well, hopefully nobody will think I am hijacking this post. LOL

I think desktops and laptops both have their pros and cons.

Laptops are actually built different from a desktop. It costs more for that reason.

If one wants a long life, desktop usually lasts longer than laptops.

If one needs mobility, laptops, of course.

I think the factors to think about is:

will I mostly use this puter in one place, or will I be dragging it all over the place.

If one uses it in one place all the time, a desktop might be a better choice.

If one have to move around all the time or travels a lot, a laptop might be a better choice.

With that said. There are things to soup up a laptop

an external keyboard and an external monitor can help alleviate some of the problems associated with a small keyboard on the laptop and the smaller monitors.
of course, that's extra price. Most external keyboards are USB 2.0 capable so it is great for those that don't like the laptop keyboards.

Using a nice ERGO cooling pad for the laptop, the ones that elevates and keep the heat from killing the laptops will also be a good modification. The ergo ones are on sale all the time at Amazon.com

hooking up an external monitor is a pain in the butt but if one travels some, then it might be worth it to get the laptop and getting the extras.

Of course, it all goes back to budget, budget, budget.

we have three puters at home and two of them laptops. The second laptop is set up with the external monitor(to our TV) and an external keyboard and it sits on an ergo cooling pad. We use that in our family room upstairs

Our desktop sits on the first floor in our main office

my laptop for work travels with moi everywhere...and when I want to work at home, I either work on it or I use my usb stick to move the files from one to the other.