OK so the question has been set :
Laptops vs Desktops. I’m not here to sell you either so i have no vested interest. If your interested in this question then read on as i’ve listed the basic pro’s and cons with a little opinion at the bottom.
The basic pro’s and cons : Laptop Pros ( 3 ) 1 – Portable 2 – Relatively cheap when compared completely ( include the screen , keyboard etc ) 3 – Built in battery – ( ever had a power cut and lost some work ? )
Laptop Cons ( 5 ) 1 – Small screen 2 – Uncomfortable for long periods of work without desktop keyboard and screen ( suddenly not so portable ) 3 – Can be expensive / impossible to repair 4 – Laptop hard disks are a major bottleneck : Laptop hard disk are much slower and do not work well when filled up with data. 5 – Laptop processors at the same Ghz ( measure of speed on chips ) do not perform the same ( 30% more in favor of the desktop ).
Desktop Pros ( 5 ) 1 – Powerful 2 – Easy to upgrade 3 – Easy to repair 4 – Desktops last longer ( they don’t break as easily as laptops ) 5 – If you need lots of Power the desktops are significantly cheaper.
Desktop Cons ( 2) 1- Not portable ( try carrying one of these to work and back everyday ). 2 – No built in battery ( external batteries called UPS can be purchased as an extra).
Final Point Score :
Desktop Pros / Cons: 5 / 2 Laptop Pros / Cons :: 3 / 5
Conclusion : Desktops win convincingly ! If your planning to buy a computer and your planning to leave it on a dedicated table then you should definitely buy a desktop. Its cheaper more powerful , easy to upgrade etc.
If you really need to move with your computer then you have no choice but to go with a laptop. ( Do ask if you really need to move with it – not the old fantasy of ” I’m going to work in the garden with my laptop – its just not going to happen ; glare on screen when its sunny and sparks from your laptop when it rains, bad wifi connecting , battery running out , etc).
Example : 3Ghz desktop chip vs a 3Ghz laptop chip the laptop chip is approximately 30% slower ( this is due to a number of factors – heat , voltage and general punching power – ghz are about speed but just because a boxer punches 3000 times doesn’t make him a powerful boxer as a boxer who weighs twice as much can punch 2000 times and produce more power than the boxer who punches faster — Speed X Weight = Power