Laptops and desktops both have their respective pros and cons. A desktop is a lot more powerful, often cheaper to build, but you can’t take it with you. Laptops can be carried around, but they will cost you a pretty penny if you want a good one.
I built the ultimate work-from-home setup for myself, and chose to go with a laptop. In fact, despite having the space and expertise to build a desktop, I still use laptops for everything.
Laptops offer unmatched flexibility
Work anywhere, anytime—without compromise
Working from home doesn’t mean I’m tied to the same spot all day. Some days, I prefer working at my desk, but other days I need a change of scenery. Since my laptop goes with me, I can work from the living room, my bedroom, on the bean bag, or at my favorite coffee shop. Try doing that with a desktop.
With a desktop, you’re committed to one place and one setup. That CPU case, monitor, keyboard, and mouse aren’t going anywhere. With my laptop, I can literally pack up my entire workstation and move it wherever I need to be. I’ve worked from airports, flights, coffee shops, and sometimes even on the road when I’m on a trip.
It sounds simple, but this flexibility has completely transformed how I work. I also feel that being able to customize or change my workspace makes me more productive and less prone to fatigue. Being able to switch locations (or positions) keeps things fresh and helps maintain that productive edge that makes working remotely so effective in the first place.
No lack of power on modern laptops
Portability no longer means giving up performance
This might ruffle some feathers, but I don’t feel a lack of power when I’m working on a laptop, whether I’m editing photos or videos, going through spreadsheets, coding, or playing games. Yes, desktops will give you more raw power for your money, but unless you’re really using all that computing power, you’d be much better off enjoying the portability of a laptop.
I own a 14-inch HP Omen Transcend 14 that comes with an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, 16 GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and an RTX 4060. This laptop specifically isn’t great for performance as the total power is limited to 140 watts for the entire system, but it still crushes everything I throw at it.
Sure, I might get more FPS when gaming or slightly better performance in Premiere Pro or Blender, but I’m yet to feel that my laptop is underpowered for the kind of daily work I handle. Once again, unless you have a specific requirement for desktop-grade hardware, all that extra performance just sits unused, consuming energy and space.
Docking stations are game changers
Turn your laptop into a full-fledged workstation in seconds
Just because a laptop is portable doesn’t mean it can’t be part of a good setup. With a good USB-C dock, you can connect every peripheral you need and power your laptop at the same time. It’s an incredible way of keeping your setup cable-free while also ensuring you don’t have to unplug dozens of cables when picking up your laptop.
The only tricky part here is that buying a good USB-C laptop hub can be confusing. There are several factors you need to consider when buying a USB-C hub, such as its power rating, available ports, any potential overheating issues, and, of course, the price.
Getting the right hub can cost a pretty penny, but once you do, it gives you the best of both worlds. With just one cable to my laptop, I can run my monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse, ethernet, controller, SD card reader, and a spare USB port for any extras.
You also get massive space savings. Working from home means your office space is competing with your living space. My entire workstation takes no more room than just the monitor and keyboard—leaving a ton of desk space free for everything else.
When I’m done working, my office turns into a soldering station where I work on electronics and build new projects. I’m lucky enough to have a dedicated office space in my apartment, but for anyone dealing with limited space or shared living situations, this flexibility is invaluable.
I don’t need a power outlet to work
Modern laptops are built to last through your longest workdays
When you’re working on a desktop, a power outage means you’re dead in the water until everything’s back up and running. You can add a UPS to give you some room, but no UPS will keep a power-hungry desktop running nearly as long as a laptop can.
With my laptop, power disruptions are minor inconveniences rather than productivity killers. I can get anywhere between six to eight hours of battery life on a full charge—that’s an entire workday’s worth of power without a wall outlet. I added a router UPS to help keep me online, and that’s it! Power outages don’t worry me anymore.
The only catch here is that if you have a desk setup with monitors, speakers, and other externally powered devices, you’ll lose them in a power cut. However, adding a basic PC UPS should let you continue using your setup as usual for hours on end, depending on your peripherals’ power consumption and UPS battery.
This way, your laptop’s battery only kicks in when the UPS runs out of power, giving you extra time without any interruptions. I went all-in on USB-C a while ago, meaning I can even charge my laptop and pretty much every peripheral with a suitable power bank in emergencies.
If you’re setting up a new home office, I’d recommend investing in a good laptop that can handle your workload, then build a docking setup around it. Get a quality USB-C dock, a dual-monitor setup, and peripherals that make you productive. You’ll be up and running in no time.
Working from home or remotely is about freedom and flexibility—your computer setup should enhance that, not limit it. For me, that means choosing a laptop every single time, even when I never plan to leave the house. The future of work is flexible; our tools should be too.
