<p>Hi, I hope this is correct place. If not, my apologies. </p>
<p>I am doing a little 'window shopping' in preparation for when I move to college/university (currently at a community college). </p>
<p>Now, I have a new laptop, a few months old which I love. However, I miss using a PC. I'm not sure why. Probably for the fact I like using a big(ger) screen and a 'normal' mouse and keyboard, etc. And probably that I used a PC for many years before moving onto a laptop. </p>
<p>I understand that a laptop is very useful for college and it can be quite beneficial in the classroom (my current classes don't utilize them as most teachers prefer students to write rather than use laptops). </p>
<p>My question is, would it be worth it to buy a PC or would it be a waste of money? I think it would help me multitask a bit in school when I move into a dorm. Also, it would be good to have one just in case, God forbid, my laptop were to crash. </p>
<p>I hope I'm making sense. I'm just wondering if it's worth looking into or not. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. :)</p>
<p>When you say get a PC, you mean getting a desktop, right? If you want a desktop and you have the money to spend on one, then sure, get one. Why not? It’s not a waste of money if you use it regularly, and it’ll likely last you a while. I know a lot of people who have both a desktop and a laptop/netbook, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with it. They serve different purposes, and as long as you’re not going to go without rent or something to pay for it, then it shouldn’t be that much of an issue.</p>
<p>Also, I know people who have a “normal mouse and keyboard” that use it with their laptop, and I also know people in the past that hook their laptop into external monitors to get a bigger screen or to just have dual monitors. There are a lot of different options out there, so just figure out what will give you want you want at the best price.</p>
<p>Thank you for the response. Yes, I meant as in a desktop. PC came to mind when I was typing this but I knew there was a more appropriate or specific term I was looking for. I will look into the monitor, mouse and keyboard option. Definitely sounds cheaper and more convenient, space wise at least. But I still have concerns about my laptop crashing in the future and I won’t have any thing to fall back on should that happen. Although, I am getting a free tablet when I transfer to my new college (deaf students get free) so that may be a good thing. Will definitely look into that as well. </p>
<p>Both our kids started out with laptops for college. Both had their laptops die shortly after they began college. Fortunately, both had an extended warranty from the CC, so both replaced their laptops with netbooks and desktops with extra monitor. That worked well for both of them, as the netbook was lighter and more portable while still having enough firepower for use in classes and study groups. To this day, both like having both. Since graduating college & living in his own place, S also now has a laptop, large ereader, and tablet (lots of etoys). He still likes his desktop for when he’s at his own place but since he travels a lot for work, he loves his iphone and his other electronics as well.</p>
<p>D also likes having desktop as well as the netbook. She isn’t such a fan of her tablet (kindle fire hd). She also does like her laptop. In a dorm or apartment, you tend not to have too much space, so I’d hold off buying more electronics until you see how much space you have for all your gear. </p>
<p>If you’re concerned about your laptop crashing, it’s always a good idea to back up your hard drive, whether you have a desktop or laptop. I back mine up to an external hard drive, but there’s options like cloud storage and such as well. I don’t know if that in and of itself is a good enough reason to warrant buying a desktop. A desktop can have problems too.</p>
<p>@Hlmom - Yeah, I am still waiting to see what residence hall I’ll be in. Most of them are pretty spacious though. The tablet will help out a lot but I’ve never used them so I don’t know too much about them. I am also a big fan of etoys haha. Just wish I had the money to afford everything. :p</p>
<p>@baktrax - Thanks for the reminder. I always forget to do so. I’ve been meaning to buy an external HD for a while now so I’ve added that to my list. And yes, I’m aware that desktops can have problems. But I feel more comfortable with a desktop because with laptops, you can easily drop them (or your backpack, etc.) and cause damage. My laptop that I rarely used in the past broke because it fell from my bed and hit the side of a chair and cracked the screen. Sadly, it wasn’t under warranty anymore. </p>
<p>Yeah, I’ve decided to take the screen and keyboard route mainly because my buddy is getting ready to sell one of his monitors that I’ve liked for a while now. Plus, I saw the desks in the dorms and there was definitely not much room. Plus, I’ll have a tablet as a temporary backup and there’s campus computer labs all over the place so I think I’ll be fine. Thanks everyone. </p>