Laptop or Desktop or both??

[CoolGamer48]

Hey, sorry if this is the wrong place for this, but...

A while ago I was thinking of getting a new laptop. At first I was going to focus on battery life, but as time went by I saw myself caring less about that and more about a quality machine. Now, if I were to get laptop, I would most likely make it a desktop replacement.

A friend of mine recommended that instead, I get a really good desktop with all the things I want, and then a laptop to use for more basic word-processing, and that sounded like an ok idea. He said that the price wouldn't be too high(price range: desired: $2000, might go for: $3000, absolute max: $4000, pushing it)

I'm just looking for input on which choice would be better, and for what reasons. The only time I go out of the house with my laptop is at school, where having the power to program or run graphics intensive applications would be nice, but not all that important. A machine that's capable of handling some basic things would work. I guess. Then again, I would need to transfer things between my laptop and my desktop, and that might be a hassle.

So just looking for input...

[jbennet]

pcs are better for gaming (laptop video cards suck)
pcs are better for upgraders

laptop is better for school as portable
more expensive though...

[dirt14]

if you don't always take it to school, i think it's better to get a pc

[hughv]

The main advantage of a laptop is portability. A minor advantage is the smaller footprint.
You'll usually get more computer for your dollars with a desktop, and they are much easier/cheaper to repair and/or upgrade.
It sounds as though you could get some use out of a basic laptop, so I'd say go for both.
Transferring files, or :"Synching" the two is fairly simple.

[jbennet]

yeah, and if you have got a LAn (particuarly a wireless one) then its dead easy

[CoolGamer48]

yeah, and if you have got a LAn (particuarly a wireless one) then its dead easy

Err... do you mean a wireless network at home, or at school?

[CoolGamer48]

Also: for the desktop, what brand do you recommend? I was leaning towards the Alienware Aurora, but I read some reviews on cnet saying that Alienware was pretty bad with customer service and has shipping issues.

[jbennet]

Alienware is bad. I think they are owned by dell now actually....

Best way is to build one yourself, frankly.

[hughv]

You have to be specific about what you want the desktop to do.
Even the most basic machine will handle email and surfing.
When you get to games and multimedia the specs have to increase.
The Dell Inspiron and XPS are a good place to start, but jbennett is right about building your own if you want quality, high end hardware.

[CoolGamer48]

@ hughvDell Inspiron and XPS are a good place to start
I thought Dell's quality was a bit bad..

@ jbennetI think [Alienware is] owned by dell now actually....
were you implying that?

[The Dude]

Desktop for the win :) (I hate small things)

[hughv]

Dell's quality is excellent.

[jonbyrd]

sounds good

[caswellsam]

if id have had the option again id have bought a desktop . . . . . laptop was handy when i was up at uni, it was a top of the range jobbi when i bought it . . . . dated now though and its too expensive to upgrade it, a desktop would be so much easier 2 do it ureself

[selfhelpebooks]

The main difference would be portability.
Choose the one you prefer!

[fuzzyduq]

As usual, m'seu bennett's advice is spot on. Building is always better than buying with regards a pc. All pc brands have some problem or other and no pc brand suits everyone (You know, one size fits all...) When you build, you buy the components that you require to suit your purposes at a price you want to pay (or can afford), whereas branded pcs tend towards to being all things to all but nothing to none. Before you can even decide whether to procure a laptop or a desktop, you have to provide answers to very specific questions:
1. For what primary purpose are you going to use the computer?
2. How much are you willing to pay?
3. Is status an issue? (remember, there are Ferrari and Lamborghini branded laptops out there, to name a few...)
4. Is space/portability an issue?

Only once these have been answered can you even begin to make any informed decision on which route to take. Only you know what your requirements are, so we can only assist with blanket advice at this stage until you yourself narrow the comparison criteria.

As some of the other posters have mentioned, laptops are great for portability, word processing, simple database/application design/running, low to to lower medium graphical requirements, but with the constraint of battery life and higher cost etc. Oh yes, and pretty lousy graphics, and smaller hard drives. Plus you get the components that the brand install, as every device is built to a price.

The same about components pretty much goes for branded desktops.

But when you build, the sky is the limit, or your budget... Best of all, you get exactly what you pay for, which in my book is the clincher on any deal.

[hughv]

Actually, there are many laptops that serve well as desktop replacements and even game well.
I build my own, but it's very easy to get someone to build one for you, or buy a factory job to just about any spec.
There was a time you could save money building your won, but that's a thing of the past at the moment.
To my mind, the only issue here is portability.

[maydhyam]

Actually, there are many laptops that serve well as desktop replacements and even game well. I build my own, but it's very easy to get someone to build one for you, or buy a factory job to just about any spec. There was a time you could save money building your won, but that's a thing of the past at the moment. To my mind, the only issue here is portability.

That's true, I remember a classmate of mine did exactly that..they bought a laptop that was totally with the specs they wanted, and not a pre-defined one from the company...it could be costly, but you would be getting the same functionality from it as you would off a desktop, just with the portability factor...

[OlyComputers]

You can get a desktop or laptop built to whatever specs you want. Desktops are easy to build yourself if you're comfortable with it, but most people wouldn't be (if you want to learn how, this forum is a great resource).

It really depends on what you want the prtability for. I personally have desktops and a laptop, I use desktops at home and my office and use my laptop for school, traveling, and those days I just don't want to get off the couch. But I also have friends in dorms/military or with jobs that require a lot of traveling that just keep a laptop.

Modern laptops can game, it will cost you more to get a system with a geforce9 or radeon3k series GPU but you'd be looking at similar pricing for an exceptionally long battery life or tablet screen. Anything that stands out from the pack will cost more, no matter what it is.

If you do most system intensive work at home anyway, but want to be able to work on projects around the house/town I'd say get a budget laptop and a good desktop.

If you do everything around the house, just get a desktop.

If you do all your intensive projects away from home (graphics assignments at school, gaming away from the house, ripping movies at friends houses, ect...) I'd say get a good laptop and keep your current desktop around for a while.

You should probably just shop around for desktops and laptops, if you see a desktop you fall in love with buy it, and the smame for laptops. If you decide down the road that you need both I don't see how it could hurt to break up the investment.

[maydhyam]

(if you want to learn how, this forum is a great resource).

Thanks, I will start a thread on that now...