if you don't need mobility, don't get a laptop. for the same price you can build 3x the desktop. Most things you'd want a laptop for, can be accomplished by a cellphone or tablet, so, if you have either of those, ask yourself "do i need a laptop, if i have a desktop and deligate tasks to my cell/tablet while on the go". Some other issues with laptops: mobile processors are most times between 2-4x weaker than the desktop big brother version. The Cooling is inadequate and that can result in the cpu and gpu being downclocked to keep the heat in check. This means you have an even weaker laptop then what's advertised. the desktop gpu will obliterate the mobile version gpu Upgrading isn't a reality since at most all you can upgrade is the ram and go from HDD to SSD. (with the exception of something like the ROG laptop line where they actually use a desktop gpu that's removable. However thats new tech and they might not make those cards a standard down the road). if you MUST buy a laptop, stick with something like the Asus Rog with the massive dual coolers sticking out the back like this http://rog.asus.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/G751-Left-Back-Open30.jpg do not buy dell, hp, or one of these other brands, they use the worst quality parts and lure you in with flashy words to get you to buy them. Stick with MSI or Asus
Since i bought my new laptop few months ago, i use my desktop computer just to print files and watch series because the screen is bigger on my desktop computer. The great thing about using a laptop is the mobility. At the moment i am sitting in my front yard doing my job on the computer and write a few posts on the forum. Laptops are better than mobile phones and tablets because if you use android or Ios operating systems there are many office like applications but non of them can do the same things as office does, and because i need office for doing my job i can't switch my laptop for a tablet or a smart phone (except a windows smart phone or tablet). Also, laptop is very practical thing when you go on holiday so you can put as many movies and music as you want and watch or listen to them while you travel or before you go to bed. So, i can't imagine living my life without a laptop and on a daily basis i use my laptop for six or seven hours.
According to Rescue Time plugin that I use to track my usage, I use my laptop for more than 50 Hours (can go up to 70 hours) every week. And my laptop is around 3-year-old. Configuration details: Lenovo G580. 500 GB Hard Disk 4 GB RAM Intel Core i5 Processor Inbuilt Graphics card The battery use to be awesome until a few months back, it uses to give at least 4 hours back when fully charged and it uses to take just 50 minutes to charge. Now the charging time has gone up to about 2 hours, and the backup is less than 2 hours. I do not play games, the primary use for this laptop is Writing Content, Blogging, Surfing the web and Entertainment. I have been using my laptop for around 10 hours every day at least for the last three years, and it is still working fine. But I do not play games. If you are planning to play games, you might need to consider a desktop as it is easier to add extra fans to cool off the CPU and GPU. Of all the HP laptops I have seen, only a handful models do not over heat. HP is well known for overheating and with an AMD processor, you can only imagine what would happen. In my opinion, you must go for a custom made desktop computer with desired CPU and GPU with liquid cooling and extra exhaust fans.
I use my laptop plugged into the charger for 10+ hours per day there are times I would unplug it to use the battery.
20 mins, my smartphone , PS3 and PS4 has taken over what I generally do with my laptop. I have a desktop PC in my office work.
I am using my laptop HP EliteBook 8530p daily 10 to 12 hours and found that it is Cheap Heavy Duty Perfect No issues.