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.