Laptop Vs. PC.. advice on choosing please?
Ok, here's the story.. We are just starting a business working from home. At the moment we run this business during our spare time, but we are prepared (and hope) that it will become full time at some point in the future.
We have a PC at home but we use it for gaming and email and photo's, all the usual... and were thinking it would be a good idea to get a separate computer just for our business so we wont be competing for PC time.
We would need it to have microsoft windows applications, Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Quick books... I can't think of anything else business related atm.
We are debating the options of PC vs. Laptop (at this point, money dictates it has to be one or the other, not both). Space at home is not a problem, we have a big home office and a double desk.
At first I thought Laptop, because then if we were away on a trip we would be able to keep track of business stuff. But how long do the batteries have power for and how often do you need to replace them? I read you can't upgrade programs on them and that they are more likely to go wrong.
After a little hunting on the net, I wonder now if a PC would be safer, have a bigger memory (though I am not sure how much we would need) and we would be able to update programs more easily...
At this point (neither of us being very computer savvy) we realise there is WAY too much choice and we dont want to end up buying more than we need to, just to boost a saleperson's commission. So I thought of you guys... any thoughts?
If smaller size and portability are important to you, go for a laptop.
If not, go for a PC.
MOLLY
i have both, and both are Dells. my desktop is about four years old and i now use it primarily as my sound system and for email. my laptop does everything else. but i also have--and i highly recommend this--a portable harddrive for backup. this is mostly for my peace-of-mind regarding my thesis work, but it's also nice to know my music collection is backed-up redundantly, because i gave away all my CDs a couple of years ago.
battery life tends to start out strong and diminish as the battery ages. replacement batteries aren't too expensive, though ($60-100-ish). and there aren't many places you go where you can't plug in anyway. i'd go with the laptop. it's more versatile.
now the real decision-making begins ;)
Desktop is cheaper, laptops are more expensive to get the good hardware on. If it's just for business stuff though, the laptop won't need tons of 'juice', like RAM and a good video cards for games so that'll save on the price (though RAM is still important to keep everything you do running fast, especially on a laptop (I have 2GB of it on mine)). Portability is good too if you make a trip somewhere, you can still do some work. My battery lasts about 4hrs if I'm just doing basic internet/MS Word stuff (some don't last that long though, maybe more like 3hrs), watching movies etc will drain the battery faster. Mine has power saver options too. I think since you already have a desktop, might as well get a laptop too (I have both also).
I think this right here is the key.
Thanks pgerogian... I think you have allayed my fears!
Laptop was general consensus at work too. I think that this would give us the flexibility we are looking for and still provide us with all the memory and programs we will need.
With 'note to self' regarding vigilance on back-up (in case of theft or damage).. I think that laptop is the right choice for us. And we can have it covered by our house insurance, right? As you would for a bike or camera.
Thanks to everyone for your advice and input!
edit: no sweat, glos. have fun!
Hey Glos2lv,
I'm a bit of a nerd about computers. Actually quite a bit. I put together my own pc last september and just got a laptop this summer. I like computers and building my own systems a lot.
I've never done anything for business use but I use my pc's for engineering work at school and I imagine that the demands on a pc wouldn't be that different for either. I need to be able to do 3D image processing with CAD software.
As for pc versus laptop - I agree with a lot of what Pgeorgian says. Laptops will be able to do the same for you as a desktop would nowadays. For many laptops you can actually buy larger batteries (mine came with a 6 cell but Asus who makes it offers a 9 cell battery for extended life). If you're worried about going places that don't offer power you should keep in mind your portable power options. I've seen many products advertised by Canadian tire that are for camping that would allow you to charge up a large battery that you could bring with you and thus you could power your laptop where ever you are. You could even get a satellite internet connection so that regardless of where you go you can always be connected! (I use satellite up in the North West Territories right now and it is amazingly fast. Only $60/month as well, so fairly reasonable)
Now the advantages of having a pc generally tend to be price wise. Scrap your idea that Laptops are harder to update. That's a load of crap. It's the same software so there should be no difference in updating it. Now updating the hardware is much harder and you'd need to be quite technical to be able to do that yourself. I don't recommend that as it voids warranties. :)
You'll probably end up paying less for an equivalent PC than you would for a laptop. In terms of upgrading and longevity of use the pc is more versatile as well. It'll allow you to add some more memory (RAM) to ensure your programs run more quickly (and so you can have more open at the same time). You can swap out video cards and add extra hard drive storage space quite easily. It really is simple. With a working computer you can search online and lots of places will be able to help tell you how to plug in a new hard drive or video card. Storage space for desktops is also a bit cheaper on the whole since they don't have to worry about space issues to the same degree as laptops. That being said you can find laptops that offer up to 500 gb of storage space that are not ludicrously priced (I think 1500 would be reasonable for something like that).
There is other stuff too. You can always buy an extra monitor once you've got a laptop if you find you need more screen real estate. That's another cost though that would probably just be part of the pc though.
To decide which fits your needs best you'll need to weight the pros and cons of both selections. Here are some criteria to help you decide:
- Desired Time of Use of computer - Pc's are more easily upgraded and thus the same strength machine can be updated to adapt to new technology more readily than a laptop. The laptop is more likely to need replacing sooner. (useful if you need a computer now that you can upgrade once your business starts to bring in more money)
- Portability - Pc's - none. Unless you're really strong. Think professional weightlifter strong. Laptops are amazingly portable and versatile. Sunny day? Go outside and work and sunbathe. Sunny day? Stay inside your Desktop cave and dim the lights because the brightness makes your screen glary.
- Size of monitor/screen that you need. Not a big deal for either. Just remember when you buy a laptop you pay for the screen as part of the overall package. To get a bigger second screen means you'll be adding that as a whole new expense, not just a $50 dollar increase to another expense as it would be to a PC.
- Processing power and memory - the availability of high processing power and memory is not a big issue in terms of getting it. You'll find it both in laptops and pcs. It is my experience that the pc will be cheaper the higher you go though. Also if you're considering a quad core processor I believe that you will not find that in a laptop. I haven't researched it much though.
Cost - I'd tip the hat in PCs favour here (as I have been doing). For the equivalent power you'll most likely end up paying less. You're trading off the portability.
Software - this isn't an issue. You'll find software should work fine on both. If it doesn't you're doing something wrong. :)
That concludes that. Also for a business definitely get an external hard drive as a back up. I would suggest running backup software daily. You could set it up so that at a certain time each day your hard drive is backed up automatically. This way you won't ever stand to lose more than a day of work if a power outage somehow takes things away from you or damages your equipment.
Feel free to msg me if you want to talk more. I'd be glad to help you out.
Original Post by alibuch:
and i highly recommend this--a portable harddrive for backup.
I think this right here is the key.
Ghost 14 has been the best backup software ever for me. Along with the above mentioned drive of course.
I've had both Desk top & now laptop and I prefer my laptop(s) no particular reason other than less cables, and if needed I can take it with me.
yeah, you know, i've had my laptop for almost three years, so i don't really think about it anymore, but this just occured to me: i rarely leave the house with the damn thing, but i use it all over the house: bedroom, dining room, living, and office. just that alone is worth the extra price.
My husband uses a Mac laptop and it does all the windows programs just fine- excel, word and stuff - when our pc died we seriously considered getting a mac for me. I hate laptops myslef - I just can't get used to the keyboards and have to have a mouse add on thing I can not do the mouse things on laptops. My husband also has the exra external harddrive for his computer. He has all his work stuff on the laptop- its his employer's computer.
He uses it for lots of media functions - recently the History Channel's show "Shockwave" used his Imovie of a fire training exercise that went wrong and the show producers were so happy that it was in Imovie format because they said that when they had to use microsoft crap they had a hard time cleaning it up enough to be shown on tv quality.
With all this rambling I'd say look at what you want to do with your puters in the future but don't be affraid of a mac.
