Desktop vs laptop

[Taff]

How many here use a desktop, vs a Laptop?

I'll be moving from Australia to the UK next year, and may prefer to go to laptop production rather than my current desktop.

My biggest concern is that my main uses for the desktop, Reason 9 and Photoshop, may be too heavy for a laptop. (I';ll be running 50 mega pixel Canon 5 DSR shots in photoshop, huge demand.)

All and any advice greatfuly recieved.

[QVprod]

The only benefit of a laptop over a desktop is portability. However if power and ability to upgrade is what you're after, then a desktop is definitely the way to go.

[joeyluck]

I'm not sure I understand the poll. I use my laptop at both my desk and on my lap...and anywhere else I set it. But I'm laptop 100%

The last desktop I owned was a 450 MHz Power Mac G4 Cube

[xbitz]

if don't have to care with battery life I would simply buy a gaming laptop with 17' display

MSI Stealth ones are quite good http://www.ultrabookreview.com/12167-ms ... vr-review/ and they haven't got that typical robust gaming laptop design
"...It really is a nice device and to be quite honest, there really aren’t that many competitors at this screen size with such a powerful GPU and thin form factor. "

[EdGrip]

50mb files in Photoshop will be no problem for a (proper workstation) laptop. I use mine for working on 45mb RAW files all the time, with Capture One Pro, and it handles it easily. And HD video editing without bothering to transcode first. And that's a 2014 Dell, so you'd have 4 years of processor innovation on me.
I like my laptop because I move about a lot for work and it can come with me. Look at official refurbished Dells on American eBay.

Obviously it goes without saying that if you CAN make your main computer a desktop, do that. You'll get lots more DSP bars for your money. And you can spend the savings on a couple of big monitors!

In either case, spend as much as you possibly possibly can on the processor - but especially in the case of a laptop, cos you can't really upgrade it later, unlike the ram etc. (Unless you've bought a Mac and that's soldered in too)

[EdGrip]

My laptop's a 17 inch screen. It basically never gets used on battery power, so I've never even bothered to buy a 2nd battery.

[EdGrip]

Another thought is with a laptop, you can always have a big monitor at home for it to work with - have the monitor above the laptop screen, sequencer/rack on the big screen, mixer on the little one, etc etc.

[Kenni]

I've been working with an Asus gaming laptop for 3 years now. I have two screens in the studio that I've hooked up. I bought a laptop because I liked the idea of mobility. I've come to realize that I really hate working on laptops only, so my next investment will be a desktop. Simply because they're easy to upgrade.

[aeox]

as a PC enthusiast, high performance workstation laptops make zero sense to me. i'd rather get a mediocre laptop to sketch out ideas if i have to, and transfer the project over to a PROPER workstation (dual or quad CPU machine) considering that i never(almost) bounce anything to audio.

although, i'm a pure electronic producer who needs every ounce of processing power at a low budget because there will always be a better CPU(s) right around the corner, it's not logical to be upgrading to the latest and greatest laptop or CPU every year.

so, i'd say get both! a decent cheap laptop to sketch ideas, and a meaty workstation desktop to finish the project.

[EdGrip]

...it goes without saying that we're discussing quad-core i7 laptops, right?

[EdGrip]

If my situation was different and I had more space, I'd totally get an ace desktop. One day.

[Carly(Poohbear)]

I have always built tower systems as I was quite heavily into gaming (a lot of heat to contend with).

But I did buy a ASUS ROG G751JL a coupe of years ago and I use it all the time, i.e. for the Expanse song challenge I had 22 expanses in that song, no bouncing was needed ran fine.
I don't use it on the battery, I have 50" 4k screen hooked up to it, I don't even bother having the lid open on the laptop (I do have another 50" 1920*1080 screen hooked up if I need more screen space, but that screen even though is always plugged in is also my TV, so I tend to only use that screen if watching Amazon prime or a lot of youtube videos etc).
I brought it as when I go on holiday I use to have to de-wire and uphook my tower stuff, now I take this and my 4K monitor (and P4) with me, which is nice and easy...
I also run Paintshop Pro x9 along with Videostudio and Power\color\photo director and of course the odd game...

I use to hate laptops as they were so underpowered but now, there are some good ones out there...

[chimp_spanner]

I got a laptop because at the time I was in a long distance relationship and needed to work. We've since moved in together but I'm still using the laptop. It's nice to be able to take it into the garden or front room and honestly, except for a noisy fan I find it to be quite good! It's an HP Envy J130ea. Obviously it's not the most powerful, and when I outgrow it there are no options for upgrading. But in that case I'd probably just got another laptop.

The biggest issue for me has been building my setup around a laptop that I'm effectively using as a base unit. Very hard to just find somewhere for it. Got a dual monitor/laptop clamp stand on order so I can finally free up a huge chunk of desktop real estate, and get a second monitor out of it too!!

[Taff]

I'm not sure I understand the poll.

Probably my bad,

The choices should have read
Desktop
Both
Laptop

[Taff]

I've altered the poll choices now to be more concise for the readership here, please change your vote if need be.

Oh and thanks very much for the thoughts so far!!

[joeyluck]

I'm not sure I understand the poll.

Probably my bad,

The choices should have read
Desktop
Both
Laptop

[Zac]

CPU counts most for Reason. Desktops are always ahead price wise.

[Re8et]

as a PC enthusiast, high performance workstation laptops make zero sense to me. i'd rather get a mediocre laptop to sketch out ideas if i have to, and transfer the project over to a PROPER workstation (dual or quad CPU machine) considering that i never(almost) bounce anything to audio.

although, i'm a pure electronic producer who needs every ounce of processing power at a low budget because there will always be a better CPU(s) right around the corner, it's not logical to be upgrading to the latest and greatest laptop or CPU every year.

so, i'd say get both! a decent cheap laptop to sketch ideas, and a meaty workstation desktop to finish the project.

Same here, cheap and highly portable lappy, still can play modest songs, if no more than one vk2 is around!!

[Oquasec]

Between a prebuilt desktop/laptop get a laptop.
Build desktops only Imo.

laptops get a 60-100$ boost in price because of those batteries and 100-200$ for the built in screen which adds 200-300 dollars to the machine for portability.

[EdGrip]

It's a given that there's a price premium for going the laptop route.

Also, I've never understood all the excitement for self-building desktops. I (personally) don't want to spend ages researching ideal hardware compatibility when I can just buy a pre-built workstation where all the hardware compatibility has been thoroughly tested - both by design and by time. From what I've seen, the cost isn't vastly different.

If you love computers, and you'd be reading comparative reviews of the latest enthusiast motherboards even when you're not making yourself a new PC, then it makes sense - but that's not me.

[Gorgon]

Also, I've never understood all the excitement for self-building desktops. I (personally) don't want to spend ages researching ideal hardware compatibility when I can just buy a pre-built workstation where all the hardware compatibility has been thoroughly tested - both by design and by time.

Uhuh. Not. I've been in de PC business for over 20 years and the pre-built ones are the ones who give you the most problems. Big brands cut corners with selecting parts to keep the cost down. Usually they also make it hard to self-service them (by using proprietary parts that are completely unnecessary, with Apple as the ultimate example).

You don't need to "spend ages" if you know what you're doing. If you know which brands to stick to, you really can't go wrong. In the end you get a better computer that lasts longer and is easily upgradable.

If you love computers, and you'd be reading comparative reviews of the latest enthusiast motherboards even when you're not making yourself a new PC, then it makes sense - but that's not me.

This is true.

[aeox]

i figured out the part comparability thing for building desktops as a 13 year old, anyone can do it!

[EdGrip]

The only problems I've ever had with the hardware side of any PC (mostly Dells, just cos they are what my brother was always rescuing from companies who'd just closed down) is when I've forgotten to hoover them out for years. And then I hoovered it and it was fine.
The only frustration there has been that a couple of them were low-profile office types, as as you know, finding worthwhile low-profile graphics cards is a no-go. I've found the computers themselves completely bomb-proof - and those are just the cheap office computers, not properly certified workstations. But my sample size is tiny compared to anyone working in IT so I could well just be lucky.

[EdGrip]

I also know that when I was younger, it was a bit of a crap-shoot when it came to motherboard compatibility with (x) brand (other component) for total no-worries stability. I imagine things have improved and simplified a lot in that regard by now.

[satyr32]

i used to use a laptop for many years for audio production with the most important advantage to me making music in the bed. but since REs and now VSTs i will switch to a desktop soon because i need the CPU of a desktop-