Notebook for Work and Gaming

[Neatman]

General Questions

Hoping to find a professional looking notebook for work and gaming. I really do not know what is out there these days as my most recent PC purchase was a desktop.

1) What is your budget?

$1500-$2500+ (the better it fits my use case, the more I would be willing to spend)

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

c. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen

 

3) In which country will you buying this notebook?

Canada

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?

a. Like: Sager
b. Dislike: None

 

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?

No

6) What are the primary tasks you will be performing with this notebook?

Work, gaming

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?

Taking to work, on trips.

😎 Will you be playing games on your notebook? (If so, please state which games or types of games?)

Definitely. RPGs, strategy, RTS. I enjoy graphics fidelity, but realize there is a trade-off when it comes to a portable and professional appearing machine.

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?

8+ optimally, but rarely would I not be able to plug in

10) Would you prefer to see the notebook you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?

Don't need to see it.

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Chrome OS, etc.

Windows

12) What ports do you require on your laptop? (ex. MiniDisplayPort or HDMI? Displayport or USB-C w/ DP?)

Optimally HDMI and displayport, but this likely is not key.

Screen Specifics

13) What screen resolution(s) would you prefer? See further below for explanations.

1080p or 1440p. I honestly do not know if 4k is worth it for 13-15" screens. Seems likely it would be too small a screen to notice. I am happy to be educated on this.

14) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen? See further below for explanations.

Optimally matte, but not picky.

Build Quality and Design

15) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

Needs to be something that would not attract too much attention in a professional setting.

Notebook Components

16) How much storage space do you need?

500 GB+

Timing, Warranty and Longevity

17) When do you consider purchasing this laptop?

Prior to July 2023

18) How long do you expect to use this laptop?

3+ years

19) How long could you afford to do without your laptop if it were to fail?

1 mo

20) Would you be willing to pay significantly extra for on-site warranty, or would it be acceptable to you to have to ship the laptop to the vendor for repair with perhaps a week or more outage?

Shipping would be ok

[saturnotaku]

Too bad you're not in the US because in the very near future I'm going to be putting up a 2022 Lenovo Legion 5 for sale that would fit your needs just about perfectly and would be well under your target budget.

[ryan]

since you need battery life and want a professional laptop im assuming you don't want excessively thick with rgb lights lol. It's hard to beat a xps 15 from 2023 it's within your budget and as far as I know one of the only laptops with a discreet gpu that will last over 8 hours on battery, your not interested in refurbished so I recommend the 512gb 3050ti model as it will be able to game just fine at 1080p. I have a 3060 laptop and can basically max every game at 1080p at over 100fps give or take a game. the 3050ti should do a pretty good job, also those xps 15s have some of the nicest screens in the business. if you still have doubts read the review on notebookcheck. here it is:

 

https://www.notebookcheck.net/2022-Dell-XPS-15-9520-3-5K-OLED-laptop-review-Skip-or-buy.621506.0.html

 

got a 90 percent rating overall and to be honest not many laptops score that high on notebookcheck(just to gauge)

 

[Bullit]

Notebookcheck rating is almost irrelevant , they do good reviews but the way they reach the score is bizarre. People really need to read the text there always  and do due diligence.

For example that Dell have only 45w for the 3050 that is a very weak card, the screen is 60hz only too.

I advice the op to buy a laptop with at least a 3060 with 130w TDP. It is possible that a 4050 can be competitive too, 4060 that have 8Gb VRAM even better. Screen at least 300nits 100% sRGB, 144/165hz.