Searching for new laptop (school and light gaming)

Mr Technician · October 6, 2019

I'm looking for a new laptop that will be primarily used for schoolwork, possibly with some gaming in mind as well. I'm debating getting a laptop with only integrated graphics or getting one with a low end graphics card. My primary concern is the reduced battery life a dedicated graphics card would bring, but the added cost isn't a huge deal.

So far I've looked at this: https://www.microcenter.com/product/604744/inspiron-15-5584-156-laptop-computer---silver

And this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VBK4SYS/?coliid=I3C6XVTLC9M8XR&colid=2J2K0V8GGBEXC&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

I do wish the latter had windows 10 pro but I could live without it. Before I would purchase either of these, I'm looking for a second opinion. Are there other models that would be better that I possibly haven't considered? (Or anything else worth noting).

AndreiArgeanu · October 6, 2019

You could for a middle ground between the two you have given. I don't believe the Asus with the 1650 and R5 will have very long battery life so it wouldn't be suitable if you're planning to use it a lot outside of a place with an outlet.

So like I said you could go for the middle of them and that is my choosing a laptop equipped with a processor like the one on the dell but instead of the hd graphics an mx250 prefferably but an mx150 works as well and there isn't a huge difference in performane. While it does compromise a bit of battery life it isn't extremely significant and much better than the Asus TUF. With an MX250 you can play titles like apex or fortnite no problem but don't expect very high settings, it can also play far cry 5 at medium setting 1080p at around 30fps and even shadow of the tomb raider at 900p with 30fps on low (the game still looks amazing even on low). Around 40fps in forza horizon 4 medium settings 900p and also other games.

If you're mainly stationary at a desk and you don't care as much about portability than go for the Asus TUF as it does offer better performance in games but also you might want to consider a system with a 1060 mobile rather than a 1650 mobile as the 1060 tends to perform significantly better than the 1650 in all cases.