<p>Why buy a laptop at ~$2000 when you can build a desktop that's better for less than $600? </p>
<p>Example:</p>
<ul>
<li>1024 RAM with 18 LED lights (oh yeah)</li>
<li>Anthlon proc. equivalent to 3000+</li>
<li>good motherboard</li>
<li>160 GB hardrive
all equals = $350
throw in a case, a few other parts, 128 bit graph card (for less than $100), and a moniter and you're set. </li>
</ul>
<p>or, get a dell laptop for $2000? which isn't as good..</p>
<p>I don't think laptops are meant to be powerful computers. But some people are willing to pay more for a computer that is both powerful/fast/etc and portable...</p>
<p>IMO, a laptop is more than worth it but I've used a laptop all through high school so it's what I'm used to. If all you're concerned about is speed and you're comparing it to a desktop, you'll never be happy with a laptop.</p>
<p>I'm a big desktop user and switched over to an apple iBook for college. I wanted to be able to carry something around to class so that I could access the power point presentations and type my notes up. I've got crappy handwriting, typed notes are much more aesthetically pleasing. Since my hometown is only a couple hours away, its nice to have the luxury of being able to bring my laptop home in case I want to ever work on things. </p>
<p>The benefits in laptops arent found in power but mobility.</p>
<p>Would you consider 17 inchers mobile?</p>
<p>not really. I really think that anything above 14 is in the direction of 'desktop replacement' where you just want a laptop to save space</p>
<p>My 12.1 inch serves its purpose. I can't compare it to a desktop but when it comes to portability and its weight, you can't beat it. The best part is being able to take it in school and type your paper wherever you go. But if you're buying a laptop because of speed, games or hard drive space then I think its unnecessary depending on your situation.</p>
<p>Laptops aren't really meant for performance. Rather, they are meant for mobility and convenience. My brother uses a tablet pc, and that , while being expensive, allows him to annotate and write notes during class. I probably will end up getting one too. </p>
<p>While you do get more for your money in desktops, they take up loads of valuable dorm room real estate.</p>
<p>I don't know where the guy who started this thread is buying his parts from.</p>
<p>Laptops=annoyance.</p>
<p>But, really it depends on what you're looking for in a computer. Most of us don't want to waste precious dorm space and want to be able to work on papers en route to somewhere so we can spend more time at that destination without worrying about getting the paper done.</p>
<p>For the greatest bang for the buck, you cant beat a desktop. As long as you can move it into your dorm room, a desktop is fine. Of course, if you need to do something at home during school breaks, youll need a computer at home and a cheap jump drive to transport your data.</p>
<p>A few weeks ago, I started a thread about whether or not students really carry around their laptops during the week. With few exceptions, most left them in their dorm rooms. The main reason for getting a laptop ? Easy portability during move-in and out day For many students who are moving a considerable distance from home, a laptop is easier to transport than a desktop. And they can travel home during holidays with everything they need computer wise. </p>
<p>There is no right or wrong answer.</p>
<p>Heh, Cassiodorus, I was thinking the exact same thing. There is no way you can get a decent desktop (customized) for under 600 dollars. If you want a desktop for under $600, you willl be buying a pre-made crap-box from Dell/Gateway/HP and those all suck. If you are customizing a computer, buying the parts individually, thats going to cost you a lot more, especially processors, video cards, RAM, monitor - these things are not cheap. Many of these items alone cost $350.</p>
<p>That 1GB RAM is about $100 from the cheapest sources I know of.</p>
<p>Sure a desktop could have saved my dad a lot of money. But he and I were in agreement that portability needed to be a priority for me. If I need to type a paper and my roommate is throwing a party, I can easily go work elsewhere. I'll be just 40 minutes from home at school, so it'll be easy for me to go home and just bring the laptop with me and I'll have everything I need to stay caught up, if I need to go home for some reason on a weekend when I have work to do. For me, getting the laptop was all about convinience. I don't care about gaming. And my laptop is about as powerful as you can get, and I know full well my dad spent under 2K on it</p>
<p>Absolutely worth it if you live far, lack of desk space, dorm is loud and need to write a paper somewhere else, ect... After all, you don't really need a powerful desktop unless your going to be a hardcore gamer and if that's the case, you must really not want to do anything else.</p>
<p>first of all to most people they are not expensive, and ive never really heard of lots of people buying $2k laptops. most of the people spend less then $1200 as well as most laptops are way under that price. people like myself and many others dont really care about the prices since out parents are paying for our college expenses(spending money, trips etc).
and as said above poeople want to be able to move with their laptop, bring it over to other dorms to study with friends or maybe use it as a dvd on the car ride home. its about mobility and plus many people dont know where to begin when building a computer.</p>
<p>It also depends on where you buy. To other the system my school recommends from Dell, it cost close to 2k. I was able to find a system with better specs for only $800 at Best Buy (it was on sale from $1300 and its a Toshiba). With Dell, your paying extra for the warrenty.</p>
<p>My cost stats were legit; I have a friend who just bought (3 days ago) 1 Gb RAM, a motherboard, and that processor for ~$300, with various websites. Last time I was in compusa I saw 160 GB hardrive marked down to 50 something dollars. Just have to wait for deals.</p>
<p>A great solution is, get a laptop, a keyboard, a mouse, and a lcd monitor. Bingo desktop when sitting in the dorm, and laptop elsewhere. I'm doing it. In reality typing on a laptop sucks. But when you have a separate keyboard its nice, same thing with a monitor, on laptops they are small. A 21" lcd is 300 bux, a keyboard and mouse 60. For 360 extra to the cost of a laptop, you have in essence both a laptop and desktop. </p>
<p>Btw, i've been pricing up parts for a desktop for a few weeks now and I can't find prices that low for those specs.</p>
<p>It is entirely possible to get decent RAM, a mobo, and a good proc for around 300. Example on newegg, get some 1GB corsair ram (79), a 939 ECS board (78), and an athlon 64 3000+ (147). That equals $304 for quality parts. It is possible. If you keep your own monitor and stuff, I guess it is hypothetically possible to build a decent computer for 650.</p>