laptop vs. desktop

yes, you can get a much better desktop than notebook for the same amount of money.

desktops - you can add/remove hardware easily.

notebooks have a shorter life span, and are more difficult to repair on your own.

notebook batteries need replacing.

etc.

You can have the best of both world's with a laptop.

You really need to replace hardware. A desktop is unnecessary.

Notebooks have a good life span. Five years is plenty. No need to have a 10 year old desktop that needs constant upgrades, hardware and software.

Laptop batteries do not require replacement.

To get the best of both worlds this is my setup.

15 inch laptop.

24 inch external display.

Raid 5 array NAS (Network Attached Storage). Raid 5 means that the files are in redundant storage. If any of one of the four disks in the array die, it is hot-swapped out. A Raid system will clone the data across the four disks such that full redundancy is available again. With this type of NAS you don't lose data to crash.

I backup the entire computer to the NAS weekly. Some folders are backed up every two hours. A few select folders are backed up every 30 minutes. The backups are incremental, so the backups are relatively fast.

I do not use the laptop as a long term storage device. All software, all videos, and some music, are all on the NAS. If I want to take some music or a few vids with me, I copy them over to the laptop. I do have about 8 GB of music stored on the laptop, that's about 1,000 songs.

You RARELY need to replace hardware. A desktop is unnecessary.

what about heating problems with the laptop if you run it constantly?

Not a problem. I do have a $20 lap support device, when I use it that way. On a desktop, if I'm playing a video, which gets the laptop hotter, I use a triangular architect's ruler to make some legs.

A laptop is portable. A desktop is not. With either choice using a NAS to backup files, and share files across multiple computers, is the way go.

I lost lost of my stored computer files about 5 years ago. I didn't have a backup. That's how I leaned about home NAS systems. It cost me about $1,500 to set the NAS up that long ago. They are cheaper now. Although that is a lot of money, it seemed like a pittance compared to the lose of the data I experienced.

computer n00b wrote:

what about heating problems with the laptop if you run it constantly?

Plenty of inexpensive cooling pads.

computer n00b wrote:

I recently bought a laptop and I'm thinking I made a mistake. I love the portabiltiy, but that is less important than having a solid, reliable machine that can be easily repaired/replaced if necessary and cannot be so easily stolen. I had a (shitty, thankfully) laptop stolen last year and am paranoid about having that happen again. Can you generally get a superior desktop for the same amount that you would pay for laptop? I run my computer constantly and I just read that it can be a problem with laptops due to overheating/overuse and the difficulty of replacing laptop components vs. desktop components. Well let me know what you guys think. Thanks.

Desktops will be way cheaper than a laptop with the same specs.

I think you did not think this out. So, if you made a mistake, what are you going to do about it? Sell the laptop (not going to get much for a used one--even if for a short period of time) and buy a desktop?

No I can still return the laptop in the next few days. It's making a clicking noise anyway.

luv2run wrote:

Desktops will be way cheaper than a laptop with the same specs.

I have this laptop:

I can exchange it for this desktop + a nice monitor:

Your desktop exchange option does appear to come with a screen. You'll probably need to budget for that.

Where does it say that it comes with a screen?

Sorry, I meant DOES NOT come with a screen.

those are both rip offs

If you're on the fence, I would go with the desktop computer. They are typically a better bargain and provide you with much more flexibility regarding upgrades.

As far as backups are concerned, a NAS technical solution is certainly nice but it might be a bit too much for most users. If you're looking for redundancy you can often purschase a desktop that is pre-built with a RAID 1 array that will provide you with peace of mind regarding your data files. Beyond that, these days external USB storage is rather cheap. Picking up a large external drive and doing a simple drag-and-drop backup on a monthly basis is probably more than most people are doing for a backup solution, and it's very cost-effective, too.

look for sales wrote:

those are both rip offs

both are $200 off in store

If you bought WinBloze then a must have is Ghost 15 to clone the hard drive. That way when WinBloze destroys the OS, which it will eventually do, you can swap drive and be back up in minutes.

The comment on RAID1 is obsolete. Just make two copies or weekly copies with Ghost 15. Hardware based RAID solutions have been made obsolete by Solaris ZFS file systems, which is slowing making it's way to the small home market. It's not here today so like I said, just backup with Ghost 15 every week and you'll be safe.

I just built my own desktop a few months ago. It was just short of a thousand bucks and designed for gaming, so a top of the line video card (~$300) and a near top shelf CPU. An equally powerful laptop would have been twice as expensive.

You can't really build a laptop yourself (well maybe you can if you're a super whiz) so that means it's harder to customize, but most people don't care about customizing their hardware. Desktops are also slightly more reliable, and in the event one of your components fails, you can replace it yourself.

The only cons to owning a desktop are size (my tower is quite large) and lack of portability. A few other notes:

-The more powerful a machine you want, the higher premium you pay for portability. An equivalent laptop to my desktop would be around 100% more expensive. If you aren't looking for much power, you might only notice a 50% price difference between laptop and desktop. If you do video editing, the difference can be much greater than 100%.

-When you are at home, you can hook up an external montitor, mouse, and keyboard to your laptop.

computer n00b wrote:

what about heating problems with the laptop if you run it constantly?

Always have it on a table etc never on couch or lap!

I like laptops for the simple fact that you don't have to have a dedicated piece of furniture for it to reside. When you're not using it you can literally stick it on a shelf in the closet or something. On the other hand, if I am going to be spending several hours typing a document I'd much rather be sitting comfortably at a desktop...or laptop hooked up to a desktop docking station. So laptops for home, desktops for the office.