My tax return is in and I want a computer! But I can't decide what I want :(

I'm so nervous about buying one. :( I'm indecisive as is and reading reviews on computers doesn't help at all.

My desktop computer right now is four years old. It's not actually bad, per se, but it's really showing its age. To be honest it was already outdated when it was bought. Some days, just running multiple tabs on Firefox or flash games makes it lag. Also, it sounds like a wind tunnel right now when I run it (yes, I need to pull out the canned air again, but it won't really solve much). I don't usually have the spare money for anything expensive, so this tax return is really the only opportunity I have this year to buy a new computer. I've got roughly $700 or right now to spend. I realize that it's not the best but I'm not going to get much more money than that, and also I'm impatient and don't want to spend months saving.

Only problem is, I'm still torn between getting another desktop or a laptop.

On one hand, I've got nothing against desktops. I think I'd be getting better specs for cheaper, and since I technically have a monitor, I could get away with just buying a tower. But my monitor is 1024x768 max resolution and I REAAAALLY want bigger. The Internet has moved on! Honestly at this point in my life a desktop probably suits me better, as I hardly leave the house, so having a mobile computer isn't an issue. It's just really really inconvenient when it is. That, and if I did ever want to upgrade it further, it'd be easier. I've replaced the RAM and installed a wireless card on my own, and worse comes to worse I could harass my sister into helping me, I'm sure.

On the other hand, I've always wanted a laptop. I just can't ever get one! The closest I got to getting one is this computer, actually; had I convinced my parents to buy me a new computer as a graduation present when they had brand-new laptops in boxes rather than display models, I would have one right now*. I think it'd be neat to have something I can move. I could write in the living room! Or I can take it to a cafe! Or the few times I actually leave my house, I'd be able to use my computer for once! But I worry because it seems like laptops are more likely to break. It seems all the people whining about computer issues that I know use laptops... It's probably unfounded but I still worry. Especially since even if it's covered by warranty I am BAD about calling people. Anyone who knew me when this computer was broken can testify. (Thank god I just had to mess around with the RAM otherwise it STILL wouldn't run.) Also, to get decent specs to last me a few years, I'd probably be paying more in the long run for a laptop, assuming I don't replace my monitor.

* You're probably thinking "WTF kind of store that sells computers doesn't have laptops in stock??", but this was the BX on a US Air Base in Germany. Selection usually is very limited for computers if you buy in-store. It was amazing they had a bunch of desktops at the time. And this was the good electronics store in the area!

I guess the tl;dr version of this is: Am I being crazy about dithering so much? To people that have run both laptops and desktops, which did you prefer/suggest? Any advice about brands I should run away from really really fast?

If money's such an issue, then get a desktop. They're more value for money, but you lose the freedom - and cool factor - you get with a laptop. From reading the article, it also seems that you're really nervous about breaking whatever you get, and laptops - while not as flimsy as you suggest, for the most part - are easier to break than desktops, given that you're hulking it around wherever you go.

I really love my laptop, but it was a present and I'm quite careful with it. (It's a MacBook, which I'd recommend if not for the prohibitively expensiveness of them.) You should get something you feel comfortable buying: not only for your wallet's sake but your own piece of mind.

I'd just get a desktop and maybe save up for a netbook or see if you can buy an iPod Touch or something off someone for cheap at a later date if you want some portability.

I got a desktop to replace my HP laptop (which broke like a million times--none of which my fault) and I love it to pieces. I also have a netbook but I've found since I got my smartphone that I don't even use it... if I feel like accessing the internet from anywhere but my desktop, I just whip out my phone and use its browser over my wifi network. :P And a Touch or any sort of wifi smartphone can do that without a mobile plan.

Retail stores don't usually have the best computers but you can usually get some pretty good desktop+monitor deals. :D