My thoughts:
- Only the most powerful of laptops approaches the medium range of desktops as far as processor speed, memory, hard drive size and features.
- The cost of a laptop still exceeds that of the majority of desktops.
- Laptops are more easily stolen.
- Laptops are vulnerable to battery failure. Desktops are not.
I would also add screen size as a factor to consider. I run my own grant writing business and use a word processor for many hours every day. I used a laptop exclusively for the first 5 years of my business and then got a desktop with a screen large enough to see two documents at once, side-by-side (to facilitate editing and document comparisons), and I don't know how I used the smaller screen for so long. I still have a laptop but use my desktop with the larger screen for everyday work. Depends on what you need to do on it, but do not underestimate screen size as a factor.
Jan Mixon covers most of the downside of using a laptop exclusively. The only item I would add is the lack of expandablity. The laptop form factor won't accommodate the larger amounts of RAM, internal drive expansion and added bus cards for driving specialty equipment.
That said, I gave up my tower several years ago in favor of a laptop as my main CPU. Most features I need are available with USB connections, and I am no longer processing large print graphics. So, despite these liabilities, ...
A desktop PC often can use a larger screen that is detached from the PC body, so for office use it can provide more ease of use and you can adjust your use so that you have better posture. The laptop screens are more limited and as you add screen size, they become heavier to travel with. But I use a laptop at home. I tend to use it on my lap, too and it can become hot.
Oh, one thing I forgot, some of the smaller PCs are harder to upgrade if they don't have a CD/DVD player and if you don't have internet connection. That means, if you're on the road and your PC is corrupted or killed, its hard t
A desktop PC often can use a larger screen that is detached from the PC body, so for office use it can provide more ease of use and you can adjust your use so that you have better posture. The laptop screens are more limited and as you add screen size, they become heavier to travel with. But I use a laptop at home. I tend to use it on my lap, too and it can become hot.
Oh, one thing I forgot, some of the smaller PCs are harder to upgrade if they don't have a CD/DVD player and if you don't have internet connection. That means, if you're on the road and your PC is corrupted or killed, its hard to just reload the software.
I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree with just about everyone...devils advocate here!
Even though I do have a desktop and laptop for work, I now use them both fully interchangeably.
Laptops today can keep up with your standard desktop, if not outperform them at just about the same cost. With the introduction of Intel's new i series processors, and video companies making smaller video cards for this specific reason.
Your average consumer doesn't want two computers anymore, they want they're laptop to be the all in one media center. Having to keep multiple copies of the same software,
I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree with just about everyone...devils advocate here!
Even though I do have a desktop and laptop for work, I now use them both fully interchangeably.
Laptops today can keep up with your standard desktop, if not outperform them at just about the same cost. With the introduction of Intel's new i series processors, and video companies making smaller video cards for this specific reason.
Your average consumer doesn't want two computers anymore, they want they're laptop to be the all in one media center. Having to keep multiple copies of the same software, or file, is just annoying. Sure there's cloud sharing and whatnot, but for the average user, that's more or less out of the question.
For example, I just recently had to replace my laptop and upgrade the video card in my desktop at the same time to keep up with my demanding software needs. I run Sonar x1 Producer with a usb audio interface as a digital audio workstation for recording audio of bands and artists, as well as Adobe Premier Pro (among others) for my video editing, and I also Dj with the Numark NS-7 usb controller and Serato Itch. I wanted to find a laptop that I could work efficiently with, without having to spend over $1000 on a Mac.
I was surprised at what I found...I was able to purchase a new 64-bit Windows i5 (M480) machine, with 6 gigs of ram and 640 gigabyte hard drive for $600 plus tax. This laptop blows just about any double priced Macbook out of the water, and this was a mid-high grade product for that price.
My favorite thing about having a laptop, is the fact that I need to utilize multiple screens while I work, so the laptop gives me one built in monitor, while I can hook up my home or work monitor via HDMI quickly and easily for my second.
I will guarantee you that you can go to Costco (it's the cheapest) or anywhere else with your list of requirements and find the perfect laptop to fit all of your needs at an extremely reasonable price. Remember this too, you're upgrading a 7 year old pc, even a low grade laptop is built with today's more efficient and better hardware
I would recommend finding something around the same spec as mine or better (if you game find one with a video card), and you'll never think of purchasing a pc again!
Given your usage pattern I would give strong consideration to a getting a desktop, a laptop and a cloud based service for backing up/sharing files, and perhaps one for video encoding as well.
Here's why...
Purchasing a laptop that qualifies as a "desktop replacement" is going to run you more than your average Best Buy laptop deal.
That said, in terms of hardware an actual desktop that would be on par with your "desktop replacement" is significantly cheaper. Note: I'm presuming that for starters you'd go light on HD and RAM. To conserve cash flow in the short term those can be upgraded later as n
Given your usage pattern I would give strong consideration to a getting a desktop, a laptop and a cloud based service for backing up/sharing files, and perhaps one for video encoding as well.
Here's why...
Purchasing a laptop that qualifies as a "desktop replacement" is going to run you more than your average Best Buy laptop deal.
That said, in terms of hardware an actual desktop that would be on par with your "desktop replacement" is significantly cheaper. Note: I'm presuming that for starters you'd go light on HD and RAM. To conserve cash flow in the short term those can be upgraded later as needed. In other words, why get a 2 TB HD now when you can save a bit by going with a 1 TB, a 750 GB or perhaps as low as 500 GB.
That gap between the "desktop replacement" laptop and the actual desktop could be used to purchase a "good enough" laptop. This laptop would not be a true "desktop replacement" but for once of twice a month it should suit you.
Another consideration would be to look for machines with USB 3.0, and pair that with shared external storage (that's also USB 3.0). 3.0 is said to be pretty damn fast. The issue being it's new and therefore typically not on the least expensive machines.
The reality is, this is probably going to run you a bit more than just a desktop, or just a "desktop replacement" laptop but you'd have the best of both worlds. You can also ease into it. That is, get the desktop, save your money and then look for a good deal on a laptop, memory, etc.
You will trash the battery if you leave it powered 24/7 for weeks on end, but by simply switching off the AC power once as week until the battery is nearly flat you can avoid that. I wouldn't recommend running with the battery off as you have no backup power if the mains drops etc.
Look carefully at hard disk performance - these devices have not progressed hardly at all in years and run at 90 or 120 Hz rather than MHz or GHz - ensure your laptop has a 7200 rpm drive for performance, and not the 5400 rpm units often found in laptops which are slower, cheaper and use less power.
I would also recom
You will trash the battery if you leave it powered 24/7 for weeks on end, but by simply switching off the AC power once as week until the battery is nearly flat you can avoid that. I wouldn't recommend running with the battery off as you have no backup power if the mains drops etc.
Look carefully at hard disk performance - these devices have not progressed hardly at all in years and run at 90 or 120 Hz rather than MHz or GHz - ensure your laptop has a 7200 rpm drive for performance, and not the 5400 rpm units often found in laptops which are slower, cheaper and use less power.
I would also recommend a cooling stand to ensure good airflow through the laptop as they do suffer from overheating. Keep the cooling ducts clean by blowing with canned compressed air and don't use it on soft fabric surfaces.
Few monitors have HDMI input so check you have compatible outputs on the proposed laptop against the connectors on your monitor.
Its best to go with the computer, I leave mine running all day everyday, and have been doing so for over 2 years.
If you need the portabilty or want a change, by all means go with the laptop. But stick within the 15/15.5 inch region if you dont want to be charging it every 30 minutes.
http://www.electrocomputerwarehouse.com/shopcontent.asp?type=Desktop%20PC%20Container
Can I personally? No. But people do. Companies do. All the time. And they sell them to you as this
An All-in-One PC. It's literally a monitor that has a laptop motherboard and laptop CPU and laptop graphics and laptop memory and laptop HDD or SSD behind the screen.
Desktop PCs can be faster than laptops. We’ve got an issue of overlapping bell curves here:
Some higher performance laptops are actually better than lower performing desktops. It isn’t true that every desktop will be faster than every laptop. That said, laptops have constraints about heat and power consumption that desktops generally don’t have so at the bottom end of the curve, laptops go further down than desktops. At the high end, desktops have a power and heat budget that laptops can’t match so you get desktops that will be faster than any laptop.
As always, it depends on your needs. Lots of
Desktop PCs can be faster than laptops. We’ve got an issue of overlapping bell curves here:
Some higher performance laptops are actually better than lower performing desktops. It isn’t true that every desktop will be faster than every laptop. That said, laptops have constraints about heat and power consumption that desktops generally don’t have so at the bottom end of the curve, laptops go further down than desktops. At the high end, desktops have a power and heat budget that laptops can’t match so you get desktops that will be faster than any laptop.
As always, it depends on your needs. Lots of people fall into the overlap where they could use a laptop just as well as a desktop and they have different considerations outside of performance for which one they purchase. If mobility is a priority they get laptops. If they need to drive costs down for equivalent performance, desktops can be cheaper.
Like many answers about PC hardware the answer is: It depends :)
“
Is there a downside to choosing an ‘all-in-one’ computer over a laptop or a regular desktop PC?”
There are a few downsides. All in one type computers have limited space. As such, they tend to compromise cooling. Sometimes it’s sufficient, often times it’s barely sufficient and you’ll get thermal throttling even with moderate use.
They can be a PITA to work on. For example, take a look at the imac 27″ from 2011 (the one I have experience with and thats why I chose it). It requires a suction cup to remove the screen, and then there are some screws that need to be remove.. unfortunately those ste
“
Is there a downside to choosing an ‘all-in-one’ computer over a laptop or a regular desktop PC?”
There are a few downsides. All in one type computers have limited space. As such, they tend to compromise cooling. Sometimes it’s sufficient, often times it’s barely sufficient and you’ll get thermal throttling even with moderate use.
They can be a PITA to work on. For example, take a look at the imac 27″ from 2011 (the one I have experience with and thats why I chose it). It requires a suction cup to remove the screen, and then there are some screws that need to be remove.. unfortunately those steel screws sit right next to some magnets (making them a real pain to re-install.. magnet kept taking the screws off my screwdriver). There is a video cable that is really freaking fragile that many people damage taking the screen off.. Honestly, I’ve had laptops that were easier to replace the hard drive and ram on than that freaking mac.
They’re not very upgradable. Some have soldered on memory, some use socketed ram. Most use a soldered on cpu.. and as often than not, it’s NOT a desktop cpu, but a mobile cpu (hp has been guilty of this in the past). The HDD.. on older all in ones they were usually ssd or hdd that used a sata port.. many are now using soldered on storage or nvme. Those are pretty much the only upgradable parts.. hdd (persistent storage.. whatever form) and ram, and those aren’t a given. If I want a powerful machine.. I want to be able to upgrade it to keep it running longer. I want a socketed cpu, that I can upgrade later, I want ram that I can upgrade, I want the room for 1 or more larger hdd’s (my desktop has 4 hdd in it right now, and room for 3 more in it)..
You end up with a machine that, performance wise, is between a laptop and a desktop in performance.. with none of the benefits. Some of the imac pro’s look great on paper but I’d worry about cooling (the 27″ imac I have has…. cooling that kinda works, but if I had my druthers it’d be revamped by a LOT to make it work better in that dept). You have the lack of portability that comes with a desktop, but none of the flexibility or upgradability (and due to cooling compromises.. potentially less durability). You have laptop power (yes yes, get your pitch forks.. understand that even some laptops come with socketed cpu’s.. its their cooling system that limits them), but you’re tied to the wall and desk… Honestly, I love the idea of all in ones.. they keep a desk neat, but I expect too much of my desk tied systems to ever to be able to justify an all in one system.
I'm with Drew Eckhardt all the way.
That said... there isn't *as much* of a need for desktops as there used to be.
At one time, your only choice was a desktop. People are creatures of habit. I see this every day with customers coming in to purchase another desktop, while they could have changed over to a laptop years ago. Even if the thing was never going to leave their desk. Even if they wanted to use a 24 inch monitor. None of that matters. They could have purchased a laptop and used that... and I talk more than a few of them into the change.
Is there always going to be a need for desktop
I'm with Drew Eckhardt all the way.
That said... there isn't *as much* of a need for desktops as there used to be.
At one time, your only choice was a desktop. People are creatures of habit. I see this every day with customers coming in to purchase another desktop, while they could have changed over to a laptop years ago. Even if the thing was never going to leave their desk. Even if they wanted to use a 24 inch monitor. None of that matters. They could have purchased a laptop and used that... and I talk more than a few of them into the change.
Is there always going to be a need for desktops? Most definitely. Are there going to be stalwarts who hold out when they *might* be able to survive a switch to a laptop? Most definitely. Indeed, there are very powerful laptops... however I have always been very vocal about one important laptop fact. Laptops are moments in time. Laptops are photographs. Laptops are what they are, and that's what they remain until they fail and/or are replaced. You don't swap out the motherboard for something that handles a better processor and the newest kind of Ram. You don't make relatively inexpensive upgrades to keep it relevant. Laptops are built to be replaced.
Companies like HP have even taken advantage of the fact that we are creatures of habit. They released a desktop line that uses a laptop power adapter, and doesn't have any expansion slots. You can't put in a video card, or a PCI capture card... there are USB ports, and fake impressions in the case that look like expansion slots... but there is basically a laptop motherboard in a desktop case. A laptop, without a battery and screen that you can connect to any monitor. Not some little cute thing, but a full sized case.
See the power adapter port down at the bottom right? See how the "expansion" slots aren't even holes? See how there is a cooling fan, but no power supply? It is the size of a desktop, with absolutely NONE of the benefits of a desktop... and people buy these at the same price they can purchase an equivalently powered laptop. Think about that. Really let that sink in. They look at this, they look at a laptop. Virtually same specs and price.... and they pick this. Why? Creatures of habit.
HP saw that, and made a product to prove the point.
There will always be desktops. The numbers might drop, and what is inside them might change, but there will always be desktops.
I can't answer this question specifically but I can give you some guidance:
Laptop Advantages Vs Desktop
- Portability - easy to move, work in more than one place
2. Work when there is no mains power
3. Rugged, are designed to be bumped
4. Pre-integrated by the manufacture so all parts work together - but you are very limited as to your choices.
Laptop Disadvantages Vs Desktop
- Uncomfortable to work on for long periods - can add external monitor keyboard and mouse but that increases the cost even more.
- Expensive - up to twice the price for the base unit
- Very hard to upgrade - can't replace parts for bette
I can't answer this question specifically but I can give you some guidance:
Laptop Advantages Vs Desktop
- Portability - easy to move, work in more than one place
2. Work when there is no mains power
3. Rugged, are designed to be bumped
4. Pre-integrated by the manufacture so all parts work together - but you are very limited as to your choices.
Laptop Disadvantages Vs Desktop
- Uncomfortable to work on for long periods - can add external monitor keyboard and mouse but that increases the cost even more.
- Expensive - up to twice the price for the base unit
- Very hard to upgrade - can't replace parts for better performance , can't add capacity, limited connectivity
- Less reliable - Small size means there are overheating problems, bumping/dropping laptop damages parts inside and shortens life
Conclusion
Is portability important to you? Maybe get a desktop and a tablet/iPad???
- Set the laptop computer containing the CPU on top of your desk.
- Plug in whatever peripherals you (monitor, keyboard, etc.) desire into the laptop.
Modern laptop CPUs are designed to be installed permanently, soldered, onto a motherboard specifically designed for them. Nobody makes those motherboards except as part of a complete laptop computer. They’re not exchangeable with other CPUs.
Personally, I prefer at least a 15.6″ screen with a 1080p resolution. It’s easier on my eyes without needing reading glasses with most font sizes.
With smaller laptops, the keyboard might be too small for typing, especially for those who have stubby fingers.
The base may be too small to rest between your legs while traveling without any fear of an accidental drop when you move your knees out a little. Taller people might have to move their legs frequently to feel comfortable and the smaller laptops might be a big hindrance.
Aside from the issues above, most performance and battery issues are most
Personally, I prefer at least a 15.6″ screen with a 1080p resolution. It’s easier on my eyes without needing reading glasses with most font sizes.
With smaller laptops, the keyboard might be too small for typing, especially for those who have stubby fingers.
The base may be too small to rest between your legs while traveling without any fear of an accidental drop when you move your knees out a little. Taller people might have to move their legs frequently to feel comfortable and the smaller laptops might be a big hindrance.
Aside from the issues above, most performance and battery issues are mostly addressed by your fat wallet already, so, nothing more to worry about if you could afford a smaller, thinner, lighter, sleeker laptop!
So... what EXACTLY are you asking.
Are you asking if you can build a wooden box that is roughly the size of your laptop, and if you can take the components out of the laptop case and put them in this wooden box? Yes. You can design custom mounts, and come up with a system that would allow you to mount the motherboard to any surface.... providing you've got a drill, a screw tap, and some standoffs.
Are you asking if you can strip the components out of a laptop, and have them mount right up into a desktop case? No. That won't work. I mean.. I'm sure you can come up with a custom mount system
So... what EXACTLY are you asking.
Are you asking if you can build a wooden box that is roughly the size of your laptop, and if you can take the components out of the laptop case and put them in this wooden box? Yes. You can design custom mounts, and come up with a system that would allow you to mount the motherboard to any surface.... providing you've got a drill, a screw tap, and some standoffs.
Are you asking if you can strip the components out of a laptop, and have them mount right up into a desktop case? No. That won't work. I mean.. I'm sure you can come up with a custom mount system and build it into the case, and mount your motherboard to your custom mounts... but the USB ports won't line up with the rear panel, you'll need to jury-rig some kind of extension for the optical drive... some kind of mounting system for the hard drive...
So is it possible to build a custom case of some sort for the components inside a laptop case? Of course.
Why would you bother? You could just leave them in the laptop casing, and use the laptop on an external monitor with an external keyboard and mouse. Voila! Instant desktop, no custom case needed.
Hell you could just build a box big enough for the laptop. Put the whole laptop in the box. No custom mounting, and you've got your laptop in a "desktop" case.
Quantify the difference no, but you can qualify the difference, and both are horrible. Laptops have a portability factor that increases their cost, so if a laptop and a desktop cost the same, the desktop is significantly more powerful than the laptop. This is because the components in the laptop are much cheaper, for example, the laptop might have an intel integrated graphics chip, where the desktop has a lowend ATI graphics card. Same for RAM, laptop gets cheaper bulk buy unbranded modules, the desktop has more PNY modules.
Ultimately the quality of your computer experience on the laptop is go
Quantify the difference no, but you can qualify the difference, and both are horrible. Laptops have a portability factor that increases their cost, so if a laptop and a desktop cost the same, the desktop is significantly more powerful than the laptop. This is because the components in the laptop are much cheaper, for example, the laptop might have an intel integrated graphics chip, where the desktop has a lowend ATI graphics card. Same for RAM, laptop gets cheaper bulk buy unbranded modules, the desktop has more PNY modules.
Ultimately the quality of your computer experience on the laptop is going to be significantly less than that of the desktop, if they both cost the same price.
There are two use cases for a “desktop experience”, or working in one place constantly: Gaming or productivity.
Between the two, gaming has a far higher price of entry on mobile computing. I’ll try cover both for you.
Productivity:
Productivity involves working with every day applications such as Office, Quickbooks or other sorts of software which require number crunching. Office 2016 for example works well well on most computers. As your needs scale, so to do your processing demands. Excel documents can begin as rudimentary formulas and end up at massive data crunchers which eat massive amounts
There are two use cases for a “desktop experience”, or working in one place constantly: Gaming or productivity.
Between the two, gaming has a far higher price of entry on mobile computing. I’ll try cover both for you.
Productivity:
Productivity involves working with every day applications such as Office, Quickbooks or other sorts of software which require number crunching. Office 2016 for example works well well on most computers. As your needs scale, so to do your processing demands. Excel documents can begin as rudimentary formulas and end up at massive data crunchers which eat massive amounts of memory, processor and sometimes graphics power. The trick is this: know how much you might scale up.
I’m currently testing one of these. Specs:
Core i5 7500U [Dual core] - More cores mean more performance
8GB DDR4 memory
250gb SSD
500gb mechanical hard disk
NVIDIA M150 Graphics
It’s higher end than most laptops you’ll see. Cost of entry is around $919. You’ll get away with some gaming, good amounts of productivity work and some 3D rendering.
You also get 6 hours of battery life on average, and more mobility and multitasking than you can shake an operations officer at.
The question is, do you need this?
If your answer is yes then great. Now let’s look at cost. If you can afford $919 (that’s the Core i5 version, slower than the Core i7 version), then great - you get the best of both worlds in terms of processing power and mobility.
The same desktop PC, with similar specs running with better graphics hardware:
The specs are better:
Intel Core i5 7th Gen 7400 (3.00 GHz) [Quad core] - Cores mean better performance, by the way.
12 GB DDR4
1 TB HDD 128 GB M.2 SSD
Windows 10 Home 64-Bit
No Screen
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB GDDR5
It also sells at a smaller price of $899.
So at this point you’re saying, “Well, this is more or less the same right. Both have GPUs for some kind of gaming, both have decent amounts of RAM and the processors are more or less the same except that the laptop is smaller and more mobile and I can’t move the desktop.” (that was me speaking as you, forgive me if I turned you into a geek for no good reason).
Let’s sum it up.
Desktop:
- Higher processing power, more cores.
- RAM is cheaper and therefore easier to upgrade
- More upgradeable than a laptop
- Consumes more electricity
- Requires a screen to work (or two, as you indicated)
- Has separate mouse and keyboard (both upgradeable)
- Can’t be moved easily
- Has no built-in battery for power loss
- Lower cost of entry for performance parts
Laptop:
- Slower processing power, less cores
- RAM is harder to upgrade and way less slots
- Far less upgradeable (only hard disk and memory in most cases)
- Consumes FAR less electricity than a desktop
- Has a screen built in, (so you buy a second to work with)
- You undock for meetings and then plug back in when needed
- Has a battery to run without mains (in case of power failure)
- Higher cost of entry when looking at higher performance parts
TL;DR:
For higher performance and cheaper entry cost, but no mobility go desktop. For less performance, higher price but better mobility go laptop. You can easily build a PC for heavier work such as video editing or 3D rendering, and it’d cost you even less with second hand parts. However, your power bill will go up if you go desktop.
Remember also, laptop processors (the core i5 and i7) have lower voltages and less cores - making them consume less electricity and not perform as well as their desktop counter parts.
So, for a sitting experience as an office worker, assess your needs. If you have meetings and need to demonstrate things that a tablet won’t do - a laptop may be a necessity. If you simply require a workhorse to do your work at home, with online meetings you’d be better off with a desktop.
It depends on what I am doing, where I am and my mood too. If I am at work, I use the proper workstation that I have set up for work. This is what my work from home setup looks like.
If I am casually checking on something or writing on Quora perhaps, I use the laptop. At times, when I am feeling too lazy or exhausted to sit and work in front of the desktop computer, I switch from desktop to laptop and from chair to the bed.
When I am taking a vacation and required to work, I bring only my lapto...
Definitely a desktop. A laptop sacrifices a ton of specifications for the sake of portability. For example: with $1000 you can get a good all-round laptop like the Dell XPS 13, or a decent gaming laptop like the Dell Inspiron 7567 Gaming.
With that budget, I tried to make a desktop build: System Build - Ryzen 5 1500X 3.5GHz Quad-Core, Radeon RX 570 4GB Gamin... - PCPartPicker It includes Windows and a decent budget monitor, and leaves $100 for mouse and keyboard.
This computer simply crushes both laptops. Certainly the 4c/8t CPU is a monster compared to its low-power laptop variants. Only drawba
Definitely a desktop. A laptop sacrifices a ton of specifications for the sake of portability. For example: with $1000 you can get a good all-round laptop like the Dell XPS 13, or a decent gaming laptop like the Dell Inspiron 7567 Gaming.
With that budget, I tried to make a desktop build: System Build - Ryzen 5 1500X 3.5GHz Quad-Core, Radeon RX 570 4GB Gamin... - PCPartPicker It includes Windows and a decent budget monitor, and leaves $100 for mouse and keyboard.
This computer simply crushes both laptops. Certainly the 4c/8t CPU is a monster compared to its low-power laptop variants. Only drawback is that you can’t take it around.
Advantages of desktops:
- Cheaper initially (for a given level of performance)
- Cheaper over their lifetime (due to easy repairs and upgrades)
- Quieter (large fans can spin slowly while moving the same amount of air; laptops tend to sound like jet engines under load, you basically need to wear hearing protection)
- More ergonomic (won’t hurt your neck and back and hands)
- Better for the environment (again, easy repairs, and even when they finally end up on the garbage dump, they only have a very small watch battery inside)
Advantages of laptops:
- Easy to carry with you (mobility)
How are you defining ‘Use as a desktop’?
Attach to an external display/keyboard/mouse?
Sure. I’m doing so right now. The keyboard, mouse and monitor have no idea (and really don’t care) that what they are attached do. it doesn’t even restrict my ability to use my laptop as a laptop. The laptops GPU is more than up to the job of running a 4K screen. The laptop is powered by the monitor and my keyboard and mouse are bluetooth so I just need to unplug the power and walk away.
Run video games on it (or other demanding applications)?
Sure, but it will cost more than a desktop that could run the same ga
How are you defining ‘Use as a desktop’?
Attach to an external display/keyboard/mouse?
Sure. I’m doing so right now. The keyboard, mouse and monitor have no idea (and really don’t care) that what they are attached do. it doesn’t even restrict my ability to use my laptop as a laptop. The laptops GPU is more than up to the job of running a 4K screen. The laptop is powered by the monitor and my keyboard and mouse are bluetooth so I just need to unplug the power and walk away.
Run video games on it (or other demanding applications)?
Sure, but it will cost more than a desktop that could run the same games at the same quality. It also has a lower ceiling (top of the range desktops are better than top of the range laptops). But for a good chunk of the centre ground you can spend more money and buy just as powerful laptop.
Upgrade it?
A few laptops are upgradable but they are expensive and rare. You can also get external upgrades for some systems (like a eGPU) but they are quite expensive and take a performance hit.
Kind of. There have been standard ATX motherboards that, either directly or through some kind of adapter, could be used with laptop CPUs (apparently this was popular with people that wanted to use the Pentium M in their desktops, near the end of the Pentium 4 days).
Today, I’m not so sure about just normal motherboards, but some more specialized ones do exist:
Problem is, on most laptops the CPU is soldered, not socketed. So good luck taking it out…
Although I guess you could just also rip out the entire motherboard from the laptop, and try to fit it somehow in a case, and try to somehow make the
Kind of. There have been standard ATX motherboards that, either directly or through some kind of adapter, could be used with laptop CPUs (apparently this was popular with people that wanted to use the Pentium M in their desktops, near the end of the Pentium 4 days).
Today, I’m not so sure about just normal motherboards, but some more specialized ones do exist:
Problem is, on most laptops the CPU is soldered, not socketed. So good luck taking it out…
Although I guess you could just also rip out the entire motherboard from the laptop, and try to fit it somehow in a case, and try to somehow make the ports line up and stuff, but, it will be ugly - that’s why standards like ATX exist, to make stuff fit together, but laptops don’t follow that, with them everything is custom.
I use my desktop for things that require (or benefit from) desktop computing power. I have a laptop for instances where I need mobility... or I want to write from the comfort of my bed because it's cozy.
I'd never use a laptop for my 3D Graphics work... and I tend to prefer my desktop with it's multi-monitor setup for Photoshop and bunches of other things I do.
But that's me. I'm not you. What you need a computer to do could be entirely different. Maybe you don't find utility in one. Maybe, outside of gaming, your computing needs are light weight enough that a MacBook Pro can handle them. If th
I use my desktop for things that require (or benefit from) desktop computing power. I have a laptop for instances where I need mobility... or I want to write from the comfort of my bed because it's cozy.
I'd never use a laptop for my 3D Graphics work... and I tend to prefer my desktop with it's multi-monitor setup for Photoshop and bunches of other things I do.
But that's me. I'm not you. What you need a computer to do could be entirely different. Maybe you don't find utility in one. Maybe, outside of gaming, your computing needs are light weight enough that a MacBook Pro can handle them. If that's the case, then maybe a desktop isn't something you really need.
As in all things, what you need depends on what kind of user you are and what you want to do with a computer.
I use my HP business notebook PC with 4 GB RAM as my main computer for my small business. I don’t need a desktop PC and have not had one for many years.
I have a Samsung 128 GB SSD which is fast and rugged and not affected if I bump my PC while traveling. I use Samsung 128 GB USB mini flash drives for local backup.
I have a built-in battery, so I can operate in my vehicle or in the field or at a coffee shop. I also have a 1200-watt power inverter and a 12 volt deep-cycle marine battery so I can operate during a power outage or off the grid.
I don’t need a high speed graphics processor for my busi
I use my HP business notebook PC with 4 GB RAM as my main computer for my small business. I don’t need a desktop PC and have not had one for many years.
I have a Samsung 128 GB SSD which is fast and rugged and not affected if I bump my PC while traveling. I use Samsung 128 GB USB mini flash drives for local backup.
I have a built-in battery, so I can operate in my vehicle or in the field or at a coffee shop. I also have a 1200-watt power inverter and a 12 volt deep-cycle marine battery so I can operate during a power outage or off the grid.
I don’t need a high speed graphics processor for my business. I don’t need big hard drives with multi-terabyte storage.
You can buy a refurbished notebook PC on eBay from reputable seller for $200. Add RAM and SSD as needed. If you don’t need the desktop PC, you can sell it, or keep it as a backup. If you only have one PC, what happens if it breaks or you get a virus?
I have a refurbished notebook PC as a clone backup, in case my main PC breaks.
Buy a computer that suits your needs, usage and budget.
Seeing as this is a Dell Inspiron 17 R Special Edition (as mentioned in the comments of your question, you have a dedicated graphics card, but more importantly it also has USB 3.0 and USB 3.1.
You can but you should not swap out the graphics card. Laptops are horrid at cooling themselves, it’s one of their major downfalls. That said, if you were to swap out graphics for something more powerful 3 things can potentially happen. 1) The newer graphics card can naturally run hotter making it harder for your computer to cool itself. 2) The ventilation for the new card may not align with the ventilati
Seeing as this is a Dell Inspiron 17 R Special Edition (as mentioned in the comments of your question, you have a dedicated graphics card, but more importantly it also has USB 3.0 and USB 3.1.
You can but you should not swap out the graphics card. Laptops are horrid at cooling themselves, it’s one of their major downfalls. That said, if you were to swap out graphics for something more powerful 3 things can potentially happen. 1) The newer graphics card can naturally run hotter making it harder for your computer to cool itself. 2) The ventilation for the new card may not align with the ventilation of the laptop as well as the graphics card may be the wrong dimensions. 3) The new card may consume more power than the computer can supply forcing it to not function properly if at all.
If you’re replacing the card with a like model it’s not a big deal, but to swap it for something different, you can quickly run into lots of problems.
But your laptop has USB 3.0 and 3.1 ports which is a great alternative to that pesky GPU problem in my last paragraph. Many manufactures are coming out with external graphics card enclosures for laptops. These will allow you to connect desktop grade graphics cards with your laptop, and those you will lose some performance, it will allow you to increase the amount of graphic processing power as a whole. Originally external graphics cards looked something like this…
but development continued, so now it’s looks a bit like this…
The Razer Blade Stealth/Razer Core is probably one of the most well known, but there’s also the Alienware 13/Alienware Amplifier, Asus ROG XG, MSI Gaming 27XT, and a few others. These connect to your laptop via USB 3.0, 3.1, Type-C, and a couple Apple proprietary ports as well. You’d need to invest in one of these enclosures as well as desktop graphics card and a monitor of some sort. Also, I previously mentioned this, but I’ll say it again. Expect a small drop in power with this design. That is to say you may get 75fps with a desktop GPU in a desktop, but with the enclosure you may drop to 70fps with the same game. Ultimately it gets you that boost in graphics performance than you originally had with your laptop, but that is one of the cons
From there, grab yourself a mouse and keyboard and have at it.
Assuming your laptop has enough power to work as an effective enough desktop replacement, you’d likely want to start off with a docking station of some sort. Connect your laptop to that so it has a main hub and/or adequate airflow. From there, you’d want a monitor, keyboard, and mouse to complete the setup. If your laptop has enough power, consider a multi-display adapter to give yourself multiple monitors if desired.
Whether or not you use your laptop as a monitor as well will also dictate which dock you incorporate. But if you notice, most laptop setups that are being used to replace a desk
Assuming your laptop has enough power to work as an effective enough desktop replacement, you’d likely want to start off with a docking station of some sort. Connect your laptop to that so it has a main hub and/or adequate airflow. From there, you’d want a monitor, keyboard, and mouse to complete the setup. If your laptop has enough power, consider a multi-display adapter to give yourself multiple monitors if desired.
Whether or not you use your laptop as a monitor as well will also dictate which dock you incorporate. But if you notice, most laptop setups that are being used to replace a desktop have docks so all your peripherals would plug directly into the dock.
To be more specific would depend on your specific laptop and what type of work you plan to complete with the setup.
Windows 10 required following minimum system specifications.
- Processor: 1GHz or faster or SoC
- RAM: 1GB (32bit) and 2GB (64bit)
- HDD space: 16GB (32bit) and 20GB (64bit)
- Graphics card: DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver
- Display: 800X600.
If your system satisfying above mentioned specifications, you can go for upgrade.
Windows 10 has following advantage compared to previous versions (Windows Vista, 7, 8).
- START MENU is back with more features..!! Windows 8 abandoned classic start menu but Windows 10 bring it back. Windows 10 combined both classical Start menu and Tiles introduced in Windows 8.
- Multip
Windows 10 required following minimum system specifications.
- Processor: 1GHz or faster or SoC
- RAM: 1GB (32bit) and 2GB (64bit)
- HDD space: 16GB (32bit) and 20GB (64bit)
- Graphics card: DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver
- Display: 800X600.
If your system satisfying above mentioned specifications, you can go for upgrade.
Windows 10 has following advantage compared to previous versions (Windows Vista, 7, 8).
- START MENU is back with more features..!! Windows 8 abandoned classic start menu but Windows 10 bring it back. Windows 10 combined both classical Start menu and Tiles introduced in Windows 8.
- Multiple desktop. Windows 10, user can add or remove multiple desktop environment.
- Improved Task view: Task View spreads out all your processes and running applications, even across multiple desktops, so you can easily move between active programs.
- Improved Command Prompt: This improvements are for developers and power users.
- Improved user interface. UI improved in terms of appearance, personalization and customization of application.
- Cortana: a personalised digital assistant… New feature in Windows 10. Cortana is a voice-activated personal assistant. Siri for Windows.
- Continuum: easily connect and work between your PC and Windows mobile devices. Windows 10 has a feature called Continuum which knows which device you're using and switches the user interface to make it suitable for PCs, 2-in-1 devices, tablets, or even turns your phone into a PC
- Built-in One Drive
- Windows Store: free and paid apps, games and entertainment content available to download
- Revised File Explorer and icon
- Improved searching (files)
You can have just a laptop which goes with you whenever you travel. The rest of the time while at home, just use your laptop in what I call a “LAPDESK” (laptop in a desktop-like mode) configuration.
In this configuration, your laptop is connected to an external monitor (you can invest in a good high resolution and screen size). If your laptop supports it, you can even go with multiple monitors. Your laptop is also connected to an external full-sized keyboard and a mouse and maybe even good external speakers and your printer/scanner. You can connect any number of external drives for storage.
If y
You can have just a laptop which goes with you whenever you travel. The rest of the time while at home, just use your laptop in what I call a “LAPDESK” (laptop in a desktop-like mode) configuration.
In this configuration, your laptop is connected to an external monitor (you can invest in a good high resolution and screen size). If your laptop supports it, you can even go with multiple monitors. Your laptop is also connected to an external full-sized keyboard and a mouse and maybe even good external speakers and your printer/scanner. You can connect any number of external drives for storage.
If you move your laptop frequently, then I recommend that you buy a good laptop docking station or a port-replicator and eliminate connecting and disconnecting all your external components described above including your laptop power adapter.
Finally, deploy a good power-saving scheme where display and monitors automatically turn off after a period of inactivity and your laptop either goes into sleep mode or hibernation. Also, disconnect your power at night to extend the battery life of your laptop!
Unless you anticipate and enjoy upgrading your desktop with the latest CPU, motherboard, GPU and storage drives, the days of needing a desktop purely for normal usage are over!
So, use your money wisely towards making your laptop the only computing device you will need both at home and on the road!
My Laptop:
2017 Mac Book Air
Pro’s
-Light
-Reasonable Conectivity
-Good Keyboard
-Magnetic Charger
Cons:
-Very less storage ( 128gb)
-Low quality Video Camera
-Has become rather slow
-Expensive
My Computer:
Pro’s
-Built by Me
-Good Storage: 1TB HDD
-RGB Light Up
-Has a Designated GPU
-Fast
-Good 1080p Screen
-Really Good connectivity
-Gives Bragging Rights
-Was Cheap to build
Cons:
-No camera
-No Portability
It's possible and doesn't cost much besides your free time.
- Learn to use the free software Autodesk Fusion 360
- Disassemble your notebook via YouTube guide. Search for model name disassembly
- Measure the mainboard and try to model it's shape and screw holes in Fusion 360
- Design a case as you wish. Consider soldering wires for the power on button or arrange existing parts into your new case design. Don't forget to buy standouts for the mainboard
- Buy a large cheap reality 3d printer and print the case parts or just manufacture the case with hand tools
- Consider the WiFi antenna cables. Those are hidden i
It's possible and doesn't cost much besides your free time.
- Learn to use the free software Autodesk Fusion 360
- Disassemble your notebook via YouTube guide. Search for model name disassembly
- Measure the mainboard and try to model it's shape and screw holes in Fusion 360
- Design a case as you wish. Consider soldering wires for the power on button or arrange existing parts into your new case design. Don't forget to buy standouts for the mainboard
- Buy a large cheap reality 3d printer and print the case parts or just manufacture the case with hand tools
- Consider the WiFi antenna cables. Those are hidden inside your notebook screen and are required to get good WiFi signal. Also consider cooling. Reuse the cooler in your design or repurpose a desktop cooler. Passive tower cooler would probably work if you make sure to install a case fan to transport the heat away. Depends on your cpus tdp. You cold also use alloy for the case and connect it directly to the cpu with a graphite thermal pad in between. The case itself would become a massive cooler
You can find some inspiration on Thingiverse - Digital Designs for Physical Objects and YouTube.
First thing First No Software going to run smoothly if there is low Performance Hardware.
Now,come to reinstall of windows.
It's all wrong to say that New Fresh Install of Windows will give you better performance,it may possible that there might be slightly increase in Performance but saying that there will be improved performance is all wrong.
Now,Windows might be slow because of outdated or unavailability of some important Drivers you must update all the Drivers of the System after Installation.
Other things that be the reason of being slow Systems are Auto Startup Program or Processes that are
First thing First No Software going to run smoothly if there is low Performance Hardware.
Now,come to reinstall of windows.
It's all wrong to say that New Fresh Install of Windows will give you better performance,it may possible that there might be slightly increase in Performance but saying that there will be improved performance is all wrong.
Now,Windows might be slow because of outdated or unavailability of some important Drivers you must update all the Drivers of the System after Installation.
Other things that be the reason of being slow Systems are Auto Startup Program or Processes that are actually not of Use but starts automatically when system starts and keep eating a lot of RAM and all thoes unwanted background processes which makes the System even more slow...
Hello,
Laptops and desktop computers have many things in common, but let's focus on what makes them different.
A desktop computer is much bigger, heavier, and must always be connected to the mains, so it must stay in one place. A laptop, on the other hand, has a battery that allows it to be used even when it is not plugged in. They are light and small, which allows them to be carried everywhere.
In a laptop, the keyboard, monitor, and computer case are all combined in one. In desktop computers, the monitor, mouse, and keyboard are separate from the main computer case.
I hope this helped you. Have
Hello,
Laptops and desktop computers have many things in common, but let's focus on what makes them different.
A desktop computer is much bigger, heavier, and must always be connected to the mains, so it must stay in one place. A laptop, on the other hand, has a battery that allows it to be used even when it is not plugged in. They are light and small, which allows them to be carried everywhere.
In a laptop, the keyboard, monitor, and computer case are all combined in one. In desktop computers, the monitor, mouse, and keyboard are separate from the main computer case.
I hope this helped you. Have a nice day!
Thanks for A2A.
Windows 10 is a smaller Kernel than Windows 7, so it should run faster. However, there are certain features lingering in Windows 10 from the much-maligned 8 & 8.1 that are helping to slow your computer down.
When you press the Start button, see all those tiles that are giving you live updates of the Weather, News and MSN etc.? Right click, disable, then right click and remove. You’ve just freed up your CPU and your internet bandwidth.
Now go into your Control Panel and click on System:
Now click on Advanced system settings:
Now select the Advanced tab and click on Performance Settin
Thanks for A2A.
Windows 10 is a smaller Kernel than Windows 7, so it should run faster. However, there are certain features lingering in Windows 10 from the much-maligned 8 & 8.1 that are helping to slow your computer down.
When you press the Start button, see all those tiles that are giving you live updates of the Weather, News and MSN etc.? Right click, disable, then right click and remove. You’ve just freed up your CPU and your internet bandwidth.
Now go into your Control Panel and click on System:
Now click on Advanced system settings:
Now select the Advanced tab and click on Performance Settings:
Select Adjust for best performance:
Then OK your way back. This will free up many more CPU resources. Back in your Control Panel select Indexing Options:
Click Modify:
Uncheck all boxes and press OK:
Then click Advanced, and uncheck all boxes then click Rebuild:
This will reduce the “Index” to the smallest amount of space possible. I have never observed any advantage from having “Indexing” turned on. OK your way back.
Going a step further, open “This PC”.
Right click on a drive and select Properties. In the General tab uncheck the indexing box. Unless you’re really hard up for disc space, uncheck the compression box too and click Apply:
Select all subfolders and click OK:
Click Continue for Administrator permission.
Should you get this error (swapfile), click Ignore All as some other files that are currently in use may trigger the same error:
This can take a little time to complete, but it clears more of the indexing junk from the drive. Repeat for each drive on your system.
If you care to search the net on other methods of optimising Windows 10, you will find lists of “services” (services.msc) that can be disabled as well. This is all aimed at freeing up your CPU so that it can execute applications instead of being pre-occupied with unnecessary operating system overheads.
Yes. At the most basic, and assuming it’s a SATA drive, you just plug it it. In all likelihood you’ll also want to get an adapter to properly mount the drive so it’s not flopping around loosely in your case. There are a number of forms that the adapters can take but the most basic is just some bits of metal you attach to the 2.5″ drive that effectively makes it 3.5″’s wide and can now be screwed into your case like a standard desktop sized drive.
An example of a basic bracket/adapter
Rosewill RDRD-11004 2.5" SSD / HDD Mounting Kit for 3.5" Drive Bay - Newegg.com
or you can search for “2.5 to 3.5
Yes. At the most basic, and assuming it’s a SATA drive, you just plug it it. In all likelihood you’ll also want to get an adapter to properly mount the drive so it’s not flopping around loosely in your case. There are a number of forms that the adapters can take but the most basic is just some bits of metal you attach to the 2.5″ drive that effectively makes it 3.5″’s wide and can now be screwed into your case like a standard desktop sized drive.
An example of a basic bracket/adapter
Rosewill RDRD-11004 2.5" SSD / HDD Mounting Kit for 3.5" Drive Bay - Newegg.com
or you can search for “2.5 to 3.5 drive adapter” in your search/store of choice.
If you just want to access the data, there are also USB adapters. They’re not as nice for long term access, but to pull data from a friends/family/customer’s computer the convenience is nice.
It depends on what state your computer is in when you uninstalled it. I suspect that your computer works and windows just identifies it as a generic video device.
If you are indeed on windows there might be an AMD folder on your main drive. In it would have shbfolders with various versions of the driver. You can search around for executables in there.
Return to the device manager and try to install the latest driver automatically. It would likely find it.
If you can't find it then go to the AMD website and search for the driver that matches your device.