it was no slouch.

That being said, i prefer the ease of changing parts and cleaning a dekstop as well as the lower price for the same performance. (and I can get 2560x1600 😀 easier than a laptop)

He he, you cannot get that sort of resolution in any laptop I know of, apart from the Macbook Retina, and the hardware in that laptop is nowhere near worthy of such a beautiful display. Quite the waste if you ask me. :\

While I've been wanting a desktop machine for a long time, there's something to be said for having a powerful machine you can take with you. That, and my current living arrangement makes the desktop somewhat impractical as my closet sized room leaves me no space for sitting at a desk.

 

[Cerb]

Do people buy desktops anymore?

Yes, because they're superior, if you can be at them. A good keyboard and pointing device are far superior to an integrated keyboard and trackpad/titmouse, not to mention a display at a greater distance and higher relative position. Also, more non-hubbed USB ports, typically (10-16, these days). You can use a docking station, but that usually ends up resulting in spending almost as much as just getting a desktop, unless you have expensive software that needs to be on both, and you then also only have one reasonably powerful computer, so if it breaks...

Also, you tend to pay a lot more for the performance, for gaming hardware in mobile form factors. Oh, and how many mobile Xeons are available?

But, you can't take your desktop with you. How much computing power do you need on the go? If I can play Netflix, and have a decent keyboard, I'm good.