Should I just buy a laptop?

[Indian pc builder]

Ok, unlimited budget for performance, ( 5000usd ish) should I buy a laptop or build a pc, who we polls has to either give a laptop recommendation, pc specs or a good reasoning to choose what they did, for context I am a student. Assume everything u don’t know( say what were ur assumptions) 

edit: also want to game and have time for intensive stuff so pls recommend something with a gpu also don’t worry about portability, it is the reason why I can consider a desktop ( I already have a zen book 14 ux433fac which is working fine although will be in need of replacement soon according to me and the reason why this post exists) the problem with pcs is that they last long and within abt 4ish years I shall be going to college and will most probably need a laptop so do I get a good pc now for a small amount of time or do I get laptop that I use for a long time, problem is that I can’t upgrade the laptop so using it for a long time is hard 

 

 

 

after some discussions it has been decided that at this point of time a laptop is more suitable than a pc for my needs so this post should now be used to suggest desktop replacements with good battery life, at the minimum a 3070 and an i7 as well as a touchscreen if that is possible 

 

 

also Why does the poll show everyone voted for desktop when all the posts say laptop?

 

 

also pls don’t suggest MacBooks, I need windows for most of the things I will be doing 

[Dedayog]

1 minute ago, Indian pc builder said:

Ok, unlimited budget for performance, ( 5000usd ish) should I buy a laptop or build a pc, who we polls has to either give a laptop recommendation, pc specs or a good reasoning to choose what they did, for context I am a student. Assume everything u don’t know( say what were ur assumptions) 

Students usually need portability.  I find it odd you don't know which you would need more.

 

Dont you take a laptop to class, study sessions, etc?

 

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpadp/thinkpad-p1-gen-5-(16-inch-intel)/21dc0032us?cid=us:sem|se|google|mid-funnel_Smart-Shopping_PCs_SMB|gs_seasonal_push||21DC0032US|16444427919|134521075152|pla-1650770122046|shopping|&gclid=CjwKCAjwo_KXBhAaEiwA2RZ8hIxUMV7wqlzs6idytVZquiQrRSj93y4dNmc0EASJz3KCE0MW7_Ky_hoCuKoQAvD_BwE

[Indian pc builder]

Best laptop in the budget, gaming / productivity/student/ make an assumption for any other info u need( state which assumption u have made)

[8tg]

Spec out a Thinkpad P15 gen 2 before they release the next generation of the P15, they’re dropping prices on them to clear out the stock.

You can get an 8c/16t xeon, 128gb of ram, 4k display and Quadro RTX A5000 for 5 grand these days.

[Indian pc builder]

14 minutes ago, 8tg said:

Spec out a Thinkpad P15 gen 2 before they release the next generation of the P15, they’re dropping prices on them to clear out the stock.

You can get an 8c/16t xeon, 128gb of ram, 4k display and Quadro RTX A5000 for 5 grand these days.

What’s the GeForce equivalent for a quadro a5000

[Commodus]

5 minutes ago, Indian pc builder said:

Best laptop in the budget, gaming / productivity/student/ make an assumption for any other info u need( state which assumption u have made)

If gaming is a major concern... probably the best Lenovo Legion 5 or 7 you can buy, or an ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 or G15. I'd lean toward the G14 myself as I believe a school laptop should focus on portability; it's no fun to haul a 16- or 17-inch machine across campus alongside your textbooks and other gear.

 

If I had a $5,000 US budget for a laptop, I'd forego serious gaming and get a 14-inch MacBook Pro with 32GB of RAM and 2TB of storage. Still very fast for most tasks, quiet, and sustains its performance while on battery (a continuing problem on the Windows side).

 

 

[Bismut]

NEVER go with a laptop for performance unless you know the exact performance you will get, Laptop specs are a scam because the wattage going into them isn't constant between brands and even within them. I would recommend a powerful Desktop and weak laptop, as most powerful laptops aren't very portable and vice versa. Spend 2k on a desktop and then 600 or so on a laptop, gives you the best of both worlds.

What kind of work are you going to (have to) do with a laptop and desktop respectively?

[RoseLuck462]

If I were you I'd get a base M2 MacBook Air use the rest for a desktop build around a 3090.

[Skiiwee29]

@Indian pc builder I merged your threads together surrounding the Laptop and moved to Laptops and Pre-Builts. 

[Indian pc builder]

I seem to be in a situation where a thin and light gaming laptop is called for however I don’t think such a decode exists 

[Dedayog]

11 hours ago, Indian pc builder said:

I seem to be in a situation where a thin and light gaming laptop is called for however I don’t think such a decode exists 

You're not in a unique situation, there are many thin and light gaming laptops.  You don't need a 3090Ti in a laptop.   3070 for example

 

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Zephyrus-Gaming-GeForce-Eclipse/dp/B08V8CDP8Q/ref=sr_1_9?crid=IKRQ70XRTRK2&keywords=3070+laptop&qid=1660826761&sprefix=3070+lapto%2Caps%2C243&sr=8-9

 

[Indian pc builder]

43 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

You're not in a unique situation, there are many thin and light gaming laptops.  You don't need a 3090Ti in a laptop.   3070 for example

 

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Zephyrus-Gaming-GeForce-Eclipse/dp/B08V8CDP8Q/ref=sr_1_9?crid=IKRQ70XRTRK2&keywords=3070+laptop&qid=1660826761&sprefix=3070+lapto%2Caps%2C243&sr=8-9

 

How much does it weigh?

[Dedayog]

1 minute ago, Indian pc builder said:

How much does it weigh?

Not sure, you could look at the specs if you wanted to.  

[Darkseth]

5k for any Computer is wasted Money, if you're not earning your daily Money with it. Way too overpriced and overspec'd. At some point, you're not getting any more "value" or "performance" out of it.

Especially, if it's a OEM model that's not even silent/quiet. (god, i hate noisy Desktop PCs, absolutely unuseable).

 

Spend like 2k for a VERY high end Desktop. You won't need more than a Mainstream 8 Core Ryzen 5800~ or i5/i7 12th Gen with 6 P Cores + 8 E Cores, 16 or 32gb Ram, RTX 3080 / Radeon whatever~. Or whatever GPU you want depending on what Monitor you have to drive.
maybe 2,5k / 3k, if you still need a good Monitor + speakers + Keyboard/Mouse. Any more than that is absolutely wasted Money.

 

+ Get yourself a Macbook Air M1 with 512/16gb, and you have the best of both worlds.

 

 

Or get some decent value oriented Hardware, and put 3k into some stocks for later? Or save it for difficult times, since you're a student... No reason to throw 5000 Dollar away.

[jaslion]

Do both?

 

Like get a nice thin and light laptop for like 1k and spend whatever you want on a gaming desktop.

[Indian pc builder]

15 hours ago, Dedayog said:

Not sure, you could look at the specs if you wanted to.  

2 kilos, ok I guess for carrying around, don’t seem to be able to upgrade the storage on it though

[jaslion]

5 hours ago, Indian pc builder said:

2 kilos, ok I guess for carrying around, don’t seem to be able to upgrade the storage on it though

Any reason to not just get a nice portable laptop like a hp x360 and then a great desktop?

[Indian pc builder]

20 hours ago, jaslion said:

Any reason to not just get a nice portable laptop like a hp x360 and then a great desktop?

So say I cut a 1000 of my budget and get the laptop, what specs could I get in 4000usd for a pc? @jaslion if ur going to suggest a solution, suggest a complete one 

[jaslion]

8 hours ago, Indian pc builder said:

So say I cut a 1000 of my budget and get the laptop, what specs could I get in 4000usd for a pc? @jaslion if ur going to suggest a solution, suggest a complete one 

When are you buying?

 

Also what is the problem with the zenbook? It's a great device as a school laptop.

 

As for a build to buy right now for games:

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9LkKnt

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor  ($278.95 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Scythe Fuma 2 Rev.B 39.44 CFM CPU Cooler  ($65.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B660 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: ASRock Radeon RX 6900 XT 16 GB Phantom Gaming D OC Video Card  ($742.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks Eclipse G360A ATX Mid Tower Case  ($109.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: MSI MPG A-GF 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1707.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-08-20 05:43 EDT-0400

 

This is a top of the line gaming pc. Add storage as you like.

 

Going with a higher end cpu won't noticeably increase gaming performance. The 6900xt is top 3 best gpu out right now and also the cheapest of those. 1000% get it over a 3080ti if you look at longevity as 12gb of vram can already be filled at 4k easily. Lower resolutions less of an issue but it's already a telltale sign of the future.

 

Other than that not really anything to add to this pc to make it perform better.

 

Also keep in mind that in 4  years literally anything will be obsolete ESPECIALLY a laptop.

 

So get a new laptop when you do go to college and just keep your very nice zenbook for now unless it's like actually defective.

[genexis_x]

If you have that much budget, go for desktop+laptop.

[Indian pc builder]

22 hours ago, jaslion said:

 

 

So get a new laptop when you do go to college and just keep your very nice zenbook for now unless it's like actually defective.

And then what about the pc, do I build one or not?

[jaslion]

1 hour ago, Indian pc builder said:

And then what about the pc, do I build one or not?

Yeah just build one this list I sent you is a great start if you wanna build rn

 

Its still 4 years so dont worry about college rn and just get yourself a nice desktop