Laptop Computers

Falstaff said:

This question has probably been answered a dozen times, but what are the best cheap laptops these days? Are Chromebooks any good? My mother in law needs a new one and she'll be using it for simple stuff like emails, browsing, maybe some Word docs.

Click to expand...

I have a Chromebook for those reasons. Basically just wanted to have something for when I'm traveling for light web browsing, Netflix, etc. It handles those needs just fine. The other thing I'll say about Chromebooks is that you never have issues with crashes, bugs, so you won't ever have to be tech support for your MIL. Works fine for Zoom. I don't think you can go wrong with Chromebooks.

Debating between AMD or Intel for a new laptop (CPU). AMD has the MT advantage but Intel seems to have a small ST win, along with Thunderbolt, PCIe 4, and (much?) better wireless. Price is about at extra $60 for Intel. Thunderbolt might be useful to me at some point but the AMD 3rd party wireless (at least from the AT review of the Asus Rog Strix G15 AMD Advantage edition) seems flaky.

Edit: Looks like I could replace the wireless card if needed. Web specs are vague but this PDF lists:

So maybe it will still be an Intel Wireless solution on the AMD version.

I'm considering replacing my current desktop PC (an i7-8700K + GeForce GTX 1660Ti) with a "desktop replacement" 17" laptop. I don't need the portability an awful lot so the system will spend 99% of its time hooked up to a 1440p 165hz monitor.

I'm thinking something with a RTX 3070. I'm thinking a 1080p screen is good enough since, like I stated above, the system will be using an external monitor most of the time. Any recommendations?

ShakyJake said:

I'm considering replacing my current desktop PC (an i7-8700K + GeForce GTX 1660Ti) with a "desktop replacement" 17" laptop. I don't need the portability an awful lot so the system will spend 99% of its time hooked up to a 1440p 165hz monitor.

I'm thinking something with a RTX 3070. I'm thinking a 1080p screen is good enough since, like I stated above, the system will be using an external monitor most of the time. Any recommendations?

Click to expand...

I would consider an Intel laptop - you get Thunderbolt support for docking and TB4 is about 4x the speed of USBC (iirc) which should help with eGPUs in the future. Mobile Intel 11th gen also gives you PCIe Gen 4. Mobile Intel parts are also on par with mobile Ryzen in single threaded/lightly threaded workloads. If you need multithreaded performance over everthing else, then go Ryzen. Keep in mind that laptop GPU naming is boosted a tier - a 3070 in a laptop is more on par with a 3060 dGPU. A mobile 3080s seem to be adding $600-800 over a 3070 with today's pricing. As a desktop replacement, you might want to ensure that you can replace/add more RAM and the NVMe drives, which any DTR will almost certainly have. True DTRs are mainly built around Clevo/Sager chassis and use actual desktop parts and have sub 60 minute battery life. There are also plenty of other gaming/workstation laptops like this Origin line or the Lenovo Legion 7 Gen 6 line I linked in my previous post. I've heard good things around the Asus Rog Zephyrus line for a nice balance of portability and power but it's hard to find atm.

I would also consider buying the least amount of RAM and NVMe space possible for a given CPU/GPU config (some vendors force you into upgrading CPU/RAM/NVMe in order to get the better GPU). I would then look to replace those with higher-quality versions.

ShakyJake said:

I'm considering replacing my current desktop PC (an i7-8700K + GeForce GTX 1660Ti) with a "desktop replacement" 17" laptop. I don't need the portability an awful lot so the system will spend 99% of its time hooked up to a 1440p 165hz monitor.

I'm thinking something with a RTX 3070. I'm thinking a 1080p screen is good enough since, like I stated above, the system will be using an external monitor most of the time. Any recommendations?

Click to expand...

Id go with one of the Eluktronics with the 3080 hitting 155ish TDP - Especially if youre hooking it up to external you want something that has a little space off the flat surface so while the lid is closed it still have great ventilation - Then you can toss aside that 1080p relic and go with 1440p and still have great frames.

However the most important aspect is how much you plan to spend really.

Rog Zeph when lid closed will bake itself until it shuts down
Legion 7 is a nice device, cant complain too much about if but you need a 1080p screen with overpowering gpu that does not match the screen really -
I currently use a Razer Blade Studio w/ 4k OLED Touch and RTX 5000 Quadro - ive yet to put it in an external but im pretty sure it would be pretty beastmode on 1440p.

Dunno if anyone was looking for a high end laptop but tossed one in classified.

Xexx said:

Dunno if anyone was looking for a high end laptop but tossed one in classified.

Click to expand...

just curious, how/why do you end up buying so much PC hardware?
are you SamDaMan?

Nemesis said:

just curious, how/why do you end up buying so much PC hardware?
are you SamDaMan?

Click to expand...

I do alot of custom builds, and i just build alot in general because i enjoy it - i often get other tech in trade and this laptop was a trade for a pyramid PC i sold last week. The guys kid did not appreciate the QHD 3070 PC his dad spent almost 3k on lol so he never used it and it ended up in my hands. His dad had did all the upgrades and everything for it for him and he still wouldnt use it because it wasnt 1080p 300hz.

I picked up the Alienware X17 recently with the 4k120 panel -

Dont do it, runs like crap even decked out - i am sending it back today and ordered the M15R5 with QHD and cherry MX keys - i had it on the X17 and they feel fuckin glorious to type on.

it also was doing this on the 3rd day i owned it

Just picked this up, at $800 I think it's pretty good deal.

Mist said:

Insane deal somehow for the next couple hours.

Computers, Monitors & Technology Solutions | Dell USA

Shop the latest Dell computers & technology solutions. Laptops, desktops, gaming pcs, monitors, workstations & servers. FREE & FAST DELIVERY

www.dell.com

Put this in the cart and then SAVE17 for an additional 17% off. That sale is supposed to expire in a couple hours.

Comes down to like 1000 dollars.

This is like 200 bucks off what was already a very low price on the sale. It's somehow getting a double discount, like, the discount off sale, plus the sale discount is still active.

View attachment 373929

Click to expand...

Everything but the gpu is pretty legit in this, but I could never buy a basic Dell product, hard enough to stomach an Alienware.

However the price per what you get is honestly godly, if this was a Lenovo I’d snatch one up for a gift.

Lanx said:

just b/c i'm a bro, and that memory is pathetic, i looked

it has 1 stick of 8gb ddr4 3200, you can either added another or just buy a new kit

ddr4 sodimm

Click to expand...

Yep, has 2 slots, but only comes with 1 stick. I'm looking at an upgrade for sure.

Mist said:

Have you seen Lenovos lately? Ick. Dell has been putting out pretty good shit lately.

I'm gonna give this to my cousin's kid so he can build stuff in Roblox.

Click to expand...

Yes the 5 Pro and 7 are both monsters that perform better or as good as the best Alienware while being cheaper. Too much Alienware tax on those products while people sleep on the Legions.