You may find yourself asking that question many times while shopping for a computer. This guide offers you the pros and cons of owning a laptop versus a desktop pc.

1. Processing speed

Comparing processing speeds, laptops usually lag behind their desktop counterparts. With the rapid advance in microchip technology, the gap between them will become smaller.

2. Wireless.

Most laptops especially those with Intel mobile chips come with wireless capability out of the box. This means you can get online from any location at home easily without ugly wires if you have a wireless network setup at home.

Desktop pcs do not typically provide this capability out of the box although that may change in the near future.

3. Memory.

Memory chip tends to be more expensive in Laptop than desktop pcs. If you buy a laptop with less than 512MB ram, be prepare to pay more for memory upgrades than you have to with a desktop pc.

4. Graphics Display

Because of the size of a laptop, most business or entry level laptop use integrated graphics with limited ram. This means most laptops even some expensive ones cannot run graphics intensive applications or 3d games as well as a desktop pc.

With a desktop pc, you can buy a dedicated graphics card just to serve a graphics intensive application.

5. Portability.

Portability is why everyone wants a laptop these days. Because of their size and weight, it is easier to carry a laptop around as opposed to a desktop pc.

6. Screen Display.

Everyone buy laptop for their portability so laptops usually do not come with screens as big as their desktop counterparts. The screen technology used is usually not as good as those used by desktop pc.

Furthermore with a desktop pc, you can always upgrade to a bigger and better screen whereas for laptop you are stuck with the same screen display for the whole lifespan of the laptop.

So whether you should buy a cheap laptop or a cheap desktop, ask yourself what are your needs? If you want to be able to use a computer wherever you go, then you are looking at a laptop to fulfill your needs.

However if you do not require the portability of a laptop, play a lot of 3D games, graphic intensive applications, if you care about upgradeability to prolong the lifespan of your investment, then desktop pc is a smarter choice for you.