Laptop vs Desktop for College Student

[Gafgarionn]

I'll be entering college this fall, and I'm not really sure whether I want a laptop or a desktop, so I figured I'd let you folks decide. Vote or die, bitches... Anyways, in addition to your vote if you could give me a reason that'd be great.

Originally I wanted a desktop because they're cheaper, and you get a lot more bang for your buck. However, I realize laptops are a lot more convenient (portable, good for taking notes in class, etc.). At the moment I'm still leaning towards desktop, but I can definately see how a laptop would be better.

[Tyche]

Get a desktop. Im speaking from experience here...laptops are portable, and moved very easily. Like...when you get drunk, and think you need money...they get to pawn shops easily (also applies to being stolen i guess).

[Andarvi]

i wouldnt really be worried about pawning your laptop in a drunken tyrade lol, however i have both, and i can offer advice from my personal experience.

i would take a desktop over a laptop. they are easier to fix, you can play games more efficiently on them, and they are far more upgradeable and have a higher dependability. your desktop goes you can fix it yourself or get it fixed in a couple days. you laptop breaks its either not fixable or needs to get sent away for extended periods of time, unless you want to pay an absurd price to independent computer repair shops to fix it.

im 99% sure you will never take your laptop to class to take notes. in my class of 350 students maybe 3 brought laptops, and they were online, not taking notes. i bought a laptop thinking i would take it to class and the library and what not, but i never take it to class and the library has laptops you can borrow while you are there if you want to (my school at least.)

[Krandor]

I can't live without my laptop. Even at home I use it 90% of the time over my desktop, despite my laptop now going on being 2 years old and my desktop something like 4 months old.

The main "problem" with a laptop though is that they are distracting as all fucking hell if you get careless. Surfing the web or playing emulated SNES games has probably cost me a few letter grades over my college career.

Like Tyche said, they're also a little too portable sometimes. I've broken my laptop a few times from being just a tad unattentive while drunk and tripping over the power cord or spilling beer all over the keyboard (my up key hasn't worked for like 6 months).

Dunno, personally the convience of a laptop is worth the risks and extra costs. Having Powerpoint notes downloaded in class, being able to pull up references or chat between classes, all that good shit. I'm so attached to my laptop at this point that I can't stand typing on a full sized keyboard.

[Gafgarionn]

Andarvi you basically summed up what I've been thinking about laptops. I'm already used to taking notes on paper, and I think it'd be more of a distraction than anything...

[Vade]

I have both. I never bring my laptop to school for notes...If I did, it would only be to chat during class and check websites and forums. Desktop is mainly used for games which I rarely do anymore these days. I say get a laptop if you're going to be programming or writing a lot. It's easier to bring your computer to someone's house/apt/dorm than going to a comptuer lab to work on projects as well.

[Gafgarionn]

It's easier to bring your computer to someone's house/apt/dorm than going to a comptuer lab to work on projects as well.

You have no idea how small my dorm is >_>

[Quixotic]

Don't bring a laptop to class. I'll list some pros and cons for you.

Pros:
You can probably type faster than you right, so you're pretty much guaranteed to get all the notes typed in unless your professor goes at a retardedly fast speed.

Your notes will look pretty. :wink:

Cons:

Unless you know how to draw pictures and such accurately and very quickly with a touchpad, you probably won't be able to make diagrams and such in (I'd assume) Word or whatever you choose to take notes with. That means you probably have to spend money on a notebook anyways, so you might as well write in that too so you don't have shit spread across two different things.

You'll get distracted by stuff not related to class that's on your laptop. Especially if your campus has wireless internet in almost every building like mine is. Surfing the internet, chatting, playing games, and watching movies....I've seen all of these being done frequently in lecture classes (I used to do it too). People notice you doing it too.

Getting notes down faster isn't always a good thing. You'll have more idle time, and if you have a short attention span or you don't get enough sleep, you're probably gonna doze off and miss something important. This happens more often with a laptop (because of how fast you type compared to how fast you write).

While portability is nice, its not that necessary on a lot of campuses today. Most campuses (I hope) have pretty nice computer labs in their libraries and such which you can make use of when you have to do group stuff or just don't wanna go back home to study/do homework. Laptops really just end up being extra weight in your backpack.


Just stick to a desktop, even if you have a small dorm, there's always ways to make everything fit by being creative (for cheap too).

[kareface]

I have 3 desktops, I wish I had a laptop.

[Zigma]

i have both. I take my laptop to school all the time and it's really a distraction.

[Mandos]

I wouldn't take a laptop to class with me because if I wanted to sleep I'd probably lose it, and sleeping through class is a big part of college life for me.

Yes you can probably type faster but words/text are only a small part of the notes I take, I have diagrams/graphs/shapes&symbols, words circled , arrows going all over the place linking things.....all stuff that can be done quickly & easily with pen & paper that would take long time with a laptop - especially with a touchpad.

More likely you'd end up using it to reply to the next person who asks this while you're sitting in class.

My desktop pc is used only for research (might as well just say wikipedia) and typing up projects that need to done neatly...everything else is 100% handwritten and it works fine.

[LAGUNA]

What college?

[SephYuyX]

The ONLY good thing laptops provide, are in class notes.

Desktop > Laptop

[edgarfigaro]

If you're doing a liberal arts education with alot of papers in your future, laptop>>>>>>>desktop, because you'll never get them done if you stay in your room. I started out with a desktop, and my junior year I got a laptop, and it was so much better for my papers. Plus it's nice to have between classes to goof off if you don't have time to go elsewhere.

[Elemmire]

Most laptops (newer ones of coarse) can handle the programs a college would require for any major I think. Also, it's a lot easy to move around and whatnot. If you plan on just focusing on work and no computer games or anything than I'd say a laptop. I woulda gone laptop but I already have a computer and broke so I just stay with my desktop x.x

[Gafgarionn]

What college?

Ohio State University........ I'm a nut... >_>;

[Nighty]

you know what sucks is that the college; if you go to a tech. They tell you that you have to get laptop, but by sophomore year you don't need it any more....

[vodo]

Personally I have an Alienware Area-51m 7700 for games and a Dell Inspiron 5150 for work/browsing. I love my laptops because they save space (which will be at a premium in your dorm) and I can take them anywhere I need to. You also have to consider that you can always hook up peripherals to your laptop like a monitor, keyboard, etc like it is a desktop tower; that way you can have the best of both worlds!

Don't take your laptop to class though. You'll get distracted and like you said, you are already used to using paper. If you have to take something electronic to class though, buy a palm pilot. You can get a nice one new for a few hundred bucks, and I'm sure you can find an even better deal on eBay. I have a lifedrive which I haven't used at all, but I plan to format it over the summer and make some use of it in the fall.

[Kross]

I'd say get a desktop, for obvious reasons (cheaper, more powerful).

Plus I'm sure there are lots of computer labs in your school, and taking notes by hand is way better than using a comp (doodling ftw!!).

But!! if you find yourself unmotivated to go to school, a laptop fixes that. What's better than chilling in the hall playing games while waiting for your next class. Or if you are taking a computer course and need Visual Studio, or VMware, you can get shit done way easier.

I guess it all comes down to how much money you're willing to spend.

[ertyu]

eh, I like my laptop. I have a shitty desktop which I use to run resource hog programs (AIM, MSN, shit like that). and I keep my laptop relatively clutter free. It gives you a little more freedom, and I am pretty good about not going on the internet while im in class but that's me... It all depends on you really. I personally prefer laptops for overall use, but its good to have a desktop too just incase.