Question:
We are thinking of getting rid of our pc and just having a laptop. The pc is an ugly thing and we need the room it is taking up. what would be the fors and against of doing this? I can't think of anything to stop us.
cheers guys would appreciate any advice.
Answers:
The main concern of most people likely to post here is that laptops aren't upgradeable in the same way as PCs are.
Other than adding memory, there's little that you can do with them. (Whereas with a PC, its simple to change a graphics card, add or replace drives, buy a new monitor, etc., etc.)
Other than that, there's the price. A laptop will cost you more, compared with a PC of comparable "power".
Horses for courses though, and yes, the laptop will take up less space.
Answers:
I agree with HalleluiahMan,
My take on this though is:
If you have the space (no matter how little) PC is best, due to the value for money reason and upgradeability.
To save space you can get:
1) A smaller desk or a corner desk
2) A Flat Panel Monitor
3) Small form factor PC sometimes known as shuttle.
3) Is a bit in the middle between PC and Laptop with regards to upgradeability, meaning it can be hard to get the parts to fit in, but can be upgraded.
With regards to computers looking ugly (yep most are) you can get some nice looking cases, to name one I am looking at Antec Solo.
Answers:
Thanks for that, our main computer use is e-mail, e-bay and online shopping. we do surf the web for info occasionally and we do download music. I don't think we have ever upgraded anything on the pc, but then again i don't know what memory etc we have. I usually leave the techie stuff to oh.
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>what would be the fors and against <
For would be wi-fi and able to surf from the couch, take when travelling etc.
Cons would be costlier for any given performance, screen resolution etc., never going to be as good for games.
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Cons would be costlier for any given performance, screen resolution etc., never going to be as good for games.
I wouldn't say NEVER going to be as good as a PC.
Not having seen the .
What do you mean "£2,500 is too expensive for a laptop"?
For would be wi-fi and able to surf from the couch, take when travelling etc.
Never mind the couch. It can't be denied, but there's something so decadent about sitting in the garden on a beautiful day (OK, not that often then) with the laptop, surfing and emailing as normal.
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>
Cons would be costlier for any given performance, screen resolution etc., never going to be as good for games.
we don't use the pc for games as we have ds 1 & 2's games consoles.
Answers:
I tend to alternate my purchases between laptop and desktop to ensure that I have a reasonably current one of each.
If you need portability, then a laptop is very good. You can:
- sit in front of the TV with it, surfing the net whilst watching TV
- take your laptop round a friends house if they need help easily
- take it from room to room and/or to work and back if you need to.
However, if you don't really make use of the portability of a laptop than:
- getting them out of the laptop bag and putting them back in is a pain! It takes too much time when its easier to push a button on a desktop. Most people then tend to leave the laptop out which is equally ugly especially as its probably going to be in your living room - its going to be untidy.
- they are _slow_. Most people have a budget, say £500. A £500 desktop is fairly fast, a £500 laptop is fairly slow. This will affect games and heavy use.
- because laptops are slower than desktops, it can get annoying waiting for the laptop to boot up. This is partially due to slower processing power but also due to slower disks to conserve energy as laptops have to be portable.
- laptops have to be switched off, so if you want your computer to be remotely controllable from work etc, its a pain having a laptop.
They have their pros and cons. It depends heavily on what you find more appealing. Things also change over time. For example, I posted that its nice to have a laptop in the living room to surf the internet whilst watching TV. However, in today's world I have a projector and a TV. I have a desktop hidden behind the sofa that plugs into the projector and projects onto the far wall whilst I watch TV. This allows me to use a full blown keyboard and getting off the sofa doesn't involve trying to put down the laptop in a safe place as I've only got a keyboard on my lap.
AMO
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For your usage there is going to be little difference in performance between a laptop and a desktop. It is, as others have said, more expensive to buy a laptop than a desktop and same goes if anything goes wrong with it.
Whilst the idea of a laptop is great the majority of people who I know who ones one does have it setup most of the time anyway and so no real gain on the "ugliness" aspect - sure people start off well putting it all away every day but eventually it just gets left out on the table after use.
I am fortunate enough to have both laptop and desktop... I probably use the laptop more (non-work) as I can use it infront of the TV/ in the garden etc and it is perfectly powerful enough for my needs. My brand new desktop however is much more powerful, cheaper, quicker and gets used when I want to do something "serious" (web development/ letter writting etc) or intend to be at it for some time as whilst the sofa is comfortable... dont have a table the correct height for the laptop
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I prefer laptops, the main reason being portability. I have a Sony Vaio laptop and a Sony Cybershot camera and a Sony Walkman phone! They all link up easily (if you don't like cables).
My laptop is approaching 4 years old and is still going strong. I was told by the Sony Centre salesman that it should last 3 years (because of the LCD) but it hasn't failed yet. It also outperforms my Sister's laptops (their laptops are less than a year old).
The best thing about a laptop is that you can take it on holiday. If you take any digital pictures (or video), they are easily downloaded to the laptop without the need to take it to the local photo shop. If you are delayed in an airport or bored on the aeroplane, watch a DVD or play computer games.
Other advantages:
Buying a freeview TV USB stick allows you to watch programmes anywhere in the house.
Good for giving presentations.
Wireless capability inside and outside
Disadvantages:
Expensive
Poor battery life
Upgrade problems
May have to buy a separate mouse
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I have only had laptops for about 6 years, OH has both as he edis pictures and it takes too long on hislaptop.
I like the portability, I travel a lot for work and it's good to take it with me.
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thanks for these suggestions guys. I think we are going to look after christmas what we can get for our money where laptops are concerned, and then decide what we are going to do.
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Laptops if yah rest em on your crotch the only position they are stable lest you have a table, will increase the heat from the laptop and therefore decrease your sperm count. But ladies it'll keep yah nice and warm :P
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i keep an old desktop which the kids use for downloads,this hopefully keeps our laptops free from bugs etc