So which is better? Buying a laptop or a desktop computer?
When you first think about it, you'd pick a laptop because it's light and mobile while a desktop must be kept in the same place. Well there's more to consider:
Storage
Laptops generally offer a smaller hard drive space than desktops. This is because laptops use physically smaller drives, which can only offer so much storage space. Though larger drives are available, 80GB is still common on a laptop, while 500GB desktop drives are seen all the time (again, bigger drives can be had). This is a huge difference and it seems to be expanding. If you have very large storage needs, desktop is your best bet.
Mobility
If you're going to work remotely and you need to have the internet with you, then obviously a light weight laptop will be needed, but due to it being light, don't expect good specs to come with it.
Graphics and Gaming
With Vista it's important to consider graphics now, no matter what kind of user you are. Laptop graphics have come a long way, but I'd still say only 50 percent have really sufficient graphics processors. On the other hand, you can fit any good graphic cards on a PC.
Upgrades
It's more difficult to upgrade a laptop. Sure, you can pop in a new hard drive later, but adding a second hard drive means plugging in an external disk that will be awkward for you. Many laptop optical drives can't really be upgraded at all, nor can motherboards or CPUs. Laptop repairs are far more expensive and difficult than desktop PC repairs.
Price
Expect to pay $300 / £600 to $500 / £1000 more for a comparably equipped laptop (though this varies widely).
For me it would be a desktop PC because it keeps the cost down and it's so much more efficient than a laptop.
