Small desktop or laptop?

[Daniel_G]

I am selling my old computer and heading off to college soon and can not decide if I should build a small computer in a case like the Velkase Velka 3 or something of that type or if I should buy a gaming laptop. I am leaning towards a desktop in order to build it around an AMD platform and be able to swap out components but laptops are also very portable. Help? 

[jctappel67]

What is the application you need this computer for the most. Classwork is generally done best on a laptop, and while building in the Velkase Velka 3 (if you can get one) would still require you to bring a monitor.

 

I'd just go with a laptop, and if you want a larger screen, get a second monitor.

[Slottr]

Don't use a gaming laptop for college classes. You'll be stuck with a heavy laptop that has crap battery

[jctappel67]

1 minute ago, Slottr said:

Don't use a gaming laptop for college classes. You'll be stuck with a heavy laptop that has crap battery

The Zephyrus G14 would probably be great for his purposes though.

[MartinKweh]

It depends on what you want to do. If you plan to use it mainly in you home or carry it around and stuff.  Its true that a pc is most of the the time more powerful than a laptop at a lower price. But the portability will be different. 

 

Additionally, sff components tend to be a bit more expensive compared to regular components. So thats what you need to put some thoughts in to too

[seon123]

Depends on what you do. If you will be required to run demanding programs, it can be a huge advantage to be able to run them on your laptop anywhere, especially when working in a group. If you don't, you might want a lighter, more portable laptop that's easier to carry around. Etc etc, depending on your needs

[Drealar]

3 hours ago, jctappel67 said:

The Zephyrus G14 would probably be great for his purposes though.

I second this, though as usual it depends on your budget.

Now that you mentioned it, I was gonna suggest laptop + desktop, but Zephyrus G14 at $1450 sound good & reasonable for portability, power & price.

But then again, I might be wrong

A lot of Ryzen 4000 laptop are already available or coming out soon, so better do your research.

 

3 hours ago, MartinKweh said:

Additionally, sff components tend to be a bit more expensive compared to regular components. So thats what you need to put some thoughts in to too

True, true.. I love SFF and uSFF but always held back from building one because of the price... especially mITX mobos.