lets discuss the term “desktop“

[dfsgsfa]

so a pc (tower) on top on a table ( desk) ?

 

1st question , does desktop include mouse / keyboard /monitor and speakers? coz they are mostly on top of a desk.

 

2nd question , pc in old days are huge!! 

how large should your desk be?

 

3rd question, when a pc tower place under a desk, is it a desktop?

[gloop]

2 minutes ago, dfsgsfa said:

1st question , does desktop include mouse / keyboard /monitor and speakers? coz they are mostly on top of a desk.

No, the desktop is the physical pc.

2 minutes ago, dfsgsfa said:

 

2nd question , pc in old days are huge!! 

how large should your desk be?

 

Most desks fit all PCs fine;

 

3 minutes ago, dfsgsfa said:

3rd question, when a pc tower place under a desk, is it a desktop?

Yes, 'desktop' is just a general term.

[Origami Cactus]

1) No, the term desktop usually refers to the commonly named "desktop pc". If peripherals are included, it is normally called a "pc setup" or just "setup".

 

2) Nowadays you have a lot of choice, the explosion of SFF community means that you can get absolutely tiny computers, that still have top tier components inside. If you want to go huge, you can also go huge. All your choice to make.

 

3)Yes, it is still a desktop computer, it is just located under the desk.

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

3 minutes ago, dfsgsfa said:

3rd question, when a pc tower place under a desk, is it a desktop?

Yeah, the term has really lost it's meaning over time...

[GoldenLag]

2 minutes ago, dfsgsfa said:

2nd question , pc in old days are huge!! 

Define "good old days". 

 

Is that 2002?

1947?

1969?

1997?

2008?

[svmlegacy]

If a laptop isn't on top of a lap, is it still a laptop?

[Jurrunio]

"desktop" only counts stuff inside the box (i.e. case)

 

In the past when PCs are huge, they are never on the table. I prefer mine to be big enough for keyboard and monitor(s) on the middle, and at least a paper size width extra on either side so I can put extra stuff on.

 

Yes. Just like laptops, in reality they are put on desks more than laps.

[minibois]

3 minutes ago, dfsgsfa said:

1st question , does desktop include mouse / keyboard /monitor and speakers? coz they are mostly on top of a desk.

The colloquially used term 'desktop' means a standalone computer and usually will not include the peripherals (including monitor).

Some may use the term 'computer' as meaning the entire setup (including mouse, keyboard, monitor) but that depends on the level of importance between dividing between these items (for example, on this forum we wouldn't refer to a setup as 'a computer', but you might refer to it as such when talking to someone who knows less).

5 minutes ago, dfsgsfa said:

2nd question how large should your desk be?

Large enough for what you want to fit on your desk.

5 minutes ago, dfsgsfa said:

3rd question, when a pc tower place under a desk, is it a desktop?

Yes.

[dfsgsfa]

2 minutes ago, GoldenLag said:

Define "good old days

just wiki it out and turns out its  around 1970s when the term poped out

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

3 minutes ago, svmlegacy said:

If a laptop isn't on top of a lap, is it still a laptop?

If you put a laptop inside of an ATX case, is it a desktop?

[svmlegacy]

5 minutes ago, HairlessMonkeyBoy said:

If you put a laptop inside of an ATX case, is it a desktop?

I actually want to try this now. Good idea.

[aisle9]

13 minutes ago, dfsgsfa said:

so a pc (tower) on top on a table ( desk) ?

 

1st question , does desktop include mouse / keyboard /monitor and speakers? coz they are mostly on top of a desk.

 

2nd question , pc in old days are huge!! 

how large should your desk be?

 

3rd question, when a pc tower place under a desk, is it a desktop?

Is your PC a laptop? No? Then it's a desktop.

[aisle9]

Just now, svmlegacy said:

I actually want to try this now. Good idea.

You can move a laptop pretty easily into a desktop case if, say, your laptop's casing or screen are shot, but the system itself works fine and has life left in it. Takes a little creativity, but if your options are that or trash a perfectly functional laptop, I'd get creative. If nothing else, a cardboard box makes a great case in a pinch.

[spartaman64]

is a raspberry pi a desktop thonking or a nuc

[Uttamattamakin]

In the age where a Rasberry pi or even a Samsung phone with a Dex setup can be a credible desktop setup .... what is a desktop PC?  

I think we need to get back to the meaning of PC as it has been used from the mid 1980's to recent.  That is a general purpose computer running X86 based Industry Standard Archtecture which can run any software the user desires including emulating other systems to be able to run their softwares in a usable state.  Though emulation is on the main way it runs software.  

 

So if your computer setup has a X86 processor, is too big to be portable, and can run 95% of the software ever written natively then it is a desktop PC. 

[svmlegacy]

4 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

You can move a laptop pretty easily into a desktop case if, say, your laptop's casing or screen are shot, but the system itself works fine and has life left in it. Takes a little creativity, but if your options are that or trash a perfectly functional laptop, I'd get creative. If nothing else, a cardboard box makes a great case in a pinch.

I've always wanted to make a custom mount for a laptop mobo to fit behind a monitor, hacky all-in-one style. But hey, it'd be funny to mount it in a massive windowed ATX case (Easily could make a plywood interposer, paint it, etc)

[dfsgsfa]

8 minutes ago, Uttamattamakin said:

That is a general purpose computer running X86 based Industry Standard Archtecture which can run any software the user desires including emulating other systems to be able to run their softwares in a usable state.  Though emulation is on the main way it runs software.

only x86 sys can recognised as desktop?

wtf?

[aisle9]

16 minutes ago, dfsgsfa said:

only x86 sys can recognised as desktop?

wtf?

No. A system does not have to be x86 to be a desktop. When the inevitable ARM Mac Pros come out, they will be desktops.

[LogicalDrm]

Desktop and PC are pretty much synonyms. PC was originally marketing term for IBM home computers. In order to differentiate them from those larger machines at business and universities. PC = Personal Computer. I would like to see what desktop you mean by saying it's too big for desk. I would argue that modern full tower cases are far bigger than Amiga, Commodore or IBM computers from 80s or IBM, Fujitsu or Compaq ones from the 90s.

[Uttamattamakin]

21 hours ago, dfsgsfa said:

only x86 sys can recognised as desktop?

wtf?

I will answer by quoting someone else. 

2 hours ago, LogicalDrm said:

Desktop and PC are pretty much synonyms. PC was originally marketing term for IBM home computers. In order to differentiate them from those larger machines at business and universities. PC = Personal Computer. I would like to see what desktop you mean by saying it's too big for desk. I would argue that modern full tower cases are far bigger than Amiga, Commodore or IBM computers from 80s or IBM, Fujitsu or Compaq ones from the 90s.

IBM coined the term PC.  The term PC, without any qualification added to it (such as Power PC) has always refered to a computer system with an X86 processor and some variant of the Industry Standard Architecture which is able to run a variety of operating systems. 

20 hours ago, aisle9 said:

No. A system does not have to be x86 to be a desktop. When the inevitable ARM Mac Pros come out, they will be desktops.

I must respectfully disagree.  Apple has said that their new macs will ONLY be able to run OS 11.  Other things will work in virtualization.  They emphasized their ability to optimize for the hardware and integrate the software with it.  

A computing device that can only run one OS is not a personal computer.   

An Apple Silicon Mac will in many ways resemble a gaming console.   An ARM based gaming console.  Basically take an Nvidia Shield, attach a keyboard and mouse to it, then call it your desktop computer.   

 

Consider that your modern "dumb" digital watch likely has more power than a programmable computer from the 1980's.  It's not about computing power it is about computing flexibility. 

 

For the term desktop to be useful when talking about computers it has to mean a true general purpose computer (that means x86 right now*), able to run a variety of operating systems natively, that is small enough to fit on a desk but not intended to be portable. 

 

*I would LOVE to see a true ARM replacement for X86.  Maybe some processor that has ARM cores and uses a microcoder to translate X86 CISC instructions into ARM RISC or maybe  RISC V instructions internally.  Something that could run cool, quiet, fast.  Something that could take the supposedly single threaded program and parraelize it in real time.   That the same chip can just run arm code too.  Then be good at all of those things. 

21 hours ago, dfsgsfa said:

so a pc (tower) on top on a table ( desk) ?

 

1st question , does desktop include mouse / keyboard /monitor and speakers? coz they are mostly on top of a desk.

 

Yes without these your computer is just an expensive space heater you can't interact with . 

 

[aisle9]

5 minutes ago, Uttamattamakin said:

A computing device that can only run one OS is not a personal computer. 

Snipped a lot here just to say that I emphatically disagree. Very emphatically.

[SpaceGhostC2C]

21 hours ago, svmlegacy said:

If a laptop isn't on top of a lap, is it still a laptop?

 

21 hours ago, HairlessMonkeyBoy said:

If you put a laptop inside of an ATX case, is it a desktop?

Hold a second now: and what if you place your laptop... on your desk?!?

 

[NineEyeRon]

My desktop is on a shelf near my desk and my laptop is on my desk.

 

I am very confused so I am typing this on my tablet on my lap....

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

2 hours ago, NineEyeRon said:

My desktop is on a shelf near my desk and my laptop is on my desk.

 

I am very confused so I am typing this on my tablet on my lap....

It's simple.

 

On your desk top is a laptop which is a desktop.

On your shelf top is a desktop which is a shelftop.

On your lap is a tablet which is a laptop.

What's on your table top?

[NineEyeRon]

5 minutes ago, HairlessMonkeyBoy said:

What's on your table top?

Settlers of Catan With Seafarers expansion