@@sushimshah2896 Same here, i had one years ago (Windows 7) and the audio and speaker location was nice and definitely better than the competition but it's really all do to the setup, drivers and location of the speakers and not the "Beats Audio" marketing.
I disagree, but, for one reason really. HDR includes brightness. Many manufacturers don't list brightness on specs and yet anything under 300 nits basically sucks! HDR400 or above guarantees good brightness and decent accuracy without having to swim through spec sheets.
@@RichGilly Yeah, they waste an expensive piece of silicon by starving it. But hey, that cost is passed on to an unsuspecting consumer and the rest is profit!
Something I would suggest is watching out for when a company tries to sell you a "new" laptop. Some laptop manufacturers, in an attempt to get rid of old stock, will sell you a "new" laptop with old components, but advertise it as if it's brand new. This occurs most often with business laptops. They would advertise it as having "The latest Intel processor" and "Ultrafast Nvidia graphics" when it just has an Intel 8000u series processor and MX250 graphics. That's why I feel it's important to actually research what the latest components actually are.
The laptop (Modern 14 b4mw) I bought for casual day to day consumption has sturdy build quality, as the chassis is same with its high end business laptop variants. However its IOs are obsolete components of yester-centuries tech. Overall though when I look at the price, its aesthetic appearance, and overall performance, its actually not too bad. Bottomline is, how will it run 3-5 years from now. My last laptop still works perfectly until now after 10 years, just had a huge mole(deadpixel) the size of a coin on the screen thats why I bought a new one.
I still can't believe this channel does not have 2 million subscribers yet...quality and topics of contents is so top notch. I really hope you reach this milestone soon!!
Companies like Apple refuse to give consumers chargers for "environmental" purposes but make products that are proprietary anyways and can't be upgraded and are e-waste the moment they decide to slow them down through firmware or when they stop working. This is a huge indicator of their ethics and attitude towards consumers. Props to framework for creating the awesome device they did, really hope this product will be big and gets all the success it deserves.
Yeah with framework if your laptop is too slow you could buy a new motherboard to replace just that and keep everything else. They also give you 3D printing template so the old motherboard could be put into that 3D printed case and turned into a mini pc.
@@PyroCatus yup, I'm in love with ITX, mini-pcs & nucs thanks to Optimum Tech & ETA-Prime. My brother also turned an old (busted) Envy into a mini-pc by removing the mobo & fitting it inside a cooling pad, installing Linux & connecting it to a TV
I ended up buying the frameworks laptop because i want a piece of hardware that won't become ewaste if a single part gets damaged. Plus the hardware is fantastic for what you're paying for and I already have some parts that i can use to up the ram and storage;
My "Good Laptop" Indicators: *• 6-8 core Ryzen or G7-tier Intel CPU* ($500-$850) *+ dedicated GPU* ($1000-$1500) *• 8-10hrs+* of tested battery life *•* firm hinge & chassis, tactile keyboard, accurate trackpad *•* Upgradable SSD storage and/or RAM (brownie points for being modular & easy to repair) *•* USB4-Thunderbolt support and inclusion of USB-A, HDMI/DP, 3.5mm, SD Card reader, etc. *• 300+ nits* of display brightness and color accuracy of at least *80% sRGB coverage* *•* consistently good ratings arcross multiple review sites and RUclips channels
@@sushimshah2896 Thanks! I also want to start using the cloud more. My university gives everyone pretty much unlimited OneDrive storage but I don’t feel comfortable when stuff isn’t directly stored on a device.
@@terrasai2857 . Unlike what many people want to think, Apple knows it doesn’t actually cost that much for storage bump in the iPad, and it’s not Apple trying to screw over the average consumer. It is a way to create a premium offering so that people who would be willing to pay more for an iPad can get the one with more storage and still allow them to sell the same product with lower storage at a lower price to the average consumer. If they didn’t use this strategy, the average consumer would pay more. With this said, they need to double the storage at the same price points.
To many people even today, even on a 27 inch 4k feels like a Niche or "Only when critically needed". So 4k on 15 inch is not viable. Better quality 1440p with at least 90hz is a great option
I would really love a video on how to choose a laptop for someone else. You would generally know your own requirements but if someone else asks you for a reccomendation, how do you narrow it down?
Good video. I would add one unpleasant fact. Semi hybrid soldered RAM. Nowdays you find a lot of laptops with 8 GB of RAM soldered directly into motherboard and 1 SO-DIMM slot with another 8 GB RAM stick. Now its not problem but in the future this could be limitation.
1) The whole package : Asus has some great laptops, but without webcams.. This is something I felt was important when I was shopping for my laptop. Its 2021, the year of WFH and meetings. 2). Reliability is another important factor. Fir example Asus launched it's Strix series with no numpsd, but a numpad on its touchpad.. Cool ? For now. 2 years down the line it will have a high rate of failure. My previous laptop had a touchscreen. 2 years later the phantom touches started. So when buying a product, I now give a high importance to pick simple features like mechanical numpad instead of virtual one which can fail.
@@korruption2802 I think you are just stupid :D He could've bought it like 2 weeks, heck even 8 months, ago and the comment would still make perfect sense.
Great content. I might add to the list thunder bolt 4 or even thunderbolt 3. I think only a small share of laptop users would ever use fully the bandwidth
I agree. Only if people don't have a decent server and therefore use a fast external SSD it can be useful. The external GPU use case doesn't really make sense price wise so that's not really a good use case. Thunderbolt is an interesting technology that's mostly pointless at this point.
I totaly agree on the mechanical keyboard section of this video. Tbh, if you want a good mechanical keyboard to have with your laptop, it would probably be best to simply buy a separate one and connect it to the laptop imo.
Most of the points here are valid though I do find the point on exhaust being on the side not being a good thing is kinda a moot point in my opinion. I have noticed a trend where the exhaust is mostly on both the back, sides and bottom on newer laptops, especially on those with dedicated graphics to effectively cool the system. Laptops that have only a single exhaust are typically those using only the integrated graphics. Still, I don't actually mind having the exhaust at the side since I didn't really find it that uncomfortable having some heat blowing to the hand.
Pretty much why I got my Zephyrus G15 with 3070, 1440p 165 hz display with the features I need. Pretty much avoids all the other features you also mentioned in the video
Yup. Love my Z G15. Great speakers (front firing), great display colors, trackpad, keyboard. Its a productivity laptop in and out but enough performance to play games time to time even though I got 3060 variant.
Those are really some good highlights! Bookmarked this video to show my friends who keep asking me what laptop to buy haha I would also like to add: -Check if the laptop has a MUX switch for the Video Card. Laptops with MUX switches generally perform better that a same speced counter part due to the GPU being able to directly output to the Laptop display once you disable the integrated GPU -For laptops with no MUX switches, you can workaround that by connecting an external display (but this may not be applicable for many) and technically you'd be wasting the laptop display (esp. if you opted for a better speced one)
Dont pay huge amount of money for a RAM upgrade from a 16GB to 32GB configuration.. its cheaper to get 16GB one and buy RAM sticks on your own and upgrade it. and sell the 16GB kit. same applies for storage most of the time.
@@bonedattactually Most of them are NOT soldered.. atleast not most of the gaming grade laptops...Even my super thin 4 year old hp envy X360 which is an office grade laptop is upgradeable. even my 13 year old hp elitebook has 2 slots..only soldered models ive come through is old dell laptops.. Also, if you are gonna buy a laptop. you will probably check if there is upgradeability,extra slots and check some questions and reviews
A bit tangent: Gimmicks would change year over year and it's not necessary to fully understand the terms. For buyers who don't wanna sink in time for the nitty gritty, simply look at the current deals on some aggregated site and google the reviews/comparisons for those laptops to make a purchase decision. Chances are you'll catch some bad stuff in the reviews if any.
All excellent except for the 4K non-recommendation. If you’re only gaming at high frame rates then that’s true, but the added clarity of text on a 4K screen is something I love when scaled to 150% or 200%. If you just don’t have the eyesight to see this extra detail though, definitely go the 1080p route and gain the battery life that comes with it.
Either you have the best sound engineers on earth... or your voice is just INCREDIBLY soothing. Just realised this after years of watching your videos haha
His last point about graphics cards also applies to processors. Depending on how the laptop manufacturer configs the laptop with its power and cooling solutions the "higher tier" chip may not perform as good as expected or a "lower tier" chip may even out perform it in that setup. Do your research and spend responsibly.
Posted the same thing before reading the comments. That, and there are i7's and I9's with a lower wattage rating than I5's that will throttle back to below I5 performance depending on conditions, like say, when on battery power, which will feel like your on a computer from the early 2000's
@@SF-li9kh That VRAM isn't gonna be that important at 1080p which most of these target. And even on a external screen, there's a decent performance lead with higher wattage 3060s over lower spec 3070/80 based laptops
Oh boi - I made a bad buy when I went back to school last year. Bought an Asus Zenbook UM433DA - screen is good, battery life pretty ok at 7-ish hours, but it is sooo slow, and it can barely run anything if I'm on a Microsoft Teams call at the same time, charger has coil whine, and the laptop itself amazingly has coil whine coming from TWO different places, but it weirdly goes away if keyboard backlight is set to max, wtf?
LOL... I was agreeing about the "you don't need" mechanical keyboard until you guys played the sound of it... immediately changed my mind to "F*ck my coworkers.. I want that" ... hahahahh
Greats points... I never paid much attention to the point where the exhaust is blowing hot air on your "mouse hand." Now I will have to go back to the drawing board.
Bought a XPS 15 from 2019 because at that time everybody praised it as "the ultimate video editing laptop". Had a lot of crashes and shutters due to the 4gb gpu memory (like, i was just trying to export a 15 minute short film and it crashed like 20 times?). I'm planning to sell it and upgrade to a G14 or M1 Mac for better editing performance.
Agree to everything but the 4K advise. I bought an 15" used laptop from a friend just for using it in the office and 4k resolution for working its AWESOME. In addition, your ayes are already spoiled because of all the cellphones that have 4k resolution (or almost 4k).
Your recent review of the Legion 7 AMD shows that 360 fps on average is absolutely doable in games like CS:GO. Even at 1440p you'll benefit from 240+ Hz displays if they support variable refresh. Plus, 360 Hz comes with lower input lag due to shorter refresh cycles (less delay until scan-out).
Great video! I agree with all of those points, (I actually had an experience with the last point, however it was with a much slower and less well known GPU (AMD RX550X) and the cooling with it), and I do actually game without a mouse sometimes! My laptop has a TrackPoint, which is much better than a trackpad for gaming, and you can get pretty good with one as well.
Timestamps / Summary @1:34 360Hz refresh rate: Most can't maintain this rate reliably and they usually offer lower quality colors and aren't often available in resolutions above 1080p @3:13 4k resolution on 15" and smaller laptops. It will impact battery life for little perceptible or usable difference in space. Stick to 1080p or 1200p. @4:08 Mechanical keyboards. Adds cost for a subpar experience compared to standard keyboards on laptops. Loud operation in class/work. More force to use. @5:11 Speakers. Often, the marketing hype doesn't deliver. Don't let this sway you. @6:18 Exhaust Vents Does hot air exhaust towards your mouse hand? Avoid these designs if you plan to use an external mouse. @7:23 Is the high-end GPU really high-end? Look at wattage limits implemented by manufacturer. "Better" GPU at lower wattage could be beat by a "lower" GPU at higher wattage. Watch out for comparing apples-to-apples.
Maybe it's because I'm used to older computers. But I've never seen the "mouse hand air vent" problem. Most of my systems are single-vent designs, blowing out the left side, or out the back. My only one system with two vents and fans actually accounts for this problem. The CPU on the left is side exhaust, while the GPU on the right is rear exhaust. I would have preferred the CPU vent out the back though, but since I'm right-handed, it doesn't really bother me. I will contend that having actually good laptop speakers is a genuine advantage. That said, overhyped brand name "tuning" of crappy down firing speakers, yea, I agree with you.
What I finding so stupid is that till now there are only two laptops I can think of that have a 90hz display. I don't get why companies try to go for 240hz or 360hz. I find 90hz to be a good sweetspot between 60hz and 120hz. I just wish more companies would understand this
It's mainly a thing that started to be a problem with this generation. Because the 900 series Nvidia GPU's still had the "M" for "mobile" marker. The 10 and 20 series had "Max-Q" and "Max-P" designations, where the first one was low power and the second was the performance model. Besides that, they were the same GPU's as their desktop counterparts only more frugal with energy and therefore slower. Now with the 30 series they ditched the "Max-Q" and "Max-P" designation while they actually still exist but defined by power draw and are now banished to the fine print of the spec list. Also the laptop model GPU's are now in no way comparable to the desktop variant. A mobile 3080 only has a slightly larger die than a 3060Ti desktop variant (if I remember correctly check the specs on the NVIDIA website to be sure). So a mobile 3080 is kind of comparable to a desktop 1080Ti. Which to be fair is actually pretty impressive but when it's called "3080" you kind of expect more. So if an uninformed consumer with a desktop 1080Ti would buy a laptop with a low power 3080 because of the GPU crisis, it would be a massive disappointment.
Nvidia being sh*tty with Ampere lineup. I liked they put M suffix to tell consumers it's a mobile GPU that had limited performance. Now, the naming scheme is a mess and mislead non-tech savvy people.
Indeed this is very misleading to not tech savvy people. Would really have to dive in on the spec of the laptop before buying. I've taught too that the current gen laptop gpu are okay now since it mostly said its a desktop equivalent due to the namimg scheme but it still isnt. Good thing I've watched this video as a lot of my friends keep asking me what laptop they should get.
It seems to me only people who have not used 3-4k displays can say that they are not needed. I work a lot in Excel and on the FHD display all the letters are muddy, curves, with pixels at the corners. On 3-4k displays, letters are sharp and clear, the eyes do not get tired. 3-4k is not needed for games and videos... But for texting... It must be
Suggestion: You should've expanded on confusing naming schemes. For eg, you could've mentioned the list of GPUs and which are the power levels to look for or the AMD zen2 and 3 thing with 5000 series. Even for a knowledgeable person tracking all this gets irritating. Also, I think hinges are overlooked. Loose hinges and tight ones which end up breaking if they're using a plastic frame inside are the worst. Personally experienced.
@@khalid81088 Maybe the recent hinges are so loose because they keep breaking. The worst part is that it's designed to fail when you open the laptop. I can give my example where the metal hinge is bound to the chassis using plastic and two small screws. Even when the authorized repair guy came he mentioned that opening them often breaks the plastic below and they have to buy a new chassis. My friend with another hp model who didn't open it had a crack near the top right hinge on the chassis due to the weight of the screen and opening-closing pressure. I literally have to hold down near the power button to angle my screen or it will break(since I've opened it I know the plastic below is broken and the hinge has no support).
Eber specifically said he wouldn't tell us which product to avoid or which AMD/Intel or AMD/nVidia to avoid. He said so at 1:19-1:30 time stamp. I was surprised when he called out confusing GPU wattages as he said he wouldn't tell us which product to avoid.
Agree on everything except the exhaust vent topic. More vents = better cooling, location be damned. 4k is the dumbest feature for a 15” or less display. I would even argue 17 as well. I mean if 1080p is perfect for 24” displays what makes you think a 4k adds any value on a 15” screen? Color accuracy, NITs, and 120hz is really what 99% need.
GPU tip is the most important, I was not aware of this energy caps by manufacturers then NVIDIA is silent about it, I was lucky that my laptop was not the 80 watts version but that would have been real real bad, having a more expensive gpu be outperformed by other older models just because of energy cap it's a plain waste of money
@@sushimshah2896 Thermals are good haven't had any blue screens or any programs crashing. Actually just upgraded the RAM and got quite a bit more performance as well.
Hey, I'm trying to decide which laptop would be better for me. Dell has a Vostro 5620 12 Gen i7-1260P. One has a processor Nvidia Geforce Mx570 2gb and the other one is Intel Iris Xe. How do I know which one to buy?
I like that you didn't forget about exhaust positioning. I have Strix G15 (2020) with i7-10750h and 1650Ti. This particular variant doesn't have side exhaust vents. Only rear vents. That's a big plus for me as the laptop usually heats up a lot while gaming. And if it had side vents, then I may have had to delete all the games I play casually 😅
I am kind of frustrated with newer laptops because of this "refresh rate gimmick". I think we pay extra if the laptop has higher refresh rate which is awkward since we don't have any other options to increase the FPS by upgrading GPU or CPU. (Disclaimer: I don't play CS:GO or other high FPS games)
DisplayHDR is definitely an honorable mention to me. Nothing but a lazy way to bump up price of laptops that target media consumption.
Totally agree, reminds me of "Beats Studio Sound" on HP laptops couple years ago. All a gimmick and really just an equalizer
@@jmsantiago1 I have one of those Envy from 2014, at least it has up-ward firing speakers & a sub-woofer.
@@sushimshah2896 Same here, i had one years ago (Windows 7) and the audio and speaker location was nice and definitely better than the competition but it's really all do to the setup, drivers and location of the speakers and not the "Beats Audio" marketing.
@@jmsantiago1 Ever buy beats headphones? They sound good until you buy a super affordable and know what they are really doing headphones lol
I disagree, but, for one reason really. HDR includes brightness. Many manufacturers don't list brightness on specs and yet anything under 300 nits basically sucks! HDR400 or above guarantees good brightness and decent accuracy without having to swim through spec sheets.
Great piece. This was a good way to consolidate information that is generally found only when watching multiple reviews.
The last point is critical and sickening. How a 3070 could EVER outperform a 3080 is disgusting.
@@RichGilly Yeah, they waste an expensive piece of silicon by starving it. But hey, that cost is passed on to an unsuspecting consumer and the rest is profit!
1
Something I would suggest is watching out for when a company tries to sell you a "new" laptop. Some laptop manufacturers, in an attempt to get rid of old stock, will sell you a "new" laptop with old components, but advertise it as if it's brand new. This occurs most often with business laptops. They would advertise it as having "The latest Intel processor" and "Ultrafast Nvidia graphics" when it just has an Intel 8000u series processor and MX250 graphics.
That's why I feel it's important to actually research what the latest components actually are.
The laptop (Modern 14 b4mw) I bought for casual day to day consumption has sturdy build quality, as the chassis is same with its high end business laptop variants. However its IOs are obsolete components of yester-centuries tech. Overall though when I look at the price, its aesthetic appearance, and overall performance, its actually not too bad. Bottomline is, how will it run 3-5 years from now.
My last laptop still works perfectly until now after 10 years, just had a huge mole(deadpixel) the size of a coin on the screen thats why I bought a new one.
I still can't believe this channel does not have 2 million subscribers yet...quality and topics of contents is so top notch. I really hope you reach this milestone soon!!
Companies like Apple refuse to give consumers chargers for "environmental" purposes but make products that are proprietary anyways and can't be upgraded and are e-waste the moment they decide to slow them down through firmware or when they stop working.
This is a huge indicator of their ethics and attitude towards consumers.
Props to framework for creating the awesome device they did, really hope this product will be big and gets all the success it deserves.
It's not only Apple nowadays tho...
@@motozappa225 Yeah I just meant to give an example, all mainstream companies do it.
Yeah with framework if your laptop is too slow you could buy a new motherboard to replace just that and keep everything else. They also give you 3D printing template so the old motherboard could be put into that 3D printed case and turned into a mini pc.
@@PyroCatus yup, I'm in love with ITX, mini-pcs & nucs thanks to Optimum Tech & ETA-Prime.
My brother also turned an old (busted) Envy into a mini-pc by removing the mobo & fitting it inside a cooling pad, installing Linux & connecting it to a TV
Too bad Framework only avaliable in America
I ended up buying the frameworks laptop because i want a piece of hardware that won't become ewaste if a single part gets damaged. Plus the hardware is fantastic for what you're paying for and I already have some parts that i can use to up the ram and storage;
That's awesome, everyone should do that, even if it ain't perfect.
It's only by doing this that this becomes a common thing
Dude get a macbook air for general use. Nothing beats it. Electronics decay, no brand will last forever.
@@sohailbarvar7817 lol wtf?
@@mrmeseeks8790 macbooks are ewaste good for nothing garbage
@@sohailbarvar7817 How so? If anything, he is helping fund frameworks to make more and better laptops.
My "Good Laptop" Indicators:
*• 6-8 core Ryzen or G7-tier Intel CPU* ($500-$850) *+ dedicated GPU* ($1000-$1500)
*• 8-10hrs+* of tested battery life
*•* firm hinge & chassis, tactile keyboard, accurate trackpad
*•* Upgradable SSD storage and/or RAM (brownie points for being modular & easy to repair)
*•* USB4-Thunderbolt support and inclusion of USB-A, HDMI/DP, 3.5mm, SD Card reader, etc.
*• 300+ nits* of display brightness and color accuracy of at least *80% sRGB coverage*
*•* consistently good ratings arcross multiple review sites and RUclips channels
If it’s soldered, get more than you need. Otherwise YMMV based on wants, needs, and budget.
It’s so frustrating. I want to get the iPad Air but they only have 64GB for $550 or 256GB for $700…
You can always just download more ram later
@@terrasai2857 better get a SanDisk type-C pen-drive for the iPad, would be way cheaper
@@sushimshah2896 Thanks! I also want to start using the cloud more. My university gives everyone pretty much unlimited OneDrive storage but I don’t feel comfortable when stuff isn’t directly stored on a device.
@@terrasai2857 . Unlike what many people want to think, Apple knows it doesn’t actually cost that much for storage bump in the iPad, and it’s not Apple trying to screw over the average consumer. It is a way to create a premium offering so that people who would be willing to pay more for an iPad can get the one with more storage and still allow them to sell the same product with lower storage at a lower price to the average consumer. If they didn’t use this strategy, the average consumer would pay more.
With this said, they need to double the storage at the same price points.
Great catchy title. People always want to avoid being scammed or something so this will really grab attention. Clever Eber
@Mya Avalynn Lol. But did you make any mistake? What laptop did you get?
Thanks. Really interesting the watts on the graphics card. I’ll definitely keep that in mind
the more we knows
Upgradability, type of RAM, ports and the type of workload you think you might have vs you actually have and not buying into the brand hype.
One I would add are laptops that have two DIMMs where one is soldered to the board, so only one is replaceable.
Wise words and I couldn't have summarized it better myself. Well done!
Great set of things to look out for when buying a laptop. Especially those last two points.
To many people even today, even on a 27 inch 4k feels like a Niche or "Only when critically needed". So 4k on 15 inch is not viable. Better quality 1440p with at least 90hz is a great option
Holy crap, I can't tell how much I agree with you about everything in this video, great advices !
I would really love a video on how to choose a laptop for someone else. You would generally know your own requirements but if someone else asks you for a reccomendation, how do you narrow it down?
You ask them what they want it for, do they need a lightweight one, their budget, etc.
Good video. I would add one unpleasant fact. Semi hybrid soldered RAM. Nowdays you find a lot of laptops with 8 GB of RAM soldered directly into motherboard and 1 SO-DIMM slot with another 8 GB RAM stick. Now its not problem but in the future this could be limitation.
Text renders amazingly good on a 4K display at 200% scaling on a 14" display. Once you go 4K you can't go back.
1) The whole package : Asus has some great laptops, but without webcams.. This is something I felt was important when I was shopping for my laptop. Its 2021, the year of WFH and meetings.
2). Reliability is another important factor. Fir example Asus launched it's Strix series with no numpsd, but a numpad on its touchpad.. Cool ? For now. 2 years down the line it will have a high rate of failure. My previous laptop had a touchscreen. 2 years later the phantom touches started. So when buying a product, I now give a high importance to pick simple features like mechanical numpad instead of virtual one which can fail.
I bought a touchscreen laptop right when they started in 2014. Still works like a charm. Depends on build quality as well.
Why am I watching this AFTER buying my laptop 😅
This came out today this comment makes no sense unless you bought it 20 minutes ago
You're life biggest mistake
@@korruption2802 I think you are just stupid :D
He could've bought it like 2 weeks, heck even 8 months, ago and the comment would still make perfect sense.
The researching habit is hard to break! ;)
What U get ??
Great content. I might add to the list thunder bolt 4 or even thunderbolt 3. I think only a small share of laptop users would ever use fully the bandwidth
Thunderbolt is good but I won’t pay more compared to USB C though
@@teohyc "one port do everything" USB type C port like those on macbooks sounds cool though.
I agree. Only if people don't have a decent server and therefore use a fast external SSD it can be useful. The external GPU use case doesn't really make sense price wise so that's not really a good use case. Thunderbolt is an interesting technology that's mostly pointless at this point.
Agree, but can't USB4 do 'most' (not-all) of the things TB4 can now?
@@sushimshah2896 I think USB 4 includes TB 3?
I swear I’m straight but this guy’s voice is just so calming idk anymore
Nobody said you weren’t… the fact you felt the need to be specific about it makes me pretty sure you aren’t straight
@@PashaGamingYT it was a joke bro but u can call me gay if u want lol
I totaly agree on the mechanical keyboard section of this video. Tbh, if you want a good mechanical keyboard to have with your laptop, it would probably be best to simply buy a separate one and connect it to the laptop imo.
I totally agree.
Most of the points here are valid though I do find the point on exhaust being on the side not being a good thing is kinda a moot point in my opinion. I have noticed a trend where the exhaust is mostly on both the back, sides and bottom on newer laptops, especially on those with dedicated graphics to effectively cool the system. Laptops that have only a single exhaust are typically those using only the integrated graphics.
Still, I don't actually mind having the exhaust at the side since I didn't really find it that uncomfortable having some heat blowing to the hand.
4:52
I will marry that sound of the keyboard
Pretty much why I got my Zephyrus G15 with 3070, 1440p 165 hz display with the features I need. Pretty much avoids all the other features you also mentioned in the video
Yup. Love my Z G15. Great speakers (front firing), great display colors, trackpad, keyboard. Its a productivity laptop in and out but enough performance to play games time to time even though I got 3060 variant.
Too bad it's sold out now 😔
@@icantsee0 Where ? Just say one today at best buy...
@@pratyushsharma6655 well I don't live in America silly 😝
@@icantsee0 Me too 🤣
Those are really some good highlights! Bookmarked this video to show my friends who keep asking me what laptop to buy haha
I would also like to add:
-Check if the laptop has a MUX switch for the Video Card. Laptops with MUX switches generally perform better that a same speced counter part due to the GPU being able to directly output to the Laptop display once you disable the integrated GPU
-For laptops with no MUX switches, you can workaround that by connecting an external display (but this may not be applicable for many) and technically you'd be wasting the laptop display (esp. if you opted for a better speced one)
Finally someone said about this marketing traps! Thanks bro
can we just appreciate to this video quality......💯💯💯💯💯
For me i always check for 1. cpu 2. gpu 3. display 4. upgradability 5. spec to price ratio 😁😁😁 good piece.
Dont pay huge amount of money for a RAM upgrade from a 16GB to 32GB configuration.. its cheaper to get 16GB one and buy RAM sticks on your own and upgrade it. and sell the 16GB kit.
same applies for storage most of the time.
What if RAM is soldered as most of them are?
@@bonedattthen you’ll want to get the upgrade, unfortunately soldered forces you to buy the more expensive model
@@bonedattactually Most of them are NOT soldered.. atleast not most of the gaming grade laptops...Even my super thin 4 year old hp envy X360 which is an office grade laptop is upgradeable. even my 13 year old hp elitebook has 2 slots..only soldered models ive come through is old dell laptops..
Also, if you are gonna buy a laptop. you will probably check if there is upgradeability,extra slots and check some questions and reviews
Honestly the one thing they could do right when marketing their products . Is to actually specify whether onboard mux or optimus is included.
A bit tangent: Gimmicks would change year over year and it's not necessary to fully understand the terms. For buyers who don't wanna sink in time for the nitty gritty, simply look at the current deals on some aggregated site and google the reviews/comparisons for those laptops to make a purchase decision. Chances are you'll catch some bad stuff in the reviews if any.
All excellent except for the 4K non-recommendation. If you’re only gaming at high frame rates then that’s true, but the added clarity of text on a 4K screen is something I love when scaled to 150% or 200%. If you just don’t have the eyesight to see this extra detail though, definitely go the 1080p route and gain the battery life that comes with it.
wow man, this is the first video i see in your channel , and your way of talking and voice is so great
Either you have the best sound engineers on earth... or your voice is just INCREDIBLY soothing.
Just realised this after years of watching your videos haha
"and also... spend responsibly."
i felt that. resent it too.
His last point about graphics cards also applies to processors. Depending on how the laptop manufacturer configs the laptop with its power and cooling solutions the "higher tier" chip may not perform as good as expected or a "lower tier" chip may even out perform it in that setup. Do your research and spend responsibly.
Posted the same thing before reading the comments. That, and there are i7's and I9's with a lower wattage rating than I5's that will throttle back to below I5 performance depending on conditions, like say, when on battery power, which will feel like your on a computer from the early 2000's
For the last point.
A 105+w 3060 can actually outperform a low wattage 3080.
So always check that spec
But at the expense of VRAM. This is an important factor
@@SF-li9kh
That VRAM isn't gonna be that important at 1080p which most of these target.
And even on a external screen, there's a decent performance lead with higher wattage 3060s over lower spec 3070/80 based laptops
Great video, thank you.
Really good video. Especially the last tip!
Excellent video .. 😘😘
Oh boi - I made a bad buy when I went back to school last year.
Bought an Asus Zenbook UM433DA - screen is good, battery life pretty ok at 7-ish hours, but it is sooo slow, and it can barely run anything if I'm on a Microsoft Teams call at the same time, charger has coil whine, and the laptop itself amazingly has coil whine coming from TWO different places, but it weirdly goes away if keyboard backlight is set to max, wtf?
LOL... I was agreeing about the "you don't need" mechanical keyboard until you guys played the sound of it... immediately changed my mind to "F*ck my coworkers.. I want that" ... hahahahh
Good checklist for those new to pc/laptop tech
Thank you.. more such advice videos please !! Loved it. 👍🏻
Greats points... I never paid much attention to the point where the exhaust is blowing hot air on your "mouse hand." Now I will have to go back to the drawing board.
Thanks for the information 👍👍
Thank you perfect info I was looking for when comparing 4k vs 1080 hdr I couldn't see the difference while both screens was on OLED
I thought I didn't wanted this vid but still watched it. I didn't knew about the last point. Thanks!
I just bought the M1 MacBook air
Best for general stuff.
@@mrmeseeks8790 great for beginner programmers also
Bought a XPS 15 from 2019 because at that time everybody praised it as "the ultimate video editing laptop". Had a lot of crashes and shutters due to the 4gb gpu memory (like, i was just trying to export a 15 minute short film and it crashed like 20 times?). I'm planning to sell it and upgrade to a G14 or M1 Mac for better editing performance.
Excellent. Thanks so much
This was really helpful!
I was about to buy a xps 13 4k and this video has just saved me £400. :)
Agree to everything but the 4K advise. I bought an 15" used laptop from a friend just for using it in the office and 4k resolution for working its AWESOME.
In addition, your ayes are already spoiled because of all the cellphones that have 4k resolution (or almost 4k).
Can you add a video of comparison between Acer Swift X and Mi Notebook Ultra for content creators and students. !!
Your recent review of the Legion 7 AMD shows that 360 fps on average is absolutely doable in games like CS:GO. Even at 1440p you'll benefit from 240+ Hz displays if they support variable refresh. Plus, 360 Hz comes with lower input lag due to shorter refresh cycles (less delay until scan-out).
Wow that gpu + power info is really helpful, I always assumed that better graphics card is better. Thanks for clearing that up!
This was incredibly helpful. Thank you
Very informative especially with regards to GPU TDP. Keep it up!
Great video! I agree with all of those points, (I actually had an experience with the last point, however it was with a much slower and less well known GPU (AMD RX550X) and the cooling with it), and I do actually game without a mouse sometimes! My laptop has a TrackPoint, which is much better than a trackpad for gaming, and you can get pretty good with one as well.
Wow! Eber, thanks a lot!
Timestamps / Summary
@1:34 360Hz refresh rate:
Most can't maintain this rate reliably and they usually offer lower quality colors and aren't often available in resolutions above 1080p
@3:13 4k resolution on 15" and smaller laptops.
It will impact battery life for little perceptible or usable difference in space. Stick to 1080p or 1200p.
@4:08 Mechanical keyboards.
Adds cost for a subpar experience compared to standard keyboards on laptops. Loud operation in class/work. More force to use.
@5:11 Speakers.
Often, the marketing hype doesn't deliver. Don't let this sway you.
@6:18 Exhaust Vents
Does hot air exhaust towards your mouse hand? Avoid these designs if you plan to use an external mouse.
@7:23 Is the high-end GPU really high-end?
Look at wattage limits implemented by manufacturer. "Better" GPU at lower wattage could be beat by a "lower" GPU at higher wattage. Watch out for comparing apples-to-apples.
Great reviews as always. What do you think about Acer's new Swift X? What about a review about that one for students? Thanks!
Great video as always! Thanks a lot
Thanks for giving this information, really useful for beginner like me 👍
Can u please tell which laptop is in your thumbnail of this video?
Maybe it's because I'm used to older computers.
But I've never seen the "mouse hand air vent" problem.
Most of my systems are single-vent designs, blowing out the left side, or out the back.
My only one system with two vents and fans actually accounts for this problem. The CPU on the left is side exhaust, while the GPU on the right is rear exhaust.
I would have preferred the CPU vent out the back though, but since I'm right-handed, it doesn't really bother me.
I will contend that having actually good laptop speakers is a genuine advantage. That said, overhyped brand name "tuning" of crappy down firing speakers, yea, I agree with you.
i learn so much from this video, thanks man..👌👌
awesome content
Thanks! Quite informative video and yeah i have been ticking all the guides described here and went to advantage edition earlier…
What I finding so stupid is that till now there are only two laptops I can think of that have a 90hz display. I don't get why companies try to go for 240hz or 360hz.
I find 90hz to be a good sweetspot between 60hz and 120hz. I just wish more companies would understand this
Thanks For This Video... it's Advices Helpful for me
Just found your channel today and I've learned so much! Subscribed :D
This is great advice, thanks!
Wow, didnt knew about the power level spec! Nice!
It's mainly a thing that started to be a problem with this generation.
Because the 900 series Nvidia GPU's still had the "M" for "mobile" marker.
The 10 and 20 series had "Max-Q" and "Max-P" designations, where the first one was low power and the second was the performance model. Besides that, they were the same GPU's as their desktop counterparts only more frugal with energy and therefore slower.
Now with the 30 series they ditched the "Max-Q" and "Max-P" designation while they actually still exist but defined by power draw and are now banished to the fine print of the spec list. Also the laptop model GPU's are now in no way comparable to the desktop variant. A mobile 3080 only has a slightly larger die than a 3060Ti desktop variant (if I remember correctly check the specs on the NVIDIA website to be sure).
So a mobile 3080 is kind of comparable to a desktop 1080Ti. Which to be fair is actually pretty impressive but when it's called "3080" you kind of expect more. So if an uninformed consumer with a desktop 1080Ti would buy a laptop with a low power 3080 because of the GPU crisis, it would be a massive disappointment.
Nvidia being sh*tty with Ampere lineup. I liked they put M suffix to tell consumers it's a mobile GPU that had limited performance. Now, the naming scheme is a mess and mislead non-tech savvy people.
Indeed this is very misleading to not tech savvy people. Would really have to dive in on the spec of the laptop before buying. I've taught too that the current gen laptop gpu are okay now since it mostly said its a desktop equivalent due to the namimg scheme but it still isnt. Good thing I've watched this video as a lot of my friends keep asking me what laptop they should get.
It seems to me only people who have not used 3-4k displays can say that they are not needed. I work a lot in Excel and on the FHD display all the letters are muddy, curves, with pixels at the corners. On 3-4k displays, letters are sharp and clear, the eyes do not get tired.
3-4k is not needed for games and videos... But for texting... It must be
Usually, I like watching Eber and Laptop on "Hardware Canucks"
Tip 5 was eye opener
Suggestion: You should've expanded on confusing naming schemes. For eg, you could've mentioned the list of GPUs and which are the power levels to look for or the AMD zen2 and 3 thing with 5000 series. Even for a knowledgeable person tracking all this gets irritating.
Also, I think hinges are overlooked. Loose hinges and tight ones which end up breaking if they're using a plastic frame inside are the worst. Personally experienced.
Hallelujah !! Reminded me of the Omen and Victus wobbling.
@@SF-li9kh both hp and my tight hinge which broke my laptop frame was also hp lol.
HP have the worst hinges. My office IT brings in HP and so far I've replaced 3 laptops in 3 years due to hinge problems.
@@khalid81088 Maybe the recent hinges are so loose because they keep breaking. The worst part is that it's designed to fail when you open the laptop. I can give my example where the metal hinge is bound to the chassis using plastic and two small screws. Even when the authorized repair guy came he mentioned that opening them often breaks the plastic below and they have to buy a new chassis. My friend with another hp model who didn't open it had a crack near the top right hinge on the chassis due to the weight of the screen and opening-closing pressure. I literally have to hold down near the power button to angle my screen or it will break(since I've opened it I know the plastic below is broken and the hinge has no support).
Eber specifically said he wouldn't tell us which product to avoid or which AMD/Intel or AMD/nVidia to avoid. He said so at 1:19-1:30 time stamp. I was surprised when he called out confusing GPU wattages as he said he wouldn't tell us which product to avoid.
OVERHEATING @6:58 recently my laptop died by overheatibg
I have a mouse and a ring light attached..
do you think that why it over heated
Agree on everything except the exhaust vent topic. More vents = better cooling, location be damned. 4k is the dumbest feature for a 15” or less display. I would even argue 17 as well. I mean if 1080p is perfect for 24” displays what makes you think a 4k adds any value on a 15” screen? Color accuracy, NITs, and 120hz is really what 99% need.
GPU tip is the most important, I was not aware of this energy caps by manufacturers then NVIDIA is silent about it, I was lucky that my laptop was not the 80 watts version but that would have been real real bad, having a more expensive gpu be outperformed by other older models just because of energy cap it's a plain waste of money
Thats why I'm so impressed with my Asus Zephyrus G14 with a Ryzen 4900hs and RTX 2060, so much bang for the buck
Same with my Asus ROG Strix G15 Advantage thing both laptops are great bang for the buck.
There's a 3060 model out now. ^_^
I might hold out until next year for one with USB4/Thunderbolt compatibility.
@@XxViciousxX how's your G15 AE holding up in terms of thermals, stability, etc??
I had read about the LM killing the GPUs in some laptops
@@sushimshah2896 Thermals are good haven't had any blue screens or any programs crashing. Actually just upgraded the RAM and got quite a bit more performance as well.
@@XxViciousxX wow, good to hear man👍🏻
I feel it's still one of the best vfm laptops on terms of great performance (both CPU & GPU)
the power draw on the cards was a solid tip that a lot of people including myself probably never think about.
I am looking to buy my first gaming laptop and I’ve found this video very useful 🙏
Hey, I'm trying to decide which laptop would be better for me. Dell has a Vostro 5620 12 Gen i7-1260P. One has a processor Nvidia Geforce Mx570 2gb and the other one is Intel Iris Xe. How do I know which one to buy?
4:04 wtf was that your one of the people that eminem fears bro lol
I see that keychron q1 on his desk pog
I like that you didn't forget about exhaust positioning. I have Strix G15 (2020) with i7-10750h and 1650Ti. This particular variant doesn't have side exhaust vents. Only rear vents. That's a big plus for me as the laptop usually heats up a lot while gaming. And if it had side vents, then I may have had to delete all the games I play casually 😅
That right-sided air vent is going to be a god-send for Canadian gamers during the winter.
He's already wearing more baggy clothes 😀
I am kind of frustrated with newer laptops because of this "refresh rate gimmick". I think we pay extra if the laptop has higher refresh rate which is awkward since we don't have any other options to increase the FPS by upgrading GPU or CPU. (Disclaimer: I don't play CS:GO or other high FPS games)
Please be aware that some laptops does not feature a webcam. Asus strix advantage edition was great except that it lacks a webcam in 2021.
Great video!
Also check the vents are actually vents. Some add them just for show. 😝
Also the render pictures on their website, and some thermal comparison chart....
oh didn't I mention some crappy pre-installed oem software?
nice, very informative and helpful since I'll be buying one again by next week
Thanks really appreciate it.❤️