Laptop or Desktop?
A technological conundrum familiar to anybody on the hunt for a new computer is this rather simple question – should you get a laptop or desktop computer? This article should hopefully make the decision a little easier. Your choice of computer should be guided by the things you intend to use it for. With that in mind, here are some popular uses of personal computers and some information about each one’s most appropriate computing platform.
Graphic Design
If you are a graphic designer, you are going to need a big screen, lots of memory, and plenty of processing power. Although some laptops possess these attributes, they tend to be expensive and still not as good for design as a desktop. Desktop computers have been the favored platforms for design work since the first Apple computers’ release geared towards creative use. Although Apple got a head start in designing and marketing desktops suited to design, other companies have now caught up and offer capable machines at far lower prices.
Gaming
For gamers, performance is paramount. The best gaming computers are invariably desktops. This is not only because their out-of-the-box performance is better than comparably priced laptops. They are the industry standard because they are far easier to customize. Gamers frequently add more ram, better graphics cards, and more efficient cooling systems to their desktop computers, which is very hard to do with laptops. In recent years, high-performance gaming desktops have been released by tech giants like Lenovo at very affordable prices.
On-The-Go Writing
Staying at home or in the office to write isn’t always possible or preferable. Laptops are perfect for taking your writing with you. Taking notes at meetings, finishing your novel at a café, or visiting a client’s home all involve writing away from your desk. A laptop lets you bring your office with you wherever you go. The computing power of a laptop is adequate for all kinds of writing. However, if you have a serious writing job requiring long hours tapping away, then purchasing a monitor and ergonomic keyboard that you can add to your laptop when working at home is a good idea.
School and University
In days gone by, one of the most common sights on any campus would be little crowds of students – their arms cradling stacks of books close to their chests. Today, those books have largely been replaced with slim laptop computers. Laptops are perfect for an educational setting. If you are looking to study, you are very likely to need a portable computer for taking notes, accessing resources, and writing essays. Desktops would, of course, be impractical for this. Unless you are an engineering, design, or computer science student, a laptop will have more than enough computing power for you to complete your studies.
In schools, laptops are now seen as essential tools. Access to laptop computers is seen as a mark of well-provisioned educational welfare, and government schemes to provide laptops for students are seen as extremely important.
