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February 9,
2010
I'm often asked by clients when acquiring their computer, whether
they should get a notebook instead. For most people, desktop remain the
better choice by far. For some, they should consider adding a portable (but
not necessarily a notebook) to supplement, rather than
replace the desktop.
Characteristics of Notebooks vs. Desktop PCs:
- superior space savings & portability
- far inferior durability
- significantly poorer performance
on all fronts
- the notion that portable machines have achieved parity in
performance is purely imaginary
- that had never been the case in the entire 26 years or so of
portable computer history
- it is literally impossible to obtain components
that are truly comparable to their desktop counterparts, due to
inherit design constrains and laws of physics
- the area where portable computers are most sorely at a
disadvantage is hard drive:
- 5400 RPM vs 7200/10000 RPM
- seek time of 10 to 15 ms vs 7 to 10 ms (smaller is
better)
- much smaller on-drive buffer memory (space & heat
constrain)
- always working under overheated condition, due to
practically non-existent cooling in cramped, practically
sealed environment, relying exclusively on conductive
cooling
- CPU is another area where the mobile edition is a
severely compromised and downgraded version of its desktop
cousins.
- drastically higher overall cost of ownership
- at the time of new system purchase, they represent 20%
(memory) to 75% (CPU) cost premium
- at the time of repair/replacement, that becomes 75% to 300%
cost premium, since everything is proprietary. The only
exception is hard drive, which remains at about 25% to 40%
premium (strictly on a comparable size basis, while overlooking
the performance disparity)
- more complex and risky repair process
- it's more costly, technically challenging and time-consuming
- the designs of many notebook parts render repairs impossible,
forcing replacement of entire assembly
- many repairable/replaceable items can only be performed at
factory, which incurs freight and major delays, plus the tedious
administrative coordination and communications
In short, I recommend using desktop wherever/whenever possible,
including situations where the computer is needed at 2 different
locations. It'd be far better, easier and cheaper in the long run to
simply setup 2 separate systems. However, where portability is required,
then notebooks are the only option.
Note that I don't have a bias against notebooks. In fact, I've
been an avid user of notebook PCs since 1988, and I'm currently on my
7th notebook. I also went through 4 PDAs since the early 1990s, long
before the current generation of Smartphones arrived on the scene.
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