Looking to change desktop to laptop.

langtang

langtang

langtang

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20 Nov 2007
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I'm looking to change out my home pc and get a laptop. This will probably be my forever computer, although I say that all the time.

Main uses for the computer would be audio and video editing, though not as much as I used to -(I collect audience recordings of gigs in audio and video formats and edit them as required. More and more shows are coming in Hi res audio and 4k video video formats. Gone are the days of single VCDs), BD-R burning (with ext burner but, again, not as much...) and general excel work. I also listen to high resolution music in various formats, and some of the files can be a gig and more in size.

It's the portability that I'm keen for, as I can't seem to find the time to go upstairs, boot up etc. that I used to.

Main concern I have is what type ( workstation, gaming etc.) of laptop to go for. I feel a gaming one would be overkill (don't game, at all) but the separate video memory and higher ram that they seem to provide is what I'm looking for - I think!

For reference, my pc just now is pretty old - Amd Fx8350, 32GB DDR3 and radeon R9 380.....

Is anyone able to steer me in the right direction? Not necessarily specific laptops, although that would be nice, but more what type, spec etc that you think would suit my needs best. It seems a jungle out there, ready to eat unsuspecting fools.

As far as peripherals are concerned, it would only be a couple of 4 disk HDD enclosures and a pair of speakers that would need attaching - as well as a large monitor. Some advice on a docking solution would be gratefully received also.

Thanks in advance.
 
There's now a genre of laptops called creator laptops, which are basically higher spec laptops for video editing, rather than gaming.

MSI do a range:


So do Asus, although people are not so keen on Asus because of support issues:

www.asus.com

Laptops For Creators - All Series｜ASUS United Kingdom

ASUS offers a range of monitor accessories to help your daily use, such as monitor stands, desk mount kits and bezel-free kits.
www.asus.com www.asus.com

My personal favourite laptop brand is Dell, for build quality and value. There you are looking at the Precision and XPS ranges:

Create with Precision and XPS | Dell UK

How can Precision or XPS bring to life your vision? Whether you're a creative enthusiast or this is your profession, find out which brand is right for you.
www.dell.com
 
radderfire said:
There's now a genre of laptops called creator laptops, which are basically higher spec laptops for video editing, rather than gaming.

MSI do a range:

So do Asus
Click to expand...
radderfire said:
My personal favourite laptop brand is Dell, for build quality and value. There you are looking at the Precision and XPS ranges:
Click to expand...
Excellent, thank you so much. I will look into those link you provided. They sound perfect.
 
If you're not that interested in Gaming i'd consider switching to Apple.

I pretty much run 2 systems, Windows for Gaming and Apple for productivity like video and photo editing.

If I wasn't interested in gaming then I would 100% only be using Apple. My MacBook Pro is amazing whether it is plugged in or running off battery, and when running off battery it lasts for ages with amazing performance too. My Asus gaming laptop (just died after 2 years) was terrible if not plugged in and would only last an hour or so on battery.
The cheaper end MacBook Air is supposed to be pretty good too but I've not used one.
 
Jase said:
If you're not that interested in Gaming i'd consider switching to Apple.

I pretty much run 2 systems, Windows for Gaming and Apple for productivity like video and photo editing.

If I wasn't interested in gaming then I would 100% only be using Apple. My MacBook Pro is amazing whether it is plugged in or running off battery, and when running off battery it lasts for ages with amazing performance too. My Asus gaming laptop (just died after 2 years) was terrible if not plugged in and would only last an hour or so on battery.
The cheaper end MacBook Air is supposed to be pretty good too but I've not used one.
Click to expand...
I would 2nd that proposal :)
 
I did this and went Lenovo Legion Pro. Been pretty happy with it. Great keyboard, 2 ram slots and 2 nvme slots. 6 usb ports. Great screen. I'm actually thinking of going back to desktop as I mostly use the laptop in the one location.

Also have MacBook air but I've never got into it. I was too entrenched in Windows. I never found much difference in performance other than battery life. Maybe I need to spend more time with it..
 
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Honestly it sounds like a desktop would be a better solution.

It might just be me but I find trying to do any creative work so much nicer on a desktop with plenty of space. I bought a laptop for similar reasons and never use it.
 
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Yeah, swapping from a desktop to creativity/production laptop leaves a couple of legitimate options.

1. don't do it.

2. a creativity focused laptop with intel ultra 7/9 (series 1 or 2) equipped with Geforce RTX 4050 for the Nvidia Studio functionality which deals with everything from creative suite and cad 3D etc etc. You don't need the higher tier RTX for this benefit. Not the most powerful option but if you're going to a laptop then this gives all the benefits of portability (all day battery plus quiet/silent running), 3k touch screen etc at the circa £2k price point.

3. a MacBook Pro leaves the windows laptop options behind though on creativity/production performance, battery life etc if you are OK with iOS.

4. MacBook plus one of the Windows Ultra 5/7 Books like the Asus Zenbook S 14 with the intel ultra chipsets if you need or want to stay in the windows environment too. On the series 2 the ARC graphics are pretty decent for titles from pre 20'/21'.

On all the above, gaming if needed is then resolved with a GeForce Now premium tier. Not least you get 4k gaming with 0 hit on battery life and no compromise on laptop spec vs price vs portability vs noise.

Then just a suitable USB-C dock or integrated powered USB-C dock Monitor
 
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Thank you so much for all your great suggestions, they really are appreciated.

Addressing the Mac question first. I've got so many friends who swear by their macbooks. I'm probably speaking from ignorance here but I think I'm too old to be learning a new operating system. I really appreciate the honest opinions on, and recommendations for them.

I've been looking around at some of the brands recommended - MSI, Asus, Dell....

I've seen this laptop (I know I said I didn't game, but this one has a white backlit keyboard which is better than the RGB ones for me - the only "gaming" thing that I can see)

MSI Summit E16 AI Studio A1VFTG 16 Inch Gaming Laptop - Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, RTX 4050 32Gb ram. 1TB SSD.

For a penny more, I can have this. Seems like a no brainer, unless I am missing something crucial?

MSI Summit E16 AI Studio A1VETG 16 Inch Gaming Laptop - Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, RTX 4060 2TB SSD. 32Gb ram. Touchscreen.

I have been given the green light from swmbo to go up to £2.5k, but this one comes in at £1.6k.

I am struggling to justify some of the other laptops I've seen at a higher price. Can anyone recommend a better laptop than the above?
 
I think when you go higher apart from performance your paying for better screens, speakers better build and reputation when it comes to support.
 
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I was in a similar dilemma as OP, had a bulky PC and wanted something more compact. Tried a couple of mini PCs but they were underpowered so eventually settled on a Lenovo Tuf laptop. Its been running fine for my office type work, but for gaming its almost deafening. So I'm now considering going back to a full size PC it might be bulky but at least it'll be reasonably quiet for gaming.
 
langtang said:
Thank you so much for all your great suggestions, they really are appreciated.

Addressing the Mac question first. I've got so many friends who swear by their macbooks. I'm probably speaking from ignorance here but I think I'm too old to be learning a new operating system. I really appreciate the honest opinions on, and recommendations for them.

I've been looking around at some of the brands recommended - MSI, Asus, Dell....

I've seen this laptop (I know I said I didn't game, but this one has a white backlit keyboard which is better than the RGB ones for me - the only "gaming" thing that I can see)

MSI Summit E16 AI Studio A1VFTG 16 Inch Gaming Laptop - Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, RTX 4050 32Gb ram. 1TB SSD.

For a penny more, I can have this. Seems like a no brainer, unless I am missing something crucial?

MSI Summit E16 AI Studio A1VETG 16 Inch Gaming Laptop - Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, RTX 4060 2TB SSD. 32Gb ram. Touchscreen.

I have been given the green light from swmbo to go up to £2.5k, but this one comes in at £1.6k.

I am struggling to justify some of the other laptops I've seen at a higher price. Can anyone recommend a better laptop than the above?
Click to expand...

Some real bargains about at the mo specially on 2024 spec laptops since Lunar Lake launched.

I have a Samsung Book4 Pro with the Ultra 155H in and it's a good performing chipset in real world use esp in silent modes. In synthetic benchmarks the Ultra 7&9 155H/185H have more grunt than the Lunar Lake but Lunar Lake are great performers esp with the memory architecture.

There are more powerful cpus but the Meteor Lake/Lunar Lake give a great balance of portability vs processing power.

Just remember, if on battery an RTX4060 will either throttle heavily and/or drain the battery pretty quickly. Also be mindful of the wattage of the 4060. Full wattage is c120-140 in gaming laptops. The studio version which is in the MSI you referenced is c60-80 so not great for gaming and not much better than the 4050.

The RTX4050 is lower wattage by default so better for portability and battery life.

I'm not an msi laptop fan as personally not had luck with their reliability and uk warranty support. Mileage may vary of course.

My money would go on an Asus Zephyrus G14 or G16 if you want a balance of both gaming + performance & portability.

ROG strix if you want high performance + gaming or Asus Zenbook S 258V Ultra 7 (for 32gb memory) or Ultra 9 if you want portability albeit that's reliant on the next gen ARC rather than Nvidia Studio.

Curve ball bargain of the day as although an older it's a powerful cpu / gpu combo and a nicely built laptop. #Edit price has gone up since I posted on this is was closer to £1k.

www.overclockers.co.uk

ASUS ROG Strix G16 NVIDIA RTX 4060, 16GB, 16.0" WUXGA 165Hz, Intel i7-13650HX Gaming Laptop

Order ASUS ROG Strix G16 NVIDIA RTX 4060, 16GB, 16.0" WUXGA 165Hz, Intel i7-13650HX Gaming Laptop now online and benefit from fast delivery.
www.overclockers.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk

Total performance bargain at £2k but again price may hike.

www.overclockers.co.uk

ASUS ROG Strix G16 NVIDIA RTX 4080, 16GB, 16.0" QHD+ 240Hz, Intel i9-13980HX Gaming Laptop

Order ASUS ROG Strix G16 NVIDIA RTX 4080, 16GB, 16.0" QHD+ 240Hz, Intel i9-13980HX Gaming Laptop now online and benefit from fast delivery.
www.overclockers.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk
 
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Scrutinize said:
Some real bargains about at the mo specially on 2024 spec laptops since Lunar Lake launched.

Just remember, if on battery an RTX4060 will either throttle heavily and/or drain the battery pretty quickly. Also be mindful of the wattage of the 4060. Full wattage is c120-140 in gaming laptops. The studio version which is in the MSI you referenced is c60-80 so not great for gaming and not much better than the 4050.
Click to expand...
When you say that, are you talking about using it for gaming? I'm not really a gamer. On battery it would be used for general usage, with a little bit of audio and video editing.
 
Just to let everyone know, I decided on the:

MSI Summit E16 AI Studio A1VFTG.​

A balance between high end and cost won the day.
Thanks to everyone for their suggestions, very much appreciated.

I am liking it so far. Fast, quiet, light. Thanks again.
 
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