Desktops may not have the portability, but not everyone needs that. For the price of a laptop you can get a very powerful desktop, so you can invest in graphics capability, storage space, even software. Plus, desktops can be upgraded piece by piece. If you’re on a tight budget, you can hold off on a video card and then buy one when the prices drop. Or you can add on memory as you need it, or splurge on a bigger monitor come Christmas time.

However, desktops consume more electricity, and are more vulnerable to damage to individual parts. The good news is that it’s cheaper to replace those parts. When your kid smashes the monitor with a baseball, you can get another one. But if he hits your laptop screen, forget it—you need another machine.