Desktop or Laptop?

[gleninjersey 2,141]

Have an older desktip still running Windows XP.  As Microsoft isn't supporting XP anymore I'm thinking of replacing it.  Should I replace it with a desktop or switch to a laptop?  Have a laptop that is prob about 2 years old running Windows 7.

[effd27145 0]

Is this a question or a test?

[effd27145 0]

Ok you fixed your post, 

 

Now I have to ask, what functionality are you looking to achieve from your computer? Are you just browsing the web and creating word documents or are you creating and editing video and playing high end games? 

 

If you just doing non demanding web browsing, spending endless hours browsing njgunforums, and word processing, your 2 year old laptop should function well. 

 

However if your looking to play games on the best graphics possible (as I do), I have a desktop pc that I built myself that's essentially a super computer.

[gleninjersey 2,141]

I had an nice amount of info typed out put when I went to post it I got message saying the below.  Guess I'll have to start over.  That's why I put "test" at first & then retyped 1st paragraph and then it took it.  I went to edit and copy and paste my entire post put I again got the below.  Oh, well.  I just retype bit by bit.  Weird.

 

Forbidden

You don't have permission to access /forum/index.php? on this server.

njgunforums.com

 

 

[maintenanceguy 510]

I've been using a laptop as the family desktop for 5 years.  It leaves the desk maybe twice a year if that.  It does go with us on vacation each summer wherever we go.  With 2 USB drives, two printers, a scanner, a bluetooth dongle, and wireless mouse adaptor plugged into a USB hub, I can plug in one wire that connects the laptop to the hub and it makes a perfectly fine desktop computer.

 

Although we very rarely do it, it is convenient to be able to take the same computer we use every day with us when we go somewhere.

 

I'll never buy a desktop computer again.

[gleninjersey 2,141]

Uggggggh! Switched to phone & still getting that error msg!?

No extreme uses.

One slight concern is I remote access my work PC a few times a year. We have three 19 monitors each b/ we are running 7-10 diff applications at once & prob have 10-15 windows open. Doing all I need to do on a laptop would be very difficult.

[effd27145 0]

No extreme uses.

 

Stick with your current laptop then until it no longer suits your needs or finally slows down enough to the point you want to throw it through a window. 

 

Invest the money into more firearms instead.....

[Blake 50]

Personally I prefer a desktop. I like a large monitor (24"+) or a multi monitor setup so I can have more than one thing running. I also prefer a full size keyboard and mouse.

 

We also live in a household where we both work from home on occasion.

 

Currently we have an office setup and use a laptop when we need to use a computer elsewhere in the house but we are looking to purchase either a surface 3 or a Lenovo yoga to have full functionality in a tablet on the go.

[Damjan 73]

I bought this Dell for 250$ to surf the web, email and do Microsoft office stuff.

Used the extra money i budgeted to buy ammunition,lowers and bayonets.

 

www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1059573-REG/dell_i3531_1200bk_inspiron_15r_n2830_4gb_500gb_windows8_1_15_6_black.html

[gleninjersey 2,141]

Stick with your current laptop then until it no longer suits your needs or finally slows down enough to the point you want to throw it through a window. 

 

Invest the money into more firearms instead.....

 

Lol.  Pretty good on the firearms front.  Could use a 22 rifle and a shotgun though.

 

How difficult would it be to get a decent laptop and hook it up to a larger monitor when I remote in to my work PC?

[effd27145 0]

Lol.  Pretty good on the firearms front.  Could use a 22 rifle and a shotgun though.

 

How difficult would it be to get a decent laptop and hook it up to a larger monitor when I remote in to my work PC?

 

Not too hard, A lot of laptops now come with HDMI out normally that would allow you to plug into a small tv or computer monitor. Even your old one may have an HDMI or a VGA out that would let you plug into a monitor.

[T Bill 649]

Made the move to laptop and never looked back. 

[Malice4you 627]

I'm definitely a desktop guy - but I do a lot of work on photos and graphics, some basic audio and video editing, and some gaming.  For me, the inability to easily change components in a laptop is a major annoyance.  I have quality components in the system, and can always upgrade components as needed.  I'm at the mercy of the laptop manufacturer when it comes to the components in the system, and limited to a few ports, crappy onboard audio and video with a small display, and limited expansion with more expensive components.  All that said, I like tinkering with my systems, and know how to upgrade and repair them.

 

For basic use, a laptop or even tablet is likely sufficient for the majority of things you need a computer for.  A laptop or tablet is nice for using in your recliner or in bed.

 

I'd keep using the laptop you have until it no longer works the way you want.  You might consider adding a tablet for quick and easy internet use and light gaming.  I've considered adding a tablet for those times I want to relax and not deal with any of the computers.

[Scorpio64 5,156]

I have always preferred desktops to laptops because, like my AR, I can customize the shit out of it. Laptops are also a pain in the ass to repair.

[Malsua 1,422]

If you do buy a laptop, do yourself a favor, buy an SSD for it and clone the internal laptop HD onto the SSD and swap it out.

 

I manage roughly 100PCs at my job and because of it, I'm the "computer guy" that people come to when their laptops stop working, which is fairly often.  There are two things that happen to laptops most frequently.  First, the screen gets damaged.  This happens to about 5% of them.  The next big problem is a failure of the hard drive.  This happens in about 85% of the cases.  The little drives used in laptops just aren't durable and when people slap their running laptops around, it ends up ultimately crashing the drive.   I have a stack of bad drives in my office, the bulk of which are 2.5inch laptop drives.

 

If you swap to an SSD when you buy it, you gain two things.  First, you have a drive that will survive shocks that would render the entire laptop into pile of scrap, second, you now have a backup that goes back to the day you bought it.   2 years down the road, you go back in time and it runs like new again.  Also, you could put the original drive in an external bay and use it for storage. 

 

SSDs are now around $100-120 for 250GB, that's cheap enough that you have no excuse and it will save you a lot of heartache later.

[M1152 713]

If your hardware is good why not just upgrade it? You could probably pick up a Vista upgrade off eBay or Amazon for about $50.  Vista is supported until April 2017 and is pretty much the same as Windows 7 so $50 could buy you another 2 years. Or if you are not married to Windows consider Ubuntu (Linux) for free. Ubuntu has its own version of an Office suite and is a great OS. The only issue with Linux is sometimes it could be difficult finding drivers for some devices like scanners and a small percentage of printers. You could always download Ubuntu and use the “Try it” option which lets you run it from the DVD without installing it. If you like it install it, it you don't like it toss the DVD.

 

 

[TR20 47]

Personally I prefer a desktop. I like a large monitor (24"+) or a multi monitor setup so I can have more than one thing running. I also prefer a full size keyboard and mouse. We also live in a household where we both work from home on occasion. Currently we have an office setup and use a laptop when we need to use a computer elsewhere in the house but we are looking to purchase either a surface 3 or a Lenovo yoga to have full functionality in a tablet on the go.

Blake

The Yoga is a hot item and has strong reviews. Let me know when you are going to buy it. I'll send you a message.

[Malsua 1,422]

If your hardware is good why not just upgrade it?   Vista is supported until April 2017 and is pretty much the same as Windows 7 so $50 could buy you another 2 years. Or if you are not married to Windows consider Ubuntu (Linux) for free. Ubuntu has its own version of an Office suite and is a great OS. The only issue with Linux is sometimes it could be difficult finding drivers for some devices like scanners and a small percentage of printers. You could always download Ubuntu and use the “Try it” option which lets you run it from the DVD without installing it. If you like it install it, it you don't like it toss the DVD.

 

You didn't just say what I think you just said?  Saying that Vista is "pretty much the same as Windows 7" is like saying a bowl of dog poop and ice cream is pretty much the same as ice cream.  I guess it's the same if you don't mind it taking 20 minutes to boot or having the hard drive activity light on for hours for no apparent reason.  I guess it's the same if you like being asked every time you click something  "Did you really mean to click on that icon?  Because we here at Microsoft aren't really sure that yes means yes, so we're going to ask you again".   Did you really want to shut down Vista?  Ha! We here at Microsoft know you really didn't want to do that, so we're going to sit here at SHUTTING DOWN until the heat death of the Universe.  The list goes on but Vista isn't nicknamed Shitsta for no reason.  It's absolute garbage, on par with Windows ME.

[TheLugNutZ 21]

I have personally been using a really decent laptop for a desktop for years now.  I doc it up and it acts  as a desktop with external monitor/keyboard etc.  The issue I have is when I am on it for a while or doing ANYTHING more than doc editing or web browsing, it starts to run pretty hot.  The fans run at 100% constantly.  I clean the hell out of it, but cant seem to get it to the point that it can properly cool itself all of the time.  This particular laptop has a dedicated vid card that Im sure adds to the heat issues (as opposed to integrated).

 

With that said, I'd suggest looking at building(piecing together) a desktop unless you really want something you can grab and go with all of the time.  For you OP, since you already have a laptop, Id say def go desktop this time around.  That way you can use the desktop to host all your music/pictures/vids, you dont have to worry about dropping the laptop and having a HDD failure.  You can have the reliability of a desktop and use it as a server if you want.  You will also be able to run more demanding applications if you want, including heavily resource taxing games if needed. 

 

Obviously, if you dont want to piece together and build one yourself you can go and grab something thats pre-built...

[Malsua 1,422]

I have personally been using a really decent laptop for a desktop for years now.  I doc it up and it acts  as a desktop with external monitor/keyboard etc.  The issue I have is when I am on it for a while or doing ANYTHING more than doc editing or web browsing, it starts to run pretty hot.  The fans run at 100% constantly.  I clean the hell out of it, but cant seem to get it to the point that it can properly cool itself all of the time.

 

For what it's worth, buy a decent cooling pad that it sits on with some large quiet fans.   I am a fan of the Zalman laptop cooler(The $35ish one not the cheapo) and the Thermaltake "massive" for $20.   I have a friend who DJs with Videos and his machines were howling hot until he bought one.

[TonyS. 12]

Laptop, desktop....it depends what you need to hook up to it or intend to in the future. With a desktop there is generally greater flexibility for expanding. Also, if a component like a video card bites the dust it's easily replaceable. With a laptop, usually not worth trying to replace a component. The whole thing with laptops are portability. Do you need that? If not then get the desktop.

[Krdshrk 3,877]

Depends on what your use is and your budget.

 

I had pretty steep requirements when getting a laptop - I knew it would be used for both work and gaming so I had to get something powerful but light.  I wound up getting a Gigabyte P34G gaming laptop.  It does everything pretty well.

 

For desktops, I've always been partial to Dell desktops, but not the consumer line - I always get the Optiplex or Precision line.  Definitely get the 3 year warranty.

[TheLugNutZ 21]

For what it's worth, buy a decent cooling pad that it sits on with some large quiet fans.   I am a fan of the Zalman laptop cooler(The $35ish one not the cheapo) and the Thermaltake "massive" for $20.   I have a friend who DJs with Videos and his machines were howling hot until he bought one.

Thanks, I actually had a cooling pad for years but the fans crapped out.  Maybe I should just replace that for now instead of shelling out $1k +/- to build a new desktop.

[M1152 713]

You didn't just say what I think you just said?  Saying that Vista is "pretty much the same as Windows 7" is like saying a bowl of dog poop and ice cream is pretty much the same as ice cream.  I guess it's the same if you don't mind it taking 20 minutes to boot or having the hard drive activity light on for hours for no apparent reason.  I guess it's the same if you like being asked every time you click something  "Did you really mean to click on that icon?  Because we here at Microsoft aren't really sure that yes means yes, so we're going to ask you again".   Did you really want to shut down Vista?  Ha! We here at Microsoft know you really didn't want to do that, so we're going to sit here at SHUTTING DOWN until the heat death of the Universe.  The list goes on but Vista isn't nicknamed Shitsta for no reason.  It's absolute garbage, on par with Windows ME.

Chill out dude, I didn’t come here to argue.  I just gave Original Poster two cheap choices if he still has “good hardware” and assuming he has 2 to 4 GB of ram and wanted to save a few bucks. Now if just wants to move to a laptop and ditch the desktop that’s another story… Just to review there is NO upgrade path from Window XP to Windows 7,  only a “clean install” option to Windows 7 from XP. If the OP wanted to do an in place upgrade from XP to Vista he would just need the correct x86 or x64 OS Upgrade disc.  Personally I would do a clean install no matter now matter what disc I had. Now if the OP wanted to just go straight to Win7 he would need to purchase the FULL version and not an UPGRADE version which means offloading his files, wiping the drive and installing the OS and then reloading his programs and files which you failed to mention your rant.

 

As far as the UAC prompts you don’t have to be an I.T. wizard to know how to shut the prompts off and with regards to a performance Windows systems can be tweaked fairly easy just but disabling a few services that are not needed in a workgroup or standalone environment, but hey if you want to run yours in the “out of the box” configuration without the tweaking that’s your call.  We are running Vista here on one desktop since 2007 with Office 2010 and  still going strong. I also have a Win7 system and again pretty much identical performance. Just to clarify Vista and Win7 may be a little different under the hood but they are more the same than different.  For example if you were in a business environment that supported Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2012 ALL could be installed using Windows Deployment Services, so again they are more alike than different

 

My replies are not because I Love Vista, my reply was just to give the OP a few cheap choices.  As I said it my first post (which you clearly blew off) is I’d like to see more people that only require the basics like web-mail, web, and basic printing take a look at Linux, especially on older hardware that might be on its why out the door, they may be pleasantly surprised. It could be a way to pump new life into an older system that someone may think is now obsolete. Linux Mint or Ubuntu are very cool and elegant operating systems but I see you didn’t have any negative commentary there so I’ll take that as a plus, LOL.

[Malsua 1,422]

Nothing wrong with Linux varients.  I put Ubuntu on my netbook, its works great. 

 

As for upgrading from XP to Windows 7, Laplink PCmover works pretty well.   It saves me a ton of time, specially when the original media is missing.    I've probably done at least 30 upgrades using it and only had one that was a mess that took some extra effort.   

 

Granted his older machine may not have W7 drivers available, but if your hardware is really that old, it's time to close the door on it anyway or just go Linux.

[Scorpio64 5,156]

 

 

My replies are not because I Love Vista, my reply was just to give the OP a few cheap choices.  As I said it my first post (which you clearly blew off) is I’d like to see more people that only require the basics like web-mail, web, and basic printing take a look at Linux, especially on older hardware that might be on its why out the door, they may be pleasantly surprised. It could be a way to pump new life into an older system that someone may think is now obsolete. Linux Mint or Ubuntu are very cool and elegant operating systems but I see you didn’t have any negative commentary there so I’ll take that as a plus, LOL.

 

Pretty much all of my computers, laptop and desktop, get a stay of execution with Ubuntu to eek out another two or three years of service before being sent off to the scrap heap.  For those unfamiliar with Linux, it can seem like a scary proposition.  If one is going to chuck an old PC anyway, just try it out.  The Ubuntu flavor is very easy to install.  For basic web stuff, Ubuntu is fine.  It is also considerably more secure than any version of M$ Windows.  I install it on my teenage son's computers to help alleviate the problems with viruses and malware designed to attack windows systems typically found on websites that teenagers tend to visit.  The best part of Ubuntu, and most other versions of Linux, is it's FREE.

 

The first time I installed it was on an older 1.8 GHz P4 lappy with a 400MHz FSB and 2GB memory.  It was like adding a turbocharger to that slow old system.  It recognized all of the hardware without any problems.  Easiest install ever.

[TonyS. 12]

Linux distros still aren't near Windows with regards to driver support just because Windows is obviously so widespread. I've ran Ubuntu, Mint, Redhat, Suse, and a few others. I've no fear of command lines, yet I do not suggest to the average user to switch to Linux. Yet, that's another thread in itself. To the OP: you will need at least 1GB of RAM memory to run Win7 somewhat satisfactorily. Run the Win7 Upgrade Advisor. See what it tells you. You may find Win7 might not have a driver for a particular piece of hardware you're running, but there's ways around that. If you're feeling adventurous then try a Linux distro like Mint. You may grow to like it. Otherwise, try OS/2.    j/k.  It just may be time to bite the bullet (pardon the pun) and upgrade your system, which you can do for under $800. Check out Newegg or Microcenter.

[M1152 713]

Pretty much all of my computers, laptop and desktop, get a stay of execution with Ubuntu to eek out another two or three years of service before being sent off to the scrap heap.  For those unfamiliar with Linux, it can seem like a scary proposition.  If one is going to chuck an old PC anyway, just try it out.  The Ubuntu flavor is very easy to install.  For basic web stuff, Ubuntu is fine.  It is also considerably more secure than any version of M$ Windows.  I install it on my teenage son's computers to help alleviate the problems with viruses and malware designed to attack windows systems typically found on websites that teenagers tend to visit.  The best part of Ubuntu, and most other versions of Linux, is it's FREE.

 

The first time I installed it was on an older 1.8 GHz P4 lappy with a 400MHz FSB and 2GB memory.  It was like adding a turbocharger to that slow old system.  It recognized all of the hardware without any problems.  Easiest install ever.

Exactly, well said!  Linux is pretty much bullet proof when it comes to malware. The only issue we had was when I installed it was my nephew’s family system, they have one of those All-in-one printers and Ubuntu would print but no support for the scanner. So after a short run I ended up rolling them back to Windows so they could use the scanner.

[maintenanceguy 510]

At work I have a laptop with a docking station.  The docking station is connected to the network, monitor, keyboard, and mouse.  As long as the laptop is docked, you can't tell it's not a desktop computer but I can also undock and take it with me.  Best of both worlds.

[panteramatt 27]

Keep your laptop and buy a desktop. My toshiba laptop is OLD. Windows vista even. I use it about 4-6 hours a day and it just keeps ticking. Even after like 6 viruses haha