I am hopefully going to uni in september and I was wondering what you guys think on the subject of
PC vs Laptop

I am going to be studing computer information systems and I was wondering if you guys have an opinion on whether getting a pc or laptop would be better, if you are or were a student would you feel that a laptop is better or would have helped more than just a PC , for example : taking it to lectures?

Also have any students out there had problems with there laptops/pc's being stolen ?

What would you guys say is the best option for me ? Also I forgot to mention that I do not really play many games so I will not need a system for that sort of thing , just basic office applications and maybe a bit of web design.

Wot do you guys think ?:confused:?

thanx in advance

Matt

i prefer desktops...u get much more for your money and easily upgradeable.And since your a student...you probably dont have money burning holes in your pocket.
Im sure laptops get stolen alot...you just gotta be careful.

desktop definately everyone will think your a posh ****er if you take a laptop to the lecture and you would have to type pretty fast aswell but on the other side if your in halls of residence you may not have enough room for a desktop but I would still go for one

Um you should check your university. Where I go you aren't allowed to take a laptop into the lectures unless you have a special need (like a learning disability or something). This really sux because I can type fairly fast :(

I think it all depends on just how much you'd get to use a laptop. Like dcm3386 said, some universites don't let you take your laptop just anywhere. As for needing to type fast, you could hook up a microphone to your laptop to record lectures. Overall though, unless you plan on taking it with you most everywhere(and using it), desktops are always a better value.

Im a student at the mo mate and u won't take ur laptop to lectures and things there shouldn't be any nead i have desk top if i need to put anything on it the uni or one of my mates will be able to provide it. If u wanna get info down in lecs mate take a dictaphone but if ur anything like me ull just get notes from other ppl for all the lecs u'll miss :)

Well I am still undersided , on the one hand I able able to get a quiet good laptop for a cheap price and I have always wanted one and it would be good as I will be able to bring it home on the weekends but on the other hand , a good pc would prob cost a little less and have more upgradeablity(is that a word ? I suppose I am going to sit down and thing about it long and hard :rolleyes: . As yet I do not have the money so I have got a few weeks to thing about it.

anyway thnax for your help and please keep the info coming

M_rsa

no-one takes laptops to lectures, the people who do are total werdos and w*nk over software, laptops are best coz when you go home you can take it easily, but laptop insurace in dodgy citys is well expensive

laptop cuz u can take it around. study group, library etc

I've been using a laptop as my main system for over a year now. You also will need to figure out a way to lug it around. Mine is very heavy and I have a Hailburton-Zero case for it. However that would be out of the question for a student, as it's heavy and very expensive. I've already had the fan die which fried my CPU, luckily it was still under warranty. The keyboards and touchpads on laptops also really suck. I use a MS internet pro keyboard and Logitech dual optical mouse with it and I have to cart them around also. The keyboard won't even fit into the case so I have to either stick it in a suitcase or put it in a bag. Luckily I rarely leave home. :laugh: Sure you can take it home with you, but you also could just get a desktop with a burner and some media and multisesson a disc to take home with you.

I was always considering getting a normal desktop pc for when I go to uni but a few weeks ago a someone I know siad that they maybe be selling a laptop for about £400 and I think it is quiet a good spec for the prices and I am thinking that is it going to cost me about that much to bulid a good system so I thought that I may aswell go with the laptop , I have not seen this laptop yet but when I see it and seee what condition it is and get the full spec I will be able to deside. The thing is that I no that laptops are not good for upgrading but I have always anted one.

oh well maybe I will leave it up to the flick of a coin :)

thanx for the help guys

M_rsa

i am going to be a college student and i already decided that i will just get a desktop. it's cheaper and a lot more powerful for what i am paying. laptop get stolen easily while u are still in school, and desktop get stolen easily when u are not at school, for instance, at home.

I would get a desktop, as people said before u can get more for your money. You could always get a desktop as your main system, and get slow p2 or even a 166mtz if all your using it for is word processing and the internet .

got both, and to be honest with you, it's so much easier usin the laptop.
Nobody brings laptops to lectures, so you can forget that notion, it'd be pointless!!

main advantage to usin laptops, is that you'll have a lot of project work to do, and if you're gonna be workin with your mates on your course, it's handy if you want to work together. e.g. takin it to a mate's halls so you can finish a project.

Pros: freedom, freedom, freedom, you can take it anywhere, and it's just nice to be able to work wherever you like.

Cons: can't upgrade much other than ram. price.


it may be worth your while checkin out your university's computer facilities. E.g. can you access them all the time?, restrictions etc. cos if they're limited, and you need to do last minute work on a computer, then a laptop is the solution.

M.E.

i need laptopbut the cost

Well actually my step dads company have just bought 2 laptops and they are great and I would love to have one but it is simply the cost , if I had the money I would def get one but i would have to borrow from someone and then i would be in debt which I hate.
So i have gone for the other option and have ordered parts for a pc which I am going to build , getting a laptop would have been great as I will prob spend alot of time aways from my room at uni seeing my g friend but i have to think of the costs

thanx everyone

M_rsa

Laptop, i have a laptop that i use at college and also use my laptop at home for copying and adsl etc, they are more expensive and not as high spec but they are compatible to take out. i also have a ipaq palmtop which is good and alot cheaper
thanx

Just get a desktop as you will only be using it in your flat. Laptop are nice but not worth the extra money, (which could be kept for a wet day :D and a few :beer: )

Originally posted by ElaineM
Mine is very heavy and I have a Hailburton-Zero case for it.

Wow. I only know Haliburton for their oil rig equipment and services. I think I know why your case is expensive! :)

Edit: Oops, I just realized you said Hailburton! :o
Just forget everything I said. :rolleyes:

Go for the desktop - I'll be taking my PC to uni to do computing (if i get in!) and will be buying a Tv-card so I don't have to take a TV and Video. Laptops are good, but it'll just spend most of its time sitting in your dorm anyway.

home made desktop by far.when stuff goes wrong its pretty easy to find parts for them.Th ebig secret about laptops is they are designed with **** ups and will definately go wrong

Speaking as a Senior in college I would recommend a desktop over a laptop anyday. The only advantage a laptop offers is giving you freedom but this doesn't make up for not being as upgradeable and being more expensive. If you do get a laptop I would highly recommend a docking station for ease of use and comfort. Another factor with a laptop is if somethign goes wrong. There alot harder to fix so you would have to figure alot more down time without a computer while its getting repaired where as for a PC, over my 4 years in college I have had everything that can go wrong with my PC go wrong (Motherboard, Processor, Monitor, Video Card etc..) and the most down time I experienced was 1 week and that was only because I choose to order the parts online rather than going to a store....

Well guys I have gone with the desktop , just recently completed building it

the spec is

1.2 Ghz cpu
256 Ram
40 gig HD
64mb graphics card with tv out
ECS K7S5A
Liteon DVD
16x Liteon cdrw
and is all I could strech my money
hopefully I wont need to upgrade any time soon

M_rsa

Desktop.
As a former student, I would recommend against taking a laptop in lectures for a few reasons.
(1) As mentioned, a lot of Uni's will not allow them.
(2) Other students will get pissed off at you, especially if you have a noisy keyboard.
(3) IMHO you learn more by taking notes the good old-fashioned pen and paper way.

If you are worried about theft of laptop / desktop from halls of residence, then I would hold off from buying one until second year when you live in private accommodation. Check with your university on their computing facilites. Some will have a computer lab within the halls that is open 24/7.

If you don't have a lab in your residence, then it might be worth investing in one i suppose. A lot of uni's now have modem sockets in the rooms, so you can connect to the uni network from the (dis)comfort of your dorm room.

Im at uni at the moment, in my university it can sometimes be a joke to find a good PC to use especially when deadlines are coming up at the end of the year, also in my uni you can connect them staright up to their network and get their network speeds, the fastest i can remember getting was over 800 kbps (usually only 60 kbps at home on adsl) when downloading from a bt server so if you are still deciding, find out first if you can connect to their network, but i cant get access to any of their drives though just purely for the internet, also for file sharing programs it can also come in useful, if you were to have both a pc and desktop then you could set up an ftp like i do to transfer all my downloads to my home PC because my laptop hasnt that much storage space on it. But dont get to carried away like i did in my first year me and my friends stayed at uni playing LAN games and downloading everything till we got kicked out. Gotta try and sort myself out this year. Think your best to wait til your actually there and see for yourself what its like also mentioned above it can be good to have one for doing group projects with getting everyone together and working around your laptop in a small quiet seminar room can be handy. In my opinion get a good desktop and a cheap laptop.

M8 you will have graduated by the time this thread ends ;)

get a laptop for uni, no question about it, that way you can link up to the university network if need be, as not many unis offer free broadband in halls. a short walk to the library and free blazing speed internet was certainly a nice thing to have at times. at other times i had to put up with ntl's 1p per minute charge we had to pay from our rooms for dialup, with no other option as they held a monopoly over campus!!!