Poll: Your Computer.

[MrTub]

stupidly i made my g card future resistent, but my processor not, so when the time comes i gotta fork out alot more money

Eh, you probably did the right thing - processors constantly change chip-sets, it's impossible to future-proof more than a year or so really as the next generation's gonna need a different motherboard anyway. At least there's little indication of getting rid of PCIe slots anytime soon, so you're gonna do fine with that choice

I was looking into upgrading (ended buying a new graphics card as my old one conveniently burnt out (lol)) but there's so much new shit coming out this generation that it's definitely safer to wait another to see how the industry pans out. There's a new universal connection being introduced that's got RIDICULOUS bandwidth on it, to the point where a friend of mine's talking about the advent of external graphics cards being able to run fast than internal ones (!_!), so tech could be getting pretty interesting in a couple of years' time!

well Pci Express 3 will be supported soon

http://semiaccurate.com/2011/03/28/latest-intel-roadmap-confirms-pci-express-3-0-for-ivy-bridge/

and I guess you mean Light peak?

 

[Wolfram23]

I have a fucking sweet desktop that would blow any laptop away for performance and sheer awesomeness lol. But seriously. Also, soon to be watercooled. Weeeeeeeee!!!

Anyway laptops are great for what they do but honestly gaming on one... if you need to play "on the go" (aka at school) then go for it but at home, it just doesn't even compare to a good gaming PC.

 

[Lucifron]

Portability? What about portability? Is consumerism not good enough for you? Too good for owning both a desktop and a laptop?

Tsh.

 

[Napierdalac]

I got a gaming desktop, used only for.... gaming. Then i have this laptop, that i use for surfing the web and school.. (a few games have sneaked in tho ) Aaand i have a netbook, which i only use for music or downloading. Much cheaper in power to have a netbook downloading through steam over night than my desktop + it wont crank the heat up 5 degrees C. ^^

I will never, loose my desktop. I simply prefer sitting nice and comfortable while playing games.

 

[antidonkey]

Well, i have both. I have a nice gaming desktop as that's just how I like my PCs. My laptop while not a gaming laptop is gaming capable. Nothing too crazy but good enough. I hardly use it. Just when I'm on the road.

 

[Buzz Killington_v1legacy]

I've got a laptop because I sold my desktop when I moved overseas a few years ago, and I've stuck with it because my apartment's really too small to have both.

 

[mireko]

Desktop computers are cheaper, cheaper to upgrade, can be upgraded without tools/SCIENCE and easier to clean and maintain.

They will obviously have the same power as a laptop of equivalent specifications, but will always cost less unless you buy pre-built stuff.

 

[StBishop]

Generally, desktops are more powerful per dollar spent, and I personally prefer gaming seated at a desk, with a real mouse, full keyboard and a large screen, with nice big speakers.

Laptops have many advantages, but when it comes to gaming, I'm sticking by my big black box.

Add to this, customisability and upgrading piece by piece. And replacing faulty parts yourself rather than sending it away.

 

[Continuity]

Recently my brother got a new laptop. A Dell brand with intel i5 core inside. 300 GB. 4GB Ram. Windows 7.

It works perfectly and in my opinion it is far better then my Samsung net book. It occurred to me that he could all his work and manage all his media easily with no fuss with his new laptop, while mine would lag and struggle under simple commands, to me realization this laptop was better then all home desktop computers I've used so far.

So it got me thinking what was the point of the desktop computer now ? everything is now done through laptop devices which are just as fast at managing the workload. The only obvious advantage I see from desktop computers is games but from what i've seen most laptops can already play high end games to a good graphical level. (I mainly just play minecraft on the pc anyway)

So my question and discussion is, Are there any value in desktop computers today ? Do you own one ? What's the main difference.

Absolutely there is and the main advantage of the desktop is for specialised uses, e.g. a workstation or a gaming rig. The major shortcoming of the laptop is its size, it can't take full powered hardware and it can't handle the heat from serious use. The second shortcoming is that the laptop isn't really upgradable and its quite a bit more expensive on a similar spec basis... all major issues for a dedicated PC gamer.

To me, buying a laptop for gaming would be like buying a penknife to chop down a tree. I would have to have some sort of mental breakdown to even consider it.

Now i'm, not saying that you can't game on a laptop, i'm just saying that its far from ideal. You show me any gaming laptop and for the same price I will show you a custom build desktop that will blow its socks off and probably outlast it quite a bit.

 

[R3dF41c0n]

I own a desktop computer and a laptop. I use the desktop for gaming, photoshop, illustrator, and just about anything. The laptop is an older 2005 ASUS I use for web browsing, streaming video (I connect it to my TV) and very light gaming. I recently upgraded my desktop to a quad core processor with 8GB of ram.

 

[Denamic]

Laptops have half the performance for twice the price, and that's barely not even exaggerated.
They also have way shorter lifespans due to their relative inefficiency at dissipating heat, due to the shitty amount of space in the cases.
A laptop is a waste unless you can't be at home too much.

 

[AndrewC]

I use my desktop for gaming and my animation work, I also prefer them to laptops because you get more bang for your buck by far.

Besides half the time I see someone using a laptop for gaming, they have to plug it in anyway, then they need to find something to sit it on to vent the mass of heat that it generates.

The only advantage is portability, but I have my phone for anything I need to do on the move

 

[ultimateownage]

Recently my brother got a new laptop. A Dell brand with intel i5 core inside. 300 GB. 4GB Ram. Windows 7.

It works perfectly and in my opinion it is far better then my Samsung net book. It occurred to me that he could all his work and manage all his media easily with no fuss with his new laptop, while mine would lag and struggle under simple commands, to me realization this laptop was better then all home desktop computers I've used so far.

So it got me thinking what was the point of the desktop computer now ? everything is now done through laptop devices which are just as fast at managing the workload. The only obvious advantage I see from desktop computers is games but from what i've seen most laptops can already play high end games to a good graphical level. (I mainly just play minecraft on the pc anyway)

So my question and discussion is, Are there any value in desktop computers today ? Do you own one ? What's the main difference.

Desktops are more easily fixed, customizable, cheaper, and more comfortable. Not to mention they are more powerful.
I'd ask the same thing about laptops, other than being able to move them around your house what the hell else would you need an expensive laptop with that much power behind it?

 

[Roxor]

I use a desktop machine. It's not specifically built for gaming, although it is pretty good for the task. It actually spends more time crunching data for BOINC projects than it does running games. I really didn't build it with gaming specifically in mind, rather to just try and get the best performance for as many possible tasks I could end up doing with it. Basically, I end up using it for pretty-much everything, and when what I'm actually doing doesn't use the full processing capabilities, BOINC projects use up the rest.

I do have a laptop, although it's really only used for reading stuff and watching the odd video file. Oh, and remotely controlling the desktop with UltraVNC.

 

[Dango]

I use a gaming laptop, The Asus G51J-A1, and I'm working on getting the money for a new desktop.

 

[ultimateownage]

SPECS:
[bProcessor: Intel i7 870
Triple set of 2Gig DDR3 RAM sticks
Radeon 6990 4Gig graphics card
Motherboard (exact name of which I forget)[/b]
Plus an Antec gaming case with several built-in fans, a 1000w power supply that Maplin had on special offer, a new 16-speed DVD drive, and I'm keeping my old harddrive. I'm re-formatting it, though, and installing Windows 7 64-bit.

I always thought Radeon 6990s to be complete overkill. My 5770 can run every PC game on full graphics without any lag, and is much cheaper.

 

[GLo Jones]

I tend to spend most evenings on a gaming desktop I put together a couple of months ago.

Spoiler: But during the day, I'll usually post from an iPad.

Haters gonna hate.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

well my laptop doesn't get used much as it is, most of the time when i need to do homework or whatever i'm going to be going home or i can do it after class, in which my desktop is a beast compared to my laptop, which i don't have a shoddy laptop, it can play mass effect decent enough, but honestly the portability isn't that big of a deal..i know what i need for the day so if i need to bring something i either post it to my online college account or i have a flashdrive with it on there.

for now i will always prefer my desktop, there is no need for the portability, but eventually portability will catch up a bit more to the point where i will use it just as much if not more than my desktop.

plus battery life? lol, if you run your laptop hardcore for games and whatnot it ain't gonna last more than a few hours probably.

 

[instantbenz]

i have a gaming lappy which is tits for taking to friends' and playing games with them, but i'm looking toward getting a better desktop as i have an old one that needs replacing. my job luckily requires an awesome computer ... justification!

desktops are so much cheaper now it's silly, i'm excited to spend as much as i spent on my lappy beast for a mammoth desktop.

 

[Darknacht]

Where is the all of the above option?