New laptop specs suggestions

[Lenny]

Hi Brian

Sorry for yet another, is this laptop ok question. 

I'm looking through the laptops available in Australia so far this year, that seem to meet the specs that you have suggested in other posts.  I've narrowed down to a few options that I think seem ok, but would like to get your opinion as to if I'm correct that each of these would be a satisfactory option, and which of those options you'd choose? (if that was what you were choosing from) 

PREDATOR HELIOS 300 | Gaming Laptop | Acer Australia - I believe that I can upgrade the HD to 32 and the memory to 2tb on this after purchase

ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 14" VR Ready 120Hz FHD Gaming Laptop, 8Core AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS(Beat i7-10750H), 16GB RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD, Backlight, Wi-Fi 6, USB C, NVIDIA GeForce RTX2060 Max-Q, Win10 (Moonlight White): Laptops: Amazon.com.au

Buy Asus TUF 15.6-inch R7-4800H/32GB/1TB SSD/GTX1660Ti Gaming Laptop | Harvey Norman AU 

I believe with both the ASUS that memory and HD could be upgraded if needed, and that the battery is replaceable.  Not sure if the battery is replaceable in the Predator.  

I was also looking at this monitor to connect the laptop to - https://www.umart.com.au/Dell-27in-QHD-IPS-USB-3-0-Monitor-U2719D_49245G.html?gclid=CjwKCAiAu8SABhAxEiwAsodSZPNS9XwqHWpawerEuk13ftfQimM2XN4Kp1vjsq_5n329906s6NRPcBoCO0IQAvD_BwE

I appreciate any thoughts you may have on these options

[Brian]

I'm not a fan of Acer Laptops. They don't hold up over time and tend to fall apart if you move them around a lot.

The problem with a lot of gaming laptops, is the lack of a IPS-Based Display Panel. That Zephrus has lots of fancy marketing graphics, but no mention of IPS, so I'd pass on that one.

That said, the Asus TUF has a IPS Display, so I'd get that one out of the three:

See what I mean that the manufacturers will point it out if it's installed? IPS displays on laptops are tough to find, and I wouldn't let this one slip through your fingers. Of course, you could get an external display, like the U2719 that you linked to, and that would work pretty well. Just make sure you get a HDMI 2.0 cable to hook up the display to your laptop. Well as far as the Asus TUF that you linked to goes.

[Damien Symonds]

I have an Asus TUF laptop, and its screen is really really good.  <-- my two cents

[Lenny]

Thanks for your helpful response @Brian and @Damien Symonds gives a nice vote of confidence that you have an Asus TUF Damien.  

Sorry I didn't reply sooner, have been offline the past couple of days. 

I was instore today to buy the Asus TUF, when a friend who works in tech, who I'd messaged to ask to help me clone across to the new laptop phoned me and said to stay away from the AMD processor, as they are prone to problems / not as reliable as intel.  I know they have been around for less time.  I've searched on-line and did find quite a few threads complaining of problems with AMD processors, including working with windows, and one with some photoshop issues Photoshop "export as" problems with Ryzen CPUs? - AMD Community 

But I also found some reviews of the AMD Ryzen 7 4800H processor  vs Intel where the AMD seemed to out perform Intel. 

So, I was hoping to get your input on the AMD vs Intel issue as well, so I can make a more informed choice, and get this done, so I can make my  way through Damien's classes this year  

I have searched further and found the following two laptop options with Intel chips, that also seem to have specs that might be suitable, if it is safest / best to stay with Intel

 https://www.lenovo.com/au/en/laptops/legion-laptops/lenovo-legion-y-series/Lenovo-Legion-Y540-15/p/88GMY501214 - I believe that I can add another SSD and upgrade the HD after purchase on this.

Inspiron 14 7400 Laptop (dell.com) - not sure if the video card in this is good enough?  I think the processor might actually be better? and also the screen? 

Sorry for all the questions, but  your advice is really helpful. 

 

[Brian]

AMD has been kicking Intel's butt in their desktop line, but historically, Intel Chips in laptops seem to perform better when it comes to battery life. Intel has always been "better" in this regard to power management and laptops; they have it figured out.

I've recommended that Lenovo Y540 in the past, it's a decent laptop. Sure the Dell Inspiron also checks most of the boxes, but between the two, I'd go with the Lenovo.