Question Seeking Laptop Recommendation (Upgrading from 2012 HP M6-1045DX)

[L0N3STARR]

Howdy, my friends! I am excited to finally upgrade my laptop for the first time since July of 2012.

If you're interested in hearing about my old laptop, read this, if not, skip on to the next part!
I am super impressed with how well the old laptop held up, over the years, with some tinkering and help from me. It was an HP M6-1045DX. It had a 15.6" display, an i5-3210m CPU, 8 GB of RAM, and a 750 GB HDD. The HDD failed in 2014, so I upgraded to a 500 GB Samsung 850 EVO. I replaced the entire top panel of the laptop once, the disc drive, and the screen three times. The backlight on the screen has died, and so has the Wi-Fi module. Enough is enough. I am done repairing it, and ready for something new!
[TL;DR] My old laptop worked well and I feel I got what I paid for. I was able to keep it alive a long time.

On to the new laptop...
Here are my responses to the questionnaire:

1. What is your budget?
I'd like to stay below $1500

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
Something large enough to have a numpad.
I like a 15 - 17" display, but am intrigued by the idea of having something smaller / more portable, so I'm really open to any recommendation as long as it has a numpad.

3. What screen resolution do you want?
Above 1080p is my only hard requirement. Higher resolution / refresh rate would be great.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
I want it to be portable in a literal sense, but it doesn't have to be an ultra-light or anything. I am open to light or heavy recommendations.
I don't expect it to replace my desktop, but I do expect it to be able to perform well.

5. How much battery life do you need?
At least 3 - 5 hours. Obviously more is better.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low, Medium or High)?
Yes. I'd like to be able to play modern games on at least medium settings. The biggest requirement is I'd like to be able to play my Oculus Rift S and let friends and family try it with this laptop without it crashing. Doesn't need to be on par with my desktop that has an RTX 2070 Super or anything, but something that can at least play basic titles like "Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes" or Superhot VR. I'd also like to be able to host a Java Minecraft server on it, and play on that Minecraft server from this laptop with up to at least 3 other people connected.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Software I'll definitely be using on this laptop:
Adobe Premiere
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe InDesign
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Visio
Streamlabs OBS (ability to run Twitch streams when I travel)
MAYBE blender or similar
MAYBE some game development

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
I'd like AT LEAST 1 TB of storage. I'm okay with split storage (small SSD for OS, large spinner for games and files) but obviously a large SSD is preferable. More space than 1 TB would be great, but 1TB is the minimum.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
I can buy from wherever, as long as it's safe and legit.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
Well, I had the previous one for 8 years. I'd like this one to last at least 5.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
I don't NEED one, but a blu-ray read / write drive is a nice to have.

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
I have had good experiences with Dell, HP and Lenovo. I have had bad experiences with Acer and Toshiba. I am open to any brand though, as long as it works well. Must be Windows. I do not prefer Apple products.

13. What country do you live in?
USA.

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
Must have a numpad and a good touch pad. I don't always use a USB mouse.
I'd LOVE something that my wife and I can have double as a drawing tablet, but that's a nice to have, not a hard requirement. If I only got one "nice to have" this is the one I'd want.
I'd love for it to have touch screen and tablet mode, but those are, once again, nice to haves, not hard requirements.

 

[LordVile]

Howdy, my friends! I am excited to finally upgrade my laptop for the first time since July of 2012.

If you're interested in hearing about my old laptop, read this, if not, skip on to the next part!
I am super impressed with how well the old laptop held up, over the years, with some tinkering and help from me. It was an HP M6-1045DX. It had a 15.6" display, an i5-3210m CPU, 8 GB of RAM, and a 750 GB HDD. The HDD failed in 2014, so I upgraded to a 500 GB Samsung 850 EVO. I replaced the entire top panel of the laptop once, the disc drive, and the screen three times. The backlight on the screen has died, and so has the Wi-Fi module. Enough is enough. I am done repairing it, and ready for something new!
[TL;DR] My old laptop worked well and I feel I got what I paid for. I was able to keep it alive a long time.

On to the new laptop...
Here are my responses to the questionnaire:

1. What is your budget?
I'd like to stay below $1500

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
Something large enough to have a numpad.
I like a 15 - 17" display, but am intrigued by the idea of having something smaller / more portable, so I'm really open to any recommendation as long as it has a numpad.

3. What screen resolution do you want?
Above 1080p is my only hard requirement. Higher resolution / refresh rate would be great.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
I want it to be portable in a literal sense, but it doesn't have to be an ultra-light or anything. I am open to light or heavy recommendations.
I don't expect it to replace my desktop, but I do expect it to be able to perform well.

5. How much battery life do you need?
At least 3 - 5 hours. Obviously more is better.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low, Medium or High)?
Yes. I'd like to be able to play modern games on at least medium settings. The biggest requirement is I'd like to be able to play my Oculus Rift S and let friends and family try it with this laptop without it crashing. Doesn't need to be on par with my desktop that has an RTX 2070 Super or anything, but something that can at least play basic titles like "Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes" or Superhot VR. I'd also like to be able to host a Java Minecraft server on it, and play on that Minecraft server from this laptop with up to at least 3 other people connected.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Software I'll definitely be using on this laptop:
Adobe Premiere
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe InDesign
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Visio
Streamlabs OBS (ability to run Twitch streams when I travel)
MAYBE blender or similar
MAYBE some game development

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
I'd like AT LEAST 1 TB of storage. I'm okay with split storage (small SSD for OS, large spinner for games and files) but obviously a large SSD is preferable. More space than 1 TB would be great, but 1TB is the minimum.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
I can buy from wherever, as long as it's safe and legit.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
Well, I had the previous one for 8 years. I'd like this one to last at least 5.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
I don't NEED one, but a blu-ray read / write drive is a nice to have.

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
I have had good experiences with Dell, HP and Lenovo. I have had bad experiences with Acer and Toshiba. I am open to any brand though, as long as it works well. Must be Windows. I do not prefer Apple products.

13. What country do you live in?
USA.

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
Must have a numpad and a good touch pad. I don't always use a USB mouse.
I'd LOVE something that my wife and I can have double as a drawing tablet, but that's a nice to have, not a hard requirement. If I only got one "nice to have" this is the one I'd want.
I'd love for it to have touch screen and tablet mode, but those are, once again, nice to haves, not hard requirements.

Lol I like how you say you don't prefer apple products despite it making zero sense to buy an apple product here.

I would look at the Zen 4000 laptops that are being launched. They're hard to find now but are pretty great compared to intel ones.

Something like these:

https://www.asus.com/uk/Laptops/ASUS-TUF-Gaming-A15/wheretobuy/

｜Laptops & 2-in-1 PCs ｜ASUS United Kingdom

www.asus.com

 

[L0N3STARR]

Lol I like how you say you don't prefer apple products despite it making zero sense to buy an apple product here.

I would look at the Zen 4000 laptops that are being launched. They're hard to find now but are pretty great compared to intel ones.

Lol if there's one thing I've learned about Apple fanatics, it's that they'll find any excuse to recommend a Mac. Especially if you're using Adobe products.

I'll definitely look into those two! Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[LordVile]

Lol if there's one thing I've learned about Apple fanatics, it's that they'll find any excuse to recommend a Mac. Especially if you're using Adobe products.

I'll definitely look into those two! Thanks for the recommendation!

Hey I have a MacBook Pro and it is excellent but it's not a gaming machine.
I would take Final Cut over premiere any day of the week tbh. Premiere is too expensive.

 

[L0N3STARR]

Hey I have a MacBook Pro and it is excellent but it's not a gaming machine.
I would take Final Cut over premiere any day of the week tbh. Premiere is too expensive.

The only thing you're telling me here is that you're not a true Apple fanatic, and gaining more of my trust, because you're willing to recognize that PC also has its place. The true Apple fanatics I've had the pleasure of dealing with are like zombies, and won't consider anything else for any reason.

My mother is a graphic designer, and I agree, with their displays and hardware optimization, Macs are great for video and photo editing, and for layout. They definitely have their place.

But like you were saying, for a multipurpose machine, used for gaming, editing, development, and daily use I think a PC is the better option. At least for my needs. And I feel like you tend to get a little more bang for your buck out of a PC. But what do I know? haha

I am pretty intrigued by the A15 you sent me! Definitely going to continue my research on that one. Thanks again!

 

[LordVile]

The only thing you're telling me here is that you're not a true Apple fanatic, and gaining more of my trust, because you're willing to recognize that PC also has its place. The true Apple fanatics I've had the pleasure of dealing with are like zombies, and won't consider anything else for any reason.

My mother is a graphic designer, and I agree, with their displays and hardware optimization, Macs are great for video and photo editing, and for layout. They definitely have their place.

But like you were saying, for a multipurpose machine, used for gaming, editing, development, and daily use I think a PC is the better option. At least for my needs. And I feel like you tend to get a little more bang for your buck out of a PC. But what do I know? haha

I am pretty intrigued by the A15 you sent me! Definitely going to continue my research on that one. Thanks again!

Personally prefer MacOS for daily driving I have so many issues with windows.

yeah the Ryzen 4000 chips are pretty great and the GPU isn’t bad you can get a decent amount of laptop now for less than 2 grand.

 

[L0N3STARR]

Personally prefer MacOS for daily driving I have so many issues with windows.

yeah the Ryzen 4000 chips are pretty great and the GPU isn’t bad you can get a decent amount of laptop now for less than 2 grand.

Yeah, totally understand. OS is really a personal preference. I've never had an overly bad experience with Windows, and never enjoyed using MacOS. But totally respect others who have a preference for using MacOS.

I've never had an AMD CPU, but in recent years hear nothing but love for them! I agree, getting an RTX 2060 in a laptop for under $2k is amazing! Gotta love the advancement of technology!

 

[LordVile]

Yeah, totally understand. OS is really a personal preference. I've never had an overly bad experience with Windows, and never enjoyed using MacOS. But totally respect others who have a preference for using MacOS.

I've never had an AMD CPU, but in recent years hear nothing but love for them! I agree, getting an RTX 2060 in a laptop for under $2k is amazing! Gotta love the advancement of technology!

Since Zen come out they’ve been actually competitive and forced intel to improve too. Wouldn’t have seen an 8 core intel chip without Zen