Desktop computers dead

Firetastic · 9 April 2018 at 7:26PM

I was wondering does anyone still use desktop computers anymore? I sit and type this on my all in one desktop computer. The computer guy I used to use just uses an ipad now and doesn't have any desktop or laptops in his house.

So you think desktop computers will eventually just die off like the dinousaurs did. If not why not and what do you prefer?

Tom99 · 9 April 2018 at 7:30PM

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I think the desktop will eventually die but not the caddy/monitor option.[/FONT]

Neil_Jones · 9 April 2018 at 7:43PM

Desktop computers are still useful for gaming machines as its far cheaper to do it that way. The equivalent laptop is four figures and an all-in-one is probably just as expensive.

Personally I can't get on with all-in-one's, I've always preferred a desktop or a laptop. But each to their own.

[Deleted User] · 9 April 2018 at 7:45PM

I just use my iPhone. I did have an iPad but I gave it up as it just seems pointless as the phone does everything and more than the iPad or desktop.
Desktops in the home are dead and laptops won!!!8217;t be far behind.

Pauciloquent_1_2 · 9 April 2018 at 7:54PM

Yes, albeit a very small one which is therefore easily portable if necessary.
They have pro's & con's - for me a desktop is far cheaper than the equivalent in a laptop and no iPad (that I could afford, certainly) will cope easily with what I do on the PC.

SIL has huge desktop PC's - for gaming, mainly. Huge, water-cooled beasts they are. He spends more on a graphics card alone than I spend on a full computer though.
Android is fast enough on decent-spec hardware but the sheer amount of updates and the frequency of new versions would put me off trying to use an android-based tablet or similar as my main machine.

Horse for courses, i suppose but IMHO desktops will always have a place.

boliston · 9 April 2018 at 7:54PM

I would not want to have to use a phone or ipad when i'm at home!

For home use a have a 27 inch screen - dell u2713hm which is much easier on the eye than squinting at a mobile device.

I have a nexus 6 phone which is great for when i'm out and about.

I'm not at all keen on all in one devices like an imac as they seem expensive and also they can be fiddly to change parts, like adding and removing hard drives etc so I would prefer a traditional "tower" pc

that · 9 April 2018 at 8:04PM

Desktops are more economical to own. Get less hot. Often they can be upgraded to some extent, however once the manufacturers stop from writing drivers you are stuffed.

I recently got a 32GB 16 core Xeon CPU PC. Lovely and fast, but no proper drivers for the o/s (server 2016) with a c600 chipset. Bodging it, I do get 200Mb/s with ssd, but with traditional hard drive i get 11mb/s which is about as slow as a usb2 mem stick. I also get 230Gb/s on the SSD using it on a usb 3 adapter too, but drive is capable of over 500Mb/s.

Yes, laptops are winning, except my quad core HD 4000, and Intel do not make divers for windows 10 for that model either, so it is running in a generic mode.

Either way you get shafted.

Johnmcl7 · 9 April 2018 at 8:31PM

The role of desktops has certainly been reduced but they still have their place for specialist/high performance machines or very cheap PC's.

I use a desktop PC for gaming and photo/video editing work, primarily a desktop for its high performance - it has a water cooled hex core i7 running at 4.2ghz, GTX 1070 and 18.5TB storage 500GB of which is solid state plus a pair of blu-ray readers.

It's not just the performance though but the flexibility, parts can easily be upgraded or replaced as needed whereas with laptops and a lot of AIO's, upgrades and repairs are very limited. My PC is now around six years old and been gradually upgraded over the years as needed, it's running low on storage so probably time to stick a pair of 12TB's inside.

I previously used high performance laptops but they're significantly more expensive, they're not very flexible and they usually run hot and noisy. On the move I've got some silent ultralight laptops then just keep the heavy stuff for the desktop which I'd rather sit at to work on with a proper keyboard, mouse and monitor.

John

Carrot007 · 9 April 2018 at 8:41PM

Firetastic wrote: »

I sit and type this on my all in one desktop computer.

Yes desktops are getting less popular.

You have a laptop in a bigger case not a desktop.

Will they die off? Not as servers any time soon.

Laptops have small screens. I need 2 24 inch at a minimum. I don't see any 24 inch laptops. But hey I would use one with an external monitor and keyboard and mouse if the price was right.

What is happening is most people have realised they don't need a lot fortheir needs these days. So maybe a 17 inch laptop does fine.

EssexExile · 9 April 2018 at 9:10PM

I have a phone, a laptop, a Kindle & a desktop. I can't do serious stuff on the little things, I like my desktop. I hope they don't die out.

googler · 9 April 2018 at 11:10PM

I want to sit at my desk, with a big monitor.

I want the keyboard close to me, at the height of my elbows, and I want the monitor about 18 inches beyond the keyboard, at least 8 inches off the desk. Can't do that with a laptop, where I would have a permanent stoop, looking down at the top edge of the keyboard.

Desktop for me, every time.

Desktop computers dead

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free