Laptops definitely bring portability to the table but, honestly, who LANs outside out college anymore? I mean, LAN parties were so early 2000s, neh? Then again, that's when I was still in High School and College so perhaps I've just grown out of it.
In today's world I'd say the argument really is customization vs. convenience. While laptops can be customized they are very expensive to upgrade and much, much more difficult - especially those of us with thick fingers. A tower, on the other hand, can be the simplest thing ever if you put in slides and clips. For example, I can replace anything in every tower in my house (3) aside from the processor and mobo in under 2 minutes without the need of a screwdriver.
That said, I also have a high-end laptop, a netbook, and a tablet. The laptop is mine, the netbook is something I bought for my wife when she was studying for some pharmaceutical registration certification, and the tablet was a Christmas gift for her. That laptop, though, is my "I've got to go spend time with your fucking relatives/friends that live in the middle of nowhere... guess I'll play Skyrim" laptop and, let me tell you, it works like a charm.
When I'm at home, though, it's straight to the tower - I never look twice at the laptop. It's an expensive coffee table decoration at my house. It's worth every penny when we're in PA or MD, though. More than every penny.
While the laptop's specs are comparable to my best tower, it does seem to lag behind. Is it cooling? Maybe but probably not. I still have that old-timer sense that the tiny parts just don't work as well as the less tiny parts. I'm not a real techie - not like many of you here - but I firmly believe that, for the near future, laptops will be lagging behind. If you travel a lot, though, the difference isn't so major.
