Laptop or desktop as main computer

[nature boy]

can't argue with that.

[Wetundies]

I think she wants to sell her Acer NX with the ssd drive. It's pretty much brand new.

[nature boy]

sell it to gordon. problem solved.

[joel]

myself personally, i would prefer to have both. if i were to have to choose, i choose laptop. because of the convenience of its portability. if i actually had a dedicated office/study then i might consider going the desktop only route.

[nature boy]

that's exactly my one issue with a desktop. i have no where to put it right now. winnie's honking mac takes up the one desk we have, and other than that i don't really have room... unless i commandeer one of the rooms upstairs, which is way more trouble than it's worth.

[geForce]

The thing is, if I have just a laptop, I would also set up a base for it at my desk. I'll have it so I can dock it to a mouse, keyboard and large monitor.

[geForce]

[se7entse7en]

I'd say just get a laptop. Be honest with yourself about why you want one at the beginning and get one that is good enough to meet your needs. Do you want it for games? Do you want it for surfing? Do you want it for ripping movies? What is it about your current setup that is lacking? These are some questions that you could ask yourself. What are you really likely to upgrade on a desktop anyway? RAM? HD size? An additional HD? I'd say just get a laptop that has everything that you'd need from the get-go.

On the other hand, if you're a gamer and intend on trying to keep up with that rat race, perhaps a desktop would suit you better.

You may wish to keep your current laptop to do your personal banking on, etc.

I have a desktop, and although it is ancient, even if it were more powerful than my laptop, I would still do 99% of my work on my laptop. Not worth having it considering the space it takes up and the 'shoe box' that I live in. The only thing I use my desktop for is as a backup file server and print server. If my printer had a NIC i'd have gotten rid of my desktop long ago. But I'm not a gamer and I don't do any intensive 3D part modelling using the latest-greatest software available with ever changing system requirements.

[Wetundies]

[nature boy]

[joel]

yeah, i think i am leaning toward desktop for you too. seems like you might get more value as you'd still have a laptop to do other stuff. the only caveat is do you want to have entertainment on the go?

since the most hardware intensive activities are typically the entertainment/leisure/hobbyist related ones, do you want to be able to play games/watch movies/etc... on the go, in other rooms, etc.. or are you cool with doing that only at your desk. since your current laptop sounds like it should be capable of doing all the non-entertainment related activities.

[jeSteR]

And if you ever have kids and get around to do photo and video editing..... you'll need a desktop or a 17" laptop.

[nature boy]

[joel]

[nature boy]

that's true, but if i were ever needing to take media with me somewhere, it's highly unlikely that i'd bring hard media if i have the option for soft. ryan has a portable dvd player (worst purchase ever) that obviously only plays dvds so we'd have to bring them with us. but if i were to have my laptop (with dvd reading capabilities) with me, i'd rip whatever movie/music i want (if that's the format i have) first and just save the space.