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Transition to a Desktop after years of using a laptop

Pachimac said:
Adding a mouse or larger screen just defeats the purpose of true mobility.
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Not at all... I have the best of both worlds. I have a macbook pro with a 2 tb hard drive, an i9, and 32 gigs of ram. It's a beast of a machine and runs multiple graphic intensive programs at one time with very little strain. I plug in at my desk to the larger monitor and have two screens, a keyboard and a mouse. But anytime I want, I unplug and move to any other room, place my macbook in my backpack (a specialized backpack to hold expensive photography gear safely during travel with a perfectly sized padded laptop space) and when on trips, I have access to the exact same things I do when I use my machine as a desktop. With the advancements in set ups we have, a desktop computer traps you to a desk. If that fits your lifestyle, fantastic. I prefer freedom personally. ;)
 
Kat said:
Not at all... I have the best of both worlds. I have a macbook pro with a 2 tb hard drive, an i9, and 32 gigs of ram. It's a beast of a machine and runs multiple graphic intensive programs at one time with very little strain. I plug in at my desk to the larger monitor and have two screens, a keyboard and a mouse. But anytime I want, I unplug and move to any other room, place my macbook in my backpack (a specialized backpack to hold expensive photography gear safely during travel with a perfectly sized padded laptop space) and when on trips, I have access to the exact same things I do when I use my machine as a desktop. With the advancements in set ups we have, a desktop computer traps you to a desk. If that fits your lifestyle, fantastic. I prefer freedom personally. ;)
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I’m glad you have a set up you’re happy with. A laptop with all the extras I’d have to carry around wasn’t worth it to me.
 
elseepe said:
@littlekiwi Jennifer can you use your current laptop at your desk space to try out how you like that option?
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I haven’t yet (only because it’s currently a dumping ground - that’s my mission this week to tidy it) but I have worked on a laptop at my desk in the past so know I’d adjust back to it, it’s just been easier the past few years to work from bed while I’ve been dealing with fatigue but that has started to seriously improve over the last week so spending time upright at my desk isn’t as iffy an option as it has been.
 
I had a desktop, when it died I went with a laptop and used that exclusively for years. My son hooked up his spare monitor to my laptop when I redid the spare bedroom to an office space.

I loved it and decided I wanted a desktop again. He was looking at upgrading his one year old gaming computer so I bought it and another monitor. Oh do I love the dual monitors!! Also love how fast the desktop is compared to laptop, granted my laptop is about 7 years old.

I just treated myself to a new laptop. While lovely, faster and much lighter than my other other one, I really do love my bigger monitor and the fact I have 2.
 
Pachimac said:
A laptop with all the extras I’d have to carry around wasn’t worth it to me.
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You don't carry around the extras. I don't pack up a monitor and keyboard and move it around with me. It's plug and play or unplug and go. You take the machine and the cord to plug it in (if you need it). I am surprised you think I am hauling a bunch of extras around.
 
Kat said:
You don't carry around the extras. I don't pack up a monitor and keyboard and move it around with me. It's plug and play or unplug and go. You take the machine and the cord to plug it in (if you need it). I am surprised you think I am hauling a bunch of extras around.
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I was speaking for myself. A laptop screen is too small for my vision, so yeah, ME PERSONALLY would have to bring the monitor with me if I am going to do much of anything, and buying a large screen laptop is out of my budget. I cannot scrap with a track pad, so I would have to bring a mouse. The keyboard is very small and has less keys than a full keyboard, so I would have to bring the keyboard. It defeats the purpose for ME to have a laptop because it doesn't work FOR ME. It is not convenient nor easy to bring it all. As a matter of fact, it's easier for me to bring the entire iMac, and I have done so when I was babysitting my Alzheimer's MIL each week.

So yes, FOR ME a laptop doesn't work. I never said you had to or did bring everything. I'm giving my opinion based on my experience.
 
I really cannot help you here Jennifer as I have NEVER scrapbooked on a laptop. I have a desktop and love the larger screen. I do have my own craft room as I took over my daughter's bedroom when she got married and it is my retreat. There has only been a couple times in the last 6 years I have not had access to it as it was being used as a guest room while we had all of our married children home for an event or holiday. Let us know what you end up doing!
 
Pachimac said:
It is not convenient nor easy to bring it all. As a matter of fact, it's easier for me to bring the entire iMac, and I have done so when I was babysitting my Alzheimer's MIL each week.
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God Bless you Susie for helping take care of your MIL. We have had Alzheimer family members too it is so hard!
 
Kat said:
You don't carry around the extras. I don't pack up a monitor and keyboard and move it around with me. It's plug and play or unplug and go. You take the machine and the cord to plug it in (if you need it). I am surprised you think I am hauling a bunch of extras around.
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Well, I do know people that take a monitor, mouse and keyboard with them when they go elsewhere to scrap. Heck, I even know a gal that brought her computer/scrapping chair from New York to Ohio for a 4 day scrapping retreat. LOL

Some people just can't use laptops because of vision issues for scrapping. I'm one of them. I can use it to surf the internet but that's about it these days. It is just an emergency backup computer for me these days. Heck, I don't even use my phone to get on the internet unless it is an emergency because I can't read it.
 
Sokee said:
God Bless you Susie for helping take care of your MIL. We have had Alzheimer family members too it is so hard!
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It is very hard - especially when they regress into fear. Sadly my MIL died in the beginning of Covid. She was locked down in a Nursing home after suffering a double stroke. She went in and we never saw her again until the funeral home. :(
 
I used to have a desktop but switched to a laptop several years ago. Like Susie, I don't like using the touch pad, so I have a USB mouse plugged into my laptop. It's more to lug around, but I can't stand to use the touch pad. I love my mouse scroll button too much. :giggle

I occasionally move my laptop out to the kitchen table and take it on trips and to crops. I love the mobility of a laptop for when I need it, but I mostly use it like you would a desktop. I could go back to a desktop and might do that the next time I buy a computer, especially because my eyes are getting old and a big, big screen would be nice. I'd just keep my old laptop for when I needed to be mobile.

@littlekiwi - I think you just have to decide what your needs are and go with what works best for you. We all have different needs and what works for me, may not work for you. Thank goodness there are all kinds of options out there and you'll be able to get a configuration that works for you. Maybe a desktop for your main work and stringing along your laptop for when you need to be mobile. If you had your files on an EHD you could go back and forth from desktop to laptop when you needed.
 
I much prefer desktops to laptops. I have a desktop at my work office and one at home, both are about 9 years old. I run Artisan 5 on them. I do have a gaming laptop that I take to crops/retreats, by the end of the day I invariably have a kink in my neck from looking down at the screen, even though I have a “lift” under it for air circulation.
 
I have been scrapping on a lap top since 2012... I had a small laptop with me in Nov 2012, (not to scrap with as screen was so small) when my Dad got sick when I went down to be with him while he was in the hospital & ICU for a month before he died. He had basically just bought a laptop with a large screen on it 6 months before he had gotten sick. I got his laptop when he passed, so because of the bigger screen it was easy for me to scrap with and so since my desktop was at the end of it's life, I continued with the laptop. I too need the wireless mouse to use with it, and then of course I have the EHD connected too... when Dad's laptop was on it's last legs, we bought a new lap top with the big screen again as I cannot see to scrap on a small screen. I scrap at my kitchen table, so the laptop with the big screen and wireless mouse is perfect for me.

You need to get what is best for yourself.. your budget and what will work best with your lifestyle.
 
@keepscrappin I hadn’t thought of the option to have both only because the chances of my laptop working long term even for the basics isn’t high.

@cfile, I totally get working on with my budget and lifestyle. Both a laptop and desktop are within budget once I save the remaining $600. Desktop will be far better speccd than I could ever afford as a laptop - I’ve had to accept that’s more than likely my reality. I think ultimately convenience is what was drawing me to a laptop - while I have a desk now, there is no guarantee whenever I move that I’ll have space for a dedicated desk space and was more than likely planning on using the kitchen/dining table with some drawers for additional office bits and pieces.
 
littlekiwi said:
@keepscrappin I hadn’t thought of the option to have both only because the chances of my laptop working long term even for the basics isn’t high.

@cfile, I totally get working on with my budget and lifestyle. Both a laptop and desktop are within budget once I save the remaining $600. Desktop will be far better speccd than I could ever afford as a laptop - I’ve had to accept that’s more than likely my reality. I think ultimately convenience is what was drawing me to a laptop - while I have a desk now, there is no guarantee whenever I move that I’ll have space for a dedicated desk space and was more than likely planning on using the kitchen/dining table with some drawers for additional office bits and pieces.
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I get that. I scrap in my kitchen and love my little set up. I have a wireless printer too so it all works for me with the big screen and gaming for graphics.. This laptop I have is going on 5 years.. the kes are wearing, but I love it!
 
A long time ago I used a laptop for scrapbooking because I did a lot of one day or weekend long scrapping retreats and I wanted to be mobile, but once I started using two screens I could go back and I realized that in my experience laptops just don't last as long as desktops, so I prefer the desktop. I still do weekend scrapbook retreats with a friend and is a pain to pack up a desktop as opposed to a laptop, but I still think it's worth it to me. My eyes are getting old I need the bigger screen more than I need the portability. Lol. Also I figure if I'm going to set aside a whole weekend to scrapbook, I want the power and ease of use of my normal desktop and two monitors, so I pack all that up and I'm more productive. :agree

I also think it's easier to repair/upgrade a desktop myself, so when stuff breaks, I can fix it myself and cheaper because laptop parts seem to be more expensive because they have to be tinier.
 
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