According to consumer groups charting recent purchasing trends, apparently more and more users/consumers are replacing their home computer desk top systems with laptop computers.

I probably won't,though, and this is for two reasons; heat output and keyboard usage. Laptops put out waaaaay too much heat for me to trust leaving them on all day long like I do my desk top PC. I don't like laptop keyboards period, and I spend a vast amount of time pounding on the ol' keyboard keys.

There's a third reason, too, now that I think about it. I want a larger screen than are generally available with laptops.

So for the DrunkDuckers in a position to purchase - or influence the purchase of - the home computer, will you altogether switch over from a desk top PC in favor of a laptop and why or why not?

I used to have a laptop. It was OK, but sucked for what I used it for: artwork and video games. (MMORPGs are the bane of laptops. I would crash every fifteen minutes or so, regardless of my video card.) …Then, five years after I bought it, the AC port crapped out on me, and I couldn't even charge it anymore. 24 hours later, after the rest of its battery power ran out, it was basically dead. I had to get a friend to rip out the motherboard and retrieve my info, and put it on an external hard drive. Needless to say, I have more faith in desktop computers than laptops now. They have more power I've tried them.

I've been using a laptop in place of a desktop since I got this one for Christmas about three years ago. I like it, it's easy to adjust the screen, there's no tower taking up all the space under my desk (also saves me room on top, because I don't have to put it there instead). I like laptop keyboards, they're easier to use (that could just be because I've been using it for so long though), and again, it saves space, I don't have to move it about all the time either. It's portable as well, if it gets too load up in the dorm rooms, I can just pull the plug out and take it downstairs, or even take it around in my rucksack, I get a lot more work done in the campus cafe than I do in my room (mostly because there's no internet connection in there so I don't have owt to distract me). I don't like the touchpad much, but that's easily solved because my tablet has a mouse.

I will never go back to using a desktop. Ever.

I have no interest in a lap-top for the reasons mentioned above as well. Also, I don't feel a need to bring my modern technology with me everywhere I go. I can live quite fine without it. And sometimes, it's nice just to get away from it.

Laptops may be portible, but for someone with larger hands like me, I sometimes have difficulty using their built-in keyboards.

Also, they're just not as powerful as desktops yet.

Yeah, I had a laptop years ago… An IBM Thinkpad. The portability and small amount of space they take up is fantastic! I also loved the small, flat keyboard and the little toggle in the middle of the keyboard that acted as a secondary mouse -these days they use touchpads, but they suck compared to the might of the toggle! :)

But it did get warm… You couldn't upgrade them very far… Fixing it was extremely expensive…

Since then I've had desktops and they've been much better for artwork, you can easily give them all the power they need. You're stuck in one place with them, but the power trade-off is worth it and it really isn't a good thing to be able to work anywhere, because then you think you SHOULD be working anywhere… Heh, with desktops you have the freedom of being able to get away from your work! ^_^

I just bought a new one the other day… I set the old one up in my bedroom. The LCD monitor is now on a hinged arm attached to my bookcase so it can swing over my bed. heh, I can work or game from there if I'm tired or ill with all the power of a desktop, but a lot more safety for the system which is well out of harm's way- I used to worry like hell about my laptop when it was actually ON my laptop.

I've never owned a laptop, although I've considered getting one. All my computers (and from where I'm sitting I count three) are desktops sitting in my “office” room. (Okay, I play games 90% of the time, but if it has more than one computer it's an office, right?)

I write a lot and feel that having a portable PC would be a great boon when it came down to it ‘cause when I get a good idea I’m rarely in range of my computers or any of my notebooks.

Still, though I'd like one I don't think I could ever let a laptop replace my primary machine. There's something more comfortable and permanent to me about a desktop; not sure why.

I use a laptop for work and it's perfect really, I don't use anything too processor-intensive and they've set me up with docking stations, kb and mouse, and monitor at home and at work.

For my own usage though I prefer a desktop (although I don't have one right now… just a work laptop and my own laptop). It's all right for most things but it just isn't sufficient for a lot of things. I can't justify buying a new computer until the old one breaks though. It works fine, but older laptops aren't worth anything and getting a new one would be wasteful :)

For work, a laptop would be much more convenient - and obviously, space-wise, the laptop is superior. Plus, it's better for bludgeoning!
For play, though…nah. I heart my bulky old desktop - I've been souping “Spike” up since ‘01, and I couldn’t bring myself to leave him behind for some strumpet laptop.

I use my desktop (in my basement office)for all my heavy applications. Photoshop, skype, goldwave, etc. The laptop I only use upstairs for light stuff, cruising the web, or “in a pinch” situations when I travel.

I did the last couple of pages and the DD news on my laptop recently. It takes longer, the touch pad is annoying, the screen is smaller. So, no. Not ready to give up my desktop. I have a feeling that most people that do any visual or audio productions aren't. So you'll probably get a pretty slanted view here. ;)

For the majority of people who will only need it for internet and work laptops are great. They are nearly as powerful as their desktop counterparts now and they come in all sizes. I've seen some portable units with a 20-inch screen, and full size desktop components worked into it.

Still for the enthusiast, gamer, or high-drain app I would go with a desktop.

i wont ever buy a laptop unless there are no desktops anymore. the main reason is the propriatary nature of laptops. if a laptop breaks it usually costs 2-4 times more to fix than a desktop and that's just for parts. i also hate batteries which is why i dont use wireless mice and keyboards. the only benefit is that the keyboards radiate heat with would help my cold hands in the winter. :)

What about Desktops being replaced by Tablet PCs?
(Don't take me too seriously on this…I know next to nothing about Tablet PCs…and I also doubt they'd be that great for gaming.)

Id give up my desktop for a laptop anyday.

I'm not too much of a gamer nowadays. I dont play those newer games that require 512 mb of videocard.

I just play CnC Zero Hour and Starcraft.

The old games. lol!

The old games are the best games.

I think that the analysts that insist people are turning away from desktop PCs in favor of laptops are failing to consider that people are instead purchasing laptops in addition to the desktops that they already have.

Anyway the reason I brought up this issue is actually a practical one for me. My old desktop is giving indications that it's considering cratering on me after four years of hard use. This is despite my having pampered it no end, mind you.

Anyway, for once, I intend to be proactive in this field rather than reactive. I'm going to replace the thing as soon as possible before it can burn me.

My wife suggested switching over exclusively to a laptop. I don't want to for the reasons issued in the top post. Now after reading all the responses I really, really don't want to give up the comfort and convenience and stability of a desktop unit.

Sigh, now I just have to convince her that I know what I am talking about.

I recently replaced my laptop with a desktop. I used to take my laptop to school, and I'm clumsy, so it got pretty smashed up over time. Then, one of my pet rats stole a couple keys off of it and hid them, so I had to find them and put them back. The little attachment things for the keys were fragile and bent/broke.

I like that I can take my desktop apart, add stuff to it, customize it, etc. I can replace the monitor or keyboard or whatever as needed… But I do miss portability. I miss taking my laptop with me on vacation and being on the wireless internet in hotels.

I think I'd get another laptop as the technology improves. If I can afford a really durable one and be able to customize them more, that would be great.

CharleyHorse
Sigh, now I just have to convince her that I know what I am talking about.

Aw, come on; that'll be easy. You're a guy; you're always right. ;)

ozoneocean
Yeah, I had a laptop years ago… An IBM Thinkpad. The portability and small amount of space they take up is fantastic! I also loved the small, flat keyboard and the little toggle in the middle of the keyboard that acted as a secondary mouse -these days they use touchpads, but they suck compared to the might of the toggle! :)

The “clitoggle” as my friends call it.

As for laptops or desktop pc's, one is good for some things and the other is good for others.

I don't care as long as they do what i need them to do, and right now my laptop is my choice.

Now, if i ever need to fix this thing, i'm fucked.

If a man speaks in a forest and there is no woman to hear him, is he still wrong?

I was going to read all the posts in this thread, but then I realized that most of them are essays.

Anyway, while I like the portability of laptops, I don't like how hard it is to upgrade/repair them as compared to a normal computer.

So I'm kind of on the fence here.

laptops can make you impotent
http://ezinearticles.com/?Bad-Effects-on-Having-Laptop-on-Your-Lap&id=402338

kyupol
I just play CnC Zero Hour and Starcraft.

The old games. lol!

CharleyHorse
The old games are the best games.

Got that right ^^

I like my desktop, it's…big.
and it doesn't get all smashed up like some laptops do ^^

I love my laptop.
The only problem with it is that it needs an external hard drive before I can even think about storing the amount of pages that I want to on it. Right now it's being slow with me and I don't want to erase anything on it.
As long as it's on a flat surface, it doesn't overheat.

I like desktops. My brother was using the laptop as a desktop so I give him my old one and got a new one for myself. I figure if I want a desktop then I should get a desktop and not have a laptop be one instead.

I'm a bit traditional in this way I guess. I'm one of those people who also want my cell phone to be a cell phone and not a cell phone-MP3 player-camera-recorder-internet browser-land line phone.

The nice thing about desktops is that if I want to add things to it or upgrade it, I can. I don't need to charge its batteries and if I want to leave it on, I could. I don't have to worry about how far I can be before the Internet connection craps out either.

The only thing my laptop has over my desktop is portability. I've taken it to work a few times and it came in really handy for me back then.

I have both and as stated above, I use the laptop for work and the desktop for comics, games, etc. But, if laptops could be as powerful as desktops are now, well then yeah, I'd be fine with it

I love my laptop. It's faster than my desktop, quick to shutdown and startup, and I can lie on my bed while surfing the internet.
I don't do it myself but I think the idea of having a laptop hooked up to an external monitor and keyboard on a desk and then when you go out somewhere you just pick it up and take it with you is great. Watch dvds and play games and show family your picture slideshows wherever you go… It doesn't heat up like others I've seen (my parents) but the battery is rather abysmal.
I often see government workers in the news have laptops on their desks in place of a desktop.

I'm using my desktop in bed right now…

The only laptop I considered getting back when I was about to replace my last one, was one of the ultra tough ones… but they didn't have the power I needed. :(

The best rugged ones I found at the time were ones you could get from a special military supplier, those were TOUGH! Tougher than the normal consumer stuff they try and sell as rugged laptops by a long way. But they didn't have the juice -_-

If I didn't have a 1996 scanner that's parallel-port based, I'd do everything on my laptop. Since I got mine earlier this year, I use it for 90% of what I do at home. I use a desktop at work and I have 2 desktops at home (one for my wife, one for my kids) and all I use the desktop for is scanning and watching animes online.

I don't need a ton of hard drive space and if I did, I'd get an external hdd. Most of what I do is online (email, chat, etc.) and I use Photobucket for saving a lot of drawings once they're finished.

I do find myself being kinda paranoid/overprotective of the laptop but that's because it is portable and can be knocked over/dropped, spilled on, etc. The same would be true of my lcd monitor for my desktop but it never moves.

But I saved up for my laptop and made sure it was loaded with what I needed for what I do (email, comics, chat, occasional gaming, video and web browsing). It's got a top-notch dualcore processor, 2 GB of ram, a separate 256mb video card (none of that shared stuff) and with its built-in wireless, I'm good to go. It has a minimal hard drive (80 Gigs) but as I said, I could add an external if it's needed and I do have a 1 GB thumb drive, too. It also has a long life battery and I should probably buy another as a backup, when I get a chance.

If you anticipate your needs and get something that can last a few years, you don't need to worry about upgrading it like a pc and if you exercise a minimum of care (I understand Vickie's point about taking it to school and back; for something like that, I recommend a Dell laptop backpack – soft as can be and redundantly tough), you can protect your laptop so it'll last longer. Just my thoughts on the subject… :)

Lots of great information getting posted in this thread and it's doing me great good– I don't know about anyone else. I'm still leaning heavily towards getting a desktop even though I'm less worried about overheating problems now regarding laptops. The thing is, though, that my next PC is going to be as powerful and cutting edge of a beast as I can get in hopes that it lasts for the next four years with the capability of handling whatever I fling at it by way of software challenges.

Just like Tim Allen used to say on his old Home Improvement sit com, “More power! Oook, oook, oook!”

Hey Charley,

Make sure you get a desktop with a top-notch cooling system, if you're gonna spend the bucks for a high-end workhorse. I built mine about 3 years ago and without fail, it raises the room temperature quite a few degrees over the course of a day. I think it also killed a wireless router from the heat it generated. Top-notch processors, even if they're energy efficient, still generate massive heat…but there are great cooling systems these days, too.

I just recently replaced my wireless router, so I'm good again. :)

CharleyHorse
Lots of great information getting posted in this thread and it's doing me great good– I don't know about anyone else. I'm still leaning heavily towards getting a desktop even though I'm less worried about overheating problems now regarding laptops. The thing is, though, that my next PC is going to be as powerful and cutting edge of a beast as I can get in hopes that it lasts for the next four years with the capability of handling whatever I fling at it by way of software challenges.

Just like Tim Allen used to say on his old Home Improvement sit com, “More power! Oook, oook, oook!”