How to choose between a Desktop Computer or a Laptop

Choosing the right computer can sometimes be difficult, especially with the prices that are involved. To make the decision harder, the computer industry has come up with laptops and desktops. But, all is not lost. This article should help ease the confusion on choosing a new computer.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. First decide what you will use the computer for. If you use the computer for Office programs, surfing the net, and watching videos, then any computer will do. If you want to play the latest first person shooter game, or do any heavy video editing, or maybe a lot of CAD, then you need large video components and lots of memory. If you want to do any overclocking of the CPU, then a laptop is a bad choice with it's limited cooling. You can buy a laptop with lots of memory and a fairly large video driver, but you will pay much more for it.

2. Next, you need to decide how important mobility is to you. If you are a college student or business professional, then mobility probably is the most important aspect to consider. A laptop always trumps a desktop in mobility. If mobility is most important, then don't even consider a desktop.

3. If you are flexible on mobility, then the next step is to consider your budget. If you compare a desktop to a laptop, feature to feature, then a desktop is generally half the price of a laptop. Laptops also increase in price when they get smaller than a 15 inch screen size, or when you upgrade components. If you are trying to get the cheapest computer possible, then a desktop would be a good choice.

4. Next, you need to consider upgrade ability. This is the ability to improve your computer by just buying new components a few years after you buy it. This helps your computer last longer, and helps you to not have to buy a new one so often. A laptop is limited in this area. Generally, only the RAM and hard drive can be upgraded. You can minimize this by buying a high end laptop that will not become obsolete so fast. A desktop is generally much easier to upgrade later on. This depends on what form factor the desktop is. If it is a thin desktop, then it's ability to upgrade is similar to a laptop.

5. Next you need to consider what components you want. Do, you want one or multiple hard drives? Do you want multiple card readers? Do you want one optical device or two? Do you want a floppy drive? Do you want an eSATA port? A laptop generally only has one optical device (and sometimes none), one hard drive, one IEEE port, an SD card reader, and a few USB ports. You can get external drives, but they are limited on speed because of the lack of eSATA ports. Plus, you limit the laptop's mobility by adding external ports.

6. Beware of desktops that combine the bad features of both laptops and desktops without combining any of the good features. A laptop is very mobile, but has limited cooling, memory capabilities, video capabilities, and upgrade ability. Most desktops are easily upgraded, have great cooling, large memory, and large video capabilities, but are not mobile at all. There are some desktops that have limited cooling, memory capabilities, video capabilities, and upgrade ability, along with no mobility. These are generally slim models. If you are considering between a slim desktop or a laptop, do yourself a favor and pick the laptop.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider what your primary needs are, and weigh them against the different options.
• Beware computers that have the worst of both worlds.

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on 5/9/2009 Solid article, much better than most of the stuff in the Computers section here.