I’ve always been a desktop guy; never have I owned a laptop before. I had two older desktops which have both breathed their last, and I’m in the market for a new PC. It’s been maybe 5 or 6 years since I bought a new PC.
Why did I always have desktop PCs before? Mostly it was because I was a gamer, and I wanted to be able to upgrade the video card for an optimal gaming experience. I don’t play nearly that many games on PC these days (I’ll opt for a console most of the time now if I want to play something). I do watch DVDs and stream Netflix and other services on the PC, though; the 24 inch HD monitor makes for a pretty nice experience. I’m also an illustrator and graphic designer, so I use Photoshop and Painter a lot.
So I’m wondering; are today’s laptops and notebooks fairly decent at handling Adobe’s Creative Suite? I’m guessing none of the games I own would present much of a challenge to the new systems… but a big question I have is, is it much of a hassle to hook up a laptop to my larger monitor if I still want to use that for viewing movies and streaming content? I’m thinking that if it’s not much of a hassle, I might just have to make the leap to the laptop.
It’s simply a matter of plugging the DVI cord from the monitor into the laptop. Windows will automagically recognize the new monitor and extend your screen to it in a few seconds. (There may be some one-time setup the first time you plug it in.)
I haven’t seen many laptops with full-sized DVI ports recently. Don’t cross a laptop off your list because it only has HDMI, just get an adaptor like this and leave it plugged into the monitor.
I always check cpubenchmark for the specific processor I’m looking at before buying a computer, that should tell you what it is capable of, compared to what you have or are familiar with. As long as the ram and hd are adequate for your applications, you shouldn’t have any issues after choosing the appropriate CPU.
My laptop has a 15 pin video output, I know that can be converted one way for sure not sure about the other way. Oh, I just noticed it has HDMI too!
If you have a pretty nice desktop setup with large display(s), full size keyboard and mouse you like, and a good set of speakers that you use, you will want a port replicator if you move to laptop. A port replicator (or dock or docking station) plugs into AC power, charges your laptop when connected and has ports that you can plug all your desktop stuff and network or internet connection into so you don’t have to mess with anything when you take your laptop with you. The question is, how often will you?
For me, a laptop has far less utility than the compromises that come with it. If I had a laptop that met my modest computing needs sitting in a port replicator on my desk, it would probably very rarely (if ever, honestly) leave my desk. So for me, a laptop holds very little upside, especially when I have a 4" Android phone I carry everywhere and a 10" iPad I carry when I travel.
If you’re like my boss whose personal computer and business computer are the same thing, a laptop makes a lot of sense. (That use case makes a lot more sense when you own the company and nobody can question what you do with your computer.) He’s actually downsized to a very small, lightweight laptop. Probably 12" display if I had to guess. At work, he plugs into a port replicator attached to power, dual large displays and uses a wireless keyboard and mouse. At home, I don’t know what he does. He probably has a similar setup there.
If you would get value from a laptop, I would suggest a laptop and port replicator. But don’t purchase that setup just because the industry has been predicting the death of ATX form factor for 10 years. Purchase that setup if it makes sense for the way you want to use a computer.
For a non-gamer (or retro gamer), the only thing that’s relevant is the price (including the stuff Jake Jones mentions) versus the added utility that you will actually get out of it. (For gamers, the downgrade in performance is also relevant.)
Honestly, based on what you said in your OP, I’d go with a laptop. Hooking up a monitor is no big deal at all. I’m writing this right now on a laptop with a monitor hooked up to it, along with separate keyboard, mouse, and speakers. The only annoyance is that most computers would have two more USB ports, but a $5 dongle can fix that.
My last six computers have been laptops. I constantly use all the Adobe Creative Suite programs. My latest laptop has a 1T hard drive and 8 gigs of RAM. I can open InDesign, Photoshop, Adobe Bridge, Illustrator, and Dreamweaver all at the same time. Bwaahaaahaaa!
I also have a second monitor along with the laptop’s big screen.
I take the computer with me to my clients and I’ve been following this procedure for at least 15 years. Works great for me. I don’t see the benefit of a computer I can’t take where the work takes me.
“The only things that matter when considering price, performance and form factor are price, performance and form factor.” Very useful, thanks.
Beyond that, consider utility and flexibility. Single circuit board integration is becoming common even on ATX motherboards, but let’s say the sound stops functioning on your laptop. Or the video card or network card. What do you do? I know what I do. I drop a cheap replacement into a PCIe slot in about 5 minutes to see if the onboard circuitry failed at a component level or main circuit board level.
What do you do if you’ve maxed your capacity of local data storage and don’t have anything you want to get rid of? I know what I do. I add another HDD or SSD with a few screws and attach a power and SATA cable to it in about 10 minutes. If I’ve maxed out my onboard SATA controllers, I can throw in another PCIe SATA controller. Certainly you can add external storage, but that incurs more cost and/or performance hit than adding an internal storage drive.
If you have a laptop connected to a monitor, speakers, keyboard and mouse, how often do you use it away from your desk? If regularly, laptop makes sense but I heard no indication that Cuckoorex has any need or want to use a computer portably. I know I don’t. Maybe there is an interest in doing so but absent that interest, what’s the argument in favor of laptop over ATX form factor?
Laptop computers come with a compromise in price, performance and flexibility. For a lot of users, they are far and away a superior choice. But for a lot of others, they are a compromise not worth making because they’re never going to be used in a manner that justifies the compromise.
Perfect use case scenario. If you get value out of using your laptop in the living room, kitchen and bedroom, that’s also a valid use case scenario. If the computer you use on your desk has significant value anywhere other than on your desk, a laptop is probably worth the compromise.
If it’s going to sit on your desk, plugged into an AC power adapter, monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers and ethernet connection for most or all of its life, the compromise is silly. I’m all for laptop computers for people who need the portability they offer. Buying one to sit on a desk connected to all your non-portable shit for its entire lifetime is stupid, and it happens all the time by people who think full size or Mini ATX computers are too old fashioned to buy.
Until a few years ago I was always a desktop guy but then I got a laptop from work and I find I like the laptop better. I can sit on the couch, lay in bed (like right now!) or sit out on the lawn on warm sunny days. I still have my desktop (which runs XP) for doing things that are better with a large monitor.
These are all important things for me to consider, thanks. Since I have never owned a laptop before, it’s difficult for me to judge how often I would realistically be taking it with me to meet with clients or whatnot; I certainly got along without doing so for a long time so far. I also would definitely want to have a generous supply of USB ports for my WACOM tablet and external drives (I have two 1.5 TB USB external drives). I’m beginning to think that the desktop is the way I should go for now.
Yeah, my opinion has always been that if you need a serious workstation, stick with a desktop. With a laptop you’re going to have to make some serious compromises with price, performance, and portability. And reliability, upgrade-ability, repair-ability…
For the price of a no-compromises desktop-replacement laptop, you can get a desktop with even more performance and have enough money leftover to buy a tablet or cheap laptop if you just want to have a gadget to play with on the couch or on vacation.
The last desktop computer I purchased was one of these. Been all PowerBooks and MacBooks since then (3rd generation laptop is the current box). I usually run it with 2 external monitors, an external keyboard & a mouse, and treat it like a Desktop, except that I can unlug all that stuff and stick it in my bag and head off to a client’s office (or a girlfriend’s home) at will.
I figure if I ever need a desktop, I’ll set it up so I can remote into it from anywhere and deploy it from the laptop. In fact, that’s what I do with my old computers NOW, they stay in my room and I remote into them if I need them for anything.
New development: a co-worker is selling a 2012 Toshiba laptop for $120, only ever been used for student work. I’m all over that. Might still get that desktop, but I can’t pass that up.
If you can’t read for comprehension, you might want to avoid the snark.
I didn’t say what you said at all. I simplified it down to two things. The value you get out of having a portable device versus the price you will pay for the premium. Performance was explicitly stated as irrelevant for the OP’s situation. And form factor is far more complicated than simple portability.
You were just making it sound more complicated while working on the same principle. You simply judged mobility not to be worth the price.
Of course, you did so with a false premise. It doesn’t matter if your computer sits at your desk “most of the time.” All that matters is whether the few times you do make it mobile are worth the price. My computer sits at the desk most of the time, but the price for mobility the rare times when I need it (going on trips) was worth the extra cost.
It really is that simple. Think about how often you are going to take it mobile. Is it worth paying extra for that ability? If so, go mobile. If not, don’t.
I for one am very happy going with a laptop when I only take it off the desk maybe a handful of times a year. That was worth the extra $50 I paid for a (used) laptop.
I would go for both a desktop and a laptop. The problem with a laptop that you use everywhere is that it can get lost, stolen or dropped and damaged. Losing your only computing device to me is a catastrophic event, so I like the security of a desktop that never leaves the house.
Max RAM for this model is 4 GB; that’s OK, though. I’m still going to get a desktop with the necessary horsepower, and this laptop is basically going to be my internet/DVD watching toy.
Bwaahaaahaaa!