Best Mid-spec laptop

[xande]

Hello, I haven't been following anything in the hardware world for the last several years, what should I be looking for in a mid-size laptop that would be sufficiently powerful for cad in my college courses. Gaming laptops are OK as long as they aren't super gaudy, and hopefully something with decent battery life. Thanks!

 

[sam_86314]

Budget?

If $1000 USD is "mid-spec," then a 2022 ROG Zephyrus G14 would be a great choice. It's one of the nicer-looking gaming laptops.

The one that I have has a Ryzen 9 6900HS (8c16t), 24GB of DDR5 (upgraded from 16GB), a 1TB SSD, and an RX 6700S (identical to a desktop RX 6600 and similar to a desktop GTX 1070 in performance).

Battery life tends to be pretty good with the dGPU disabled, usually around 8 hours of light use. The iGPU also has plenty of power for slightly older games, and I'm sure CAD software would run fine.

If you were to get this laptop, make sure that you get rid of Armoury Crate as soon as possible and use G-Helper instead. That'll help with battery life and overall usability.

 

[xande]

How is the keyboard+ build quality? Looks pretty nice for a rog laptop

 

[sam_86314]

How is the keyboard+ build quality? Looks pretty nice for a rog laptop

I think the keyboard is great. It's one of the better modern laptop keyboards I've used.

The build quality is also excellent. The chassis is all magnesium-alloy save for the plastic display bezel. It weighs about 3 lbs.

As a testament to the build quality, I tripped over something while carrying the laptop open, and it fell maybe 3 feet onto a tile floor. The only damage it sustained was a small dent in the corner, some light scratches on the lid, and a very slight bend to the lid. None of that affects the functionality at all.

 

[tabascosauz]

I think the keyboard is great. It's one of the better modern laptop keyboards I've used.

The build quality is also excellent. The chassis is all magnesium-alloy save for the plastic display bezel. It weighs about 3 lbs.

As a testament to the build quality, I tripped over something while carrying the laptop open, and it fell maybe 3 feet onto a tile floor. The only damage it sustained was a small dent in the corner, some light scratches on the lid, and a very slight bend to the lid. None of that affects the functionality at all.

$1000 seems a bit optimistic for the 6700S G14. Where did you find that price (other than some flash sale)?

Hello, I haven't been following anything in the hardware world for the last several years, what should I be looking for in a mid-size laptop that would be sufficiently powerful for cad in my college courses. Gaming laptops are OK as long as they aren't super gaudy, and hopefully something with decent battery life. Thanks!

I'm guessing CAD generally wants a discrete GPU of some sort. You can find an entry level dGPU in just about anything these days even thin-and-lights, but still generally needs a chunkier form factor to cool it well.

Traditional gaming laptops tend to bring the dGPUs down to a lower price point but are a bit less portable. You can still find a GPU in higher end "normal" laptops (e.g. Inspiron 16 Plus). Otherwise workstation laptops (ThinkPad P) are a good fit but probably priced out of range.

Here's a search filter on notebookcheck, dGPU performance 2060 or better, limited to 1500EUR or less. apparently the link doesn't save the parameters, but it's easy to punch in those limitations into the search engine

Laptop Search

On this page you can search for all known laptop / notebook reviews (external and own reviews).

www.notebookcheck.net

 

[A&P211]

Hello, I haven't been following anything in the hardware world for the last several years, what should I be looking for in a mid-size laptop that would be sufficiently powerful for cad in my college courses. Gaming laptops are OK as long as they aren't super gaudy, and hopefully something with decent battery life. Thanks!

What country do you live in and your budget.

 

[xande]

What country do you live in and your budget.

US up to $1500

 

[A&P211]

US up to $1500

Do you want something new or used.

 

[eidairaman1]

Do you want something new or used.

User would need to look for a sale on last years models if not the used market.

 

[sam_86314]

$1000 seems a bit optimistic for the 6700S G14. Where did you find that price (other than some flash sale)?



I'm guessing CAD generally wants a discrete GPU of some sort. You can find an entry level dGPU in just about anything these days even thin-and-lights, but still generally needs a chunkier form factor to cool it well.

Traditional gaming laptops tend to bring the dGPUs down to a lower price point but are a bit less portable. You can still find a GPU in higher end "normal" laptops (e.g. Inspiron 16 Plus). Otherwise workstation laptops (ThinkPad P) are a good fit but probably priced out of range.

Here's a search filter on notebookcheck, dGPU performance 2060 or better, limited to 1500EUR or less. apparently the link doesn't save the parameters, but it's easy to punch in those limitations into the search engine

Laptop Search

On this page you can search for all known laptop / notebook reviews (external and own reviews).

www.notebookcheck.net

Guess it was a flash sale. They were fluctuating between $900 and $1100 a few months ago, but I guess they're back up to "MSRP".

In any case, here's a deal I found on the G15: same CPU, 15" screen, RTX 3060 8GB instead of a 6700S.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-zephyrus-15-6-wqhd-165hz-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-9-16gb-ddr5-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-3060-512gb-pcie-4-0-ssd-eclipse-gray/6494630.p?skuId=6494630

Or the M16, which is very similar but has a 16:10 screen like the G14. But it has an Intel CPU and a 6GB GPU.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-zephyrus-16-fhd-165hz-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-ddr5-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-3060-512gb-pcie-4-0-ssd-off-black/6494642.p?skuId=6494642

 

[tabascosauz]

Guess it was a flash sale. They were fluctuating between $900 and $1100 a few months ago, but I guess they're back up to "MSRP".

In any case, here's a deal I found on the G15: same CPU, 15" screen, RTX 3060 8GB instead of a 6700S.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-zephyrus-15-6-wqhd-165hz-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-9-16gb-ddr5-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-3060-512gb-pcie-4-0-ssd-eclipse-gray/6494630.p?skuId=6494630

Or the M16, which is very similar but has a 16:10 screen like the G14. But it has an Intel CPU and a 6GB GPU.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-zephyrus-16-fhd-165hz-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-ddr5-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-3060-512gb-pcie-4-0-ssd-off-black/6494642.p?skuId=6494642

Oddly enough, I just pulled the trigger on a G14 with the same spec (6900HS/6700S) after being let down by the other 3 Rembrandt laptops How bright is the FHD screen on that one?

 

[sam_86314]

Oddly enough, I just pulled the trigger on a G14 with the same spec (6900HS/6700S) after being let down by the other 3 Rembrandt laptops How bright is the FHD screen on that one?

Mine has the QHD screen, which gets plenty bright. I usually have it around 60-70% brightness while in a normally lit room. I don't know how the FHD screen is.

 

[tabascosauz]

Mine has the QHD screen, which gets plenty bright. I usually have it around 60-70% brightness while in a normally lit room. I don't know how the FHD screen is.

It was borderline impossible to find reviews on the FHD but according to Reddit anecdotes it is better than the old FHD screen and not far from the QHD in brightness. Which is good enough for me

Who knew, the state of ultrabooks is so sad that I wound my way around to the G14 instead

 

[A&P211]

It was borderline impossible to find reviews on the FHD but according to Reddit anecdotes it is better than the old FHD screen and not far from the QHD in brightness. Which is good enough for me

Who knew, the state of ultrabooks is so sad that I wound my way around to the G14 instead

I had the g14 for 2 weeks then returned it. I do have to say, I loved it but it only had 1 m.2 connection. That and the Asus software was a nightmare. I next had the asus g15 vantage edition with the amd 6800m and 5900hx. I wanted to keep it but the quality control was terrible. Had good battery life, good graphics card and processor with a good igpu. I was able to play older game titles on the igpu for a good 3-4hrs on plane rides.
The quality control really killed it for me, the speakers where getting strange random bass sounds, the track pad also had issues. Lots of people gave it bad reviews on best buy. It seemed to be fixed on later models but I went back to a MSI laptop that I have today.

 

[tabascosauz]

I had the g14 for 2 weeks then returned it. I do have to say, I loved it but it only had 1 m.2 connection. That and the Asus software was a nightmare. I next had the asus g15 vantage edition with the amd 6800m and 5900hx. I wanted to keep it but the quality control was terrible. Had good battery life, good graphics card and processor with a good igpu. I was able to play older game titles on the igpu for a good 3-4hrs on plane rides.
The quality control really killed it for me, the speakers where getting strange random bass sounds, the track pad also had issues. Lots of people gave it bad reviews on best buy. It seemed to be fixed on later models but I went back to a MSI laptop that I have today.

Isn't single M.2 the norm for, like, pretty much every 13" and 14" laptop out there? I get that it's not an "ultraportable" like Asus says it is, but G14 isn't exactly a desktop replacement. Hell, even the Clevo 14" that had dual SO-DIMMs only had a single M.2.

Maybe I'm wrong but my impression ever since they debuted years ago is that Asus 15" gaming products seem to be really cheaply made and not on the level of the G14. Hence I never regarded them with any interest plus 14" is as big as I go.

 

[Fizban]

I'd recommend the HP Omen from Microcenter. It's shippable, you don't need to live locally to one.

i7-12700H, RTX 3070 Ti, 16 GB DDR5 @ 4800, 512 GB SSD, 165 Hz 1440P IPS
$1,199

It's one of the best bang for buck options I've seen.

https://www.microcenter.com/product/663175/hp-omen-17-ck1020nr-173-gaming-laptop-computer-black

 

[A&P211]

Isn't single M.2 the norm for, like, pretty much every 13" and 14" laptop out there? I get that it's not an "ultraportable" like Asus says it is, but G14 isn't exactly a desktop replacement. Hell, even the Clevo 14" that had dual SO-DIMMs only had a single M.2.

Maybe I'm wrong but my impression ever since they debuted years ago is that Asus 15" gaming products seem to be really cheaply made and not on the level of the G14. Hence I never regarded them with any interest plus 14" is as big as I go.

The last sub 14in laptop I had, and not on a trial bases, was the eurocom m4 13.3in laptop in 2015.
It had 2 msata and 1 sata connection.