Laptop Hunting....again.

[Daniel0898]

I was just on here the other day getting help finding a gaming laptop that was thin and portable. Well I might not need a gaming laptop, it really all depends on whether or not I'm going to be able to bring my desktop to school.

So as a way to broaden my horizon on laptop options I'm back to see what kind of laptop I would want if I CAN bring my desktop (which can handle anything) to school.

 

Needs.

-Good battery life. This is the only must on the list, I just cant have something that's gonna die on me halfway through a lecture, or whatever they do in college.

Wants.

-4k display. (Idk I think it'd be cool)

-Performance

-Good build quality

-1500$ (I can be a little flexible but not to much)

 

Alright so I know I just described the Dell XPS 15, which is a laptop I really want...but it's a little over budget for the model I would want (i7, gtx 1050, 512 ssd), and it seems to have a lot of quality control issues.

The Razer Blade Stealth seems like a good option too, I just really wish they had a 4k display on that 13" model with the thinner bezels...I am considering the 12" 4k model too.

 

So basically just throw whatever at me, use the list of wants as more of guidelines than rules.

 

Thank you in advance for whatever you throw my way, it's much appreciated.

[VinZie]

Well the 4k display is going to kill the battery. I recommend this though.

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16834233208

[fergusonnn]

Battery life tells me the Aero 14 from Gigabyte, it's $1699 but you might be able to talk to Newegg and knock off closer to your range.  3K display (2560x1440) on a GTX 1060 so not 4K but as close as you can get, with a reported up to 10 hour battery life.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834233191

[DrMacintosh]

Here you go:

• 2.3GHz dual-core 7th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
• 8GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory
• 256GB SSD storage (128GB option is available)
• Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 
• Two Thunderbolt 3 ports
• $1,499

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MPXT2LL/A&step=config# 

 

Amazing battery life, it easily lasts all day and I have the 2016 model, the 2017 model is even better. 

 

The Display is 2560x1600 which is IRL amazing, 4K just serves to kill your battery and GPU and rack up sales.  

 

Performance is great for a DualCore, thank MacOS for that and the build quality is just superb. 

 

Also the trackpad is still the best trackpad on a PC. 

 

If ports are a concern there are options ranging from like $5 single USB-C Adapters to $50+ 3x USB 3.0, HDMI, Dual SD Cards, Ethernet, Thunderbolt, Passthrough charging, etc. 

 

(just imagine no TouchBar for the below video)

 

[VinZie]

29 minutes ago, Daniel0898 said:

I was just on here the other day getting help finding a gaming laptop that was thin and portable. Well I might not need a gaming laptop, it really all depends on whether or not I'm going to be able to bring my desktop to school.

So as a way to broaden my horizon on laptop options I'm back to see what kind of laptop I would want if I CAN bring my desktop (which can handle anything) to school.

 

Needs.

-Good battery life. This is the only must on the list, I just cant have something that's gonna die on me halfway through a lecture, or whatever they do in college.

Wants.

-4k display. (Idk I think it'd be cool)

-Performance

-Good build quality

-1500$ (I can be a little flexible but not to much)

 

Alright so I know I just described the Dell XPS 15, which is a laptop I really want...but it's a little over budget for the model I would want (i7, gtx 1050, 512 ssd), and it seems to have a lot of quality control issues.

The Razer Blade Stealth seems like a good option too, I just really wish they had a 4k display on that 13" model with the thinner bezels...I am considering the 12" 4k model too.

 

So basically just throw whatever at me, use the list of wants as more of guidelines than rules.

 

Thank you in advance for whatever you throw my way, it's much appreciated.

 

13 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

Here you go:

• 2.3GHz dual-core 7th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
• 8GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory
• 256GB SSD storage (128GB option is available)
• Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 
• Two Thunderbolt 3 ports

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MPXT2LL/A&step=config# 

 

Amazing battery life, it easily lasts all day and I have the 2016 model, the 2017 model is even better. 

 

The Display is 2560x1600 which is IRL amazing, 4K just serves to kill your battery and GPU and rack up sales.  

 

Performance is great for a DualCore, thank MacOS for that and the build quality is just superb. 

 

Also the trackpad is still the best trackpad on a PC. 

 

(just imagine no TouchBar for the below video)

 

Don't get a macbook.

[DrMacintosh]

Just now, VinZie said:

 

Don't get a macbook.

Why not? Its checking off his boxes......

[Daniel0898]

1 hour ago, VinZie said:

Well the 4k display is going to kill the battery. I recommend this though.

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16834233208

The computer you linked only has an estimated battery life of 5 hours. Dell XPS 15 with the 4k display gets about 7.5 hours of general use. 

Thank you for the suggestion though, I appreciate it.

[Castdeath97]

Check this guide if you need something with a dedicated GPU:

 

 

[System Error Message]

just make sure you have your hunting rifle, make sure to aim well.

 

dedicated GPUs on a laptop can be worth it, it really depends what you do with it. For most tasks the IGP is sufficient. The dedicated GPU on a laptop will last for 3 years before becoming outdated so its not bad either. A lot of the budget option is last gen and sometimes the leap from 1 GPU gen to another can be big like the nvidia 900 to 1000 series is a bigger leap in performance than the 700-900 series. So in this case its usually better to go with the newer gen (pascal) but if what you need is entirely covered by the old gen than thats fine too.

 

The best option really is to have your main desktop for performance, and a middle end GPU on your laptop if you ever plan on gaming on the go (like LAN parties). However if what you need a laptop for doesnt warrant needing a dedicated GPU than theres no need for one. Even video encoding can be done with quicksync.