I'm going to need a new (PC) laptop soon. What do I REALLY *NEED*? Model/spec suggestions?

[Sully53]

Here’s what my wife and I bought a few days ago.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpowerpc-gamer-xtreme-gaming-desktop-intel-core-i7-11700f-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-3060-1tb-hdd-500gb-ssd-black/6455901.p?skuId=6455901

Per the reviews I bought an liquid cooler for the CPU!

 

[vindibona1]

Here’s what my wife and I bought a few days ago.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpowerpc-gamer-xtreme-gaming-desktop-intel-core-i7-11700f-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-3060-1tb-hdd-500gb-ssd-black/6455901.p?skuId=6455901

Per the reviews I bought an liquid cooler for the CPU!

I don't need a desktop. I have a decent one, Alienware gaming system with RAM to the max and now 3 internal drives. What I need is a laptop for remote work as my *newest* laptop was purchased in December of 2012 and can't even review videos. I will need something for location work as I may have to go away for a month in a month or two, which is what bumped up my timetable.

 

[Tufargon]

I'd say keep an eye out on Slickdeals.net. There's some really good deals once in a while.

 

[vindibona1]

I got/use a Asus 17" ROG machine. I purchased a gaming type notebook for the horsepower and form factor. 8gb dedicated video ram (thank you Invidea), 16 gb ram, and a terabyte spinning hd, and a 256gb ssd. got for $1,200 @ Bestbuy a year ago, and yes, kind of configured like your setup: separate monitor/keyboard/mouse


Works all my go pro and Mavic Gen I vids/stills with zero hiccups...
But toss in Crysis, and the fans do come on......

Computer purchase is now off the back burner...
Which ASUS ROG model did you get? a

 

[Tufargon]

I suggest you look for an M.2 SSD instead of a regular SSD or spinning drive. It's way way faster. My system boots up in 6 seconds from complete off to complete on with all startup items.

 

[vindibona1]

I suggest you look for an M.2 SSD instead of a regular SSD or spinning drive. It's way way faster. My system boots up in 6 seconds from complete off to complete on with all startup items.

Thanks for that. I've been looking at computers fervently today, but have a few remaining questions. How come some gaming laptops use the RTX 3060 or 3070 graphics cards but have only a FHS (1920x1080) resolution while others with the same cards have UHD/4k? Is this important? I plan on being able to dock the laptop to a 27" or larger screen via HDMI or display port and use a keyboard and mouse. The Lenovo Legion 5 and ASUS ROG Strix computeres only have FHD while the Gigabyte Aeros seem to have UHD.

So here's an either/or combination. Which of these would you buy? Do I need a 3070 graphics card. Do I need 4k UHD on a 15" laptop? Is there one that is the biggest bang for the buck and in terms of value leaves the others in the dust?

Gigabyte AERO 15 XD $1899

Gigabyte AERO 15 KD $1349

ASUS ROG Strix 17 inch $1999

Lenovo Legion 5 17 inch $1300

 

[Tufargon]

The Asus has the best specs imho plus the screen is bigger. I went from a 17.3 inch screen to a 15.6 and it's a big difference.

 

[vindibona1]

The Asus has the best specs imho plus the screen is bigger. I went from a 17.3 inch screen to a 15.6 and it's a big difference.

But what about only having FHD video. How much difference with that make as opposed to UHD?

 

[Flycaster]

Computer purchase is now off the back burner...
Which ASUS ROG model did you get? a

Off the top of my pointed little head, I believe it's an Asus ROG GL702VT.
It's at home, I'm at work...

Edit, forgot one thing, I purchased that setup 3 years ago, so things should be even a wee bit better these days...

 

[Amckim2084]

I’m about to get the M1 Mac Mini. Been hearing some good reviews on it. It’s not a laptop but the base model is only $700 and it’s pretty compact. I saw a video of a guy editing 4K video with it and it was flawless. He even edited HEVC video with no hiccups. Here’s the video:

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[vindibona1]

I’m about to get the M1 Mac Mini. Been hearing some good reviews on it. It’s not a laptop but the base model is only $700 and it’s pretty compact. I saw a video of a guy editing 4K video with it and it was flawless. He even edited HEVC video with no hiccups. Here’s the video:

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If I were looking for a secondary computer to sit on my desk, possibly the Mac Mini would be a consideration, should I want to be back in the Mac platform (not my first choice). But I am looking for something with a good built-in monitor as this one would need to be transportable. In the next 3-4 months I expect to be away for a month or so anything that needs an external monitor is not what I'm looking for at this time.

 

[Tufargon]

But what about only having FHD video. How much difference with that make as opposed to UHD?

I just went by all around specs on them all. They all have their own downfalls.

FHD vs UHD: What's The Difference?

FHD stands Full High Definition and refers to 1080p video resolution. UHD stands for Ultra High Definition, commonly referred to as 4K.

www.lifewire.com

 

[Tufargon]

Not sure if this deal is still available but here it is.

Gigabyte Aero 15 OLED XD Gaming Laptop: i7 11800H, 4K, 1TB NVMe SSD, RTX 3070 $1699 after $200 Rebate + Free S/H

LINK (AERO 15 OLED XD-73US624SP): https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16834233445 MIR Form (Expires on 8/31/21): [newegg.com] SPEC:Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit 15.6" 4K 3860x2160 AMOLED Display, 100% DCI

slickdeals.net

 

[vindibona1]

Not sure if this deal is still available but here it is.

Gigabyte Aero 15 OLED XD Gaming Laptop: i7 11800H, 4K, 1TB NVMe SSD, RTX 3070 $1699 after $200 Rebate + Free S/H

LINK (AERO 15 OLED XD-73US624SP): https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16834233445 MIR Form (Expires on 8/31/21): [newegg.com] SPEC:Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit 15.6" 4K 3860x2160 AMOLED Display, 100% DCI

slickdeals.net

Definitely one of the top contenders. If I wasn’t thinking about a 17 inch I would jump on this right now.

 

[Tufargon]

Definitely one of the top contenders. If I wasn’t thinking about a 17 inch I would jump on this right now.

I hear that. It took me a while to get used to my 15.6 instead of 17.3 but I like it now because it's much easier for transport.

 

[vindibona1]

I hear that. It took me a while to get used to my 15.6 instead of 17.3 but I like it now because it's much easier for transport.

Thanks.
Are there any downsides to a 4K laptop screen? There are many more laptops that have the RTX 3070 GPU but the screen is stil 1080p. ASUS and Omen have some good specs but only 1080p screens. Not many places anywhere to compare side by side and definitely can’t see how good they are in real world use. Any further advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Tufargon]

I can't think of any downsides to a 4k screen. Sure wish I had one.

 

[vindibona1]

I can't think of any downsides to a 4k screen. Sure wish I had one.

Noting that I my M2P is usually shooting H365, should I really be looking at RTX 3070 or better rather than the 3060 GPU? will I be better with a Ryzen 9 processor rather than than Intel i7?

Much as I am inclined to go with one of the Gigabyte Aero because of the 4k screen, for $1900 plus tax (if I go with their credit card) I can get an ASUS Strix 17" w/32 gigs of ram and a 3070 GPU for $1900 and purchased it locally ($2100 including tax). It does not have a display port and only 1 HDMI. Is this a potential issue?

ASUS Strix 17" FHD display 32GB- 1TB

• AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX 3.3GHz Processor
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8GB GDDR6
• 32GB DDR4-3200 RAM
• 1TB Solid State Drive
• Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
• 10/100/1000 Network
• 2x2 Wireless LAN Wifi 6 (802.11ax)+Bluetooth 5.1
• 17.3" Full HD Anti-Glare IPS 300Hz Display

Edit: Another one popped up on the horizon from B&H. The beautiful thing about B&H is that using their credit card cancels the tax (10.25% here!), which could be up to $2000

Acer 15.6" UHD display 16GB 1TB ssd $1750- no tax Looks like an older model based on the GPU.

Gigabyte Aero 17"... 4k screen 3070 GPU 17.3" 16GB ram 4K/UHD HDR IPS screen $1969 after $300 rebate
Aero 17"

Gigabyte Aero XD15" Same specs as above but 15" and 15.6" 4K/UHD AMOLED $1700 after rebate
Gigabyte Aero XD 15"

 

[Tufargon]

I think the Ryzen is better and the Nvidia 3070 (because it's newer tech).
Not sure what you mean by display port. Do you mean to send video out? The HDMI is perfect for that.

 

[chakalakasp]

Minimum of 32 gb RAM. Large SSD.

And since it appears you expect to spend $2k+, it is worth taking a look at the Mac platform. The Macbook laptops are very reliable and you might find them well suited to video/photo editing. Less vulnerable to viruses, too.

I have had both Windows and Mac machines for over 30 years. I prefer Windows for the core "corporate stuff" like Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc. Like the Mac for video and photo editing. Most of the time I run my Windows computer from my Mac using Remote Desktop. Just easier than running upstairs to my home-office for minor tasks.

Just to prove I'm not wedded to any particular platform, I also have seven Raspberry Pi's running different OS's and applications including NAS, Video server, and a landline Call blocker. Pretty versatile for a $35 computer but not powerful enough for video editing...yet.

Since you have the time use it to check out several options. If history is any indicator, it will be with you for a while.

Good luck...

I would second and third this. I work in IT. Windows workstations and sever architecture is my primary gig. The Apple Silicon Macs (currently the Macs with M1 chips) are... works of art. I've never seen a laptop with the speed, battery life, or build quality anywhere near what the current MacBook Airs can do. It's like futuristic alien technology compared to Windows laptops. I get maybe 16 hours of battery life on a single charge and the 4K renders the laptop will do keep pretty good pace with my Windows battlestation that has an 8th gen i7, Nvidia RTX3070, NVME, and 64GB of RAM. Unless you *need* to use a Windows or Linux, the Apple Silicon MacBooks are the best value for money, hands down, by a long shot.