As a preface, let’s just say that this article was not written for advertising or hype. I am not a committed member of any camp, but rather an impartial one who seeks and offers the right solution 🙂
A typical example: spring, epidemic, quarantine, child(ren) at home in distance learning, parent or both parents at home in telecommuting. This assumes the use of a minimum of 2, but up to 3 or 4 devices in parallel (depending on the size of the family). Also among my friends, the problem arose, among other things, that the home equipment had to be expanded. What can be done then? A shopping campaign similar to the Christmas fever has begun, targeting department stores where such a device is (also) potentially available.
Looking at the selection, the question arose, “which one should we buy?”.
The first question that arises is whether to buy a laptop or a desktop computer. Many people are averse to laptops because there is a widespread belief that if it breaks down, it is costly (or not economical) to repair and not very expandable. Well, this is not true in this form, because in the event of a desktop PC motherboard failure, we face the same problem – then, luckily, “only” the motherboard needs to be replaced, in the worst case, the processor and memory go wrong (and it can be replaced). I have to say that, just like with a desktop computer, laptops don’t tend to break down quickly. Fortunately, thanks to today’s manufacturing technology and the methods used by the manufacturers, long-lasting and reliable devices are coming out of the tape. The exception, of course, is if we “drink” the laptop with cocoa or if our pet pushes the monitor off the table. My personal and professional opinion is that there is no difference in reliability between laptops and desktops.
A desktop computer is faster than a laptop. Well, that’s definitely not true – if you have the same or possibly faster hardware in your laptop, your desktop will perform worse. Which makes anyone think that the desktop is more or better than its portable counterpart, is wrong.
However, it is important to point out an important fact, and that is that the desktop PC can be expanded in many ways.
In the case of the former, the larger size stems more from the possibility of expandability. More connectors, more ports have been placed on the motherboard in order to accommodate an extra 2-3 expansion cards. You may want to choose a desktop computer if you want to use 2 or 3 video cards later (e.g. for video editing or gaming), you need 2-3 or more mass storage devices because you work with a lot of data. These can all be placed in the housing of most PCs.
Of course, this possibility is only significant if we want to live with it. If you’re satisfied with the performance you can provide without any kind of expansion, it virtually doesn’t matter if you can expand or not. When we think of “what will happen next,” there’s really no reason for none of the devices, since laptops can receive a number of extra devices through a USB port. For example, different (even professional category!) Sound cards can be purchased in the same way in USB and internal (expansion card) designs. The same goes for various digitizers, network cards.
Thanks to the USB-C connector, which is also found on almost all laptops, we can even connect external drives to our machine so that its speed will be practically the same as the internal drive. You can use multiple displays and even an external video card through the same port. In short, the possibilities are endless.
There are two important facts about a laptop – less space and mobility. While the desktop case, monitor, mouse, keyboard needs a smaller desk space, the laptop can fit in an A / 4 paper space. Its thickness doesn’t even go over the size of a 200-page book, and their weight is under 2 pounds.
If someone doesn’t care about these two aspects, i.e. you don’t travel and always like to work in a well-used place, you can feel free to buy a desktop machine.
Summarizing the above:
Desktop PC
pros:
- can be expanded in many ways
- variable screen, mouse and keyboard according customer needs
- the screen can be easily replaced to bigger
- in many cases the easier repair and lower costs
cons:
- not so mobile
- consumes more electric power
- takes up more space at desktop/workspace
Laptop:
pros:
- mobile
- energy saving
- compact/small size
- quiet
cons:
- limited expansibility
- higher repair costs, limited repairibility
- less connection methods
The question may arise as to whether it is intentional that I have listed the same advantages and disadvantages for both points. Yes, since the decision must be subjective, we must make an individual decision based on the listed advantages and disadvantages.
Let’s not even go by the fact that having a computer doesn’t even mean that we go home and use it on our own.
You need an operating system, which in most cases is Windows. Nowadays, a version of Windows 10 is available, in many cases pre-installed on the purchased device. In this case, all you have to do is enter some data after the first turn on and you can start using your new device.
There are also cases when the manufacturer only includes a free operating system, such as FreeDOS. It is a very basic system, not suitable for more serious work, it has some file management commands. Then we need to buy a separate Windows license and we can have the computer installed. You can get it where we buy the PC or order it from a web store.
It’s important to talk about another important player in the market, Macs. Apple offers a laptop (MacBook) and a desktop computer (Mac Mini and iMac). Whichever one you choose will be easy, as they all come pre-installed with MacOS, and like Windows, you can take possession of our latest creation after providing some information.
The difference between a Mac Mini and an iMac is that the Mac Mini is a tiny computer that requires a keyboard, mouse, and monitor to use — but they are optional. An iMac should be thought of as a large monitor with a computer built into it. They come with a keyboard and mouse so they don’t have to be purchased separately.
Many people are averse to them because of the goods on the one hand and the usability on the other. The price is yes, it can be double that of another brand of hardware with the same hardware configuration. This price difference is due to the brand name on the one hand and the assembly on the other. The housing of most devices is e.g. they are made of brushed aluminum, which makes them much more durable and resistant to plastic housing devices. It may cost twice or three times as much as a similar model, but we can expect to be able to take advantage of its capabilities twice or three times as long, and the value stability of these models is also better.