Solve : desktop or laptop?

1.	Solve : desktop or laptop?
Answer» Its finally time to update and replace my ten yr old computer. I need a computer that will have good speed, burn CD's, have a strong reliable modem for internet research and teaching, and plenty of memory to hold programs. Can I get this with a laptop, or do I have to go with the desktop? Pricewise, what will be a the approximate difference and what's the best laptop (if that's the choice). Maybe I should ask this last question in another forum, but should I go with xp or the new microsoft OS? Thanks DESKTOP Price & OS is a matter for you. W2K Rules Was that a question? Anyway, I would prefer to have the laptop, but need to know if it will meet my computing needs and what the price diff would be between a laptop that does what I need (if there is one) and a desktop that does what I need. Also, I would go with microsoft, (too old to learn anything new); but I'm wondering if their new OS is really something special or should I go with the old XP?What part of the ^above^ didn't you understand?drdelia..... Quote Can I get this with a laptop, or do I have to go with the desktop? Unless the portability of the laptop is the determining factor , you will get more bang for your buck with a desktop. Then there is the maintainance and upgrading if required,factor........it's much easier and less costly to work on or add hardware to a desktop. Then there's the issue of the laptops battery .......If your going portable how much battery will you require ........ and remember that as good as todays batteries are they are only good for about 500 cycles or 1.5 to 2 years and then they may have to be replaced. ( laptop batteries arent cheap) As far as cost ........it will depend on what hardware you want . It's really hard to determine a price until you know what it is you want ........sort of like saying I want a new car ...... I wonder how much it will cost ? Things you should consider are ...... How fast a processor would you like ? How good a vid card do you like ? How much Ram do you like ? Is good quality sound a issue for you ? How big a hard drive (drives ) would you like ? What type of optical drives would you like? Is a floppy drive required ? How many USB ports will you require? Once you have put together your wish list , choosing the Desktop or Laptop will be much easier......and you will have a basis with which to do pricing comparisons. As far as a OPERATING system ..........XP is probably the best way to go now .......the new Vista O/S isnt due for release for some time . A Beta version of Vista was released to a control group in August 2005 . dl65 thank you for the expanded answer. you ask a lot of questions, which I cannot answer. Why don't I tell you what I need to do with the computer, and then you can tell me about the speed, sound card, etc. I do online teaching and the site I use has lots of graphics. We don't use sound clips, yet. I also use CD's in teaching and learning. These do have lovely scenes and also sound. I don't listen to music on the computer or play video games. I have many many text files, especially word files. I want to be ABLE to burn these onto Cd's. I use the internet for research and also to read the news. I have a pentium 2 now, and would like something faster. I would also like to get Skype or something like this for cross continental phone calls. So, this is what I would like to do. Can you suggest what I need. by the way, as for portability, I don't especially need to take the laptop where there is no electricity, but more often, from home to work, from room to room, etc. Please diagnose what I need, suggest what I will need, whether it will go into a laptop, etc.From what you have said portability is an issue, so a laptop is the solution. Fortunately you are not planning on gaming. How do you connect to the internet? Dial up or cable/DSL? Remember that warranty is everything. Go for a major manufacturer, not a lowball price and get a 3 year warranty. Just replacing a display can cost what a new laptop does! Don't get the lowball price leaders, even from the big companies. I like Dell for Windows systems, but would recommend the Latitudes over the Inspirons (which is what they advertise on TV). They are business CLASS machines that are built to be durable. They are not cheap, but you get what you pay for. http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/compare.aspx/latit?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd Consider the biggest battery available, and maybe a spare as well. The learning curve going from whatever Windows you use to XP will be big enough, and no need to fall into the Windows Vista mirage. Not worth waiting for.Sounds like a laptop would be very handy for you and you already know you want one. Doesn't sound like the applications you run are so demanding that you'd need the power of a "state of the art" desktop (Laptops do lag a little behind in speed due to size, power and heat issues). Actually, I'm surprised you're not satisfied with the speed of your old system. What would you like to run faster? Is it the computer or your internet connection slowing you down? A CD writer and possibly DVD writer (4.7 GB of storage on a single-layer disk can be VERY handy) is pretty standard in laptops or desktops these days. Also agree that a laptop will be more expensive in the long run. They generally don't last as long as desktops. There are several parts in a laptop that cost as much as a new laptop to replace. Any part of a desktop can be easily replaced or upgraded if your needs change. That's the price of owning a laptop. Only you can decide if it's worth it after knowing the facts. Sounds like a laptop would be much more useful to you though. If you're using a dial-up connection to the internet, keep in mind that the connection speed is already your bottleneck there. A faster computer won't help. Windows XP is fine. Sorry, I'm not a laptop owner (no need, although would be cool to have someday) so I can't help much with prices or RECOMMENDING a particular make. Like I said, doesn't look like you'll need something terribly expensive for the apps. you run. Shopping with durability at the top of the list like GX1_Man suggested sounds like a good idea.thank you everyone for so much help. I went to the Dell site and found that the laptops were within range. a question remains. from what I read there, the maximum memory is 2Gb. right now, I have two hards on my computer: one C with 2GB, and one partitioned d/E with a total of another 2Gb. One of my big problems is not having enough room. My C drive is full and that maybe one of the thing that slows me down (I'm not just slow on the net, but even slow on having applications come up, going from APP to app, etc.). I can't download the patches from MS because I have no room. I use the XP right now, as well as the Outlook Express, MS Office, with the works,--front page, power point, that kind of thing. D and E hold my word files (not the app, just My Doc). My sons use visual basic, and that is on D. So, I think I forget to say that I need a lot of memory. In the Latitudes that I visited, the top memory was 2GB. Is that the top really? What about Toshiba laptops? I used a borrowed one once, but its modem was a little finicky (using dial up connection). So: can a laptop have more than 2GB what about Toshiba vs. Dell? Thanks again for so much help. I appreciate it.What you're looking at is probably system memory. 2GB is ALOT, 1GB or 512MB would be sufficient. Look at the specs for HARD DRIVE CAPACITY, which is what you're talking about... Think you'll be pleasantly surprised (if not completely blown-away) at the hard drive capacity of most modern laptops.The vast majority of my computer use has been laptops; all of them were used. I have found the following: If you do your research, there are machines on ebay that are functional and you won't take the huge depreciation hit of a brand new machine. My most recent investment was $600 for a ThinkPad, P4M, 2.2 GHz, 60 GB HD and 1 GB memory. It will need an OS. There is still almost a year and a half on the warranty. Just check feedbacks before you commit on ebay. The downside to laptops is that for a given performance level, laptops run about 30-50% higher in price and yes, the overall life tends to be shorter than a tower. Expansion is nearly unheard of. What you get on the machine is what there is, with the exception of add-ons with the PCMCIA card slot or a docking station/port expansion. Many goodies are available for those. Once again, there is a premium on laptop parts because many are proprietary. IBM parts usually won't work on a Dell or HP. Exception is the hard drives. If you are running wireless internet access, I am having very good luck with a PCMCIA wireless card. The battery cycles mentioned earlier are a big consideration and batteries can be quite expensive. One of the reasons I prefer ThinkPad is their web site is very helpful with driver updates, troubleshooting, etc. I can't speak about any other laptop sites for that. Real time updates are possible once your machine is internet connected. as Royphil said, Memory (RAM) is totally different than hard drive (storage). You have been running low on hard drive space. The lowest end laptop will have way more than you will need probably ever (unless you collect movies)!As always, you computer help people are wonderful! Thank you so much. I feel that I now know enough about laptops to be able to make an educated decision when it is time to buy. What I have gathered, and please correct me if I'm wrong, is that a laptop can hold the apps that I need, with plenty of space, and then more, and with adequate speed. The upside is the fact that I can take my "homework" to work with me, and the downside is that laptops are more expensive to buy, and to upkeep if they "break", and to upgrade; and to keep batteries for. So I can balance the downside against the upside and see if the extra investment is worth it, so I can carry my work around. Many many thanks. Quote As always, you computer help people are wonderful! Thank you so much. I feel that I now know enough about laptops to be able to make an educated decision when it is time to buy. What I have gathered, and please correct me if I'm wrong, is that a laptop can hold the apps that I need, with plenty of space, and then more, and with adequate speed. The upside is the fact that I can take my "homework" to work with me, and the downside is that laptops are more expensive to buy, and to upkeep if they "break", and to upgrade; and to keep batteries for. So I can balance the downside against the upside and see if the extra investment is worth it, so I can carry my work around. Many many thanks. That is a PERFECT summary of the situation. Give yourself an A !I like laptops because of how easy they are to take with you. However, because I like having power, a desktopis the better way to go. Especially becuase I like upgrading... Flame

Answer»

Its finally time to update and replace my ten yr old computer. I need a computer that will have good speed, burn CD's, have a strong reliable modem for internet research and teaching, and plenty of memory to hold programs. Can I get this with a laptop, or do I have to go with the desktop? Pricewise, what will be a the approximate difference and what's the best laptop (if that's the choice). Maybe I should ask this last question in another forum, but should I go with xp or the new microsoft OS? Thanks DESKTOP
Price & OS is a matter for you.
W2K Rules Was that a question? Anyway, I would prefer to have the laptop, but need to know if it will meet my computing needs and what the price diff would be between a laptop that does what I need (if there is one) and a desktop that does what I need. Also, I would go with microsoft, (too old to learn anything new); but I'm wondering if their new OS is really something special or should I go with the old XP?What part of the ^above^ didn't you understand?drdelia..... Quote

Can I get this with a laptop, or do I have to go with the desktop?

Unless the portability of the laptop is the determining factor , you will get more bang for your buck with a desktop.
Then there is the maintainance and upgrading if required,factor........it's much easier and less costly to work on or add hardware to a desktop.
Then there's the issue of the laptops battery .......If your going portable how much battery will you require ........ and remember that as good as todays batteries are they are only good for about 500 cycles or 1.5 to 2 years and then they may have to be replaced. ( laptop batteries arent cheap)
As far as cost ........it will depend on what hardware you want .
It's really hard to determine a price until you know what it is you want ........sort of like saying I want a new car ...... I wonder how much it will cost ?

Things you should consider are ......
How fast a processor would you like ?
How good a vid card do you like ?
How much Ram do you like ?
Is good quality sound a issue for you ?
How big a hard drive (drives ) would you like ?
What type of optical drives would you like?
Is a floppy drive required ?
How many USB ports will you require?
Once you have put together your wish list , choosing the Desktop or Laptop will be much easier......and you will have a basis with which to do pricing comparisons.
As far as a OPERATING system ..........XP is probably the best way to go now .......the new Vista O/S isnt due for release for some time . A Beta version of Vista was released to a control group in August 2005 .

dl65
thank you for the expanded answer. you ask a lot of questions, which I cannot answer. Why don't I tell you what I need to do with the computer, and then you can tell me about the speed, sound card, etc.

I do online teaching and the site I use has lots of graphics. We don't use sound clips, yet.

I also use CD's in teaching and learning. These do have lovely scenes and also sound.

I don't listen to music on the computer or play video games.

I have many many text files, especially word files. I want to be ABLE to burn these onto Cd's.

I use the internet for research and also to read the news.

I have a pentium 2 now, and would like something faster.

I would also like to get Skype or something like this for cross continental phone calls.

So, this is what I would like to do. Can you suggest what I need.

by the way, as for portability, I don't especially need to take the laptop where there is no electricity, but more often, from home to work, from room to room, etc.

Please diagnose what I need, suggest what I will need, whether it will go into a laptop, etc.From what you have said portability is an issue, so a laptop is the solution. Fortunately you are not planning on gaming.

How do you connect to the internet? Dial up or cable/DSL?

Remember that warranty is everything. Go for a major manufacturer, not a lowball price and get a 3 year warranty. Just replacing a display can cost what a new laptop does!

Don't get the lowball price leaders, even from the big companies. I like Dell for Windows systems, but would recommend the Latitudes over the Inspirons (which is what they advertise on TV). They are business CLASS machines that are built to be durable. They are not cheap, but you get what you pay for.

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/compare.aspx/latit?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd

Consider the biggest battery available, and maybe a spare as well.

The learning curve going from whatever Windows you use to XP will be big enough, and no need to fall into the Windows Vista mirage. Not worth waiting for.Sounds like a laptop would be very handy for you and you already know you want one. Doesn't sound like the applications you run are so demanding that you'd need the power of a "state of the art" desktop (Laptops do lag a little behind in speed due to size, power and heat issues). Actually, I'm surprised you're not satisfied with the speed of your old system. What would you like to run faster? Is it the computer or your internet connection slowing you down? A CD writer and possibly DVD writer (4.7 GB of storage on a single-layer disk can be VERY handy) is pretty standard in laptops or desktops these days.

Also agree that a laptop will be more expensive in the long run. They generally don't last as long as desktops. There are several parts in a laptop that cost as much as a new laptop to replace. Any part of a desktop can be easily replaced or upgraded if your needs change. That's the price of owning a laptop. Only you can decide if it's worth it after knowing the facts. Sounds like a laptop would be much more useful to you though.

If you're using a dial-up connection to the internet, keep in mind that the connection speed is already your bottleneck there. A faster computer won't help. Windows XP is fine. Sorry, I'm not a laptop owner (no need, although would be cool to have someday) so I can't help much with prices or RECOMMENDING a particular make. Like I said, doesn't look like you'll need something terribly expensive for the apps. you run. Shopping with durability at the top of the list like GX1_Man suggested sounds like a good idea.thank you everyone for so much help. I went to the Dell site and found that the laptops were within range. a question remains. from what I read there, the maximum memory is 2Gb. right now, I have two hards on my computer: one C with 2GB, and one partitioned d/E with a total of another 2Gb. One of my big problems is not having enough room. My C drive is full and that maybe one of the thing that slows me down (I'm not just slow on the net, but even slow on having applications come up, going from APP to app, etc.). I can't download the patches from MS because I have no room. I use the XP right now, as well as the Outlook Express, MS Office, with the works,--front page, power point, that kind of thing. D and E hold my word files (not the app, just My Doc). My sons use visual basic, and that is on D. So, I think I forget to say that I need a lot of memory. In the Latitudes that I visited, the top memory was 2GB. Is that the top really? What about Toshiba laptops? I used a borrowed one once, but its modem was a little finicky (using dial up connection).
So: can a laptop have more than 2GB
what about Toshiba vs. Dell?
Thanks again for so much help. I appreciate it.What you're looking at is probably system memory. 2GB is ALOT, 1GB or 512MB would be sufficient. Look at the specs for HARD DRIVE CAPACITY, which is what you're talking about... Think you'll be pleasantly surprised (if not completely blown-away) at the hard drive capacity of most modern laptops.The vast majority of my computer use has been laptops; all of them were used. I have found the following:
If you do your research, there are machines on ebay that are functional and you won't take the huge depreciation hit of a brand new machine. My most recent investment was $600 for a ThinkPad, P4M, 2.2 GHz, 60 GB HD and 1 GB memory. It will need an OS. There is still almost a year and a half on the warranty. Just check feedbacks before you commit on ebay.
The downside to laptops is that for a given performance level, laptops run about 30-50% higher in price and yes, the overall life tends to be shorter than a tower.
Expansion is nearly unheard of. What you get on the machine is what there is, with the exception of add-ons with the PCMCIA card slot or a docking station/port expansion. Many goodies are available for those. Once again, there is a premium on laptop parts because many are proprietary. IBM parts usually won't work on a Dell or HP. Exception is the hard drives. If you are running wireless internet access, I am having very good luck with a PCMCIA wireless card.
The battery cycles mentioned earlier are a big consideration and batteries can be quite expensive.
One of the reasons I prefer ThinkPad is their web site is very helpful with driver updates, troubleshooting, etc. I can't speak about any other laptop sites for that. Real time updates are possible once your machine is internet connected.
as Royphil said, Memory (RAM) is totally different than hard drive (storage). You have been running low on hard drive space. The lowest end laptop will have way more than you will need probably ever (unless you collect movies)!As always, you computer help people are wonderful! Thank you so much. I feel that I now know enough about laptops to be able to make an educated decision when it is time to buy. What I have gathered, and please correct me if I'm wrong, is that a laptop can hold the apps that I need, with plenty of space, and then more, and with adequate speed. The upside is the fact that I can take my "homework" to work with me, and the downside is that laptops are more expensive to buy, and to upkeep if they "break", and to upgrade; and to keep batteries for. So I can balance the downside against the upside and see if the extra investment is worth it, so I can carry my work around. Many many thanks. Quote

As always, you computer help people are wonderful! Thank you so much. I feel that I now know enough about laptops to be able to make an educated decision when it is time to buy. What I have gathered, and please correct me if I'm wrong, is that a laptop can hold the apps that I need, with plenty of space, and then more, and with adequate speed. The upside is the fact that I can take my "homework" to work with me, and the downside is that laptops are more expensive to buy, and to upkeep if they "break", and to upgrade; and to keep batteries for. So I can balance the downside against the upside and see if the extra investment is worth it, so I can carry my work around. Many many thanks.

That is a PERFECT summary of the situation. Give yourself an A !I like laptops because of how easy they are to take with you. However, because I like having power, a desktopis the better way to go. Especially becuase I like upgrading...

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