desktop pc v's laptop

continualdiamond

Recently whilst at a new friend of mines flat i noticed she had a laptop and instantly i thought, brill idea.

I myself live in a flat so of course space is limited. Currently we have to have our fridge freezer in the spare room cos the kitchen is too small to have the fridge in due to the poor design of it (ground floor so back door is in the way). The second bedroom also houses the hoover and is basically for general storage as have no cupboards to store anything in, second bedroom also has the hot water tank and boiler.

So at the moment our desktop pc is in the main bedroom, its not really an issue, but when i saw my friend having a laptop i straight away thought, more space, no chunky desk to have everything on and laptop obviously can be taken from room to room.

Do laptops generally perform as well as desktop pcs?

Our pc is used quite a bit for the likes of itunes and storing digital photos from our camera on and then just general work, like my assignments and using the net etc.

I did used to play the sims on it but havent been able to get into the sims 3 so games really aren't an issue re storage wise.

I was thinking of keeping my printer so still able to connect it up to the laptop (if you can do that) and then how would i connect to the net with a laptop, cos current moderm plugs into the pc tower.

Any help, advice etc much appreciated, thanks

Nile

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Slartibardfast_2

Any modern laptop (Full size that is, not a netbook) would be more than up to your requirements. Basic spec should do, and prices start at around £250.

If your modem has a wireless router you'll be fine, similarly, if it hasn't and is connected by usb or ethernet cable you'll be OK.

What type of connection does your printer have? is it USB or Parallel (large connector with 25 pins)?

If the printer is old you MAY have problems with drivers on Vista or Windows 7. Which make and model do you have?

continualdiamond

Printer is Epson DX4400 is currently runs with vista on my desktop pc anyway. Its connected via a USB at the back of my tower.

Modern is connected the pc by a USB cable i think, but running off that is a wireless router which im unclear about to be honest as my OH tends to plug in his xbox cable so he can play against people online. Both are plugged into the pc so not really sure what one the pc runs off in order to get the internet.

With this set up i mentioned could i then use the laptop in any room and connect to the net or would i need to be in the same room and plug the cable into the laptop all the time?

exup

the only thing that can be difficult to do with a laptop is upgrade components. but you can get replacement hard drives / optical drives.
They may also have heating issues as they have less room inside to get the fans in.
The main failing of a laptop when compared to a desktop is when worked hard, but you really need to be heavy gaming to push them hard (games like Call of Duty / Battlefield 2 etc).
You can get gaming laptops but they can still run quite hot - and they are pricey where a desktop capable of heavy gaming would be cheaper.
For anything else though, such as music and photos then they would be fine, and are far more convenient then a desktop, especially if you want to take it round to a friends house

Slartibardfast_2

Your printer is supported by Windows 7.

A laptop would detect your wireless router and probably ask for a passphrase/key to connect. If the router hasn't been tweaked the code you will need will normally be printed on the underside of the case.

continualdiamond

I know the wireless router picks up internet for my wii, OH has set it all up with a password etc so i have to enter it on the screen of my wii.

Desktop isn't really used for games anymore, like the games mentioned OH tends to get them for his Xbox 360. We have a few games running on here like championship manager, but no other big games like the sims taking up loads of space cos im just not that bothered by it anymore.

If i copy my pc info down could people tell me how good/bad it is and what i should be looking for laptop wise? Then i could judge what we use this desktop for in terms of what we need.

Indie_Kid

exup wrote: »

the only thing that can be difficult to do with a laptop is upgrade components. but you can get replacement hard drives / optical drives.

I've been told (by someone who repairs laptops) that it's just easier to buy an external hard drive. You can by cheaper external hard drives and they're cheaper.

Slartibardfast_2

Absolutely, no problem.

Lil306

Laptops are no longer the slow machines they used to be. Technology has improved.

Prices can vary from around £200 for your run of the mill word-processing jobbie to your £2000+ custom PC (designed for full on gaming)

If you're looking for a laptop, that is capable of playing most games but not over the earth in the top of price. Expect to spend around £600-700

This will usually get you a spec that has a good amount of disk space, usually 4gb ram, a quadcore processor (or one of the newer i7s) and a dedicated graphics card.

If you intend on playing modern computer games, you MUST have a dedicated graphics card. Onboard graphics will play it, but they used shared memory which reduces performance

If you're looking for something to do all normal everyday things on such as surfing internet, emails, mild games, watching DVDs' etc you can get a good one for around £300-400. Usually 3-4gb of RAM, 300-500gb hdd and a dual / quad core intel processor.

Exup is right, that the problem with laptops is space. This is why a laptop will never outperform a desktop in performance, there is simply not enough room to upgrade. If you throw the right money at them however they can be incredibly powerful.

continualdiamond

Processor: AMD Athlon (tm) 64 x2 dual core processor 5000+ 2.60 GHz
Memory (RAM): 2.00GB
System type: 32 bit operating system

thats the info i get when i go to control panel - system.

Does that tell you everything?

(by the way this was custom built by someone my in laws to be know, my in laws to be got it built for us for xmas 2 yrs ago)