Will I regret going from a laptop to a desktop?

[C99]

For my home computer? I've had a dedicated, wireless-enabled, laptop for the last 3.5 years, but it recently died. I'm thinking about getting a desktop for home use, because it's cheaper. I only took the laptop out when I went to work at a coffee shop at night, and I can always borrow one of DH's laptops to do that. But I do wonder if I will regret having the portability of a laptop? Has anyone BTDT?

[aliceinwonderland]

This summer I had the choice of a laptop or desktop. I chose the laptop and I (and my eyes, back, etc) regretted it. Choosing a desktop next time, as I virtually never took that one away from the desk (except to lock it away). When this one dies (soon, I am sure, since DS is taking the letters out one by one, I am missing a "D" presently), it will be replaced by a *personal*, large screen desktop.

I see people do work on laptops in trains, etc. I am just not one of those people at this point.

[MommyAllison]

We have a desktop only, though DH occasionally brings BIL's laptop home. I looooove using the laptop - DD still co-sleeps and usually sleeps for another hour after I get up. I can't leave her in our room by herself because she crawls or walks off the edge of the bed if she wakes up. So the laptop is nice cause I can at least get some stuff done while she sleeps (I work from home) - the desktop is too far from the bedroom. With a new baby on the way, you know best whether portability might be worth the $ - for us, I'd get a laptop in a second if I could justify it. But DH only wants a Mac, and I need a PC for work, so we just stay with our desktop. hth

Allison
Mama to DD 11/05

[jd11365]

I couldn't imagine going back to a desktop. Especially with three kids! Heck, I have one and couldn't imagine it. At least with the lapper, I can use it in whatever room I need to be, or even out on the lanai. :)

[emilyf]

I like moving around the house with my laptop, and I also like being able to take it with me when I travel (we also use it for dvds on the plane).
Emily mom of Charlie born 11/02 and Zoe born 9/05

[BillK]

There's no way on earth I'd want a laptop as my sole machine - keyboard too cramped, native monitor resolution too high - nothing but frustration for me when I use a laptop. Give me a good old desktop PC and my 22" 70 pound Mitsubishi CRT monitor thanks! ;)

[hez]

There are pros and cons to both. We have a desktop set up on one floor for home use. I have enough pieces parts to make a pseudo docking station for my laptop (work laptop) that when I need to do heavy duty work I do it with a regular screen/keyboard/mouse.

With that said, I'm on the laptop (wireless internet) in the basement with the boys, watching a movie while I surf before I go do some real work. I really enjoy the flexibility of the laptop, especially with the option of the docking station.

[jgiovagn]

Laptop! Laptop! Laptop!

I use mine for personal and work and don't know how I used to do it with the desktop. My office is in the loft and early morning and late afternoon I couldn't even work in there because of the sun. Although clearly I am just talking about myself, rather than trying to help you with your decision!

Anyway, love using the laptop - on the deck, kitchen table, outside while DD plays - I'm in bed right now! But I guess it depends on you and how you use it. It sounds like just for personal use? In which case maybe it would be fine to be in one area. But I'm on mine constantly and don't know what I did before wireless and laptops.

If it's just the price that's keeping you from it, they ran some amazing deals right before school started and I bet you'll see some again now that the holidays are around the corner...

Jean

[sdbc]

Haven't BTDT, but I never would. For me, a laptop is a "must-have." DH doesn't necessarily have the same programs on his computer as I need on mine. I guess it depends on your needs, though. I like to be able to take my laptop from the table to the couch to the deck when I'm home. I also have a laptop for my work computer (with a docking station) that I can take home when needed.

[tarabenet]

We just switched from a shared desktop and DH's work laptop to 2 new laptops. Mine is 17.5", so the keyboard is great. I use a mouse, though, because I don't like the touchpad. DH's laptop is smaller, and he's a big guy, so he plugs his favorite keyboard into it. He also prefers to work on 2 screens, so he has an extra monitor plugged into it. Oh, and he got a stand for the laptop that lifts it at an angle to provide ventilation and to bring the monitor up to eye-level. We can both work at home, and we can both take our files with us to work outside the house when we go on the road.

Just saying that a laptop can be made to feel like a desktop when you want it to, even without an expensive docking station! Doesn't help any with the price issue though. :( Sorry about that part.

[bubbaray]

Personally, I prefer a desktop. I have ergo problems with my hands/wrists and a laptop is just not an option for me. We have 2 desktops at home, networked, one in the kitchen one in the office. I don't miss a laptop at all and when I need one for travel, I just check one out of the office pool.

You get a lot more horsepower for less money with a desktop.


Melissa

DD#1: 04/2004

http://bd.lilypie.com/SasRm7.png

[BillK]

>You get a lot more horsepower for less money with a desktop.

and if you ever have any aspirations about upgrading it - you can - unlike the vast majority of laptops (unless you are pretty tech savvy).

[C99]

My DH says "Right on!" - only he's got Sun 21" CRTs. (He's the tech guy who suggested the desktop, as since my beloved IBM Thinkpad bit the dust, I've been using an interim laptop basically as a desktop -- I miss the nubby and hate the mouse touchpad.)

ETClarify

[Aunt to sweet baby boy]

There are benefits to both. I recently got a laptop that has a 15.4 inch screen so the keyboard is a normal size and i do not have to squint at all to see the screen. I would not be able to go back. If i had had more $$ to spend i would have gotten one with a 17' screen but the 15.4' is fine as well. I am currently a student so i bring my computer everywhere with me, class, library, coffee shop, etc. If i did not need to take it out of the house i would probably choose a desktop because you get more bang for your buck IMHO.

HTH

Ilana, aka Nana to my sweet nephew Avi

http://lilypie.com/pic/060826/Fsm6.jpg[/img]http://b2.lilypie.com/alzym7/.png[/img][/url]

ETA because i was half asleep when i wrote the post.....

[kijip]

I prefer laptops and don't think I will ever go back to a desk top, even after I no longer need one for school.

-I prefer to not have big electronic things cluttering my home, so I love being able to put the computer competely away.

-Laptops use less energy

-Laptops are sufficent for my personal needs- pictures, email, a few spreadsheets and documents.

-I can use the computer whereever I need too- be it in kitchen googling a recipe or in my bedroom hiding from noise or on the lawn.

[newnana]

I work from both all the time. Forgetting the portability of it, I still prefer my laptop for one silly reason. Just the opposite of Bill, I prefer the smaller keyboard. My husband is a big guy with big hands and the desktop is his preferred machine for the reasons Bill says. I agree with the expandibilty and upgrade options on the desktop. However, with fairly small hands, I type much faster and much more accurately on the laptop. There are lots of good options for larger screened laptops now. I'm sure if I looked I could find a smaller keyboard for my desktop, but I have other things that are a priority for me to buy right now :)

Good luck!
Michelle

[kboyle]

i've got a laptop as our main computer and as soon as i've got some $$ saved up, a desktop will be taking over. we'll still have the laptop, and probably use it in another room, or when we travel, but i definately know that i want a desktop next.

[lilycat88]

Our main computer at home is a desktop but we both have laptops with docking stations as our work computers. I love that I *can* take it with me if I want but it functions as a desktop 90% of the time with a 19ish inch flatscreen and a full size ergo correct keyboard and mouse. Best of both worlds to me.


Jamelin
Mom to Susanna born 6/29/2004

[alexsmommy]

We have both and I like having both. DH is in IT so we have two laptops and a desktop in the house. I rarely use the desktop though, but if I have a long report and will be staring at the screen for hours straight, there are advantages to using it. For everyday use though, I almost always use the laptop.
Alaina
Alex Feb '03

[holliam]

You could just get an external monitor and keyboard for a laptop. You'll get the benefits of a desktop with the portability of a laptop.

That's my setup here in my home office. We have desktop computers for our home computers.

Personally, I like having computers restricted to one room. I'm enough of an Internet addict without being able to do it anywhere!

Holli

[bostonsmama]

We have both, and just recently I started going back to the PC so I could break my huge addiction to the internet (since it's technically a hassel & lonely to isolate upstairs just to use the computer). I love our laptop, partially b/c it kicks the pants off my PC in terms of storage space and processing speed, but also b/c of its portability. I can take it to coffee shops, on the road-literally (in fact on the way home from Washington DC while stuck in traffic for 6 hours I watched a full DVD movie while DH drove). DH and I travel quite often, and we love bringing it to hotels so we don't have to use antiquated hotel business centers. I use it all over the house: to surf the net in between commercials while watching TV, in the the kitchen to follow a recipe w/out printing it, to show visitors vacation photos on our computer w/out having to take them upstairs to the office where our PC is...which might be a mess, to do some last minute emails in bed while DH watches a ball game on TV. I was even able to bring it over to my neighbor's house to show her the website & pictures of the hotel/resort she reserved for a special trip she and her DH are planning but had not yet seen. We even use the internet to look up phone numbers now since it's faster than using the phone book nowadays...so it's nice to have the laptop be mobile. I know it'll be even more helpful when children come so I can even more readily multi-task.

Just my thougths....happy decision making.

[caheinz]

Totally depends how you use it. If you're used to moving it around and using it in other places, then yes, you're going to miss it. If it won't matter to you if you take a laptop that isn't really yours and doesn't have all your stuff on it to the coffee shop, then a desktop will be fine.

It would drive me nuts -- but my laptop is my primary computer, and has been for over 5 years. Everything I need exists on it, and anytime I use another computer, I want something from here. Plus, I work out of the house, and so I can use the same computer at work and at home, and that's a plus. (Depending on how you feel about work, it might not be.)

[tarahsolazy]

For home use, I prefer laptops, and tiny ones. We have 2 Mac IBooks, both with 12 inch screens, and I wouldn't want anything much bigger for internet usage.

For working, however, which for me means Word, PPoint, and a bunch of stats software, a desktop is necessary. And two monitors per computer.

DH has a desktop he uses for gaming, which works well for him, but I never use it if I can help it.

Desktops are much cheaper, though, and might help cut back on random net usage, if you want to do that.

[tarahsolazy]

For home use, I prefer laptops, and tiny ones. We have 2 Mac IBooks, both with 12 inch screens, and I wouldn't want anything much bigger for internet usage.

For working, however, which for me means Word, PPoint, and a bunch of stats software, a desktop is necessary. And two monitors per computer.

DH has a desktop he uses for gaming, which works well for him, but I never use it if I can help it.

Desktops are much cheaper, though, and might help cut back on random net usage, if you want to do that.