Replacing desktop with laptop?

[nanette1985]

Thinking of replacing my desktop with a laptop since I'm probably going to be moving a lot in the coming months and want to be as portable as possible.

I already have a small laptop that I carry everyday. I'd need something with a bigger screen and a lot more power/flexibility, but it doesn't really have to be easy to carry, just easier to move than my current system.

What do I need to consider?

 

[Ns1]

What do I need to consider?

whore slickdeals/fatwallet and buy the best laptop you can afford that will meet your needs

 

[mnewsham]

yea replacing a desktop with a laptop is hard, look at about a 2x increase in price for the same performance

 

[Ns1]

yea replacing a desktop with a laptop is hard, look at about a 2x increase in price for the same performance

sometimes you gotta take a look at your uses and say "do I really need all this power for THAT?"

 

[beginner99]

Thinking of replacing my desktop with a laptop since I'm probably going to be moving a lot in the coming months and want to be as portable as possible.

I already have a small laptop that I carry everyday. I'd need something with a bigger screen and a lot more power/flexibility, but it doesn't really have to be easy to carry, just easier to move than my current system.

What do I need to consider?

What do you plan on doing? Browsing? Gaming? Photoshop or development? ...
Next question if you can live with glossy screen or not. Gives you a lot more options at cheaper prices.
I like the new XPS 15 but then it is glossy. Or can it be bigger and heavier? HP Envy 17 is nice too.

 

[Away]

What is your budget and what do you plan on using it for?

 

[OS]

15.6" is a good size for more desk use but retaining portability, just try to get one less than 5.5 lbs

 

[corkyg]

I see a difference between portability and mobility. Portability to me implies occasional relocation, and no real limits of weight and size. Mobility would be frequent travel, often by air, where size and weight are significant.

So, for a portable desktop system, I would go as big as I could afford - even an 18-incher, whereas for mobility I would limit size to 15.6 or smaller.

The rest of the choice would depend on budget, usage, etc.

These days, portability can often be achieved with a SFF desktop.

 

[Trader05]

I've did this a couple times between deals and moving. I have to keep reminding myself as an old school pc gamer, I dont game any more, so building a high spec pc is absolutely overkill of my needs now. Needless to say, the main things that really made me switch back to a desktop is the monitor screen resolution and hard drive performance.

I recently bought an Intel X-25M 120gb (i have a Raided NAS for most of my files) for my laptop, and I will not switch back to a traditional laptop hard drive. I know this is also beneficial to a desktop, but if you want to keep it in a smaller performance package, i'd highly recommend it. Im real picky with laptop screen resolutions and there are tons of 1366x768 screens on mid-to-high end laptops today. I personally need 15" 1600x900 or above to actually multitask on my laptop.

 

[jjmIII]

So, for a portable desktop system, I would go as big as I could afford - even an 18-incher

.....

Agreed! LOVE my 18.4" and use it all the time. Was only $1050 delivered 18 months ago.

 

[TheStu]

OP, why not get a large monitor to hook up to at home? That plus the laptop won't use much space, and gives you the bigger screen without too much outlay.

 

[Emulex]

8760w dreamcolor2