The debate of desktops versus laptops has been going on for decades, with both sides having strong reasons to defend their preferred choice.
One might think that laptops and tablets are superior devices just cause they serve pretty much the same purpose in a much more portable fashion. However, that might not always be the case here.
In some use cases, using a desktop over a laptop seems like a no-brainer, and we will discuss some of those use cases in detail as we move forward so you can make an informed purchase decision when buying your next computer.
Desktop PCs are Easily Upgradable
Unlike laptops, a desktop PC allows you to upgrade every single component, allowing you to change a particular component if it’s affecting your PC’s performance rather than replacing the entire PC, saving you a lot of money.
Although you can upgrade things like RAM and storage on a laptop, that’s the most you are allowed to do in a traditional laptop. So let’s assume that you want to play a game, and you cannot play it because your laptop doesn’t have a dedicated GPU or, in some cases, even if it has one, it has gotten old. You would have no choice but to replace the entire laptop to upgrade to something new.
On the PC side, you would simply have to replace your GPU or just install a new one, and you would be good to go! This can ultimately help you save a significant amount of money and, at the same time, allow you to reuse your existing PC components without replacing them. Hence, proving that desktops are better than laptops when it comes to upgradability.
Desktop PC can be Repaired Easily and have a Longer Life Cycle.
The higher repairability is what also makes Desktop PC better than laptops. As we discussed earlier, desktop PCs give you the freedom to easily swap out any component you like, while this freedom is absent from laptops.
As you might expect, this freedom allows you to easily replace damaged or broken components without replacing the entire computer. This would contribute to less wastage and allow you to keep using components that still have some life left in them.
Unfortunately, the same can not be said for laptops. If a component dies on a laptop’s motherboard, you are left with no choice but to replace the entire board. And at that point, you might as well just buy a new laptop. This is because every component is soldered onto the board and can not be easily replaced.
This ease of repairability allows older desktop PCs to live a much longer life than laptops. This is one of the main reasons why a desktop PC that is even ten years old may serve you just fine today with minor upgrades like a new SSD and more RAM.
Desktops Offer Better Performance for Cheap
Performance is one of the key factors that makes Desktop PCs better than laptops. One of the biggest challenges for manufacturers when making a laptop is heat and power consumption.
This is because, unlike desktops, laptops have limited power to work due to battery power and are enclosed in small and thin chassis.
These limitations results in these components being underpowered compared to their desktop counterparts. A desktop i7 would always be more powerful than a laptop i7 processor.
Considering this, if you were to go out today to buy a computer with a budget of $700, You would get a powerful computer if you were to go with a desktop PC instead of a laptop. Hence, you simply can’t go wrong with a desktop PC to get the absolute value for money.
Desktop PC has more I/O Ports.
Desktop PCs are better than laptops when it comes to connecting multiple peripherals and devices.
You only have a handful of ports on a laptop. Just enough to connect a mouse, a flash drive, and a single display.
And if you want anything more than that, you are out of luck unless you have Thunderbolt support on your laptop.
This is where a desktop PC shines. You will have around 6-8 USB Type-A ports which are more than enough for most people.
It also has a dedicated LAN port, which seems to be missing in some laptops, so if you do a lot of activity on your local network, such as transferring files from a local server back and forth, you would need that ethernet port.
And when it comes to connecting multiple displays, a desktop PC got your back. Even if you find the onboard graphics on your motherboard limiting, you can simply plug in a graphics card and get up to four video output ports.
And you can do the same with other ports on your PC. Think you need faster networking? Simply slot in a faster NIC. Need extra USB ports? Buy a PCIe USB card. The possibility for I/O is endless on a desktop PC.
Desktop PCs are harder to steal.
If you work with sensitive data and can’t risk it getting into the wrong hands, then Desktop PCs are simply the better choice. Though the bulkiness of desktop PC is seen as a disadvantage, here it becomes its strength.
The hassle of unplugging everything and then the top of that, being careful when carrying it just makes it simply not worth the effort for a burglar.
Desktops are easier to clean.
This one is also a no-brainer. You have to be significantly more careful when cleaning a laptop. This is because all components are so tightly packed in, and on top of that, chances are that you would have to carefully remove ribbon cables which are quite fragile when deep cleaning your laptop.
Such a level of hassle is unnecessary on a desktop PC. At most, you must tape your graphic card and CPU fans so they don’t overspin when you blow air on them via a compressed air can or a leaf blower.
And that’s it. That’s how simple it is to clean a desktop PC.
Freedom to make your own
As a tech enthusiast, this one is my favorite. The freedom to choose whatever components you want that specifically fit your needs is what makes desktop PCs better than laptops, from choosing your favorite style of PC case to choosing your own style of RAM. Everything about building your own PC is personal.
And what also makes Desktop PC building than buying a regular laptop is that even compared to prebuilt PCs, building your own custom PC is much cheaper. So if you want to get the best value for money while also spending as little as possible, then building a Desktop PC is something you should seriously consider.
Though I agree that building a desktop PC might feel hard and intimidating, it;s actually quite easy and as simple as plugging things into each other. You can easily search for tutorials online that give you a step-by-step guide when starting from scratch.
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