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If you're looking at anything Dell right now, there are a bunch of stackable promos for dell.com orders out there at the moment. They have some built in discounts on 2023 XPS machines and others, 10% off first purchase coupons, rakuten is offering 10% cashback on dell (plus whatever promos if you haven't used it before), AMEX has $120 off $599 dell and some other deals on various cards I think, and chase has a 5% off dell purchase offer as well. YMMV depending on which you have access to, i knocked about $1500 off a XPS 17 listed price - half of that is probably of the you can always get it discount variety, but hey.
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Mar 1, 2024 19:11
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XPS's are nice machines, I rarely recommend them because they typically are overpriced for consumers but when they have these deals on them they are definitely worthwhile. Alienware too, if that qualifies, their laptops usually have lovely battery life but are top-tier "Laptop that always lives on a desk" kind of laptops. Latitudes blow, you'd need to get them for dirt cheap to be worth while. The G "Gamer series" is also not great, but if you can get them cheaper than the MSI equivalent then maybe worth taking a look. I might still prefer a decent MSI even if it cost more.
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Mar 1, 2024 22:08
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Hadlock posted:I haven't had to gently caress around with grub since like the early 2000s except when dual booting windows code:
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Mar 2, 2024 00:34
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Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Gen 8 – 14’’ with OLED Display (14APH8) CPU: Ryzen 7 7840HS GPU: RTX 4060 RAM: 32GB DDR5 @ 6400MHz Disclaimer: Not even remotely a professional review just some shmuck giving his impressions. Summary: An understated gem with excellent day-to-day performance, above expectation gaming capabilities and surprisingly long legs off AC power. All for around $1400. Normal Use: It’s good, very good! I don’t do any intensive rendering, or compiling so YMMV. Graphical/Gaming: Everything I typically play runs great, getting above 60FPS at 1800p (Native OLED res) at medium/high settings. Lowering the resolution to 1080p easily pushes FPS past 100 with 1% lows around 85-100. Obviously, performance is also dependent on how well each game is optimized and specific settings in each game. The 8GB of VRAM is definitely the Achilles heel of this GPU and you will see it hitting that VRAM limit at resolutions above 1080/1200p. Although as an aside it really puts into perspective how awful a value the 4070 is. Games I played: Age of Empires 4, Age of Wonders 4, Baldur’s Gate 3, Last Epoch, Balatro (lol), Conan Exiles Display: The OLED is sharp and incredibly bright, Lenovo’s documentation says its 400 nits max but it seems much brighter than that. Whatever fidelity you might lose lowering settings in some games feels lessened by the OLED panel. The native resolution is 2880 x 1800 which feels good to me personally, the physical screen is 14.5’’ diagonally and is just so crisp and easy on the eyes. Battery Life: It is billed as a gaming laptop and the 4060 at max usage will be pulling 105W TGP when set on performance mode. You’ll be lucky to get more than 2 hours if you’re playing a graphically intense game. But this is essentially true for all gaming laptops. However for non-gaming workloads the battery life surprisingly good. Using my daily drivers such as Firefox, Affinity Photo and Word/Excel I was easily getting 6-6.5 hours on a 75% charge with brightness at around 60%. Odds and Ends: The keyboard is a nice size and has a satisfying tacky-ness to it, no num pad but it’s a 14’’ device so it kind of goes with the territory. Good selection of ports including a USB-PD port that can accept up to 140w and multiple USB 3.2 Gen2 ports. Audio is fine, definitely ok for what it is. It’s your standard Realtek chip which sadly no longer comes with that handy little EQ control panel. Lenovo unlike ASUS doesn’t rat gently caress you if you decide to format the drive. Drivers get pulled via Windows update and the tuning software Lenovo Vantage is compact and lightweight. Rear ports are lit.  
99pct of germs fucked around with this message at 16:43 on Mar 2, 2024 |
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Mar 2, 2024 16:40
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Nice! How warm does it get gaming vs just dabbling around? That 2nd picture sorta looks like it has a 3:2 ratio screen which made me double take.
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Mar 2, 2024 16:47
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According to HWInfo the idle (CPU/GPU) average is 34.2C / 30.1C. Under regular non-gaming use it gets up around 37C-40C on the CPU, the built in iGPU carries that load so the dGPU is usually only pulling 2-3 watts. I truthfully keep forgetting to check when I'm playing something, but using the built in Nvidia monitor the GPU was reporting 63C. I'll report back later when I get some better numbers. It does a pretty good job keeping itself cool, and I haven't even explored under-volting.
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Mar 2, 2024 20:56
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Was more interested in comfort honestly. Does it feel uncomfortably hot or does it do a good job keeping the heat away from the user?
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Mar 2, 2024 21:07
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Oh yeah definitely, even after an hour in a GPU intensive application the bottom felt surprisingly cool with only the keys directly above the CPU/GPU feeling noticeably warmer. But at no point is it ever uncomfortable.
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Mar 3, 2024 15:02
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Old thinkpad trip report: it arrived with the charger and looked brand new. Threw Fedora on it, set up powertop with Linux sleep and it’s pushing my iPad back to a media device. The build quality on this thing is insane. It was refreshing to have a non Apple hardware device live up to a reputation of quality. The weight is awesome too. My old laptop was a 15” ROG Strix so it didn’t really provide a portable experience. I forgot how nice it is to have a full-os device with good battery life and a form factor and heat profile that means you can actually use it as something you can carry along. I kinda want to buy another one for my wife.
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Mar 4, 2024 03:42
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I would like to buy a small laptop for light computing. It'll be for light data entry, writing, and consuming both ebooks and video. I already have a good desktop for gaming, but I'd like to free myself from my desk. There's times when it'd be useful to have a PC at the kitchen table, sofa, and bed. Cheap n100-based laptops have caught my eye. The users Twerk from Home and mobby_6kl, posted about these around page 1085, but I'm wondering if anyone else has any experience or alternatives. Whatever I get, I'd like to put Linux on it. I have found myself on numerous business trips where using my phone hasn't scratched the itch for what I wanted to do and I don't want to have to carry around two laptops. The Chuwi Minibook X N100 https://store.chuwi.com/products/minibook-x-2024 is the one I've got my eye on. I'd also like to stay away from Android. It's unfortunate that there don't seem to be any cheap arm-based PC tablet offerings available which support Linux. I read that the Xiaomi Pad 5 can be hacked to install Linux, but driver support is lacking. I looked into Pine64's offerings, but I've read that they are very slow. I'd also rather not get an Apple m1 or iPad, because I don't want to go back to the Apple ecosystem. While Asahi Linux is a potential option, but I'm not in the USA, so Apple products are holding their resale value even higher. This also rules out Chromebooks because they are not readily available in my region. Basically, Taobao and Aliexpress I realize these are very opinionated requirements. Price is a very large factor. Ultimately, I don't want to buy something overpowered which won't get used.
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Mar 10, 2024 14:09
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I hope someone has suggestions because I haven't seen anything new in this segment sadly. In the meantime I can give you an update on my Minibook, which is the older N5100 version. Still works after multiple backpacking trips, working on the beaches etc. It's held up fine, there's some wear on the painted plastic parts and keycaps are super smooth but generally everything is still good. Since then I got myself an N100 mini pc and it's night and day faster. While the old one was just barely ok, the N100 is easily fast enough for any use case you might have for a 10" laptop. I'm not an ARM understander but I think it's going to be massively faster than the Pinebook too. It should be more efficient as well (than N5100) which is good because the battery life on the old one isn't great - maybe 4 hours just reading PDFs or books, less with browsing. People report better results with the new one, though the battery is still small. Something to keep in mind of course is that it's a $300 laptop from Aliexpress with no local support. I had two interactions with Chuwi support. First I wasn't happy with the stylus performance (not an issue on the N100 version as it doesn't support pens at all). They suggested reinstalling drivers and Windows but that didn't do anything of course, and I had to DIY it by finding the tooling for the touchscreen controller and flashing the new configuration files myself. Then after about 1.5 years some keys on the keyboard stopped working. Can't blame Chuwi for certain here as I've been messing with the laptop, trying to hack in an active cooling solution, running it in the winter outside to see how the passive cooling works, etc. I reached out by email and they sent me a new keyboard with top cover for like $40 which seems pretty fair, and I replaced it myself in 20 minutes. There's a thread for linux stuff on their forum: https://forum.chuwi.com/t/linux-distro-on-minibook-x/31874/67 If you can go for a larger size, like the 11.6" Pine64 thing, there are probably a few more options including used ThinkPads Xsomething.
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Mar 10, 2024 21:10
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mobby_6kl posted:I hope someone has suggestions because I haven't seen anything new in this segment sadly. As far as repai/support - that sounds about par for the course; these Chinese manufacturers are eating western brands' lunch. For the price, I'm okay with things being a bit more DIY. Thank you for the thread on linux. I'll take a look at the release timelines to see if there are any 13th or 14th gen laptops coming down out soon.
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Mar 11, 2024 05:45
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I’ve got this rascal: https://www.newegg.com/eclipse-gray-asus-rog-strix-g16-g614ji-xs96-gaming/p/N82E16834236376 When I play BG3 the fan goes hyper drive like the laptop is getting ready for takeoff. The armoury crate software shows the fan going to 3500 rpm’s and the internal temp going to mid 70s. Is that normal? I don’t think my laptop has made that much noise or needed that much fan for any other game… the software of BG3 runs smooth At ultra graphics but the fan noise and temp seems a bit much. But when I turn the graphics down, the fam intensity nor internal temp have any change…
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Mar 11, 2024 07:25
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Any kind of heavy software will just spin non-mac laptop fans up to max, especially games. They use too many watts for laptops to reasonably dissipate without being loud. Since it's an ASUS, I think you can use create a custom fan curve with armory crate or https://github.com/seerge/g-helper. But expect a lot of performance throttling and possibly reduced lifespan. edit: I didn't read your post carefully enough. If it's louder with BG3, maybe set the FPS limiter to 60. MeruFM fucked around with this message at 07:39 on Mar 11, 2024 |
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Mar 11, 2024 07:36
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Ornery and Hornery posted:I’ve got this rascal: https://www.newegg.com/eclipse-gray-asus-rog-strix-g16-g614ji-xs96-gaming/p/N82E16834236376 Fan's doing great if mid-70s is as high as it goes. The ROG I had would run in the low 90s pretty routinely.
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Mar 11, 2024 14:47
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That temp is fine, Strix are loud and an i9/4070 is a hot combo so an aggressive fan curve is expected. BG3 is the kind of title that can run well on reasonably low power but also suck up every bit of processing for frames and features. I agree that a FPS limit may help more than turning down features (low settings and 240 fps is still a lot of processing power). Something like a limit of 120 or maybe even 80 would still play great for a game like BG3. I'd also look at setting your fan curve differently. You can probably tell it not to go full jet engine until closer to 85C or so and be ok.
Lockback fucked around with this message at 16:11 on Mar 11, 2024 |
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Mar 11, 2024 16:04
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politicorific posted:Thank you! I also appreciate the mini pc feedback. Oh forgot that I also saw this even more obscure thing: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006468924720.html although IMO 8" is getting a bit silly as the keyboard gets more cramped. It does have stylus support though. they also make 2-screen laptops with the N100 now  https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006468827615.html
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Mar 11, 2024 16:09
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edit: Actually found some good deals on ebay for genuine Lenovo chargers. The model number is a single letter different from mine (ADL170SDC3A) while the one listed is (ADL170SCC3A). It looks to be virtually identical, so I think I'll just snag one of these. 99pct of germs fucked around with this message at 17:13 on Mar 13, 2024 |
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Mar 13, 2024 16:35
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I’ve had a 13 inch XPS with an i7 since 2018 as my daily driver. I love this thing but I didn’t realize the RAM was soldered in so I’m stuck with 8gb and it’s just not enough anymore. OneDrive makes the fans go nuts when nothing else is even running. I’m doing dev work now and want to play the occasional game. I also work from home and have a desk with wheels that I roll around the house so I can follow the sun. I was planning on getting a desktop for gaming/to use as a server, but that wouldn’t work too well with my desk situation. I don’t really want a laptop with a dGPU because I wouldn’t need it all the time. So I’ve been thinking about getting an external GPU enclosure and hooking it up whenever I feel like playing. Does anyone have any experience using a laptop with an external GPU?
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Mar 13, 2024 17:07
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Wii Spawn Camper posted:I’ve had a 13 inch XPS with an i7 since 2018 as my daily driver. I love this thing but I didn’t realize the RAM was soldered in so I’m stuck with 8gb and it’s just not enough anymore. OneDrive makes the fans go nuts when nothing else is even running. Have you considered an AMD 7040 or 8040? They run cooler and have about a the same performance as a GTX 1060 which might be enough for occasional gaming depending on what games you play.
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Mar 13, 2024 17:40
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Mantle posted:Have you considered an AMD 7040 or 8040? They run cooler and have about a the same performance as a GTX 1060 which might be enough for occasional gaming depending on what games you play. I’ve been eyeballing the XPS 14 which only comes with an Intel Core Ultra 7. Adding a dGPU is an extra $400, but I already have a 960 laying around which is fine for playing Doom Eternal, which is the most graphically intensive game I play (I currently use it with an i5-2500k which is from Obama’s first term and it’s fine). That’s why I’m thinking about the GPU enclosure. ETA: not opposed to AMD, just prefer intel but upthread there’s some posts about AMD being more efficient and cooler so I’m open to options. Also I got a tablet last year and love the form factor so thinking about 2-in-1s as well.
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Mar 13, 2024 18:24
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I wouldn't be surprised if the integrated AMD 780m and new Arc igpus outperformed that 960. Also, AMD is Real Good now. Especially in the mobile space. The Zen architecture is very fast and scales great at different power levels. In multithreaded tasks they're more than capable of matching or beating Intel chips and consume less power doing so. Mental Hospitality fucked around with this message at 18:38 on Mar 13, 2024 |
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Mar 13, 2024 18:35
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Yeah, I can’t tell which is the worse bottleneck, the CPU or GPU. Probably the CPU. I really love the build quality of the XPS and want to replace it with something on the same level, I know it will cost a little more but it’s worth it to me when it’s something I literally have used every day for the past 6 years. The extra hundred or whatever I spent is long forgotten, but I think about how great the laptop feels every time I pick it up.
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Mar 13, 2024 18:42
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External GPUs work, but you'll be spending more money for lower performance, some compatibility/connector issues, and an extra Thing that needs to be lugged around. In general I think they make sense in a pretty narrow use case. The AMD suggestion is because their iGPUs are really pretty decent, but that entirely depends on what kind of games you're looking at playing.
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Mar 13, 2024 18:45
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Lockback posted:External GPUs work, but you'll be spending more money for lower performance, some compatibility/connector issues, and an extra Thing that needs to be lugged around. In general I think they make sense in a pretty narrow use case. I won’t be gaming outside the house, so my thought is that I won’t be lugging around a GPU that I don’t need except for 1% of the time. I’m looking at the Lenovo Legion 14 inch now but they don’t have the Ryzen 9 with 32 gb of RAM still, take my money drat it!
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Mar 13, 2024 18:53
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eGPU is fine as long as you're not chasing overclock bench marks or whatever In other news I bought my first 240w rated USB-C cable off Amazon. Not especially notable, but there's always a lag between when the technology goes GA and when you can actually buy products and have them delivered
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Mar 13, 2024 18:54
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The Radeon 780m is on par with the GTX 1650, seriously impressive stuff for an integrated GPU.
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Mar 13, 2024 19:09
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Lord Ludikrous posted:The Radeon 780m is on par with the GTX 1650, seriously impressive stuff for an integrated GPU. https://youtu.be/rpK8aGm5MLw?si=bzbZARBHXQwHQiGP 780m playing doom eternal Pretty legit for an igpu
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Mar 13, 2024 22:38
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I went from an old desktop with a GTX 1650 to a rog ally often connected to a usb-c monitor/dock and can confirm it's nearly equal when plugged in.
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Mar 13, 2024 23:53
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buffbus posted:I went from an old desktop with a GTX 1650 to a rog ally often connected to a usb-c monitor/dock and can confirm it's nearly equal when plugged in. Thanks for the replies everyone, I think the pro move is to get a rog ally or steam deck or something like that for close to the same price as adding a dGPU or eGPU, and just get a laptop with integrated graphics.
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Mar 14, 2024 04:07
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Wii Spawn Camper posted:Thanks for the replies everyone, I think the pro move is to get a rog ally or steam deck or something like that for close to the same price as adding a dGPU or eGPU, and just get a laptop with integrated graphics. I think the OP's point was that the ROG Ally has the same level of Ryzen CPU/iGPU that you can get in a laptop, so if you're OK with that level of gaming performance, you don't need an extra device/eGPU beyond the laptop.
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Mar 14, 2024 06:29
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Yeah a rog ally is functionally similar to a laptop with a 1080p screen and an a ryzen 7 7840u. Coincidentally AMD just recently sent me a couple such systems (one with a 7840u and one with a 7840hs) so I've compared firsthand.
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Mar 14, 2024 21:09
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Yeah I guess I had the wrong idea about the performence of those devices. I think I'm just not going to worry too much about gaming on the laptop, I found a mint condition XPS 13 inch with an i7-1360p, 32gb ram, 2tb nvme drive, and the touchscreen, for a little over $1000. Not the very newest but it checks all my boxes for (I think) a good price (for an XPS, but again, I love build of my old one). edit: the same build on Dell's website is over $2300, lol what https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/xps-13-plus-laptop/spd/xps-13-9320-laptop/usexchcto9320rpl02 Wii Spawn Camper fucked around with this message at 00:37 on Mar 15, 2024 |
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Mar 15, 2024 00:34
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XPS's are overpriced, but they are nice laptops.
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Mar 15, 2024 03:47
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~1000USD doesn't seem too bad for an XPS13. I priced out a Thinkpad X13 with a Ryzen 7840U but otherwise comparable specs and it came out to about $1200. It was limited to a 1TB drive though. Alternatively the new 14in Slim 7i can be had with the brand new Core Ultra 7 155H, 32GB of ram, and a touchscreen OLED for $1100 which I think would actually own bones.
Mental Hospitality fucked around with this message at 14:12 on Mar 15, 2024 |
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Mar 15, 2024 14:07
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Thinkpads are also overpriced at msrp
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Mar 15, 2024 14:36
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I don't think anyone's ever bought a Lenovo at MSRP though. They're all always on sale for like 800-1200 dollars off.
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Mar 15, 2024 15:26
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I mean, the X1 Gen 12 specifically isn't on sale because it's a brand new just released chip in the halo model of the whole lineup - if you want it right now, you can pay full price. Maybe there are volume discounts, IDK. However, if you go back and look at the 11th gen of the same model then it's a different story - they're all like 40% off "MSRP" from the jump (and the MSRP is lower too), which is generally the story for anything that hasn't just been released. If you have access to the corporate discount, that often goes to 50%. I think that the MSRP exists to make people feel like they're getting a Macbook-tier machine without having to pay a Macbook-tier price, and maybe in part to really jack the margins up on professionals/companies who don't really care. I haven't monitored XPS pricing as closely, but it seems similar. My wife got an XPS 13 9370 in 2018 refurbished for around $1000, and it's still holding on for us so I am pretty pleased with the one example I have. It does help that Dell accidentally left the previous owner's 4 year warranty active, so at 3.5 years we used that to replace the keyboard and battery.
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Mar 15, 2024 16:10
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The X1 Carbon is usually overpriced but you can get similar specced models for far cheaper. Keep in mind, both the XPS and Lenovo lines look to capitalize on some VP saying "Get me whatever is top of the line", so they need to be priced accordingly.
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Mar 15, 2024 16:42
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I love to game on my laptop, thank you thread!
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Mar 15, 2024 17:11
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