Comments on: Desktop or laptop? Help me choose my next computer

By: computer memory

computer memory — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:50:48 +0000

This is an easy question, I would certainly choose laptop over desktop

By: 10 reasons why I’m upgrading to another desktop instead of a laptop — The Gadgeteer

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:24:08 +0000

[...] recently posted a short article talking about my problem with trying to decide between buying a desktop or laptop as an upgrade my [...]

By: Bruce Campbell

Bruce Campbell — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:49:25 +0000

Julie:

Go for the 13″ laptop and external monitor.
If you are worried about leaving the laptop on all the time, when you can afford it, get a refurbished MacMini and use it as your “desktop”, networked with the laptop. You’ll surely find that you will use the laptop most often, but you’ll have the security of a second computer just in case.

By: Daniel McNutt

Daniel McNutt — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:46:10 +0000

If you do go for the Macbook Pro I saw some refurbished ones on the Apple site the other day. (I’m considering a similar dilemma ) I had a Powerbook I got as a refurb several years back and it worked beautifully. Still works, though I sold it (G4 was getting too old for my usage). Refurbs are a nice way to cut into the premium sometimes.

By: michael

michael — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:23:59 +0000

I made the switch to laptop only and haven’t looked back. I also leave my MBP on 24/7 and have had no problems whatsoever. My Pro is a June07 model and I haven’t had a moments problem with it, even with the hard use. The only time I hear the fan is when I’m using Parallel and Windows, then the thing cranks up and the fans take off. I understand the newer MBPs don’t have that problem.
One think I do have is an M-Stand, external mouse and keyboard and my Mac doesn’t seem to have any problem staying cool. Again, mine is 2 years old and the new ones should even be better.
Good luck!

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:06:33 +0000

@Larry You just made me stop in my tracks because I leave my computer (iMac) on 24/7 also… But, I leave my laptop on 24/7 here at my day job and it’s about 3yrs old… it’s still running. Hmmmm…..

By: Larry B.

Larry B. — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:03:49 +0000

I’ve been considering this very question myself (although PC, not MAC), and I have a concern I haven’t seen anyone address yet. I leave my PC on all the time. I mean literally 24/7/365. Can a laptop put up with that, or will the heat buildup cause a premature death? I’m curious to hear what you others have to say regarding this.

Thanks.

By: Julie

Julie — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:30:51 +0000

Another thought has crossed my mind… I could hackintosh a laptop. The idea isn’t very appealing, but it is doable.

It was suggested that I contact PowerMax.com and ask what they might offer for my iMac in trade for a new Macbook. I’m waiting to hear back from them…

By: Scott W.

Scott W. — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:07:29 +0000

Laptop for sure – I have a 24″ iMac that is the “family” computer. After I obtained a 13″ MB unibody and upgraded the internal drive to a 320GB one I RARELY use the iMac. Ultimately I would get a 24″ external display and have a decent size external hard drive for backups and additional storage (actually 2 drives to rotate outside of the house). With an Apple display you can reduce the amount of cables being connected to just power and the display port. Regardless of iMac or Macbook a bluetooth keyboard and mouse makes for better typing position and (again) no wires! If you get a MB Pro the extra GPU would probably come in handy for the times you do any video editing or play a game that takes advantage of it.

I still have desktop machines though they’re for playing PC games but iTunes, web surfing, and most of my day-to-day personal “work” happens on my MB.

One thing that hasn’t been mentioned too much is price. I had a real tough time spending almost 45% more for comparable hardware getting an Apple Laptop vs. a PC. I still have PCs running Windows and Linux but it’s very nice not to have to play desktop support dude as my family is mostly on OS X and I’m the only one that updates those systems.

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:09:23 +0000

Julie,

If you have Mint wireless computer speakers for your mac. you could enjoy really powerful sound without loosing your portability. All you need is jug plugging in the USB wireless audio transmitter into you Mac USB port and click system preference>Sound>Output>select Mint as the output. You can buy the Mint 130 at $89.99 at Amazon.com.

By: BBusyB

BBusyB — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:32:57 +0000

I’ve been a dedicated Laptop use for the last 7 years, I’ve Been very happy with this decision, as I love the ability to be compleatly mobile and work from anywhere.

The few times I’ve wanted a desktop has been when working on heavy Video Projects or wanting to play a few of the newer games. In most cases I’ve been been able to access someone else’s machine for those few infrequent times.

Looking at what Julia’s outlined as her typical usage scenario, A laptop’s definitely looking like a better balance of features verses mobility, especially when paired to an external monitor.

I’ll also recommend going for the 13″ Macbook Pro over the 15″ as the increased mobility afforded by a smaller machine can be godsend when out and about or travelling (Try opening a 15″ on a Plane) and the primary benefit of the 15″, increased Processor and graphics performance are probably not going to be needed much.

I’ve got a 13″ on order (Waiting anxiously for it ) and went with it because the 15″ did not offer any major advantage for my requirement without compromising the needed mobility (Though an express card slot or Esata slot would have probably changed my mind)

So I’ll say definitely go for the 13″ Macbook Pro and pair it with a nice screen, say something like the Apple 24″ Cinema display.

By: Andy Van Pelt

Andy Van Pelt — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 03:08:19 +0000

I’ve been evaluating the same options, but the thing that always pushes me towards a desktop is the multi-monitor support. If not for that, laptop all the way.

By: LA

LA — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:24:19 +0000

Mac users never seem to have an issue with cost… get a Desktop and a Laptop!

By: Belle

Belle — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:16:58 +0000

EASY! 2 words – TAX DEDUCTION – your work centers around using computer systems – go speak to your accountant to see what % you’ll get back from purchasing your gear (this will be based on being an employee, or self employed, what you earn, whether you’re registered for GST etc) then take your intended budget bucks and buy both, then network them so you can use either – I mean really, would you want to spend hours with your videos and images looking at a laptop screen?? Nas-TY! I have both the big imac and a simple mac laptop (as like you I’m no gamer) – both 3 years old- and I love switching between the 2 – go on you deserve it!! I love all my Apples!

By: Richard

Richard — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:08:28 +0000

For half the price you can get a windows laptop. enough said

By: aphid

aphid — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:29:22 +0000

I have a 13″ Unibody Macbook (from before all the unibody ones were “pro”). It’s easily the best laptop I’ve ever used, and the current MBP’s fix a few of the extremely minor issues I’ve had with it. The additional battery life would make it even more useful. It is my first personal Mac, though I’d used Windows, Linux (various distributions) and Mac at work.

Previously, I’d preferred Lenovo/IBM Thinkpads for their trackpoint joystick-style pointing devices, but the “zero-button” trackpad with multi-touch gestures makes it so much more useful. I’ve yet to see a Windows laptop with as good of an implementation of gestures.

I prefer matte screens to glossy, so if I were buying a new laptop right now, I’d consider the 15″ with anti-glare. I added a ~$50 matte protector to my screen, and it’s not quite as good as a “native” matte screen, but far preferable to the reflective glass when I’ve got a dark background.

I use it primarily as a laptop, but I also occasionally hook it up to our HDTV and control it with a Logitech diNovo keyboard/mouse for media stuff or when I want a huge screen.

Again, it’s by far the nicest laptop I’ve ever used (previous over the last 8 years include Dell, Lenovo/IBM, Toshiba, and an early model Intel MacBookPro. The only real disadvantages to the current crop of MBP’s (from my perspective) is that the 13″ doesn’t have a matte option, and they made it slightly harder to upgrade the disk drive.

By: Roni

Roni — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 21:17:47 +0000

About half a year ago I bought a ThinkPad – second-hand – and been using it since then. I realized that I don’t need my more powerful desktop anymore, so I sold it. I’m comfortable in this situation, don’t want my desktop back.

I’m not into Macs, but they sure have their advantages. In my book, for your needs, a laptop would do better.

By: jake

jake — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:29:33 +0000

I f You don’t game get a laptop

By: Stephen Tsai

Stephen Tsai — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:18:43 +0000

I am currently using an aluminum 13″ MacBook with a 24 in external monitor (and have an older iMac G5), and it works pretty well for me, though I wonder if Apple does announce an iTablet thingy that can also display webpages in portrait mode if I would really need the portability of the 13″ vs a 15″. Don’t know when Apple is planning to announce new products with the new Intel i7 or i5 chips, or if it will go into the next iMac before laptops…iMac+iTablet vs MBP+ext monitor…something to consider.

By: Christopher

Christopher — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:17:21 +0000

Laptop. You can plug it into a docking station for all the desktop features. The price difference is noticable but laptops are more reliable (when used as desktop machines) and are portable. I have desktops and laptops (plural) and do a lot of travel. I back up everything before travelling, and take the laptop with me (together with universal charger)… At home I take my laptop to the lounge, to the bedroom (if my wife permits and I use it at my desk. I only use the desktop for the extra power it provides in editing video (and because I hate unplugging all the video equipment). The laptop is just so – well – portable.

By: barbarabaker

barbarabaker — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:34:41 +0000

Well, I have yet to own any Mac product, but you’ve made a smart choice…the MacBook Pro aught to be great. Please keep us up to date with how it works for you.

I may not be all that “techie” but I see the beauty in a Mac and would love to learn more about them. I’ve told my husband that as soon as I make enough moola- I’m buying myself one and giving him my dell laptop (LOL)…

By: Casey Collins

Casey Collins — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:24:05 +0000

ok for your needs i would recommend a laptop because you want it to be portable, sounds like your not doing too much as far as graphics so you should be fine there. i’m not much for macs, you can get a hp or dell for less than a mac i spent $600 about 7 months ago on an hp laptop that i love, and if you buy an hp now you will get a free upgrade to windows 7 when its available, i cant say enough about windows 7 its good….

By: davidwb

davidwb — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:19:54 +0000

Unless money is no object, if you don’t *need* a notebook buy the desktop. When you build out a notebook that compares spec for spec to the iMac you’ll find that the notebook is considerably more expensive. Moreover, you’ll have a smaller display and fewer ports, and almost certainly a smaller internal drive and slower processor as well. And that smaller package brings another serious downside – greater thermal stress. I’ve never trusted a notebook to last as long as a desktop.

By: Julie

Julie — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:26:26 +0000

Decisions, decisions… I hate choices. But I think (with all of your help) that I’ve made up my mind to go with a Macbook Pro, an external monitor and an Apple Wireless Keyboard this time. Now I just have to decide between a 13″ and 15″ MBP. Argh

Since upgrading to Snow Leopard, my iMac hasn’t frozen with the spinning beachball problem and the GPU is running a little bit cooler. I am still getting the occasional graphics wackiness, but it doesn’t hinder my work. Knowing me, I’ll put up with these problems until they get really bad. I still plan to upgrade before the end of the year, but I may push it out for another month or two.

By: Shari Barnhart

Shari Barnhart — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 12:50:57 +0000

I also have been using a 17″ Powerbook/MacBook Pro for at least three “cycles.” A computer cycle for me is every 2.5 years, just before the AppleCare expires, I begin to lust after a new model. I’ve had my eye on an external monitor, but find the 17″ is just fine for working on web design, and everything else at once… especially since Exposé and Spaces have allowed me more display flexibility.

Go laptop. For sure. If you can afford the external monitor- go for a 15″ — You can happily sit around the house or plop down at your desk and use a wireless Mighty Mouse. I have AC adapters at the desk and at my favorite chair. You might have to invest in some new software…

Oh, and a Time Capsule for wireless backups… and…