Should you buy a cheap desktop in mid 2019?
You have probably noticed, that desktops are becoming less and less popular. Many statistics show a decline in desktop sales, and many articles suggest that in the coming decade they will become a thing of the past.
Surely it is not without a reason. With computer components becoming smaller and less power-hungry over the years, the differences in performance between laptops and desktops kept getting blurred. And eventually pretty much disappeared in 2016, when Nvidia released their Pascal architecture that allowed the exactly the same graphics cards to be used both in laptops and in desktops. Also, laptops with desktop-grade processors became more and more popular.
So if money is a non-issue to you, for you the age of desktops is probably over. You can stop reading and get a Razer Blade Pro for 4000€, and call it a day.
However, with advancements in laptop technology, many people forget one very important aspect of desktops. They are cheaper. Price/performance ratio is also important, as most laptop processors are far weaker than their desktops counterparts (you can learn more about it here: https://steemit.com/technology/@hwtrendsetter/is-intel-core-i7-always-better-than-intel-core-i3 )
Some publications suggest that the lower price of desktops is not important, because you still need to get a monitor, a mouse, and a keyboard. So the total cost will be pretty much the same. They couldn't be more wrong.
Firstly, the price of a mouse and keyboard are negligible costs when buying any sort of computer. You will probably be using your 200€ desktop with 5€ keyboard.
What is more, the quality of keyboards in 'budget' gaming laptops is in most cases comparable with 20€ keyboards. Whereas people using gaming desktops tend to buy keyboards that are far more expensive.
And the problem is similar with monitors. Laptop screens on anything below 1000€ are far from perfect. Any IPS Full HD monitor from Amazon for 100€ is either on par with them or better.
What is more, if you buy a decent monitor, it can serve you for much longer than your laptop or desktop. It is quite common to have 1 monitor to outlive 3 desktops.
But that is all when we are talking about brand new laptops and desktops straight from the store shelves.
But it gets even better. You can get a fully functional gaming PC that can run out every single game in Full HD 1080p on ultra details (with a brand new graphics card and other components that are post-leasing with warranty). And a 900p monitor (post-leasing with warranty). for as little as 220€, if you are shopping anywhere within the EU.
If you are shopping in Poland, it gets even cheaper (700 PLN - around 160€).
Shopping in the EU: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TxnyE_VgXRUxyh_QXkftcifcWc994O1Xrd7I2GRRF5M/edit?usp=sharing
Shopping in Poland:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YDmotIiARzmrkI_Cazy24rYw517vMmcSTX-vjWwnFUo/edit?usp=sharing