Build a new PC or use my current laptop has a desktop

openbox1980 · Aug 17, 2022

Does any use their laptop has a full desktop, hooked up to a monitor with mouse and keyboard.

I'm currently undecided to build a new complete desktop just for MS flight sim and other things or use my current laptop with desk hookup, including monitor, keyboard and mouse.

I already have most of the components for a full desktop build, just need the case, motherboard, monitor, and desktop peripherals. But how hard is to use a laptop for a desktop set-up. My current laptop is below

Asus strix scar 15
15in 1440p
i9 12900h
3080ti mobile
32gb ddr5
16tb-x2 8tb SSD storage

I'm currently gonna use it for flight training in the near future, I kinda afraid that it wont have enough USB hubs for keyboard, wireless mouse and a flight sim setup.

What is anyone's experience with a laptop-desktop setup?

Desktopstu · Aug 17, 2022

I have done in the past, I had a Dell gaming laptop with Q1060 graphics until some scroat stole it. Before that I had a laptop with dual nVidia graphics, think it switched between 7600M and 7200M or something like that. More recently I have used my trusty Ryzen 5 4200U powered laptop as my portable desktop.

What did I find?

Modern laptops often do not have many USB conections, I guess this may be due to not wanting too many items draging juice out of the laptop.
Laptops do not tend to have many options for graphics output, usualy just one HDMI. My Ryzen powered laptop has HDMI and USB-C that can give me a second graphics output but its limited.
Laptops get warm and they dont like getting warm.
Most laptops have limited hard drive space -the one you are quoting doesnt but most do.
Laptops are pixel for pixel more expensive than a desktop will ever be.
Last one for me... space. as in desk space. when I used a lappy as a desktop pc it always got in the way on the desk

r9 · Aug 17, 2022

openbox1980 said:
Does any use their laptop has a full desktop, hooked up to a monitor with mouse and keyboard.

I'm currently undecided to build a new complete desktop just for MS flight sim and other things or use my current laptop with desk hookup, including monitor, keyboard and mouse.

I already have most of the components for a full desktop build, just need the case, motherboard, monitor, and desktop peripherals. But how hard is to use a laptop for a desktop set-up. My current laptop is below

Asus strix scar 15
15in 1440p
i9 12900h
3080ti mobile
32gb ddr5
16tb-x2 8tb SSD storage

I'm currently gonna use it for flight training in the near future, I kinda afriad that it wont have enough USB hubs for keyboard, wireless mouse and a flight sim setup.

What is anyone's experience with a laptop-desktop setup?

With having all the parts for a desktop it sounds like you already made up your mind.
To answer your question is as easy as plugging the peripherals in but if you want to make it even easier than that just get a displaylink dock that way you'll only have to connect one cable in desktop mode.

A Computer Guy · Aug 17, 2022

I used a laptop as a desktop for a few years. Not bad as long as you get a laptop that 100% covers your needs.

Pros
- Usually just works
- Don't need to buy a separate battery backup

Cons
- Keyboard often is not robust or cumbersome
- Touchpad, I hate using the touchpad and sometimes they don't let you turn it off
- Limited upgrades
- Bloatware preinstalled

dirtyferret · Aug 17, 2022

openbox1980 said:
Does any use their laptop has a full desktop, hooked up to a monitor with mouse and keyboard.

I did for a week while working from home last month. I was swapping out parts for my at home PC so I used my laptop for work ( I use it when I travel so it's capable) but just plugged in my main monitor, keyboard, and mouse. It was fine but I use a dual monitor set up at home and in the office so using one monitor took some time to get used to. It definitely was not the same feeling of just using my work of home desktops.

xtreemchaos · Aug 17, 2022

ive used a lappy for a pc from time to time with ex keyboard and mouse, i carnt think of any downsides apart from fan noise when doing taxing stuff .

Yukikaze · Aug 17, 2022

I haven't used a desktop in about six years. I use docked laptops for everything. It works for me.

openbox1980 · Aug 17, 2022

r9 said:
With having all the parts for a desktop it sounds like you already made up your mind.
To answer your question is as easy as plugging the peripherals in but if you want to make it even easier than that just get a displaylink dock that way you'll only have to connect one cable in desktop mode.

I havent made up my mind, I used to sell computer parts online and I still have some spares that I have kept. My main computer has always been a laptop.

dirtyferret said:
I did for a week while working from home last month. I was swapping out parts for my at home PC so I used my laptop for work ( I use it when I travel so it's capable) but just plugged in my main monitor, keyboard, and mouse. It was fine but I use a dual monitor set up at home and in the office so using one monitor took some time to get used to. It definitely was not the same feeling of just using my work of home desktops.

Can you use dual monitors with a laptop. My laptop has
DisplayPort™ / power delivery
1x Thunderbolt™ 4 support DisplayPort™

Do

Yukikaze said:
I haven't used a desktop in about six years. I use docked laptops for everything. It works for me.

you use a single monitor or multiple mon

eidairaman1 · Aug 17, 2022

Build a Desktop for any gaming

Mobiles today thermal and power throttle

dirtyferret · Aug 17, 2022

openbox1980 said:
Can you use dual monitors with a laptop. My laptop has
DisplayPort™ / power delivery
1x Thunderbolt™ 4 support DisplayPort™

I'm sure you can, my laptop only has HDMI and like I said it was just for one week so I wasn't going to go crazy over it.

Bomby569 · Aug 18, 2022

i use my laptop as a desktop often, sold my GPU's 3 times in the crypto craze and waited to buy new ones using the laptop as desktop for example. Apart from the silence and in my case less performance, it's not an issue, it just works.

bonehead123 · Aug 18, 2022

For most uses, your current lappy is pretty well spec'd...

Since you already have a KB & rodent, if you add a docking station and a 2nd monitor, you should be good for a while.... I am doing right now, and am both surfin and workin on some CAD & excel stuff too

Or sell the lappy & use the money towards getting the rest of your desktop parts...but ONLY if you don't have a real need for going mobile for anything important...

cvaldes · Aug 18, 2022

It might depend on how much you hate fan noise; I endured whiny and irritating notebook fans are in the eight years I used a notebook as my desktop surrogate.

I started with an Apple iBook (+ monitor + keyboard/mouse) as my sole computer starting in 2002. By 2010 I was tired of hearing the fan kick in for sustained workloads and I bought a Mac mini as my desktop computer relegating whatever Mac notebook (probably a MacBook 2007) I owned at the time as an exclusively on-the-go device.

Today I use a Windows SFF system + Mac mini 2018 as my desktop systems. There's an Acer Swift 3 notebook PC that only gets used away from home.

I use an iPad mini (6th generation) heavily for couch surfing, taking to the pool, etc.

System Name	Pre-10 year plan
Processor	FX 8350
Motherboard	Asus M5A97 v2
Cooling	Corsair 240mm AIO
Memory	2 x Corsair 4gb DDR3 1600
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte RTX 2070 super
Storage	128gb SSD boot drive 512gb SSD
Display(s)	1 x Benq 27" 4k 60Hz, 1 x AoC 27" 1080 165Hz
Case	Thermaltake Level 10 Combat edition
Audio Device(s)	On board
Power Supply	AX1200i
Mouse	Logitech G502 Hero
Keyboard	Logitech G512
Software	Windows 11

System Name	Primary\|Secondary\|Poweredge r410\|Dell XPS\|SteamDeck
Processor	i7 11700k\|i7 9700k\|2 x E5620 \|i5 5500U\|Zen 2 4c/8t
Memory	32GB DDR4\|16GB DDR4\|16GB DDR4\|32GB ECC DDR3\|8GB DDR4\|16GB LPDDR5
Video Card(s)	RX 7800xt\|RX 6700xt \|On-Board\|On-Board\|8 RDNA 2 CUs
Storage	2TB m.2\|512GB SSD+1TB SSD\|2x256GBSSD 2x2TBGB\|256GB sata\|512GB nvme
Display(s)	50" 4k TV \| Dell 27" \|22" \|3.3"\|7"
VR HMD	Samsung Odyssey+ \| Oculus Quest 2
Software	Windows 11 Pro\|Windows 10 Pro\|Windows 10 Home\| Server 2012 r2\|Windows 10 Pro

System Name	Still not a thread ripper but pretty good.
Processor	Ryzen 9 7950x, Thermal Grizzly AM5 Offset Mounting Kit, Thermal Grizzly Extreme Paste
Motherboard	ASRock B650 LiveMixer (BIOS/UEFI version P3.08, AGESA 1.2.0.2)
Cooling	EK-Quantum Velocity, EK-Quantum Reflection PC-O11, D5 PWM, EK-CoolStream PE 360, XSPC TX360
Memory	Micron DDR4-5600 ECC Unbuffered Memory (2 sticks, 64GB, MTC20C2085S1EC56BD1) + JONSBO NF-1
Video Card(s)	XFX Radeon RX 5700 & EK-Quantum Vector Radeon RX 5700 +XT & Backplate
Storage	Samsung 4TB 980 PRO, 2 x Optane 905p 1.5TB (striped), AMD Radeon RAMDisk
Display(s)	2 x 4K LG 27UL600-W (and HUANUO Dual Monitor Mount)
Case	Lian Li PC-O11 Dynamic Black (original model)
Audio Device(s)	Corsair Commander Pro for Fans, RGB, & Temp Sensors (x4)
Power Supply	Corsair RM750x
Mouse	Logitech M575
Keyboard	Corsair Strafe RGB MK.2
Software	Windows 10 Professional (64bit)
Benchmark Scores	RIP Ryzen 9 5950x, ASRock X570 Taichi (v1.06), 128GB Micron DDR4-3200 ECC UDIMM (18ASF4G72AZ-3G2F1)

Processor	faster at instructions than yours
Motherboard	more nurturing than yours
Cooling	frostier than yours
Memory	superior scheduling & haphazardly entry than yours
Video Card(s)	better rasterization than yours
Storage	more ample than yours
Display(s)	increased pixels than yours
Case	fancier than yours
Audio Device(s)	further audible than yours
Power Supply	additional amps x volts than yours
Mouse	without as much gnawing as yours
Keyboard	less clicky than yours
VR HMD	not as odd looking as yours
Software	extra mushier than yours
Benchmark Scores	up yours

System Name	1.FortySe7en VR rig 2. intel teliscope rig 3.MSI GP72MVR Leopard Pro .E-52699, Xeon play thing
Processor	1.3900x @stock 2. i7 7700k @5. 3. i7 7700hq
Motherboard	1.aorus x570 ultra 2. z270 Maximus IX Hero,4 MR9A PRO ATX X99
Cooling	1.Hard tube loop, cpu and gpu 2. Hard loop cpu and gpu 4 360 AIO
Memory	1.Gskill neo @3600 32gb 2.hyperxfury 32gb @3000 3. 16gb hyperx @2400 4 64GB 2133 in quad channel
Video Card(s)	1.GIGABYTE RTX 3080 WaterForce WB 2. Aorus RTX2080 3. 1060 3gb. 4 Arc 770LE 16 gb
Storage	1 M.2 500gb , 2 3tb HDs 2. 256gb ssd, 3tbHD 3. 256 m.2. 1tb ssd 4. 2gb ssd
Display(s)	1.LG 50" UHD , 2 MSI Optix MAG342C UWHD. 3.17" 120 hz display 4. Acer Preditor 144hz 32inch.z
Case	1. Thermaltake P5 2. Thermaltake P3 4. some cheapo case that should not be named.
Audio Device(s)	1 Onboard 2 Onboard 3 Onboard 4. onboard.
Power Supply	1.seasonic gx 850w 2. seasonic gx 750w. 4 RM850w
Mouse	1 ROG Gladius 2 Corsair m65 pro
Keyboard	1. ROG Strix Flare 2. Corsair F75 RBG 3. steelseries RBG
VR HMD	rift and rift S and Quest 2.
Software	1. win11 pro 2. win11 pro 3, win11 home 4 win11 pro
Benchmark Scores	1.7821 cb20 ,cb15 3442 1c 204 cpu-z 1c 539 12c 8847 2. 1106 cb 3.cb 970

System Name	Dire Wolf IV
Processor	Intel Core i9 14900K
Motherboard	Asus ROG STRIX Z790-I GAMING WIFI
Cooling	Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280 w/Thermalright Contact Frame
Memory	2x24GB Corsair DDR5 6667
Video Card(s)	NVIDIA RTX4080 FE
Storage	AORUS Gen4 7300 1TB + Western Digital SN750 500GB
Display(s)	Alienware AW3423DWF (QD-OLED, 3440x1440, 165hz)
Case	Corsair Airflow 2000D
Power Supply	Corsair SF1000L
Mouse	Razer Deathadder Essential
Keyboard	Chuangquan CQ84
Software	Windows 11 Professional

System Name	PCGOD
Processor	AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard	Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling	Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory	16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s)	AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage	Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s)	NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case	AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s)	Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply	Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse	Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard	Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software	Windows 7 Pro 64

Processor	Ryzen 5 5700x
Motherboard	B550 Elite
Cooling	Thermalright Perless Assassin 120 SE
Memory	32GB Fury Beast DDR4 3200Mhz
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte 3060 ti gaming oc pro
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo 1TB, WD SN850x 1TB, plus some random HDDs
Display(s)	LG 27gp850 1440p 165Hz 27''
Case	Lian Li Lancool II performance
Power Supply	MSI 750w
Mouse	G502

System Name	The Little One
Processor	i5-11320H @4.4GHZ
Motherboard	AZW SEI
Cooling	Fan w/heat pipes + side & rear vents
Memory	64GB Crucial DDR4-3200 (2x 32GB)
Video Card(s)	Iris XE
Storage	WD Black SN850X 4TB m.2, Seagate 2TB SSD + SN850 4TB x2 in an external enclosure
Display(s)	2x Samsung 43" & 2x 32"
Case	Practically identical to a mac mini, just purrtier in slate blue, & with 3x usb ports on the front !
Audio Device(s)	Yamaha ATS-1060 Bluetooth Soundbar & Subwoofer
Power Supply	65w brick
Mouse	Logitech MX Master 2
Keyboard	Logitech G613 mechanical wireless
Software	Windows 10 pro 64 bit, with all the unnecessary background shitzu turned OFF !
Benchmark Scores	PDQ

System Name	daily driver Mac mini M2 Pro
Processor	Apple proprietary M2 Pro (6 p-cores, 4 e-cores)
Motherboard	Apple proprietary
Cooling	Apple proprietary
Memory	Apple proprietary 16GB LPDDR5 unified memory
Video Card(s)	Apple proprietary M2 Pro (16-core GPU)
Storage	Apple proprietary onboard 512GB SSD + various external HDDs
Display(s)	LG UltraFine 27UL850W (4K@60Hz IPS)
Case	Apple proprietary
Audio Device(s)	Apple proprietary
Power Supply	Apple proprietary
Mouse	Apple Magic Trackpad 2
Keyboard	Keychron K1 tenkeyless (Gateron Reds)
VR HMD	Oculus Rift S (hosted on a different PC)
Software	macOS Sonoma 14.7
Benchmark Scores	(My Windows daily driver is a Beelink Mini S12 Pro. I'm not interested in benchmarking.)

Build a new PC or use my current laptop has a desktop

The Exiled Airman