The eternal question: laptop or desktop? -

[MirrorNoir]

Looking to get a new computer but don't know if I should get a new laptop or get a new desktop. I've been using laptops exclusively at home for about ten years but the batteries keep dying after a year or two on me so I end up not being able to exploit the natural mobility of a laptop like I could. And the new trend for not including any sort of disc drive is turning me off from wanting to buy a new laptop of any kind.

Which would you recommend if you just want to have a basic bitch computer that can go online, write and download shit and watch videos and play the occasional game? Laptop or desktop?

 

[Vecr]

Desktops cost less for the power and are more durable, but I wonder if putting an industrial, possibly fanless computer into a rigid plastic briefcase type thing, possibly with a screen, keyboard, etc, mounted in place could serve as an alternative to a laptop if you need to travel. I suppose you could put a large lithium ion battery in there as well, but I'm not sure you could get that onto an airliner.

 

[MrTroll]

The price difference between a low-end (prebuilt) desktop and a low-end laptop isn't really that profound. If you really only need something to browse the internet, run a word processor, and watch videos, almost anything will do and it's not worth over-thinking.

 

[Erika Furudo]

If you spend most of your time at home you should go with a desktop. If you travel a lot, go with a laptop. It really depends on your needs. Long term you could always get both.

What games do you play? If you don't mind older laptops used Thinkpads are still an option. The battery will probably be complete shit so you would likely need access to a power supply when traveling, but they all have disc drives and you can upgrade them to an SSD and shove in some extra ram pretty easily. It's kinda sad the idea of a durable, easily upgradable/repairable laptop got left behind in favour of uber thin shit where everything is soldered in. You won't be running many modern releases outside of indie trash, but it would work fine for everything else you do.
They also look better than modern laptops imo. Very chunky and practical. No RGB.

 

[Not Really Here]

>Should I buy a more expensive computer that crams heat generating objects as closely as the manufacturer possibly can, or buy a cheaper computer that has far more open room for cooling?
This is a question for the ages OP.

 

[Massa's Little Buckie]

Fucking desktop ffs.

 

[Drain Todger]

Only get a laptop if you need the mobility. Laptop keyboards are ass these days and only last about a year. Do you like mobile games? Have you considered pairing a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard with your phone? You can get a lot of basic tasks done that way, as odd as it sounds. Get a phone case with a kickstand, pair a mechanical Bluetooth keyboard, set your phone on the desk, and presto. Instant word processor. The coolest thing about Bluetooth keyboards paired with phones and tablets is that the screen is decoupled from the keyboard. This means you can adopt any ergonomic position you like. You can put your phone or tablet on top of a lunch bag (or something else that elevates it above your keyboard) and keep your neck and shoulders nice and level instead of hunching down.

 

[sasazuka]

I've been on laptops for a decade now since my last desktop PC got malware I couldn't remove but I kind of want to go back to desktop for gaming purposes, mainly because Playstation 2 emulators are too sluggish on any laptop I've tried them on.

And the new trend for not including any sort of disc drive is turning me off from wanting to buy a new laptop of any kind.

The plus side of my only buying used laptops is that they're usually old enough to still have optical drives so I can watch DVDs in bed again. (I had a portable DVD player but broke the screen several years ago.)

 

[Chocolate Wombat]

Desktop unless you just really need the mobility for whatever reason.

 

[Gar For Archer]

If you only have the money for one? Get a desktop unless you literally NEED the mobility, e.g. you travel a lot or are frequently away from your home. This is assuming you’re an adult with a job and not a student.

If you have the money, buy a nice desktop first and start saving up for a cheap ($500-800) laptop. As long as you have the money, there’s nothing wrong with having a backup device in the house in case your desktop craps itself.

 

[KillThemCrackasBabies]

Laptops are for homosexuals.

 

[Gone Ham]

Why not both

 

[Gig Bucking Fun]

Desktop if you want to make sure you’ll never speak to another woman again in your life.

 

[Tookie]

Do you need the computer to move?

 

[XYZpdq]

I don't play modern games since Quake 2.
I got into laptops shortly after, and I've stuck on them ever since.
I respect what a desktop can do for your average person, but even though I usually have my laptop docked attached to a usb hub and a tv, the times I want to move it to another area it's really really great to have that option.
If I was more into gaming I'd probably feel otherwise but as-is I can't think of any times I've been irked I couldn't upgrade my shit beyond maxing the ram to 16gigs.

 

[lemmiwinks]

I like off-lease mobile workstations. They're cheap as fuck, lots of parts available and are usually easily disassembled for trivial upgrades like RAM, battery & SSD. Some of the quadro/firepro models are able to (slightly) upgrade the mGPU as well.

You might be able to scratch both itches if you shop smart.

 

[Overly Serious]

I would say there are pros and cons to each but that some are hard requirements. If you need semi-regular travel with the device and taking it with you, then that's a clear answer of laptop. Ditto if you even want to keep moving it around the house, e.g. you know you'll want to work from the sofa or the garden or something all the time (but sunshine can make laptops unsuable in the garden so...).

But if those requirements are off the table then I'd recommend a desktop. I'll just give a few reasons that I think haven't been fully explored on top of everyone else's answers.

1. Posture. If you're going to be working at this thing day in, day out, then just working hunched over a laptop (and you will hunch) will be bad for your well-being. Of course you can use a docking station, separate monitor etc and frankly if you're working from a laptop at home you should. But also consider that when you start down this road of adding in a separate monitor, mouse, keyboard, docking station or hub, you're altering the cost-reward ratio of the laptop significantly and you're also moving a significant way towards why not just a desktop? You're paying a premium to be able to pick up and move that laptop which maybe you wont really get the value from.
2. Longevity. I bought a desktop (built it actually) around... 3 years ago? It was an upper end Desktop admittedly but today it is still going very strong and I don't intend to upgrade it before at least 2022 when AMD's Zen 5 processors are out and DDR5 memory is standard. At that point I'll be getting a PCI-E v4, DDR5 RAM, super-high IPC system for my money and it will go like lightening. But even then upgrading will be a choice because this system will still be more than capable of doing everything I need. I've made, I think, one upgrade to my desktop which was to put in a RAIDed SSD. Or two if you count the high-end new monitor I got for it which is one of the best IT purchases I have ever made. So that's minimum five years I get out of this machine at the end of which upgrading will be pure choice and I will recoup significant costs by selling on the old system or finding a good home for it with someone who really needs it. And it comes with all sorts of options to increase that longevity if I want. Throwing in an extra hard drive is easy. I already have 6TB storage in there and could double that if I wanted.
3. Noise. This is going to vary by what you buy but there's no noise with my desktop. Whilst a laptop you always get that steam-escaping noise as workloads ramp up.

So my take is that if I went for a laptop I would definitely want all the docking add-ons such as mechanical keyboard, separate monitor, etc. and that changes the value proposition.

Someone responded "why not both", and they know they're being wry but there's an angle to this you might not have considered which is remote desktop. It's pretty fast these days and with h.265 encoding (you have to manually enable this in Windows so keep note) the quality is great. What this means for me is that I have a Desktop that is way more powerful than I could get or afford in a laptop and a light, low-power laptop with a good screen I can just RDP into the desktop if I want to work from the garden or something. Frankly, if you can handle the security side (not that difficult as better routers come with what you need built in now) you could even do the same from hotels, cafes, relatives etc. So you could even do Desktop for now and light laptop later without wasting your first investment. If you wanted to. Or maybe even your existing laptop is good enough for that.

Note, I don't really play games. If you do then that adds a whole new factor in. But that aside, my recommendation is IF you have space for it on or under your desk, ONLY IF not being able to travel with it is something that ranks at mild inconvenience or less, I'd go for a desktop.

Hope this helps. Remember - there can be multiple good solutions.

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole]

Do you need the computer to move?

Do you want to dedicate space for a computer? A laptop can take the role of a stationary.

 

[Finder]

Laptop. Do you really want to be confined to a single desk? Even in my house I like to move around.

Desktops are a pain in the ass and pointless unless one is a g*mer IMO.

 

[Stasi]

All depends on the use case but sounds like you are perfectly happy with laptops? Personally I'm pro laptop, I have both and my desktop honestly almost never comes on, even when I need to sit down in front of a bigger screen I connect my laptop.

Like others have said, unless you are a gaymer (or have a very specific requirement for beefy desktop hardware) laptops are fine. Most of the people shitting on laptops online will be gamers and enthusiasts and even then they use the same talking points from 15 years ago as if modern laptops are running gimped core 2 duos or celerons. For basis bitch computing laptops are perfectly fine and have been for a very long time. If battery life is your issue look for a model with replaceable batteries, new ones are easy to get on ebay. Even a lot of modern ultrabook batteries can be replaced (granted with a more work than the old style ones that slot in the back).

Posted from my 9 year old thinkpad.