Desktop PC or Laptop ?

[BasedGaben]

Ok firstly I know the core difference of portability vs power but I really don't know what to choose in this situation.

I will be shooting film next year and I don't know weather to have a powerful PC to process edit with at home or a decent laptop to edit with on the go.

The Desktop will allow me to play games which I do a few times a week and with an i7 CPU I can process and edit easily at home however I'll have to wait to get home to do anything with data that I've shot.

I do have an iPad but I won't be able to move data from my camera onto it while I'm out of the house.

Or I could just go with a decent ultrabook/macbook which will allow decent power on the go but I won't be able to upgrade in the future and I won't be able to play any games that are too demanding.

I've seen 2-in-1 Tablet PCs for reasonable prices which I could potentially get with the desktop PC but I don't know how well an Intel Atom will work with extremely light editing on the go until I can get home (just cutting ect.).

What advice do you guys have for me if you might've been in the same predicament?

EDIT: I really don't want to go with a gaming laptop since it would be very bulky.

 

[GreyCatz]

Ok firstly I know the core difference of portability vs power but I really don't know what to choose in this situation.

I will be shooting film next year and I don't know weather to have a powerful PC to process edit with at home or a decent laptop to edit with on the go.

The Desktop will allow me to play games which I do a few times a week and with an i7 CPU I can process and edit easily at home however I'll have to wait to get home to do anything with data that I've shot.

I do have an iPad but I won't be able to move data from my camera onto it while I'm out of the house.

Or I could just go with a decent ultrabook/macbook which will allow decent power on the go but I won't be able to upgrade in the future and I won't be able to play any games that are too demanding.

I've seen 2-in-1 Tablet PCs for reasonable prices which I could potentially get with the desktop PC but I don't know how well an Intel Atom will work with extremely light editing on the go until I can get home (just cutting ect.).

What advice do you guys have for me if you might've been in the same predicament?

EDIT: I really don't want to go with a gaming laptop since it would be very bulky.

Greetings, Gaben:

Basically, we're talking about a "magic bullet" laptop - one that will allow you to do (light) photo editing on-the-go while offering enough power to play games (and you did say 'demanding' games). And it must not be too unwieldy, either.

From your post I get the impression that a desktop is always going to be the 'last resort', and given your (future) career - filming/photography = high mobility - a laptop does make most sense.

Sadly, I don't think that laptop exists, yet. You should probably forget about games and focus on your filming/editing requirements. Any laptop that meets those requirements is bound to have enough power to run LoL, DOTA or WoW as well. Games beyond that will require 2 to 4 GBs of GPU power in a bulky chassis. Besides, gaming on-the-go isn't all it's cracked up to be - just sayin'.

My advice is to check the specifications for your editing software, and any other SW that you're going to use professionally, and make sure that the laptop meets those specs. As for gaming, save up for a decent desktop that you can expand and upgrade over the next few years, or whenever you have the spare cash.

Best of luck with your career,
GreyCatz.

 

[rgd1101]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from BasedGaben : "Desktop or Laptop?"

Ok firstly I know the core difference of portability vs power but I really don't know what to choose in this situation.

I will be shooting film next year and I don't know weather to have a powerful PC to process edit with at home or a decent laptop to edit with on the go.

The Desktop will allow me to play games which I do a few times a week and with an i7 CPU I can process and edit easily at home however I'll have to wait to get home to do anything with data that I've shot.

I do have an iPad but I won't be able to move data from my camera onto it while I'm out of the house.

Or I could just go with a decent ultrabook/macbook which will allow decent power on the go but I won't be able to upgrade in the future and I won't be able to play any games that are too demanding.

I've seen 2-in-1 Tablet PCs for reasonable prices which I could potentially get with the desktop PC but I don't know how well an Intel Atom will work with extremely light editing on the go until I can get home (just cutting ect.).

What advice do you guys have for me if you might've been in the same predicament?

EDIT: I really don't want to go with a gaming laptop since it would be very bulky.

 

[jsmithepa]

Make enough$$ filming then you can afford dedicated gaming machine at home + laptop.

 

[velo3100]

This will depend on how much money you have. There are thin laptops that do offer the power of a desktop but you have to pay a lot for them. If you can afford something like the razor blade pro which should be able to do the things you want and don't mind on paying for the portability then go for it. Another laptop is the auros range. These are slightly more bulkier but they have better cooling.

If however you need the power, the go for the desktop as they will always will give you the best for your money.

 

[TheTechZone]

Okay, if you plan on installing windows 10 and using WI-FI not Ethernet then desktops have issues running the internet so you will need to use Ethernet. If you want 8 or 7 or something else you should be fine. Gaming laptops get hot and can sometimes stop working while a gaming desktop has enough fans to keep the temperature cool. The desktops also have bays that can be used to install many cool features and you can even get an LED keyboard (it makes the computer look really good). Gaming desktops are a good idea but if you want to play games when you're not in your own home then you could do with a gaming laptop or a cheap gaming laptop. This is all your choice. If you have a noisy or hot desktop PC you can also get a hardware monitor that you stick in your bay. I have one and they are great. If it gets too hot an alarm will go off and you can check the HDD and computer temp. Desktop PCs have more advantages as long as you run windows 8 or below or use Ethernet.