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Unless you are a gamer or are doing heavy video editing and graphics a laptop will work for most people especially if they have a regular monitor and keyboard and mouse hooked to it. From what I heard laptops cannot really make use of the power of an I7 because they don't have enough cooling so the processor gets throttled to the power of an I5. If you really need an I7 then a desktop is the way to go.
I do really like the portability and long battery life of a Macbook Air.
Desktop for the day, tiny fanless nettop with full-sized keyboard and 13" 2K LCD panel for the night
Laptops are way too hot'n'noisy and you still need a normal keyboard.
For some years of my life I had to use a notebook. It was OK because back then the Thinkpad T keyboards actually were good keyboards (but not anymore). My model had a Radeon GPU too. Nowadays I have a DELL Precision, mainly for the good (for a notebook) keyboard.
98% of the time I use a desktop though. Multiple reasons, e.g. sensible processor, plenty memory, dual spindles (Raid 1) for storage, NVMe for OS and main (work) VMs (mirrored to a fast good SSD) and another SSD for all the other VMs, 10Gb NIC, and the least power hungry and cheapest halfway decent silent graphics card I could find (a 1030) plus a large good quality monitor.
For my type of work a notebook just doesn't cut it. In case you have doubts just open a notebook, even a really good one and you'll notice something: lack of space (for multiple drives, decent CPU cooling, etc.) and crammed components as well as many flimsy engineering spots. And I need a decent normal size keyboard anyway.
Personally, I own a notebook and a desktop.
I'm typing this on my notebook, which works fine, but is very low-spec. I mostly just use it for some emulation and doing work.
My desktop is my preferred option, as it's more powerful / capable of gaming and the very large screen I use helps me be more productive.
Regardless, both are good options, but it really comes down to your use-case.
I haven't used a desktop for about 6 or 7 years. Actually my last "desktop" (imac 5k) was stolen from my office so I replaced it with a macbook pro and a secondary monitor (now 4k usb-c, only one cable needed).
Laptops are so powerful nowadays that they can handle lot's of work and will last you for years, at least for my type of work (devops). Downside is that macbook pro's have gotten so expensive over the years.
My favorite peace is MacBook Pro 13 or 16.
But actually here is my config at work:
My config at home:
Honestly, i've switched from MacBook Pro 13 for mobility to an iPad Pro 11, and i think i'm not sure i'll would look back. It's really convenient to transport, it's lightweight as fuck, long battery life, beautiful, complete system, always fast, low maintenance, quite everything is quicker to do (for real). At the beginning i was not sure, but the only bad think i've found with it is just Microsoft RDP. It sucks a bit (still usable, just not really good even if you can use your mouse). Yes, my iPad Pro can connect to work VPN but after i have to connect to my work desktop ; this is where it 's a pain in the ass xD.
I'm waiting for next Apple iMac, if they change the design i will maybe switch my main home desktop computer for this. It will be different for gaming, but i want to switch to cloud gaming (i'm actually trying it and really like it ; also note that i keep my previous gaming rig in my living room for couch gaming with my friends). I'm waiting my Shadow PC order also (cloud gaming full Windows), may help with remote desktop session as they use their own app for this.
I use desktop + laptop + tablet + phone.
I was always a fan of desktops, but since I got a ThinkPad with dock for work I am not realy sure if I would buy a new desktop for my private use if I need a new one.
A Macbook for design and code.
A Window PC for gaming and everything else.
You should look at different perspective. Tablet is not just an IPAD.
Surface the best productivity tablet as of right now. No contest. It is literally a tablet with Desktop OS.
Comes in 2nd is Samsung Galaxy TAB S6. It's basically the Surface on Android. Same kickstand, same keyboard, same touchpad. It has Normal Mode, where you can do android stuff (Gaming, Entertainment and Stuff), can switch to Dex Mode for more serious work, or can run a Desktop Ubuntu for even more serious work. But because it's ARM, you are limited to ARM Software e.g. a Glorified Raspberry PI.
But if you are an artist, the best one is of course IPAD. But then again, you won't be lurking here if you are an artist.
I myself, where I spent most of my time using terminal, vim, visual code, and chrome, Galaxy S6 is enough for daily driver / laptop replacement.
And therein lies the problem - it's a Desktop OS.
They're fine as laptops, except that they don't work on your lap so better to have an actual laptop. But less optimal as a tablet.
I love my iPad for reading, browsing, gaming, etc. But I returned the Apple cover keyboard because I never used it.
Nobody really use their laptop on their lap for productivity. For entertainment or light browsing, sure. That's what tablet mode is for.
This.
Much easier working with a good quality keyboard, mouse and full sized screen.
Plus I can custom build a PC, choosing all the components (and upgrades) to suit my needs.
When mobility is important, or when space is tight (as in my garage) - I use a laptop.
I do - quite often.
Regardless, I see the Surface as interesting but doesn't really work. I'd rather have two devices (laptop + tablet) than one device that does both half-ass.
Only windows and a 1080p HDMI monitor since I got this setup.
But linux shouldn't be a problem, as long as the messy gpu/display driver stack (and of course the hardware) supports display port output via USB-C. The dock/hub just takes that signal and repacks it as HDMI. It doesn't act as a USB-GPU that would need its own drivers. To only use 1 cable, the same USB-C port also needs to support power delivery, and the dock/hub too of course.
I use this but from a different chinese "brand": https://www.amazon.de/iTeknic-USB-Hub-mit-Ports-HDMI/dp/B07QDQG81Q
PS: I'm amazed how many people don't get, that you can connect a monitor, mouse and keyboard to a laptop. ;-p
I feel very restricted when working on a desktop. I love a laptop on the couch - some of my best stuff was made from my bed. I often find my back, legs, neck and everything hurting when I am on a desktop. None of that discomfort on my MacBook Pro. In fact I am smaller MacBook now too just for working from the sofa.
I reckon desktops might die in the next 20 years. The hardware is already too fidgety, involves playing around to get to work and often you have driver conflict when one component doesn’t work with the other one. Someone with a job needs a solid computer with good support, so either get a MacBook, an iMac or a Thinkpad.
Have you tried connecting this laptop to a monitor, keyboard and mouse? Full HD, 2K or 4K? How does he work? Do you have enough performance for a 2K/4K monitor or only Full HD?
I use both, an iMac at my desk and a Macbook Pro in a backpack ready for when I have to move out; both have the exact same software setup, files are all on the "cloud" anyways and synced, so I can do what I need from either one. Gotta say these past few months I haven't used the macbook pro much for obvious reasons.
If you don‘t care too much about the extra cost and slightly less performance: a nice dock with external screen(s) and external keyboard is the perfect work setup in my opinion as it combines both worlds (portability if necessary and fully ergonomic setup for work in the office/at home). It also allows you to buy smaller and more portable ones such as a 13“ MacBook Pro and still have a large screen most of the time.
Laptop with Windows 10 Pro
iMac with Windows 10 Pro (don't ask me why, only Swiss people will understand)
So this thread made me interested and I've been looking around for laptops that "could" replace my desktop and that aren't very big, so it's easy to take around. I came up with the XPS 15 or the Razer Stealth 13. The Razer Stealth 13 seems like a better choice, but from reviews the CPU downclocks to like 1.8GHz under any consistent load, so it seems like it wouldn't be ideal for playing any games on even if you have a good dedicated GPU. Any ideas? Can't find any slim/light Ryzen laptops with dedicated GPU and that are 13-14" that can thunderbolt to an HDMI monitor.
Edit: Actually the 15" Blade seems alright, 5GHz boost CPU and up to a RTX 2080 Super.. and RJ45.
Edit 2: I've come to the conclusion that a Razer Stealth 13" would be excellent IF it had a Ryzen mobile CPU. That way you could pair it with a Core X external GPU enclosure and a monitor, and it would be a great "game at home" and "take and go" laptop. The Intel CPU it has is the only bottleneck.
desktop for more productive hours, trust me.
They're fine as laptops, except that they don't work on your lap so better to have an actual laptop. But less optimal as a tablet.
I love my iPad for reading, browsing, gaming, etc. But I returned the Apple cover keyboard because I never used it.
Totally agree, a Surface is not a tablet. It could do it as a best effort, but it's not made for that. And same applies with iPad Pro! It's not a laptop ; but it's more and more close to a laptop while keeping the tablet mindset ; this is where this shit is amazing and probably what cause it to be the most wanted tablet actually with more and more desktop apps scaled to fit it.
Used both. I feel laptop is the better choice due to the "portability" or you can just buy a few monitors instead of a full desktop.
There are such laptops, they were recently presented https://gadgets.ndtv.com/laptops/news/xiaomi-redmibook-13-14-16-price-cny-3799-launched-specifications-features-2235441.
, they are also very energy efficient, allow the laptop to work for about 10 hours. For watching one movie, only 20% of the battery is spent on a RedmiBook 14 (Ryzen 4500u) laptop.
I’m also thinking about buying it.
Here's what these Ryzen processors are capable of:
@Edward looks good, too bad no dedicated gpu.
Other than moving around or going for meeting, I don't even want to leave my hands on top of laptop.
Custom Build Desktop is what I preferred where you don't feel any machinary heat at ur finger tips and more productivity due to the room of upgrades and more focus like you need to station at one place for longer.
I often do. One thing that pulled me away from the notion that the new apple "it-just-works" keyboard for iPad was the top-heaviness of the iPad.
Yup. At the same time, your workflow would be different if you're using a tablet(os) instead of desktop/laptop
A little larger but I like the look of the ASUS TUF A15 RTX.
RE: keyboard what I'd recommend is having a set up on your desk with a full size keyboard and a good quality mouse - the limitations of a laptop keyboard will only come into play when out and about, not a big deal.
I went full /r/battlestations recently on account of spending more time inside. Only thing I've not replaced so far is the laptop (current is a few years old). Totally worth it though.
My laptop comes with a desktop.
