Laptops vs Computers: The Ultimate Comparison

You’re going to be going to school soon. You need a computer that’s going to be able to perform. When shopping around, you’re going to see a lot of great options for both laptops and desktops.

Laptops vs. computers, which one is better at the end of the day? The answer honestly depends on what your personal preferences are.

Students usually go with laptops because they don’t take up as much space and they’re portable. That doesn’t mean that having a nice desktop is out of the question. They make it easier to game at the end of a rough study session, and they’re easy to upgrade and repair.

These are only a few things that you should consider. Keep reading to learn which option is better for school or work and anything in between.

Why Buy a Laptop?

So, first things first. Why should you learn more here and choose a laptop based on your research? Is it all about portability and space-saving, or are there more benefits to be had?

Easy to Assemble

When weighing laptop vs. desktop, a question you have to ask yourself is how much are you willing to fuss with your device. Laptops are pretty easy to assemble.

All you have to do is take it out of its box and press the power button. The laptop will walk you through the rest of the setup steps from there.

Desktops are a bit more complicated. You have to crawl under your desk to connect your monitor, keyboard, mouse, and other accessories. It’s not difficult by any means, but it is a lot more work.

They Don’t Take Up Much Space

Another good thing about laptops is that they don’t take up too much space. You can enjoy a nice dinner at your dining table and work at the same time.

If you use your laptop while watching TV, they comfortably fit on a lap desk. Since these PCs are so small, you can use them at your regular desk and still have plenty of room left over for all your accessories.

Portability

The main reason why anyone buys a laptop is for the portability feature. You’ll have the power to pack it up and take it to your favorite restaurant.

If you want to work from the comfort of your couch, that’s possible too. Thin laptops are a great option for college students. They can slip them in their bag with the rest of their books and take them to class.

Big bulky computers aren’t an option for business professionals who travel a lot. A laptop may make it past airport security, but a full desktop computer is another story.

Price

No matter what your price range is, there’s a laptop that can match it. If you only need a computer that will allow you to fill out spreadsheets and browse the web, you won’t have to spend an arm and a leg on it.

A small Chromebook will suit your needs and only cost you a few hundred dollars. Now, if you need a top-of-the-line machine with all the best laptop specifications, that’s different. A good gaming or professional business laptop can run you over a thousand bucks.

They Use Less Power

If you’re trying to keep your power bill low, do yourself a favor and buy yourself a laptop. They use smaller components that don’t need a lot of juice.

Not to mention, you can play around with your settings to have even more control over how much power they use up, and they can keep going for 8 hours or more before you have to connect them to an outlet.

Laptops Run Off of a Battery

When the power goes out in your home, your desktop computer will shut off along with all your other appliances. If you were in the middle of a big project, well let’s just say you better hope you saved it recently. If you didn’t, you’ll lose every bit of your progress.

Laptops use a battery, so they are unaffected by power outages. You can keep going with whatever you’re working on until your battery depletes.

Great Resell Value

Again, portability is a big deal to college students and business professionals. They’re always looking for a laptop that will help them get things done.

What this means for you is that you’ll have two demographics to choose from when it comes time to sell your laptop and buy another one.

Why Buy a Desktop Computer?

With all these benefits, you might be wondering if it’s even worth it to buy a desktop computer. The answer is yes. They have their own charm.

They Run Better

Desktop computers use larger components that have a lot of power to give. While laptops can have some pretty impressive processors, nothing beats a desktop’s CPU.

Desktops also tend to have more RAM and better graphics cards. If you’re not satisfied with your desktop’s hardware, you can always upgrade it to better suit your needs.

Great Option for Gaming

The better hardware makes desktop computers the ideal when it comes to gaming. Depending on what model you have, you can play pretty much any AAA title you want.

This isn’t to say that there aren’t some impressive gaming laptops on the market. Some of them do pack the same kind of specs that many desktop computers do.

The problem is that you’ll pay a lot for them. A good gaming laptop will cost you thousands of dollars. Desktops are nowhere near as much.

They’re More Secure

If someone breaks into your home, they’re not going to go after your desktop computer. Contrary to popular belief, thieves don’t like getting caught.

It takes time to unplug everything from the back of a desktop. It’s time they don’t have. Every second they spend tangled up in cords is a second where you might walk into the room and bust them.

They would much rather grab the laptop sitting on the couch and make a break for it.

Plenty of Screen Real Estate

When it comes to laptops, you’re sort of limited when it comes to screen real estate. Most of their screens are between 13 and 17 inches.

You can plug your desktop into whatever sized monitor you want. You can even use a big flat-screen TV. You can do the same with your laptop if you have an HDMI cable, but at that point, you might as well buy a desktop.

Easy to Upgrade and Repair

Let’s say that your desktop computer doesn’t have quite enough juice to run a game that you were looking forward to. It needs a better graphics card or more RAM. It’s simple to buy the new components that you need and replace the old ones.

Desktop casings are easy to open and have enough room for you to tinker around in. You can upgrade some laptops, but it’s a lot more difficult because everything is so close together.

Similarly, if one of the parts in your desktop breaks, you don’t have to toss out the entire thing. All you have to do is trade out the broken part.

Price

Yes, price is a positive selling point for both laptops and desktops. Again, you can get a decent general-purpose laptop for a few hundred bucks. Most desktops are going to be a lot more than that.

Where desktops win in the price category is if you want to buy a nice gaming device or you need something with a powerful graphics card that will allow you to do video editing. A laptop with those kinds of specs is going to hurt your wallet.

You can get a cheaper desktop that has the same kind of components or better. Another thing to keep in mind is the long-term savings.

If something goes out on your laptop, that’s it. The thing is pretty much fried. You can save your desktop by, again, replacing the broken part. It’s simple as long as it’s not something vital like the motherboard.

Laptops Vs. Computers: You Decide Which Is Better

So, laptops vs. computers, which one is better? As you can see, it’s all a matter of personal taste. Laptops are great for digital nomads and college students because of their portability.

They don’t take up a lot of space, and they won’t turn off on you during a power outage. Desktops will shut off during an outage, but getting a good one doesn’t cost as much, and they’re great for gamers.

For more tips that will help you find the perfect computer, visit the Sci-Tech section of our blog.