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DPChallenge Forums >> Hardware and Software >> Laptop, Desktop, or both
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Showing posts 1 - 9 of 9, (reverse)
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02/22/2012 09:55:12 PM · #1
I had been working off a laptop for the last few years. My most recent laptop has started to crap out and so I went online and bought a laptop (17.3" screen, 4GB memory, etc) and an All-in-One Desktop (23" scree). I just got them and just installed all the stuff on my laptop. I have yet to unpack the desktop.

A friend of mine has been saying that I don't need both a laptop and a desktop. And now her words are starting to sink in. Do I really need both? Can I just do all my work on my laptop? My thoughts were to do all my editing at home on my desktop and all my work on the road on my laptop. But I've gotten away all this time with just a laptop why do i need a desktop now?

What do you guys think? Do I really need a desktop?

Here is some background info...I travel often. At least one week a month and often times more. All my photos are always immediately downloaded onto a separate external hard drive and would never be all installed on one computer (although if I had both a lap top and a desktop I can load photos that I shoot onto my lap top and then offload them later so I don't have to carry a separate hard drive with me all the time). In either case I would use the laptop or desktop in front of the TV so that doesn't make a difference. So far most of my photos have been for model portfolios, fashion shows, and stock. Although I plan on doing more fashion shows (that feed into stock photos).

What is your take on doing all your work on a huge screen laptop or doing it on a desktop or having both?

Thank you.
02/22/2012 10:01:16 PM · #2
personally I like a desktop...They can be upgraded much more easily. I also like the laptop because of their mobility. I build my own PC's so I can decide what I want and what I don't
02/22/2012 10:19:41 PM · #3
Originally posted by cowboy221977:

personally I like a desktop...They can be upgraded much more easily. I also like the laptop because of their mobility. I build my own PC's so I can decide what I want and what I don't

+1
I build my current desktop myself because I like silent computing. But I also travel so I have recently updated my laptop. It is fine on the road but at home I very much prefer my desktop with 2 monitors, 3 harddisks, 1 SSD etc
02/22/2012 10:57:09 PM · #4
Originally posted by MargaretN:

Originally posted by cowboy221977:

personally I like a desktop...They can be upgraded much more easily. I also like the laptop because of their mobility. I build my own PC's so I can decide what I want and what I don't

+1
I build my current desktop myself because I like silent computing. But I also travel so I have recently updated my laptop. It is fine on the road but at home I very much prefer my desktop with 2 monitors, 3 harddisks, 1 SSD etc


what? 2 monitors 3 hard disks, and 1 SSD? lol I'm not going that far. Although I already do have a stash of external hard drives. I've yet to edit my photos on a desktop. And i'm also looking to add short videos (less than 7min videos).
02/23/2012 12:08:41 AM · #5
If you're going to be editing video then CPU speed (And how many cores they have) will determine how fast you can edit video and encode times. The next would be to have a 64bit OS.

Like cowboy221977 and MargaretN I build my own PCs. Cheaper, faster and easy enough to do (It gets easier and easier with pieces just sliding into place).

I like using a desktop. I don't need to be mobile around the house with a laptop (I don't want/need to sit on the sofa to edit). If I had to edit stuff outside of home and NEEDED portability I would get both. But I don't.
02/23/2012 06:39:21 AM · #6
laptop and an external monitor. best of both worlds.
02/23/2012 08:20:39 AM · #7
I have a 13" netbook, a 19" laptop and a dual 24" monitor desktop. They all have their place for me.

Desktops for the same price are always much more powerful and more reliable than laptops, you can have much more screen real-estate and the accuracy of wide gamut desktop monitors is far better than anything a laptop can produce. I also find it a much more comfortable working environment. The 19" laptop is great for when I want to be mobile around the house or am going to be away for a while and need a computer that retains much of the functionality of my desktop. The netbook I bought last year when I was traveling to america for 2 weeks, I wanted something super-portable with great battery life that I could use for all my photo backups, previewing photos on the move (in much more detail than from my camera) and basic editing for any photos I wanted to upload on the move. All three are great at what they do, and while at times interchangeable, there are many situations where I would only be happy using one of them specifically.

I think the bottom line is, so long as you use what you have, none of it was unnecessary. You should set up your desktop and start using it to edit some photos... then in 2 weeks see if you're still using both your desktop and laptop. If so then both purchases were worthwhile =).
02/23/2012 08:44:51 AM · #8
Both for me. As others have said, a desktop affords more bang for the buck, and real estate, since flat panel monitors are so inexpensive now. I have a netbook for traveling. Not very good for editing, but for backup, review and just getting online it's ideal, and very easy to carry around. Probably going to buy an inexpensive laptop soon.

I also roll my own. I'll probably be building my next system later this year. Looking at a 4 or 6 core cpu with an SSD for the OS to boot from. Usually what I do is to get a good idea of what I want and then get the items as I find good sales at Fry's and Newegg. The components that don't change pricing much are the first items to be bought, such as the case and power supply. Component wise, I usually stay 18-24 months behind the bleeding edge. I find I get the most bang for the buck that way, but still many years of service.

Message edited by author 2012-02-23 08:45:37.
02/23/2012 08:49:25 AM · #9
I think it's best to have both.

We will be getting a new desktop this weekend, then I will be getting a new laptop a few weeks following.

But we also have a bunch of kids, and I do not allow my kids to use my laptop; so... the desktop is a "family" system, where the laptop is mine only. lol.

I also do the same thing regarding the external hard drive.

I unload my photos to it, so they are never loaded on a specific computer.

I think you should keep both, as you will find use for both of them, IMO.
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