Which is best, Laptop or Desktop Tower?

[ShirleyM]

I might be replacing my desktop tower soon... It's due, and giving me the occasional time-suck fits.

I have a laptop... minimal for trips, not really sufficient as my main workstation.

I have a desktop video editing computer that shares the monitor with my office desktop computer. Not replacing that. It has a "short tower" and does nothing other than photoshop and video/audio edit.

My desktop office needs:

CD/DVD of course. One bay should suffice. Two is nice.

Tons of HD space - internal and/or external. I have 300 and 500 gig ext drives now, plus another passport ext. that travels w/my laptop.

2 gig Ram minimum

Main programs I run at once:
Adobe CS2 Suite - I use that every day.

Office Enterprise

Internet/email

no gaming (me? game?)

usb/firewire peripherals:
scanner -usb
laser printer - usb
cd/dvd/photo printer - usb
other printer (epson 2200 for large prints) - usb
camera card reader - usb
two external hd, usually only one is connected - usb or firewire
travel drive (thumb, flash, whatever you want to call it)
iPod - usb
camcorder on rare occasion - firewire
router - cat 5 I believe

Of course I use a usb hub to connect all this stuff...

Can a laptop handle all that, or would it end up costing 2 or 3 desktops?
My younger son built his gaming desktop computer and saved a ton. he says that's the only way to go... but he had some IU geeks help him assemble it all and a geek forum help him choose parts... (my video editor was custom built, but not by me, and yeah, it was pricey)

Also, I'd probably want to hook up to my current monitor... unless I can photoshop well enough with a laptop monitor. My laptop has a nice monitor - new as of spring 07, but not as nice as my few years old monitor for photoshopping - correct light/dark etc. for perfect prints.

Thanks in advance! (any pc builders out there in the Indy area?)

[Doug1]

I'm not a puter geek but for what you want you would prolly need a high(expensive) end laptop, A hot rod tower would be more cost effective and way more bang for the buck

[dobejazz]

I much prefer my desk top over the lap top we bought - I only use the laptop on trips

[tellycoleman]

Build your own. You will save a bunch.
A laptop will do all that.
But it will quickly drain even the most expensive battery. And if its always plugged in then why get a laptop.
The only time i would buy a ready made computer if it a normal use desktop. You can hardly build on for the price Dell is charging.
But for video edditing and or gamming computers are very simular.
just try and get a dual SLI graghics card and if you can afford it a quad hard drive.
Get your son to build you one it wont be that different. Qaming computers or motherboard have alot of USB ports for periferals.
I am a Windows fan believe me and I hate to say it but
Apple has the best video editing software. Most large scale and small scale PRODUCTIONS USE APPLE. since you have windows computers already I would do research and really consider this option

[ShirleyM]

Thank you all!

My son can't build it for me... he's stationed in El Paso now.

I won't be doing any video editing on it. I'm not replacing my video editor... only my desktop that does my office work, photo-editing, and Internet/email.

I do very intensive Photoshop work - some files are 600MB but most are under 300MB and many are under 100. All are extremely multi-layered, however, before flattened... I can't have a slow machine. Mac is out of the question. All my s/w is PC and so are all our computers.

I use my laptop plugged in 95% of the time... the battery, even though brand new, lasts only 90 min tops with just email.

I guess a desktop is the best way to go...

So... Dell has the best prices for what I'd want, even as good as "building my own"? (I'd have to pay someone to build one... it's been since Win 95 that I've installed parts other than hd, ram, dvd drives, and then I"ve never built from the ground up ... I'm pretty computer-savvy, and I like building electronics... how hard would that be? Someone would have to tell me what to order...)

I need an excellent graphics/video card... things HAVE to look good, even though I won't be video editing...

THANKS!

[ShirleyM]

As a teacher, my husband can get the Dell XPS 420 desktop for $863...
How is this video card?
Video Cards

128MB ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO

Also...
Processor/Display

Intel® Core™2 Q6600 Quad-Core (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB)

Is this something since the dual core?
My laptop is dual core.

Edit: doesn't include a monitor, but I already have a great Dell monitor.

[ShirleyM]

So evidently dual core and quad core doesn't really mean your programs are "faster"?

If you are looking for video editing or Gaming PC this is it. The bench marks on this are great. I recommend the 8800GT and the Core 2 Duo 3.0 GHZ processor. The 8800GT is great for games and fast as it gets besides 8800GTX and 8800 Ultrs. The core 2 duo 3.0 GHZ processor is worth ithe 50$ because quad core is pretty much a waste at this time. The one on here only have 2.4 GHZ and even though it has 4 cores with 2.4 GHZ there are really no programs I know of the can quad thread. Only 5% of programs can duel thread. More programs will have to duel thread before quad threading even becomes existent. By the time quad thread becomes existant the 2.4 GHZ will be way out of date. So spend the extra 50 bucks and get a lot out of your processor.

[Mindsgoneawol]

if your going to go prebuilt then go with hp. dell customer service really sucks bad.. and their computers can be a pain to work on. if you get an hp try to get the business pc not the personal so you don't get all the bs software and crap you don't need.. i have 2 prebuild hp bussiness pcs (off lease) and the only reason i got these was no bs software ... lol. just the operating system. everything else i added..

building a custom pc is pretty easy. go to an online shop. i use newegg.com for my parts . some people use others . search for a systemboard and download the manual. then search for the rest of the parts. keep the manual with you while you shop for the parts.

just my 2 cents. building the pc is your best bet though. its easier than you think. try it.. good luck..

[ShirleyM]

I've never been a fan of hp... and never had good tech support from anyone... but by the time I needed, the system was out of warranty.

Building my own sounds attractive IF it's that much cheaper. I wonder how much cheaper it really is... I've bought from newegg.com several times in the past....
Thanks!

[Mindsgoneawol]

95% of my computer parts come from newegg.com.. so far they have been awsome with their customer service.. and products..

as far as cheaper. thats a stretch. just depends on how you go. if you get an all on the system board system .. then probably. if you get different cards for everything. then its gonna get expensive real quick.

and as far as hp goes. i haven't had to use thier tech support but once and they were good about it. i did mine by email .. lol. i haven't even bought the Jornada yet but wanted to know about a part for it before i bought it. got the info within 24 hours. then bought the jornada. (just for the wife to decide it was hers an hour after i bought it. hahaha)

like i said. figure out how much memory you want and what type of processor you want.. then start looking at system boards. if you find one that looks interesting to you newegg has links to the manafacturer site and if i remember right (been awhile) the link to the manual. read a few. then write it all down and go over it. then order. in the long run its better to build your own than to buy one .. atleast if it breaks you know how to fix it.. lol.. (especially since the customer service is lacking in most corporations anyway. )

good luck..

[ShirleyM]

Thanks!
I prefer parts that aren't integrated to the motherboard... replaceable, upgradeable...
What do you thnk of the Dell I mentioned above?

[tims]

shirley,
i think a email to newegg might help. you can give them the specs and ask for a price on it all.
i dont care much for dells

[Waynesworld]

I have a dell xps 4 series and expanded the video card recently to a nividia 8600 gts. I have the 22 inch widescreen and the system just rocks. I love it and have had no issues with it..

[tellycoleman]

zipzoomfly.com is a good site for pc parts

[Dancing4raiin]

You'll get much better power and its more cost effective to get a Desktop. I myself purchased a laptop because it is less of a hassle to move around and i can take it to class. If you are looking to just surf the internet and things that dont take much to do i would go with a laptop. If you into editing and things along those lines then a Desktop is the way to go if you want to be on top of your game. Its all a matter of choice. My vote goes for a Laptop because you can always say if your going to get a powerful computer that you'll keep upgrading but in reality alot of us never use it to its full potential.