Whats Better? Computer VS Laptop?

Question

Hey There,

I will be going off to university this fall, and was wondering what I should have for university. Should I get a laptop or a desktop computer? Presently, laptops are more convenient due to their ease of mobility compared to their counterpart which is not.

I have several scenarios-

1) Buy a powerful laptop which will do everything from MS Office to power video games. It will also be used for media purposes- Ex: television, music movies. Programs such as CS4 will be used as well.

Drawback with this idea- Expensive, especially if I would need 4GB ram, 512mb video card, and min 320GB hard drive. Also, I would be using it non-stop so I would be scared that I would destroy my battery due to over exposure.

*Could someone confirm this statement whether it be true/false "When your laptop is plugged in, it does not affect the battery whatsoever meaning that if your computer is on and plugged in, and your using it nonstop, it will not wear the battery out unless it is not directly plugged into an electrical socket*

Also, it may be heavy due to the fact it would be powerful and possibly bulking.

2) I would buy a desktop computer which would be stored in my dorm room meaning that I wouldn't have a laptop at my disposal in class. I would have a powerful PC, 4GB at least, terabyte hard drive, 1GB video card, etc.

3) Buy both desktop PC and Laptop. It would be rather expensive, but I wouldn't go all out on an expensive laptop. I would just buy a mini laptop. Something that would do me over for university only.

It would be light, portable, fast and efficient, and definitely wouldn't be unresponsive in class since I would only be running MS Office and would store documents etc.

I would than have a PC back in my dorm room which I would build to defer the costs. Newegg.ca supplies parts for low prices, so that means I could that as a main computer for gaming, video, music, movies etc. Also, if there was a file I needed to access from my PC in my dorm room, I could remotely via laptop.

What do you think would be the better choice. I want something that's going to give me a bang for my buck, but also be piratical as well. Also, because I live in Canada, anyone know of some good suppliers, or know where I could get a miniature laptop?

Examples:

http://labs.vnunet.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/05/25/asus_and_hp.jpg

Also, if you have any other alternatives, I'm open! Thanks!

Neil

Answer 1

Bottom line is a Desktop PC will be cheaper and give you better parts and is not limited to expansion if needed in the future. The reality is if your laptop fails then you are very restricted to what you can do and the type of parts you can install or configure. Unless, if the mobility factor is a big issue then a Desktop PC is the way to go. Good luck.

Answer 2

IF you are going to use it for school alone, get a good laptop and build a decent desktop for the dorm room. The desktop really only needs to be a word processor and an internet surfer. Then network the two together and carry the laptop. Use a sync tool to copy any changes to your files to either machine...



if you are planning gaming, then get a laptop with a fast CPU and build a gaming rig....

Answer 3

Sounds like you need both. Get a Notebook for about $350 or less and desktop with monitor for less than $600, so you have less than $1,000 invested

Answer 4

Laptops are extra transportable, extra high priced, much less upgradable, and tend to have wifi that "purely works". it easily relies upon on what you opt to apply it for. college or organization could be a pc for confident. severe form crunching or gaming could use a standalone.

Answer 5

Computer