Which is better as a home PC: a laptop or desktop?

for home i'd go with a desktop. more power and more storage are available for less money. of course, if you'd like to use it anywhere but home, well, that answers itself.

I would recommend a desktop PC for the home. It can be upgraded and expanded easier than a laptop and can have a bigger screen. I haven't bought a PC in over 10 years, I just buy parts for my desktop and upgrade my system.

Desktops offer security, low cost, easy upgrades, storage, performance, and infinite battery life.

Laptops offer convenience.

As a penny-pincher, the low-cost says desktop.
As a prudently cautious person, the security says desktop.
As a person who likes future-proofing (upgrade possibilities), I say desktop.
As a person who is forgetful about recharging, I say desktop.

Umm...

Desktop?

Both are good. That's my opinion.

I'll have to stay with the laptop (I don't even have one YET, so this is not biased!).

Unless you use the computer for resource-intensive tasks, like playing games, editing movies, 3d animation... In that case you should surely stay with the desktop.

But for the usual home PC usage: internet browsing, text editing, listening to music, maybe playing some simple games here and there...
I'd stay with the laptop. It's very compact, so it won't clutter your house at all, you can use it where the hell you want to, and if you want of course (that's what they're designed for), you can take it with you wherever you go.
And why not, I think they look way cooler than desktops. :)

Today's average laptop should provide more than needed power to do these things.

A desktop has more internal space, especially larger full towers, and can stay cooler with more fans and more room for ventilation ... but a laptop is portable and can be easily carried almost anywhere. A laptop can be plugged into a docking station for use with large monitors, external hard drives, full size keyboards & mouse/pointing devices, etc.

... they are both best at what they are intended for, so as a computer programmer and a computer systems analyst, before I can recommend a computer, I need to know exactly how the user will want to use it, only then will one or the other be better for them and their computing needs.

My Opinion ~ Laptops cause they are portable and you can lay in bed under the covers and still use the internet :)

i prefer using desktop coze it's cheap and can be used by everybody.

As a home PC, i.e. a PC that's only going to be used in one place and doesn't need to be portable, provided there was a room in the house where I could work away from any hustle and bustle, I would choose a desktop because you tend to get better value for your money, desktop PCs are easier and cheaper to upgrade and repair. If the PC could only be sited in a room that was subject to distractions I would go for a laptop. So I suppose I'm saying there isn't a "better", it depends on individual circumstances.

I prefer a desktop for home for security purposes.

Desktops have much more security, rather than a laptop.

Laptop signals can be intercepted from as close as the street you live on. if you are paying bills on line, hackers can learn your identity, your date of birth and your social security numbers. from the safety point, laptops are not safe.

The majority of desktops do not have this problem. their signal goes through a phone line to a disc located elsewhere. this eliminates the "down the street signal interception" as experienced with laptops.

We have both, but I'd still take a laptop. If you invest in a wireless router and an external network hard drive, you can pretty much sit anywhere in the house and use your computer. The network hard drive connects to the router - which you can access through the WiFi in your laptop. Instant extra storage space, portability... and the fact that laptops are becoming a lot more affordable.

You can network a printer off the router as well. The only time you'd need a desktop computer into the equation is if you wanted to have wireless access to USB devices like scanners/printers/ etc. You set them up on the desktop computer, connect it to your little home network, and you can access the devices from your laptop by going through the desktop connection. Sounds complicated, but is very easy in practice.

This has been asked before and here are the responses:

http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/49042

And I also answered a similar question once that looked at the finer points of choosing a laptop:

http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/113095

I use a laptop at home, because, I can take it into any room in the house. For instance, everyone is in the room I'm in being loud and I'm trying to get work done, then I can just pick up and move. You could do that with a desktop but its not worth the effort. Also if I need to take my computer with me I have that option. And I only have to have one that way because, once again, its portable.

I would prefer to use the latest desktop pc at home because desktop PC can be used for long period of time while laptops is only limited to less than 8 hrs.

A Desktop computer would be better for home use...you can use it all day if you want - a laptop can only be used for certain amounts of time. Laptops have limited space so they heat up quicker due to the confined spae for the components, so they usually last 5 to 7 hours, (this may have changed since my job as a Tech advisor).

The best place to buy a Desktop computer and get the best possible price is through a website called bargains4canadians.com, a shopping portal site. They have a few brands displayed and when I clicked on the second icon (Averatec All-in-One Intel Desktop PC) a saw a savings of $312.03 from retail prices -awesome savings!! Check out the different brands, and detailed descriptions off the Computers & Software Page at:

www.bargains4canadians.com

Hope this helps!!

laptop is better.To explore more about laptop and windows7 please visit.
http://windows7.iyogi.net

I'd go for both, I have both at my home. Things have never been better for me!

If you just use it at home,i think the desktop is better,it is cheaper than laptop and the capability is ok.

I just answered this for another guy in here buddy.. The Its is simple... If your looking for a beautifully crafted laptop or an amazing Desktop, with unique features and amazing performance.. go for an Apple macbook or an iMac. There is also an amazing student discount .. try visiting http://www.apple.com/in/students/ for more information. If you are a student this will help... also the specs for Apple computer are futuristic... features like LED Screen, backlit keyboard... DDR3 Ram, 1066 Mhz bus speeds and inbuilt Graphics cards like the 9600 series Nvidia make it truly awesome to have

Laptop is the better option.

Laptop is the best option if it fulfills your requirement.
http://www.xpert4u.co.uk/electronics/Computer-Hardware/Laptops.html

Technically, for most non gaming users, a desktop and a laptop will give identical functionally.

It comes down to what the intended use and environment of it's use is. With out that info the whole desktop/laptop question can not just be simply answered with a 100% answer either way.

for your average home user a decent laptop with a decent sized hard drive will offer more than enough performance and storage.

For anyone that either wants to play hardcore games, use their computer as an entertainment system or do anything else that has very intensive hardware requirements then a desktop..... (but that sort of user should know that themselves)

at work I will supply a laptop to everybody unless they have specific requirements that can not be met with a laptop.

desktop.

cheaper
more durable
upgradable

laptop you can take it all over ur home if u wanna research in bed u can! if u wanna look at recipies and cook at the same time u can

Laptop.

Desktop, they're easily customizable, and they don't rely one batteries that may explode. *Cough* Dell *Cough*

desktop. its much more sturdy and rigid.

I would use a desktop as you can upgrade it and it is much better than laptop.

another reason is my freind bought a laptop and used it for one year as home pc and away and the battary finished and told him to buy a new battery because he had used it so much that it could not recharge anymore.

I have heard this many times from people.

Myself I prefer desktop especially at homes

but laptops are more practical outside

I prefer a desktop for it is better equipped (better cpu, better graphics card etc) than a laptop. On the other hand, my wife prefers a laptop for it is more compact. The other advantage of a laptop is that it is more flexible : it has wi-fi, bluetooth etc.

a desktop because they have more memory

why don't you ask why is the sky blue???? what are you using it for. unless you want to spend 6k to get a top of the line laptop to do everything, desktop for home,

hi, i have both, my desktop is working and my laptop isnt connected to the internet yet,i dont know how to do this.but from what i heard a laptop is slower than a desktop.if you do get a desktop,dont get an e-machine! thats what i have and its very problematic.i hope ive helped you!

i think if differs from a person to another , for example is ur a journalist or a business man or so it's better to have laptop it's flexible mobile and small , and can avoid any noise or disturbance if ur not home, other than that or if ur just a regular user I'd say desktop it's long lifetime won't turn off if u forgot to charge of course is safer as well it upgradable unlike the laptop,if u want a laptop just for the looks it's totally pointless and not practical so it's ur circumstances that decide , just like BryinLanza said

depending on your money and your home size and your computer usage.
If you have not problem for computer size, desktop is better with less money. also it's customizable and easy to repair.
but always I like laptop more... a few you pay more, but you will get an small and powerful computer with all you need and easy to travel, safe usage because battery and not power-lost and... I live with my Laptop, I just paid $2500 and now I've all what I need...

not sure but my answer is a laptop

my suggestion will be to have a laptop..u can have music filling urr surroundings wen u r on rooftop with a beer mug in urr hand...u can have it around the corner of bed wen u and urr wife want to enjoy a romantic movie in a cozy bed...u can have it with u in potty when there is something urgen comes to you frm urr boss and u need to deliever a presentation while u r having stmch infctn :)

I used to say that a desktop computer would beat out a laptop computer hands down as for a computer to own/buy, but lately,with all the upgrades and the bigger hard drives and fast processors that are in laptops today, I would have to say that a laptop is by far the best invstment for a computer. You can carry it anywhere you go, and with all of the accessories that you can purchase and use with a laptop, it can very easily be transformed into a full desktop home-based computer.

Why it is not be a desktop?!
With just using in the unchanging place, desktop is useful. It is low cost, easy upgrades, security, performance and storage.

no doubt desktop is the better option .. laptops are better known as travell companion.

no brainer here unless u want to travel with a computer desktop is the way to go first of all cheaper second of all waaaay better performance :)

I used to veer towards desktops but that was back when laptops were pretty reubbish, nowadays if you get a laptop with a good graphics chip you can even play the latest games hard disks are approaching far more usable sizes, even if its too small you can get external ones. theyre more portable and they use less electricity. theyre also more convenient as you dont have to sit at them, you can work anywhere.

my desktop hasnt had any use for monthe because i have to go out of my way to use it and my laptop does everything just as well. also i didnt realize how much electric it was using its saved me a fair bit of cash leaving it turned off.

I would agree with a desktop PC being the better choice for home use.

Desktop PCs because they are better for in home use by a long shot. You can be more comfortable in front of your PC whereas on a laptop, you have this more delicate piece of hardware and you don't have the benefit of a screen that you can adjust and the possibility of damage is far greater as well. Desktops have interchangeable parts and you can have a lot more add on features with it as well.

Laptops are very portable, and the advantages of taking them with you are a very big draw in my opinion. Having it with you at a hotel can be helpful, obviously.

The price of most reliable pre-built desktops are fairly close to that of a laptop with the same power, so the only advantage from having a desktop computer would come from the money saved by building it yourself.

*Rule #1 of computer building if you have a friend helping you: Bring lots of snacks!*

desktop easier to fix problems with and easier to upgrade than a laptop and its faster and you don't have that annoying lil mouse

A desktop PC is guaranteed to get you more bang for your buck and will likely last longer. You just have to ask yourself if you're going to need to take your work with you.

Personally, I prefer a laptop because it is just so useful and convenient to be able to take your PC with you. As someone else said, with a wireless router (or better yet, cellular internet service) you can use it just about anywhere. My only recommendation is that you get a USB keyboard and mouse for when you want to sit at your desk and use it like it was a desktop PC.