Thinking of buying a computer? Your first choice is whether to get a laptop or a desktop. Your eventual decision will be a compromise between cost, features, and 'future-proofing'.
Sales of laptop computers have outpaced those of desktops in recent years, for a number of reasons. Laptops are more portable (close the lid and go), can be just as powerful and capable as desktops, come with built-in battery backup in case of power failure, and can double as entertainment centres that play music, DVDs and photos wherever you want.
Of course, most of the demand occurs from business users that like to be able to continue working on the bus or train (hopefully not while driving) or at home. Even so, when it is time to buy a home computer, laptops are worth serious consideration.
In a nutshell, laptops are expensive. They require special technology to reduce weight and extend battery life, and squeeze all the components into the smallest space. You can expect to pay around twice as much for a laptop compared to an equivalent desktop. Because of this, laptops are harder and more expensive to upgrade (eg. to add more memory, or put in a bigger hard disk).
The portability of laptops also leads to more wear and tear as they get moved around, and they are also much more likely to be in 'hostile' environments such as on the living room table where crumbs, liquid and small fingers can get into them. Businesses usually assign much shorter working lives to laptops than to desktops, consequently replacing them more often.
A common complaint about laptops is that the screen is small and the keyboard squished. However, it is easy to add an external keyboard and monitor. In fact, some laptops can be purchased complete with a “docking station”, which is a housing that you simply slide the laptop into to instantly plug in an external keyboard, monitor, printer, power, or any other items. When you're ready to travel again, simply slide out and you have the all-in-one portable computer again.
Desktops on the other hand are much cheaper, and are built to be upgraded (Apple Macs excepted). Although compact system units are increasingly available, the vast majority are still the great big half-empty boxes that make it easy to add extra bits and pieces whenever you want. But if you are expecting to put a computer into one spot and never need to move it, you'll get more value from a desktop – either by paying less, or by spending the extra money on faster/bigger/better components so that the computer lasts longer.
Any IT questions & comments? Email
- Tony Phelps is part of the Merlin Pacific IT team, dedicated to effective & efficient business IT.
