Laptops Vs pc

[Dreads]

From what I've seen,there's been a Larger focus on portable usage in computers this past decade than towers. In my opinion I think towers will be gone in about 5 to 10 years because of the shift of focus that's been put on laptops and tablets, What do you guys think? Do towers still have some time left in them, or will they eventually become replaceable by the portable tech?

[Fang]

quantum computers are the future so no laptops wont be the future

towers are still the best method for large scale business stuff as well

the appeal of laptops is portability

[Caliber]

I agree. I don't think big computers are ever going away, regardless of the technology at the time. In a few years, technology may shrink and so what now is in a tower can be compressed down to laptop size, but there will always be big computers to process tasks that are even more intensive.

[Derek Jeter]

Tower is and will always be better for gaming.

[Kenshin]

The flexibility of PCs means they'll never go away. Laptops have a very finite hardware life after which you really have to get another, either because something irreplaceable broke or its technology is old and irrelevant. PCs you can keep upgrading indefinitely piece-wise. Also, people like to push technology to its limits and you'll never have the kind of cooling options necessary to do that in a laptop.

That said, a lot of people like the portability of laptops. In academic environments, most students need a laptop. So your options are to buy a PC and a laptop, or just buy a beefy laptop. It's a better price to buy one powerful laptop than two separate units. The trade-off people don't consider is the short life span of these frequently traveled units, especially if they're being lugged around and jostled in a backpack or something. Fans and HDDs die really quickly. Another reason is if you're moving a lot. Graduate students usually change apartments a few times over the course of their program and sometimes live as couch nomads near the end... Desktops make that inconvenient. And thus why I own a laptop.

[Kenshin]

Having seen your other post, I understand why you're asking this question lol.

If you're a student in college, I'd think this over carefully and think about your budget. It sounds like from the other thread your GPU is unreliable. That's not really a fixable part... But that means the laptop itself is still good for basic school stuff. If it's only a concern under load, then it's fine. If it's apparent even under low-load, then you might want to disable the GPU altogether through the BIOS and rely only on the integrated card.

If you can afford it, I recommend buying an MSI laptop with a GTX 1060 or 2060 in it and leave it in your dorm. Treat it like a desktop, but don't move it around more than you have to. Use your current laptop for study sessions and classes and all your academic travel needs. Just move around the good stuff when you go home and swap dorms and stuff. Remember, if you're a freshman in college and you get a desktop that you have to lug it home for breaks. It's a lot of trouble and poses more risk to a desktop than to a laptop. Think of it as, the more you move the laptop, the faster you reduce its lifespan. Gaming laptops are not business class commodities (like ThinkPads), they're relatively fragile and difficult to repair. In general, the better the deal for the laptop, the more fragile it is.

When shopping for a gaming laptop, remember to prioritize things you can't upgrade. You can always get more RAM/storage for your device, but you can't really upgrade the CPU/GPU. Get the best combination of CPU/GPU you can find and then upgrade the RAM/storage on your own. Try to get a laptop with a DisplayPort so it will support 4K and 144 hz monitors (plan ahead!). It's usually cheaper to go to Amazon/Newegg and buy a pre-made build rather than go to the manufacturer and build your own. When comparing CPUs, make sure to compare the benchmarks. Gaming laptops usually come with one of a handful of i5 or i7 processors. The hyperthreading on the i7s is nice, but not always as important as just having better benchmarks. When comparing similar models (same CPU/GPU), the price differences will be because of brand or the RAM/storage options. If the difference is because of parts, always compare the price difference to the running rate of those parts. Generally paying for extra RAM/storage in the laptop is a waste of money as you could buy that upgrade for half the price on your own. It also matters if they're upgrading a piece of technology or simply filling a space. (e.g. a 4 gb RAM laptop either has one 4 gb stick or two 2 gb sticks. If the upgrade to an 8 gb adds a 4 gb stick, that's like a $20 part. However, replacing two 2 gb sticks is $40 in parts. Usually the upgrade costs ~$60 from the manufacturer, so it's probably cheaper to buy your own). Things get a little fuzzier with the storage options. Is it a SSD? HDD? 3.5" SATA drive? M2 port? Just keep these things in mind so you can make an informed decision. Shop brands you trust. I like HP and ASUS. Lenovos and Dells are okay (be prepared to replace the HDD on Dell laptops since they go quickly in my experience). I haven't used an MSI or Gigabyte, but I hear good things about them. Avoid Acers.

If you're not an academic nomad, or you don't plan on moving your computer more than once or twice a year, then go for a desktop. You get more bang for your buck if you build your own, it'll last longer than a laptop, and it'll be easier to repair if something does go wrong. There are lots of websites that have either robots that will tell you the best deal now for building a desktop or maintain curated lists of reasonably priced builds.

Lastly, no matter what, under no circumstances, never ever ever buy an Acer laptop. They have terrible life spans and are not worth it, no matter how good the deal is. If you're not convinced, go to Walmart and hold one in your hands. You'll understand.