Laptop vs Desktop for University/study abroad?

At the moment I have a desktop that I use pretty much all the time but it's getting a little old and I'm thinking about getting a new PC. Only problem is I'll be going to university next September, and don't know if it's a good idea to lug a desktop to university and back, especially as I live near London and want to study outside of London (so could be 4hr drive etc). So I'm not sure if a laptop would be a wiser choice. Either way I'll be bringing my monitor/speakers for games.

I'm also going to be studying abroad this summer for 8 weeks as part of my gap year, and I don't know if it's 100% necessary to have a laptop for this, or whether I could survive with my phone and access to the school's computer room. Plus I'm not 100% sure if my accommodation will have wi-fi, if not it'll be ethernet and so no laptop = no internet at home.

I can only afford a desktop or a laptop, so would appreciate any advice on what to get! Thanks

I would definitely go for a laptop, if you're buying a new one anyway, you can get a decent gaming laptop for about £500 and you'll be able to take it to lectures/library etc and its much easier to get it too/from uni when travelling home, take it from someone who's done both.

Hello,

A laptop is always going to be the winner when it comes to travelling because a desktop is typically a mighty weight and size.

If you want to buy a desktop due to price/performance then you could always see if there are cases that have handles for transport and that are a smaller size. An example of a portable desktop would be this Mini desktop. The main issue would be bringing the screen along with you but it means you'll get more bang for your buck for the computer specifications itself.

If you find yourself traveling quite a bit and want something to be a bit of a jack of all trades machine I would personally recommend a slightly more expensive laptop. Have a look at this laptop (currently on offer).

I hope this helps

Patrick

Thank you! I actually quite like the idea of a mini desktop, so I'll be looking into that especially since I'm likely to bring my monitor anyways. Unfortunately that laptop is a little too expensive for me, I'm looking hopefully for sub £500