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

[vindibona1]

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.

I think the search is over! Came home with an unexpected purchase

I got knocked off the dime today. I honestly wasn't sure what I needed or even truly wanted in terms of a machine. And as I stated from the onset price wasn't the main consideration. I didn't know how to prioritize what I wanted or needed and after sooo much internet research I decided I just needed a hands-on look at a wide variety. I was open to 17" or 15" but not so hung up because I think more than 80% of the time I'll be "docked" to a 27"monitor anyway.

So I went down to Micro Center, 25 minutes away and got a salesman who seemed to really know his products. To just cut to the chase, after he showed me what 4k res was he said he had a refurbished HP Envy in stock. The website said $1499... but when he pulled it out of the cage it was marked down the $1124 !
HP Envy 15" refurb

• Intel Core i7-10750H Processor 2.6GHz
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design 6GB GDDR6
• 32GB DDR4-2933 RAM
• 1TB Solid State Drive
• Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
• microSD Card Reader
• Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX 201+Bluetooth 5.0 Combo
• 15.6" 4K UHD UWVA BrightView Micro-Edge AMOLED Multitouch-Enabled Edge-to-Edge Glass Display

I'm not sure how to read the comparison charts of the 10750H processor vs the 11800H but it doesn't look shabby. 32GB of ram already built in and a 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 drive??? Where would I find that with a UHD AMOLED screen for just over $1100?????
Processor Comparison Link
Ok... So it's not a current model and refurbished. I bought a 2 year extended warranty for $200 and still have 15 days to try it out and return it without restocking fees. In a bit it will be time to load Davinci Resolve and see how it stands u next to my Alienware desktop

What do y'all think???

 

[vindibona1]

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.

I appreciate your opinion. But as you can see, just posted moments ago, I think I found my solution. But to be honest, I ran a photo studio for 25 years, most of the time all Macs. My kids grew up on Macs and still swear by them. But my experience on longevity and cost compared to PC's they have been a terrible value. I still have an old Macbook pro that needed $500 of work over two repair occasions just to keep it running. I see my kids getting new Macbooks every 5 years or so while my Sony PC's are still going strong 8 and 12 years respectively. Obviously technology has passed them by but both are still in better shape than my Macbook which should have been retired before putting any money into it. JMO

 

[Tufargon]

I think the search is over! Came home with an unexpected purchase

I got knocked off the dime today. I honestly wasn't sure what I needed or even truly wanted in terms of a machine. And as I stated from the onset price wasn't the main consideration. I didn't know how to prioritize what I wanted or needed and after sooo much internet research I decided I just needed a hands-on look at a wide variety. I was open to 17" or 15" but not so hung up because I think more than 80% of the time I'll be "docked" to a 27"monitor anyway.

So I went down to Micro Center, 25 minutes away and got a salesman who seemed to really know his products. To just cut to the chase, after he showed me what 4k res was he said he had a refurbished HP Envy in stock. The website said $1499... but when he pulled it out of the cage it was marked down the $1124 !
HP Envy 15" refurb

• Intel Core i7-10750H Processor 2.6GHz
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design 6GB GDDR6
• 32GB DDR4-2933 RAM
• 1TB Solid State Drive
• Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
• microSD Card Reader
• Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX 201+Bluetooth 5.0 Combo
• 15.6" 4K UHD UWVA BrightView Micro-Edge AMOLED Multitouch-Enabled Edge-to-Edge Glass Display

I'm not sure how to read the comparison charts of the 10750H processor vs the 11800H but it doesn't look shabby. 32GB of ram already built in and a 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 drive??? Where would I find that with a UHD AMOLED screen for just over $1100?????
Processor Comparison Link
Ok... So it's not a current model and refurbished. I bought a 2 year extended warranty for $200 and still have 15 days to try it out and return it without restocking fees. In a bit it will be time to load Davinci Resolve and see how it stands u next to my Alienware desktop

What do y'all think???

That should do you a while! I like it!

 

[vindibona1]

That should do you a while! I like it!

This is going to sound mega-stupid, but one of the features is " Multitouch-Enabled Edge-to-Edge Glass Display"...
What is that exactly? Does this thing have a touch screen as well?

 

[Tufargon]

This is going to sound mega-stupid, but one of the features is " Multitouch-Enabled Edge-to-Edge Glass Display"...
What is that exactly? Does this thing have a touch screen as well?

Never heard of it but that's what it sounds like.

 

[AZDave]

Just found this deal on slickdeals today if you're still looking.

Gigabyte AERO 15 Laptop: i7-11800H, 15.6" 4K OLED, RTX 3060, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD $1249 after $100 Rebate + Free S/H

Newegg [newegg.com] has GIGABYTE AERO 15 OLED KD 15.6" UHD 4K AMOLED, i7 -11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, 6GB GDDR6, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD Gaming Laptop on sale for $1249 after code and rebate

slickdeals.net

That's an extremely attractive unit. If I was in the market for a laptop I think I'd jump on that. Except that I just noticed that the deal has expired ....

 

[Tufargon]

That's an extremely attractive unit. If I was in the market for a laptop I think I'd jump on that. Except that I just noticed that the deal has expired ....

Same here. Deals on Slickdeals.net usually don't stay up long so you gotta jump on them quick. I check the site a couple times a day just to see what deals there are. Makes me spend more money that I don't have though lol.

 

[vindibona1]

That's an extremely attractive unit. If I was in the market for a laptop I think I'd jump on that. Except that I just noticed that the deal has expired ....

Gigabyte has rebates going on now. What I was going to see is if Amazon qualified for the rebates. I would have been able to get $200-$300 in rebates plus another $125 in Amazon credit card cash back. But the HP just showed up. If it breaks it is a local repair drop-off. Again I have 15 Days if I want to return it.

 

[vindibona1]

Never heard of it but that's what it sounds like.

****... It has a touch screen too!!!! Who knew??? $1124. $1450 out the door with tax and 2 year extended coverage. There is only one weakness I've spotted so far. Not so great audio. But it has bluetooth and audio jack. When docked I'm plugged into a very nice speaker system and have decent LG wireless headset as well as old wired Apple ones. I haven't tried docking or projects on Davinci yet, but it previewed some footage I shot tonight without issue. Keyboard is extremely nice, but does not have separate number pad, but I have a separate keyboard for that if needed.

So far so good.