<p>Our D is a laptop user. </p>
<p>Her selection was a little different. She selected a large very powerful laptop with a large screen. It covers all her needs, and the screen is as large as she would use if he got a separate monitor. It suitable powerful that it will still be usable when she graduates.</p>
<p>She hardly ever (1 or 2 times per semester) takes it out of her room to someplace on campus, so as it’s functionally a desktop the larger size doesn’t matter. However, the portability lets her take it with her if she goes somewhere for the weekend or over vacations.</p>
<p>George</p>
<p>Both my boys have both. They use the laptops around campus, and their desktops have the real horsepower. Because their laptops are light and small, they take them everywhere, and use them a lot. They have found them helpful in class to look up sites that the prof mentions, take notes, etc., etc.</p>
<p>Full-disclosure - they come from a seriously geeky family. In our house right now there are 3 desktops and 2 laptops that are used on a regular, if not daily, basis. That doesn’t including the 4 computers that are off at college, or the server, or the pieces lying around in various states of functionality.</p>
<p>Hey, it’s (marginally) better than some other vices.
:-)</p>
<p>My D prefers a laptop, but a desktop might be needed for a kid who is running programs that require a lot of processing power, like computer games, animation software, some graphic design software, etc.</p>
<p>mom2three, we have 3 desktops, 4 laptops (one of which is a cute little xo laptop) and assorted antique computers and laptops that are no longer used.</p>
<p>My son took the desktop to college for gaming, and it used it some, but interestingly this summer hasn’t bothered to hook up the desktop, even though he’s working 40+ hours a week on the laptop and you’d think he might like a more comfortable keyboard.</p>