Personal question: How old is your computer?

[freebeard]

Typical laptops don't have a GPIOe header and HAT modules. The modules can stack and add capabilities like neural processing or support four SATA drives, etc.

Two HDMI ports? Two DVI ports?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

I have no experience with Raspberry Pi or any "minimalist" computer setup. But anyway, just like phones evolved really fast within the last 20 years, I wouldn't be surprised if a desktop with a CPU as small as a modern phone could easily outperform my laptop.

[Piotrsko]

Pretty sure the new phones can out perform your laptop, especially if it's a couple years old.

Hooking up external stuff, not so much unless you can route through a network adapter.

My 3year old phone does everything through wifi.

[Xist]

I just spent a week writing a 10-page report for grad school.
I was supposed to perform 15 assessments for a simulation, but by the time that I passed that section, I did 31, with 16 considered "Acceptable."
Then I was supposed to summarize all 31 assessments.
Then Word crashed and didn't AutoSave.
AutoRecover didn't work, either, so I started over--in LibreOffice.

When I had a USB-C KVM switch, I plugged my phone into it, and could use my keyboard, mouse, printer, and 43" 4k TV from my phone.

It was underwhelming.

[redpoint5]

In programming class, we were told to save every 5 minutes. Eventually someone would stretch a leg out and hit the power switch on the surge protector and kill 5 PCs.