Laptop or Desktop ?

[Nerd]

Okay so to give a bit of context to this thread. Here's a little story.

I've been having unending discussions with one of my friends about whether a laptop or a desktop would be better. Both of us are going to be upgrading our systems sometime soon. Problem is that I am set on desktops, he is set on laptops and both think other is being silly. Now both of us being stubborn we could not leave it like that. Thus here I come with a question for you all, what do you think is better ?

Let us know, or at very least vote in the poll Thank you !

 

[Jonathan]

Well it really depends on what your doing, how out and about you are and what kind of power you need. A summary below:

Desktops​

• Easy to Upgrade (Pretty much every part can be changed)​
• More powerful (laptops have to compromise)​
• More storage (laptops have not extra storage bays)​
• Can have the latest hardware on day one (laptops tend to be a few months behind)​
• Customizability (ability to choose every part that goes into it)​
• Tend to be a bit cheaper (not including peripherals)​
• Full IO (Not missing ports)​

Laptops​

• Compact (don't take up much space)​
• Portable (you can't easily carry a PC around with you)​
• Reliable (parts in them tend to have been out for a few months so and 1st month problems would be fixed by then)​
• Can be easily used in multiple ways (like hooked up to a TV for movie watching, some can also be tablets)​
• As long as you don't go with Apple, tend to have good hardware for the price (RAM & Storage can be changed with ease)​

That's most of what I could come up with in 5 mins for the pro's of each, I could be wrong on some of the points. I personally have both a desktop and laptop. Started on a laptop, but went to a full desktop when I started Games Development (needed something that could handle 3D game development with ease). So I use my desktop for heavy workloads while I use my laptop for on the go and word based tasks (my laptop is pretty under powered with an old AMD A10).
​

 

[Danny]

Oh, this kind of discussion is totally up my alley.

Definitely if you're looking for raw power and performance, a desktop is your best pick. Not only will it handle better than a laptop at heavy tasks, but it is also upgradable as @Dev_J mentioned above.

However, more so in 2017 than ever, specs on paper don't matter as much as they used to. We're at a point where it'd relatively easy to find decent components for both laptop and desktop machines. What it really comes down to is what your needs are.

I built my desktop back in 2014 with all the newest parts at the time; a GTX 780, X99-a motherboard with an i7-5820k and 16GB DDR4 memory (DDR4 at the time was unheard of by many. I actually argued with a guy online about its existence, lol!) That machine has, and continues to serve me well. Still, I got myself a MacBook Pro for post secondary this year and it has given me a new perspective on things.

With the MacBook Pro, I can't really play as many games and distract myself in the same way I was able to on my PC. OSX also offers Final Cut Pro X which is amazing with handling 4K footage. So, here's my conclusion. If your priority is gaming, streaming, 3D rendering, that kind of stuff, then a desktop PC is your best pick, without a doubt. However, if you want productivity, don't underestimate a laptop! Even if it's not a MacBook, its limitations can end up being what enables you to do more.

 

[SannuG]

There are pro's and con's on both, Laptops are more mobile while Desktops aren't, and, also the price of the upgrading said hardware within said desktop is expensive, but both of you in the long run will have a better time with desktop than with the laptop, it's best to own 2 for each, so, you'd not be competing -- if he likes Laptops more, then why is he the judge of your liking? I mean no disrespect whatsoever, but, both have their own things, things that they like, so, nobody shouldn't be the judge of something like this, I prefer desktop -- because it's one place, and if something fails, I can semi-replace the part with the higher cost.

 

[zeke morgan]

I'm definitely going to have to say a laptop, just for the ease and convenience sorry Senpai @Nerd

 

[Chris Delmuro]

I have both, but personally a desktop. I only got a laptop for college and it was really cheap and I'm able to play games on it.

 

[TwilightPrinze]

Okay so to give a bit of context to this thread. Here's a little story.

I've been having unending discussions with one of my friends about whether a laptop or a desktop would be better. Both of us are going to be upgrading our systems sometime soon. Problem is that I am set on desktops, he is set on laptops and both think other is being silly. Now both of us being stubborn we could not leave it like that. Thus here I come with a question for you all, what do you think is better ?

Let us know, or at very least vote in the poll Thank you !

A laptop is easy for on the road and can be used everywhere while the desktop holds far more power.