Lost in the laptop loop

[DavidG101]

Hi,

 

I’m looking for a laptop and am overwhelmed by the number of options available. Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Here are my requirements:

 

Trackpad: Needs a smooth, responsive glass trackpad that’s precise and feels great to use. (think Macbook)
Comfortable Keyboard: Should have good key travel and a nice, tactile feel. (I think I don't want a number pad as I don't want the keyboard to be squished)
Display: A vibrant, high-resolution screen with accurate colors and good angles conducive to photo and video editing.
Powerful Enough for Everything: Can handle heavy tasks like lots of Chrome tabs, huge Excel files, and video editing software without slowing down.
Runs Cool: Has efficient cooling to keep it from getting hot, even during longer sessions.
Windows, Not macOS 
Newly released: I hate buying products that are more than a year old, I think it's a FOMO thing. 
Gaming: I’m not a gamer, but it would be nice to know that I can pop on the occasional casual game; I don't need pro gamer performance. 

Thank you all in advance for your expert advice!

Edited November 11 by DavidG101
Added tags

[SpookyCitrus]

So, you want a Macbook. But don't want a Macbook? 

 

The most commonly compared laptops to Macbook Pros, in terms of quality and features are the Lenovo Thinkpad X1(some other thinkpad models), Dell's XPS line, and I'd also throw the HP Z Book line in. Most of the higher end models or models specifically made for media creation have the features you're looking for.

[kirashi]

1 hour ago, DavidG101 said:

Powerful Enough for Everything: Can handle heavy tasks like lots of Chrome tabs, huge Excel files, and video editing software without slowing down.
Runs Cool: Has efficient cooling to keep it from getting hot, even during longer sessions.

Just a heads up so you're not surprised: these things are almost always mutually exclusive.

 

I have yet to find a laptop that runs "cool" when being utilized at high loads, even if those loads are "simply" having 30+ Chrome tabs open. To be clear, there are many business / workstation grade laptops out there that can handle the loads you've described, but almost all of them are going to expel heat from vents on the bottom or rear of the laptop and through the keyboard.

 

I'm with @SpookyCitrus here: Lenovo's higher-end Thinkpad series, Dell's Latitude 7000 / 9000 series or Dell's Precision workstation series, and HP's Z-Book lineup are the laptops it sounds like you're looking for. Unless you buy during a sale or are okay with buying last year's model when they discontinue them, they're not cheap, but they're built well for your described needs.

[Tridefender]

1 hour ago, kirashi said:

these things are almost always mutually exclusive.

This means you have to buy a ultra9 laptop and some how only use e-cores. I guess this is possible 

[DavidG101]

3 hours ago, kirashi said:

Just a heads up so you're not surprised: these things are almost always mutually exclusive.

 

I have yet to find a laptop that runs "cool" when being utilized at high loads, even if those loads are "simply" having 30+ Chrome tabs open. To be clear, there are many business / workstation grade laptops out there that can handle the loads you've described, but almost all of them are going to expel heat from vents on the bottom or rear of the laptop and through the keyboard.

 

I'm with @SpookyCitrus here: Lenovo's higher-end Thinkpad series, Dell's Latitude 7000 / 9000 series or Dell's Precision workstation series, and HP's Z-Book lineup are the laptops it sounds like you're looking for. Unless you buy during a sale or are okay with buying last year's model when they discontinue them, they're not cheap, but they're built well for your described needs.

Thanks! Very helpful! A friend is pushing me to the Surface Pro Studio, does that fall into the same group? 

[kirashi]

1 hour ago, DavidG101 said:

Thanks! Very helpful! A friend is pushing me to the Surface Pro Studio, does that fall into the same group? 

I'm unfamiliar with Microsoft's latest hardware offerings. All I remember is that the Surface Pro 3 and 4 were very nicely designed machines... that got hot enough to cook bacon and eggs the moment you started doing anything intensive on them.

[SpookyCitrus]

15 hours ago, DavidG101 said:

Thanks! Very helpful! A friend is pushing me to the Surface Pro Studio, does that fall into the same group? 

Microsoft surfaces are decent. I wouldn't get one, the repairability is pretty low and they get pretty hot.