New laptop or desktop?

tomandjerry

Hello everyone,

Haven't been on this website for ages and have to say it has changed so much since my last 'visit'. The reason is that I don't have a functioning computer any more and I'd like to ask you what type of compuer is the cheap and reliable one on the market. I set to myself a badget of £500 max. I need it for the use of internet, future uni studies and general use. What requirements should I look for?
Many thanks,

TAJ.

BillScarab

You'll generally get a better spec by buying a desktop than a laptop of the same price. Having said that for £500 you can get a nice enough laptop that will do all you want if you prefer something poratble.

For a basic general purpose machine have a look at https://www.dmxdimension.com they list all of the best offers on Dell machines.

tomandjerry

BillScarab wrote: »

You'll generally get a better spec by buying a desktop than a laptop of the same price. Having said that for £500 you can get a nice enough laptop that will do all you want if you prefer something poratble.

For a basic general purpose machine have a look at www.dmxdimension.com they list all of the best offers on Dell machines.[/quote

Thank you, I had Dell laptop paid large amount of money and it'd lived for 3 years only before started breaking down. I want something cheaper and more reliable with XP Prof. I have a look at the website anyway.
Thanks,
TAJ

bookduck

The desktops are usually cheaper, often have a higher spec. easier to fix and often use non propriety parts and are usually easier to expand.

Say you have a laptop and you spilled coke on the keyboard - £15 will buy you a new
desktop keyboard and you wont have to go to the manufacturer. Want a different graphics or sound card for a desktop easy. Wireless card goes fault -easy replacement for a desktop. Memory tends to be cheaper too for desktops.

Desktops tend to be more reliable, due to greater heat dissipation.

However besides the obvious size issue, desktops are often more noisy