Laptop or PC?

[monkegoboomboom]

Im deciding on either building/buying a pc or a laptop. Buying a laptop seems a lot more mobile, but I've heard bad things about laptops. Can some people give me some opinions or just pros and cons so that I can weigh my options? My main use for a laptop is gaming, doing schoolwork, and maybe video content but i'm not sure. 

 

Thanks 

[SpecTre12345]

Basically, everyone and their mother is going to recommend a desktop PC. Reality is laptops are really only necessary for people who plan to be mobile. However, what I discovered myself from switching from a desktop PC to a laptop. Is laptop technology has gotten so advanced, you couldn't even tell the difference. The obvious tradeoffs are heat and noise mainly. However, performance wise, it doesn't really matter. They have mobile GPUs now that are as fast as a 3090 Ti/4070 Ti desktop. Most people don't need more than that kind of power. Also, I like the efficiency of mobile processors/dGPUs and the concept of reducing the impact of my carbon footprint. Another important fact is you get better value for money out of a desktop unless you catch a good deal on laptops. Good thing though is there are great deals on laptops all the time. Problem is you probably can still build a faster desktop for the same money. 

 

IMHO, with either choice you will be satisfied. So long as it still has relevant hardware. 

[DeerDK]

If you only have money for one, and you need the mobility due to schoolwork (Is that a need to have or nice to have?) and maybe LAN, id say go for the labtop.

Yes, you get less power for your money, but that is the tradeoff you need to accept if you need something to bring along for school.

 

If you just need a digital typewriter that can play half-life one or something like that and browse the internet, and intend only to game when at home, go for a very cheap labtop and get a gaming desktop for home.

 

In highschool and early university I personally benifitted a ton from having a good labtop, even if its gaming performance was mediocre. but bear in mind that its 15 years ago.

[RONOTHAN##]

The way I see it is that most people should have a laptop, but that doesn't mean you need a gaming laptop. The portability benefits of a laptop really are useful, whether it be for school (bringing it into class to take notes, for instance), for doing stuff that needs compute power in weird places (I.E. having a tutorial open while fixing a dryer), or just doing work on the couch instead of at your desk. The thing is, most of those types of things could get done on relatively low end laptops, so what genuinely is an option is to build a good gaming rig, then just put ~$200US of that budget towards something like a used Thinkpad or even a Chromebook for where portability is needed. The gaming laptops you'd buy otherwise tend to be a lot bulkier with worse battery life, losing out on a bit of the portability benefits of a laptop, so unless you really need to play games while out and about, having a gaming desktop at home where you can enjoy games and a laptop where you can actually get work done is the way I'd recommend. 

[Orangeator]

37 minutes ago, monkegoboomboom said:

doing schoolwork

If you have a need for having a laptop in class, then it sounds like purchasing a laptop is a necessity and thus should make your decision an easy one. If you don't need a laptop for "mobile" school work (which I find unlikely), then I would go towards a desktop - if your priority is gaming.

[jaslion]

37 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

The way I see it is that most people should have a laptop, but that doesn't mean you need a gaming laptop. The portability benefits of a laptop really are useful, whether it be for school (bringing it into class to take notes, for instance), for doing stuff that needs compute power in weird places (I.E. having a tutorial open while fixing a dryer), or just doing work on the couch instead of at your desk. The thing is, most of those types of things could get done on relatively low end laptops, so what genuinely is an option is to build a good gaming rig, then just put ~$200US of that budget towards something like a used Thinkpad or even a Chromebook for where portability is needed. The gaming laptops you'd buy otherwise tend to be a lot bulkier with worse battery life, losing out on a bit of the portability benefits of a laptop, so unless you really need to play games while out and about, having a gaming desktop at home where you can enjoy games and a laptop where you can actually get work done is the way I'd recommend. 

Hell yeah thissssss!!!

 

The price premium you pay for a gaming laptop is better split in a nice gamig desktop + a decent used/new laptop that is enoigh for your needs besides gaming.

 

This also avoid the pitfalls of gaming laptops being weight, poorer baterry life and cooling problems in quite a few.

 

Also means you can upgrade either on its own!

 

Instead of your one and only device falling behind in gaming thus you want to upgrade it for that which meansa  whole new expensive laptop. You could upgrade the desktop a bit or if its the laptop being behind you can just buy a cheaper used/new device again!

 

Just well avoid the lowest end new stuff thats already ewaste out of the box with how slow it is

[iameatingjam]

It depends on your lifestyle really. If you're a busy person always on the move, and thats your only chance to game ( or do whatever you want to do with your computer, then you really got no choice.)

If you're only doing schoolwork, then yeah, nothing wrong with laptop. Just my personal preference, I wouldn't get a chromebook. Though I hear they have come a fair way since the last time I used one. I would personally still pick either windows or a different flavour of linux if you're up for a sharp learning curve (mint is one of the easier ones to use, I quite like it.... just takes some getting used to). 

But anyway, when it comes to power, nothing beats the desktop. You get more expandability, easier access, easier maintenance, easier repairs, and its cheaper (per fps, or whatever performance measurement you want to use). Thats why I like I desktops. Apple's new silicon is quite impressive in its power efficiency although its still not quite as powerful as a fully souped up x86 desktop though (though of course it depends on the workload.) Also, in that case you'd be on arm so x86 requires emulation ( though I hear its quite good).

Me, I have my main desktop computer with a 14700k with a 4090 that I use for gaming, finances, and pretty much everything else. I have a 11 year old peice of shit laptop I keep in my bed for watching youtube and streaming videos from my network drive. That dual core pentium and ddr3 still works fine for that! And I also keep an emac from 2001 on my desk too ( its perfect for retro emulation). Snes, Genesis, Gameboy, Playstation all on a crisp CRT screen, it looks great. 

Anyway yeah, hope that helps a bit. All depends on use case, and budget of course.

[wasab]

will you be moving anytime within a few years or so? better get a laptop

[emothxughts]

If you move around a lot, like going to and from classes, site visits and travelling, get a laptop. A desktop is clearly better than a laptop for the same price...but then the PC has to stay in one place.

 

As a student I had to have a laptop (and laptop cooling fans, YMMV on how effective they are), because I moved around a lot. Only when I graduated and was able to settle down was I able to even consider building a desktop PC.

[monkegoboomboom]

What my problem with having a desktop pc is that I will being going to college in a few years and although I understand that I can come back and use it, i'm not sure if it's a worthy investment if it'll be sitting on my desk for 4 years with barely any use. 

[DeerDK]

2 minutes ago, monkegoboomboom said:

What my problem with having a desktop pc is that I will being going to college in a few years and although I understand that I can come back and use it, i'm not sure if it's a worthy investment if it'll be sitting on my desk for 4 years with barely any use. 

Will your classes have any cpu or gpu demanding content like calculations and such? 

[monkegoboomboom]

Just now, DeerDK said:

Will your classes have any cpu or gpu demanding content like calculations and such? 

I'm not sure because I haven't completely decided what I want to do in college, but with classes in general its a possibility.

[TetraSky]

Are you planning on moving your computer around the house or outside of the house often? If so, a laptop might be better.

If you're only planning to use it at home... A desktop is much better for the price.

 

If you need a laptop on the go, but don't necessarily need to game/edit videos on the go... You could get a good desktop at home and a somewhat ok laptop for outside of the house if a phone isn't up to the task for whatever you want to do.

 

I had bought a laptop for class. Found out it was entirely useless because any classes that needed the use of a software, provided computers to use. And any classes that did not, prohibited the use of laptops due to how "distracting"(to you and others) they were. A PC at home was a better option for me.

[DeerDK]

42 minutes ago, monkegoboomboom said:

I'm not sure because I haven't completely decided what I want to do in college, but with classes in general its a possibility.

Okay, then maybe wait until you know for sure. 

3d modeling or GIS analysis is very different from just storing a ton of pdfs and essays 

[jaslion]

1 hour ago, monkegoboomboom said:

What my problem with having a desktop pc is that I will being going to college in a few years and although I understand that I can come back and use it, i'm not sure if it's a worthy investment if it'll be sitting on my desk for 4 years with barely any use. 

In a couple years = dont buy a gaming laptop. They age quite quickly really and instead of getting a good gaming laptop at the start that carries you through college you will most likely need to get one in the middle again.

 

So my advive would be a budget efficient gaming desktop pc NOW and then at the start of college a GOOD laptop that you saved enough for. Basically get at least a now x70 series class gpu from nvidia or similar from amd as 60 series and below ages really really fast.

 

1 hour ago, monkegoboomboom said:

m not sure because I haven't completely decided what I want to do in college, but with classes in general its a possibility.

Then for sure dont buy something that may not be what you want/need in class.

 

Nothing preventing you from just selling the desktop at the start of college and then going full laptop. A gaming laptop also tanks in value quite quick wheras a desktop holds better short term. Mid term a gaming laptop does as it plateaus for a while and long term a gaming laptop quickly becomes worthless whilst a desktop tends to keep some value.

[iameatingjam]

On 6/19/2024 at 10:16 AM, monkegoboomboom said:

What my problem with having a desktop pc is that I will being going to college in a few years and although I understand that I can come back and use it, i'm not sure if it's a worthy investment if it'll be sitting on my desk for 4 years with barely any use. 

Well the good new is, while laptops still have several disadvnatages over desktops, its not nearly as bad as it was 10 or 15 years ago. There was a point, I can't remember the year exactly, I'm thinking perhaps 2010-2011 maybe, but correct me if I'm wrong, where integrated graphics were absolutely horrrible. Like just as bad as you could imagine, and then worse. If you could run a new game on lowest settings at 1fps, you were lucky.

Luckily, things aren't so bad anymore, and if you're willing to throw down some decent cash, you should be able to get a capable machine. Just don't forget to buy one that is suited to the work you intend to do on it.

[saintlouisbagels]

The answer really depends on what you plan to do.

 

I think a laptop is absolutely essential for college - but I am imagining typical college/university + dorming in America. We don't have any context of where you are in the world, if you're going to dorm at college, or if you're doing something in college that requires beefy hardware.

 

For my experience, I went to an Engineering-focused university and laptops were included in the tuition due their necessity for various programs such as AutoCAD and Solidworks. The Computer Science majors got the same laptops. The Architecture and other Design students were given Macbooks for their curriculum. I could not imagine owning only a desktop for college. You need the flexibility to bring your computer to the library or to a friend's dorm. If you're traveling home you need your laptop. If you're using the campus' facilities like the 3D Printing, you definitely need your laptop.

 

The only reason to own a desktop would be if you want to be juggling intense gaming alongside your studies. And I'll tell you what... if you're in America, you should not fuck around with failing out of college just because you want to play video games with pretty graphics. You have the entire rest of your life to do that once you finish your studies.

 

and please do not buy a gaming laptop. Those loud fans are going to drive you crazy while you're just doing Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, or opening a few tabs on Chrome.

[rikitikitavi]

For school and for majority of other use cases - laptop is the only pc they need. Buy a good one and it will serve you as long as you need it, provided you give it care and love.

 

PROS:

- portable

   - lifestyle, always on the go

   - use it on a desk, couch, lawn, train

   - hide it, put away to get the extra desk space (in dorm especially)

- all-in-one

   - easy to set up

   - repairs - just bring it to a friend/shop

- when it doesn't meet your needs you buy new one and sell/donate old one.

   - no hassle, no time wasted, minimal knowledge required

- power outage is not a concern

   - confidence worth a lot

CONS:

- price

- size/weight vs performance

 

 

The only time I would say go desktop:

- performance per $

- the top performance for the top $

- customizability

- cheapest option

   - it can be your ship of Theseus

 

...

 

My suggestion - as long as your budget can accommodate and your apps/games can run on macOS -> get MacBook Air M1 or newer (M2, M3).

You can get an older model at Walmart, you can get certified refurbished (basically like new) directly from Apple, and right now till Sept (I believe) there are discounts+bonuses at Apple for students/education. Depending on your use, you might benefit from more RAM/storage.

 

Even the old/cheapest one (M1 MacBook Air) is a great machine that will serve you throughout the college (given everything can run on macOS).

 

If you need AAA gaming, then get a used desktop (or build) exclusively for that.

 

Another option for an exclusive gaming device (don’t expect peak performance) is Steam Deck. You can get a super cheap refurbished LCD or a nicer OLED versions.

[MarceloDuffy]

definetly PC. 100%

[starsmine]

for school work, a convertible basic apu laptop so you can use windows ink and one note, or if you prefer apple, an ipad.
A normal laptop without the ability to convert are very much not it when taking notes in class. IE macbooks. 
Then you can do the more robust demanding work/play on a desktop. There is also no issue running desktops in dorm rooms. 

heavy laptops that can do both are... a choice.

[geomac]

I think both options have gotten so good that it is really a question of your life style. If you're going to never going to be home and want to game and do powerful tasks on the go, then the choice is simple -- the best quality and performance-for-the-price laptop that fits your budget. If you realistically are going to game and do heavy tasks occasionally or only at home and the rest of the time you will be work and study through a web browser, then I'd suggest a thin and light laptop on the go and spend the rest on a desktop.

 

For myself, I have bought many gaming laptops and usually regret it. I just SSH or remote back home for anything demanding and they're just heavier in my backpack.

 

E: Having separate machines if you're a gamer also helps with impulse control IMO to keep you more productive.

Edited July 24, 2024 by geomac

[monkegoboomboom]

On 6/19/2024 at 2:53 AM, wasab said:

will you be moving anytime within a few years or so? better get a laptop

yeah, college lmao

[monkegoboomboom]

On 6/19/2024 at 8:09 PM, saintlouisbagels said:

The answer really depends on what you plan to do.

 

I think a laptop is absolutely essential for college - but I am imagining typical college/university + dorming in America. We don't have any context of where you are in the world, if you're going to dorm at college, or if you're doing something in college that requires beefy hardware.

 

For my experience, I went to an Engineering-focused university and laptops were included in the tuition due their necessity for various programs such as AutoCAD and Solidworks. The Computer Science majors got the same laptops. The Architecture and other Design students were given Macbooks for their curriculum. I could not imagine owning only a desktop for college. You need the flexibility to bring your computer to the library or to a friend's dorm. If you're traveling home you need your laptop. If you're using the campus' facilities like the 3D Printing, you definitely need your laptop.

 

The only reason to own a desktop would be if you want to be juggling intense gaming alongside your studies. And I'll tell you what... if you're in America, you should not fuck around with failing out of college just because you want to play video games with pretty graphics. You have the entire rest of your life to do that once you finish your studies.

 

and please do not buy a gaming laptop. Those loud fans are going to drive you crazy while you're just doing Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, or opening a few tabs on Chrome.

Where exactly did you go? I know not all universities in the US provide laptops. 

[FrozenIpaq]

What's your budget? I would actually recommend buying a desktop AND a cheap, possibly refurbished laptop for school work when you get to college. When I was in college I didn't use my laptop as much as I thought I would - it mostly stayed stationary at my dorm room, but it was nice to lug it to class occasionally if needed or to a study hall but wasn't as common as you might expect. I started school with a laptop but quickly after the first year started to bring a gaming desktop.

 

If your primary focus right now is gaming, go the desktop route but plan on purchasing a cheap laptop when it comes time for college - you can get a decent refurbished dell latitude laptop (usually business laptops) for around 250-350 used that will serve most purposes in school in terms of basic note taking and study work.

[DeerDK]

8 hours ago, FrozenIpaq said:

What's your budget? I would actually recommend buying a desktop AND a cheap, possibly refurbished laptop for school work when you get to college. When I was in college I didn't use my laptop as much as I thought I would - it mostly stayed stationary at my dorm room, but it was nice to lug it to class occasionally if needed or to a study hall but wasn't as common as you might expect. I started school with a laptop but quickly after the first year started to bring a gaming desktop.

 

If your primary focus right now is gaming, go the desktop route but plan on purchasing a cheap laptop when it comes time for college - you can get a decent refurbished dell latitude laptop (usually business laptops) for around 250-350 used that will serve most purposes in school in terms of basic note taking and study work.

Agreed, but OP need to figure out if they need to use special software in class and if the laptop must be able to run them