Ditched my desktop 3 weeks ago, the monitor, keyboard and peripherals are all in tthe cupboard. Now running my laptop,on a full time desktop basis, its not a record breaking super computer, but it does everything my desktop did, but silently! And the desktop space has increased by 80% at least. Taken out the battery and its running 24/7 with a cooling mat in my home office, and can't find one single advantage a desktop has. Of course you have to add a USB hub for all your bits, and ideally a conventional mouse as I hate the touch pads on laptops, but its perfect for me and can't figure out why I did not do this before.

Anyone else binned the desktop and work from a laptop as a permenant solution? I think the future for space hugging traditional desktop towers is probably going to be limited in the future......except for real serious number crunching and graphics applications

Most people keep the tower under the desk so it's not in the way. Technically it takes less space than a laptop if you have a flatscreen monitor.

I do like my laptop for mobility, but as a primary machine, I still prefer my desktop. The limitations on viewing angle and ergonomics with a laptop are what turn me off more than the specs.

My desktop is nearly silent, thanks to a nice cooling system.

I haven't turned on the desktop machine or sat at my desk for months. I look after the forum from the depths of my recliner, with my laptop on my lap. My printer, the router and external hard drive backup are on the same little trolley as the phone next to me and so I can backup, send or retrieve things from the external hard drive or print without going near the desktop machine too.

For me, this has come about mostly because I find sitting up painful and so a change from a desk to a recliner is natural. I don't do anything needing really heavy computer power though, so a bog standard dual core lappy with decent memory is plenty good enough for doing what I do.

EDIT- my laptop is about 5 years newer than my desktop machine and has 3 times the RAM, twice the processors and 5 times the hard disk space of the desktop machine, so if I was going to do anything really intensive it's the most prepared for that too.

I did this years ago ... got fed up of the computer taking up so much room and cables all over .. so bought a very powerful 17" vaio laptop and never looked back .. my printing is even done wirelessly .. would never go back to a desktop pc .. but sayin that my new toy i have on order is classed as a desktop .. its the HP touchsmart PC ... has a 22" touch screen with wireless keyboard and mouse .. tuck them away and it looks like an lcd tv .. well i supose it is cos it does have freeview built into it too .. lol

Col ..

Also I think a laptop is safer. If you are working on something important and you have a power cut the laptop will still carry on where as you PC will stop.You may loose all you have done.

The main disadvantage of laptops is that they are out of date as soon as you take them out of the box! They are much more difficult to upgrade (RAM, HDD, graphics card etc) and if the screen goes wrong then you may as well buy a new one because they are very expensive to replace. Also they can end up taking up quite a bit of space if you really want them to be on par with a desktop. If I wanted to replace my desktop with a laptop I'd also need an external card reader, a USB hub, an external 1tb HDD, an external numeric keypad and a mouse!
Nope, a laptop will never replace a desktop for ease of upgrade and repair. I think you should only ever get a laptop if you actually need a portable computer.

I have a laptop at the side of me, and I use it plugged in to a second flat-screen monitor..

I also use a mac-mini, it's awesome; and I know there are other very small desktop PC's, that probably use laptop components, and don't take up so much space.

Obviously with desktops, you get more processing power and memory for your money, they're easier to upgrade etc. Not so easy to transport. They make more noise, and kick out more heat. Take up more space.

The thing that bothers me with laptops, is them being fragile, and if they go wrong, that's it, the whole lot is gone. In contrast, with a desktop, you can generally isolate and replace the bit that went wrong.

So there are defo good and bad with both desktops and laptops; and it's probably a lot down to individual taste, but for me, I'm more inclined to use a laptop, or a small desktop (i.e. mac mini). I like quite and not so much heat generation!

If I wanted to replace my desktop with a laptop I'd also need an external card reader, a USB hub, an external 1tb HDD, an external numeric keypad and a mouse!


Whereas I've got an external HDD next to me, I hot swap my devices as and when I need them so I'm not cabled up most of the time, my laptop has a numeric keyboard and even when I use a desktop machine I have an external touchpad that I use in preference to a mouse!

Horses for courses- there's no practical way that I could sit up at a desk every day, so this works for me.

I know that it's out of date as soon as it's registered, but then that could be said for all computers to one degree or another, and unless you're a superboffin who needs to use cutting edge technology for your job then it's all just a huge bit of oneupmanship anyway.

Yeah i had a big CRT monitor and i gave it away at zero cost and bought a Apple Mac Slim and now its fine and cool.

You mean an iMac!

I wouldn't have anything else (apart from a Macbook Pro but I can't afford one of those as well).

If laptops with decent graphics processing power we're alot cheap, I see no reason not to move to a laptop. I don't think i'm ready for move away from my 140hz CRT though :(

Expanding a desktop is much easier. Want another soundcard? Done. Better Graphics? Done. Extra firewire ports? Done. Another Hard drive? Done. Raid? Done.

I like to have the top of my monitor level with my eyes, and a proper keyboard under my fingers. (and to be able to change the size of my monitor, replace the keyboard when I pour coffee over it, and have half decent sound)

Expanding a desktop is much easier. Want another soundcard? Done. Better Graphics? Done. Extra firewire ports? Done. Another Hard drive? Done. Raid? Done.

Good points.

I like to have the top of my monitor level with my eyes, and a proper keyboard under my fingers. (and to be able to change the size of my monitor, replace the keyboard when I pour coffee over it, and have half decent sound)

Although I have all of that, using a laptop (plugged in to another monitor, with a good quality keyboard and mouse; and, the added bonus of a dual screen display, using the laptop display as second monitor).

If I did need to, I could easily transport the laptop and work from another location etc; however, I'm still stuffed with regards to your first point (on upgrading).

The desktop was atleast £800 cheaper than a laptop of similar performance, thats the main factor for me to be honest.

Also I think a laptop is safer. If you are working on something important and you have a power cut the laptop will still carry on where as you PC will stop.You may loose all you have done.

goldenfleece said he has taken out the battery so I don't think this will be correct in his case. Also, XP and Linux with MS Office 2002 and above and Open Office 2 and above respectively both have recover functionality so this argument is a none-starter - unless you are into gaming. If laptop screens get any bigger they might as well call it a Pear with a drop-down keyboard!

If you really want to save some space then get a mac-mini or pc equivalent and a 32" screen!

Also it has been noted that ergonomically laptops are worse than desktops and should only be used as portable not permanent devices - for example, you cannot move the screen to a distance that is both comfortable on the eye and avoids unnecessary glare and if you have a glossy screen you might as well have invested in a vanity mirror!:hihi:

Cooling mat???

mikeybaby72 doesn't have a desktop and has been running a lappy however the cooling fan thingy has stopped working.....and he has a corrupt hard drive on the other lappy he has....hence minimal computing fun at the moment.

So what is a cooling mat and would this help mb72.....who also needs to replace the cooling thingy inside of his HP whatever it is.....

You can tell I'm right technical can't you :hihi:

Cooling mat???

mikeybaby72 doesn't have a desktop and has been running a lappy however the cooling fan thingy has stopped working.....and he has a corrupt hard drive on the other lappy he has....hence minimal computing fun at the moment.

So what is a cooling mat and would this help mb72.....who also needs to replace the cooling thingy inside of his HP whatever it is.....

You can tell I'm right technical can't you :hihi:

a cooling mat won't help,

the bottom of laptops get quite warm when your using them and often have a second exhaust/vent on the bottom, this is why people say you should never put them on a cushion on your knee as you can block this vent.

all a cooling mat does is raise the laptop up slightly so there's a gap between it and the laptop, and extract the heat away from the bottom. its not a replacement or answer to a dead fan i'm afraid.

not a laptop not a desktop more a tft leech
http://www.t3.com/images/variants/acer_revo2_w500.jpg
wireless keyboard and mouse and a great graphics card runs modern warfair no probs thanks to the nvidia ion
http://www.nvidia.com/object/sff_ion.html

and it cost me £200 including a 19" widescreen acer tft

http://eee-pc.de/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/mini-acer_revo_3.jpg

Cooling mat???

mikeybaby72 doesn't have a desktop and has been running a lappy however the cooling fan thingy has stopped working.....and he has a corrupt hard drive on the other lappy he has....hence minimal computing fun at the moment.

So what is a cooling mat and would this help mb72.....who also needs to replace the cooling thingy inside of his HP whatever it is.....

You can tell I'm right technical can't you :hihi:

If it's anything like Dell then if the fan goes the motherboard needs replacing - not cheap!

a cooling mat won't help,

the bottom of laptops get quite warm when your using them and often have a second exhaust/vent on the bottom, this is why people say you should never put them on a cushion on your knee as you can block this vent.

all a cooling mat does is raise the laptop up slightly so there's a gap between it and the laptop, and extract the heat away from the bottom. its not a replacement or answer to a dead fan i'm afraid.

I use mine raised half an inch of my desktop, supported on 4 old print cartridges at each corner. No cooling mat as such........core, CPU and HD temp never goes above 37 degrees C which is fine. The laptop is 100% silent, if it has a cooling fan it never kicks in, and the unit never gets hot to the touch.......

How do you know the cooling fan doesn't kick in, can you see it? (it may be working and making very little noise).

How do you know the cooling fan doesn't kick in, can you see it? (it may be working and making very little noise).

because I have heard it before I used it as a desktop machine without it being raised off a surface...you can definitely hear it, its only a cheap laptop (sub £400) and the fan is definitely audible when it kicks in....

Yeah, I can hear mine too, when it really kicks in and starts blowin' like billy o. I'm not sure, but I think, perhaps it's still working (at a reduced rate) even when you can't here it. Or there's some kind of cooling going on with the CPU..

What do you guys thing?

Also, kinda related, I've just put my laptop on top of a letter tray. Raises the level of the display and also extra cooling benefits, I guess.

The main disadvantage of laptops is that they are out of date as soon as you take them out of the box!
Nonsense. A computer is only out of date when it can no longer do what you require. And a big growth area is with netboks which are even less powerful compared to most laptops, but they do do all a user wants and where he wants to.

They are much more difficult to upgrade (RAM, HDD, graphics card etc) and if the screen goes wrong then you may as well buy a new one because they are very expensive to replace.
Most people do not really need to upgrade. And it also reduces problems from mixing and matching components. Laptops tend to be quite reliable as there's very little a user can do to it to make it work poorly.
Besides even if you do want upgrade, with a desktop when you feel the need to upgrade, the new parts/technology often won't fit anyway as the sockets/fitting/specs have changed anyway. So the upgrade ability is not that practical anyway a lot of the time.


Also they can end up taking up quite a bit of space if you really want them to be on par with a desktop. If I wanted to replace my desktop with a laptop I'd also need an external card reader, a USB hub, an external 1tb HDD, an external numeric keypad and a mouse!You don't need all that crap attached and have you not heard of wireless technology? I can look at and work on my the files in my 12TB+ of staorge over network quite easily.
You can have built in card readers or very small ones you plug in as needed and USB hubs are not needed most of the time either as most laptops have enough connections for the majority of usage.
Numeric keypads are also of minority interest and even with my 13" has the facilty for the keyboard to double up as a numeric keyboard if I so require and is nicer to use than my desktop keyboard too, some have full numeric keyboards anyway.

Nope, a laptop will never replace a desktop for ease of upgrade and repair. I think you should only ever get a laptop if you actually need a portable computer.As a laptop is probably more that powerful enough for most people with any need to upgrade, takes up less space, can be used anywhere in house or away from home, is quieter, uses a lot less power, a laptop is the better solution for many people. Particularly as only a very small minority actually want to upgrade and tinker.
I use both BTW.

Not made the move over to laptop yet, partly because its so much easier to build your own desktop to your own specs and get inside to replace/fix stuff instead of sending it off to the manufacturer.
There's also more flexability in terms of adding extra internal optical and hard drives...plus burglars are much more likely to nick a laptop than a heavy Antec 900 tower.
Each to there own i guess...whatever works best for you

If you really want to save some space then get a mac-mini or pc equivalent and a 32" screen!+1

After weeks of uhm-ing and ah-ing, I now have this little one (http://www.asrock.com/nettop/spec/ION%20330.asp) on order to replace my very aged HP AMD64 desktop, and am scouting for a 22" WS LCD screen with dual HDMI to replace my 17" 4:3 TFT screen.

According to the specs, uses less power at full tilt than a laptop PSU, packs a whole lot more graphics for the money, takes less than half the footprint of a laptop. I suppose I could even 'hang' it off the back of the 22" screen, as I've seen many owners do already.

And if and when I feel like going back to a beefier rig, for that kind of money, I can always just move it to the lounge as a dedicated media player :thumbsup:

TBH, I've always had a desktop and a laptop (in one form or another), as I really couldn't be @rsed plugging/unplugging bits and bobs in and out of the laptop time and again. Computing on the move req'd? Grab the laptop. Any other time? Sit down at the desktop. Question of ergonomics, and preference. Dell desk stations were always very good in that respect. The advent of large-screened webbooks has also been a boon (finally, after 10 years or more of waiting, decent processing power for mobile-type apps/tasks, a good enough screen in a diminutive package, the likes of which used to set you back north of £2500!).

According to the specs, uses less power at full tilt than a laptop PSUHow to lie in Advertising Part 6,997,634.
Of course it uses less power, it's doing less, duh!
It's not powering the screen which uses a large proportion of the laptop's power, so as usual a deceitful and misleading claim in a computing ad. You add in your monitor's consumption and it'll probably use more than a laptop.

But if it does what you want that's fine. Just dont believe the crap in advertising.

How to lie in Advertising Part 6,997,634.
Of course it uses less power, it's doing less, duh!
It's not powering the screen which uses a large proportion of the laptop's power, so as usual a deceitful and misleading claim in a computing ad. You add in your monitor's consumption and it'll probably use more than a laptop.

But if it does what you want that's fine. Just dont believe the crap in advertising.The largest part of a laptop's consumption is by the CPU, still to this day. Several other components also routinely out-consume the display panel. Example source (http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001099.html). As usual, it will depend on the laptop, and what it's being used for. Take an average C2Duo laptop, and the advertising doesn't appear so misleading anymore (but will of course depend on the standalone LCD screen's own PSU consumption) ;)

At work I have a small IBM ThinkPad docked, with keyboard and wireless mouse running off it, then a bracket mounted LCD monitor. Much quieter, more space on my desk and if I need to I can take my computer to meetings and run presentations off it. Far easier.

The largest part of a laptop's consumption is by the CPU, still to this day. Several other components also routinely out-consume the display panel. Example source (http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001099.html). As usual, it will depend on the laptop, and what it's being used for. Take an average C2Duo laptop, and the advertising doesn't appear so misleading anymore (but will of course depend on the standalone LCD screen's own PSU consumption) ;)It's still misleading and decietful and it's so very easy to mislead even with a clear cut graph such as on the link you mentioned. What that bar graph does not do is weight the usage, as for a large part of the time, the two things that use the most power will be simply idling and using far less power, whereas the screen tends to consistently consume the same amount of power. So overall the CPU won't use quite such a high percentage as the simple graph would indicate. Plus Desktop monitors not only tend not to be as energy eficent as laptop monitors, but way bigger to boot, so my argument against deceitlful advertising still stands as it's the total power consumed overall that is relevant - which will be much greater than using a laptop.
Not to mention in the particular example you gave the overal laptop power consumption is less than all but one of the monitors in this power consumption chart.
http://reviews.cnet.com/green-tech/monitor-comparison-chart/?tag=contentMain;contentAux