are there any like, general recs for a smallish/low-cost notebook? I need to replace my aging chromebook and while I'd like to be out of the chromium environment, last time I had a windows notebook the OS seemed kinda desperately slow
Budget is very important here. There's a big difference between a $400 laptop and a $700 laptop. You kind of get what you pay for here.
Oh yeah, definitely a minimal-budget machine is what I’m after; mostly I want something I can carry around, use for emails/internet/youtube, and not care too much if it gets banged up. So <400, ideally less if I can get a nice Black Friday ish deal
Obviously Chromebook is the answer here which is why I have one, but google seem to be getting increasingly aggressive about ads and I’d rather have options beyond being locked into their environment
I might just get a Chromebook and boot Firefox or something on it I spose
Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
it was the smallest on the list but
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
Oh yeah, definitely a minimal-budget machine is what I’m after; mostly I want something I can carry around, use for emails/internet/youtube, and not care too much if it gets banged up. So <400, ideally less if I can get a nice Black Friday ish deal
Obviously Chromebook is the answer here which is why I have one, but google seem to be getting increasingly aggressive about ads and I’d rather have options beyond being locked into their environment
I might just get a Chromebook and boot Firefox or something on it I spose
Costco has some good deals right now if they're an option for you. My wife's HP x360 is literally falling apart after a hard life being her work and home computer so we were looking around. (She went with an LG gram but its more 'mobile workstation' than budget carry around). But they have some nicer machines for $400-$500 than the core i3 stuff you usually see https://www.costco.com/.product.4000157083.htmlhttps://www.costco.com/.product.4000138489.html
The screen is very different, for a start. And I feel like the Tuxedo guys would have made a big deal out of the modularity if they were just selling rebadged Frameworks, because it's their USP
Aforementioned LG gram is losing lots of battery while in 'Sleep' which may just be downloading lots of updates from what I've seen via Google about it. I think I'm going to give it a few days and then if it continues disable Windows Modern Standby so it goes 'more to sleep' per some threads on Reddit and articles I've seen. Any other things I should check?
Aforementioned LG gram is losing lots of battery while in 'Sleep' which may just be downloading lots of updates from what I've seen via Google about it. I think I'm going to give it a few days and then if it continues disable Windows Modern Standby so it goes 'more to sleep' per some threads on Reddit and articles I've seen. Any other things I should check?
Another thing with this, if a PC goes to sleep when it is plugged in, if you unplug it while still in sleep mode it'll draw more power. It's a weird thing with modern standby.
Yeah that's why what I was reading about the new standby sucking more power was confusing because these things boot from off so fast that even hibernate seems silly, but simultaneously there's no reason to draw down the battery when it is sitting idle. It's kinda like when I got annoying at some default Synology Drive settings for trying to be frugal and not locally caching everything onto my laptop when I was offline and trying to edit some stuff I'd saved in there. When the connection is up storage and bandwidth are free, its when I'm offline that it is a pain in the ass to get to anything!
Do any of you have suggestions for an entry level Windows gaming laptop? I don't need it to have any kind of ultra specs or anything but it'd be nice to have a direction beyond "whatever I can find at Best Buy or on Google," I don't know who the reputable builders are these days.
My wife's computer bit the dust last night even after trying all kinds of stuff to get it working.
Was looking at something like this for a replacement. She really only uses it to play WoW and check emails, browse Pinterest, watch movies, and do taxes. This should be more than enough power-wise. Anyone have experience with these parts for reliability?
HonkHonk is this poster.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
edited January 28
Oh hey I didn't know there was a laptop thread!
I am getting a WFH windows laptop and I am trying to make the most out of my budget which is not a hard limit but people progressively tugging their collars harder and harder the higher the number goes.
The setup is that I will use this laptop when working remotely, and when I'm in the office I'll use my existing workstation. I do 3D/Video/Adobe program work but I will not actually do much final renders on this laptop - that will go to our onsite system which does it in the background.
I came with a pretty specific query and that is whether MSI are a bad brand or not? I have been looking through our vendors list of laptops and the MSI ones seem way cheaper despite having better on-paper statistics. A comparison here:
Bolded the better specifications, price is last. I don't think I can go past 30000 SEK and every 1000 SEK less than that will be easier to get through.
The 4070 laptop version has better numbers than the Ada cards, but the Ada are workstation cards. I don't think will matter to me anyway.
I'm mostly familiar with MSI's laptops through the budget end of their gaming line, where MSI makes decent laptops in my experience. They're like, functional budget, not bits falling off budget. I have no idea how they stack up build quality wise vs. other brands though.
Are Asus listed on your vendor site? I love my X16 with mini-led and they make an OLED Studio pro model as well.
Pretty sure the Creator line also has Oled or Mini-led.
Origin ID\ Steam ID: Warder45
+1
Options
HonkHonk is this poster.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
edited January 29
I'm glad I asked, as the most common option for the vendor seems to be HP...
There is an ASUS model line that looks really nice, unfortunately the lowest sku seems to use some older parts and the next step up from it starts to become slightly too expensive probably. Posed them here with the MSI for reference again.
So the more affordable ASUS has a 12th gen cpu and older architecture card. Though looking at the numbers (apart from memory) the 3060 has all around better statistics than the 4060 for one reason or another. I'll not be able to upgrade in the coming 3 years most likely so I'm a bit second guessing getting one with parts that premiered in Q1 2022 or before (for the cpu and gpu of the cheaper ASUS). But if we're being honest these all have more cores, higher clock speed and in most cases the video cards are better than in both my personal PC and my office workstation.
My worst computer has been my home PC which I've worked on fine up until now that it is currently breaking. That's a i7-6700k / 32 GB / RTX 3050. I am mostly getting this laptop to replace that when doing WFH.
So probably the older parts would do fine in case it buys better build quality and a laptop that doesn't actively piss me off. I've never had a good experience with windows laptops.
I've had an MSI Stealth for years and I absolutely love it. Build quality feels good, light enough to haul around without noticing it.
And if your employer isn't going to give you an actual budget I would probably get the second most expensive one you can and if they ball tell them if you had an actual number to work with you can try and get something cheaper.
I am in the business of saving lives.
+2
Options
HonkHonk is this poster.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
I looked at a bunch of reviews and I think I'm gonna present them in this order and see what they say:
1. Studiobook 16 Pro
2. Studiobook 16
3. MSI Creator
They all look like really nice build quality. Reviews seem to favor the ASUS screens and it has stylus support for the trackpad which actually seems very handy when I'm not stationary.
Thanks for the help in thinking this over and giving suggestions! I'll report back how it went.
Laptops are always about compromise, unless you can deal with a Macbook. You mentioned doing visual work, if you plan on using the laptop screen itself and not an external monitor, I figured getting something with high color accuracy would be the number 1 priority. You might even be able to spin the '100% Adobe RGB; Pantone validated color accuracy' as the reason it's expensive to the higher ups. The pro's to the 4060 model is I'd assume like the desktop cards, they support the newest version of DLSS, which could be very helpful on a laptop, given it's lesser performance vs desktop parts.
The cons, I'm not very familiar with burn in on laptops though. So you'll want to do research into that and determine how much you want to risk there. Also gaming on a 4k screen on a laptop is going to suck (which is where DLSS will help). Granted, with my laptop, I don't play FPS or action games so maybe it's not as big a deal, but 1440p works well enough for me. I can't say how big a deal going backwards for the CPU would be, I went with an AMD part since they tend to be more power efficient.
Too bad you can't get a rental for a bit. The new Stealth 18 AI Studio looks really nice, but it was just announced, so no idea when it's releasing.
Origin ID\ Steam ID: Warder45
0
Options
HonkHonk is this poster.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
I’d use an external monitor more often than not but the screen being nice is a huge plus as I do leave home for up to a month at a time, once or twice per year. Previously I would have brought my monitor but we don’t have a car anymore…
As for gaming - it’s not a factor (thankfully?). It’d be tempting but they’d kill me if I installed steam on this thing. Or at least remove my admin rights. I’m a privileged user until they find me misusing it.
If your not gaming, that feels way easier. You can pretty much ignore CPU/GPU outside of power efficiency (may want to see if any AMD CPU's are available). I've never really understood the need for handbrake to be 5 minutes faster. Unless there it's some niche scenario where your boss is on it and wants the extra videos per day done or whatever.
I'd do some research on OLED burn in and warranties. I had a Studiobook Pro for a day from Microcenter (returned it for my mini-led X16 flow) and the screen was really nice. But you'll probably have to baby it a bit, having it go to sleep while stuff is working in the background to help with burn in. If you don't want to deal with that, it seems the MSI Creator Z16 has a 1440p Mini-led option, but it's a limited edition so maybe not an option since they mention only 3,000 models? (Creator Z16 Hiroshi Fujiwara Limited Edition). Seems kind of silly but whatever.
Another question I'd ask, since this is a work laptop, does it have a lifespan? Some workplaces will replace laptops every 4-5 years. If they expect this to last 5+ years, OLED may not be the best option.
Origin ID\ Steam ID: Warder45
0
Options
HonkHonk is this poster.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
Ostensibly I think they like laptops to last 3 years, but if it were to break they'd replace it as long as I could show the need for it still. I'm not too worried about burn in for that reason either, if it were to become too egregious they'd probably have it fixed one way or another.
I saw ASUS has an OLED screen cleaner like modern TV's as well, so that should help. Personally I'd still baby it a bit, using dark theme's and such. But even when I got burn in with my C6, it wasn't bad, you could only see if you loaded a full orange background, which isn't a realistic scenario.
Origin ID\ Steam ID: Warder45
+1
Options
HonkHonk is this poster.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
Okay so I did get permission to order this: ASUS ProArt StudioBook Pro 16 / i9 - 13980HX / RTX 4060 8GB / 32GB / 2TB / 16" 3200x2000
Which is nice! It was the top one! But getting it approved took so long that it went out of stock, actually all of my options went out of stock and one of them was permanently removed even. So I'm waiting for this one to show up which will be in about two weeks. Until then I'm running Maya and various 3D programs over wifi RDP using my Teams-calls performant current laptop. It's not a very great experience.
. It is time to say goodbye to my dependable laptop companion! I am in search of suggestions for a cost-effective replacement that offers good processing power and durability for everyday use. Any recommendations or personal anecdotes regarding particular brands/models would be highly valued. Let us discover the next reliable device to accompany us on our digital journeys!
Generically I say a refurb HP Spectre x360 is a nice general purpose laptop with good specs for office/productivity stuff. If for gaming, get a desktop. But that's from prejudices developed building desktops and fixing OTS Dells for friends in college that just... fell apart... but that was all 20 years ago when the Dells were shit and nowadays the company I work for uses HP for their business PCs so I'm used to fighting them. First thing to look for in a laptop is the diagram for how to replace the battery and if it can be accomplished with screwdrivers alone.
0
Options
HonkHonk is this poster.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
Okay so I did get permission to order this: ASUS ProArt StudioBook Pro 16 / i9 - 13980HX / RTX 4060 8GB / 32GB / 2TB / 16" 3200x2000
Which is nice! It was the top one! But getting it approved took so long that it went out of stock, actually all of my options went out of stock and one of them was permanently removed even. So I'm waiting for this one to show up which will be in about two weeks. Until then I'm running Maya and various 3D programs over wifi RDP using my Teams-calls performant current laptop. It's not a very great experience.
Can't. wait.
I have the damn thing now. Got it on the final day before travelling for which I needed it. And it was in an almost unusable state thanks to IT not doing setup correctly and needing to spend all day trying to deal with it. But it's almost sorted out now, and it's very nice. Now that it works.
Not gonna lie, this looks really, really nice. I am tempted. I'll need to see how the reviews play out and whether it plays nice with Linux, but the hardware... ? It's almost like they asked me personally what I want in a laptop.
Edit: dang it looks like it's going to be really pricey. Oh well, lucky I don't need a new laptop right now.
I really like the form factor of those slate style PCs but the one I had was essentially impossible to repair which is why it is relegated to being damaged on a shelf where I may make it a dedicated terminal for my servers.
Posts
Budget is very important here. There's a big difference between a $400 laptop and a $700 laptop. You kind of get what you pay for here.
Obviously Chromebook is the answer here which is why I have one, but google seem to be getting increasingly aggressive about ads and I’d rather have options beyond being locked into their environment
I might just get a Chromebook and boot Firefox or something on it I spose
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
Is Framework available outside the US? This looks very similar to a Framework13
It's also selling on a small selection of European countries, but not all of them.
Costco has some good deals right now if they're an option for you. My wife's HP x360 is literally falling apart after a hard life being her work and home computer so we were looking around. (She went with an LG gram but its more 'mobile workstation' than budget carry around). But they have some nicer machines for $400-$500 than the core i3 stuff you usually see https://www.costco.com/.product.4000157083.html https://www.costco.com/.product.4000138489.html
This one? https://frame.work/gb/en/products/laptop-13-gen-amd
The screen is very different, for a start. And I feel like the Tuxedo guys would have made a big deal out of the modularity if they were just selling rebadged Frameworks, because it's their USP
Another thing with this, if a PC goes to sleep when it is plugged in, if you unplug it while still in sleep mode it'll draw more power. It's a weird thing with modern standby.
my lenovo legion 5 is still going strong coming up on 2 yrs old.. they can be had for under 800$
MSI
(Fuck you HP absolutely not)
Asus ROG (tend to be $$)
Dell (not Alienware imo)
Razer is an option but they tend to be pricey
Was looking at something like this for a replacement. She really only uses it to play WoW and check emails, browse Pinterest, watch movies, and do taxes. This should be more than enough power-wise. Anyone have experience with these parts for reliability?
https://www.newegg.com/black-lenovo-v15-gen-4-work-business/p/1TS-000E-19J21?Item=9SIB0GJK7G0500
Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198004484595
I am getting a WFH windows laptop and I am trying to make the most out of my budget which is not a hard limit but people progressively tugging their collars harder and harder the higher the number goes.
The setup is that I will use this laptop when working remotely, and when I'm in the office I'll use my existing workstation. I do 3D/Video/Adobe program work but I will not actually do much final renders on this laptop - that will go to our onsite system which does it in the background.
I came with a pretty specific query and that is whether MSI are a bad brand or not? I have been looking through our vendors list of laptops and the MSI ones seem way cheaper despite having better on-paper statistics. A comparison here:
MSI Creator: i7-13700HX / RTX 4070 8GB / 32GB / 1TB / 16" 2560x1600 / 26449 SEK
HP Studio: i7-13700H / RTX 4070 8GB / 32GB / 1TB / 16" 1920x1200 / 28382 SEK
HP Fury: i7-13700HX / RTX 2000 Ada 8GB / 32GB / 1TB / 16" 1920x1200 / 29952 SEK
Bolded the better specifications, price is last. I don't think I can go past 30000 SEK and every 1000 SEK less than that will be easier to get through.
The 4070 laptop version has better numbers than the Ada cards, but the Ada are workstation cards. I don't think will matter to me anyway.
Pretty sure the Creator line also has Oled or Mini-led.
There is an ASUS model line that looks really nice, unfortunately the lowest sku seems to use some older parts and the next step up from it starts to become slightly too expensive probably. Posed them here with the MSI for reference again.
ASUS ProArt StudioBook Pro 16 / i9 - 13980HX / RTX 4060 8GB / 32GB / 2TB / 16" 3200x2000 / 30784 SEK
ASUS ProArt StudioBook 16 / i7 - 12700H / RTX 3060 6GB / 32GB / 1TB / 16" 3840x2400 / 27862 SEK
MSI Creator Z16 HX Studio / i7 - 13700HX / RTX 4070 8GB / 32GB / 1TB / 16" 2560x1600 / 26449 SEK
So the more affordable ASUS has a 12th gen cpu and older architecture card. Though looking at the numbers (apart from memory) the 3060 has all around better statistics than the 4060 for one reason or another. I'll not be able to upgrade in the coming 3 years most likely so I'm a bit second guessing getting one with parts that premiered in Q1 2022 or before (for the cpu and gpu of the cheaper ASUS). But if we're being honest these all have more cores, higher clock speed and in most cases the video cards are better than in both my personal PC and my office workstation.
My worst computer has been my home PC which I've worked on fine up until now that it is currently breaking. That's a i7-6700k / 32 GB / RTX 3050. I am mostly getting this laptop to replace that when doing WFH.
So probably the older parts would do fine in case it buys better build quality and a laptop that doesn't actively piss me off. I've never had a good experience with windows laptops.
And if your employer isn't going to give you an actual budget I would probably get the second most expensive one you can and if they ball tell them if you had an actual number to work with you can try and get something cheaper.
1. Studiobook 16 Pro
2. Studiobook 16
3. MSI Creator
They all look like really nice build quality. Reviews seem to favor the ASUS screens and it has stylus support for the trackpad which actually seems very handy when I'm not stationary.
Thanks for the help in thinking this over and giving suggestions! I'll report back how it went.
The cons, I'm not very familiar with burn in on laptops though. So you'll want to do research into that and determine how much you want to risk there. Also gaming on a 4k screen on a laptop is going to suck (which is where DLSS will help). Granted, with my laptop, I don't play FPS or action games so maybe it's not as big a deal, but 1440p works well enough for me. I can't say how big a deal going backwards for the CPU would be, I went with an AMD part since they tend to be more power efficient.
Too bad you can't get a rental for a bit. The new Stealth 18 AI Studio looks really nice, but it was just announced, so no idea when it's releasing.
As for gaming - it’s not a factor (thankfully?). It’d be tempting but they’d kill me if I installed steam on this thing. Or at least remove my admin rights. I’m a privileged user until they find me misusing it.
I'd do some research on OLED burn in and warranties. I had a Studiobook Pro for a day from Microcenter (returned it for my mini-led X16 flow) and the screen was really nice. But you'll probably have to baby it a bit, having it go to sleep while stuff is working in the background to help with burn in. If you don't want to deal with that, it seems the MSI Creator Z16 has a 1440p Mini-led option, but it's a limited edition so maybe not an option since they mention only 3,000 models? (Creator Z16 Hiroshi Fujiwara Limited Edition). Seems kind of silly but whatever.
I THINK
There are no written rules.
Which is nice! It was the top one! But getting it approved took so long that it went out of stock, actually all of my options went out of stock and one of them was permanently removed even. So I'm waiting for this one to show up which will be in about two weeks. Until then I'm running Maya and various 3D programs over wifi RDP using my Teams-calls performant current laptop. It's not a very great experience.
Can't. wait.
Budget and primary workloads.
I have the damn thing now. Got it on the final day before travelling for which I needed it. And it was in an almost unusable state thanks to IT not doing setup correctly and needing to spend all day trying to deal with it. But it's almost sorted out now, and it's very nice. Now that it works.
What an ordeal.
Edit: dang it looks like it's going to be really pricey. Oh well, lucky I don't need a new laptop right now.