New laptop Suggestions

[NinthTurtle1034]

Hi all, I'm looking to upgrade my now 4-5 year old Dell Inspiron 5482 2-in-1 because:

• Its battery life is becoming an issue where it can only be disconnected from power for 30 minutes, despite Windows claiming an hour or so.
• It will randomly decide not to turn on even when connected to power.
• It will drain the battery when it's supposed to be powered off.
• Its touch screen hasn't worked since I upgraded to Windows 11, despite Dell listing it as supported for the Windows 11 touchscreen driver at the time of Windows 11 release, although I can now find no record of such a driver (for Windows 10 or 11).

I've been looking around for a new laptop, and I've come to a crossroads; Do I:

• Get one device, such as a gaming laptop.
• Get two or three devices, such as a regular laptop, a gaming handheld and possibly a tablet.

I think the gaming laptop would probably be the better financial choice becuase, despite gaming laptops being expensive, it will have all of the budget/price going towards the one device so it's a mostly flat price whereas the dedicated device approach could work out cheaper or more expensive depending on the individual device pricing.

I've read some comparison reviews of gaming laptops vs a laptop and gaming handheld and the outcome, as I see it, is that whilst gaming laptops can pack a lot of power into a small form factor, they are really just more mobile desktops. This is becuase oftentimes:

• You will need to be connected to a power socket to get the most out of the performance of the laptop; this tethers you to one location
• The screen needs to be at a particular angle to get good visibility, but this makes it difficult to use on a plane or bus or something if you want to game.
• Gaming laptops are heavy and noisy.
• I don't think there's any 2-in-1 gaming laptop

In comparison, having two or three dedicated devices:

• You won't necessarily be tethered to a power socket to get the best performance out of the devices
• While the screen of a regular laptop would still have the same angling issues, you would at least be able to put your gaming handheld at whatever angle works for you and wouldn't run into the same issues with a plane, bus, or something similar.
• Both regular laptops and gaming handhelds can be heavy and noisy in their own ways but oftentimes aren't as heavy or nosy as a gaming laptop, so the weight and noise are a bit more distributed.
• To my knowledge, gaming handhelds generally aren't touchscreen, but you can get regular laptops in a 2-in-1 configuration.

I'm leaning more towards the dedicated laptop and gaming handheld approach as it seems more flexible. For argument's sake this is what I'm thinking:

• If I went down the one gaming laptop approach then I'd probably get the ASUS Zephyrus G14 or one of the Lenovo Legion Slim series with an AMD chip.
• If I went down the two or three dedicated devices approach, then I'd probably choose between:
  • Gaming handhelds:
    • SteamDeck
    • Asus ROG Ally (Leaning more towards this)
  • Laptops:
    • HP Pavilion Plus
    • HP Spectre 2-in-1
    • ASUS Zephyrus G14

What I'd like from a laptop:

• Decent CPU and RAM: I'm generally quite taxing on my use of my current laptop, with the i5-8265U hovering around 50% at light usage and the 16GB of RAM hovering around 80% usage.
• Decent Screen: I never know where I'm going to be using it, so it being able to have a bright screen would be useful. I'd also like it to look good if it's used to watch movies or something.
• Dedicated GPU: I run 4 monitors at my desk via two Dell docks; one uses Intel UhD graphics, and the other relies on DisplayLink which I believe is a virtual GPU of some kind that always pegs my CPU. It having a dedicated GPU could help alleviate the performance hit of DisplayLink
• Optional wants:
  • Thunderbolt 4: If the laptop supports Thunderbolt, then I could use an external GPU to power my 4 screens, which would alleviate the need for both docks or at least just the DisplayLink one.
  • 2-in-1 convertibility: Having a 2-in-1 laptop can be useful in those rare situations where you are watching a movie in bed and don't need the keyboard or when you are working at your desk and don't need a keyboard. I do recognize that having a 2-in-1, particularly one with a detachable keyboard, often means giving up some performance as all of the hardware then needs to packed behind the screen instead of underneath the keyboard.

 

Any suggestions, opinions, experiences or general feedback is welcome.

[RabbidEwok]

Budget?

[NinthTurtle1034]

50 minutes ago, RabbidEwok said:

Budget?

I guess it varies.

For a laptop, let's say up to £1,000 would be the sweet spot and up to £1,500 would be my max, but a bit over shouldn't be a huge issue. Although, of course, a comparable device for cheaper wouldn't be a bad thing.

I know the Steamdeck and ASUS Ally fall in the £500 - £800 range. I'd probably also not be buying this device at the same time as the laptop.

So for a gaming laptop let's say the £1,500 to £2,000 range. Although, of course, a comparable device for cheaper wouldn't be a bad thing.

 

If an argument can be made for a cheaper laptop that doesn't have all of the features I want but their exclusion can be justified then I'm more than happy to hear those suggestions.

[RabbidEwok]

1 hour ago, NinthTurtle1034 said:

I guess it varies.

For a laptop, let's say up to £1,000 would be the sweet spot and up to £1,500 would be my max, but a bit over shouldn't be a huge issue. Although, of course, a comparable device for cheaper wouldn't be a bad thing.

I know the Steamdeck and ASUS Ally fall in the £500 - £800 range. I'd probably also not be buying this device at the same time as the laptop.

So for a gaming laptop let's say the £1,500 to £2,000 range. Although, of course, a comparable device for cheaper wouldn't be a bad thing.

 

If an argument can be made for a cheaper laptop that doesn't have all of the features I want but their exclusion can be justified then I'm more than happy to hear those suggestions.

Personally I wouldn’t recommend gaming handhelds. They’re large, have poor performance and battery life and just are very expensive for what they are, I’ve played around with a steam deck and I’m not really impressed by it. You’ll likely have a better experience with a switch though your title choice is more limited. If you’re hellbent on PC gaming in the go I’d get a laptop as you’ll be able to tap into that performance plugged into an outlet. 
 

Personally i’d go for an ultrabook and a switch. Well that’s what I did anyway, desktop at home, MacBook and a switch for on the go. Ultrabook wise look at used models from a couple of years ago and look at the cost of a battery replacement as it’s generally cheaper than buying new without much performance difference. 

[NinthTurtle1034]

43 minutes ago, RabbidEwok said:

You’ll likely have a better experience with a switch though your title choice is more limited

By this, I presume you mean the Nintendo Switch? I'm personally not a big fan of most of their games or the company as a whole really. I don't think I'll be needing bleeding-edge performance out of a handheld; I'll mostly be playing Witcher3, FS22, Just Cause 3&4, No Mans Sky, Hitman 2 and Civ 6. I think playing games like: Cyberpunk, Cities Skylines 1&2, Transport Fever and FFXV might be a bit above a gaming handheld.

49 minutes ago, RabbidEwok said:

If you’re hellbent on PC gaming in the go I’d get a laptop as you’ll be able to tap into that performance plugged into an outlet. 

The problem I find with this is that, well, a) I don't travel all that much and b) when I do travel I'm not really on a flat surface most of the time which would make using a laptop a challenge, I guess it'd be useable in a hotel or something. I'll keep your points in mind when making my final decision.

52 minutes ago, RabbidEwok said:

Personally i’d go for an ultrabook and a switch. Well that’s what I did anyway, desktop at home, MacBook and a switch for on the go. Ultrabook wise look at used models from a couple of years ago and look at the cost of a battery replacement as it’s generally cheaper than buying new without much performance difference. 

Okay I'll take a look at some used Ultabooks, Do you have any model recommendations? Can you also tell me what the difference is between an ultrabook and a laptop, I've never really figured it out.

What are your thoughts on 2-in-1's?

[RabbidEwok]

1 hour ago, NinthTurtle1034 said:

By this, I presume you mean the Nintendo Switch? I'm personally not a big fan of most of their games or the company as a whole really. I don't think I'll be needing bleeding-edge performance out of a handheld; I'll mostly be playing Witcher3, FS22, Just Cause 3&4, No Mans Sky, Hitman 2 and Civ 6. I think playing games like: Cyberpunk, Cities Skylines 1&2, Transport Fever and FFXV might be a bit above a gaming handheld.

it’s not the bleeding edge part it’s more the battery is appalling and the price you’re paying isn’t indicative of the experience you’re getting. 

1 hour ago, NinthTurtle1034 said:

The problem I find with this is that, well, a) I don't travel all that much and b) when I do travel I'm not really on a flat surface most of the time which would make using a laptop a challenge, I guess it'd be useable in a hotel or something. I'll keep your points in mind when making my final decision.

Put it on your lap? I would suggest going with a 14” model over a 16” it’s much more manageable. Though I do think you’re overestimating when you’ll be able to get a handheld out and the Pc handhelds aren’t really suited to get it out for 5 minutes and put it away like a DS or Switch is. 

1 hour ago, NinthTurtle1034 said:

Okay I'll take a look at some used Ultabooks, Do you have any model recommendations? Can you also tell me what the difference is between an ultrabook and a laptop, I've never really figured it out.

What are your thoughts on 2-in-1's?

“The term “ultrabook” was originally coined by Intel in 2011 to refer to laptops less than 0.8-inches thick that didn't compromise on performance or battery”

 

Stereotypical ultrabook is a MacBook. Thin for its performance, long battery life. Another example is the Dell XPS 13 or the LG gram. Essentially a better performing thin and light. Laptops are just bulkier. Though with you wanting 4x displays I’d look at the windows models as you don’t hit that level of display support until you get to the macs with Max chips which ain’t cheap. 
 

Honestly I’ve never understood 2in1s . A good trackpad with well thought out gestures is a better UX and typing on a laptop touchscreen is abysmal. I know windows gestures aren’t amazing but they are getting there now and the trackpads aren’t unusable anymore