I recently broke my Lenovo laptop that I’ve had for 5 years and that thing sucked. I’m just looking for a solid reliable laptop that I can watch YouTube videos and 1080p without lagging 😂. I mostly used it for some school and work but mostly just watching movies and videos no game for anything. I would also like if it looked decent and had a “comfortable” keyboard if that make sense. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

• Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US:

1000$

• Are you open to refurbs/used?

Preferably not unless the company has a good track records

• How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?

Performance battery life

• How important is weight and thinness to you?

I like seamless screens and like light weight

• Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.

N/A

• Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.

No

• If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?

-fill here, remove dashes-

• Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?

All of the above except good input devices

• Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.

Reliability is my biggest thing I’m looking for

I just need a laptop that can do basic stuff like zoom calls, and just accessing websites anf Microsoft office and to not be stupidly slow.

The cheaper the better I don’t care if it looks stupid or whatever

How would you rank the major laptop brands (Apple, Dell, HP, ASUS, Acer, Samsung, MSI, Lenovo, etc) from best to worst in terms of overall quality, reliability, and longevity of their products.

The Surface Pro 3 struggles to meet some basic daily study requirements. I’m looking for a device that:

• Uses Windows

• Doesn’t need gaming-level specs but can handle several programs at once (e.g., Spotify, Anki, Chrome, Notion, Photoshop)

• Ideally costs under €1000

I’m not very tech-savvy, but I don't think I need top-tier graphics. Perhaps it's more about RAM though I'm open to suggestions!

Hello everyone! Figured that I have some time and it’s time to write an update to https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/17ykkmu/a_not_so_short_laptop_purchasing_guide/ as it’s been over a year meaning that some changes have occured since.

First – who is this guide for?

Answer is – non-professionals. Hobbyists, beginner indie developers, students etc. I will also be assuming that you need a laptop. As in – an all rounder device you can bring with you everyday. If that’s not the case and you are in the market for a desktop replacement – look elsewhere. Same if you need 5+ laptops for your whole studio – in which case I would look at Dell Precision or equivalents with next day business warranty.

Let’s look at some laptops then. This time around I will be going from the cheapest to most expensive new laptops. As I am writing this – it’s January 1st, 2025 so prices might have shifted a bit since if you are viewing it at a later date.

1. $300 - HP EliteBook 840 G8 - https://www.newegg.com/hp-840-g8-14-0-intel-core-i5-1145g7-16gb-intel-iris-xe-graphics-256-gb/p/N82E16834841920

CPU performance: 100%

GPU performance: 100%

Let’s start our list with this $300 laptop. It’s an older device which positively affects the total price tag. It’s not a powerhouse but it offers a decent screen, good keyboard and an okay iGPU. In terms of pure performance – it can handle Witcher 3 level visuals (at low settings and like 720p however). Meaning that it’s honestly a decent pick for lighter 2D games using Unity or Godot… but don’t try to use it for Unreal 5. It does not have dedicated video card but it does have Thunderbolt 4 port meaning it’s possible to add one later (although it will cost more than this whole notebook).

Overall it’s a solid pick for it’s price if your budget is low.

2. $550 - Acer Laptop Aspire 5 Intel Core i7-1355U - https://www.newegg.com/acer-a515-58m-78jl-15-6-intel-core-i7-1355u-16gb-intel-iris-xe-graphics-512-gb-pcie/p/N82E16834360267?Item=N82E16834360267

CPU performance: 170% (multi core), 132% (single core)

GPU performance: 132%.

Our next stop is Acer Aspire 5. For the biggest part it fits the same niche as HP EliteBook – no GPU, light & portable device. Primary difference is that it’s much newer and offers 512GB storage rather than 256GB – a huge difference considering that game dev is quite storage heavy (a 10GB finished game can be a 100 when developing it). We have also moved from 4 cores to 10 and our iGPU is also a fair bit faster (somewhat comparable to Steam Deck). So overall – still mostly usable for 2D games / simpler 3D but it will offer a smoother, more reliable experience.

3. $800 - MSI Cyborg Gaming Laptop - https://www.newegg.com/p/34-156-692

CPU performance: 307% (multi core), 126% (single core)

GPU performance: 706%

I am generally speaking not a huge fan of gaming laptops. They don’t like being moved around too much often, they rarely have good screens, battery life is lackluster and general build quality leaves a lot to be desired. What they do offer in exchange however is (sometimes) a very good price. This is one such example - $800 gets us a laptop with effectively up to date components. We get Core Ultra 7 155h, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD and an RTX 4050.

This is the first truly 3D game dev capable laptop on our list. It runs latest games at smooth play rates, there is raytracing + CUDA available (something you will come to appreciate both in Photoshop and Blender). It still falls short of Unreal Engine 5 recommended requirements (we need more RAM) but if all you have is $800 it makes for a very enticing option overall. It's biggest caveat is a disappointing screen - you will need to buy a separate one for color accurate work as it doesn't even cover sRGB in full.

4. $1240 - HP Envy 16" Touchscreen - https://www.newegg.com/p/1TS-000D-1M7C5?Item=9SIBPMFK9P3248

CPU performance: 318% (multi core), 135% (single core)

GPU performance: 872%

$1240 looks like a sweatspot when it comes to laptop’s capabilities to it’s price right now. HP Envy is a prosumer tier device when it comes to build quality. This one comes equipped with Core i7-13700H, 32GB RAM, RTX 4060 and a 2560x1600 touchscreen. There's a lot to like about this device.

It's also first laptop on our list that can properly run Unreal Engine without running out of memory instantly and that honestly would meet most studios requirements. It can run newest games well meaning it can also be used to make visually demanding titles. And for the first time there’s also a display good enough to work on color accurate tasks (say, marketing materials for your game).

5. $1970 - Lenovo Legion Pro 5 Premium - https://www.newegg.com/p/1TS-000E-1BK65

CPU performance: 522% (multi core), 153 (single core)

GPU performance: 1020%

And finally, a solid contender in $2000 budget. A significant price increase over the previous one but… frankly that’s what it takes to be really worth it, $1500-1600 is pretty much the same parts as a $1200. This laptop is still technically gaming oriented but unlike 2-3 years ago it’s actually decently built. We also get pretty much as good specs as you can in a laptop – 14700HX, 64GB RAM, 2TB SSD and a mobile RTX 4070.

6. $2000 - MSI Stealth 16 AI Studio - https://www.newegg.com/msi-stealth-16-ai-studio-a1vhg-027us-16-0-intel-core-ultra-9-185h-64gb-geforce-rtx-4080-1tb-pcie/p/N82E16834156601?Item=N82E16834156601

CPU performance: 375% (multi core), 138% (single core)

GPU performance: 1320%

An alternative to the Lenovo Legion. It's a thinner and lighter design compared to it but it also comes with a mobile RTX 4080 (which is slightly power limited but still significantly more powerful than RTX 4070). It weighs just under 2kg, offers best display in it's class by far (4k miniLED with HDR1000 support meaning it can also be used to produce HDR content) and comes with 1TB of storage that can be expanded (there is an extra slot inside). CPU is a bit less powerful than in the previous option but in exchange it's more power efficient at idle.

Personally I would NOT spend more than this on a laptop at this point in time. This may change by the end of Q1 2025 once RTX 5000 series GPUs are out – they are going to be stupidly expensive on release but they also might offer 40-50% higher performance at similar power draw.

Still, heres an alternative in case you want something smaller but similarly performant, might come in handy if you like walking around with your laptop:

7. $2200-2500 – Asus Rog Zephyrus G14 / Razer Blade 14 / HP Omen 14 - https://www.newegg.com/white-asus-rog-zephyrus-g14-ga403ui-gaming-entertainment/p/2WC-000N-0EHN0 / https://www.razer.com/gaming-laptops/Razer-Blade-14/RZ09-0508VED3-R3U1 / https://www.newegg.com/p/2WC-0001-05808

3 very similar laptops, all at 14”, all with RTX 4060-4070. Generally speaking – Razer Blade 14 is overall fastest, you can expand RAM in it and comes with an IPS panel. Zephyrus and Omen come with OLED and soldered RAM. So it's a bit of personal decision on what you do prefer. Here's a review of Zephyrus and Blade if you can't decide:

https://youtu.be/gbxGWjQsws8

Q: What about business laptops like Dell XPS? You recommended them last year.

Yes, last year. Latest generation of Dell XPS sadly disappoints, a lot. There is a significantly worse keyboard (entire top row replaced by a touchbar), they are extremely power throttled and prices are utterly insane. I can’t recommend a $3600 laptop with a power throttled RTX 4060 (and not by just a bit, we are talking scores 30% below other similarly equipped laptops) and 32GB RAM. In general gaming and creator grade laptops are a bit better now whereas business grade has ventured into the land of insanity price wise.

Q: What about Macbooks?

Macbooks got a lot better at the end of last year – Apple has finally moved to 16GB RAM in a minimum configuration and 24GB for a Pro, a VERY welcome change.

If you are planning to make games for iOS or MacOS – you don’t have a choice, you need a Mac (although rather than going full Macbook you might consider a base spec Mac Mini, it offers a very good value for it's price overall). But if that’s not your goal – stick with Windows. While better than before Macs still make up a very small part of the game market.

If you are determined to get one anyway - personally I would be looking at 14” M4 Pro variant (24GB RAM, M4 Pro CPU, possibly with RAM expansion to 48GB if you want to play around with some AI or larger 3D scenes). It’s a good laptop – screen is excellent, single threaded performance is on par with top of the line Windows machines… only GPU could be a bit better (this $2000 Macbook is still only as good as $800 Windows laptop in this regard). At this point biggest blocker is software, not hardware.

Q: What about Windows ARM laptops, with Snapdragon?

Stay away from them. Let others be beta testers. There is a long list of applications that currently do not work and in programming world you sometimes will be looking for obscure tools. Not to mention that GPU performance wise we are talking iGPU tier and frankly you need more than that for more complex projects. What these laptops have going for it is good battery life but... if that's what you want there are either Macbooks or a plethora of Intel Lunar Lake (200 series) laptops, they also can keep going for an entire day.

I was thinking macbook but have heard mixed reviews for the durability of the newer models. If you have one and would recommend could you please lmk which model you have?

I would love to have one for the longer term (5yrs or so+) - and happy to pay more for the quality!

I'm trying to find myself the best laptop with a budget of around 1500 but it's a bit too much. There seems to be so many different options and brands that it can be hard finding a laptop that I can keep using confidently for the next years to come.

I have thought about getting the new Samsung galaxybook 5 pro but people seem to have a lot of colorful opinions of it. Is it any good? Probably. But I want most value for my money. Some people recommend the Macbook M4 air witch seems to be a really good machine, although I am slighty conserned by the fact that I don't own any other apple products. I have a Samsung phone and am also thinking of upgrading my phone to a newer model. I won't be using the laptop for gaming but I will be using it for webdesign, school and work and for watching movies. I would like a good webcam too although an external webcam could do the job too but I fon't want to carry around extra stuff.

With these things in mind should I buy the Galaxybook 5 pro for the ecosystem? I also see many people talking about other laptops such as the Asus Zenbook 14 or the Dell XPS.

Could you good people of reddit recommend me the best laptops for 2025?

USA. I've had a Dell Inspiron 15 5000 series for over 7 years and it's been perfect for casual home use. I just use it for surfing the internet and youtube/video streaming. No heavy software programs or gaming. I'd love something under $500 with a 16"/17" screen, at least 16GB ram, and 512G SSD storage is plenty. Open to other brands, its just that my Dell was so reliable. Not opposed to used/refurbished laptops either. Thanks in advance!

LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE

• Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US:

<$600

• Are you open to refurbs/used?

Yes

• How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?

Performance and build quality

• How important is weight and thinness to you?

Not important

• Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.

At least 16"

• Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.

No

• If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?

No

• Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?

HDMI, multiple USBs

• Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.

I just want a laptop that's going to be fairly good at whatever I use it for. Nothing too fancy. Something quality that's going to last a good few years

I've had two XPS, and they've both had power port problems. I am ready to start the new year with a laptop that works. Had Apples back in a different life. If you search for "Best Laptop" lists they are compromised by sponsors... Lenovo, Hp, Dell are usually on the lists. So I come to reddit and its expert-users: what is the best laptop not only for 2024 but for the future. I am skeptical of the "A.I. ready" stuff. Snapdragon? Also, what ports are important... different reviews have contradictory advice. I await your wisdom(s).

Does anyone have any good recommendations on laptops for casual use? I used to have a Dell Inspiron (not sure what model pretty sure it’s discontinued ) and it ran for quite a few years but it stopped working around four or five years ago so I haven’t had a laptop in a good while. I’m in no way a computer expert, I’m not in school, I would like something with a good battery run time and possibly good performance. I will probably only use it for Netflix, Social Media and writing stories.

I was looking into a Microsoft Surface but wanted some advice. My budget is around $600-700.Any helpful suggestions?

Looking to spend as little as possible, under $1,000 but under $500 would be preferred.

Prefer something new.

We’re not attached to any brand or any specific style.

Don’t really care what it looks like or feels like.

Indifferent on size but at least 15 inches preferably.

Need to be able to run Microsoft programs and the stupid cricut brand program. Hope to have a different style cutting program in the future.

Doesn’t necessarily need to be a gaming device/ don’t plan to game. I don’t have any idea about what size rams/gigs/etc would be optimal.

Need to have an option for a keyboard, don’t care how that’s accomplished if it’s with an attached or Bluetooth type. Attachable mouse option, again usb or Bluetooth comparable.

We’re not terribly invested in a computer system, don’t care about brand, but need something reliable and will last more than 5 years. Other things, we’re based in the US, have access to all major retailer’s, have access to Costco and Sam’s club, ok with tablet or laptop and don’t necessarily need technical support related to the computer.

I have been saving up and can afford any computer I want but know nothing about computers, I need help figuring it out what to get. I need something that can handle large xlsx and coding files, that can be connected to a monitor for 10+ hours without overheating, that runs on a windows 11 software and that has an ok battery life with a nice keyboard for when I am not on my monitor. I am currently thinking about the Windows Surface 7 but wanted to ask the community as I don't know what I am doing. PLEASE HELP ME :).