CALLING ALL COMPUTER GEEKS! laptops?

[Nero]

I'm thinking about getting a laptop, never had one. Before I get into brands and all that, I just want to know if I even want one.
Is it true that a laptop is so much slower than your desktop?
What can't it do?
In what ways is it different than your desktop?
HELP!
Thanks.

Nero

[cindianna_jones]

They are more expensive.  These days, they will run all your basic software.  They aren't as good for the new advanced gaming.

If you do decide to get one, make sure you get at least 1G of RAM in it.  Also, shop to find one that does not included try before you buy software.  This just clogs up your machine with crap you don't want.  In some cases you can't even remove it without affecting the operation of your machine.

Cindi

[Dennis]

Speed-wise, it depends on the specs of your laptop and desktop. Some are slower and some are faster.

What is difficult and expensive is upgrading a laptop, like with more RAM or a better video card. Adding on a real mouse (I hate touchpads), or a full size keyboard, or another monitor are possible on many if not most.

And Cindi's right. They're not as good for advanced gaming. The video cards are often substandard, and the controls are awkward.

Buy a laptop if you actually need portability or you have a space issue. Otherwise, you'll get much better specs in a desktop for the same money, and you'll be able to upgrade components much easier.

Dennis

[VeryGnawty]

Is it true that a laptop is so much slower than your desktop?

Not necessarily.

There's only about three differences that are universal.  The rest depends on how much money you spend.

1)  Laptops are more difficult/expensive to upgrade than desktops.
2)  It's more difficult to prevent overheating of laptops.
3)  Comparatively, a laptop will always cost more money than a desktop with the same power.


Also keep in mind that laptops can cost large amounts of money to repair.  It's much easier to replace faulty hardware on a desktop than a laptop.  So make sure that if you get a laptop you buy THE BEST WARRANTY AVAILABLE.  Because sometimes replacing the screen can cost you as much as you paid for the entire laptop in the first place.

[RebeccaFog]

    I had to return my dell for the video to be repaired before my yearly warranty was up.  It would have cost a lot to do it otherwise.  Warranties are more important for laptops.  And then cost a lot too.
    The only advantage I have from my laptop is that sometimes I can lie on the couch when I'm reading web pages.  Then, in the summer, it heats up so much my thighs will sweat from it (want a picture?) 

    I never take it anywhere, so it turned out to be almost useless except for roaming around the house.

    A regular desktop is easier and less expensive to repair and upgrade.

[LostInTime]

My laptop was basically a desktop squeezed into a small case. LOL. Plenty of power, RAM, etc but it is heavy.  I find that it will take care of 99% of the things I like to do without a problem. However, if you are into running THE most current, hard core 3d games you will want to stick with a desktop. If you routinely do hard core crunching of numbers or massive graphics program, it is easier to upgrade a desktop a year and a half later than it is a notebook.

What are you going to do with it?

[Melissa]

Buy a laptop if you actually need portability or you have a space issue. Otherwise, you'll get much better specs in a desktop for the same money, and you'll be able to upgrade components much easier.

That about sums up what I was going to say. 


One other thing though, is that many of the newer laptops come with a bunch of features that don't come standard on a desktop.  For instance, my laptop came with a remote control, built-in webcam, Infrared port (standard on laptops), and a DVD burner with a special feature to burn labels onto special discs directly from the drive.  For most things I still use my desktop, but I switch over to my laptop every so often and sometimes will even use them at the same time (do something on one while the other is busy).

[candifla]

Nero,

It depends on what you plan to do.

If it's just for email, web surfing, watching DVDs, then get the laptop. You'll have the convenience of laying about in bed or taking it anywhere you fancy to go, such as the bookstore or library.

If you use it for any kind of gaming or production work, then get the desktop. For the desktop, you can choose the right sized screen for your work and eyes. For myself, I love a large screen and find laptops too tiny to read.

However, I have to do all my reading/surfing sitting in an uncomfy chair.

For most users, the laptop has plenty of power.

For most production work and gaming, you'll need the desktop.

Finally, with today's computer, you'll rarely need to ever go inside the machine... It's only handy when you want to add more ram/bigger hard drive, or better video card. Basically, the days of tinkering with a computer should be over, unless you're a geek like me.

If you're handy, buy the least amount of ram (memory). You can get ram much cheaper online. Email me if you need sites.

You can do a lot of pricing and specs by visiting newegg.com, then compare it to dell and macs.

If you do get a desktop, don't overlook the importance of a good monitor. I have a 30" and it's great for browsing and watching DVDs.

Basically, if you have to be mobile with a computer, get the laptop.

If you're a home user, get the desktop.

If you like to do computing in bed, choose between the laptop or a desktop setup next to your bed.

If you must, absolutely MUST read email while on the potty, get the laptop.

[Melissa]

Oh, I forgot.  The main reasons for getting my laptop were:

• So I could have a computer to take with me for SRS.
• So I could use a computer while dilating after SRS.
• If I needed to do any traveling (such as the upcoming jury duty I had), I would have something to occupy my time.

[RebeccaFog]

Oh, I forgot.  The main reasons for getting my laptop were:

• So I could have a computer to take with me for SRS.
• So I could use a computer while dilating after SRS.
• If I needed to do any traveling (such as the upcoming jury duty I had), I would have something to occupy my time.

So, we've forgotten that there are little items called books, have we? 

[Seshatneferw]

Books are so last millennium. 

Anyway, like a bunch of people have already said, it depends on what you want to do with the computer. For serious 3d gaming, a desktop with a high-end display card is a must; for most other uses, a laptop will suffice quite well.

I've been using a laptop as my primary computer for the past five years or so, for two reasons. First, it's so much easier to be able to carry it around (that's why people make them, you know ), and while I don't really travel that much, I do carry the thing between my home and office on a reasonably regular basis. Second, I prefer laptop displays. I know I'm weird, but for me the normal desktop displays have way too big pixels; laptops (well, mostly those in the mid-to-high price range) squeeze more pixels into the same physical area, or the same number of pixels into a smaller size.

The main drawback of a laptop is that it's likely to be rather difficult and expensive to upgrade (except perhaps for adding memory). This isn't necessarily a big deal, but something you have to remember while choosing. The price-to-power ratio is also a bit worse than with desktop machines, but again it's quite possible to get a usable laptop for a price that isn't exorbitant. On the other hand, it won't take as much space either on your desk or in your bag, and it's easier to move from one room to another -- I know people who prefer laptops even for normal desktop use for these reasons.

One final warning: it's getting impossible to buy a PC without Windows Vista. If you can without making too many compromises, do so. Vista is evil (in the technical sense, see e.g. the Hacker's Dictionary at http://www.ccil.org/jargon/jargon_20.html#TAG567). It's far more of a 'we know what you want better than you do, so we won't tell you how this thing works' system than earlier Windows versions, and it also needs far more resources than the earlier ones (for instance, a minimum of about 2G of memory). Looks kind of cool, though. Of course, if you plan to install Linux on the computer straight away, or buy a Mac, this isn't an issue.

  Nfr

[Melissa]

So, we've forgotten that there are little items called books, have we? 

Nope, I still read books often.  In fact I bought about 6-7 new books a little over a week ago.  However, try hauling an entire library of books onto the plane.   You'd probably get some pretty strange looks.  A laptop can provide just about everything that books can with eBooks (but also with a lot less weight), but a book can't provide anywhere near what a laptop can.

[Shana A]

I've been using a Mac laptop as my main computer for 7 years.

Zythyra

[RebeccaFog]

    I have seen vista and it is evil.  It's pointlessly aggravating.  The first thing I do when someone hands me their vista system is disable the new features.

    I wish OS/2 had taken advantage of the opportunity it had before and after the release of evil95.

    In the future, I'll probably just do linux or a mac.

[Melissa]

    I have seen vista and it is evil.  It's pointlessly aggravating.  The first thing I do when someone hands me their vista system is disable the new features.

    I wish OS/2 had taken advantage of the opportunity it had before and after the release of evil95.

    In the future, I'll probably just do linux or a mac.

Yeah, I have vista on my laptop because it came with it.  I eventually got it working ok, although I *still* can't get into #chat on there via the java client (I haven't tried mIRC yet).  On my desktop, XP remains because it's easier for me.

[RebeccaFog]

    I have seen vista and it is evil.  It's pointlessly aggravating.  The first thing I do when someone hands me their vista system is disable the new features.

    I wish OS/2 had taken advantage of the opportunity it had before and after the release of evil95.

    In the future, I'll probably just do linux or a mac.

Yeah, I have vista on my laptop because it came with it.  I eventually got it working ok, although I *still* can't get into #chat on there via the java client (I haven't tried mIRC yet).  On my desktop, XP remains because it's easier for me.

   One of the things that may be screwing you up is if whoever made the laptop added a 3rd party firewall software like symantec or mcafee.  This messed up one of my users at work.  I kept wondering what the problem was because the windows firewall was off, then realized that there was another one.

[Steph]

I use a new MacBook Pro, 2+ Ghz, 2 gig ram it's blazing fast.  It's a great machine does everything I need including the high end games, and you can even install windows, but I can't think why anyone would want to.

The down side is they are more expensive than othe laptops, but that is their only downfall.

They are worth every penny.

Steph

P.S.  Hey MEW, you may want to get a laptop that you can operate with one hand as the other one will be busy dilating

[RebeccaFog]

I just realized that Nero addressed this topic to geeks and we replied.

[Steph]

I just realized that Nero addressed this topic to geeks and we replied.

The nerve of some people

Steph

[Melissa]

   One of the things that may be screwing you up is if whoever made the laptop added a 3rd party firewall software like symantec or mcafee.  This messed up one of my users at work.  I kept wondering what the problem was because the windows firewall was off, then realized that there was another one.

I thought of that, so I uninstalled it, which fixed a few things, but that was about the only thing not working on it.

I just realized that Nero addressed this topic to geeks and we replied.

Um, your point?  I do computer programming for a living and also have technical knowledge in a lot of other areas.  I proudly call myself a geek girl.   Also, I'm very fashionable and social, so don't think this means I'm a shut-in or that dress/look like a dork.