College Laptop

 

While the technology industry has become increasingly focused on highly mobile devices such as tablets and smart phones, there’s still a need for the kind of computing power that only a full-fledged PC can provide. One of the biggest questions for any consumer is whether they should purchase a desktop computer or a laptop. Though desktop PCs are being declared outdated by many analysts, they still have an important place in many homes and offices. Which type of machine is right for you depends on a number of factors including form and function.

Laptops have come a long way since the 90′s, when customers could expect to spend thousands on a machine which was essentially a glorified word editor with an Ethernet port or a simple phone jack for dial-up Internet access. Nowadays, cheap laptops from companies like Tesco or entry level laptops from Dell come with up to 4 GB of RAM, dual or even quad-core CPUs and versatile Graphics Cards for High-Definition video playback and gaming. While it’s true that laptops are close to desktops in terms of raw power for the money, they still have higher failure rates than desktops and are difficult to upgrade outside of additional RAM or larger and faster hard drives. They’re extremely portable, but you’re more or less stuck with what you buy. It’s true that desktop PCs have lost some of their appeal due to the emergence of more portable laptops, they remain popular for a few good reasons.

For one, they’re less fragile and are less prone to hardware failure. Secondly, they can be custom-built to match a person’s needs and tastes easily and quickly, not to mention more cheaply than notebooks. And third, they can be upgraded part by part to keep them from becoming obsolete in a shorter time frame than notebook computers. The spacious tower that houses a desktop PC’s components makes adequate cooling less of an issue, and desktop components such as CPUs and GPUs are more powerful than their equivalent mobile versions. Naturally, anyone interested in making gradual, incremental upgrades to their computer should opt for a desktop PC. Graphic designers, gaming enthusiasts and those trying to get the most value out of their hardware should purchase a full-tower setup or even build their own rig.

For those who are on the go a lot or who simply don’t need a powerful machine, any mid-range laptop should do the trick. Due to the relative convergence of laptops and desktop PCs in terms of price versus performance, the deciding factor comes down to personal taste and your own unique needs as the situation may warrant.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 28th, 2011 at 9:23 am and is filed under Desktops, Laptops. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.