Question for the computer savy folks

micwalt

micwalt

Too Controversial To Have An Athleisure Line
My son will be going off to college at the end of the month, and I want to get him a new laptop. Unfortunately, I'm an Apple guy while he's a Windows guy, as he does a lot of gaming. What should I be looking for so he can continue to play Steam games/draw with a connected tablet/create music/and of course get his schoolwork done? His current laptop is a five-year-old HP running Windows 10.
Thanks in advance.
 
Current laptop is Intel Core i7, 12 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
 
I fucked off way too much one year in college playing Dark Forces and Super Nintendo. Gaming and college aren’t the best mix.

but if you’re getting a laptop anyway, a gaming machine for under a grand will leave him wanting for better specs.
 
My son has just finished his degree in Computer Games Design. He got through it with his laptop which has GTX 1050 graphics but that was struggling towards the end. Looking at reviews online, getting something with at least a 3060 (preferably the Ti version) is highly recommended if you're going the Nvidia route. The rest follows on from there.
 
micwalt said:
Current laptop is Intel Core i7, 12 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
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With those specs and a 1000 dollar budget, an 'upgrade' doesn't make much sense. Anything you can get will be pretty similar, just a tad newer. For that budget I'd say it makes more sense to get a desktop for his dorm and keep the laptop for lectures etc.
 
micwalt said:
If we can keep it under a grand, that'd be great.
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For that budget? I got nothing! If you're a Costco member, I would recommend looking there.

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My experience is that for business, classes, etc. you want to avoid Dell, HP, etc. because they're filled with bloatware and run slowly. Also, fuck gaming - if he wants a computer for that, let him buy it on his own dime. Buy him something that's optimized for school - not play - and a business-class Lenovo kills it in that category.

I'd stick with Asus, Acer, and particularly Lenovo. Here's one from Lenovo/Costco in your price range ($899 after reduction):

https://www.costco.com/lenovo-slim-7i-14"-touchscreen-intel-evo-platform-laptop---12th-gen-intel-core-i7-1260p---2880-x-1800---windows-11.product.100858365.html
 
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BlockInlay said:
Gaming and college aren’t the best mix.
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That was my initial thought as well. I would think his current i7 laptop would be sufficient for most undergrad college tasks, but if it's 5 yrs old then a replacement is a good idea. What is his major? Most universities will have a recommended computer that they're more than willing to sell through the campus bookstore. The advantage there is that they often come with hardware/software warranty and support through the university. Something both of my daughters used while they were in school.
 
ColourofFire said:
With those specs and a 1000 dollar budget, an 'upgrade' doesn't make much sense. Anything you can get will be pretty similar, just a tad newer. For that budget I'd say it makes more sense to get a desktop for his dorm and keep the laptop for lectures etc.
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This would be my line of thinking but at that budget you're still gonna be in struggle town depending on what games he plays. My son built a gaming/multimedia/music production desktop that will run almost anything at medium to high settings and he dropped $2500 all said. Now, that did include a very nice monitor, keyboard and mouse setup. The rig itself was still about $1800. Ryzen 7, 16GB RAM, Nvidia 2080 ti.
 
I'd say have him keep his current laptop for school work and if he needs something with a bit more power for gaming and other projects, a secondary desktop would be the way to go. Gaming on a laptop is really not very effective whether you view it by cost or performance, so a Ryzen based system (maybe a 3600X) with a 2060 (cheaper but still an upgrade) or a 3060 (newer and a bit more future-proof) is probably your cheapest entry point. Depending on the games your son plays, the M1 Mac Mini might be an option - this video can explain it a bit more, but you can game on a Mac, you just don't always have as many options:

 
It's also worth mentioning that Nvidia has a new line of 40 series cards coming out next year, so gaming on a 2060 for a year or so would be a HUGE upgrade to his current 1050.
 
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