My mother is fixated on a laptop

[Cytherian]

My mother has a 7 year old laptop at this point running Windows XP, and it has been showing its age more and more (now rather painfully so). The RAM has been upgraded to the max, and an external hard drive was attached to overcome the anemic internal hard drive (now fully defragged and working OK). But at this point she really needs a new computer.

I'm trying to convince her to get a desktop, but she is fixated on getting a laptop. However, she moves the computer 2 times per year. Winter home <--> summer home. She almost never takes it anywhere. It was hard to shake her preconception of a desktop being a big bulky box that sits under the desk. They are now true desktop machines that have a minimal profile with large high resolution screens. But after that, she bemoaned that the screen would be "looking at her", unlike the laptop screen which folds down. I told her she can easily put a cover over the screen. She winced at the suggestion, determined to continue wanting a laptop.

I feel you get much more "bang for the buck" with a desktop and it's more conducive to her doing artwork (she does use Photoshop rather extensively), as well as more flexible to customize and upgrade over time. Why have I started this thread? I'm hoping to solicit advice on what people see as advantages of desktops over laptops. Incidentally, even if she wants to take a computer with her somewhere (which is next to never), she'll still have the older laptop and won't have to worry about loss/damage of a much more expensive and newer laptop.


Should I just give up and let her get another laptop, or is it worthwhile to push home the advantages of having a desktop?

 

[Patonb]

She has a point, the laptop folded up becomes unobtrusive.

Now adays a decnt laptop is pretty much the same as a desktop...

I'd just let her have her way.

 

[townsbg]

She'll certainly get more bang for her buck with a desktop and they are much more upgradable. However it's her money so she'll spend it the way that she wants. She may be so used to laptops that she's afraid to try something else. She may not like desktops for whatever reason. Everybody differs with their preferences.

 

[latecomer]

i prefer a laptop, easier to transport, put away where other cant mess with it. doesnt take up much space.

 

[whs]

Laptops can perform just as well as desktops. I own a Toshiba with an i5 and 6GB of RAM and in most cases it runs as fast as my Dell desktop with an i7 and 8GB of RAM. Both have SSDs. The laptop cost $585 and the desktop was close to $700 - the box only (but it has a few more gadgets like an eSata port and better graphics).

I would let mom buy what she likes. Get her a nice SSD to replace the slow HDD and put the recovered HDD into an external enclosure for the bulk data (USB3 if possible). I am sure she will love the 15 second boot time and the instant access to programs.

 

[Cytherian]

Thanks for the feedback, guys. After reading all the responses and thinking it over a bit, I've come to realize I'm projecting more of my own "preference" in this case. If I used a computer the way she does, I'd stick with a desktop for greater expand-ability. But that's just me.

So, I'm letting her get what she wants.