Laptop or Desktop

We have limited house space and I use the computer more often because of my work. My husband prefer to set-up desktop computer in replacement of my old and slow laptop. He said that desktop is more powerful than laptop. As for me I prefer laptop because of the space convenience. What should we set-up? Desktop or Laptop based on your experience especially to those who is working as a VA / freelancer.

 

I prefer a Tablet with Core i5 or i7 processor. With one external Monitor at home.
I prefer Tablet over Laptop & Laptop over Desktop. My next device may be a Surface Pro 3 or 4 or a similar device.
If you have less space then you should go for 2in1 or tablet or laptop. I think these days laptops are enough powerful to do any work.
But it depends on what you want.
What specs you need in the device?

 

I am not so sure if i3 is enough w/ 4gb memory 500gb hd. My usual work is researching, forum posting that requires multiple tab.

 

My current laptop is core i3, 4GB RAM, 500 GB HDD.
Working fine with all browser activity. I use 10+ tabs on Chrome.
But for future proof Core i5 will be fine. But consider SSD if you want to gain good performance increase.
I use Adobe illustrator & Photoshop, Google Chrome & some small programs at a time with Core i3 Processor.
Working fine maximum time. But I'm feeling for a upgrade to a device with Core i5, 4GB RAM, 120GB SSD.
But your usage is much lesser than me. So Core i3 will be fine for you.

 

Your input is great and I appreciate it, actually a friend of mine told me to get the i5. However, we already bought the i3 and Im afraid that I got the wrong specs for my needs. I still dont have the unit yet and this is time we were having an issue regarding laptop or desktop. The desktop we have presently I dont have any idea what the spec is but I am much excited w/ my new laptop. hahaha!

 

If you have already bought the i3 one then that will work fine too. Do you use illustrator & Photoshop a lot like me?
If not don't worry too much. Just upgrade the HDD to SSD. Samsung SSD is good. Buy EVO or PRO one. PRO is better if you can afford to pay more.

See this in task manager which one is used more. HDD is going 100% many times.
For 4GB RAM is still enough as I don't play heavy games. I need CPU upgrade when I use illustrator, Photoshop, XAMPP, Word, Excel, etc at a time.
So I need i5 & SSD to increase performance. Use the laptop you bought & see which one you need more.
I think you device will be perfect for you.

 

No i dont use photoshop, but I frequently use MS Word and Excel. MS Excel is one of the application that I heavily use, about 3 worksheets at a time.

I feel more excited to for the i3, presently my laptop is a an oldie dual core 2.0 and this causing me lots of delay.

I really appreciate your inputs about this. Thanks alot.

 

Then Core i3 is best for you. Add the Samsung SSD if you feel for it. If you want to know more about SSD, you can ask me.
Actually if I can't get the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 or a similar device, I'll go for a Core i5 Laptop with touch & replace the HDD to SSD.
Are you from China?

 

I dont have any idea about the SSD, old school SATA drive is the last drive i have known. lol!
Nope, Im not from China. But indeed I am a chinesegirl.

 

Check this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid-state_drive
SSD will be fast for file transfer, read & write. Your program will load & perform faster. Everyone using SSD are experiencing normal with SSD & HDD feels slower. Check this review comparison.
http://ssdboss.com/ssds/Samsung-840-Pro-vs-Samsung-840-EVO
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2404258,00.asp

 

Thanks for the information oh, it a solid state drive... now I know...
Reading wikipedia does it mean SSD is not prone for disk error? and this is light weight? Is this an external drive?

Actually I am a fan of seagate hd product but lost in touch with the latest product. If you would choose which one is better for you samsung or seagate drives?

 

@chinesegirl07, whether you should use a laptop or a desktop is ENTIRELY up to you. There cannot be any definite solution. Today, you may find a laptop more comfortable given your present circumstances, tomorrow a desktop will be a befitting choice. You need to evaluate your own situation and decide for yourself. List down the pros and cons for each and see for yourself which is better.

Both have been compared in a more or less elaborate way below -
https://kb.wisc.edu/showroom/page.php?id=3044
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001399.htm
These comparisons should give you some insight.

BTW, I use a laptop as well as a desktop. My preference changes frequently and it all depends on what the situation calls for.

Hope this helps.

 

After doing research on all SSD, I got that Samsung SSD is the best one now.
You can go for Samsung EVO or Samsung PRO.
Actually PRO is better than EVO. But price does matter.
Samsung 840 Evo 120GB SSD costs $84.5 while Samsung 850 Pro 128GB SSD costs $119 on amazon.com
I'll go for the Samsung 840 Evo. But I may change my mind to get the Samsung 850 Pro one later.
I'll wait for few more months to get my new device.
Also if you buy SSD you can add it to your old laptop & check this helps your old laptop to run few years more.

 

I think the discussion of laptop vs desktop is rarely a decision about speed and performance, at least for most marketers.

The more important issue is your work habits. How and where can your be the most productive?

I would hate to be constrained to a single location in my home. I like to work in the bedroom part of the day. I work in the family room for part of the day. I often put my laptop on the dining room table. I set my laptop on a shelf in the living room to make videos.

With a desktop I would be unable to do everything I desire.

If I want a desktop "feel", I just hook up a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

Steer your husband's thinking towards how and what you will be doing and away from "what is most powerful". Unless you are doing some serious game play or rendering tons of videos, animations, or CAD...you don't need the slight boost of a desktop.

 

Very well said! This is what I need. My husband is a tech guru and he can manipulate my decision in saying that desktop is most powerful than laptops. I am no longer updated w/ latest hardware computer technology and have to agree on what he says'.
Thank you so much!

 

For work I use my laptop (Chromebook) a lot more then my desktop. The desktop is better for gaming.

 

You can get a more powerful desktop for the same cost as a less powerful laptop because of the added cost of miniaturization. That is a fact. The trade-off, of course, is the portability of the laptop. It is comparing apples and oranges when you and your husband have such a discussion and that is why it probably goes in circles. So, since it is a power versus convenience issue, the first question to ask is how much computing power do you actually need? Unless you are running big, number crunching applications or compiling millions of line of code, almost any business-class laptop will serve your needs and provide the flexibility that you would like. You should turn the discussion not into getting more power for your dollar, but how much power do you actually need and can you afford that level of power in a laptop.

 

It all depends on what you are using it for. A desktop can be a very powerful machine. A laptop is meant for portability and is never powerful as a desktop. You can get a desktop for 500$ custom built that will beat any 700$ laptop on the market. So price and performance wise desktop is better, though laptops are better for portability. Personally i have a desktop and for when im not at home i use a windows tablet. Windows tablets are pretty much just a windows 8 computer.

 

its easy.. laptop is portable and give you possible be online and travel anywhere.

 

You are right, desktops are much powerful and fully customizable according to your needs. However, laptops nowadays are becoming faster too. If you're on the go, get a laptop. If you'll just stay at home, desktops are fine. It is easy to upgrade desktop computers.