When you’re setting up a home office, one of the biggest decisions is over your PC. A laptop and desktop are both viable options, and a desktop is typically thought of as the work or gaming PC of choice. However, this isn’t always the case. Powerful laptops have a lot of advantages over desktops.
For certain home office users, a laptop can be a considerably better choice. This is especially true if your whole career revolves around your access to some form of computer – you can get some work done anywhere. I’ve listed some of my favorite laptops for writers, which can be used for pretty much all freelancing work.
There are many reasons to choose a laptop over a desktop, and it will ultimately come down to which suits your needs better. However, if you’re planning to write off choosing a laptop as they don’t fit the general image of an office, you should reconsider. These are five of the top reasons that you might want to choose a laptop over a desktop.
5 Reasons to Pick a Laptop over Desktop
1. Flexibility
This is a fairly obvious pro, but many don’t consider the full extent of it. A laptop gives you much greater flexibility than a desktop. You can keep going with whatever you’re doing outside of your regular office.
Whether this is to take advantage of the good weather, get more done on a commute, or even just for a change of scenery, it can make a real improvement to how you work.
A desktop PC just can’t offer these things. If you go for a laptop that meets all of your requirements for a desktop, then you can have the same experience but portable when you need it.
You can even have a better experience in your home with a portable PC. You can use your laptop in other rooms, including using it in your living room when you’re not working.
This can eliminate the need for a separate device, like a cheaper notebook or a tablet. Your laptop can be both your work PC and your general use PC/tablet.
2. Battery Power
A laptop runs on battery power rather than the electric supply. If you choose the right laptop, you’ll even be able to run it in on battery power for quite a long time. This means you can pick it up, transport it whenever you want without ever having to turn off.
A sleep mode that keeps everything where you left it without drawing any AC power can change how you work compared with using a desktop. Having a long battery life is one of the key areas most people really look for in a new laptop.
3. Price
The price of a Laptop is usually quite a bit lower than a pc. You don’t have to worry about any of the extras like a monitor, mouse, or keyboard if you just want to use it as it comes. This makes it significantly cheaper.
You can still upgrade and alter a laptop in the same way as a pc. You can use extra accessories if you need them, install SSD or other storage, and generally upgrade it to keep it running at its best for longer.
The price advantage is often said to come at the expense of being able to maintain and upgrade a laptop like a desktop PC, but you can actually still upgrade a laptop if you do some research.
4. You Can Still Use a Mouse and Keyboard
If you’re hoping to use a desk with a standalone mouse and keyboard, you can still do that. A separate mouse and keyboard can still be plugged in or connected wirelessly with your laptop. That mechanical keyboard or gaming mouse is still going to work perfectly fine with your laptop if you don’t want to use a trackpad or standard keyboard.
These things have to be bought separately though. This is the case for desktop PCs too, but if you want an upgrade you can still have one.
5. Space
If you’re setting up a home office, then you have to think about space. You don’t always have enough room for a bulky set-up. A laptop allows you to use more of your space for an effective work environment than on housing your physical PC.
They require less room, don’t make as much noise, and don’t pump out as much hot air to keep cool as your average desktop PC does. This is especially true with any new laptop, with many some even needing a fan to keep their processor cool.
Conclusion
Those are some of the advantages of choosing a laptop over a desktop PC when you’re setting up a home office. If you’re looking for flexibility and the ability to chose where to work, while keeping some of the advantages of a desktop-like a technical keyboard and mouse, then a laptop can be a great choice for your home office.
So for most people, a laptop is worth buying. If you’re never going to use your device outside of your home, then a computer might be the right choice.
