10 Reasons why the Desktop PC will live forever
Mar 15, 2018 20:10:40 #
10 Reasons why the Desktop PC will live forever
from PC World Magazine (no longer in print) circa 2012 --- and still just as valid today
Over the years, many have predicted that the Desktop PC would fade into oblivion, and people would all be using laptops. No, friends, the so-called post-PC world is not yet upon us. But if you're still not convinced, here are ten reasons you shouldn't give up your desktop any time soon.
1. Desktop PCs are cheap
Desktops are cheaper than laptops — both when you buy them new, and when you have to make repairs. There are a few reasons for this, but the main reason is that mobile components are more expensive, because they're, well, smaller, and expensive engineering is required to make them fit inside your laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
Desktop components don't have to be nearly as small or fit together like jigsaw pieces, because a roomy desktop tower is a heck of a lot larger than even the most generously sized laptop.
Of course, to be fair, you pay for more components when you purchase a laptop — you're also purchasing a screen, keyboard, and trackpad. Laptops usually cost significantly more than corresponding desktops.
2. Desktops are more powerful
Desktop processors are more powerful than corresponding laptop processors. And I'm not even going to get into mobile ARM processors (that is, the processors running in most phones and tablets), since the comparison is laughable. Let's just say this is a case in which size definitely matters.
Laptop processors are not only smaller than desktop processors, they're designed to use less energy and produce less heat. There are a several reasons for this: First, laptops usually run on battery life. Because of this, mobile processors are designed to conserve battery life. Second, laptop processors are fitted into a tight, closed chassis, and surrounded by a couple of small fans — and they're still prone to overheating.
Desktop processors, meanwhile, are lucky enough to sip an endless supply of juice from a wall outlet, and they can be surrounded with fans or even a liquid cooling system to keep their temperatures down. Thus, they're not only more powerful, they can also be easily overclocked to run at even higher speeds.
3. You can plug a ton of peripherals into desktops
Let's say you want to plug in an external mouse and an external keyboard. Can you also plug in a USB-connected headset? If you've got a laptop, probably not.
As laptops get thinner, port offerings decline. Most laptops these days have a couple of USB 3.0 ports. Most tablets have one USB port (except for the iPad, of course, which boasts a whopping total of zero USB ports).
Desktops, on the other hand, usually have a minimum of four USB 3.0 ports, and some have many more. Plus, desktops have tons of other connectivity options that only the highest-end, most gamer-oriented laptops might include — these options include VGA, DVI, HDMI, Display Port and multiple audio lines.
4. You get extra screen real estate with desktops
Studies have shown that more screen real estate can make you more productive (or more productive at being unproductive). Need more screen real estate? This can be accomplished in two ways: with a larger screen, or with multiple monitors.
The largest laptop screen you can find on the market is about 17 inches, and it's huge — for a laptop, that is. But a 17 inch laptop screen is nothing compared to a 20 or 32 inch stand-alone monitor. Plus, a 17 inch laptop is usually too bulky for you to tote around comfortably, which means your laptop may essentially become a desktop.
Most laptops don't support multiple monitor set-ups. Desktops, on the other hand, are built for multiple monitor setups and, depending on your graphics card, you can support two or three or four (or more) monitors for maximum productivity or maximum gaming.
5. You can play (real) computer games on desktops
Okay, to be fair there are gaming laptops out there, and they're not bad. But can it really compare to a gaming desktop which houses an Intel Core i7 processor and three graphics cards? I don't think so.
Graphics-intense PC games put systems to the ultimate test, as they require as much processing- and GPU-power as possible. And, let's face it — you can stuff three graphics cards into a desktop tower plus liquid cooling, an awesome sound card, and, hey, even some extra gaming peripherals. On the flip side, a hardcore gaming laptop can accommodate just one measly (albeit sometimes moderately powerful) graphics card — and that's inside a device that's barely even portable.
6. Fixing a desktop is easy
Three years ago, the graphics card in my laptop died. We're still not sure what happened, but all of a sudden, the screen started artifacting and displaying colorful squiggly lines, making things generally unreadable. We took it to the Apple store (it was an old MacBook), and they opened it up and told me the repair job would be expensive. Total cost of repairs: $800.
Two years ago, my graphics card died. Nvidia posted a faulty driver; I was playing a game at the time, and before they could correct the driver (a mere 24 hours later), my card overheated and fried. I went to Best Buy and picked up a new (non-Nvidia) card and replaced it myself in about 10 minutes. Total cost of repairs: $80
The moral of the story: If a desktop component craps out on you, it's easy to purchase a new one, whether it's a graphics card, the monitor, or even the processor. But if a laptop component craps out on you, well, good luck.
7. You can use creative software efficiently on a desktop
Sure, today's laptops can run creative software, such as Adobe Photoshop — but you won't enjoy your time with these applications when fighting with your laptop's trackpad or puny screen real estate. To be used efficiently, creative software requires a powerful processor, a high-end graphics card, lots of screen real estate, and peripherals — a keyboard, a mouse, and maybe even a drawing tablet.
A laptop with the required specs would either be insanely expensive or physically impossible (in the case of a much-larger screen). A desktop with decent specs, however, will be able to run this software just fine.
8. You can recycle a desktop as an NAS device…or a fish tank
When your laptop or tablet dies, it can be recycled as a laptop or tablet-like device, such as a kids-only laptop, or a kitchen-only tablet. In other words, your recycling options are limited. But desktops can be recycled into a variety of different uses, such as a home server or as a network-attached storage device.
If you'd rather not repurpose your desktop as a machine, you can always clean it out, sell your parts on eBay, and turn the tower or old monitor into a fish tank.
Granted, you can send your older laptop into the garage for handy weekend DIY instruction-checking or give it away, but creative alternative uses for laptops are much more limited than for desktops.
9. Desktops are secure and they last a long time
Desktops are not portable. Not portable at all. And this is a good thing when it comes to security and durability. Because desktops don't move very much — if at all — they're fairly secure from theft. There's pretty much no chance that you'll lose your desktop on the train, or that someone will steal your desktop from the library. And even if someone happens to break into your house, they're unlikely to take your desktop, which has to be unplugged from the wall and transported with all of its attached peripherals to be of the most use to your thief.
Also, because your desktop never moves, it never gets bumped or dropped or scratched in your bag. A desktop can easily last several years — more if you're upgrading it piece-by-piece — while a laptop will often fall victim to an unfortunate spill.
10. You can build your own desktop
Anyone can build a desktop PC. Seriously — anyone!
Not only are there tons of websites and articles dedicated to helping people build their own systems, the components also are readily available.
By comparison, building a laptop is…tricky, if not impossible. Components are more expensive and less powerful, and you have to get them to fit inside a laptop chassis. There's pretty much no chance you can build a laptop from the ground up, either — you'll have to pick out a bare-bones laptop and upgrade it as much as the chassis allows.
Long live the desktop!
Don't get me wrong — laptops, tablets, and smartphones are undeniably essential to most people's modern-day lives. But as long as desktops are cheaper, more powerful, and more versatile, they'll always have a place.
from PC World Magazine (no longer in print) circa 2012 --- and still just as valid today
Over the years, many have predicted that the Desktop PC would fade into oblivion, and people would all be using laptops. No, friends, the so-called post-PC world is not yet upon us. But if you're still not convinced, here are ten reasons you shouldn't give up your desktop any time soon.
1. Desktop PCs are cheap
Desktops are cheaper than laptops — both when you buy them new, and when you have to make repairs. There are a few reasons for this, but the main reason is that mobile components are more expensive, because they're, well, smaller, and expensive engineering is required to make them fit inside your laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
Desktop components don't have to be nearly as small or fit together like jigsaw pieces, because a roomy desktop tower is a heck of a lot larger than even the most generously sized laptop.
Of course, to be fair, you pay for more components when you purchase a laptop — you're also purchasing a screen, keyboard, and trackpad. Laptops usually cost significantly more than corresponding desktops.
2. Desktops are more powerful
Desktop processors are more powerful than corresponding laptop processors. And I'm not even going to get into mobile ARM processors (that is, the processors running in most phones and tablets), since the comparison is laughable. Let's just say this is a case in which size definitely matters.
Laptop processors are not only smaller than desktop processors, they're designed to use less energy and produce less heat. There are a several reasons for this: First, laptops usually run on battery life. Because of this, mobile processors are designed to conserve battery life. Second, laptop processors are fitted into a tight, closed chassis, and surrounded by a couple of small fans — and they're still prone to overheating.
Desktop processors, meanwhile, are lucky enough to sip an endless supply of juice from a wall outlet, and they can be surrounded with fans or even a liquid cooling system to keep their temperatures down. Thus, they're not only more powerful, they can also be easily overclocked to run at even higher speeds.
3. You can plug a ton of peripherals into desktops
Let's say you want to plug in an external mouse and an external keyboard. Can you also plug in a USB-connected headset? If you've got a laptop, probably not.
As laptops get thinner, port offerings decline. Most laptops these days have a couple of USB 3.0 ports. Most tablets have one USB port (except for the iPad, of course, which boasts a whopping total of zero USB ports).
Desktops, on the other hand, usually have a minimum of four USB 3.0 ports, and some have many more. Plus, desktops have tons of other connectivity options that only the highest-end, most gamer-oriented laptops might include — these options include VGA, DVI, HDMI, Display Port and multiple audio lines.
4. You get extra screen real estate with desktops
Studies have shown that more screen real estate can make you more productive (or more productive at being unproductive). Need more screen real estate? This can be accomplished in two ways: with a larger screen, or with multiple monitors.
The largest laptop screen you can find on the market is about 17 inches, and it's huge — for a laptop, that is. But a 17 inch laptop screen is nothing compared to a 20 or 32 inch stand-alone monitor. Plus, a 17 inch laptop is usually too bulky for you to tote around comfortably, which means your laptop may essentially become a desktop.
Most laptops don't support multiple monitor set-ups. Desktops, on the other hand, are built for multiple monitor setups and, depending on your graphics card, you can support two or three or four (or more) monitors for maximum productivity or maximum gaming.
5. You can play (real) computer games on desktops
Okay, to be fair there are gaming laptops out there, and they're not bad. But can it really compare to a gaming desktop which houses an Intel Core i7 processor and three graphics cards? I don't think so.
Graphics-intense PC games put systems to the ultimate test, as they require as much processing- and GPU-power as possible. And, let's face it — you can stuff three graphics cards into a desktop tower plus liquid cooling, an awesome sound card, and, hey, even some extra gaming peripherals. On the flip side, a hardcore gaming laptop can accommodate just one measly (albeit sometimes moderately powerful) graphics card — and that's inside a device that's barely even portable.
6. Fixing a desktop is easy
Three years ago, the graphics card in my laptop died. We're still not sure what happened, but all of a sudden, the screen started artifacting and displaying colorful squiggly lines, making things generally unreadable. We took it to the Apple store (it was an old MacBook), and they opened it up and told me the repair job would be expensive. Total cost of repairs: $800.
Two years ago, my graphics card died. Nvidia posted a faulty driver; I was playing a game at the time, and before they could correct the driver (a mere 24 hours later), my card overheated and fried. I went to Best Buy and picked up a new (non-Nvidia) card and replaced it myself in about 10 minutes. Total cost of repairs: $80
The moral of the story: If a desktop component craps out on you, it's easy to purchase a new one, whether it's a graphics card, the monitor, or even the processor. But if a laptop component craps out on you, well, good luck.
7. You can use creative software efficiently on a desktop
Sure, today's laptops can run creative software, such as Adobe Photoshop — but you won't enjoy your time with these applications when fighting with your laptop's trackpad or puny screen real estate. To be used efficiently, creative software requires a powerful processor, a high-end graphics card, lots of screen real estate, and peripherals — a keyboard, a mouse, and maybe even a drawing tablet.
A laptop with the required specs would either be insanely expensive or physically impossible (in the case of a much-larger screen). A desktop with decent specs, however, will be able to run this software just fine.
8. You can recycle a desktop as an NAS device…or a fish tank
When your laptop or tablet dies, it can be recycled as a laptop or tablet-like device, such as a kids-only laptop, or a kitchen-only tablet. In other words, your recycling options are limited. But desktops can be recycled into a variety of different uses, such as a home server or as a network-attached storage device.
If you'd rather not repurpose your desktop as a machine, you can always clean it out, sell your parts on eBay, and turn the tower or old monitor into a fish tank.
Granted, you can send your older laptop into the garage for handy weekend DIY instruction-checking or give it away, but creative alternative uses for laptops are much more limited than for desktops.
9. Desktops are secure and they last a long time
Desktops are not portable. Not portable at all. And this is a good thing when it comes to security and durability. Because desktops don't move very much — if at all — they're fairly secure from theft. There's pretty much no chance that you'll lose your desktop on the train, or that someone will steal your desktop from the library. And even if someone happens to break into your house, they're unlikely to take your desktop, which has to be unplugged from the wall and transported with all of its attached peripherals to be of the most use to your thief.
Also, because your desktop never moves, it never gets bumped or dropped or scratched in your bag. A desktop can easily last several years — more if you're upgrading it piece-by-piece — while a laptop will often fall victim to an unfortunate spill.
10. You can build your own desktop
Anyone can build a desktop PC. Seriously — anyone!
Not only are there tons of websites and articles dedicated to helping people build their own systems, the components also are readily available.
By comparison, building a laptop is…tricky, if not impossible. Components are more expensive and less powerful, and you have to get them to fit inside a laptop chassis. There's pretty much no chance you can build a laptop from the ground up, either — you'll have to pick out a bare-bones laptop and upgrade it as much as the chassis allows.
Long live the desktop!
Don't get me wrong — laptops, tablets, and smartphones are undeniably essential to most people's modern-day lives. But as long as desktops are cheaper, more powerful, and more versatile, they'll always have a place.
Mar 15, 2018 22:25:24 #
I whole-heartily agree with bobbyjohn above. If you buy a box of parts (components) and a case and follow the instructions, it doesn't take a genius to put a nice desktop computer together. Of course you need decide what you are going to do with your new computer and then, do a little research to find the right components to accomplish the mission. I don't know of a laptop with near the versatility of a desktop. I do have both but struggle with the speed of the laptops that I own. Another good way to recycle an old laptop is to replace the Windows OS with a Linux OS. Linux will run like the wind on a nearly dead outdated laptop. They make wonderful internet machines and provide a decent array of productive programs. I use an 8 year old laptop with 2 gig of ram for a Linux laptop and I do all my internet activities including banking, online searches and purchasing, email, UHH posting, and on and on. Linux falls a little short of competing with Windows in the image post-processing software arena. Just as laptops fall a little short of the versatility and power of the desktop machines. For the more intensive programs, especially graphics, it will be a long time before the desktop becomes totally obsolete. Have a GREAT DAY!
Mar 16, 2018 06:11:41 #
Mar 16, 2018 07:02:09 #
bellgamin
Loc: Ewa Beach, Hawaii
My desktop was built for me in 1995 & it's still going. It's running XP & stays on 24/7. Never been infected -- computer security is 1 of my hobbies. I image it at least weekly & retain images 3 months, FIFO.
The desktop PC will eventually be defunct totally, being replaced by robotic AI devices. Shrieeeeek!!!!! 😈
The desktop PC will eventually be defunct totally, being replaced by robotic AI devices. Shrieeeeek!!!!! 😈
Mar 16, 2018 07:42:24 #
Agree with all of the points in the post. Given how much technological change that has existed in the last 50-70 years, as well as how fast that change has occurred compared to any other time in history, I would have to remove "forever" from the introductory phrase.
Mar 16, 2018 08:39:11 #
#11 Reason: Your cat can't sit on top of your laptop while you are using it!
Mar 16, 2018 08:43:25 #
Mar 16, 2018 08:50:52 #
OlinBost
Loc: Marietta, Ga.
I do not have have ever bought a new desktop. I get used or rebuild old units and re-purpose older ones for file servers and backup. My main machine is an old Dell Poweredge SC1430. While the video is not fast the rest of the machine does 7.5 to 7.7 in Windows 7. 2 dual Zeon 2.8 processors that are still not the top speed that can be used in this machine. It cost me $125 delivered over two years ago fromn eBay. I did upgrade the original video and sound card.
Mar 16, 2018 09:25:22 #
I use a desktop, it's a Zotac Z Box, 190mm x 190mm x 40mm, (7.5" x 7.5" x 1.5") the internal components are fully interchangeable, there are 6 usb3 ports, 1 USB C type and two HDMI port (one is a DPort) and a VGA. It has an SSD, 16 gb RAM, and records 4K video. It can be attached to the VESA mount so when in use it cannot be seen
Mar 16, 2018 09:54:37 #
erickter
Loc: Dallas,TX
bobbyjohn wrote:
10 Reasons why the Desktop PC will live forever br... (show quote)
Absolutely. Good for complex architecture, engineering, and 3D modeling too. Gamers aren't the only 3D game in town. I've used PC desktops (win/Mac/UNIX) for design, spreadsheet, photo and music creative work since the mid 1980's. Still do.
Mar 16, 2018 11:23:19 #
Mar 16, 2018 11:37:18 #
I can agree with you on most points Bobby, but don't count out laptops, over the years they have gotten faster and faster, catching up with PCs in some cases.
I bought a Dell Alienware 17" r4 laptop that is almost as fast, if not as fast as my I7 desktop with an Asus motherboard, 8 gig Radeon video card, 64 gigs of ram and a 750 gig ssd drive plus 3 other HDs, the machine is fast and I built it myself, I am a retired computer tech.
My laptop has a Nvidia 6 gig video card in it, an I7 7700HQ quad processor, 16 gigs of ram, 1 tb HD, I installed a 500 gig ssd and put my operating system on it and it has slots for more ssds. I am upgrading to a 2 tb hd soon for more space. If I need more USB ports I will get a USB hub.
I can plug in a USB keyboard, mouse or anything I want. It has an HDMI port where I can plug it into any monitor I want, including my 55" tv. It is really fast and I am very happy with it, but I will never give up my desktop.
I bought a Dell Alienware 17" r4 laptop that is almost as fast, if not as fast as my I7 desktop with an Asus motherboard, 8 gig Radeon video card, 64 gigs of ram and a 750 gig ssd drive plus 3 other HDs, the machine is fast and I built it myself, I am a retired computer tech.
My laptop has a Nvidia 6 gig video card in it, an I7 7700HQ quad processor, 16 gigs of ram, 1 tb HD, I installed a 500 gig ssd and put my operating system on it and it has slots for more ssds. I am upgrading to a 2 tb hd soon for more space. If I need more USB ports I will get a USB hub.
I can plug in a USB keyboard, mouse or anything I want. It has an HDMI port where I can plug it into any monitor I want, including my 55" tv. It is really fast and I am very happy with it, but I will never give up my desktop.
bobbyjohn wrote:
10 Reasons why the Desktop PC will live forever br... (show quote)
Mar 16, 2018 12:28:12 #
Mar 16, 2018 14:35:41 #
therwol
Loc: USA
ebbote wrote:
I can agree with you on most points Bobby, but don... (show quote)
Which cost more? You pay a premium price for high end performance in a laptop.
Mar 16, 2018 14:59:21 #
My desktop PC cost over 2000 dollars to build, that includes monitor and everything, my laptop 1300 dollars. I use only use quality components in my PCs
therwol wrote:
Which cost more? You pay a premium price for high end performance in a laptop.
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