Desktop versus Laptop

Since I work in the computer industry, when family or friends are looking to buy a new computer they invariably solicit my opinion. It seems more often than not they have decided to get a laptop instead of a desktop. Me personally, I'm a desktop fan. So much so that I'll even try and encourage them to get a desktop over a laptop. Why? Well let's look at the pros and cons of laptops.

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Pros:

• The most obvious pro of a laptop is portability. It's convenient and easy to take a laptop anywhere. Not only take it anywhere, but use it anywhere.


• Efficiency - laptops are in general more energy efficient.

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Cons:

• Cost - laptops simply cost more than equivalent desktop hardware. Both desktops and laptops are becoming cheaper, but laptops still cost more.


• Performance - desktops outperform similarly priced laptop systems. Not only in overall performance, but individual components. The desktop CPU outperforms a laptop CPU, a desktop hard drive is faster and larger capacity than laptop hard drives, desktop video cards outperform laptop video cards, etc.


• Battery life on a laptop is sometimes dismal. Even new some laptops can only go a few hours on a charge. And batteries degrade overtime shortening this even more. I've seen some laptops which such awful batteries that most of the time you must run the system using a power cord, which greatly limits where you can use a laptop. You can buy new batteries, but they are very expensive. I read somewhere that laptop manufactures make more money selling replacement batteries than they do selling the initial system. This doesn't surprise me either, replacement batteries often cost $100 or more, and we're talking about a few cents of plastic and a few dollars in batteries.


• The screen on a laptop is typically smaller and not as nice as a desktop system.


• The keyboard on a laptop is not as good as the keyboard with a desktop system. There's just something about a full-size keyboard with standard key layout that is easier to use than the keyboard on a laptop.


• I personally hate trackpads (and thumbsticks). A mouse is so much better than a trackpad or thumbstick. Yes you can use a wireless mouse on a laptop, but that's just one more thing to lug around with you.


• Laptops use a lot of proprietary hardware. If something breaks on your laptop chances are you'll have to special order that part from the original manufacture (which won't be cheap either). Desktop system contain fewer (if any) proprietary hardware.


• Laptops are harder to upgrade that desktops. Desktops you can upgrade CPU, RAM, hard drive, video, network, audio cards, etc. On a laptop about the only thing you can upgrade are the RAM and hard drive, and depending on the system maybe the wireless card.


• Laptops seem to run hot. Admittedly desktop systems generate a lot of heat (probably more because they don't use as efficient components), but desktop systems have far better heat dissipation and ventilation.


• Laptops are easily lost or stolen. Because they are portable the chances of losing a laptop or having it stolen are much greater than a desktop.


• Laptops are much more likely to break. This is two-fold. First, because laptops are constantly being moved around they are more likely to be dropped, sat on, etc. Secondly, laptops are more fragile to begin with - most laptops are made of plastic whereas most desktop systems are made of metal.


• Laptops probably have a shorter life expectancy. I don't have proof of this, but I suspect on average desktops last longer. This is due to a combination of several things. Laptops have less powerful hardware to begin with, are limited on upgrading, and more likely to have their life shortened because of breaking.

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These are the pros and cons I was able to think of for laptops. There might be others I'm missing. If you can think of one, especially if it's a "pro" then please reply and comment on it.

Looking at these lists, clearly the deck is stacked against laptops. Basically for the convenience of a portable computer people are willing to live with the long list of cons. And the number of laptop users is growing. Each year the percentage of laptops of all computers sold goes up and the percentage of desktops goes down. And I'm sure manufactures aren't complaining either. They make more profit on laptop systems, so they are loving this trend.

If you're a user who absolutely must have portability, there is no choice for you - get the laptop. But if all you're going to do with the laptop is use it on the couch with the TV on in the background, or on your kitchen counter, then I encourage you to get a desktop system and go to the computer when you want to use it instead of bringing the computer to you.

Now all of this said, I have to admit there is something sexy about a new thin laptop. I can't quite quantify it, only to say that even with this long list of reasons not to get a laptop, there is just something about the convenience of a laptop. I'm even considering getting a laptop myself.