I was having a friendly discussion with someone this morning about PC and Laptops for work/education stuff, he suggested that I could use a chromebook for all this stuff and this would be a good idea and make things easier. I strongly disagreed with this, mainly because I hate laptops, the keyboard and touchpad make me angry and my PC does everything I need. Most things are synced to my phone for the rare times I may want to add something while out and about. So I thought I’d come here and seek other peoples opinions on laptops vs pc your needs? also if you are feeling bored and want to head on over to the survey ive linked and fill in a few questions I can more easily gather data to make into fun graphs, which if the data agrees with me, I can shove it in his face or should I be in the minority I can let him have this win.
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Your choice of vocabulary is a bit odd.
A laptop can be a full fledged computer. Chromebooks are specialty devices that lack the functionality of a standard desktop or laptop computer. I’m not sure if the term “netbook” is still used these days, but that’s how I would describe a Chromebook. It’s not a full laptop.
I prefer a full laptop, not a Chromebook. I am not a power user, so it can run all of the games I play on it just fine (high end modern games will not work obviously). I can take it with me anywhere and it was a lifesaver for note taking in grad school. If I’m traveling, I can just stuff it in my backpack and go.
At home, I keep my laptop connected to a keyboard, mouse, and an additional monitor, giving me dual monitor support. It’s easy to bring that desktop comfort you’re used to to it.
Moved from pc to laptop about a decade ago and I don’t think I could ever go back. It seemed so normal back then to spend all my time in one room at my desk.
But now, yeah I can spend time at the desk and I can even plug the laptop in to external everything and it’s just like having a pc. But ALSO I can laze around on the couch watching TV with my other half while I play Deep Rock Galactic, or I can lounge in the sun in the conservatory and still edit video, or I can pick up and take it on a trip somewhere and still have access to everything I need without having to fiddle with a phone.
The only downside of a laptop is the cost compared to a similar spec pc. But when I think of going back I think of being chained to a desk in that one room and just…nah.
Excluding GPU extensive operations a used ThinkPad is so good and cheap it’s incredible.
Bought a T490 16GB 512GB for 260€ … I think my desktop will be used less and less …
I can’t use a laptop for work (graphics intensive, need a powerhouse) but I would if I could. I love being able to use it literally anywhere I go—at my desk, in bed, on the toilet, on vacation, on the bus, at a cafe, etc—and…
I installed a headless Debian OS, added a keyboard-focused window manager and I don’t have to futz with the trackpad nor find a place to put an attached mouse. It also is a much slower drain on the battery. Best of all worlds.
I use it for web-browsing, word-processing/spreadsheets, checking email, making memes, coding, managing my home network, controlling my headless SBC, and modding. Also occasionally for cyber CTFs or remoting into my desktop at least to do so.
I live offgrid in a campervan, which places limits the amount of power and interior space I can devote to computing. So a vanilla laptop for me.
the keyboard and touchpad make me angry
External kb/mice are allowed. :-) Using a mechanical kb with my laptop right now.
Completely depends if you need to carry it around.
For best of both worlds: Docked laptop with full monitor and maybe keyboard. You can find monitors everywhere for cheap.
Lightweight/low-power laptop (aka chromebook) + homeserver seems ideal, IMO. Especially if you have gigabit upstream at home, and know how to set up a VPN.
My setup is two laptops (home and work) but 90% of the time they are just used connected via usb-c to my desk in the front room.
Pull out one wire and swap between work and home setup.
If I had to choose only one, it would be a desktop. The experience of using a machine with a good keyboard/mouse and large monitors can’t be beat, plus it’s much cheaper for the same quality of hardware. The main downside is that it’s not portable. Whether I’m working or gaming, I’m confined to that one desk. I can’t work on the couch, in the park, in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, or anywhere else I might find myself that day.
The ideal setup is to have both. A desktop for when I can be at my desk, and a cheap laptop that I can use to remote into said desktop. That way, you get the convenience of a laptop with the power of a desktop at a much more reasonable price.
A monitor and keyboard/mouse that you can attach to your laptop gives you the best of both worlds.
But a desktop/workstation that you can leave on and double as a server for some things is nice to have.
I use my old laptop as a server, and so far no issues with leaving it on 24/7
Both. Both is good
Though depending on your situation a laptop will do both, think the thing you’re missing is that you can plug a laptop into a monitor mouse and keyboard the same way you do a PC and it will be functionally identical, except you have the option to unplug it and take it with you if you need to
Personally I have a gaming PC at home and a laptop for work, and a USB c hub that lets me plug said laptop in and use it as a desktop if needed. Perfect setup imo
This is exactly what I do too, plus a tablet for quick notes or reading when I’m studying or somewhere a laptop might feel a bit excessive (basically anywhere that I need to be waiting for something).
I’ve got a pine64 tablet on the way that I’m quite excited for. Going to run gnome mobile and waydroid so I can switch between android and Linux at will and use it as a laptop if need be
I have a laptop for work, it’s useful for that purpose because it’s portable. I’ve owned several personal laptops over the years and rarely used them because I just don’t need one. If I traveled more I’d consider buying one.
I was desktop-only during my whole college studies and gotta say, I really enjoy the freedom that working from a laptop gives you (especially being a remote worker). I like the fact that I can now dedicate my desktop setup for gaming and entertainment, it keeps work and daily life separated :)
“the keyboard and touchpad make me angry”
I think you need to try this out with an open mind. Plenty of people use laptops as their only computer, only with trackpad. Plenty others just toss a Bluetooth mouse in their bag and use that.
I get using a PC, but a laptop does have its advantages.For work and general browsing, I prefer a laptop. But for gaming, I definitely prefer a beefy desktop.
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they both have there pros and cons, but i prefer desktop becasue you can set up your own liitle computer area and desktops can be custimized more than a laptopbut laptops ar eportable and often cheaper and some things about a laptop can be anoying.
