Buying A New Computer: Laptop Versus Desktop
May 5th, 2008
With my father considering a new computer purchase, he will soon have to decide if he wants a new laptop or another desktop. The popularity of laptop computers continues to grow. Although the differences between laptops and desktops have narrowed over the years, going portable involves many trade offs. Is going mobile worth it?
Basics–
The goal of the laptop is mobile computing. They are frequently called portable, mobile, or notebook systems. Laptops are powered by a rechargeable battery. The monitor is either a standard size or widescreen LCD. Keyboards allow for easy input. Mouse control is typically provided by a trackpad. Also contained within the device are the typical computer components such as a CPU, video card, and hard drive. In a laptop everything is included in one package. Getting “under the hood” and changing components can range from hard to impossible.
Although the desktop largely contains the same components, the parts are not as integrated. Any beginner can change the keyboard or monitor of a desktop; however, the same beginner would find that changing those components on a laptop near impossible.
In contrast, a desktop is not portable either. Desktops and laptops are very different beasts.
Strengths of the Desktop–
Price. Based on similar specifications, a laptop can cost over twice as much as a desktop. For the same money, you will always be able to get a much more powerful desktop with a larger screen and more storage. A desktop is always going to give you more for your money.
Power. Many high end desktops contain components that are not available in laptops. Some of the video cards out now are almost as big as some entire portable systems. Power requires cores and chips. Power requires cooling. Power requires wattage. Large desktop systems have plenty of room for big components, big power supplies, and redundant cooling. Power dependent task such as editing and rendering video will proceed less painfully on a desktop beast. A laptop is always going to settle for smaller, more efficient hardware. Many laptops that were sold as “Windows Vista Compatible” were not able to run Vista with all features enabled. Because it is purchased with less reserve, a laptop will not provide as many years of productivity before seeming underpowered and dated.
Screen size. We are in the world of ever growing LCDs. A 30 inch LCD computer screen is beautiful. If you have a desktop, you can even have multiple monitors. Many laptops start at 13 inches and the largest is 19-20 inches. If you go with a laptop over a desktop, sacrifice of screen real estate is the norm. External monitors can easily be connected to a laptop; however, there is the obvious loss of portability.
Wireless Network Required. With a desktop system ethernet works well. Having a notebook that is tethered by cat-5 cable makes no sense at all. To enjoy using a notebook system, a wireless network and internet is really required. Wireless networking is getting easier but is nowhere as easy as just plugging in a cable. Using and securing a wireless network requires learning a whole new set of computer skills.
Toughness. Laptops get dropped, banged, and generally mistreated. A desktop stays at home in general safety. My son broke the “e” key off one of my laptops after my daughter took it up to her room. He knows not to bang on my desktop but a laptop in his sister’s room was too inviting to pass up.
Upgrading / Fixing. Another hard drive can be added to most desktops easily, and changing out a keyboard or monitor is trivial. Upgrading or fixing a laptop frequently requires a trip to the shop. Desktops can frequently be given new life with a newer, more powerful video card. As video is integrated in a laptop, this upgrade is not possible. The difficulty in upgrading is another reason that a laptop will not provide as many years of productivity when compared to a desktop.
The Powerful Portability of the Laptop–
The strength of a laptop is its mobility. It is the trump card that can overwhelm any of the desktop’s advantages. The cheapest, most powerful desktop in the world does not help the student that needs a computer in class. Chilling at a coffee shop with a mocha and your lappie can be magic. Recording or making music at a club or friend’s house is easy on a laptop. Getting work done or watching a movie on a plane can make the time fly. Can you really put a value on checking email from the potty?
Although portability is amazing, it is frequently not required or utilized. I know three of my neighbors that have their notebook sitting on the exact same place on their desk day after day. They are never mobile with their mobile computers. Many people really think they will take their computer everywhere, but then they never do.
In Defense of the Laptop–
Desktop worshippers will die arguing the strengths of the desktop that I have described; however, none of them are really deal breakers if portability is required. A laptop will always be more expensive and underpowered compared to the desktop. The careful consumer, however, can purchase a powerful laptop that will run non-gaming applications perfectly. (The majority of games will run on a laptop system too, but occasionally the video may not be as impressive.) A 15 to 17 inch laptop screen is plenty for most users. The integration of wireless networking into the major operating systems is making wifi easier as well. Industrial strength laptops that can tolerate the toughest of conditions are available for the clumsiest of us. If mobility is required, these are trade offs that can be comfortably tolerated.
Conclusions–
A desktop is always going to provide the biggest bang for the buck. Users rendering high definition video files or playing the latest games will naturally gravitate toward the powerful desktop systems. Users that must have mobility will require a laptop. The rest of us will have to decide if the convenience of portability is worth sacrificing the strength of the desktop.
You can follow the entire computer4dad series here.
Technorati Tags: laptop versus desktop, laptop, desktop, computer purchase
May 5th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
I’m a big laptop person. Honestly, though, I think it’s just a thing left over from when I was a child and I so very much wanted that POSSIBLE portability. But I never could afford it. So, I looked with deep envy at the cool kids that had laptops.
So, today, I have four laptops. One old, which runs Ubuntu. I have an X61 Lenovo that’s very light so as to bring on business trips. I have a MacBook (black). Lastly, my primary machine is a big (ass) HP that sits in my office and rarely ever moves. I think about them all and say, “WOW! I certainly COULD pick them all up and move them around without much effort.” The sad reality is I probably won’t.
Even today, I kind of want a new, faster Mac with better resolution. The sensible thing to buy would be an iMac. It has a better resolution that all the MacBooks and it’s much cheaper. But… it’s a desktop! It’ll be so hard to move.
I think you’re right that the Desktop brings the most bang for the buck. But … if you wanted to move it, it’s not as easy as a laptop. And is the bang that comes with that desktop a bit too much for what Dad needs to do?
tcv
May 5th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
It seems like your dad won’t be doing any of the things that you identify as desktop pros: high-end video churning, high-end gaming, and upgrading or hardware tinkering. I think the vast majority of people use their computers for web surfing, emailing, and photo organizing. An entry level MacBook has plenty of umph for that with cpu to spare.
The penalty of being tied into using a computer in one location is forever a deal breaker for me, personally. If you want it to replace a desktop and leave it where a desktop always lives, that’s fine. It’ll take up less space and it has a built-in UPS.
One of the problems I think a lot of people have with their laptops is buying a super cheap one. You may be able to get by with a $350 desktop, but laptops do cost more and skimping on one leads directly to the regret syndrome associated with the un-upgradeability you described.
Although, that said, the iMac is a sweet looking machine..
I don’t know if I could adapt to looking at a screen that big after years of laptop LCDs, though.
May 5th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
The desktop vs. laptop decision is always a tough one. At work, we always try to let the needs of the user dictate the type of computer that will be purchased. Desktops usually have a longer shelf life as you can upgrade or replace the components on most systems as time goes by.
With laptops, you are paying for the convenience of mobility. The more integrated the components are, the more you have to face the fact that you are purchasing a disposable computer. When the video or other key component dies, so does your computer.
That being said, a mixture of the two is sometimes the best bet. Keeping the desktop and purchasing a low end laptop whose specs meet the immediate needs of the user. Use the desktop for storing large files that the laptop can utilize as needed, then you can settle for a smaller hard drive on the mobile unit. Plus, you always have a backup computer if one develops a problem. I’ve found this to be especially true if one’s personal helpdesk is a long distance away.
May 5th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Thanks, guys! The information is greatly appreciated.
May 5th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
@tcv I am not sure you can ever have too much bang for the buck. I have always found it interesting people that basically use their laptop from alway the same location.
I am turning into a laptop person too though. When I get a new one, I install ubuntu or some other OS onto the old… just for experimentation.
@qmchenry I completely agree that many people who hate laptops have purchased too cheap ones. A cheap lappie is always a very underpowered machine.
@shamanstears “disposable computer” hurts my soul, but that’s exactly what a laptop is. Laptop plus desktop versus moving everything to a larger, more powerful laptop–sounds like a good future topic.
May 6th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
This was mostly written telling people what each one is. Not what he needs.
What does he need? Does he need any portability?
May 6th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
I swore up and down that I would never have a laptop because you cant upgrade them, and they arent all that powerful. However I just recently purchase a Thinkpad through work, with a C2D, and I my poor desktop sits often unused for weeks at a time, now its only function is to play games that my laptop cant handle (which isn’t very many), and to watch movies on while laying in bed (22″ LCD :D). It’s sad in a way, after all the money that was spent building a high-end gaming machine that a laptop can totally take over for everything a person does on a computer, and actually makes certain things more enjoyable, I totally love the portability. The ease and convenience of being connected more of the time is superb, I would say definitely go with a laptop, but don’t skimp because cheap laptops fail to deliver, if you spend the right amount of money you get a laptop that exceeds what a broad spectrum of the available desktops can do.
May 7th, 2008 at 6:24 am
One thing that I’ve tried to explain to people over the years when they are trying to bite the bullet and buy a computer is that, while it is an expensive purchase, it is in no way an investment. It’s not like a car which depreciates relatively slowly and can be driven for decades, certainly not like a house which can gain value, it’s a commodity that will lose its usefulness in a few years.
While there are things that a geek can do with their old boxes, the vast majority of consumers will not benefit from installing Ubuntu on a decrepit computer. The average consumer will not be comfortable upgrading an old desktop — even just adding memory is hard just in finding the correct kind. Actually, I’d say that adding memory (maybe the most common upgrade) to a laptop is significantly easier than adding it to a desktop.
Each successive generation of software (OS, gaming and other apps) requires more processing umph (although rarely for reasons other than eye candy). The catch is that a generation in computers is measured in months, not years.
From this perspective, I think it’s wise to budget for a new computer every three years. If you spend $50/mo on broadband internet access, that’s $600/year or $1800 for three years. You are already paying a lot for services that your new computer will use. It’s just seems harder to pay a lot for a computer all at once.
May 8th, 2008 at 12:23 am
I’ve had an eeePC for a few months. It cost £250 in the UK. It has a Celeron processor and runs off a flash drive with hardly any memory. It weighs under 1 kg, and almost fits ina coat pocket.
It’s fine for 95 percent of what I do, and although the monitor is only 7″, it can be plugged into a full size screen if needed.
May 8th, 2008 at 1:46 am
Even desktops become obsolete when manufacturers stop producing their parts like ram and many others, so to say a laptop is disposable can be applied to the desktop too.
Portability is the premium for the laptop. Most power features reside with the desktop from games, videos and any others.
www.earticles.com
May 8th, 2008 at 11:55 am
@davak
i think a laptop/notebook would be best for your dad since like Q said the benefits of a desktop would not be things he needs or does.
however, desktops are nice due to lower costs, ease of repair/maintence, upgradeability.
decisions decisions.
May 8th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
i own 4 desktops and 2 laptops the laptops basically sit and collect dust my main computer was manufactured in 2000 and run faster and better than the brand new computers out there but then again i got enough sank into it really im not gonna say laptops are better or vise versa there aint no point but your father should get what he wants to get it all depends on what he wants to do with it
May 16th, 2008 at 2:15 am
I live and work in the sticks in rural france and power outages do happen. OK, I know uninterruptible power supplies are available for desktops, but a big plus on my laptops is the “emergency” battery - yes, I usually run on mains, but when the unexpected happens I don’t loose my work and, much worse, don’t get nasty hdd head crashes. For me, the extra cost of a laptop is easily offset by the potential cost in money and time of such losses.
May 16th, 2008 at 2:19 am
Laptop is ideal for your dad it will give him mobility and also commontask that he wants do. At the most he is going to run 1-2 applications at a time, even entry level notebook will suffice his needs.
My personal bias is towards desktop as it provides me more flexibilty when it comes to upgrade as per my liking.