build desktop vs customize laptop

[seh]

I will soon be acquiring a new computer for myself and I am very excited, but...
I can't make up my mind what I want to do.

I'd appreciate opinions, suggestions, or other setup options on any/all of the below. Thanks!

(I should mention that I am a college student and the current desktop I have is from about 2001, although it is currently running XP.

I am not really into the whole "college fad" of having to have a laptop, I am actually quite fond of desktops. However, I do like the idea of having the portability of a laptop.)


I plan to either:
build a desktop, buy a custom laptop, or buy a cheap laptop and upgrade my current desktop some.

The issues:

I actually really like desktops, but a laptop would be handy to take to class and such.

No matter how much I spend on a laptop, I could have an amazing desktop for that price.

I would kind of like to have both, but if I get a cheap-ish laptop and upgrade my desktop some, then neither one of them are all that great.

I've considered getting a nice laptop and hooking it up in my room like a desktop (including my 400GB HD as an external, b/c I just can't live without that, haha), but then again, if I do get a laptop, I don't want a big heavy one to take to class.


So... I'm kind of going all different directions and not sure what I want or what I should do.
What do you all think?

[Cricket]

How much did you plan to spend?

What do you need the computer to do? Play the latest games? Multimedia work? Photo or video editing?

Cricket

[seh]

I want something good, but I only have up to about $1,000.

I need basics like word processing, browsing, etc for school. Other than that, I play a lot of music and do some photo editing. Nothing too strenuous, but I want it to move fast.
Hard drive size really isn't an issue, because I'll be attaching an additional 400GB to anything I get.

[flanzig1]

I would go for a basic light weight laptop to take to class,save the class notes,papers on a thumb drive. Getting a bigger, gamer laptop will feel like carrying a ton of bricks after a while. Then you could upgrade the desktop.

[MichaelG653]

For that amount of money you could get a lightweight basic laptop and a newer desktop as well. Not sure how much you could upgrade your 5yo desktop without more info about it. There are plenty of bargains in laptops and desktops out there and it sounds like the desktop will get as much use or more than a laptop so you might want to figure that into your planning.