Do not boil the wort when making beer from extract. There is no reason to do so. One can do it but it will turn out the same as when not boiled. Many extract beer kits now recommend this method for safety and for economy/efficiency.

Hop utilisation IS NOT BETTER in a full wort boil. It is better when the hops are boiled in plain (tap) water and that water added to the extract/sugars in the Fermentation vessel.

"You can handle a full batch of wort from a mash tun" - really? With an extract brew why would one use a mash tun?

"Hop utilization suffers (in a partial boil)" - no it doesn't, that is just plain wrong. Hop utilisation is maximised when boiling in plain water.

Boiling is a fairly poorly understood process. That being said here is what I know.

Partial-wort Boil

Ups

• You probably already have all the necessary equipment
• Small footprint
• Easy to manage
• You can use your kettle for other things

Downs

• Hop utilization suffers, meaning you must use more hops to get the same level of bitterness
• There is a limit to iso-alpha acid concentration in wort - might have trouble making your favorite imperial double IPA. ^{citation needed}
• It is much more difficult to accommodate all-grain batches because they necessitate full-wort boils
• Boil-overs make a mess on the stove
• You should sanitize top-off water to minimize infection risk, giving you another process to mind
• Wort-darkening reactions happen faster at higher concentration, so your beer comes out darker than expected

Full-wort Boil

Ups

• You can handle a full batch of wort from a mash tun
• Hop utilization is better
• Wort-darkening reactions happen at an expected concentration
• You can size your kettle to minimize the possibility of boil-over

Downs

• It is very difficult to boil a full batch on the stove, making it necessary to buy a burner in addition to a large pot
• Boil-overs make a mess on the deck/garage/sidewalk
• More (large) equipment to manage & store