When you start shopping for a new computer, one of the first questions you’ll need to answer is whether to get a laptop or a desktop. As you probably suspect, there’s no one size fits all answer. By considering the advantages and disadvantages of each type of machine, as well as your own needs, preferences and budget, you can find what’s best for you.
Terminology
For the purposes of this article, a laptop is any portable computer that has three essential features: a built-in keyboard, a screen that can be folded down when not in use, and an internal battery that allows it to be used for hours without being plugged into a wall socket. A desktop is a computer that lacks one or more of those features, and is typically (though not always) substantially bigger and heavier. Depending on the context and the specific size and capabilities of the machine, laptops are sometimes also known as notebooks, palmbooks, netbooks, ultrabooks and probably a number of other terms.
Laptops
Laptops have three main advantages over desktops:
- Portability – a laptop can be easily moved from room to room, between your home and your office or business, and even from city to city; if you need to work on the same computer in different parts of your home, or both at home and at work, or when you travel, a laptop is the only practical solution
- Freedom From the Power Cord – when fully charged, a laptop can be used for hours in settings where a wall outlet may not be available, such as in your back yard, in a classroom, or even at the beach; depending on the specific model and how you use it, the battery could last for eight or more hours
- Compactness – a laptop fits nicely into small workspaces that will not easily accommodate a desktop; one of my clients didn’t even know that his laptop had a battery and could be used anywhere – he’d chosen it over a desktop simply because he lived in a tiny rowhouse with small rooms and the laptop fit well into his cramped office space
Laptops have a number of disadvantages. Because they must be engineered to cram all the functionality of a desktop (PLUS a keyboard, screen and battery) into a very small space, a laptop is usually more expensive than a similarly powered desktop. Because their components are so densely packed together, laptops are more prone to overheating (especially when used on soft surfaces such as a bed). That density also makes them more difficult to service or upgrade. Laptop screens are almost always smaller than desktops; some laptops do have larger screens, but they cost more, are bigger and heavier, and tend to drain the battery faster. Laptops usually have fewer USB and other ports than desktops. They are now seldom (if ever) available with optical drives (for reading and writing CDs and DVDs); although you can still buy inexpensive external optical drives that plug into a USB port, they’re not as convenient as built-in drives. Finally, a laptop’s portability makes it a prime target for theft.
Desktops
The attributes of desktops are pretty much the mirror images of the attributes of laptops. Their advantages include:
- Cost – desktops are generally cheaper than similarly powered laptops, especially if you already have a monitor you can re-use
- Less likely to overheat
- Easier to Service or Upgrade – desktops cases are easy to open, and inside all the components are clearly visible, with plenty of empty space for hands and tools
- Larger Screens
- More USB and Other Ports
- More Likely to Include a Built-In Optical Drive
- Less Likely to be Stolen
Because of their size and weight (and because they consist of a system unit, monitor, keyboard, and associated cables), desktops are not really portable; even moving a small one across the room will take five or ten minutes for disassembly, moving and reassembly. Desktops cannot operate without being plugged in for power. And, they don’t fit well into very small workspaces.
Splitting the Difference
One way to get some of the benefits of both laptops and desktops is to buy an all-in-one machine. An all-in-one is essentially a (usually large) monitor with the computer’s system unit built into it. All-in-ones are more like desktops in terms of screen size, having more ports, being more likely to include an optical drive, being less likely to be stolen, and needing a power connection at all times. They’re more like laptops in terms of difficulty of servicing or upgrading, and having fewer physical components; their portability and ability to fit small workspaces are somewhere between laptops and desktops.
Connecting an external monitor to a laptop, or a second monitor to a desktop, can improve the usability of either type of machine. Adding a larger monitor will let you transcend the limited screen size of a laptop. For both laptops and desktops, the added monitor can also be set up to “extend the Windows Desktop” rather than just replace the existing screen or monitor, so that you suddenly have two screens rather than just one, and much more space for windows, icons and everything else. To connect an external or second monitor, the computer must have an available port of the appropriate type. If none of the available ports are compatible with the monitor data cable (of which there are 4 or 5 types currently in use), you may still be able to use the monitor with an existing port by purchasing an adapter.
What About Chromebooks?
People shopping for laptops often ask me about Chromebooks, and whether or not they should get one. While they’re a viable choice for some, most Windows users will probably find them too limiting. A Chromebook is a laptop that uses the ChromeOS operating system instead of Windows. Chromebooks are typically less expensive than other laptops, and in some ways are more resistant to viruses and other malware. They’re designed for users whose activities are primarily online: web browsing, email, Google Docs and other web applications.
However, the limitations of Chromebooks make them unsuitable for most users. They are designed only for Android apps, Linux apps, and web apps. Windows applications such as Microsoft Office and Quicken cannot be installed (there are some workarounds that allow using Windows applications on a Chromebook, but they’re probably more trouble than most users want to go to). Chromebooks also typically have less powerful processors and less memory than traditional laptops, which makes them unsuitable for gaming, video editing or other demanding tasks.