Desktop computers becoming a "thing of the past"

optitech-uk said:
I went from a desktop to a laptop simply because of power resources. A desktop now pulls more power simply because certain hardware needs more power.

If you own your own home and pay bills laptops are definatly one power saving feature of a home over desktops and with 9 hour + batteries coming into laptops they are superb devices!!

I will never go back to a desktop ever.
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Surely if you used the same components (cpu/gfx/ram etc) in a desktop as you did a laptop, it would save considerably more power than the laptop due to not having the rather inefficient battery power, instead using a 80+% efficient psu.



You seem to be comparing a low spec laptop to a high spec desktop, in which case of course the desktop will use more power.
 
My desktop doesn't even use 200W when idle, however my pc is obviously a lot more powerful than a laptop so even that wouldn't be a fair comparison.
 
Desktops are cheaper to buy, cheaper to support and cheaper to repair/replace than laptops. Until that changes large companies will always go for the desktop option. It doesn't however suprise me that a laptop site would post an article trying to suggest that the desktop is dead...
 
Jez said:
No, but they will thinclients. In time.
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OK this may be true but how many people would believe that in my company we still have some old P4 computers running on windows 2000?

It's not like everyone has got money to change or upgrade their computers/networks etc.

For sure computers will change but there will always be a choice and it seems like we get greater choice each year. Even if desktops will be only 2-5% of all computer hardware sells this is still viable business to keep it running.
 
Spawn said:
Think you will be surprised at how far tech has come in terms of laptops...you can now get laptops with 17" or 19" screens and some of them will out perform a desktop pc with similar specs quite easily;).
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I would expect nothing less considering the laptop would cost 2-3x more than the desktop equivalent. :rolleyes:

17 or 19 inch? That's crap and completely ruins the portability of the machine. I'd rather have a desktop and a netbook. Oh wait I currently have that combo and it rocks. :)

If anything is becoming a thing of the past it's laptops, netbooks are the way forward. I ditched my laptop in favour of one and haven't looked back.
 
i dont see myself getting rid of my desktop for a laptop. i like to sit at a desk with a proper keyboard. mouse and monitor, sure you can use all those things with a laptop, but whats the point if its never going to leave your desk?, i personally have a netbook that i leave in my lounge to browse the ineternet and a bit of office. i dont see laptops replacing desktops in offices either. there will always be desktops.
 
Judgeneo said:
It could go one of three ways:

1. Laptops take over, desktops become a minority. Current trends would suggest this. Only people to use desktops would be developers and and possibly designers, gaming would also move to consoles/lower power systems because of bigger user base and lower design costs.

2. Terminals and the cloud dominate, everything is online/ hosted on a hidden network.

3. Tablets become the norm, laptops a minority, about the same useage as desktops.

Personally, I'm going to go with number 3. Tablets can have about the same battery than laptops, albeit poorer performance. But for the majority of users who just want to use office applications and web surfing, this is plenty. Tablets are also more mobile than laptops, and generally look more aesthetically pleasing.
Desktops will still be used in development and coding, where the horsepower can be put to use. I'm currently in a summer placement in a university physics department, we have lots of workstations and just the one laptop, which is rarely used, the same can be said for the maths department.


Laptops just aren't mobile enough, you have to plug them in for prolonged useage and they are a pain to carry around.
I converted from my laptop and bought a big ol' PC just last week. If I feel I need some extra mobility, I'll get a netbook, but my iphone can handle most of that anyway
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See, whilst I love the idea of slates/tablets they will never replace laptops/desktops, just compliment them. I want a slate device to compliment my desktop and laptop, not replace them. It's all very well saying people want them for word processing and internet browsing but you won't be wanting to type to much on them and you won't be able to play many internet based games with them.

Take the best known slate/tablet device at the moment, it needs a computer to charge it...
 
Judgeneo said:
3. Tablets become the norm, laptops a minority, about the same useage as desktops.

Personally, I'm going to go with number 3. Tablets can have about the same battery than laptops, albeit poorer performance. But for the majority of users who just want to use office applications and web surfing, this is plenty. Tablets are also more mobile than laptops, and generally look more aesthetically pleasing.
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I wouldn't want to have any job that requires large amounts of typing on a tablet.
 
optitech-uk said:
Sorry to burst your bubble, were just about to replace 5000 workstations for windows 7 .............. thin clients / laptops from desktops :)
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Thin clients aren't anything new though they've been used for decades with no sign of replacing desktops for the typical applications, a single point of failure is often not a good thing in a business.
 
Energize said:
Thin clients aren't anything new though they've been used for decades with no sign of replacing desktops for the typical applications, a single point of failure is often not a good thing in a business.
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our citrix farm is spread across 3-4 data centres globally. it'll pick up your local DC if it's available, and then remote DCs if it isnt
 
platypus said:
With computer architecture heading the way it is I see no reason why laptops couldn't replace desktops. They won't be the amazing omgwtfbbq performance beasts but they'll be able to perform just as well as most.
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at a premium price though look at laptop prices only the crap ones probably sell to sofa surfers who dont need anything but a basic one
 
Saytan said:
our citrix farm is spread across 3-4 data centres globally. it'll pick up your local DC if it's available, and then remote DCs if it isnt
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This kind of thing is what most institutions don't have and is why this architecture will never replace desktops in schools and small businesses.

optitech-uk said:
it's education sector so no issue if it all fails ;)
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Kind of difficult to do an IT lesson though without any computers. :p The servers at my school did not fail infrequently.
 
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