Opinion needed--laptops or desktops

**amyb** · April 1st, 2005, 06:45 PM

I am thinking about getting a new computer. I am leaning towards getting a laptop rather than getting another desktop. Just for grins, let me know your pros and cons regarding a laptop vs. a desktop for home use. Thanks.

**jaeger** · April 1st, 2005, 07:20 PM

CON: Laptops give you less performance and upgradability for much more money.
PRO: Carrying a desktop, monitor, keyboard, and mouse while hauling around a generator isn't exactly feasible.

**houseisland** · April 1st, 2005, 07:58 PM

Buy a laptop only if you really need mobile computing.

They are troublesome nasty little beasts. Their sexy cachet makes them extremely tempting as theft items. They are easily damaged, even the expensive commercial grade ones. They are (relatively) difficult to repair. Other than the hard drives and memory there are few generic parts. The proprietary parts mean that manufacturers have you by the balls. If anything major goes wrong with them when they are out of warranty, they are pretty much write-offs unless you have a line on used parts and the facility to repair them yourself.

**Duke of Rezin** · April 1st, 2005, 10:37 PM

Laptops
Pros: fun, completely portable, quiet.
Cons: same as what's been posted. No BIOS tweaking.

Since you are mostly locked into your initial selection, shop carefully for which features you want. Doesn't hurt to spend a little extra to maximize future proofing and definitely search for deals from reputable dealers.

**rgharper** · April 1st, 2005, 11:28 PM

You may wish to consider a compromise - a laptop with docking station capabilities. This gives you the best of both worlds - at home/work you dock it and use it as a desktop, when you're ready to leave you un-dock it and become mobile. The cost will be appreciably more than either a standard laptop or a desktop but the capabilities may be worth it for you.

**TechZ** · April 2nd, 2005, 01:10 AM

PRO: Laptops dont go off when you have a power failure

They always come with LCD's

Just dont get one with less that 512mb RAM, and a dedicated video card.
If you planning on taking it around with you too, a Centrino model is perfect for you, plus the battery life is amazing, and it runs very cool.

**amyb** · April 2nd, 2005, 12:19 PM

Thanks for your opinions. Good idea, rgharper, that's what I will do. First I will do alot of research!!

**houseisland** · April 2nd, 2005, 01:00 PM

If you find that laptops with docking stations are too expensive, you can check out inexpensive USB universal port replicators (USB, Ethernet, Serial, Parallel), which perform the same functions as a docking station, except for video connections, all at a much lower cost. Targus and Belkin make models. There are probably others as well. The port replicators work reasonably well. The performance is probably less than what you would get with a docking station. And if you need to connect to a terminal server, particularly one with Citrix, and print to a local parallel printer attached to a replicator, there can be a little grief at times.