On 05/14/2009 05:14 PM, Chris Adams wrote:
Once upon a time, Nathan Grennan<fedora-devel-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> said:
Desktop hardware and laptop hardware tend to be so different. Laptops
are generally a generation behind on motherboard chipsets and
processors.
Not really in recent years, as Intel, AMD, and the other associated
vendors have focused on power management across the board (with laptop
chips leading the way).
Yes, the are focused on power management across the board, but new
processors and chipsets come out for desktops first. The i7 was for
desktops first.
They tend to have less variety of hardware when it comes to
network, video, and sound cards.
Again, not necessarily, at least for network and video. They may be
different from desktop, but there is a wide variety. A given line or
even brand of laptop may be more uniform, but there are a lot of
different makes and models.
It isn't that wide of a variety, and for wired cards they aren't
swappable. In some cases wireless cards aren't swapped for artificial
technical reasons. Video cards it is always a really stripped down form
of ATI/Nvidia cards or Intel, and not swappable. This means way less
combinations of hardware.
Keyboards on laptops are pretty much
always done the same way since they are built-in.
Laptops almost always have "special" keys that not all desktops have,
and on laptops they can be more important (suspend, volume control,
etc.).
Desktops can have lots of special keys too. Though they aren't my
personal taste. I mentioned them more on desktops are ps/2 or usb, where
as laptop keyboards are handled by the manufacture. Unless you plug in
an external, which most people don't.
Mice on laptops are
almost always trackpads, since they are built-in.
Well, Thinkpads (and some others) have Trackpoint. Also, lots of people
have a USB (or in my case Bluetooth) mouse. Most desktop users only
have one pointing device.
Thinkpads are the main exception. Yes, lots of people do use external
mice on laptops, but even more just deal with the built-in trackpad,
which is a whole different experience than a external mouse.
Other cards come out
different too, PCI/PCIe vs Cardbus/ExpressCard/USB.
Cardbus == PCI+hotswap
ExpressCard == PCIe+hotswap (+another USB connector)
USB is USB (not sure what you meant by listing it)
Even if they are technically hotswap versions of the same thing, the
actual equipment you purchase, and the drivers you use with them tend to
be VERY different. Hence why I mentioned it.
I'd have to say my laptop has a lot more "interesting" hardware than my
desktops. Hot-swap card slots, built-in memory card reader (PCI
connected, not USB), hot swap drive bay, Bluetooth, wireless, multiple
pointer devices, special keyboard keys like volume control, etc.
I can do a lot more interesting stuff with a desktop. It is just that
you are given the option when ordering to get more built-in. Some things
make more sense in a laptop, like wireless, and volume control(built-in
speakers).
Laptops also tend (at least as shipped) to have more limited resources
(less RAM, smaller and slower hard drives, slower CPUs, limited video,
etc.), so making a laptop run something with good response will almost
always improve responsiveness on desktops as well.
Yeah, that is why I am not a fan of laptops. They are so limited. I
can do so much more with my desktop faster.
Their use cases are also so different. A lot of laptop work revolves
around running off a battery. Desktops don't have a real need for that.
Another issue is things like cpu scaling. On a laptop this makes sense.
In my experience on a desktop it noticeably reduces performance. I might
be willing to make that trade off on a laptop, but not a desktop.
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