Moving away to college can be pretty daunting. Everybody’s first year at college is a perfectly natural time to feel apprehensive, and there are aspects of the transition that are bound to cause you some anxiety. But there’s one thing that can significantly reduce your worries – whether you should bring your desktop computer secondhand laptops or not.
You’ll need to decide whether or not to Bring Your Desktop Computer to College Dorm. It will be up to you. However, before making a decision regarding this matter, you should carefully consider all the pros and cons involved and base it on the way in which you intend to use your desktop computer for personal purposes during your time in college.
Desktop computers are great tools, but they can get pretty bulky. As a student, you should consider how mobile your computer is before asking yourself whether or not you should bring it to college with you.
College dorm life is a very different living experience for many students. You get to interact with people from around the world and learn new things, but if you’re still attached to your desktop computer, then you’ve got a problem. Computers bring out the nerd in all of us, which is why if you bring it with you to college, you have plenty of options to trick it out.
If you’re a high school or college student, chances are you have a laptop or tablet. But that doesn’t mean you should abandon your desktop computer at home. In fact, many of the world’s most powerful computers can be found in dorm rooms and classrooms across the country.
From small gaming systems to major workstations, college students and faculty frequently turn to desktop computers for their daily computing needs.
Although it’s true that portable machines are more practical for students who travel a lot, the best computer for them is the one they already own at home — not the one they just brought to campus. The reason is simple: Students usually have access to their parents’ Wi-Fi network (and thus their computers) even when they’re on campus.
In other words, laptops don’t have to be left behind. Students who have access to their parent’s Wi-Fi network can use their parents’ computers as an extension of their own home network, which allows them to perform tasks like checking email and surfing the web whenever they need to — without paying data charges.
If you’re worried about your parents picking up someone else’s computer when they visit, keep in mind that colleges usually have rules preventing students from bringing personal electronics onto campus. These rules are often
Factors to Consider in Bringing Your Desktop to College
Before you make that decision to bring your desktop computer with you to college, you need to consider these factors and the pros and cons that will be discussed much later. The factors to consider include:
- Portability
- Multi-Tasking
- Storage Capacity
- Assembly and Setup
- Larger Screens
- Virtual Classes
- Gaming
- Repairing
Portability
Desktop computers are not so portable as you know they need a direct power source from the mains to work, unlike laptops. Portability is a very important factor to consider before deciding to bring your desktop with you to college. There are different sizes of desktops that you should know which one of them to bring with you to college if you decide to bring your desktop to college.
Note that if you bring your desktop to college with you, it will be stationed in your college dorm room. This is because desktops are not allowed in class, unlike laptops. Portability is not very favourable with desktop computers considering the accessories they come with, such as CPU, monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, web cameras, etc.
Multi-Tasking
Laptops have continued to become more capable and grow in popularity and usage. Laptops are seriously phasing out desktops, but there are things you cannot but do well only with your desktop. One of them is multi-tasking.
There are times you need to have more hardware capabilities that would be offered better by your desktop same is the case when you want to play high-end games, your desktop would better support your gaming accessories as compared to your laptop.
This is because some of these games require external resources that are supported more by desktops rather than laps, they also require large amounts of memory storage. Your desktop allows you more opportunities for multitasking when you have one in your college dorm room.
Storage Capacity
Bringing your desktop computer to college would save you the hassle of frequently worrying about extra storage and sometimes losing your external storage devices. This is because your desktop has several ports and spaces for storage and attachment of external storage devices, unlike what is obtainable in laptops.
This allows you to worry less about losing your external storage devices as they would be attached to your desktop computer that you do not move around with like you would with your laptop.
Assembly and Setup
Before you think of going to college with your desktop, think of where and how to set up your desktop and the accessories that come with your desktop. Also, you need to note that your college dorm room may not be very spacious as your room at home. Also, you may have to share your college room with a roommate. This means that you would not take up all the spaces in your dorm room without regard to the space meant for use by your dorm roommate.
Therefore you need to figure out where to ideally place your desktop in your college dorm to avoid clashing with your roommate. For this having a desktop corner would be ideal for accommodating your desktop without causing problems between you and your roommate.
Larger Screens
Another obvious reason why you should consider bringing your desktop to college is the screen size. Your desktop gives a better screen size, resolution sometimes, and display than laptops. This is evident in the fact that desktop screens are usually large than laptop screens. The larger screen display of the desktop will be more comfortable to the eyes than the display of most laptops.
Larger screen displays offered by desktop computers ensure you do not strain your eyes to see images and writings, especially on the screen. Also, your desktop’s larger display screen allows you to see more information at a glance and simultaneously, be it while studying, watching a movie, playing games, etc. With the larger screen of your desktop, you can view two or more windows on your computer conveniently, but the same cannot be said of the laptop.
Virtual Classes
The pandemic of Covid19 has brought in an era of widespread receiving and giving of lectures via virtual means. For you to properly take part in such virtual classes, you would need large screen sizes, which your desktop offers hence when you’re returning to school. You may want to consider bringing your desktop with you for such virtual classes.
Also, receiving lectures online is more comfortable via your desktop computer, unlike your laptop screen. Finally, desktop computers are more preferred for virtual classes as compared to laptops because the set-up in the virtual desktop classes is arranged to make the meeting be a professional setting meeting.
Gaming
For the hardcore and aspiring games, your desktop will be more preferred for you to have the best gaming experience. Your desktop will also provide you with the opportunity to attach any external gaming accessories required more than a laptop. Note that college is more than just studies you need to interact and relax too hence gaming can fit in to serve your relaxation needs.
Repairing
Computers are electronics and would soon and eventually develop faults if you bring your desktop computer to the college. It is much easier to fix components when they develop faults in your desktop. This is because components are more visible as compared with laptops. For laptops, you may need to send it to a professional to have a look at it because laptops need more specialised tools to be used in fixing them when they get faulty. you can also troubleshoot and fix overheating issues on your HP, Dell, Asus, Lenovo and Toshiba Laptops by reading guides online
Advantages of Bringing your Desktop to College
There are several advantages of bringing your desktop to your college dorm. Some of them include:
- More Power
Desktop computers tend to offer superior computing power compared to laptops. This is useful to students who require lots of computing power for design editing and other tasks. Desktop computers are more powerful than laptops. They typically have more memory, bigger hard drives, and support for better graphics than laptops. With your desktop, you can easily upgrade the processor, add more RAM or get a bigger hard drive.
- Desktop Computers are Cheaper
Desktop computers are generally cheaper than laptops with comparable specifications. Also, if your laptop breaks down, it could cost more time and money to get it fixed than just buying a new desktop. Desktops are much easier to fix yourself if something goes wrong. And because they are stationary devices, they are less likely to break from being dropped or kicked around by accident.
- Desktop Computers are Upgradeable
Compared with laptops, desktops can be much easier to upgrade. Because you can easily open up the case and add more RAM, a faster processor, or even an extra hard drive without voiding the warranty.
- Desktop Computers Have More Gaming Capability
If you plan on gaming or doing a lot of photo editing and rendering, then you need to have a desktop computer which is definitely the better option as compared to laptops. Compared to laptops, desktops are much cheaper when it comes to power and performance.
Disadvantages of Bringing your Desktop Computer to College
Bringing your desktop to college has its cons, but one thing is that the pros are way more than the cons, as you would see from the list. Some of the cons of bringing your desktop computer to college include:
- Bulky and Heavy
Desktop computers are obviously much heavier than laptops, so you’ll need to move it from your home to campus and back when school is on holiday.
- Space Required
This is one of the main cons of bringing your desktop computer to the college. Before you decide to bring your desktop computer to college, factor in the size of your dorm room and the place where you would station your desktop computer, given that form rooms are known to be of small sizes and lack plenty of space.
FAQs
Should I take my desktop to university?
Bringing your desktop to college is a matter of your needs for it in college also, check if your school allows bringing of a desktop to the school before you bring in your desktop computer.
Do I need a laptop for college if I have a desktop?
You do may or may not need a laptop if your school allows bringing of desktop computers to the school. If your school does not allow the bringing of desktop computers, then you will be needing a laptop to school.
Conclusion
It’s hard to give a definitive answer to the question posed in the title about whether or not it’s a good idea to bring a desktop computer with you to college. To make such an assessment, you need to consider your own situation and how you tend to use computers in school, but ultimately, only you can know the right solution for your needs. We have given you the factors to consider before making this decision.
