Looking for a new Windows laptop...

[Black_Knyght]

I'm looking into getting myself a new Windows laptop, preferably one capable of easily handling high-end graphics and CG artwork, gaming, and videos, and with at least a 1Tb HDD.

Problem is I don't know where to begin, since it's been quite some time since I bought one. My current laptop was gifted to me by my daughter when she graduated college and moved to Norway a few years back.

Any recommendations out there for a good solid laptop that fits these criteria?

[Dave Talley]

honestly you are spoiled for choice nowadays

drop by your local pc store and they will have plenty to work with
I am an HP rep, but if you hit a Best Buy, there is a Asus model that is basically built for editing 4K
if touch screen isnt on your want list, try a gaming laptop, most wont have 4K screens, but are still fully capable once connected to a proper monitor

[Bedwyr]

Best question to ask at this point is heavy or light, bling or subdued?

Dell Alienware has you covered for blingy and both heavy and light: https://www.dell.com/en-us/gaming/alienware-laptops

I can't do that myself; I need a quality laptop that doesn't look too Gam3rz at a meeting, so I went with an Aero 15x from Gigabyte. It's one of the first that started using the nVidia MaxQ GPUs and like it very much. It'll game just fine. Maybe it won't VR, especially past 1st gen VR, but it'll game. It was also one of the first with a cooling solution that didn't place the keyboard on the south end of the laptop (removing palmrests). The blower pulls air from the bottom and keyboard and pushes it out a vent and up the display. Others get more "clever", like (IIRC) the MSI Stealth which opens up a vent at the bottom when you open the screen. Basically mine was the most normal of the bunch. Razer makes quality as well in a thin package, but carries more bling in its RGB logo and keyboard. Good quality though.

Here's the thin 'n light lineup from notebookcheck: https://www.notebookcheck.net/Notebookcheck-s-Top-10-Slim-Light-Gaming-Laptops.126456.0.html

If you don't care about weight and size, the world is your oyster though. Lots of different kinds of bodies. I couldn't direct you to a particular place for those, but I'm quite sure you'll find a good one in that class.

[Black_Knyght]

Best question to ask at this point is heavy or light, bling or subdued?

Honestly, my first though in response to this was huhwhosawhasitwhaaaaa? ;D :D :o


For me personally, size really leans towards wanting a LARGE screen laptop. I use my current one at home, and never actually take it anywhere except different places in the house, or on very rare occasions the train. Too thin seems to equate to too fragile in my mind, but I'm not looking foran armored PanzerLaptop either.


As to "bling", if you mean outward appearance then NO. Basic appearances or subdued is fine, so long as what's under the hood is a beast.

[Luciora]

I recommend xoticPC over alienware.  Dell tends to overpriced the machines because of the label and hasn't been very reliable hardwarewise.

[dgorsman]

Dunno.  Our business line laptops were pretty solid.  Always check refurbished stock at Dell and HP, you can get some decent bargains at times.

Consider a docking station and conventional monitors.  You still have the option of taking it elsewhere, but watch licensing on the software.  You might accidentally validate it against the dock rather than the laptop, and then it won't function when you go mobile.

If you are contemplating long term high end use consider a cooling pad along with the dock.  Personally I consider them redundant - use a desktop for anything that high end, which has better cooling and more bang for the buck.  But if you insist on a laptop for that use, look into one.

[Sartris]

I’ve been happy with my Lenovo I got in 2015.

High end games really heat it up so I built a stand out of 80s construx that greatly improves airflow and keeps the unit from becoming scalding to the touch

[Bedwyr]

Honestly, my first though in response to this was huhwhosawhasitwhaaaaa? ;D :D :o

No worries. RGB lighting has taken over much of the enthusiast market. People put it in *everything* now including internal connector cables (I mean, wut?). So rave dance lights that are also computers are definitely out there to buy.

For me personally, size really leans towards wanting a LARGE screen laptop.

17 inch laptops are much more limited; 15 inch seems to be the market sweet spots, but you can certainly find them around. Both primary links (Dell and Xotic) have large screen laptops. For thin-n-light (usually less flashy), there are a few. Razer has one, my own manufacturer, Gigabyte, has one in the Sabre series, MSI has the GE75, and quite a number of others.

As to "bling", if you mean outward appearance then NO. Basic appearances or subdued is fine, so long as what's under the hood is a beast.

I'm reading that as "I don't mind bling, but I don't need it" rather than "ew ew ew, no want, get it away from me" so there's some of these models that have pretty dance lights if you don't mind them. If you must have a business style 17 inch that games, the pickings will be a little bit thinner.

[Kidd]

If you can pick up one with a solid state drive, do, they're getting cheaper. Many people don't realise it, but overcoming the R/W speed of HDD can lend immense performance increase over more raw processing power and RAM. PCs are systems; systems can have bottlenecks in other places too.

Ah, Gigabyte. I loved their ultra compact PCs.

[snewsom2997]

I like the MSIs sold by Best buy, and the ASUS G-Series. They are gaming rigs, but can easily do double duty as workstations if configured correctly. I use  mine for Database work.