pros and cons of a laptop vs a desktop computer

[kfeusse]

my desktop appears to be on it's last leg...and I am looking into replacing it.  I have never owned a laptop but I am wondering if I want to or not.

 

Can you guys help me sort out the pros and cons of a laptop vs a desktop?

 

thanks.

[Elizabeth86]

Great post! Same idea is on my mind simply to make room!

[JIN MOUSA]

We only have laptops. Most of the time they're used in the same place, but we still take advantage of the portability.

 

One thing to consider is that if you're comparing performance specs side by side, a laptop will be more expensive due to the mechanical challenges of getting that same amount of computing into a smaller/lighter space. I think this is fairly significant if you have high computing needs (video editing, for example), but may not be as big of a deal with lower needs. 

[regentrude]

Laptop is great for travel, flexibility, to put away quickly. For most applications, you won't need more computing power.

(ETA: pp mentions video editing. I can run the software on the Surface Pro, but it is significantly slower than my desktop at work, so if you have computing needs like this, laptop may not be the best choice. Rendering large video files takes forever.)

 

The biggest drawback is ergonomics. Because you can sit with the laptop anywhere, people pay less attention to proper posture, right height of display, proper positioning of wrists etc. This can potentially have pretty bad long term consequences (carpal tunnel, upper spine/neck issues). 

 

Other drawback: if you are far sighted. The laptop cannot be further away than your arms, so you may need an external monitor.

Edited January 23, 2018 by regentrude

[Corraleno]

We are an all-laptop family here. I can't honestly think of any advantages to desktops. We all like having the flexibility to work wherever we want, both at home (kitchen, bedroom, on the deck in nice weather) and in other places (gymnastics, fencing club, hotels & airports when we travel, etc.). I would never go back to a desktop computer.

[TravelingChris]

I have both.  I use my desk top a lot more since I love my big screens, easier to use typing, better speakers I have with it, etc. Also desktops usually have much more memory.  But of course you cannot move around the house with it, or go travelling with it so for that I have a laptop.  Nowadays, I use my laptop a lot less because either the phone or my kindle are a lot easier to move around and do much of the functions I was doing with the laptop.

[happypamama]

I asked the same thing a couple of years ago; I ended up going laptop and haven’t looked back. I was afraid that the smaller screen would be a problem, but it hasn’t been at all. (Then again, I happily watch tv on my iPhone 5s, so I might not have a high standard for screen size.). I love that I can move the laptop all over as needed.

[regentrude]

Another drawback may be screen size, depending on what applications you need. I find that I cannot comfortably work with multiple spreadsheets on my laptop because I do not see enough of the data tables; I prefer the much larger screen on my desktop. Again, this could be solved with an external monitor; however, that would eliminate virtually all advantages of using a laptop because it is not portable.

 

So I think your decision would depend a lot on what you use the computer for.

Edited January 23, 2018 by regentrude

[eternalsummer]

I vastly prefer desktops; for me, they are more durable, more cost effective (you get more processing power for the $), and more personalizable - I can put the keyboard where I want it and the monitor where I want it, etc.

 

A laptop is great to have for travelling.

[EKS]

I do a lot of writing, and a desktop is indispensable.  I can't stand doing serious writing on a laptop.

[Carol in Cal.]

Desktops are cheaper, more powerful for the price, and permanently installed with a biggish monitor.

 

Laptops can always be hooked up to that monitor, but you can also take them with you on trips or curl up on your couch and use them.  I have grown to love curling up on my couch to use mine, and I would never go back to a desktop.

I do have a heavyish one with a biggish screen.  That's helpful if you don't want to hook up to the monitor to be able to see well.  But it's also harder to lug through airports.  Something to consider.  Since I don't print things out on trips, and I don't share my screen with anyone else, I'm about to also get an Ipad, the big one, for the road, so I can take it on planes more easily and also to other 'travel' applications where I want to carry it around a lot.  But to just go to a hotel in the car, the laptop is fine.

Edited January 23, 2018 by Carol in Cal.

[Arcadia]

Who do you rely on for tech support? My dad switch to a laptop because if he needs help he could easily bring his laptop to a nearby relative to solve his hardware or software problem for free (excluding cost of parts). It is a lot harder to bring a desktop and take a bus to any of my relatives. Many of my cousins can fix a cranky laptop or desktop for my dad or my brother but they don’t have the time to make house calls to help.

 

I have a 17†laptop which is a desktop replacement. It rarely leaves the house but I like being able to use it anywhere in the house. It is an older model and has a CD-ROM drive so I can use it to copy mp3 from the CDs that accompany foreign language textbooks. My kids have 14†laptops that has gone on domestic and international flights because they did online classes while visiting relatives.

 

When my kids are in outside classes and I am waiting around, I use my iPad for documents and spreadsheets so I don’t need a laptop for outside use yet.

[wendy not in HI]

We only have laptops and we really love them. Easy to hold, portable, no desk needed, take it to give a presentation, take it when you move, take it to college, etc.

 

Last year, after 8years as laptop owners we learned the #1 disadvantage of laptops. They are not waterproof! If you spill on the laptop keyboard, your laptop will very likely be dead. Spilling near your desktop is much less dangerous!

 

After we killed our favorite MacBook Pro, we bought a laptop to replace it, but we probably should have gone with a desktop.... but so far we’ve kept the “no hot cocoa near the laptop†rule!

[Pippen]

My desktop is my primary machine, but I have an inexpensive Chromebook.

 

Honestly, one of the biggest drawbacks to using a Chromebook is that Iike to use it in relaxed positions like my recliner, and I tend to doze off after a long day at work. I'm much more likely to stay away and on task while seated at my desktop. 

[SKL]

I haven't used a desktop in decades.  Do they even still make them?

 

I need a laptop because I need to be able to work in various locations.  I can and do take my work everywhere, which gives me a lot of flexibility.  They also hardly take up any space.  I can't think of any reason I'd go back to a desktop.  Actually I don't even have a desk any more.  :P

[SKL]

By the way, you can get a pretty big screen on a laptop (well, bigger than the average desktop).  And as noted, you can hook it up to a bigger screen, even the big screen TV if you want.  You can also get a fair amount of memory.

 

It probably does cost more, I have not compared.  But for me, the portability is well worth it.  Actually it is necessary for me, and has been for decades since I have had to travel for my job.

[CAJinBE]

We went through the same transition. We all have laptops now and the original desktop just sits unused in a very messy corner of the office collecting dust. It is still serving as one of the backups for our family photos but that's about it. We used to connect the printer to it, but even the printer has gone wifi. All we do it school and internet surfing basically. I will be happy when my dh finishes his project of backing up everything somewhere else and the desktop can disappear, providing me with a clean table surface again. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I have both and I prefer the desktop.  Mostly because of the keyboard. I hate laptop keyboards with a passion.  When I use the laptop I sometimes plug in a regular keyboard if I am going to do any serious typing.  Laptop keyboards are just horribly wrong and uncomfortable to me.

 

We bought the laptop to use when we need a computer on the go (not often, but sometimes it comes up).  Otherwise, I rarely use it.  I suppose one major pro on top of portability is that it takes up less space (although desktops aren't as big and clunky as they used to be). 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I haven't used a desktop in decades.  Do they even still make them?

 

 

Absolutely. 

[Wheres Toto]

Our kids have desktops because we aren't ready for them to be able to use them in their rooms yet, but dh and I have laptops. 

 

Right now I'm using an old laptops of dd's that was the kids to use when we visited relatives, but I've claimed it because someone killed my almost brand-new, pretty expensive, I loved that computer, laptop when they spilled a very small amount of water on it when closed but plugged in.  Fried the motherboard.  We were able to pull the hard drive and access everything but I miss that laptop so bad.   :crying:   I can't wait until a new one is in the budget.

 

I need a laptop because I bring it to my classes and 4-H club to run presentations.  I also don't have a desk big enough to hold a computer.  If I need a desktop for some reason, I use one of the kids.

[teachermom2834]

We are very very hard on our laptops. I know other people are more responsible but we just treat our desktops better. It is our laptops that get things spilled on them, get dropped, etc. I realize this is an issue likely unique to our family but we like the durability of the desktops.

 

If it is a shared computer with kids it is nice to have a desktop in an open location.

[Alessandra]

I used a laptop when I was between desktops. (Everything Mac.)

 

The laptop took up too much room on my desk vs small footprint of desktop.

Bigger screen on desktop.

For real work, I like to have multiple windows open, so desktop.

The biggie for me is that I want papers, checkbook, etc in front of me as I use computer, easier with desktop.

I like full sized keyboard with number pad and forward delete key.

 

For casual stuff, like WTM browsing, I use iPad.

[shawthorne44]

I much prefer a desktop, mainly for the screens.   I've gotten used to having three screens at work.  Two monitors and the laptop screen for e-mail/messaging.   At work, we have laptops with docking stations.   So, then I installed a second screen on our home desktop.   My husband rolled his eyes at first, but he is converted now too.  

 

Another thing is that desktops seems to last longer.  The parts have more breathing room and they don't tend to overheat like laptops do easily.  Desktop I'm on now must be 8-years old, because DD is 7 and it predates her.   I've replaced some parts here and there, which is much easier to do on a desktop.  

[skimomma]

We have been an all-laptop-at-home family for over ten years now but my work (and dh's) often requires more screen space for efficiency.  Both of us have desktops at work and we both have double screens.  However, we work from home often.  So in what used to be our desktop area, we have a big auxiliary screen that we can hook our laptops up to when we need more screen space.  That was a game-changer for me as I was finding myself schlepping to the office just to have that extra screen space.  As for durable, I find ours to be pretty indestructible.  We had one around here for a while that had been run over by a car!  It had issues but still worked well enough to use.  We do keep liquid and food away from them and we have pretty strict transporting rules.  My MacBook Pro is 10 years old and still kicking.

[Vintage81]

I have had both. Most of the time, I prefer a desktop. I like the bigger screen and I really dislike the keyboard/mouse on the laptop. However, there are times when I need the portability of the laptop. So, really it depends on what you need. 

 

The way I have everything setup now is sort of the best of both worlds. I only have a laptop, but I have a separate monitor, keyboard, and mouse that I hookup to (through a dongle) on my desk. If I need to take my laptop, I just unplug from the dongle. This option is more expensive because you incur the cost of the laptop, the monitor, the keyboard, the dongle, etc; however, it was less expensive (for me) than having both a laptop and a desktop. 

Edited January 23, 2018 by Vintage81

[BlsdMama]

Great post! Same idea is on my mind simply to make room!

 

 

Me too!!

[SKL]

I often have 2 or 3 views up on my laptop screen.  For accounting and many other tasks, it is normal for me to do side-by-side screens.  For me it is no different from when I used to do that on my desktop monitor many years ago.

 

When I was in corporate before I had my laser eye surgery, I demanded a large screen to attach to my laptop.  Now I don't need that any more, but my previous laptop had a pretty big screen anyway.

 

I have all the keys any desktop computer keypad has.  You can choose a smaller and simpler product if that suits your needs, but that would not work for me.  I also need a CD reader which I have in my laptop.

 

For my kids, I bought $100 laptops that are smaller and don't have touch screens or CD players.  They really enjoy them and can do most things with them.

[Seasider]

So glad you asked this question. I am now decided for sure to go back to a desktop. We've all been laptop users for years, but I've been thinking of returning to a desktop for a while, for a few reasons.

 

First is ergonomics. My posture is better with a desk/standing desk situation than as a slumped-on-the-couch user. I also feel more productive as a writer when using a "real" (old style?) keyboard. Plus as others have mentioned, I need a bigger screen. And that I am able to put the keyboard and screen at separate, appropriate heights will help prevent eye strain and text neck.

 

It also has to do with intentionality. I want to create a setting for tasks that involve computer use. I am working on putting technology use in its proper place rather than letting it spill over into every area of my life. I am also reverting back to the carrying a book along mentality as opposed to planning to read on my phone or jump on social media at any down moment. I believe using a desktop will help me as I work in being an intentional user versus a default browser. It's largely a time and habit management thing for me.

[shawthorne44]

...

When I was in corporate before I had my laser eye surgery, I demanded a large screen to attach to my laptop.  Now I don't need that any more, but my previous laptop had a pretty big screen anyway.

...

 

That might be the difference for me.  The tiny font to fit a bunch of stuff on the laptop screen makes it hard to read.  

 

There is this work software that used tiny font.   I didn't need it that often, but using it was annoying.   I asked IT how to change the font size, because at the moment, my method was to pick up the laptop and hold the screen a few inches from my face.    They thought I was joking.   :huh:

[SparklyUnicorn]

That might be the difference for me.  The tiny font to fit a bunch of stuff on the laptop screen makes it hard to read.  

 

There is this work software that used tiny font.   I didn't need it that often, but using it was annoying.   I asked IT how to change the font size, because at the moment, my method was to pick up the laptop and hold the screen a few inches from my face.    They thought I was joking.   :huh:

 

I hate tiny font too.  Our laptop screen is very large.  That was probably my number one must have thing on it. 

[MeaganS]

I haven't read the other posts, but my favorite combo is one desktop and otherwise chromebooks for individuals. Chromebooks are good for about 95% of what I want a computer to do, and are significantly cheaper. They also boot up like a tablet in seconds rather than taking a few minutes like most computers and laptops. If you are a Google person, you can even sync your profile across devices (phone, Chromebook, desktop) and access all your bookmarks, passwords, history, etc. If you have a desktop too, then you can use it for anything you can't do with a Chromebook. That's what gets my vote. We'll probably be getting dd9 one soon for school stuff. DH and I already have Chromebooks and have for years. 

 

ETA: We are fairly basic computer users. Internet, word processing, excel sheets and various applications are all we use. Nothing really heavy like high processing games.

Edited January 23, 2018 by Meagan S

[Lanny]

I haven't read all of the replies. We have  8 Laptops in the house , plus the last Desktop we were able to purchase new, from Dell Latin America, before they changed their system, which was ordered during October 2012 for DD.  Excluding portability, I prefer a Desktop. There is more expansion capability. Ergonomically, they are much better. Less expensive for the power you get.

 

Laptops that have a working battery and that are used while connected to AC have the equivalant of a UPS. For a Desktop, one needs to purchase a UPS or face the possible consequences, if there is a power failure.  It is a rare occurrence that I update the BIOS on a Motherboard (System Board) but when I do that, I feel safer doing it on a Laptop.

 

6 of the laptops in the house are Dell Enterprise models and some of them, when they were New and purchased or leased by "Enterprise" customers (Corporations and Governments) were shipped with a "Docking  Station".  That permits someone to take their Laptop to work, place it on the "Docking Station", which is hooked up to an external Monitor, Mouse and Keyboard, and they can use their Laptop as if it was a Desktop machine. 

 

In our case, we need U.S. English OS (Operating System) and Keyboard, for my DD and me and I believe after 20 years my wife is well accustomed to U.S. English computers. We live overseas, so to get that here would be difficult or impossible. For little $, I can buy a U.S. English language Laptop in the USA and have it shipped to our house. That's how 6 of the 8 laptops got here.

Edited January 23, 2018 by Lanny

[Lady Florida.]

I've been laptop only for about 10 years now. Dh also has a laptop. It does everything I need it to do. Probably the heaviest work I ask it to do is photo editing, and it can handle that just fine. I like the portability not just for leaving the house but even around the house. Some laptops are upgradable but you'll pay more for those. The one I had before this was but when it became obsolete (that particular Dell model was unable to run Windows 10) I decided to get a newer one. It's 8 years old and still works quite well aside from the Windows upgrade issue.

 

Ds is a gamer and prefers a desktop with a wired mouse. 

Edited January 23, 2018 by Lady Florida.

[ktgrok]

I hate typing on my phone or a tablet, so I use a laptop for pretty much everything. Social media, logging food, browsing web, etc. I almost never use my phone for those, because my laptop is so portable. 

 

I also write outside the home fairly often (lately sitting in parking lots while the baby sleeps in her carseat) so need it for that.