Laptop purchase advice

[Lasse Poulsen]

Greetings good people.

My old laptop has served me well, but with a career change into programming (mostly non-intensive web-design), it's becomming tiresome to have a laptop with a non functioning battery

What I'm looking for in a new system:
- Longivity: I want to purchase a laptop that will bring me joy for atleast 4-5 years.
- Work needs: Nothing special really, website design isn't that intensive.
- Gaming needs: I suppose the most intensive thing I will end up playing any time soon is probably Diablo 4 when that lands. I don't need to play games on ultra, but would like a PC that lets me play whatever I feel like without worrying about it running at a decent performance.
- Screen size: I want/need a 17.3''.

Budget:
Somewhere in the region of the build below - It could cost a tad more if someone wiser than me thinks 32GB Ram is crucial.


Ionico custom build:

Stel & Display
Ionico Serien: 17.3" Mat QHD 165Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1440)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor 10875H (2.3GHz, 5.1GHz Turbo)
Hukommelse (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2933MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Grafikkort
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3060 - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1. M.2 SSD-drev
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (op til 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Termisk pasta
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME KØLEPASTA
Trådløst netværkskort
GIGABIT LAN & TRÅDLØS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2,4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
Muligheder for USB/Thunderbolt
1 x USB 3.2 PORT (Type C) + 3 x USB 3.2 PORTE
Operativsystem
Will be using Linux.
Stel
TongFang GM7MG0P (6GB RTX-3060, i7-10875H, 165Hz QHD, Blank KB)
Byggetid
Pris: kr 13.130,00 inklusive VAT og Levering


& some questions for the pro's:
- Does the spec make sense? I.e. does processor/ram etc. form a solid package or are there obvious bottleneck issues or a component that is overkill compared to the rest?
- Is 16GB ram sufficient, or will I end happier for shelving out for 32GB?
- How important is the MHz for ram? Suppose a "budget" option could be to downgrade ram MHz and up to 32GB.
- What would be benefit of upgrading to a KILLER network card be? Worthwhile?

Defiance vs Ionico:
- Which would you recommend?
Defiance brings 240Hz framerate vs a higher resolution on Ionico. Good argument for one vs the other?
Defiance adds Thunderbolt usb, which I suppose is nice but wouldn't really make a difference most of the time.


I'm very novice in understanding the finer details of computer components, so any advice is very much apprieciated

Friendly regards
Lasse

 

[Laoshu2021]

Hi Lasse,

I will share my opinion and try to address your questions.

What I'm looking for in a new system:
- Longivity: I want to purchase a laptop that will bring me joy for at least 4-5 years.
- Work needs: Nothing special really, website design isn't that intensive.
- Gaming needs: I suppose the most intensive thing I will end up playing any time soon is probably Diablo 4 when that lands. I don't need to play games on ultra, but would like a PC that lets me play whatever I feel like without worrying about it running at a decent performance.
- Screen size: I want/need a 17.3''.

Longevity - you can't predict this but just by glancing the specs of this laptop and reading your requirements I'd say so yes, this laptop will last you a while
Work needs - This laptop seems a too powerful for your work needs.
Gaming needs - The game is not out yet but a quick google search returned these requirements -

• CPU: Intel Core i5-9500 3.0GHz / AMD Ryzen 5 2500X 3.6GHz.
• RAM: 8 GB.
• HDD: 60 GB of storage space.
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 / AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 8GB or.

So this laptop can probably run it on ultra settings just fine.

& some questions for the pro's:
- Does the spec make sense? I.e. does processor/ram etc. form a solid package or are there obvious bottleneck issues or a component that is overkill compared to the rest?
- Is 16GB ram sufficient, or will I end happier for shelving out for 32GB?
- How important is the MHz for ram? Suppose a "budget" option could be to downgrade ram MHz and up to 32GB.
- What would be benefit of upgrading to a KILLER network card be? Worthwhile?

Any specs available on the this sites configurator make sense, obviously certain options more than others.
For what you need this laptop to do 16GB is more than enough.
About the RAM MHz, probably best to google around to find few different explanations. The higher speeds the better of course, but in order for you to see a real difference other than great general performance would be if you are doing some sort of complex operations.

Can't comment on the network card really, someone that has used this one and the "default" ones would be in better position to answer this for you.

Now that I've commented and addressed your post I will share my personal opinion as well.

I honestly think this laptop is too powerful for the purpose you need it. For programming and web-design I would think that you need basic specs laptop that is able to do what you need it to do and I would definitely prefer it to be smaller than 17" and light. You can always plug in a monitor to it and you are good to go. I don't see point in using 17" inch laptop screen as primary screen to do work from and if you have options to choose from I would recommend against this.
I might be exaggerating but for the price of this laptop you can or almost buy a basic light laptop that will satisfy your work needs and build a mid range desktop that can do the things you want it do and because is desktop you will have the option to upgrade a part or two in lets say 3 years instead 5.
If you must go for a laptop then I'd advise going for slightly less powerful one maybe even though your original choice above meets and exceeds your requirements!

 

[PhilHibbs]

You probably won't notice the difference between a Samsung Evo and a cheaper PCS PCIe SSD. That would save you £50. And web development, I'd think 16GB is plenty. You could probably manage ok with 8, but I'd recommend 16.

My current PCSpecialist laptop has lasted me 7.5 years.

 

[solidus1983]

I think the spec you have posted for what you are wanting to do and require it to do is solid.

16GB is a good solid ground and should also be fine (Currently running 16GB myself and i am a avid gamer, running without issues).

The RTX 3060 should handle 1440p fine as well, although in some games your not going to get any where near 165fps however you should be fine all the same.

 

[Lasse Poulsen]

Thanks for the replies, advice & some food for thought

I am absolutely overshooting my current demands by some margin, but I keep thinking back to when I purchased my last laptop 7-8years ago & how happy I have been since for making the same decision back then. But I do appreciate the opinions & will take some more time thinking about what scaling down that might make sense.

Thanks again.