Asklemmy

Desktop, laptop, phone.

Desktop for heavy workloads and work when at home

Laptop for work when at work

Phone is useless for any sort of meaningful work and is used for Slack and/or browsing memes.

It's not necessarily even that phones are too weak for work, it's that it's god-awful to try to get any work done on a phone when the only input method you have is touchscreen.

Laptop only. But I almost exclusivly use the laptop in a desktop setup with external screens and peripheral. And for now it's even good enough for gaming, so there really is no need for a proper desktop.

I have a personal gaming desktop and, at last count, ~~three~~ four laptops. I'm part of an IT department and I have a bad habit. I take junked laptops from the scrap bin home and repair them, then lose interest once they're working again.

I've been a laptop-only guy for over 10 years, here's my take:

At first, I wanted a powerful and colorful desktop computer, so I could play all the games I wanted, maybe touch on some 3D software, and overall have a cool setup. However, I couldn't afford it at all (though times during and after the 2009 crisis, in Portugal), so I ended up just sticking with the handful of years old, 17 inch and 4Kg laptop my older brother had given me.
The years passed and I never bought a desktop. The mobility and versatility of laptops was too good to give up, and having poured many hours into configuring my system (first years of laptop-only coincided with first years of Linux, pretty much) I didn't want to have to manage and sync two different computers. I wasn't aware of Nix and similar OSs, but even that doesn't solve the sync issue. Now my work requires me to take a computer with me, so I must have a laptop. I also work from home quite a lot, but I like to work outside, in the porch/garden.

Nowadays you can get really good and mobile (gaming) laptops, like the ones from XMG (and their sister brands) or even the newer Frameworks (which are also great for other obvious reasons). Even XMG laptops are quite reparable, outside of CPU/GPU failures, and DIY is supported by the seller. I'm currently rocking their XMG Fusion 15 L19 (late 2019), and am incredibly happy with my purchase, it's still in pristine shape!

Of course, this doesn't apply to everyone, but I think a laptop is generally a safer bet, if you know where to buy.
Happy to discuss this further! :)

Edit: Just wanted to drop an very nice laptop-focused channel: Bob Of All Trades. It seems they haven't been very active as of late, but they were very informative and had good guides some years ago, when I was looking for a new laptop.

Shit, I have all of the above, in multiples.

I have kind of abandoned keeping a gaming PC up to date because I get sick of the bullshit. But the one I have currently isn't too far behind, hardware wise.

But I use it for piracy, image management (including editing), video editing, etc. The stuff that punks out other devices.

I have a dedicated media PC that is hooked up to the TV and stereo, but is isolated from anything else. That's what I still run Windows 7 on because musicbee on Linux isn't ready for prime time.

Then there's my wife's old computer that's hooked up to my kid's tvt, not that it ever gets used. But it's functional, so until it dies, that's what it does.

My laptop is exclusively for my writing. Dual boot with win 10/mint Linux. The win10 exists only for a specific piece of software that makes publishing to amazon easier. No games, but I do some media playback with it when I have to travel.

Phones suck at media management, word processing, and pretty much everything else tbh. Too many lobbyists limitations, too much crap for proper multitasking, no good apps for long form writing. But I do use them as music players at home via headphones.

Tablets are for portable video consumption, crappy mobile games, and reading. Some short form writing is possible on a decent tablet.

I don't see phones taking over much of what I use a laptop for, ever. And the screen size of even the biggest phones would suck for media management, even if it was realistic to store large amounts on one.

Just laptop. I don't have a space for desktop, unfortunately.

my laptop is my personal desktop ;)

Gaming PC is in the living room for gaming and media center.

Laptop in my office up stairs for programming and I use Steam Remote Play for games that require keybmouse. Its nice because I can just unplug it from my dock and head downstairs with it if I want to browse on the couch.

I have a tablet too, but that's used solely for movies, YouTube, or when I'm DMing because the footprint is smaller.

Use my laptop for everything, need it a lot at uni and it's beefy enough for desk tasks. Don't game anyways so I never hit a heavy load.

Yes, I have both. The desktop is pretty beefy and runs Windows (for now) and is mostly used for games and Adobe stuff. The laptop is a Thinkpad running Linux Mint, and is my couch computer. I use it for normal web browsing type stuff, and for managing my home lab server that sits in a closet in my basement. I also play some lightweight games on it via Steam/proton.

Win 10 desktop for recording with Reason. Laptop running Linux Mint for everything else.

I like having a gaming laptop as it's easier to grab and go to game at friends' places. Sometimes I do like to bring my desktop and set up for a good old fashioned LAN party, but other times I want something quick. I also like having a laptop for working on projects on the go, connecting to devices for projects without having to relocate my desktop, etc. Traditional smartphones are too limited for most work and are only good for web browsing and communication tasks. Linux phones are too experimental to rely on but are getting better and better. I have done quite a bit of coding on my Linux phones but their use there is still somewhat limited. I also have a Steam Deck and it is better for gaming on the couch, on the go, or in bed, but it's not really suitable for keyboard and mouse FPS gaming and it's not convenient to do work (such as programming) on without external peripherals.

Unless you really need some big GPU thingie... Laptops are too good nowadays.

No, laptop functions have not been offloaded to phones. Phones have simply taken time from real life interactions 😅

I use my laptop for anything that requires a real keyboard or bigger screen. Then I have my server, and my phone. So I mostly just use the laptop and the phone. I do have a dual screen phone though so that helps a bunch for multitasking.

So many computers...

The number of discrete computers are EXPLODING in people's lives, they just don't see them as computers anymore. The screen becomes the "computer" as far as most people are concerned.

I use a laptop as my PC. It is big and bulky, but it is mobile enough.

Yes because one is for work and one is my personal computer and I seldom use it and can't be arsed to get a laptop.

Personal desktop, work laptop, personal phone and work phone.

I am on the fence about getting a laptop as well, it is just sutch a fantastic tool.

On my future laptop, if I get one, I will run Linux as it extends the functionallity of a laptop massively.

I would mostly use it for managing photos, media consumption, SDR listening, network analysis and light gaming.

At the moment I an quite happy with my personal desktop computer running Windows 10, but with the insane crap M$ is pulling with Windows 11, I even disabled the TPM in my computer to avoid W11 from installing automatically.

I do however work in IT with Windows 11, and I enjoy my job, so that won't change.

I have a lot of devices, but I rarely use most of them.

1. My desktop is my main device for all my work from home. Work desktop for work at the office.
2. My work laptop only gets used for client visits.
3. My personal laptop only gets used when I need a second mobile device for work and Zooming with my family (to bring to where my kiddos are set up playing).
4. My wife's work laptop is her main work machine and her personal laptop is our evening TV.
5. My Android phone is my ADHD dopamine machine most of the time. Some light work use.
6. My gaming is almost exclusively on my Steam Deck (but I'm working on getting a WiFi mesh network so I can stream from my desktop to my Deck). Used nightly in bed.
7. My 8 y.o. daughter's tablet is an audiobook machine, some edutainment apps, and sleep sounds machine. Occasionally a screen for shows/art video tutorials.
8. My 6 y.o son's tablet is mostly podcasts and sleep sounds.
9. My DSi is my wife's Tetris machine.

TL;DR: I mostly use my desktop for work and Deck/phone for entertainment. My laptops see use a few times/month when I'm on the road for work or Zooming with family and basically never in between. But we have a lot of devices that have specific use cases for different members of my family.

I have a beefcake laptop, that could fold into a tablet. But I still usually use it as a desktop computer: connected to all the periferials, speakers and a monitor, folded up to be a secondary monitor on the side.
While I had some cooling issues with it (had to cough up couple hundreds for repairs) I am still happy with the setup.
The phone is for during the day, some mobile only games and for reading books - tho I do like to listen to TTS when my eyes are busy.

I do have a backup laptop, which does come in handy for the rare case of, for example, making a new install.

But yeah, i feel like a laptop is an awkward middle ground between a phone and a desktop. It's not as powerful and has a small screen, but it's also not as portable as my phone.

Granted if i travelled more i would need a laptop, and then i would have a dock of some kind at home to extend its capabilities (USB hub, second monitor, etc)

Phone: great for mindlessly scrolling or the odd comment.

Laptop: for actually getting anything done.

I'd use a desktop but sometimes I have to work from cafes or something so I prefer just using a laptop all the time rather than two machines

Gaming desktop, two laptops (one for work, one for personal), phone, a NAS for server stuff.

I have both. I avoid using my phone for anything as much as possible. Even just general internet browsing is an absolutely chore on the phone, I've never understood the popularity.

Got a gaming laptop that functions for everything. Not as powerful as a dedicated tower, but being somewhat portable is worth it for me.

Work laptop is set up as desktop and stays there most of the time. iPad is used for daily out of office tasks. At home, Surface (Windows tablet with keyboard) is used when i need to type something away from the office.

Desktop has been offloaded onto gaming laptop.

Sort of. I have a desktop that I use for games, and a handheld PC (the Lenovo Legion Go) for… games, and a phone that I use for lurking on the fediverse.

I use all the things and in many cases multiple of them, but working IT and self hosting a bunch tends to lend itself to that

Laptop and docking station, connected to the Gaming PC via Ethernet and steamLink.

I have the following at home:

• My work laptop (2021 MacBook Pro)

• My personal laptop (2018 MacBook Pro)

• An old iPad Air

• My phone

• Living room PC (Linux, shared)

• Bedroom PC (Linux, shared)

My laptops live on my desk and I mostly have whichever one I'm using plugged into my external monitor and peripherals (mouse and mechanical keyboard). The portability of my personal and work machines is nice if I want to sit on the couch or travel.

The living room PC is hooked up to the TV. My partner and I mostly use it for gaming and YouTube. It's a few years old but it can handle most of what we throw at it.

We only use the bedroom PC to watch TV in bed.

The iPad is for knitting patterns. Previously, it spent several years sitting unused in a drawer.

My phone is for doomscrolling and spam calls.

I have a desktop for gaming and office work. My Laptop for watching stuff while laying in bed and for school work. My phone primarily is for chatting with friends, browsing Lemmy, calling and playing some games.

desktop for work and games because of its much cheaper and easier maintenance, at half the cost of entry for similar specs. and phone.

i dont often use my laptop

Primarily use my desktop (nothing beats a proper desk setup for Getting Shit Done) for work and gaming. I have a laptop that I use less frequently, but it's an acceptable way to take work with me if I have to. It won't play any games more graphically intense than Slay the Spire, but that's not the point. I use my phone for Serious Business only when absolutely necessary. Anything short of a proper desktop setup feels like a crippled user experience, and phones are the most crippled experience of them all.

Desktop for work gaming, Laptop to watch movies in bed or work game while traveling long timeframes. Phone always somewhere close by, but only for reading, music staying in touch etc.

I just have my desktop, which is an old laptop that never moves. If I'm anywhere else, I'm either disconnected or on mobile.

Im a gamer and only use a desktop. I dont see why I would use a laptop additionally.

Use my desktop for gaming, use my laptop for development and travel. It's nice to be able to sit in the living room while someone is playing a game, or sit out on the patio while I work on something.

desktop for home, laptop for not home, as it was intended.

My desktop is for home and gaming use. However I also have a gaming laptop which I bought for whenever I travel. That said, I don't travel much... shrug

I actually ended up using my gaming laptop as a way of playing VR games in my room so that I have more privacy. Although I'll still unplug and take it with me whenever I travel.

I also just recently got a Samsung Galaxy S24+ and a touchscreen display to use DeX mode as a tablet of sorts. Mostly for note taking when I don't want to take my heavy gaming laptop.

I'm all over the place lol. I also work in the tech field. Computer Programmer. So yeah... lol.

I'm not sure how much of an outlier I am, but for me it usually goes

• desktop for more demanding games or if I'm playing with friends. Also use it for running dnd sessions
• laptop for writing, productivity stuff, or anything else where I don't need a lot of power or if I'm on the go.
• my phone is usually used for scrolling or other time waster apps

How much I use each one really depends on the day

Both. I mainly use my Desktop but the laptop is nice for remote work or if I want a change of scenery

Desktop for gaming or any intense programs, laptop for studying and other browsing I want to do on the couch, phone I use for most chatting at work and with family and friends and looking things up on the go and doom scrolling. Also, phone has lots of audio books