Help, I can't seem to find the right laptop for me.

[MaJelvin]

Hey, I've been looking for a new laptop for a long time now, because I want it to replace my wayy too old desktop and be able to do pretty much everything on it:

 

• I want it to be used for university when I go study, so it should be able to run some simple programs easily, or at least be able to be used on the battery for longer periods of time, like 6 hours minimum. It should be thin and light enough to not be a bother for taking it to school every day.

 

• I also want to be able to make content on it, specifically photo editing, so Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop should run smoothly. 16 GB ram minimally and a decent GPU is appreciated (like a 1060 or higher). I think (close to) 100% sRGB coverage or higher is also useful in this case.

 

This combo of specs is so rare that in fact I haven't found a good laptop yet. Its either that the battery only runs 5 hours max on battery saving mode, or the screen is very bad for these purposes (asus zephyrus g ga502) or there's no dedicated graphics card.

 

Tl;dr : I'm looking for a laptop with decent specs to be both used for photo editing (decent cpu, gpu and screen) as well as for school use (good lasting battery, portable).

 

Can any of you help me get more of a clear vision on which laptops or notebooks are maybe a great solution? Or if there's a pretty good solution to the battery problem? I've seen laptops that charge over usb C too, so I could bring a dedicated battery pack with me and charge it that way. If the battery isn't something i should worry about, then there's a big market for laptops to choose of.

 

Anyways, if you made it this far into this topic, thanks a lot. All help or tips are appreciated. I know that I'm very picky but I know exactly what i want, I just can't find anything that resembles what I need.

 

Thanks a lot again and I look forward to your tips and help ^^

Melvin

 

[5x5]

You're going to have to spend a LOT of money for such a device. The closes you can get is a Surface Book 2 15" or an Asus ZenBook Pro 15

[MaJelvin]

I know. My budget first was around 1500 but i quickly found out that it will be wayy more expensive. The thing is, if the battery wasnt a problem, 1800 euro's (yeah I'm also European) is enough, but if you want everything in one, you're not even off with 2500 it seems...

[LukeLinusFanFic]

Can you get a used surface book?

[MaJelvin]

It's hard to get used stuff here because the Dutch people here have a very bad sense of creating a good second hand prize for their stuff, and all the other stuff is either imported from the UK or Germany, which costs me even more. I'll look into it but im quite sure i can't find a used surface book

[LukeLinusFanFic]

Do you *must* have it as a laptop? Can't you manage with something without a dgpu with a thunderbolt GPU enclosure?

 

P.s. I live in a way overpriced country too, even worse than you. Sometimes looking at the used US market can be worth the taxes, or even better, if you know anyone going to the states...

[MaJelvin]

Well, portability is pretty key for me. I want to be able to use my laptop on the go for school but also for traveling. As i said, asus rog laptops are pretty darn slim nowadays (zephyrus s) and can be charged over usb C too up to 65W, which could be the dealbreaker for me. Its not space consuming to bring a big battery pack with me that can charge my laptop because it could also just charge any other device i'd bring.

An external gpu sounds like a lot more things to bring with you, but it could also be a valid option if it doesnt take up too much space.

 

I'm willing to pay up to 2500 euros, though i prefer the laptop to be under 2000 if thats possible, so i can save the rest for the money for things like external gpu's or battery packs

[Shockers87]

48 minutes ago, MaJelvin said:

Hey, I've been looking for a new laptop for a long time now, because I want it to replace my wayy too old desktop and be able to do pretty much everything on it:

 

• I want it to be used for university when I go study, so it should be able to run some simple programs easily, or at least be able to be used on the battery for longer periods of time, like 6 hours minimum. It should be thin and light enough to not be a bother for taking it to school every day.

 

• I also want to be able to make content on it, specifically photo editing, so Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop should run smoothly. 16 GB ram minimally and a decent GPU is appreciated (like a 1060 or higher). I think (close to) 100% sRGB coverage or higher is also useful in this case.

 

This combo of specs is so rare that in fact I haven't found a good laptop yet. Its either that the battery only runs 5 hours max on battery saving mode, or the screen is very bad for these purposes (asus zephyrus g ga502) or there's no dedicated graphics card.

 

Tl;dr : I'm looking for a laptop with decent specs to be both used for photo editing (decent cpu, gpu and screen) as well as for school use (good lasting battery, portable).

 

Can any of you help me get more of a clear vision on which laptops or notebooks are maybe a great solution? Or if there's a pretty good solution to the battery problem? I've seen laptops that charge over usb C too, so I could bring a dedicated battery pack with me and charge it that way. If the battery isn't something i should worry about, then there's a big market for laptops to choose of.

 

Anyways, if you made it this far into this topic, thanks a lot. All help or tips are appreciated. I know that I'm very picky but I know exactly what i want, I just can't find anything that resembles what I need.

 

Thanks a lot again and I look forward to your tips and help ^^

Melvin

 

If you are will to go MacOS your describing a macbook pro almost to a tee. If you are going to get mac I would wait until after the apple event on Sept 10. 

[MaJelvin]

9 minutes ago, Shockers87 said:

If you are will to go MacOS your describing a macbook pro almost to a tee. If you are going to get mac I would wait until after the apple event on Sept 10. 

Unless the specs and prize are really good, i won't go to MacOS. I am too used to Windows OS and I believe that a lot of programming programs that I will use are also no good or not compatible with MacOS. I'm not quite sure.

[Shockers87]

6 minutes ago, MaJelvin said:

Unless the specs and prize are really good, i won't go to MacOS. I am too used to Windows OS and I believe that a lot of programming programs that I will use are also no good or not compatible with MacOS. I'm not quite sure.

I would check the programs, a lot of programmers use/love MacOS.

[Hyper_panda369]

A MacBook Pro, has a great screen with amazing, colour.

it has type c charging and thunderbolt 3 for Q U I C C file transfer.

MacOS will take some time to get used to, but it is well worth it.

Because MacOS is well optimised, everything runs alot faster,

the way i look at it, is an i5 on Mac, is the same performace as an i7 on windows, its a bad way to look at it, but from what iv seen its mostly true

All adobe programs are on MacOS, and if you need to use a windows one, you can just use bootcamp.

[genexis_x]

2 hours ago, MaJelvin said:

thin and light

Preferred max weight in kg/lbs?

 

Where are you from?

[MaJelvin]

1 hour ago, Hyper_panda369 said:

A MacBook Pro, has a great screen with amazing, colour.

it has type c charging and thunderbolt 3 for Q U I C C file transfer.

MacOS will take some time to get used to, but it is well worth it.

Because MacOS is well optimised, everything runs alot faster,

the way i look at it, is an i5 on Mac, is the same performace as an i7 on windows, its a bad way to look at it, but from what iv seen its mostly true

All adobe programs are on MacOS, and if you need to use a windows one, you can just use bootcamp.

I will definitely look into it, thanks

[MaJelvin]

53 minutes ago, GeneXiS_X said:

Preferred max weight in kg/lbs?

 

Where are you from?

I dont really have a prefered max weight but i do want the laptop to be 15 inch and quite slim. Im from the netherlands btw

[genexis_x]

27 minutes ago, MaJelvin said:

quite slim

fine with <27mm thickness?

[MaJelvin]

9 minutes ago, GeneXiS_X said:

fine with <27mm thickness?

Well if there's no option of <20mm thickness then yeah, sure. I believe thats not really t h i c c

[MaJelvin]

3 hours ago, Hyper_panda369 said:

A MacBook Pro, has a great screen with amazing, colour.

it has type c charging and thunderbolt 3 for Q U I C C file transfer.

MacOS will take some time to get used to, but it is well worth it.

Because MacOS is well optimised, everything runs alot faster,

the way i look at it, is an i5 on Mac, is the same performace as an i7 on windows, its a bad way to look at it, but from what iv seen its mostly true

All adobe programs are on MacOS, and if you need to use a windows one, you can just use bootcamp.

I have looked into the macbook pro's, and they seem pretty ok. The graphics part isn't really what ive been looking for and the price for what you get still is way too high for me. 

I have been looking at the gaming line-up of ASUS, specifically the ASUS Zephyrus M GU502GU. It has a GTX 1660ti which is a really good GPU, a 9th gen i7 (i7-9750H), a usb-c, multiple usb A, one of which usb 3.2 gen 2, a 100% sRGB screen, less than 20mm thick AND supports charging via usb-c (also 16GB RAM and HDMI and stuff). They're about 1800 euros here, which means I can invest some money in a power bank that can charge the laptop as well so I can go through a whole day of usage with my gaming laptop.

Does this sound like a good solution? I mean something like a mophie power bank for my laptop with it and I have a great device for maybe under 2000 euros.
Do I overlook something here?

[Shockers87]

14 minutes ago, MaJelvin said:

I have looked into the macbook pro's, and they seem pretty ok. The graphics part isn't really what ive been looking for and the price for what you get still is way too high for me. 

I have been looking at the gaming line-up of ASUS, specifically the ASUS Zephyrus M GU502GU. It has a GTX 1660ti which is a really good GPU, a 9th gen i7 (i7-9750H), a usb-c, multiple usb A, one of which usb 3.2 gen 2, a 100% sRGB screen, less than 20mm thick AND supports charging via usb-c (also 16GB RAM and HDMI and stuff). They're about 1800 euros here, which means I can invest some money in a power bank that can charge the laptop as well so I can go through a whole day of usage with my gaming laptop.

Does this sound like a good solution? I mean something like a mophie power bank for my laptop with it and I have a great device for maybe under 2000 euros.
Do I overlook something here?

Are you gaming or video editing? Photo editing really does not benefit from a gpu after a certain point, ram will affect the performance more than a 560x vs 1660ti.

[MaJelvin]

4 minutes ago, Shockers87 said:

Are you gaming or video editing? Photo editing really does not benefit from a gpu after a certain point, ram will affect the performance more than a 560x vs 1660ti.

I do mostly photo editing, maybe once or twice video editing. And I know it doesn't really affect the performance that much but it's pretty cheap even if you disregard that spec. I can't seem to find a laptop with a lesser GPU but better battery and be the same price. That's why I chose this laptop. If there's a laptop with a lesser gpu but a better screen or battery, please let me know. The rest of the specs sound really good too, and if I suddenly get into video editing a lot then it got me covered as well. I once did video editing a lot so it wouldn't surprise me..

But yeah, if you can find me a laptop with same specs as this laptop, but with lesser GPU but maybe better screen or battery for under 2000 euros, then you got my attention
Thanks still, I feel like I'm not thankful at times but I am greatly thankful for all your help. To everyone

[Hyper_panda369]

10 minutes ago, MaJelvin said:

I have looked into the macbook pro's, and they seem pretty ok. The graphics part isn't really what ive been looking for and the price for what you get still is way too high for me. 

I have been looking at the gaming line-up of ASUS, specifically the ASUS Zephyrus M GU502GU. It has a GTX 1660ti which is a really good GPU, a 9th gen i7 (i7-9750H), a usb-c, multiple usb A, one of which usb 3.2 gen 2, a 100% sRGB screen, less than 20mm thick AND supports charging via usb-c (also 16GB RAM and HDMI and stuff). They're about 1800 euros here, which means I can invest some money in a power bank that can charge the laptop as well so I can go through a whole day of usage with my gaming laptop.

Does this sound like a good solution? I mean something like a mophie power bank for my laptop with it and I have a great device for maybe under 2000 euros.
Do I overlook something here?

battery life is a big problem and just carrying around a power bank is not a great solution. I would understand carrying around a power bank for something like a blade stealth or XPS 13, but a 15 inch gaming laptop just doesn’t seem worth it at all, you will only get probably and extra half of your laptops battery life making it all just not worth it, as well as it will probably be REALLY heavy to carry around. my friend had a alien ware for school and got rid of it within 3 weeks because of how heavy it was to carry around, and he was a pretty strong guy.

 

another thing with graphics, in my opinion you are over estimating how much GPU performance you need, a MacBook Pros GPU will easily be enough to run lightroom and photoshop, because that is what the MacBook’s are designed to run, hence the "Retina display", 500 nits, 25% more colours than sRGB (just listing what apple says). the Mac has great battery life, a lot better than anything else in this category, as well as its running MacOS so everything just runs a bit faster

 

if you are really against the MacBook Pro, then have a look at the ThinkPad P1 Gen 2, it has a i7, "Dolby Vision™ 4K OLED", and an optional "X-Rite Pantone® calibration" (I dont know if it is good or not, they are just boasting about it on their website). it is running a Quadro card, meaning adobe lightroom can actually utilise the GPU, and it has average battery life. no need for chunky power bank.

[MaJelvin]

4 minutes ago, Hyper_panda369 said:

battery life is a big problem and just carrying around a power bank is not a great solution. I would understand carrying around a power bank for something like a blade stealth or XPS 13, but a 15 inch gaming laptop just doesn’t seem worth it at all, you will only get probably and extra half of your laptops battery life making it all just not worth it, as well as it will probably be REALLY heavy to carry around. my friend had a alien ware for school and got rid of it within 3 weeks because of how heavy it was to carry around, and he was a pretty strong guy.

I have looked at how heavy the notebook is, and it's not much heavier than a Dell XPS 15. It's less than 2kg, because of its slim design. I am used to carrying a lot of weight around, I was that nerd at school that always chugged his bag full with books and papers to make it weigh like 9kg', so a laptop of 1.9kg's isn't that big of a deal i think.

A 4K display is a bit over the top, and AdobeRGB is really nice to have, but I won't be printing my photo's anytime soon. If i am, I'll probably invest in a 100% AdobeRGB coverage monitor that can be plugged in at home. And well, the price is a BIG plus of this laptop.
I also always carry a power bank with me for my phone and my camera, so that's no biggy too. Thanks for the tip though. I know apple has the best display, but for now a 100%sRGB coverage display will suffice too.

I haven't looked into the ThinkPad P1 Gen 2. I'll do it swiftly.

[MaJelvin]

16 minutes ago, Hyper_panda369 said:

ThinkPad P1 Gen 2

I've looked into this laptop. It sounds like a great laptop with a big 80Wh battery, and on their website you can customize to what you want. Same processor, 16GB RAM, very good display, though i took the full HD one, and a decent GPU. The price is a bit high, but it's cheaper than the rest of the notebooks i've seen of that caliber; 2250 euros.
I'll put it on my list of potential laptops. I'll think about it. I've seen a video of Either LTT or Dave Lee talking about the performance with photo editing doesn't really advance if you take a gtx 1060 or higher, but I'm scared that if I take a gpu that's lesser than the 1060, it will bottleneck on some fronts.

What's the thermal performance on this device, you know that?

[Hyper_panda369]

i was just thinking you need a massive powerbank to charge a 15inch laptop, prob on the size of an ipad (but alot thicker of course). tbh i thought that laptop would weigh alot more, i can only think because it weighs less its got a smaller battery.

 

[Hyper_panda369]

i havent seen or heard any issues, so i dont think its a problem, considering its from the Thinkpad line the build quallity is very high so thermals shouldnt be an issue.

 

i had a 1050 in my old laptop and it ran photoshop fine, 

 

i was reading up about it and i found out that adobe programs tend to not know how to use the "gaming graphics cards" like a 1060, but they know how to use a Quadro card really well and thats what the ThinkPad P1 has

[Hyper_panda369]

im not an expert but i know 4GB of vram will do you for anything up to 6k past that you might get a bit of a bottle neck but, nothing game changing or something that would hinder productivity greatly