Gaming Laptop for Design and Data Work - Budget $2,500

LMeatyOne on 28/02/2024 - 09:29
Last edited 28/02/2024 - 09:53 by 1 other user

Hi there, I'm in an interesting position.

I'm needing to purchase a new laptop as my normal one was stolen along with a lot of other stuff. Insurance has given me few options in terms of where I can get one. I'm limited to Good Guys, Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi. Previously I had an MSI Leopard with and i7, RTX3080 and 32gb RAM.

I'm not a huge gamer. I mainly play a bit of League of Legends (Diamond), Fortnite, PalWorld, and occasionally something that's on GamePass. I do however do a lot of design work in Illustrator and Photoshop, as well as quite a bit of data processing using R Squared.

I'm tossing on trading off a bit of GPU for a higher end CPU and more ram or an OLED screen. I've looked at these and they seem like good deals. The Predator and Nitro V seem well overspecced for the price so I feel like I'm missing something. The Yoga Pro seems like a nice deal, though I'm not sure where AMD sit in this hierarchy when compared to 13th gen i7/i9. I used to love my AMD desktops but all the benchmarks I look at are all over the place. Some show very little difference then another site basically says the R7 is useless. Some of the reviews on here essentially say the i9 is a waste of time so now I'm just second guessing myself. I'd rather just be able to build a Lenovo direct or a Metabox but insurance won't come to the party on that as it has to be a bricks and mortar store.

The Predator with the i9 hx and 4060 seems too good to be true. The Yoga Pro seems like a really nice looking machine and if it had an OLED display I think it would be an instant buy. The Inifinity is a complete unknown.

https://www.harveynorman.com.au/predator-helios-neo-16-inch-…

https://www.harveynorman.com.au/acer-predator-helios-neo-16-…

https://www.harveynorman.com.au/infinity-m7-17-3-inch-r7-784…

https://www.harveynorman.com.au/predator-helios-neo-16-inch-…

https://www.harveynorman.com.au/lenovo-yoga-pro-7-14-5-inch-…

https://www.harveynorman.com.au/acer-nitro-v-15-6-inch-i9-13…

Thanks heaps for any insight. I've got about a $2.5k budget.

I hate Gerry Harvey but JB doesn't seem to have anything worthwhile at the moment, and it's like Good Guys have given up on selling laptops.

I wouldn't be adverse to a decent desktop from any of these either, however they seem extremely overpriced for what you get.

• 

  a1k on 28/02/2024 - 09:37

  What's "R-Squared"?

  • 

    MeatyOne on 28/02/2024 - 09:42

    +1

    R is a free software package for data analysis. R Studio is the interface I use in conjunction with it. Amongst the group i work with we've always just called it R Squared. I keep forgetting thats just the slang we use for it.

    https://www.r-project.org/

    • 

      a1k on 28/02/2024 - 13:50

      Certainly a strange nickname (usually nicknames are shortened forms)

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  GettingThePlus190s on 28/02/2024 - 10:19

  +1

  If you're doing design and especially data work, I think you'll be using an external / second monitor soon enough. So I wouldn't put decision weight into the screen.

  • 

    MeatyOne on 28/02/2024 - 10:37

    This is true. When I was robbed my external was smashed, so I'm also getting a Lenovo 34inch ultrawide WQHD.
    I've been using a Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Gaming in the meantime, and it is dreadful. I didn't expect such poor performance from it considering it has 16gb ram, 13th gen i5, and RTX3050.

    I think the biggest problem I'm seeing is the reviews on the RTX40 series videocards are all over the place. Is a 4060 worth it, I should I sacrifice some GPU and get a 4050 but go the i9 and 32gb

    • 

      NotReallyaMoneySaver on 28/02/2024 - 11:28

      +1

      The issues is with the RTX3050. The RTX3050 is a horrible card in general on a desktop. It gets even worse when it's paired in a laptop.
      There's plenty of devices with a 4080 and 4070 that meet your budget. The 4060 is a pretty decent card though.

      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/tag/gaming-laptop

      • 

        MeatyOne on 28/02/2024 - 12:02

        I appreciate the feedback. Prior to the 3080 laptop, I had a 2060 and the 2060 performed quite well. The loaner 3050 I have is absolutely dreadful. It's disappointing as I do like Lenovo products but this was quite off putting.

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  MeatyOne on 28/02/2024 - 10:41

  I should note, I am not stuck on getting a gaming laptop, however bang for buck they always seem to be the most powerful, and with a lot of photoshop plugins using more GPU I'm thinking at least a dedicated GPU is the go. I'm just not sure on how well the Ryzen 7 with the AMD iGPU performs.

  • 

    BLAIL on 28/02/2024 - 11:29

    +1

    I'd go for the Infinity just because it has 24 months manufacturer warranty compared to 12 months for the Predator Helios. Even though ACL would come into play anyway, less hassle for the Infinity one if it were to die 18 months in compared to the Acer ones.

    • 

      MeatyOne on 28/02/2024 - 12:04

      I like the looks of the Infinity too. It's just hard finding reviews for it as they're an Australian custom maker, however the few reviews that are out there all seem positive.
      All the threads on here I've seen with the Predator's have negative feedback across the board which puts me off them despite the enticing price point.
      The nitro V is an interesting beast as it has only the 4050 in it, but then it's coupled with an i9 and 32gb of ram, which for the data work and design work I do is perfect, however the threads seem to indicate that the i9 only performs as well as the i7.

      • 

        BLAIL on 28/02/2024 - 12:09

        Yeah if it has to be Intel then Predator Helios over Acer Nitro

  • 

    NotReallyaMoneySaver on 28/02/2024 - 11:30

    +1

    You can buy a decently powered laptop and use an external GPU if you want. You'll get more performance however it will be far bulkier. That option would be better if you don't need to take your device around much.

    • 

      MeatyOne on 28/02/2024 - 12:06

      This is true, and with that in mind makes me think that the Yoga Pro is the go. External video card for when I need it seems like it might be a better option.

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  Rukiata on 28/02/2024 - 13:52

  legion

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  geekcohen on 28/02/2024 - 14:00

  For that budget and use, I suggest you look at Metabox - https://www.metabox.com.au/