Author Topic: Ditch my desktop and use only a laptop? (Read 22000 times)

PaulieWalnuts · « **on:** July 12, 2012, 07:25 »

I have a decent laptop and desktop but need more horsepower. Some of the newer laptops have some major power. Instead of buying a new desktop I was thinking of replacing both and just have a laptop. Anybody else only have a laptop? Any major positives or negatives?

PinnacleAnimates · « **Reply #1 on:** July 12, 2012, 07:42 »

I too had a desktop... but I replaced it with it the laptop since it is more compatible with great performance... I will recommend you to go with laptop..

Phil · « **Reply #2 on:** July 12, 2012, 07:54 »

desktops are generally faster, but as you say, laptops are catching fast especially with ssds. I've been looking at the ultralights / ultrabooks for when I'm travelling and seen even that some of them have ips panels

http://www.notebookcheck.net puts the colorimeter onto the ones they review and actually give you decent review of the screen.

sharpshot · « **Reply #3 on:** July 12, 2012, 09:23 »

I much prefer a desktop. Big monitors are quite cheap and they're easy to calibrate. Perhaps some top end laptops have a decent screen but they're still small in comparison. If you only have a laptop, it might be a bit bulky for travel and what happens if it's stolen? I just use a small netbook for travel, doesn't weigh much and does all I need when I'm away from home.

luissantos84 · « **Reply #4 on:** July 12, 2012, 09:26 »

it really depends where you gonna work, if you are going to move a lot better a laptop, if not obviously a desktop, its cheaper and faster

cidepix · « **Reply #5 on:** July 12, 2012, 09:33 »

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on July 12, 2012, 07:25

I have a decent laptop and desktop but need more horsepower. Some of the newer laptops have some major power. Instead of buying a new desktop I was thinking of replacing both and just have a laptop. Anybody else only have a laptop? Any major positives or negatives?

I have been using a laptop (only) since 2008 and no negatives.. You only need to get used to it.. Once you do, you will realize we don't really need huge screens to work

Karimala · « **Reply #6 on:** July 12, 2012, 09:39 »

Quote from: cidepix on July 12, 2012, 09:33

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on July 12, 2012, 07:25
I have a decent laptop and desktop but need more horsepower. Some of the newer laptops have some major power. Instead of buying a new desktop I was thinking of replacing both and just have a laptop. Anybody else only have a laptop? Any major positives or negatives?

I have been using a laptop (only) since 2008 and no negatives.. You only need to get used to it.. Once you do, you will realize we don't really need huge screens to work

Since '05 here. One thing that's nice about a laptop is you can buy a docking station, and connect your larger monitor/keyboard/mouse/drawing tablet to it, which keeps your laptop portable while enabling you to continue using larger screens, etc, at your desk. The docking station also acts as a battery charger.

oxman · « **Reply #7 on:** July 12, 2012, 10:51 »

When they make a laptop with a 30" Cinema display -- I'm in

Dantheman · « **Reply #8 on:** July 12, 2012, 11:15 »

Quote from: Karimala on July 12, 2012, 09:39

Quote from: cidepix on July 12, 2012, 09:33
Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on July 12, 2012, 07:25
I have a decent laptop and desktop but need more horsepower. Some of the newer laptops have some major power. Instead of buying a new desktop I was thinking of replacing both and just have a laptop. Anybody else only have a laptop? Any major positives or negatives?

I have been using a laptop (only) since 2008 and no negatives.. You only need to get used to it.. Once you do, you will realize we don't really need huge screens to work

Since '05 here. One thing that's nice about a laptop is you can buy a docking station, and connect your larger monitor/keyboard/mouse/drawing tablet to it, which keeps your laptop portable while enabling you to continue using larger screens, etc, at your desk. The docking station also acts as a battery charger.

This is actually quite a good idea.

I myself use a Desktop for stock etc. and a laptop for my University stuff.

But all in all i really prefer using my desktop. Nice big screen, faster, i can add a new HDD whenever memory gets low, Huge amount of USB ports etc. But i'm also a bit of a geek and love opening it up and adding new stuff etc.

But as fast as technology is developing, we'll soon stick our Phones into a docking station and that's our PC that we can carry with us all the time

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #9 on:** July 12, 2012, 17:07 »

Great comments thanks. So the negatives so far mainly seem like the monitor and hard drive space. But like Karimala said you can connect a monitor to a laptop. Large external drive would probably be somewhat of a pain. And mobility is something I need which is why I have a desktop and laptop now. Just thought I might be able to consolidate.

As for desktops generally being faster that's what I thought too. I was just about to buy a new desktop when I stumbled on the Lenovo W530. Quad Core I7 and up to 32GB of ram. That's some power.

WarrenPrice · « **Reply #10 on:** July 12, 2012, 17:18 »

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on July 12, 2012, 17:07

Great comments thanks. So the negatives so far mainly seem like the monitor and hard drive space. But like Karimala said you can connect a monitor to a laptop. Large external drive would probably be somewhat of a pain. And mobility is something I need which is why I have a desktop and laptop now. Just thought I might be able to consolidate.

As for desktops generally being faster that's what I thought too. I was just about to buy a new desktop when I stumbled on the Lenovo W530. Quad Core I7 and up to 32GB of ram. That's some power.

External (USB) drives are cheap and portable.

luissantos84 · « **Reply #11 on:** July 12, 2012, 17:19 »

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on July 12, 2012, 17:07

Great comments thanks. So the negatives so far mainly seem like the monitor and hard drive space. But like Karimala said you can connect a monitor to a laptop. Large external drive would probably be somewhat of a pain. And mobility is something I need which is why I have a desktop and laptop now. Just thought I might be able to consolidate.

As for desktops generally being faster that's what I thought too. I was just about to buy a new desktop when I stumbled on the Lenovo W530. Quad Core I7 and up to 32GB of ram. That's some power.

had many teachers using IBM and wow fine laptops with some crazy batteries they can last a very long time, winners for sure

trek · « **Reply #12 on:** July 12, 2012, 22:12 »

I'm on the road a lot. My MacBook Pro is all I need. I use a desktop monitor when I'm at home... sometimes.

nicku · « **Reply #13 on:** July 13, 2012, 00:06 »

I had used in the past (3-4 years ago)both desktop and laptop. now only desktop for processing, uploading photos and illustrations and the laptop only for keywords and other internet applications. The advantages for the desktop in my opinion are: Large, more acurate monitor , faster, more storage space.

Metsafile · « **Reply #14 on:** July 13, 2012, 00:12 »

After 8 wonderful years I put my Mac Cube / Cinema display into retirement because Adobe's new applications wouldn't run on it. I'm on my fourth year using a MacBook Pro that I attach to a 24 inch display at my studio. Lots of power. I bring the laptop home every day so I can continue working. Laptop hard drives are vulnerable to bumps so I try to be extra careful with it.

Lagereek · « **Reply #15 on:** July 13, 2012, 00:30 »

No I wouldnt do that. I had the best laptop ( still have) that money can buy and still the desktop with Eizo monitors, even my iMac-27, is far superior. Laptops can not be calibrated properly. The X-rite, colormonkey is the only calibrator suitable for laptops and even so, it cant be done properly.

sharpshot · « **Reply #16 on:** July 13, 2012, 04:00 »

Desktops are so cheap, I can't see a good reason not to have one. The only hard drives I've ever had fail were in laptops. I'm sure their size makes them less reliable. Or it could be because the desktop HD never gets moved? The ergonomics of a desktop setup should be better than a laptop. I spend too long in front of a computer, so it has to be as comfortable as possible.

leaf · « **Reply #17 on:** July 13, 2012, 05:26 »

I use a laptop just for surfing while in other parts of the house or while travelling. When working at my desk anyhow, I have a desktop and wouldn't switch it out. I have all my images on my computer for easy access which means lots of hard drives, something a laptop couldn't do. A laptop also can't be as fast, because everything has to happen on one drive. If you have an SSD then you are limited to hard drive space. I have an SSD hard drive for programs so things open and run fast, and another SSD drive for caching intensive programs like photoshop and adobe bridge, then have all my other data like picture files, video on several other drives.
Like others have said, it's also much easier to upgrade one piece of the puzzle in a desktop.. and not having a large monitor would also drive me bonkers when actually trying to get some work done.

Metsafile · « **Reply #18 on:** July 13, 2012, 05:39 »

Quote from: Lagereek on July 13, 2012, 00:30

No I wouldnt do that. I had the best laptop ( still have) that money can buy and still the desktop with Eizo monitors, even my iMac-27, is far superior. Laptops can not be calibrated properly. The X-rite, colormonkey is the only calibrator suitable for laptops and even so, it cant be done properly.

I would't go with just a laptop alone, you definitely need a larger view to work properly. One thing I've noticed is that subtle color changes are not always visible on the laptop. I've been going back to the larger monitor and making adjustments so the image will work on both. We don't know if the image will be viewed in print or perhaps on a smart phone.

Dantheman · « **Reply #19 on:** July 13, 2012, 06:16 »

Quote from: leaf on July 13, 2012, 05:26

I use a laptop just for surfing while in other parts of the house or while travelling. When working at my desk anyhow, I have a desktop and wouldn't switch it out. I have all my images on my computer for easy access which means lots of hard drives, something a laptop couldn't do. A laptop also can't be as fast, because everything has to happen on one drive. If you have an SSD then you are limited to hard drive space. I have an SSD hard drive for programs so things open and run fast, and another SSD drive for caching intensive programs like photoshop and adobe bridge, then have all my other data like picture files, video on several other drives.
Like others have said, it's also much easier to upgrade one piece of the puzzle in a desktop.. and not having a large monitor would also drive me bonkers when actually trying to get some work done.

I was also just about to write this.

In a Desktop you can have a SSD to run all the Programs and Operation System and at the same time have several other Hard Drives as Storage.
The Data also is safer in my eyes if stored on a Desktop. In my laptops Hard Drives have died, but never in my desktop PC's. If you really wan't to be on the safe side, you can build a RAID setup where all the Data gets safed onto a second Hard Drive.

All in all, the only advantage a Laptop has is it's portability. I think the best thing is to have both!!

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #20 on:** July 13, 2012, 06:29 »

I used a laptop for all my stock work until last year. It just didn't have the same power my new desktop has. The fans constantly clogged and got hot. The 17" monitors now seem small. etc.

Lagereek · « **Reply #21 on:** July 13, 2012, 06:42 »

Quote from: sjlocke on July 13, 2012, 06:29

I used a laptop for all my stock work until last year. It just didn't have the same power my new desktop has. The fans constantly clogged and got hot. The 17" monitors now seem small. etc.

yep! plu the laptop-monitor never give the correct colors, which is a downer in itself.

leaf · « **Reply #22 on:** July 13, 2012, 08:11 »

Quote from: sjlocke on July 13, 2012, 06:29

I used a laptop for all my stock work until last year. It just didn't have the same power my new desktop has. The fans constantly clogged and got hot. The 17" monitors now seem small. etc.

I'm constantly impressed at how simple you've kept your production. Not that I agree with all the choices (I would have gone to a desktop long before) .. but still impressive.

cidepix · « **Reply #23 on:** July 13, 2012, 08:32 »

Not only that I use a laptop now, I am also going even more portable in a few months

This or some other new generation tablet / laptop is what I am getting next.. Desktops for me are part of the history.. Speed and screen size are overrated.. I would rather over-pay for a laptop to get more speed and power than use a chunky desktop

But, that's just me and not everyone likes to be in starbucks while working


ASUS Taichi dual screen Windows 8 notebook - Computex 2012

Metsafile · « **Reply #24 on:** July 13, 2012, 15:35 »

The new MacBookPro with Retina display could be a major improvement.
I personally will never go back to a desktop machine.

http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/

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Author Topic: Ditch my desktop and use only a laptop? (Read 22000 times)

PaulieWalnuts

PinnacleAnimates

Phil

sharpshot

luissantos84

cidepix

Karimala

oxman

Dantheman

PaulieWalnuts

WarrenPrice

luissantos84

trek

nicku

Metsafile

Lagereek

sharpshot

leaf

Metsafile

Dantheman

Sean Locke Photography

Lagereek

leaf

cidepix

Metsafile

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