Laptop or Computer - Which Do You Find Better For Productivity?

[Skribblez]

Which do you find better for productivity? Which do you use more (if you have both) and why?

Just asking because I'm really not sure if i should get a laptop or a computer.

Hope you guys can help me make a decision.

[Arunabh Singh]

In my opinion using desktop computers enhances your productivity.

[Odhinn]

I use both. A desktop keeps me sitting in one place, so I know I'll be less distracted by trying to do 2 things at once (like writing articles while watching TV). However, if I go on a trip, or I head over to the laundromat, then a laptop is the only way I can be productive!

[Desmond Ong]

I preferred a laptop. I store all my business stuff in my laptop.

My desktop is kind of for school works and games.

[BlackWaterBlog]

Definitely laptop, as you can take it pretty much everywhere you go unlike a desktop.

[Michael Oksa]

I use a laptop all the time.

The main advantage is that I can work anywhere in the house.

The main disadvantage is that I can work anywhere in the house.

Seriously though, I like being able to go upstairs, downstairs, spare room, living room, or the front porch on nice days. It allows me to work at my leisure (oxymorinic?), and to use blocks of time more effectively.

All the best,
Michael

[Andrew Maule]

I'm actually getting ready to sell my desktop since I never use it. Desktops are great if you want to get up from work and know it is staying one fixed spot you can get away from (if that makes sense?). Laptops are good because if you feel unproductive somewhere, just pick up and move to anywhere you want to go. It's great. I have a 17" laptop and a 10" netbook.

[derrickp]

I like using my desktop because it has dual monitors which greatly enhances my productivity. Laptops are great as well because like right now I am traveling and can take it with me.

With that being said I find my iPhone a must as well because it keeps me always connected to my business(which can be a good or bad thing).

[Andrew Maule]

Originally Posted by derrickp

With that being said I find my iPhone a must as well because it keeps me always connected to my business(which can be a good or bad thing).

Same.. Google analytics app, Adsense app, Twitter, etc. I love it

[dvduval]

Here is my usage ranked from most to least:
1. Desktop
2. gPhone
3. Laptop

I plan to get a netbook later this year once they have some running Android with touch screen.

[derrickp]

Yeah, I also can do work on my hosting servers, request reboots and work with the datacenter if needed which helps a lot.

Originally Posted by Andrew Maule

Same.. Google analytics app, Adsense app, Twitter, etc. I love it

[Goatboy]

Originally Posted by Andrew Maule

...I have a 17" laptop and a 10" netbook.

How do you like the netbook? I've seen them but I haven't had the money to risk on something I might not like.

[Bcrewse1]

I vote with the laptop users but to tell the truth I really do need both! I find it much better and more productive with 2 comps vs. the old way in which I had a zillion programs all running on just one....at least it works better for me.

[Owen Mailer]

laptop and blackberry
you will never be alone again. my other work means i work 6 months in the uk and 6 months in spain so i think if you travel get a laptop if not buy a mac

[blargins]

Laptop.

The only use for my desktop is for recording tv, watching movies and listening to music.

[Micheal Perkins]

I use a laptop right now, but mainly because my job provides it. I am using it for getting my online business going. Once I have the money I'm going to buy a laptop of my own and get all my stuff off the work computer.

I will also get a desktop once I get an office. My area has office space I can rent for a few hundred a month that comes with my own phone line and receptionist that will answer it with whatever greeting I choose.

Once I set the office up I will set up an account with GoToMyPc.com or something similar so I can access all the files which will mainly be housed on the desktop. That way I can work from the house if I want to.

[Clyde Dennis]

For productivity I'm better on my desktop.

The laptop allows me to have the thing I covet most, flexibility in my work schedule AND location.

[Kezz]

It totally depends on how mobile you are. If you're working from home, a desktop will run faster and all the litle 30 second waits that you don't have will add up and save you a bunch of time.

Of course if you have a lot of transit time that would otherwise be wasted, the laptop is your friend.

Or, and I just suggested this to someone in another thread, have your cake and eat it too. Buy a laptop, and also buy a monitor, keyboard and mouse, all with USB. Set the monitor, keyboard and mouse up on your desk at home.

When you're at home, plug the laptop into your setup and it will behave much like a desktop PC. You won't have the extra processing speed, but you'll have the larger screen and keyboard, and more room to move. Then when you go out, pull out the USB's and you have your laptop.

I used a setup like this for about 6 months and it worked great.

On a performance note, for anything text based like word, or html coding, you shouldn't notice a big difference. The same goes for web browsing. The big difference between desktop and laptop is graphics. If you need to create graphics and you want a laptop, choose carefully, because mobile graphics just can't compete with a big beefy graphics card.

Oh, and Acer for the win. I swear by them for laptops.

[Justin Mandel]

Get an Acer Aspire One and then hook up dual screens or a flat screen monitor to it and add a wireless mouse.

It's like having both all in one and when you're ready to travel disconnect the Acer and take it with you

It's the best of both worlds plus it's relatively inexpensive.

[jensrsa]

Laptop. I don't like being tied down to a work station and I work with offline clients so it make life easy meeting in coffee shops, etc.

Also when I watch sport during the day I can still work LOL.

Jens

[stefanjames]

Laptop for me. Everyone is different. I actually own two laptops but I think it's more productive because you can take your business anywhere you want.

[jbolte1976]

Personally I use my laptop a lot more because I can hang out with my family when I'm "working" online. Although when I get to the point that I can do this full time, I will definitely have a dedicated desktop / work spot that will be designed around productivity to get stuff done w/o distraction.

[MarkWrites]

I'm a big believer in both. If that isn't possible, I would suggest a laptop because you can still use it in a home office situation and it can also go "on the road" with you so that you can be productive when you away from home. The versatility and portability of a laptop often pays for itself over a short time.

[Shakul]

Hello,

I was in a very similar situation...

So, here goes my story:

I was having a HP Desktop and HP laptop, with 1GB DDR 2 RAM, And Dual Core 2 2.0 Ghz processor..I was happy with it but the problem with it is was that it wasn't a power horse, like I was not able to run widgets, AIM, Firefox, Visual Studio 2008 at the same time...

So, then I decided to buy a new PC.

And I started to think whether should I buy from HP or DELL?

Since, I needed a very powerful PC, my only choice was DELL. I am from India, and in India only DELL provided power horses...

So after choosing DELL, I got confused whether I should get a Laptop or Desktop...

It took me many days to decided between this and I ultimately brought Dell Studio XPS 1640 Laptop and the reason behind this was:

->You can take your laptop anywhere..right now in my country time is 11 PM and I am in a bed..lol...seriously..

->I can take it to other places, like other parts of my country..anywhere

->The design of this laptop is very attractive PLUS it is very powerful..

Here are my laptops specs -> 250GB SATA HDD, 3GB DDR3 1066 mhz RAM, Intel DC2 2.56 Ghz processor, ATI Raedon 3670 512mb video card...

Now, I come to the "productivity" point..It depends on the PC configuration which makes one PC more powerful from another...If you want to work near windows..or different positions/places then choose laptop...

Also, if you do full time IM and you sits in front of your PC 12 hrs a day then choose laptop, the reason behind this is that you should not keep sitting in just one place for more than few hrs, after getting a laptop you can move from one room to another, sit on sofa, bed, etc and do the work...

Let me know if you have any questions...

Regards
Shakul

[JaySabree]

My vote is on laptops - take them everywhere - get mobile internet and a couple long lasting batteries... Your good to go

Originally Posted by Skribblez

Which do you find better for productivity? Which do you use more (if you have both) and why?

Just asking because I'm really not sure if i should get a laptop or a computer.

Hope you guys can help me make a decision.

[Rich Williams]

I only use laptops but I'm finding that I tend to just work from my desk in order to actually get any work done.

[Jim Talbott]

Like others here, I use both. My desktop is generally where I keep most of my important stuff. It's almost like the mother ship. However, I also use a laptop for when I am traveling, and then later I can come back to the desktop to update my files.
Hope this helps.
Jim

[NothingEverHappens]

I have a laptop now after 4 years of using a pc, i should of done it years ago, they take up less room, a real plus point for me, as my house is tiny.

[Wakunahum]

I would say a laptop.

1. You have portability.

2. You can plug in a monitor, mouse, and keyboard and use it EXACTLY like a desktop if you feel you work faster in that environment.

[Tyrus Antas]

Laptops deliver horrible ergonomics. Not only that but laptops have failed on the promise to deliver portability: they are heavy, slow and have horrible battery life.

Recently I bought a new desktop workstation as well as a netbook. Couldn't be happier. The desktop is much faster than my old laptop and the screen real estate is nice. The netbook on the other hand gets you real portability: tinny and great battery life.

In short, I've quit laptops.

Tyrus

[mikeink]

We have 2 laptops and a PC that we use remote on. Did not network them. This give us a second mointor also. I used my laptop for most of my work, the wife uses hers the sameway. As we are in doing different jobs or business ops. I find that I am able to sit at my favorite StarBucks and do my thing and get some ideas from the customers there. mainly there are others there doing the same, like working,meeting clients,etc. We also help each other. My laptop is a Toshiba, wife laptop is an Acer and the PC is a London Drugs Store model, and each have 4g of ram. So they are not slow.

[Andrew Maule]

Originally Posted by Goatboy

How do you like the netbook? I've seen them but I haven't had the money to risk on something I might not like.

I love it. Here is exactly what I bought. Best netbook I've ever used and it's the best deal you can find on one. MSI U100-279US N270 1.60GHz 10in 160GB HDD 1GB PC2-5300 (DDR2-667) 802.11b/g/n Windows XP Home Note at ZipZoomfly

160gb HDD, 6 cell battery, built in webcam, XP, etc...

[Sheila]

Definitely a laptop! And a small-screen one at that. I've used laptops with 8", 11", 12", 13", and 17" screens, and I've gotta tell you, I thought I'd really like the 17" until I had to lug it around with me! It's a lot harder to take on a plane, or anywhere else. It's bulky, heavy, and to me, just wasn't worth the aggravation.

Laptops nowdays have all the functionality you need - they're fast, portable, and you don't have to stay seated at a desk. I'd much rather work on my deck, at the park, on the beach . . . even in a library rather than be confined to an office.

[Eric Lancheres]

Laptop with an extra screen (dual display) is the most productive.
Desktop with a quad core is for gaming, video encoding & video editing.

If you're not addicted to gaming, then a desktop can be cheaper and faster.
However, laptops are more expensive but provide a more work-friendly environment.

[duality32]

Im more of a laptop fan. Because i can take my work with me. I also have HDMI outputs on it so i can connect to big LCD's or Plasmas for a presentation. It makes life alot easier

[Robert Puddy]

Remeber every post here is no more than personal opinion...

So here is mine, I went down the laptop route even sold my self on it for some of the reasons given here. But I'm back to a desktop and my 2 laptops are rarelt used unless im going on a trip...and even then i only use it to log into my desktop through goto my PC

I find i cant work from a laptop any where near as efficiently as I can from a desktop, posture is bad and i get tired and cranky trying to use one.

So my vote is desktop

Robert

[jjpmarketing]

Depends on what I am doing. If I am writing I tend to prefer my laptop, because I can kick back in my recliner, jamming to pink floyd and type away. Other advantages include being able to take my laptop to B&N/Starbucks and do work while I sip on mocha frappuccinos.

If I need to multi-task though I tend to prefer my desktop as it has dual 21" displays, more ram, storage and cpu power... that and I can't stand the touchpad on a laptop.

But you can get some pretty powerful laptops these days with plenty of storage and ram and cpu power. My laptop is a few years old though. If you are on the go all the time, you just can't replace the benefits of owning a laptop.

To be honest it would be ideal to own both a desktop and a laptop so you get the best of both worlds.

Dennis

[Adeel_Chowdhry]

Definately DESKTOP.

I just bought a laptop though for my office... and didn't really like the compactness of it all so went and bought a desktop yesterday.

I just find it more relaxing to sit at a desktop and comfortable.

Adeel

[jjpmarketing]

Adeel,

I felt the same way when I got my first laptop years ago. Once you get used to it, you will love it. When I first started using it, I hated the scrunched up keyboard. But your hands learn to adapt to the keyboard. Give it a chance and I think you will like it.

Dennis

[SusanneUK]

I lurve my laptop.. (17") I got mine about a year ago now and at first I didn't like the keyboard either, as a touch typist I was all over the place but as Dennis says, you do get used to it very quickly. Also, hate the touchpad, I use a mouse with mine.

I still have my desktop though and use it mainly for storing back-ups on.

I wouldn't be without my blackberry now either, got that about two months ago.

Oh and I actually keep my laptop in the same place pretty much 90% of the time, I have my own home office and prefer the peace and quite in there as opposed to out where the kids/grandkids/tv is.

Sue

[timpears]

My wife has a laptop and I hate it. I have never owned one, and seriously doubt I ever will, unless they make one with a 21" screen and ten key number pad. I can't type for damn on my wife's computer. It is like my first computer (Vic20) with a flat keyboard. And the screen is so small to me. I don't have very good eyesight and my monitor is a 21" and I want to swap it for a 24". It is not in the budget right now, so I will make do with the one I have for the time being. But as soon as I hit that lottery ticket....

[Aliaksandr]

I have both but I find that a laptop is better just because I can take it anywhere and work whenever. So whenever I have an idea or anything I just jot it down. Or if i'm working on something and don't want to stop working I can continue to do so no matter where i'm going.

[Frank Donovan]

I really can't be doing with laptops and their fiddly little keypads, tiny screens and unreliable connections.

Much more preferable is a good ergonomic chair, a proper keyboard and a comfortably large monitor. My main desktop easily copes with all my memory-hungry programs and tools while my other, older desktop is perfect as a backup machine.

Importantly, I can switch off email, turn off the phone, close the door and have complete, uninterrupted, quality time. I don't understand how some people can work in busy coffee bars - I'd find it impossible to concentrate.

And taking a laptop to the beach? I'm pretty sure that concept was only invented to use in sales copy. Or else, that's just sad.

In fact, travelling any great distance with a laptop is just not worth the hassle. They're still fairly cumbersome to carry, a constant theft worry and a surefire target for airport security checks. It's much less stressful to travel light and use a hotel's office facility if necessary.

I'm also a bit perturbed by all this talk of non-stop productivity. It makes us sound like dairy cattle.

Outside of my home office, I like to be contemplative. Or talk to other people. Or just enjoy the surroundings. I find that my best ideas often come when I'm away from any work-related environment.

So, I vote for the desktop - the Great Liberator.



Frank

[GeorgeO7]

Desktop for productivity. With two 22" monitors there is just no way my laptop can duplicate this workspace.

I use the laptop away from the office.

[Neil Morgan]

Office - quad core desktop with dual 22" monitors and oodles of RAM for FAST compilation of software.

Kitchen table - Acer Ferrari laptop - a good, fast PC with a big screen but portable enough for the kitchen table. It often gets dragged along on trips away.

Asus eee Netbook thingy - gathers dust in the corner of the office. I took it on a trip once but it's just a toy IMHO.

Cheers,

Neil

[Ram]

My wife loves her laptop as do some of my employees, but I use a desktop exclusively.

I have to have a mouse. I cannot use the touchpad or any other thingummy on laptops. Yeah, I know you can use a mouse with laptop. But what do you do if you are in a comfy chair - as I prefer to be - with no hard surface?

I may eventually get a laptop and mouse. So far I just never have bothered.

[MikeAmbrosio]

Originally Posted by Robert Puddy

I find i cant work from a laptop any where near as efficiently as I can from a desktop, posture is bad and i get tired and cranky trying to use one.

That's only cause you're old, Robert

I was always a desktop user until I got my office out of the house. Now I rely on my laptops because it is so much easier - and cheaper - than having desktops in both places, trying to make sure both are synchronized, etc.

I am used to it now, but like Robert said - sometimes it bothers me if I am on it way too long - which is most every day.

Mike

[Chris Marentis]

I have a desktop and love it....but miss the convenience of having all my stuff when I travel on my laptop (my laptop has become my second computer and the files are not as up to date).

I say get a good laptop and have a monitor for home. This way all your data is stored on the machine you travel with.

[marketopoly]

Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I still love my desktop. Sitting comfortably in a good chair, with a nice view overlooking gardens and with all my back-up hard drives and other accessories like good quality speakers on hand, I feel I'm in writer's heaven.

Plus, having the advantage of peace and quiet, together with a sense of familiarity and room on the table for other (hard copy) reference, maximizes productivity for me.

However, I do also own a laptop which I use when traveling. Not such an old fogy, after all!

[mr.schutz]

Desktop if you are working at home.

Laptop if you still want to work while you are out.