Pretty Good PC + Okay Laptop vs. Good Laptop w/ Docking Station

[igam]

My current PC is almost 10 years old and starting to have some issues. I'd like to upgrade/replace it but I'm having difficulty deciding with what. I'm currently working as a software developer, and I'll be going back to school next semester. I'd ideally like to have some sort of laptop for school and potentially work (not as necessary). I used to play a games a lot more but now I pretty much just play League or Elden Ring on occasion. I like the idea of using the same computer across the board rather than switching between a laptop and desktop, but for the price of a lot of laptops I feel like you sacrifice quite a bit of power compare to the price of PC components.

 

My primary use cases are: software development, Unity game development, Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, & After Effects, light gaming 

 

My current build:

i7-4790k

RTX 2070

16GB DDR3

1TB Samsung 860 Evo + 4TB & 1TB WD HDD

 

I was considering either a Surface Pro 8/Surface Laptop + a docking station or:

i7-11700k

32GB DDR4

Crucial P5+ SSD

RTX 2070 (keep the same one)

+ a lower spec laptop, but not really sure on what would be good here

 

Any recommendations on a PC upgrade + laptop, or pure laptop would be greatly appreciated as I'm struggling to decide. Thank you! 

[matt4realz]

As a Surface Pro user, I can tell you that it cannot be used to game, the performance of it just cannot keep up.

I would suggest a PC + a laptop if you have the budget.

If you are going with a PC, for your workload, I think a 12600(k/non-k) instead of a 11700K would be the best choice, rest of the specs are good as is

For a laptop, in terms of school/work use, I would recommend the X series Thinkpads from Lenovo. Thinkpads are just beasts and my X270 from back in 2016 still runs pretty darn well with multiple VMs.

[dizmo]

Laptops without dedicated GPUs really aren't meant to do much gaming at all. The docking station isn't really going to aid you in any meaningful way in that endeavour.

By the sounds if it you can easily get away with a lower spec laptop. I'd just go that route. I mostly use my laptop for browsing and word processing (spreadsheets and the like). The Lenovo T470s I got for $150 handles that with ease. You can get brand new laptops with Ryzen 4000 series processors (HP business laptops, for example; very, very nice units) for around $350 if you watch enough auctions.