The Student Room Group

Let's get this straight, laptops vs desktops

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Original post by xylas
Ok but compared to the best desktop, you would still choose the best laptop in the world even if it was noisier and had worse thermals?


The best laptop in the world wouldn't match the best desktop in the world, so no. But assuming you mean "desktop as good as the best laptop", then my answer would still depend on how bad the noise/heat issues were, plus battery life. If o couldn't use it without headphones, if I couldn't use it on my lap, or if I only got a couple of hours of battery while gaming (which is pretty standard for high tier gaming laptops) then it pretty much mitigates the advantages the laptop has in the first place- that of being able to use portably. You may as well use a much quieter desktop.
Reply 21
Excellent answer! You have shown in depth knowledge of this subject and I am inclined to agree with you.

In this scenario as you said, you would mostly be using the better peripherals than the inbuilt laptop but if you ever needed portability (even around the house) then this would be an absolute advantage.
Desktop can't warm my scrotum in winter time.
Original post by xylas
Fine, set amount of money £10,000. Don't deny that some people spend that much on computers.


You'd hit a performance ceiling far below that point in laptops. The most powerful laptop GPU configurations currently on the market (GTX 980M SLI and GTX 980 Desktop Edition) are substantially lower tier than the multiple SLI/Crossfire'd Titan/Fury-class desktop GPUs you could cram into a desktop case for this sort of money.
Reply 24
Original post by 999tigger
You have an inability to set a fair question and an inability to read. Its distorted to try and give you the answer you wnat, rather than one discussing the genuine pros and cons or one that has any basis in reality.

Both of them have pros and cons. All you have done is say lets pretend laptops have no cons or lets make sure desktops have no advantages only disadvantges, then which one would people choose? Utterly ridiculous.

I have both, but if I had to choose or rebuy then I know which one to pick.
Someone with different needs may make a different choice.


Original post by 999tigger
Have you got a £10,000 laptop or desktop?


Why so personal? Have I touched a nerve?

Btw I am glad that you gave an honest answer which I thanked you for.
Original post by xylas
Excellent answer! You have shown in depth knowledge of this subject and I am inclined to agree with you.

In this scenario as you said, you would mostly be using the better peripherals than the inbuilt laptop but if you ever needed portability (even around the house) then this would be an absolute advantage.


Arent peripherals on the outside, so they can be used equally with a laptop or a desktop as long as you have enough connectivity?
Reply 26
Original post by xylas
Everything else you said about peripherals, ram, storage etc. is not correct.


No, he has a point actually. There is a decreasing number of laptops where you can upgrade even the storage and ram. And as laptops get smaller & thinner, IO is ever more sacrificed, meaning you can't plug in as many peripherals into your laptop as you can on a desktop. Don't even mention USB hubs, etc because that begins to ruin the portability aspect which is pretty much the only thing going for laptops, which is the option you so clearly want to win.
But for me, desktop all the way. More options for expansion, power and better value. If I needed a portable machine I'd probably actually rather build a mini itx machine than buy an underpowered laptop.
Reply 27
Original post by xylas
If a desktop and a laptop have the same performance which one would you prefer? What reasons would you choose a desktop with worse performance over a laptop?

Don't mention cost in your answers, assume money is infinite.


You clearly want a laptop so just buy one
Reply 29
Ok so you seem to now be saying that the best possible desktop is better than the best possible laptop. That answers everything thank you.



Yeah but think outside the box. SLI gtx 980 (MSI titan) = £4000. For the remainder buy external GPUs, wireless peripherals, monitors etc. and now you've got very similar performance and usability which some people may prefer.
Reply 30
Original post by 999tigger
Arent peripherals on the outside, so they can be used equally with a laptop or a desktop as long as you have enough connectivity?


Exactly, that's why it's not an advantage of desktops as that user was suggesting.

Original post by PTS_99
No, he has a point actually. There is a decreasing number of laptops where you can upgrade even the storage and ram. And as laptops get smaller & thinner, IO is ever more sacrificed, meaning you can't plug in as many peripherals into your laptop as you can on a desktop. Don't even mention USB hubs, etc because that begins to ruin the portability aspect which is pretty much the only thing going for laptops, which is the option you so clearly want to win.
But for me, desktop all the way. More options for expansion, power and better value. If I needed a portable machine I'd probably actually rather build a mini itx machine than buy an underpowered laptop.


I have already discussed this. You could use wireless peripherals and docks. But in any case this is not an advantage of desktops. Also the fattest laptop still has an advantage over any desktop.
Reply 31
Original post by samb1234
You clearly want a laptop so just buy one


Actually it is the majority of TSR users on this forum who want a laptop, I'm still making up my mind while saving up.
Original post by xylas
Ok so basically you're major point in favour of a desktop in this scenario is no battery.

Everything else you said about peripherals, ram, storage etc. is not correct.


It is...You can have multiple hard drives in a desktop. And desktop motherboards generally have more RAM slots, for the most part. What they probably meant was that desktops are more expandable
Original post by xylas
Ok so you seem to now be saying that the best possible desktop is better than the best possible laptop. That answers everything thank you..


Not really. people are saying best is a subjective term. You can use various measures to get there.

It really boils down to which computer meets your particular needs.

A laptop can do things a dektop cannot i.e be portable.
A desktop cna do things a laptop i,e power performance ratio.

You really arent taking on board what people are saying. You would have veen better off by steeing a budget between £500 and £1500 and then asking people what they would buy and why.
Original post by AstroNandos
desktop so I can run cs on 200fps

but seriously this question is flawed as the main factor in deciding between laptop and desktop is cost for performance. The only advantage a laptop really has is portability, so assuming they had the same performance why wouldn't you choose a laptop?

The question should be with a set amount of money, not as much as you can spend tbh


Quick question, have for frames for CS dropped recently by any chance?
Reply 35
Original post by TajwarC
It is...You can have multiple hard drives in a desktop. And desktop motherboards generally have more RAM slots, for the most part. What they probably meant was that desktops are more expandable


Not really, the question is whether you want your expansion on the inside or the outside.
Original post by TajwarC
Quick question, have for frames for CS dropped recently by any chance?


Depends on the map
Original post by xylas
Ok so you seem to now be saying that the best possible desktop is better than the best possible laptop. That answers everything thank you.



Yeah but think outside the box. SLI gtx 980 (MSI titan) = £4000. For the remainder buy external GPUs, wireless peripherals, monitors etc. and now you've got very similar performance and usability which some people may prefer.


That Titan has SLI 980M cards, not desktop grade cards. For around that price you could grab four Titan X graphics cards and an Intel 6700K, the have £6000 left for the rest of the system. The MSI Titan wouldn't be remotely on the same level as something you could put together for £10k.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by samb1234
Depends on the map


Dust II has been a bit strange for me, getting between 220-300 when before it was like 290-300 solid
Original post by xylas
Ok so basically you're major point in favour of a desktop in this scenario is no battery.

Everything else you said about peripherals, ram, storage etc. is not correct.


Why not?

It's true you can just hook up a load of peripherals to a laptop and use that the same way, but thats the purpose of a desktop. Laptops have built in ones which you can't replace.

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