Decent all rounder?

[scott1]

Hi, I'm looking for a new laptop for all round use. Some watching TV, programming, maybe some very light gaming. My budget is £700. I don't plan to use a monitor. I'd like the laptop to last quite a long time (replacing parts is fine). How does this config do for these needs? Also, plan to install Linux, googling the chassis, the first thing that comes up is laptopwithlinux.com, so I think that should be fine.


Chassis & Display
Fusion Pro Series: 14" Matte Full HD sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen™ 7 Eight Core Processor 4800H (2.9GHz, 4.2GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
AMD® Radeon™ RX Vega 7 – 1,600 MHz, 7 Core (with Ryzen 7 4800H)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
AC Adaptor
1 x 90W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
Fusion Series Integrated 46WH Lithium Ion Battery
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.1 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
14" FUSION SERIES SINGLE COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Chassis
TongFang PF4NU1F (R7-4800H, sRGB 100%, Blank KB)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days
Price: £671.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/Fusion-pro-14/5rRPZR!NnK/

 

[scott1]

I don't plan to use a monitor by the way, and if I did it would be a fairly cheap one, since my uses don't really warrant it

 

[Tom_P]

laptops aren't my forte, but for a laptop you generally can't upgrade most of the components - you're usually limited to changing RAM and hard drive but that's about it. On that note, is that why you've gone for 1x16GB rather than 2x8GB? Again, not sure on laptops - but for desktops, 2x8GB is faster as it allows the RAM to work as dual-channel. 2x8GB of RAM is likely a better option for your use - unless you know you're going to be doing something really RAM intensive, I can't see you needing more than 16GB. Faster RAM is generally better as well, in particular for Ryzen CPUs, so the 2666MHz RAM would probably be better for very little cost uplift.

For gaming, the integrated graphics will restrict you to very light gaming - if you want to use it for gaming, would be worth adding in a dedicated GPU, although looks like you need to change chassis completely for that.

The hard drive size is quite restrictive - do you need to download / save large files, films etc.? 512GB won't go far once you have windows and a few games installed (some AAA games are 200GB or so now) - although again if you're using for "light" gaming then may not be an issue - again depends on your use case.

If future upgrades are a priority, then a desktop gives you much more flexibility in that respect - although I guess you have a specific need for a laptop.

Hope that's helpful!

 

[scott1]

Thanks both of you. I'll switch to 2x8gb ram, and probably go for the faster option. By light gaming I mean not very demanding games, e.g. football manager.
I think 512gb of storage should be okay for my needs, I don't plan on keeping loads of games, films etc.
Although I don't have a specific need for it being a laptop, I do enjoy the portability, and will likely utilise it more than I'd utilise the advantages of a desktop

 

[scott1]

The RYZEN 7 CPU seems not to be an option anymore, only the RYZEN 5 4600H. Unsure whether to just go with this or hold on till it's back in stock somewhere

 

[Tom_P]

The 4600H should be fine - they're both on the same architecture, but the 4800H has a couple extra cores (8 core / 12 thread vs 6 core / 12 thread). For your gaming / TV etc. the 6 core is more than enough, and your games will be limited far more by the GPU - only exception I'm aware of would be some big strategy games (e.g. Civilization) and big sims (e.g. Flight SImulator) where the higher core count is useful - but otherwise your GPU is going to be by far the limiting factor. Personally I'm on a 6-core Ryzen 3600XT, and my RTX 2060 Super GPU is the bottleneck for everything I've thrown at it so far.

In terms of your coding use, I'm not sure how that would be affected. If it's light coding then I doubt it would be an issue, and 6 cores would probably be fine. If you want to make it a bit more future-proof then feel free to go for the 8-core, but by the sounds of it I don't think it would make any difference to performance for your use cases.