Desktop vs. laptop ? from a noob

B

bevo barry

500+ Posts
Well, I'm not a total noob when it comes to computers, but I am definitely not very computer savvy. Anyway, I am one of those rare U.S. adults with a college degree and with a decent income who does not own a home computer or a personal laptop. Years ago my work gave us all desktops with pretty much unlimited e-mail and Intenet access (of course, no porn and recently they told us no more youtube) and the Net access was quite rapid at that. Because of all the hours I spend at work, and the fact that I am almost always in the office 7 days a week, I didn't see the point of getting a home computer.

But now retirement is on the horizon (hopefully September of next year) and with me leaving the workplace I'll be leaving my Net and e-mail access. So for a guy like me, who basically just wants to surf the Net and have e-mail access and who will be into downloading music (and that is pretty much it), should I go desktop or laptop? I am an infrequent traveler and about my only out-of-town excursions will be to Austin or Dallas to see the Horns once or twice a year and the occasional vacation to Vegas or to my wife's family in Albuquerque, so I won't need a laptop for that reason.
 
Sounds like you said it yourself to go desktop. The general rule of thumb with a desktop is you get twice the power for half the price of a laptop.
 
I have a desktop and a laptop. Although I travel on business a lot and need it for work, I find that I like using my laptop at home more. Having the added convenience of being able to use the computer anywhere in my house as opposed to having to go sit at a desk is more of benefit then the additional hard drive space.or power.
 
We have a desktop, and we use it all the time. It's in a room by itself (well, there's a radio and some bookcases and some other stuff also..). It's nice, you can sit down and not be bothered by (or bother) other folks.

Our daughter has a new laptop, but she quite honestly prefers the desktop to do schoolwork and stuff. Now next year, when she goes off to college, she will really use and rely on the laptop.

One other thing is laptops tend to be somewhat fragile, especially the monitors. And (I believe? Not 100% sure) cost a little more to repair.

But then, of you travel much, you can bring the laptop along, if you want to.
 
If you like working at your desk and do all your surfing there go with a desktop and save yourself some money. I like to move around my house and do stuff in front of the tv so a notebook is a must for me.
 
I'd suggest a MacBook with an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse. This gives you the option of using it as a laptop or a desktop. I use a Dell laptop at work in this arrangement and a MacBook at home the same way. The difference is the MacBook easily switches from internal monitor/keyboard/mouse to external without any problem. The Dell doesn't do it consistently.
 
Sounds like your power requirements are minimal. I would go with the laptop if you are going to only have one.
 
I have a personal laptop and a work laptop. No desktop for either.

I love the laptop. I have wireless DSL and can walk out on the deck and surf the web. That is nice on weekends.

During the week, I find myself on the sofa or other places surfing while watching tv.
 
Personally, I like the mobility of the laptop - I like to sit on the couch surfing horfans while watching the game or if I see something on tv that I'm curious about all I have to do is pick up the laptop and look it up instead of going upstairs to the office. Of course, you'll need a wireless modem or router also to get the mobility. My wife used to want a new desktop for the full sized keyboard w/ 10 touch keypad and larger monitor until she got used to the convenience of the wireless connection.
 
I'll echo what other posters have said - I like the mobility of a laptop, not just for the obvious (biz travel) but for using the laptop on the sofa, in the back yard, etc. I've had 3 laptops since my last desktop.
 
My biggest frustration with my Dell notebooks has been docking/undocking. Otherwise, they have been very solid for me.

Look at their Vostro brand. I can't believe the deals they are offering on these products. I just bought my dad a bad-*** Desktop super cheap. You can still order them with XP which is nice. Just wait for one of their sales...

... and lastly.... seriously... WTF is it with Mac owners. Why do they always try to justify themselves to everyone else.
 
Why are you PC guys so defensive? I don't get it.

Back to the original question, I suggested that a laptop docked with an external LCD, keyboard, and mouse is a good compromise giving you the best of both. Having made that suggestion I shared my daily experience with both a MacBook and a Dell laptop in that recommended configuration. In my experience the MacBook always docks/undocks cleanly. The Dell doesn't as others have also stated. My recommendation stands.

Now if you PC-only guys could just get over your inferiority complex.
 
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