P_C or Laptop

I believe that with the exception of office/workstations that desktop PC's will follow rotary phones and land lines.

I love my laptop, the wife is a devout tablet fan.

I've never been fond of laptops, mostly because I don't care for the keyboards. I prefer the MS ergo-type keyboards. We use all-in-ones when we travel: a 21.5 inch and a 24 inch. They work very well, we can use our ergo keyboards if we wish, and they store very nicely for travel.

I like having a laptop and server configuration. The server is a beefy machine that has several sets of drives, so I can change disks out (so if the server is stolen or destroyed, I have backups elsewhere.) This way, I can store backups of the laptop on it, as well as run VMs on it.

At home, I like plugging the laptop into a decently sized LCD screen and having a good keyboard and mouse. Then, when it is time to hit the road, it is easy to suspend the laptop, disconnect it, and take it with me. I have multiple chargers, so I can leave the one that is at home there, while having a spare in the case and in the car.

If you want to compare apples to apples (the exact same size and speed on laptop as a desktop), then you will need more money for your laptop apples. Laptops are more expensive than desktops and generally speaking, if you want something a laptop to equal what you can get in a desktop, be prepared to spend more money.

I am unfortunate to be the representative in my department to order new computer equipment. My employer requires laptops replaced every two years and desk tops every 4 years... that kind of gives you an idea of comparison.

Advantages of a desktop is having many options for video cards and it is easy to add more data storage devices and more memory. For someone doing light photo or video editing or email and facebook, a laptop will work as well if it is properly configured.

Laptops come in 3 flavors with some that are designed to operate off AC and will have larger screens, more powerful CPU's and video cards, like the ones from Alien Skin. In the middle are the business class laptops which are available with a solid state drive. At the bottom are the netbooks using the Atom or similar processors and with hard drives.

Verify that the laptop you get can have the screen flip down out of the way when using its keyboard. This is where the Lenovo laptops are also a good choice as they have the best keyboards and no need to use an external one.

I use a desktop in my home office, a laptop when traveling with photography planned, and a netbook for business travel where my needs are much less. I use a tablet on my boat and for remote focusing of my camera. There is no single perfect solution for every situation.

I use a 17.3" Dell laptop in my bed. Big laptops are pretty heavy, but they work well. It holds all my important information.

For travel, I use a 10" Samsung Chrome notebook that's very light. I just use it for internet--essentially an empty computer. It only costs $179.

This is being posted on an Acer Laptop with Logitech cordless keyboard and mouse, Hp 21" monitor, wireless scanner/printer, and Toshiba 1TB external drive, and an external cooling pad.

When we go on the road only the laptop goes with us.

If kept cool when used for long sessions, laptops are as dependable as towers.

bgant4 wrote:
I need a new desktop for my home. Was wondering about getting a laptop and using a big screen on my desk. Are laptops as durable as desktops?

Is this computer only going to be used in the home as a workstation? Do you already have a laptop for travel? Or do you want dual duty from the computer? If you want dual duty, certainly get a laptop. Durability generally good. If you want a dedicated home workstation, see my comments above :)

Laptop is the way to go. All your files are with you whenever you need them. The cloud is great in concept but with all the data breaches I don't trust it to store my data. Regarding repairs, by the time there is a component failure it is time to replace your laptop anyway. Technology and processors change so fast any machine is a dinosaur after 2-3 years.

Why be old fashioned when it serves no purpose?

You can get all those things with a lapop. At the office, slip the laptop into a docking station and have twin 20" screens, an old clicky keyboard. Functionally, you can't tell the difference other than you don't have a big box under the desk.

Why eat broccoli instead of carrots?

I just like the big ol box. Parts are still cheap, I have an equally big ol desk with a compartment for the box. I can put the data drives in the box instead of USB external drives hanging outside. Same with a high end audio adapter vs. USB equivalent. Swap display adapters, power supplies easily. Lots of interesting internal hardware available. It is completely user repairable. It is neater than a laptop with a bunch of stuff hanging off it.

It is my permanent home workstation. Portability is not a factor.

My requirements for travel are so different than home that I use two computers. The Macbook Air draws 10-15 watts normally and is perfect for dry camping.

But full time at home, I'll use the tower desktops till they are no more.