To buy a new PC or stick with my laptop?

[Farmer X]

Some of you know that I should be moving into a new apartment very soon (as in later this week). Better yet, I'll get some help stocking it with furniture and household goods I may need. I am allowed ten items from Amazon; five of those will be a desk, a desk chair, a chair runner (unless I can get management to get rid of the awful carpet), a bookcase, and a paper shredder. I'm giving some thought to replacing my laptop with a desktop, a tower, an all-in-one, or a Raspberry Pi. However, I have not really kept up on trends with PCs. I can say that <90% of my computer usage is Web browsing, my gaming days are over, and I have little to no need for a laptop's portability. Yet my laptop works just fine.

So, what do y'awl think: should I stick with the laptop or get myself an upgrade? And if the latter, are there any brands or setups I should particularly consider or avoid?

[AzteCypher]

If most of what you're doing to do is web browsing and you're laptop isn't terribly old, I would stick with it.  If you don't spend the money on a new PC, can you spend that money on something else you need?

[PitCarver]

From someone that can do ALL of my computer type tasks on my phone,  id say stay with the laptop.

[nate j]

From what I’ve seen, desktops today don’t provide nearly the performance/cost benefit over laptops that they once did.  If you’re mostly web browsing, I doubt you will notice a difference.

How old is your laptop?  If less than three years, I would probably stick with it for now.  If much older, I might consider replacement on the basis of age.

Also consider that (absent high-end gaming or similarly demanding applications) a laptop with a docking station setup can provide the best of both worlds, i.e. portability if/when needed and the convenience of larger/multiple monitors, full size keyboard, and separate mouse when at home.

[ThisAlarm7]

Even your laptop is older but healthy and you're just doing mostly web surfing you could put some lightweight Linux on it. My netbook and primary surfing machine is a paltry 2GB Lenovo but it's running Fedora LXDE. Very snappy on the internet. Web surfing doesn't take a hardcore machine and you can save that $.

[IMR4198]

   I must be missing something here.  Did I understand that LESS THAN 90% of your computer usage is web browsing?  Also, it sounds like one of the things you are allowed to get from Amazon is a new computer as a benefit.  If that is a freebee, I think I would ask for a computer.  I like laptops myself.  Best wishes.  G
 

[Vidar]

I think you can safely leave the Raspberry Pi out, and I say that as someone who has the latest one too. It is just no replacement for a decent regular computer. For the price it is pretty great, but if we are talking "items" rather than "cost" you can certainly do better. If you want to move the computer around a laptop is nice. I prefer stationary computers as I sometimes do need the extra computing power available, and I do prefer big screens. (An external screen can of course also be used with a laptop though).

I'd be more hesitant about getting a paper shredder? I had a paper shredder at the office for years. While it did feel great shredding paid bills it didn't really add much value to anything. I assume your need is greater than mine since it is a priority. An alternative, if you just want to destroy information on paper, might be some soaking and solvents. That tends to make papers and any text on them into a messy grey salad instead of sheets and words. (Burning works too).

[Farmer X]

@IMR4198: to clarify, at least 90% of my computer usage is Web browsing. I also use my present laptop to transfer files between devices and play the occasional game of solitaire.

@Vidar: I am a little disappointed to hear your assessment of the Raspberry Pi. I was under the impression that it would be decent for my needs. Eventually I'll get one and tinker around with it. As for the paper shredder, it's the best option for me. Solvents play hell with the skin, and I prefer to avoid contact with hazmat as much as possible. Burning isn't a viable option, either. My new apartment doesn't have a fireplace or a good place to put a burn barrel or similar such.

I've decided to keep the present laptop for the time being. Thanks to awl for the suggestions!

[Vidar]

@Vidar: I am a little disappointed to hear your assessment of the Raspberry Pi. I was under the impression that it would be decent for my needs.

It will do web surfing for sure. But, it is an ARM Linux architecture so Window programs wont run and even some Linux programs are only available for x86 type processors. So if you have needs beyond surfing you might find the software choices more limited than usual. And by the time you add a fast NVME drive I believe the cost is comparable to low end Intel/ AMD architecture Windows machines. For general computer use I think those would be preferable for most. (There are also other Linux machines with possibly more bang for the buck than the RPI5, but without the wide community support).

An option, though beyond Amazon (?), is a good used computer. Some quite capable and (previously) high end used ones tend to pop up now and then for a song and few dances. Then again, many sellers also seems to overestimate their old gears competitiveness in todays market and thus price on the high side. Over here we picked up a little travel notebook last year for about USD 200. That one is still quite nice even though it's flagship status from some years back have faded. (The former high end ones tend to have good screens, build quality and keyboards so there is that).   

[Farmer X]

Thanks, Vidar! The Raspberry Pi appeals to the tinkerer in me, so I plan on getting one someday. But I'll keep my laptop as a backup until I thoroughly understand the Pi's capes and lims (capabilities and limitations).

[BPRoberts]

For traditional laptops, I love Thinkpads. They can be a bit expensive (though the used market is plentiful), but I think the quality is worth it. Durable, not loaded with a lot of random crap, never any compatibility issues.

If you're 90% browsing, and don't mind being locked into Google (unless you tinker), Chromebooks can be a good/affordable option.

If your old laptop is physically in good condition, a battery swap (and maybe a swap to Linux if the specs are flagging) is a cheap option to breath some life into it.

As much as I love my desktop, I don't really think there's any reason to get one anymore unless you're doing heavy gaming, video editing, etc. The cost/performance curve relative to laptops has flattened a lot in the last 10 years.

[Farmer X]

A Chromebook is 1,000,000,000,000% out of the question. I don't want to have to tinker to free myself from Google chains. Buying something that's not so constrained will save me a lot of aggravation. (In another thread, I discussed Google Pixels. Never again.)

I won't be changing my laptop's battery. I'm so sick of babysitting charging batteries that I pulled the bottom off and removed the battery. However, it's recent enough that I have no worries about it's specs flagging. And I'm pretty sure that Amazon order has been placed...I just forgot a water filtration system.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Whoey]

Depending on your laptop, if it has usbc charging get a big screen that has a usbc with power delivery and keep using the laptop docked to the screen. Maybe an external keyboard and mouse if you don't have one already.

Then you still have the portability if you need it, but also comfort of a desktop setup, and not being wasteful with functional hardware.

I've had 5 years of ThinkPad at work, the last few generations have been a bit poor quality. There's older models on the market with changeable batteries that if you swap the hard-drive and max out the ram run great still, only issue being they are not officially win11 compatible. Ltsc license would probably be a good alternative solution to keep running a secure win10.

If you're adventurous, linux distros have come a long way.

[Farmer X]

I've given the docking station some thought. My verdict is that unless they're rather inexpensive (remember that I can be a very cheap smurf), one wouldn't be worthwhile. I do have an external mouse, but not an external keyboard. I do kinda miss the 10-key pad off to the side, though. The present laptop runs Windows 10 Pro, which I'd sorta like to stay with. I can also be very resistant to change where electronics are concerned. My sense of adventure does not extend to Linux distros.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Whoey]

That's just the thing, there are new monitors that have the dock and charging integrated.

At work the cost of monitor plus dock is nearly double the all in one, which also has speakers, microphone and webcam integrated, and lot less cables.

USBC charging is the key.

Currently my work from home setup is a little portable hub that has power delivery passthrough, so I plug it between the laptop and power, and have my HDMI screen on the hub.

You don't need to spend much to improve a lot.

[Farmer X]

There are new monitors that have the dock and charging integrated.

Bolding mine, as charging is precisely the thing I want to avoid.