We carry laptops now for school and work.
But what about the advantages of desktop PCs that we’ve lost along the way?
Here’s what’s good about them.
Sergio Rodriguez / How-To Geek
Keyboard keys must be small.
They use touchpads instead of mice.
A large screen would make the whole thing too unwieldy to be portable.
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
Get yourself two screens or, even better, agiant ultrawide monitor.
Plug in a mechanical keyboard.
Get a mouse that’scomfortable to use all day long.
Marcus Mears III / How-To Geek
Set up a much better webcam.
Plug in your laptop when you’re at your desk to connect to all of these things at once.
When you’re done, slide your laptop back into your bag.
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek
If you want to connect to an Ethernet cable, you need an adapter.
Plug in an SD card?
At this point, you probably even need an adapter for anything using a traditional USB-A port.
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek
3Expand Your Laptop’s Power
A docking station allows your laptop to power any number of peripherals.
The opposite is also true.
you might plug in things that supply extra power, or capacity, to your system.
Jordan Gloor / How-To Geek
Consider investing in anexternal GPU, allowing you to turn an under-powered computer into your desktop gaming rig.
Gain aThunderboltport for faster file transfer speeds.
Buying a docking station is cheaper than buying a whole new PC to set atop your desk.
Bertel King / How-To Geek
The savings grow over time.
You don’t have to verify both your laptop and your desktop are up-to-date with the latest hardware.
There aredocking stations available on any budget.
it’s possible for you to get a capable USB-C hub for under twenty bucks.
No matter which way you go, you will probably come out ahead financially speaking.
5Use Less Electricity
Laptops are generally more energy efficient than desktops.
They have to be.
If they guzzled up power, then they would have battery life measured in minutes not hours.
Most laptops use components that are designed to be more efficient.
Saving electricity isn’t just a feel good matter.
In many parts of Europe, the cost of generating and paying for power is much higher.
Utility companies all over the world have rolling blackouts to manage power usage.
No matter where you are, it pays to use less energy.
6Clear Clutter Off Your Desk
Keeping a desk tidy is an art.
A docking station can help with this.
Don’t get me wrong.
Cable management will still be an issue.
The last two can go in a drawer when not in use.
Most have fans which can make quite a bit of noise.
Why do they have these fans?
Because these powerful machines can also generate a lot of heat.
If your laptop has a fan, it’s likely a smaller one.
More and more laptops these days are passively cooled like phones anddon’t have fans at all.
A small room with a gaming PC, on the other hand, can get rather toasty.
Many phones and tablets can also connect to peripherals this way.
Samsung and Motorola both have desktop modes that kick in when they detect an external display.
With a keyboard and mouse paired, yourphone may even replace your PC.
Many modern phones offer stronger graphical performance than their similarly priced laptop counterparts.
My old laptop has been relegated to a drawer.
9Reduce Your Electronic Waste
The upgrade cycle is no joke.
Now only is it a hit to our wallets, but that’s just where the problems begin.
Discarded electrical components now waste away in trash heaps leaching toxic chemicals into the ground.
Most of it is not designed to be reused or recycled.
Our best option is to buy fewer things and to replace them less often.
A USB-C hub will be useful for as long as USB-C ports are supported.
check that not to buy a docking station specific to any one particular brand to avoid being locked in.
Get a docking station and have fun with it.
Get a stand that sits your laptop up on its side, mimicking a silent tower.
Close your laptop and tuck it away out of sight when docked.
Continue to use your laptop screen and enjoy a multi-monitor set up.
