Desktop Computer Or Laptop?

[darkshadow0001]

I love my computer, I love my 20 inch acer monitor, I love my all in one printer scanner, I love my speakers, I love my keyboard and mouse but one thing really annoys me................all the wires.

I've tried wireless options before such as wireless keyboard and mouse except it really wasn't that wireless because it still had a wire and a sensor and they were crap causing me signal delays and stuff so I switched back.

I have wires everywhere, they get wrapped around my legs, the back of my comp desk is just full of wires and even trying to seperate them and wrap them up hardly helps so I want a cleaner option so I was thinking of maybe getting a Laptop.

Do you prefer desktop comps or laptops? Would I be better off switching to a Laptop?

I have always been partial to desktops. I've never liked laptops much because of their size, and the mouse sensor thing. I know what you mean about the wires, I try to keep most of mine in the back of the computer to stay out of the way. Now there are netbooks being sold, those things are a lot smaller and I don't see myself using those. Hopefully the traditional desktop will never cease to exist!

 

[Marc]

I'm still in 2 minds now.

With a laptop with plug in power supply, plug in mouse and possibly plug in keyboard, you'll still have wires. Add a printer, and it has wires.

Laptop speakers are not much good. If you want it to sound any better than a 1980s pocket AM radio, then you'll want external speakers = more wires.

In fact, the only wires you're likely to lose with a laptop serving as a desktop are the power and data cable for the monitor. And if you get a base station, you'll get one of those wires back.

An alternative for you, is a compact desktop, that has the screen and disc drives built into the one box, which eliminates some of the wires. I don't know if they come in 22 inch varieties, but their internal speakers are... better.

If mobility is the priority for you, then a laptop is obviously the way to go. If less visible wires is the priority, then there are various other solutions. If lower power is the priority, then there are various other options for that too.

I would say, only choose a laptop if mobility is what's important to you, because you will make sacrifices with a laptop. But you can use it in the lounge, you can use it in bed, you can take it with you when you visit friends and family...

Pretty much what you've described above is covered by an iMac

Everything built into the screen, now available with 21.5 or 27" screen, Core2, i5 or I7 processors and if you go with the Apple wireless keyboard and mouse plus wifi you'll have one cable - the power cable.

 

[Deks]

Well, notebooks are actually quite decent in terms of doing pretty much everything.
Granted, you will receive a lower processing power in comparison to the desktop, but you do gain mobility, more space and lose a few wires.

Depending on how high your demands go, a mid-range laptop with mid-range gpu (such as 9600m GT GDDR3) will do just fine for most games.

I also play games (all kinds) on my laptop without a mouse ... the touchpad serves my purposes ... although it can get a bit inconvenient at times ... but there are also wireless solutions for both mice and keyboards.

Of course, laptops might be a bit more troublesome in terms of faults and kinks that can mess things up ... however, if you treat it properly and buy one that has reliable technology, then it stands to reason there is very little which will go wrong, unless the manufacturer is pretty bad and messed things up intentionally.

Generally speaking, a life expectancy of a laptop could be rounded up to 3 or 4 years time frame.
By then it's already high time for an upgrade anyway if you need something more powerful.

If mobility and space are not exactly an issue, then just go with a new desktop.

Laptops can sometimes be more troublesome, but I have to say that despite their so called shortcommings, I still find them preferable to desktops because I can take them with me and resume working somewhere else.

 

[The Fatman]

I'm still in 2 minds now.

With a laptop with plug in power supply, plug in mouse and possibly plug in keyboard, you'll still have wires. Add a printer, and it has wires.

Laptop speakers are not much good. If you want it to sound any better than a 1980s pocket AM radio, then you'll want external speakers = more wires.

In fact, the only wires you're likely to lose with a laptop serving as a desktop are the power and data cable for the monitor. And if you get a base station, you'll get one of those wires back.

An alternative for you, is a compact desktop, that has the screen and disc drives built into the one box, which eliminates some of the wires. I don't know if they come in 22 inch varieties, but their internal speakers are... better.

If mobility is the priority for you, then a laptop is obviously the way to go. If less visible wires is the priority, then there are various other solutions. If lower power is the priority, then there are various other options for that too.

I would say, only choose a laptop if mobility is what's important to you, because you will make sacrifices with a laptop. But you can use it in the lounge, you can use it in bed, you can take it with you when you visit friends and family...

Pretty much what you've described above is covered by an iMac

Everything built into the screen, now available with 21.5 or 27" screen, Core2, i5 or I7 processors and if you go with the Apple wireless keyboard and mouse plus wifi you'll have one cable - the power cable.

While you're right, the 27" core i7 iMac is bottlenecked like crazy at the GPU. You can always dual boot into windows to play games, but for a $2000 USD machine, you really should get more than a Radeon HD 4850. I am a proud, card carrying member of the Cult of Jobs... but I can't in good conscience recommend an iMac to any PC gamer.

That said, to the OP... I think you should stay with a desktop. wireless peripherals are getting better all the time. While wireless speakers are not good, you can get great bluetooth keyboard and mouse sets reasonably priced NOW, and get a printer that either works totally wirelessly or connects right to your router, leaving your desk less cluttered. No laptop can compete with a desktops screen size and power, which are the two most important factors to me. For those rare instances where I have needed portability, I found that a netbook does everything I need on the road. I have a Dell Inspiron Mini 910, and that is a fantastic little machine for the price ($200 USD)

 

[little_chris]

Learn to wire manage...

I have a Core i7 desktop, 20" monitor, 5.1 speakers and wired ethernet connection. The only cables you can see are ones from the keyboard and mouse.

Also although i have no experience with PC Specialist (mines all self built) they run a big two page ad in the from of CustomPC magazine every issue so I wouldnt call them no name.

 

[Marc]

Learn to wire manage...

I have a Core i7 desktop, 20" monitor, 5.1 speakers and wired ethernet connection. The only cables you can see are ones from the keyboard and mouse.

Also although i have no experience with PC Specialist (mines all self built) they run a big two page ad in the from of CustomPC magazine every issue so I wouldnt call them no name.

They would be what are known as system assemblers - they would buy in the parts and build the machines themselves possible putting their own label on it.

Companies like PC Specislist would probably start off with an OEM chassis from some-one like Asus or BenQ (think MSI also does them) and build up from there but it would still count as no-name becasue there's no original manufacturer listed so if PC Specialist hit the wall you're out stone out of luck.

Now if you have a Toshiba or a Sony and your reseller goes under you still have recourse to the original "manufacturer" ?(often they will have another company do the actual manufactuer work).

 

[Mr. B]

I have to agree with little_chris, wires are no big deal if you keep things tidy. The only visible wire at my desktop PC is the keyboard and I could lose that one if I so desired.

As for the desktop vs. PC argument in general, I would go with both if you can afford it. I own laptops for ancillary usage but my desktop is the workhorse for gaming, photo editing, etc. I use laptops for internet browsing and some note taking.

Since I don't need a high powered laptop I've never bought a laptop new and have never needed to spend much money on one. Any four year-old laptop is powerful enough for the basic tasks most people use them for.

 

[judge alba]

not sure if this will help but have you tried those cabel tidy wraps? that put all the wires into a single 'wrap' of plastic

 

[All Seeing Eye]

I've tried wire management. I just don't like the wires.

 

[Australis]

Let me motivate you!

 

[All Seeing Eye]

Yes, I do like the one on the left, less wires makes me happy, happy as in gay. Why is that bad news?

 

[Australis]

Might be bad news for the missus.



Wives never like to see their husbands too happy.

 

[CorporalClegg]

I have to agree with little_chris, wires are no big deal if you keep things tidy. The only visible wire at my desktop PC is the keyboard and I could lose that one if I so desired.

Where's the box?

 

[Mr. B]

Against the wall in the corner, partially visible behind the chair. It's easier to see in this older pic.

 

[Praxius]

..... Do you prefer desktop comps or laptops? Would I be better off switching to a Laptop?

One thing I hate about laptops is the stupid mouse sensor thing but you can just plug an ordinary mouse in the side right? can you buy laptops with 20 inch screens? I don't want a smaller screen.

Am I doing the right thing switching to a Laptop? are there any downsides?

You can plug in any normal mouse into the side or back and it'll work just fine on a laptop.

What do I prefer?

While I like the mobility of a laptop, I don't like their price for what you get, I don't like how they heat up so much and I don't like how after about two or three months of running a laptop, they tend to slow down a lot and you gotta go through all sorts of things to keep them running decently (defrag, spyware check, anti-virus check, clear history/cookies more often then you need to on a PC)

Should you get one?

That all depends on what you plan on doing with it.

If you are just going to browse the net and work on MS office programs, then sure, fill your boots.

But if you are going to want to play games, work in graphically intense programs and the sort, you're looking at a pretty penny to spend to get something decent.

My mom go a new HP laptop with a pretty massive screen and decked out with all the latest trimmings. She's had it for a little over a year now and does a lot of stuff in Photoshop. Last time I used it, the thing took forever to boot up, load any programs, and basically ran like a damn 386 computer while cooking the crap out of my legs.... doing nothing I might add.

For me... cables lying around is a small price to pay for the power, performance and easy upgrading capabilities of a PC. If you want to upgrade a laptop, generally the cost of parts are much more due to their design.

Maybe in a couple of more years I can see worth in using one for more then just playing around on the internet, but not yet.

 

[FrankR]

I'd suggest a laptop that supports a real docking station.

This is what I have at work; I have the laptop plugged into the docking station driving a full size keyboard, mouse, and flat screen monitor. Plus I have the laptop open giving me dual monitors.

And if you want to take it with you; undock the laptop and away you go.

The downside is real docking stations are generally relegated to "business" laptops.

-frank

 

[Starbreaker]

I have a wireless keyboard and mouse that uses USB. It's not an annoying sensor like the ones they used to make either. This is smaller than most flash drives and I can still get use the peripherals all the way across the room with no problem.

 

[All Seeing Eye]

Might be bad news for the missus.



Wives never like to see their husbands too happy.

My wife is now happy, I decided to agree to move my PC upstairs into the bedroom which leaves more room downstairs and gives me more room to manage my wires. It's amazing just how much room there is in the living room now I've moved this thing upstairs. One downside is that I'm not allowed on it as much.

 

[Australis]

One downside is that I'm not allowed on it as much.

So, no downside, then.

 

[Amaris]

I have to agree with little_chris, wires are no big deal if you keep things tidy. The only visible wire at my desktop PC is the keyboard and I could lose that one if I so desired.

As for the desktop vs. PC argument in general, I would go with both if you can afford it. I own laptops for ancillary usage but my desktop is the workhorse for gaming, photo editing, etc. I use laptops for internet browsing and some note taking.

Since I don't need a high powered laptop I've never bought a laptop new and have never needed to spend much money on one. Any four year-old laptop is powerful enough for the basic tasks most people use them for.

Wow. That is a very nice, clean setup Mr. B.
You make my OCD happy.

J.