Why does Desktop BIOS seem to POST slower than Laptop

^ Exactly, the BIOS for the laptop is more in line with the hardware for the laptop, few options to deal with as far as hardware goes. A desktop has to be able to detect and configure a much, much, MUCH wider variety of hardware. You can of course, with practice and knowledge, make a desktop boot very quickly if you know how to adjust your BIOS explicitly to work with your configuration of hardware.