Looking for a new laptop

[jthoward]

So, I'm a college freshmen (and an experienced PC builder) and I'm looking for a new laptop, hopefully the only one I'll have to get for a good while, with that in mind I am hoping for some advice on models based on the following requirements:

• Decent IO (a dongle is ok for anything fancy, but a USB-A port is preferred)
• I'm a CS student who does some freelance work on the side, so I am looking for a 14+ inch screen and some decent CPU power
• Given hat I'm a student, battery life is a concern, so 4-8 hours is a minimum
• On screens, any designs with a 1440p option are the gold standard
• Windows Hello or a fingerprint reader would be nice
• Below or around $2k (lower is obviously better)
• I am also a casual gamer so a touch of GPU power would be nice, but my desktop's 1070 will always be the one that does most of the heavy lifting in the gaming department
• On a forum with this name it shouldn't need to be said, but I'm a windows/Linux user, so no macOS
• My current laptop is 6 years old, has a shorted DC plug, busted speakers, a shot trackpad, and a loose chassis so honestly almost anything is an improvement

If you can think of anything you have seen recently, thanks!

[GorujoCY]

what casual games are you planning to play? are you okay with using low settings on those games?

[jthoward]

On 5/29/2021 at 6:00 PM, GorujoCY said:

what casual games are you planning to play? are you okay with using low settings on those games?

mostly the odd 4x game or a factory builder, usually cpu heavy games

[GorujoCY]

2 minutes ago, TajeTaje said:

mostly the odd 4x game or a factory builder, usually cpu heavy games

do you mean odd realm? cpu heavy, nothing that needs alot of graphical power right?
if so let me see over here.

[GorujoCY]

so in that case, you could pick 3-4 options:
- ROG  Flow X13 without the XG Mobile 3080 eGPU or Zephyrus G15 2021 
- HP Envy x360
- Dell XPS 15/17
Razer laptops could be vaible as well. maybe overpriced tho but fits your budget and they are good laptops as well.