Time to get a new 'puter

[MouseWurX]

I'm in a bit of a pickle.  I need a new computer, when i moved to Alberta years ago from New Brunswick my gaming PC died... so now that I want one again I'm looking for something that'll last me a while.

 

1st things first I'm Canadian, and I live in the subarctic (northern Alberta), keep that in consideration. Availability is not so great up here.

 

I don't really have a budget but I don't want to drop 10k on a laptop either.  Something 2-3k CAN, looking for lots of power, I have a Jakery powerbank so I'm not terribly concerned with power consumption on the go, nice screen, 4k capable would be nice but not needed.

 

(I want something nice, I've got by with just a raspberry pi, my phone, and a nexdock touch for a while now but that'll only get you so far, know what I mean? Not so much available for arm yet.)

[FRSHPRNCFBLR]

What happened to your pc? Is it fubar?

[MouseWurX]

Graphics card wasnt properly fastened to chassis.  Fubar.   Replaced the mobo but only got another 6 months out of it before it was pooched completely.  Turned the thing into a boat anchor out of spite. Upcycling it was way out of date built in 2007 anyways.

[FRSHPRNCFBLR]

Feel free to use this as a template and modify as you see fit.

And research the prices of the parts individually, the prices shown here may not be the best deals. 

 

 

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/CRMPCz

[MouseWurX]

But... I want a laptop... heh maybe I wasn't clear about that I'm sorry.  I need to be portable.  I don't want it to choke out on anything I throw at it... vr, anything... I want it to be future proof for at least a few years... not something that is about to become several generations old.

 

Suggestions?

[MouseWurX]

I remember the Omen, the Predator, the Helios laptops were kinda the most predominant gaming laptops out before but someone mentioned a Legion...

 

What about Zephyrus or legion 5 pro or an XMG NEO 15? And where do ya'll look for laptops nowadays? Everyplace i look i can only fond old garbage. Is there an online retailers people would recommend compared to brick and mortar and amazon?

[MouseWurX]

With the problems in availability atm should i just look at buying a beater and/or keep waiting until the new intel arm chips come out to compete with macbook air? I refuse to own anything made by apple. Or should i opt for a framework laptop? Nvm seeing the wait times on that, I'm not really into that either.

 

I recently lost my job and intend to be doing some travelling for a while.  I've never taken a vacation in my life so now that I won't be increasing anyone's workload by leaving I'm thinking I'll take the time that's been owed to me. I want a decent computer for my journey and my downtime.

[FRSHPRNCFBLR]

Well. Should've said that you don't actually need a 'puter.

 

How about this: Schenker XMG NEO 15-E21myq AMD

 

 

[Commodus]

16 hours ago, MouseWurX said:

With the problems in availability atm should i just look at buying a beater and/or keep waiting until the new intel arm chips come out to compete with macbook air? I refuse to own anything made by apple. Or should i opt for a framework laptop? Nvm seeing the wait times on that, I'm not really into that either.

 

I recently lost my job and intend to be doing some travelling for a while.  I've never taken a vacation in my life so now that I won't be increasing anyone's workload by leaving I'm thinking I'll take the time that's been owed to me. I want a decent computer for my journey and my downtime.

Intel isn't making ARM chips... it may finally get over its production hurdles, but to my knowledge it's committed to x86. You'll just have to accept that Macs are faster in that chip class. Can I ask why you refuse own Apple gear? It sounds like a MacBook Air might be a good choice if you're not doing any heavy gaming.

 

One thing I will say: focus on getting a highly portable machine. You don't want to lug a big gaming rig with you through airports and hotels.

 

 

[MouseWurX]

1 hour ago, Commodus said:

Can I ask why you refuse own Apple gear?

I don't like their marketing tactics, their business partnerships and arrangements with their contractors. I'm voting with my dollar.

 

1 hour ago, Commodus said:

Intel isn't making ARM chips...

Ahh, that settles that, arm can continue to be avoided for the duration.  I do want to do some gaming, I was ranked top 10 in Canada in a couple battlefield titles. 

 

1 hour ago, Commodus said:

focus on getting a highly portable machine.

Thats why I'm not considering a 17" or any of those monster laptops from yesteryear that could be a dinnertable if you put 4 legs on them.

 

3 hours ago, FRSHPRNCFBLR said:

How about this: Schenker XMG NEO 15-E21myq AMD

Are Schenker and XMG not different companies? Thanks for all your help.

[Commodus]

22 hours ago, MouseWurX said:

I don't like their marketing tactics, their business partnerships and arrangements with their contractors. I'm voting with my dollar.

That's fair, although it's important to remember that every piece of electronics you own was likely made in similar conditions.

 

 

22 hours ago, MouseWurX said:

Ahh, that settles that, arm can continue to be avoided for the duration.  I do want to do some gaming, I was ranked top 10 in Canada in a couple battlefield titles. 

That'd rule out a Mac, then... I'd say they saw a bit of a resurgence in games thanks to Apple Arcade and the M1, but those are mostly mobile games adapted for computers (Untitled Goose Game looks amazing in 5K, though).

 

 

22 hours ago, MouseWurX said:

Thats why I'm not considering a 17" or any of those monster laptops from yesteryear that could be a dinnertable if you put 4 legs on them.

I'm wondering if one of ASUS' ROG Zephyrus systems, like the 14- or 15-inch models, would work... although they don't have webcams, so that's worth considering if you want to hold video chats.

[MouseWurX]

10 hours ago, Commodus said:

I'm wondering if one of ASUS' ROG Zephyrus systems, like the 14- or 15-inch models, would work... although they don't have webcams, so that's worth considering if you want to hold video chats.

I was actually thinking about one of the zephyrus systems but heh I don't know where to find stock of anything either.  It seems almost everywhere is only selling laptops with 1650s and everything newer is so limited it's impossible to find.

 

Stumbled upon a razorblade 15 base with 3060, thoughts?

[Noodle 1]

At the very upper limit of your budget there's the Razer Blade 15 Base Model - QHD 165Hz - GeForce RTX 3070 - Black (https://www.razer.com/gaming-laptops/Razer-Blade-15/RZ09-0410BEA2-R3U1) for $2300 USD which is in stock on the Razer store. It has better battery life than the Blade 14 and an extra M.2 slot plus both RAM modules are upgradeable (one of the RAM modules in the 14" is soldered). 

 

Other options I've personally considered are the Acer Triton 500 SE, Lenovo Legion 5 Pro (in stock on Walmart's website every other day or so at 33% above MSRP but in stock nonetheless), Asus M16, and Asus G15. Link to my own post with the pros and cons of each model and links to buy the products. IDK if they'll ship to Canada but at least you can take a look at the specs. One laptop manufacture I didn't consider was MSI because their stuff are too flashy, bulky, or don't have enough battery life for my needs but since the latter doesn't matter to you, I would take a look at them.

Edited August 8, 2021 by Noodle 1
Forgot to add link

[Noodle 1]

Forgot to mention that if you want to save a couple bucks and can wait a week, the Razer Blade 14 - QHD 165Hz - GeForce RTX 3070 - Black can be pre-ordered on Razer's website. It has the same specs as the 15" in the reply above but with an AMD CPU and a smaller screen.