Desktop or Laptop?

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:13 pm

In the discussion on tablets there are have been many opinions expressed and that is good.

Now I would like to ask a question or two.

Do you have a Desktop or Laptop and why?

Keeping in mind applications like sketchup, more and more videos and new forms of entertainment that are coming out for Pc’s, what should be the minimum specs we should look for when buying a new PC?

Come guys there are no right or wrong answers here just a chance to express your opinion.

Thanks for any and all feedback.

Gene Howe · Post by **Gene Howe** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:21 pm

I only use our laptop for surfing, video chat, email and picture storage. I do no graphics to speak of. Haven't learned sketchup yet.

The reason we went to a laptop from a desktop was to get the built in camera, wifi, and to free up space.
From what I've learned, I'm gonna stick with a laptop. Maybe get a Kindle Fire as an adjunct.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:32 pm

Gene Howe wrote:I only use our laptop for surfing, video chat, email and picture storage. I do no graphics to speak of. Haven't learned sketchup yet.
The reason we went to a laptop from a desktop was to get the built in camera, wifi, and to free up space.
From what I've learned, I'm gonna stick with a laptop. Maybe get a Kindle Fire as an adjunct.

Get the most memory you can afford and don't worry about speed. Anything you buy new today is faster than most of us old farts need. If the machine is a little slow doing something I need, I just take a short nap.

If you do a lot of pictures, get a good graphics card and some more memory.

If you do music, get a good sound card, good speakers and some more memory.Put in the biggest, baddest hard drive you can afford and then get yourself a backup hard drive to go along with it.

I like my wireless mouse and keyboard. That way, if I am not feeling real good I can take my mouse and keyboard to the recliner and work from there. That usually puts me right to sleep and when I sleep I don't feel so bad.

I spend a lot of time with my computer. Not as much as with my Mark V but a lot of time. I know because she tells me that a lot.

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:38 pm

dusty wrote:'
Get the most memory you can afford and don't worry about speed. Anything you buy new today is faster than most of us old farts need. If the machine is a little slow doing something I need, I just take a short nap.

If you do a lot of pictures, get a good graphics card and some more memory.

If you do music, get a good sound card, good speakers and some more memory.Put in the biggest, baddest hard drive you can afford and then get yourself a backup hard drive to go along with it.

I like my wireless mouse and keyboard. That way, if I am not feeling real good I can take my mouse and keyboard to the recliner and work from there. That usually puts me right to sleep and when I sleep I don't feel so bad.

I spend a lot of time with my computer. Not as much as with my Mark V but a lot of time. I know because she tells me that a lot.

Dusty you didn't say. Laptop or desktop?

roy_okc · Post by **roy_okc** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:52 pm

Ed,

I have multiples of both

. I have a desktop that also doubles as an always-on server, a small form factor (SFF) Atom CPU desktop for my wife, a SFF to feed DVR shows to my TV, another SFF running my CNC, an old Mac iBook about to be retired, a netbook that will be handed down soon, and a new laptop.

There is no single right answer. It always depends on what best suits the individual(s) using the computer(s).

If you're looking to have just one computer and want to take it with you on the go, in your shop, while sitting in your favorite chair, etc., then obviously a laptop is the right choice. Most laptops can be hooked up to an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse, meaning that you can have a nice large monitor, regular keyboard, and mouse at your desk. (I can connect my laptop to my 24" 1920x1200 monitor and get full resolution on both the laptop and large monitor.)

A properly configured laptop can have very good performance. You can get pretty decent CPUs and graphics chips in the laptop; pair that with a fast hard drive (7200 RPM, not 5400 RPM, or SSD even better) and plenty of RAM or at least capable of RAM expansion and you can have a snappy system that compares quite favorably with typical desktop configurations.

If you need utmost performance to gain bragging rights in playing the latest high-end games, then you're looking at a high-end custom desktop computer.

(I teach a computer hardware class at a local community college, one of my assignments is to have students spec out a computer based on certain scenarios, one of which is a gaming system with no price limit -- top price so far was somewhere around $50,000

)

Roy

cincinnati · Post by **cincinnati** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 1:03 pm

I first purchased a desktop and then a laptop. I use the laptop 99% of the time. Don't think I will ever buy another desktop. Today's laptops are just as powerful as a desktop for most users. You can also attach most laptops to a full size monitor.
I do plan to buy a 7" tablet like a Kindle Fire or the like to read or watch videos. My brother has a Fire and it is all he uses now for e-mail and read forums. I think a small tablet is a good complement to any computer.

joedw00 · Post by **joedw00** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 1:41 pm

I have a desktop, and a laptop. I only use the desktop for wireless for my laptop. My wife uses the desktop. I am on this so much she ask me all the time how my girlfriend is sitting on my lap. I also have a desktop in the shop and run it wireless from the same desktop. I don't get a very good signal on it, so it runs a little slow.

Culprit · Post by **Culprit** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 1:49 pm

Desktop or laptop? Laptop. There is no valid reason to buy a desktop for home use. There are hardly any valid reasons to buy a desktop for hard core engineering programs anymore, either.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 1:51 pm

Ed in Tampa wrote:Dusty you didn't say. Laptop or desktop?

Nope, I did not. I didn't say because I missed that point but.....I still can't say. I have and use both.

The laptop will be the go to machine when we are traveling simply because there is no room for a computer in the RV. I have been reminded of that more than a couple times.

My wife uses the laptop here at the house. I use the desktops almost exclusively when not traveling.

Except for those stated reasons, I see no advantage of one over the other if adequately equipped.

paulmcohen · Post by **paulmcohen** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 2:01 pm

[quote="Ed in Tampa"]In the discussion on tablets there are have been many opinions expressed and that is good.

Now I would like to ask a question or two.

Do you have a Desktop or Laptop and why?

Keeping in mind applications like sketchup, more and more videos and new forms of entertainment that are coming out for Pc&#8217]

Sketchup will run on any modern computer, for entertainment it depends on if you want to play action games. New games like Diablo 3 require extreme graphics that are barely available on even the most expensive laptop. I have an 8 core laptop with high-end graphics and a hybrid drive (it runs Diable 3 in 720 mode only). Battery life is 9 hours, the display is full-HD 1920x1024. It cost about $700 last month.