Should I Buy a Laptop or a Desktop PC?

Oscar Sodani is a founder of Help2Go and owner of Help2Go Networks, an IT consulting firm in the Washington D.C. area. Oscar holds the CISSP certification as well as industry certifications from Microsoft, Cisco and Novell.

Ahhh... Should I buy a desktop PC or a laptop PC: this is one of the questions that has plagued humanity, much like "To be or not to be?" or "Should I buy or lease my car?" If you are faced with this decision, fear not dear reader, for we will attempt to walk you through the decision in this Help2Go Buyer's Guide.

The Laptop Advantage

First of all, you shouldn't even be considering a laptop unless you truly need the portability. After all, portability is the only feature laptops have over desktops. Ask yourself: where am I going to use this laptop other than at my desk? Here are some possibilities:

• You need a computer while traveling
• You need to use the same PC at home and at work
• You need to use your computer in meetings
• You are a student, and you want to take it to the library or classroom

In your decision about whether you need portability, take into account that laptops are NOT feathers. They weigh a few pounds, and can be slightly cumbersome to carry around, when you include cables, power supply, extra storage drives, etc. Portability is the laptop advantage, and you will have to decide whether that advantage outweighs the negatives we describe below.

Desktop Advantage #1: 50% off

You have two computers, side by side. They have exactly the same features: same processor, same hard drive, same amount of RAM. Computer A costs TWICE as much as Computer B. Which would you buy? The cheaper one -- Computer B, of course.

Computer B is a desktop PC. Computer A is a laptop. And here is the giant disadvantage of a laptop computer -- laptops are twice as expensive as their desktop equivalents. An $900 Pentium IV desktop would cost $1800 if you bought the laptop version. Is the portability worth that much more?

Desktop Advantage #2: Cheaper to Expand

The number of peripherals available today is staggering: DVD-ROM, CD-RW, Ethernet adapters, modems, USB ports, bigger hard drives, and of course, memory (RAM). With a desktop PC, every part is interchangeable. Need more RAM? Plug some more in. Need a bigger hard drive? Go ahead and replace the old one.

Laptops are different. The components are packed into a tiny space, and so the hard drive may not be replaceable at all. If it is, you'll pay much more for a big hard drive in a tiny package than you would for a big hard drive in a normal, industry-standard package. Instead of buying industry-standard RAM in DIMM chips, you may have to buy RAM specifically made for that laptop, which costs hundreds of dollars more.

If you are looking for a system that can expand with the times, then a desktop is your only choice. When buying a laptop, make sure you buy all the extras you need up front. If you wait, then you'll have to pay through the nose.

Desktop Advantage #3: Small means small

Laptop computers have smaller keyboards than their desktop counterparts. Before buying a laptop, always test out the keyboard for yourself. Some of these laptop manufacturers seem to make keyboards that only Mini-Me (from the latest Austin Powers film) would be able to type on comfortably. Laptops can truly wreak havoc on your touch-typing abilities, so choose a model with a comfortably-sized keyboard.

Laptops also have smaller screens (12-15 inches) that cannot keep up with the vivid color and fast refresh rates of new, much larger desktop monitors. The result: images don't look as good on the LCD screens, and your eyes may hurt after prolonged use.

And if you are thinking about playing the latest games on your laptop, forget it. While current games will render quickly on the 3D graphics chips in a laptop, future games will demand more power. Your laptop graphics will quickly become outdated, and replacing a laptop video card is impossible, while upgrading your desktop PC to a new GPU is relatively simple. Sound, video, and control all suffer when games are played on a laptop.

Conclusions

From our discussion here, I think you can guess that we are not big fans of laptops in general. You are right -- frankly, we do not have the need for portability that a laptop provides. And we are certainly not wealthy enough to shell out the extra cash necessary for a top-of-the-line laptop.

We're not road warriors -- when we need to have a portable computing device, we take our palmtop computers with us. We don't have the need for a full-fledged PC on the road. However, many people out there do have that need, and laptops are definitely the way to go.

If you just need a computer in general, think long and hard about how important portability is to you. If you absolutely MUST have a full PC with you wherever you go, then go out and get that laptop. But if you are going to be spending most of your time at a desk, then go out and purchase a desktop PC. Remember, you can buy TWO powerful desktop PCs for the same price as ONE powerful laptop.

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