Laptop Vs. Desktop and Help Choosing

It’s actually pretty simple to replace the screen yourself if you’re so inclined.

[quote]skor wrote:
Look into a new Macbook with Intel Processor Core Due 2. For $1299 you get 2Ghz latest Intel Core Duo 2, 80G HD, 1GB Ram and lots of other small great things Macbooks come with (built-in camera, good battery life, magnetic power-cord, etc)

You can run both Mac OS and Windows on it so it’s very flexible. And it never crashes. I think laptops are great now especially if you live in the area with a lot of wireless coverage such as SF.[/quote]

It never crashes if you don’t run Windows…

My 2 cents:

If you pay retail for whatever you get, you’re a sucker. There are so many deals available on computers these days online that buying at a physical store is borderline idiotic.

www.slickdeals.net is a good place to look. Dell has tons of deals very often on their desktops; look in store, buy online.

I go desktop personally because, as has been said, they’re modular. You can swap out parts as they become outdated rather than throwing away the whole thing and buying a new one. You can do that with laptops, but it’s hella expensive.

Also keep in mind that if you do want to go mobile with a laptop, most these days have outputs you can hook up to a normal monitor when you’re using it at home. Screen size doesn’t really have to be a factor in the equation.

-Dan

I’m not a computer person, but I’m a accountant in the IT department of a $40B company. We have around 50,000 PCs and I’ve been involved in many cost studies involving PCs.

If you don’t need the mobility, get the desktop. You’ll pay around 75-100% more for a laptop with the same specs as a desktop. Our vendor will give us a 4 yr warranty/service contract on a desktop, only 3 on a laptop, which would indicate the desktop is more reliable and easier to fix (plus it doesn’t get thrown around).

By the way, monitors last a long time (in our history 6+ years). Don’t buy a new one just because it’s sitting by the PC.

Now I’m thinking…I wonder if it would be cheaper to buy all of the upgrades that I’d be getting in a new computer, and just put them onto my existing Motherboard.

I’d have to make sure I have room for everything, but the one thing I don’t know how to replace is the processor.

I’ve taken apart, and put back together computers before, but it’s been a while.

I don’t need any more hard drive space, just more speed with handling videos, and multiple programs (the computer slows down big time whenever we watch any movies or if I run a simple spyware, or virus scan).

I can’t believe this just dawned on me. Maybe I could upgrade to enough memory and processor power to get the speed I’m looking for and then not have to worry about transfering all my files and programs.

Hmmmm…

Right now I’m on a cheap emachine, and it does most everything I need- fast surfing, watching movies, downloading, and burning dvds/cds.

I got it for $150 on Black Friday last year, including monitor, so I stuck in a stick of 512 mb ram, $20 vid card I got off of woot.com, and a dvd writable drive- in total about $210. Then again, I have a $2000 water cooled gaming rig I built that I can’t use right now :frowning: I plan on going again this year too, probably to Best Buy with my older brother- we’re already looking at the ads :slight_smile:

With Intel’s latest series, you can get great performance for dirt cheap right now. Wait for a good sale (usually Dell has great sales), a dual-core (like intel’s e6600-the best deal in terms of processors right now- or an AMD X2 4400+ going cheaper) with an LCD monitor, and just take the hour or two to buy an ok video card and extra ram, and install them. It is really simple!

I just got started USING a computer at home 3 years ago, and I found it very easy to build a desktop- replacing and components is even easier. Good luck!

[quote]TShaw wrote:
BFBullpup wrote:
Two things kill laptops’ attractiveness: you can’t replace the screen without replacing the entire computer …

Not true. A company can replace the display without you getting an entirely new computer. If your computer manufacturer says they can’t, go with a different brand.

It is the case, however, that while the display is getting fixed/replaced, you are without your computer.[/quote]

It it often useless to replace the screen on a laptop unless it is covered under the warranty- usually it is more cost effective to buy a new laptop. If it isn’t under warranty, it’s possible to buy a screen off of ebay and replace it yourself- my dad replaced his and he really doesn’t know ANYTHING about computers. There are so many tutorials on assembling and repairing computers on the internet, almost anyone can do it.

[quote]SWR-1240 wrote:
Now I’m thinking…I wonder if it would be cheaper to buy all of the upgrades that I’d be getting in a new computer, and just put them onto my existing Motherboard.

I’d have to make sure I have room for everything, but the one thing I don’t know how to replace is the processor.

I’ve taken apart, and put back together computers before, but it’s been a while.

I don’t need any more hard drive space, just more speed with handling videos, and multiple programs (the computer slows down big time whenever we watch any movies or if I run a simple spyware, or virus scan).

I can’t believe this just dawned on me. Maybe I could upgrade to enough memory and processor power to get the speed I’m looking for and then not have to worry about transfering all my files and programs.

Hmmmm…[/quote]

I highly doubt the motherboard on your old comp will have the same socket as a processor that will meet your needs right now. MOST of the speed you see when handling video-intensive programs comes from the video card, not the processor. Hard drive space is very cheap, I got a 300 GB hard drive for less than $80. It might help if you put the price range you expect to pay for your new comp :stuck_out_tongue:

The main reasons for not to build your own comp is going for a basic system that you can get a good deal on, and getting the warranty and service from a company like Dell. Having said that, pretty much every piece of computer hardware you can buy comes with it’s own warranty.

As was said above, if you’re computer is as old as you said it’s not going to be compatible nor worthwhile to upgrade it as you suggested.

[quote]SWR-1240 wrote:
Now I’m thinking…I wonder if it would be cheaper to buy all of the upgrades that I’d be getting in a new computer, and just put them onto my existing Motherboard.

I’d have to make sure I have room for everything, but the one thing I don’t know how to replace is the processor.

I’ve taken apart, and put back together computers before, but it’s been a while.

I don’t need any more hard drive space, just more speed with handling videos, and multiple programs (the computer slows down big time whenever we watch any movies or if I run a simple spyware, or virus scan).

I can’t believe this just dawned on me. Maybe I could upgrade to enough memory and processor power to get the speed I’m looking for and then not have to worry about transfering all my files and programs.

Hmmmm…[/quote]