Looking for a gaming/performance laptop but lightweight and looks subtle

[DrealFC]

Hi, 

I know, the title sounds like a dream machine that does not exist, but would still like some recommendations.

First, for TL:DRs,here are some points:

1. I have a PC that was built last year with a 13th gen i7 and 4080
2. Budget for laptop is 3500 USD at tops
3. Both PCs/Macs are okay for me.
4. Screen size preferably more than 14 inches.
5. Not looking for office-use machines, as although I mainly use in office, will be used for attending meetings and courses or even overseas trips from time to time, and would sneak in some gaming time(CS, Apex, etc. and emulators) in between
6. (Preferably)Around 1.57 kg (the weight of my old MBP) 
7. (NOT preferred) "gamery" looks (a.k.a. RGBs, HUGE "asses", and sharp shapes)
8. Although I won't say I am expecting a 10-year longevity that my current MBP has, at least I can use it for Youtube+Work side-by-side for more than 5 years, hopefully
9. Other than gaming, I may need to do some video- and photo-editing, rarely but would like to have the ability to do that if needed
10. I should be qualified for educational programmes and discounts

 

 

Here is my story:

 

The laptop I have been using for the past nearly 10 years is a 14-inch Macbook Pro mid-2014 (Intel i5) (hence the size preference, it is too small for me now)

that I would Bootcamp into Windows

(You may ask "Why? It was not that powerful! And the price-performance is not the best!"  And the answer is that this was my present from my parents as a university gift, and Macbooks were HOT among cool kids)

and play games like CS:GO and worked fine. However Windows corrupted big time and I lost all my working papers 5 years ago and I never got the effort to make it work again since, 

Been using MacOS with low-mid workloads as a study/ office machine

 

Again, it is not a powerful machine. 2 years into using it, playing CSGO on it barely stayed at 30 fps and was not playable.

And at the time now, playing youtube videos and use Google Doc side-by-side will make it freeze every now and then, and the video will downgrade itself to 360/480p

Worse, every single software takes up MINUTES to even start up. 

 

Now I am working, and prefer to continue using my own machine rather than the company-issued i5 lenovos, I would like to buy a powerful machine, overspec even better. 

I can go for m2 or m3 MBPs, but since the possibility of BootCamp into windows is gone, and gaming in them is not really a solid thing yet... I am okay with both windows and macs.

 

 

Thanks for reading til now, and for the recommendations!

 

Edit:

1. 32GB RAM or above

2. Full HDMI output needed as I sometimes need to plug in projectors

Edited March 3 by DrealFC

[jaslion]

An asus flow 16 sounds like THE laptop for you. However NOT the i9 version but the last gen 2022 as the i9 is NOT COOLABLE.

 

A thin and light gaming laptop is basically not possible so that 1.5kg target whilst having a FUNCTIONAL device will not happen.

 

A lenovo legion slim laptop with NO I9!!!!!! will also be a good option.

[filpo]

16 minutes ago, DrealFC said:

Hi, 

I know, the title sounds like a dream machine that does not exist, but would still like some recommendations.

First, for TL:DRs,here are some points:

1. I have a PC that was built last year with a 13th gen i7 and 4080
2. Budget for laptop is 3500 USD at tops
3. Both PCs/Macs are okay for me.
4. Screen size preferably more than 14 inches.
5. Not looking for office-use machines, as although I mainly use in office, will be used for attending meetings and courses or even overseas trips from time to time, and would sneak in some gaming time(CS, Apex, etc. and emulators) in between
6. (Preferably)Around 1.57 kg (the weight of my old MBP) 
7. (NOT preferred) "gamery" looks (a.k.a. RGBs, HUGE "asses", and sharp shapes)
8. Although I won't say I am expecting a 10-year longevity that my current MBP has, at least I can use it for Youtube+Work side-by-side for more than 5 years, hopefully
9. Other than gaming, I may need to do some video- and photo-editing, rarely but would like to have the ability to do that if needed
10. I should be qualified for educational programmes and discounts

 

 

Here is my story:

 

The laptop I have been using for the past nearly 10 years is a 14-inch Macbook Pro mid-2014 (Intel i5) (hence the size preference, it is too small for me now)

that I would Bootcamp into Windows

(You may ask "Why? It was not that powerful! And the price-performance is not the best!"  And the answer is that this was my present from my parents as a university gift, and Macbooks were HOT among cool kids)

and play games like CS:GO and worked fine. However Windows corrupted big time and I lost all my working papers 5 years ago and I never got the effort to make it work again since, 

Been using MacOS with low-mid workloads as a study/ office machine

 

Again, it is not a powerful machine. 2 years into using it, playing CSGO on it barely stayed at 30 fps and was not playable

And at the time now, playing youtube videos and use Google Doc side-by-side will make it freeze every now and then, and the video will downgrade itself to 360/480p

Worse, every single software takes up MINUTES to even start up. 

 

Now I am working, and prefer to continue using my own machine rather than the company-issued i5 lenovos, I would like to buy a powerful machine, overspec even better. 

I can go for m2 or m3 MBPs, but since the possibility of BootCamp into windows is gone, and gaming in them is not really a solid thing yet... I am okay with both windows and macs.

 

 

Thanks for reading til now, and for the recommendations!

Here are a few options 

It doesn't fit the weight criteria but has got everything else ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 Ultra Slim Gaming Laptop, 15.6" 165Hz QHD Display, AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS 8 Core, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 8GB GDDR6, 32GB DDR4 1TB PCIe SSD, Wi-Fi 6, Windows 11 Pro - Newegg.com

 

Amazon.com: ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 OLED 14.5†OLED 16:10 Touch Display, DialPad, Intel i9-13900H CPU, GeForce RTX 4070 Graphics, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Windows 11 Home, Tech Black, UX6404VI-DS96T : Electronics

 

Amazon.com: asus ROG Zephyrus G15 15.6'' 240Hz QHD Gaming Laptop, AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS, GeForce RTX 3080 8GB GDDR6, 40GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD, Backlit Keyboard, HD Webcam, Win 11 Pro, Gray, 32GB USB Card : Electronics

 

Amazon.com: Razer Blade 15 Gaming Laptop: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070-13th Gen Intel 14-Core i7 CPU - 15.6” QHD 240Hz - 16GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD - Windows 11 - CNC Aluminum - Chroma RGB - Thunderbolt 4 : Video Games

[DripplessNewt]

I would look for a non gaming laptop that still has power. Dell XPS, HP Spectre, MSI Stealth, Asus ProArt and the like. If you live near a bestbuy (or other similar store) I would go look around there and see what they have.

If you are interested in the Framework 16 it exists but you will have to read into the pros and cons your getting into there. 

[DrealFC]

Sorry for the late reply every one, I have looked into the suggestions that @jaslion and @filpo suggested, but I am still in consideration for all options. 

There are some points I feel like I need to add

1. On 3/4/2024 at 12:08 AM, jaslion said:

   An asus flow 16 sounds like THE laptop for you. However NOT the i9 version but the last gen 2022 as the i9 is NOT COOLABLE.

    

   A thin and light gaming laptop is basically not possible so that 1.5kg target whilst having a FUNCTIONAL device will not happen.

    

   A lenovo legion slim laptop with NO I9!!!!!! will also be a good option.

   On@jaslion's suggestion of Asus Flow X16 2022：The idea of a flippable notebook is actually really cool, and might actually be quite practical too as it lets me show my screen directly in some group work, but the mention of new 2023 models are not good at cooling worries me while using last year's model RTX3060/3070Tis has me worry on the power of the machine, also, some of the software/simulators I am using are not good with ryzen CPUs

2. On 3/4/2024 at 12:18 AM, filpo said:

   Here are a few options 

   It doesn't fit the weight criteria but has got everything else ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 Ultra Slim Gaming Laptop, 15.6" 165Hz QHD Display, AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS 8 Core, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 8GB GDDR6, 32GB DDR4 1TB PCIe SSD, Wi-Fi 6, Windows 11 Pro - Newegg.com

    

   Amazon.com: ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 OLED 14.5†OLED 16:10 Touch Display, DialPad, Intel i9-13900H CPU, GeForce RTX 4070 Graphics, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Windows 11 Home, Tech Black, UX6404VI-DS96T : Electronics

    

   Amazon.com: asus ROG Zephyrus G15 15.6'' 240Hz QHD Gaming Laptop, AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS, GeForce RTX 3080 8GB GDDR6, 40GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD, Backlit Keyboard, HD Webcam, Win 11 Pro, Gray, 32GB USB Card : Electronics

    

   Amazon.com: Razer Blade 15 Gaming Laptop: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070-13th Gen Intel 14-Core i7 CPU - 15.6” QHD 240Hz - 16GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD - Windows 11 - CNC Aluminum - Chroma RGB - Thunderbolt 4 : Video Games

   On @filpo's suggestions. Other than the same issue with the above-mentioned Ryzen CPU issue I have (but I must say, the
   Asus ROG Zephyrus G15, holy s**t !!! 40GB DDR5 RAM with a 3080 for only $1750 is hella of a deal!) as I am expecting a longer lifecycle, I would prefer the newest finest of hardware. But still, thanks for the suggestions, the Intels in the list are in my consideration right now.

3. On 3/6/2024 at 6:14 AM, DripplessNewt said:

   I would look for a non gaming laptop that still has power. Dell XPS, HP Spectre, MSI Stealth, Asus ProArt and the like. If you live near a bestbuy (or other similar store) I would go look around there and see what they have.
   
   If you are interested in the Framework 16 it exists but you will have to read into the pros and cons your getting into there. 

   @DripplessNewt, This is actually my main direction right now, to look for a non-gaming laptop with pack-a-punch power. Good to have someone with the same thinking haha!
4. For the Macbooks, it was a great choice when the M1s first came out, but as M2s and now M3s released, they don't seem to be referred less as the "best of laptops" as newer machines come out. Though the design, the weight and the powerfulness are still there, just not as "superior" or "Incomparable" to Windows laptops nowadays I guess.

The old MBP that I am using now has water damage on the mousepad from the water drips of my lunchbox and does not respond to clicks. I guess I now have a time limit for replacing it, yet I still haven't made up my mind...

[jaslion]

1 hour ago, DrealFC said:

guess I now have a time limit for replacing it, yet I still haven't made up my mind...

I mean a touchpad is like what 50$ tops on ebay and a fairly easy swap.

 

1 hour ago, DrealFC said:

of new 2023 models are not good at cooling worries me while using last year's model RTX3060/3070Tis has me worry on the power of the machine, also, some of the software/simulators I am using are not good with ryzen CPUs

The 40 series has basically just been an efficiency upgrade. 3060 and 4060 laptops perform the same, 3070 and 4070 laptops are in 5% of eachother which is basically laptop model variance performance so negligable and as long as you have a well cooled unit easy to have 4070 performance.

 

As for efficiency they got up to 50% more efficient which in real world terms means maybe and hour extra on battery doing office work (often barely a difference because the dgpu isnt used) or when gaming a whole 20m extra.

 

Also less thermal load but as long as you have a laptop with a decent cooler thats also negligable. Also most coolers got a bit smaller due to the efficiency increase so yeah not much thermaldifference.

 

1 hour ago, DrealFC said:

On @filpo's suggestions. Other than the same issue with the above-mentioned Ryzen CPU issue I have (but I must say, the
Asus ROG Zephyrus G15, holy s**t !!! 40GB DDR5 RAM with a 3080 for only $1750 is hella of a deal!) as I am expecting a longer lifecycle, I would prefer the newest finest of hardware. But still, thanks for the suggestions, the Intels in the list are in my consideration right now.

You're not beating this. A 3080 mobile is THE BEST you'll get for your budget. Whilst also still being in a decently thin chassis.

 

What software would be a ryzen issue? Functionally these intels and amds are the same cpu for any software. Intel is now usually the one with wacky things due to havig the efficiency cores

[DrealFC]

15 minutes ago, jaslion said:

I mean a touchpad is like what 50$ tops on ebay and a fairly easy swap.

 

The 40 series has basically just been an efficiency upgrade. 3060 and 4060 laptops perform the same, 3070 and 4070 laptops are in 5% of eachother which is basically laptop model variance performance so negligable and as long as you have a well cooled unit easy to have 4070 performance.

 

As for efficiency they got up to 50% more efficient which in real world terms means maybe and hour extra on battery doing office work (often barely a difference because the dgpu isnt used) or when gaming a whole 20m extra.

 

Also less thermal load but as long as you have a laptop with a decent cooler thats also negligable. Also most coolers got a bit smaller due to the efficiency increase so yeah not much thermaldifference.

 

You're not beating this. A 3080 mobile is THE BEST you'll get for your budget. Whilst also still being in a decently thin chassis.

 

What software would be a ryzen issue? Functionally these intels and amds are the same cpu for any software. Intel is now usually the one with wacky things due to havig the efficiency cores

One of the games I frequently play with my simulation software that has online multiplay has been having connection and sync issues between players with intel and amd cpus...since it is...well... "legally questionable" I am not going to name names...