Does my laptop need integrated graphics?

[dallinrldavis]

I'm looking to buy a new laptop for school. I'm going into software/computer engineering. I'm not a huge gamer but I would like the capability to play video games on lower settings. Should I make sure I get something with dedicated graphics? What laptops would you recommend to someone in my situation? I'm not too limited on money.

 

[vapour]

IGPU is becoming better and better, like AMD Ryzen vega 8 IGPU, really capable playing many games at decent FPS. What is your budget? Living in US?

 

[dallinrldavis]

My budget is about 1500 at most. I don't know a ton about computers and so I just don't know how to tell which IGPU can run video games.

 

[vapour]

1500 US dollars? Living in which state? Could impact tax or not. You just google benchmark for the gpu or igpu. Any other requirements? Like 4K? What software in mind? Parallel computing etc?

 

[dallinrldavis]

1500 US dollars? Living in which state? Could impact tax or not. You just google benchmark for the gpu or igpu. Any other requirements? Like 4K? What software in mind? Parallel computing etc?

I want something portable. Maybe 13" or 14". I really like a metal chassis. It would be nice if it could have a long battery life. I'm currently looking at the HP Envy x 360 13z. It looks pretty solid.

 

[vapour]

Do you have a link?

 

[dallinrldavis]

https://store.hp.com/us/en/ConfigureView?catalogId=10051&langId=-1&storeId=10151&urlLangId=&catEntryId=3074457345618849820&quantity=1

 

[vapour]

Yeah, 2700U with the rest be your choice is good. Not sure about cooling though, experienced overheating with HP long time ago.

 

[vapour]

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834850835&cm_re=ryzen_laptop-_-34-850-835-_-Product

3.5 lbs and 8 hour battery.

 

[dallinrldavis]

What are your thoughts about the surface book 2?

 

[vapour]

What are your thoughts about the surface book 2?

That is not for programming, period...

 

[dallinrldavis]

What are your thoughts about the surface book 2?

That is not for programming, period...

Really? Thats interesting. May I ask why?

 

[vapour]

http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-7300U-vs-AMD-Ryzen-7-2700U/m223355vsm432558

7300U in surfacebook two lack roughly half the computational power.

 

[USAFRet]

What are your thoughts about the surface book 2?

That is not for programming, period...

Really? Thats interesting. May I ask why?

You can do "programming" with just about any device.
I've done stuff on my little Asus Transformer.

Now...if you get into the realm of things that take a long compile time, then a Surface is probably going to result in tears.

But a blanket statement of "That is not for programming, period..." is, IMHO, false.

 

[vapour]

What are your thoughts about the surface book 2?

That is not for programming, period...

Really? Thats interesting. May I ask why?

You can do "programming" with just about any device.
I've done stuff on my little Asus Transformer.

Now...if you get into the realm of things that take a long compile time, then a Surface is probably going to result in tears.

But a blanket statement of "That is not for programming, period..." is, IMHO, false.

My assumption is he is a computer engineering major and most programs enjoy more threads and more computational power. Yes, you can program on a celeron cpu or older, but painful

 

[USAFRet]

My assumption is he is a computer engineering major and most programs enjoy more threads and more computational power. Yes, you can program on a celeron cpu or older, but painful

You know what happens when you make 'assumptions', right?

 

[vapour]

@ USAFrEt

Could be my understanding of programming different from you too
I run large scale simulation and numerical solution and computational power is never too much

 

[dallinrldavis]

So what I really want is a laptop that meets the following.
1.13"-14"
2. Dedicated graphics
3. 2in1
4. Long battery life

The surface book is the only thing I've seen that meets this criteria. If I'm willing to bump up to 15.6" I have a lot more options. But I worry about that becoming cumbersome.

 

[USAFRet]

@ USAFrEt

Could be my understanding of programming different from you too
I run large scale simulation and numerical solution and computational power is never too much

And I manage and develop for a large worldwide system, with a user base of 150,000+, ranging from Tokyo to Berlin, everywhere in between, in both directions.
We can compare epeens all you want.

"Programming" encompasses a wide range of uses. Blanket statements usually never work.

 

[USAFRet]

So what I really want is a laptop that meets the following.
1.13"-14"
2. Dedicated graphics
3. 2in1
4. Long battery life

The surface book is the only thing I've seen that meets this criteria. If I'm willing to bump up to 15.6" I have a lot more options. But I worry about that becoming cumbersome.

The software and intensity of what you'll be doing dictates whether a Surface will suffice.
A 15" is probably not too large. For me, a 13-14" would be too small for everyday work.

 

[vapour]

If you think surface book is enough for your tasks, try to get 16 gb ram and dedicated gpu. Intel IGPU is kind of too weak compared to Vega 10 in Ryzen 2700U.

 

[logainofhades]

I think a 15" is going to be a much better option, for the money. You are paying a lot to get that small of a laptop, with any kind of power. I would go to an actual store, and try them out.

 

[4745454b]

Agreed. The 15.6" form factor should provide nearly anything you want. The smaller 12 or 13" "laptops" are usually more like netbooks. I've been out of the laptop scene for too long so I can't suggest a good model. But I do think you are looking for a 15" model.

 

[Rogue Leader]

https://store.hp.com/us/en/ConfigureView?catalogId=10051&langId=-1&storeId=10151&urlLangId=&catEntryId=3074457345618849820&quantity=1

I have the 15 inch version of this exact laptop (the 15z) with the Ryzen 5 2500U (Ryzen 7 was not available at the time), and 16gb of ram with the 256gb M.2 SSD. It absolutely flies, you will not be disappointed. And Vapours anecdotal overheating issues are nonexistant. I have been using HP laptops for years without issue.

For your use case this Laptop (or maybe the 15 inch like I have, a bit more money but the screen real estate is worth it) is the best idea.

 

[vapour]

@ Roger Leader

Good to know, that is why I added long time ago

@ OP

Agree with all above. For programming, we prefer multi screen so that we can see code and also running results or a different file that has reference to the function we are debugging, 14 inch is kind of tiny to do such work. 15 is probably a bette choice as all above mentioned. You have a actual user here so I think the HP one is a good choice.