Between Laptop and PC Desktop

In this fast-changing technological world, sometimes you are faced with some difficult choices. For instance, your current computer has matured to the ripe old age of six months and has been deemed obsolete. Now it's time to purchase a new computer and the question is, "Should I buy a laptop or a desktop?" But just because laptops are the new craze, it does not mean that you should run right out and get one. There are benefits and drawbacks that must be weighed.

Of course, the main benefit of a laptop is the portability. This can be a huge benefit, allowing you to take your Computer to and from work, on planes, on camping trips, and practically anywhere else. Along with this benefit comes a large drawback. It is just as easy for someone else to walk off with it as it is for you. Laptops are stolen at an alarming rate, because they are just so easy to steal. And when that computer is stolen, not only do you lose the value of the computer, but also all of your valuable data.

Another major drawback of a laptop is that their parts are "proprietary" which means that if your laptop breaks, only the company that made it will be able to fix it, and after the warranty expires they will be very happy to charge you an exorbitant price for that service. While with a desktop computers, you are able to take advantage of your local computer store which will often fix it at a much more reasonable rate.

A third drawback to the laptop craze is that in general, laptops are far more expensive than desktop systems. For the price of an average laptop, you could purchase a much more powerful desktop. Of course, what you are paying for is the portability of a smaller design, but is that worth it? While it can be very fun to take your computer with you on a camping trip, how often do you need to type something up while fishing?

Now, the laptop is a very important part of the computer market, and I am not trying to dissuade people from buying them if they have need for them, but I have just seen far too many people dissatisfied with their laptops and wishing that they had purchased a desktop.

One main example of this group of people is college students. Often first year students purchase laptops because they plan on taking their computers to class with them and being able to do their homework anywhere on campus. The stark reality of it is that laptops get stolen far too often at college, even right out of the dorm rooms, because they’re just so portable. To add to this, I do not know a single student who uses their laptop in classes. While a noble ambition, no one actually carries through with this plan.

Laptops should be viewed as a purchase that should only be made when necessary. You would not purchase a car with 4-wheel drive (no matter how fun it looked) unless you actually had use of that feature, because otherwise it wouldn’t justify the added cost. The same is true of laptops.