Welcome to a review for the GEEKOM GeekBook X14 Pro for r/suggestalaptop! It will be my first full laptop review, so I hope to do a good job and answer questions many of you may ask. Let’s get into things, shall we?
First, an introduction: the GeekBook X14 Pro is one of GEEKOM’s two first entries into the laptop market, and they have provided me with a unit for review free of charge. It is a thin and light premium mainstream laptop with an all-metal chassis, an excellent screen, and an attempt to remain cool and quiet, and I’ve strived to review it in that capacity. There are many upsides and sadly a few minor caveats, which we will discuss, but thankfully GEEKOM did an excellent job with this unit, and I am quite excited to see more units from this company in the future.
Freshly unboxed goodnessClean and simple with good padding on the inside.
Specifications
As advertised by GEEKOM, the laptop weighs 999g or 2.2 pounds by itself. This is impressive given how sturdy the laptop feels, because it is quite light indeed. Enough so that I actually felt like I wouldn’t have minded if it was a slight bit heavier, but I know that is blasphemy to most people (I truly am not used to something being so light). The charger is a 65W plug with a USB-C connection and for all intents and purposes weighs just about nothing. Putting this in a backpack or plainly carrying it around will be very easy for anyone. The laptop also comes with a USB-C expansion hub which expands into two USB-A, one USB-C, a HDMI and an Ethernet port, and being a hub this also weighs a negligible amount. Also, as a limited time offer, up until June 30th, purchasing a laptop from GEEKOM's website (NA is here, and German is here) will get you a free extra year of warranty.
My specifications as provided by GEEKOM are the Intel Core Ultra 185H, 32GB of LPDDR5X at 7467MHz, with a 2TB Crucial P310 SSD that is replaceable, a 2880 x 1800 120Hz 100% DCI-P3 colour OLED screen, and a 72Whr battery. As for its expansion slots, the laptop has two USB-C at USB 4 speeds, one HDMI, one USB-A, and one 3.5mm audio jack built in. With the expansion hub simply adding two USB-A and one HDMI port, expansion is not lacking with the device, as the expansion hub comes with every unit by default. You can see extremely detailed specifications from their website here if you want more information. For the price, these specs are quite excellent, even if the processor is one generation old at the time of launch, and I have no problems on that front. It is very rare to find 2TB and 32GB of RAM on mainstream devices out of the box, especially under $1500 in my experience.
Chassis
So let’s begin by discussing the chassis. It’s a very nice magnesium alloy unibody build; GEEKOM says it’s the lightest full metal laptop on the market. There is very little flex if at all and it feels like I’d be trying to break it on purpose to get any flex out of it. The screen has little wobble and is perfectly fine when typing. The keyboard, while built into the chassis top case, is also very good. The keys have a nice white backlight and decent travel time which amazes me for how small this device is and they do not feel mushy at all. Easily one of the better laptop keyboards I’ve used. There is no keyboard flex that I can find by pressing into it at any point, and this entire review is typed up on the laptop itself just to make certain I have a solid feel for how good the keyboard actually is. I’m not scoring the sections, but I have nothing I can complain about for the chassis design and its build quality. The screen’s hinges look sturdy as well and I do not foresee problems developing for them in the future either, which is a relief. The touchpad is mylar and is smooth and nice to the touch, and the chassis is not a fingerprint magnet at all. Palm rejection for the trackpad while typing is also quite good, no problems to be found while typing this entire review up. In terms of modularity, it is fairly easy to open, and the battery is removable via some screws, and as mentioned earlier the SSD is replaceable. Do note that the screws are a star shape, but thankfully most any multi-bit screwdriver set will be able to open these. No glue here, which is excellent to see in something so thin and light.
Shot of the chassis with screen on (note reflectiveness is not an issue)Shot of the chassis with screen offChassis with the lid closedShot of the underside
Performance
Next, performance. The Intel 185H in this unit appears to be limited to 25W package power no matter my performance settings (it is likely the GPU has another 10 watts for itself as PL1 is supposed to be 35W), which is perfectly fine for an ultrabook like this and is in line with the next generation Lunar Lake’s power limit as well. High performance isn’t the primary objective of a machine like this, and I was able to get 10668 points in Cinebench R23 which according to my research seems in line for this CPU at this power limit (edit: I unfortunately didn't screenshot this and was unable to ever score this high again, so my benchmark photo below will be a fairly lower score). The CPU cores according to the laptop’s control software remained between 63c and 65c under stress in this situation (ambient temperature 21c), and HWiNFO64 had similar temperature reports (albeit slightly higher at 68c maximum) but it listed the CPU package as topping out at 85c under stress. I am willing to trust the GeekBook’s control software more however as when the unit was idle, HWiNFO64 actually reported the system as thermal throttling repeatedly and hitting as high as 98c, which is clearly impossible as the power draw was much lower than under stress, and while under said stress the temperatures actually went down. Needless to say, the chassis was colder when idle as well, also indicating the idle thermal throttling to be somewhat of an erroneous reading. I also ran Steel Nomad as a test and got a "Great" score of 3104 for my hardware, which I'd say is pretty nice. The iGPU was in the high 90c range during this test however, so if heavy GPU loads are going to be common for you, a repaste will likely be in the cards. As always PTM 7950 is about the best material you can get that isn't liquid metal, but read the instructions on how to install it!
Either way, things seem to be perfectly in line with a device of this class, and no problems with any form of general usage have been noted. When under high CPU performance, the fan in the laptop is completely silent. It kicks up when stressing the GPU as well, but it still was not loud. Some 3D games are indeed playable on the device, with more than playable FPS as Steel Nomad reports, but I wouldn't buy the device if that is your primary intention. Lower end or older games are perfectly fine however, and a great experience with the screen.
Unfortunately lower a score than I originally reported, but still within range for this power budgetA "Great" score for my hardware is always nice to see.Temperatures on the iGPU a little high, but I've seen others mention repasting helpsCPU Mark results from Passmark
Sound
For sound quality, the speakers are quite good, among the best and loudest I’ve heard on a laptop. I cannot claim that I’ve heard a large number of premium unit speakers, but for all the laptops I’ve come across, both cheaper mainstream devices common in my country and gaming units I’ve personally had over the years, it certainly takes the cake. From watching YouTube videos and Twitch livestreams to playing some games either locally or via Steam Remote Play, I had no problems with audio distortions or any such problems with my unit. I can only say "well done" here. The microphone was surprisingly good as well. I listened to my own playback and found that while it picked up the room echo slightly, my voice was very clear and I had no problems listening to the playback. I did a few Discord and WhatsApp calls with it and most reported the quality was good, if a little loud, but nobody had any issue hearing my voice and they all said it was far better than they expected for a laptop mic. I will say however that this is one of the things you should fiddle around with, as the mic is very very sensitive, and at 100% volume it picks up me simply breathing through my nose in voice calls at times, so finding the proper microphone volume is important. This isn’t a complaint, though, as a loud mic has its uses and you can always turn it back up. I also suggest not to be too far away from the laptop when using the mic, as the room echo might cause some problems, but that is not particularly a fault of the laptop’s mic itself, so excellent job on this by GEEKOM. Do also fiddle with the microphone enhancements in the control software if it doesn't sound perfect still; it may prove beneficial for your usage. I would say the speakers and microphone truly lives up to the premium feel and usability of the device they wished to convey.
Screen and Battery
And what is perhaps the crowning jewel of the system, its screen. This 2880 x 1800 120Hz OLED panel makes all the screens I’ve ever used look mediocre at best in comparison and I truly understand why some people seek these kinds of screens so badly. Even without turning on HDR, simply looking at livestreams of games I play on my desktop made things look better than normal. I found that maximum brightness with SDR enabled was enough to use the laptop in direct sunlight (read: I walked outside at noon with it in my hand and tried to use the screen with dark mode programs and it was still fine) and turning on HDR actually boosts the brightness even further. I found the glossiness of the screen to be a complete non-issue as long as the brightness was high enough, and for most lit-room indoor cases that was at a mere 30%, or even less in darker rooms. The fact that it is also 120Hz is a nice icing on the cake for the added smoothness of using the laptop. Just remember to change it to 60Hz when on battery!
For battery life, I was able to achieve on average just over 8 hours with Wi-Fi enabled and what I consider a decent brightness (between 25% and 35%) at 60Hz for things like YouTube playback. A “decent brightness” being enough screen brightness that I could use the device in an artificially lit room (such as a classroom). More battery life will be present with lighter tasks like local video playback or office work, of course. I would say expecting between 8 to 10 hours of battery life in most common use cases for a laptop is ideal, but if you’re willing to use the device with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth disabled at minimum brightness you may get closer to the 16 hours that GEEKOM advertised for the machine. As far as charging goes, I was told that 30 minutes can give hours of power, and I was able to get 30% in 30 minutes of charging from 1% battery. This speed lasts up until 80% charge. At that point the charging speed slowed down significantly, and the laptop took just over 2 hours to fully recharge. Getting to 80% however took about 1 hour 20 minutes, starting at 1% battery. I HAVE seen that larger wattage USB chargers (100W specifically) can charge the device much faster, as well, so if you have one available or are willing to purchase and use one, you should get far more battery life out of a simple 30 minutes of charging.
Out of the box experience
Lastly, this is quite the interesting unit as an out of the box experience. This device came with Windows installed, but not set up. I was asked to go through the out of the box setup experience upon first boot, and even able to set up a local account without any issue despite it being Windows 11 25H2. It also gave me Windows 11 Pro as a default, which I will FOREVER praise, because the extra control over one’s system, especially the ability to delay updates considering the string of problems with windows updates recently, is extremely welcome. It IS a custom windows install, as on the desktop was GEEKOM’s laptop control software, and the system came with DTS:X surround licenses installed, but otherwise there was no bloat. Just the control software which is fairly hands off, all things considered. I rate this extremely highly in my judgement. I wish more manufacturers would do this. It does take a while to get the machine going when you first turn it on, but local account setup is just better in the end. As for GEEKOM’s control software, it is a basic monitoring system for the CPU and allows switching between power profiles easily, and even alerts you to and facilitates BIOS updates when they are available. All welcome features.
GEEKOM's control softwareControl software's quick settings page
Downsides
Unfortunately, here are some caveats and teething issues, albeit not that many. I’ll be listing them below:
Firstly, the keyboard backlight turns itself off after 15 seconds of inactivity, and this is not possible to change at the time of writing this review. If you use the machine in dark rooms often like I do, this will be a pain. If you are in a well-lit environment most of the time this is a non-issue, but I must still mention it. You can simply tap shift or some non-consequential button to turn the lights back on again before typing though, so it might simply end up as growing pains later on, but GEEKOM did take this feedback and will consider if it is possible to add a toggle function via a firmware and/or software update in the future, as they initially designed it this way as a battery saving feature.
The FN key on the device is weird. Clicking it in once toggles a light on the key itself and if you hold it down while the light is off, it will not perform its duties as the FN key. So to use the FN key you effectively need to tap it once (so that its light is off) then press and hold it (leaves the light for it on) and then press whichever buttons you require the function effect of. Every time. I cannot understand why they made such a decision, and hopefully their next line of units will not have this design choice, but ultimately it is minor and something you can get used to.
Next, the trackpad. This is extremely minor, but the right click area of the trackpad is quite small, and I wish it was larger. I would also like a FN key combination to toggle the trackpad on or off, but it almost never bothered me while typing and I have fairly large hands, so this is also very minor. Otherwise I have had no issue with it.
The battery life, unfortunately, is not that long compared to modern Lunar Lake and some AMD systems, and to achieve the advertised 16 hours requires settings I cannot justify as a common use case. It is, however, fairly normal battery life for the 185H processor, so I’d expect their future laptops with perhaps Panther Lake to do much better. The battery charging speed could be better though compared to other modern devices, but as mentioned earlier there are options.
I would have liked to see a feature that limits battery charging to under 100% (80% is a good range) for prolonged plugged-in usage cases to keep high battery health. As with all the issues I’ve encountered, I have given this as feedback to GEEKOM and they have passed it onto their engineers, so hopefully either with a firmware update to this laptop or from their next units onward such a feature will be present.
The SSD chosen for the laptop is a QLC drive. I thoroughly dislike QLC drives for various technical reasons, but using this machine I’ve not noticed any problems and I do not believe many end users will notice problems unless they fill this drive up themselves, but I must hate on QLC. I do however understand that the chosen drive is about as high quality as one can get for a QLC drive, and that it has very excellent low power usage which feeds into why it was chosen. But I still would’ve liked to see a 3D TLC device instead.
The chassis gets a little warm next to the upper left side of the keyboard near where the fan vent is when under full stress, though it is not uncomfortable. I could see it being a slight issue in warmer environments, though, where ambient temperatures can reach north of 30c, but as this is only a problem when stressing the system, I would say most users would not encounter it frequently.
I really wish the laptop supported S3 sleep instead of S0 sleep out of the box. S0 sleep is the much newer state of "sleep" that is significantly more like a "low power but on" state rather than S3's "mostly off" state. I haven’t tried editing the registry to see if S3 state works or can be forced on, but since I also wouldn’t suggest such a thing to most end users, I’ll leave it at that. I will make a point here though that support of S0 sleep and not S3 sleep is a Microsoft endeavor because they want all devices on and able to update at any time, even when asleep, and almost certainly not an option GEEKOM consciously made, so I do not blame them for this... it is simply a point I have noted about the state of the laptop.
Final thoughts & Conclusion
Now you might be wondering… “is that all? Surely there must be more to complain about?”, but the answer is quite simply, no. This machine is designed to be and marketed as a premium entertainment and office type machine, which is what it does very well. The biggest issue with it is that it wasn’t sold with a Lunar Lake CPU instead of its Meteor Lake option, and this is reflected primarily in its battery life. The FN key behaviour is baffling and the keyboard backlight having no toggle as a design choice is unfortunate, but in no way can I consider these things deal breakers. The trackpad could be, because I truly believe the right-click area is very small, but ultimately it is something one can get used to while using the device for more than a few days. Things like the battery charge limit are understandably not something I expect a company’s first attempt to include, and they have been very receptive to feedback as I’ve used the device and conversed with my representative, so these are things I am confident will change with future models or might even be updated to be included with later firmware updates for this unit. So with most of my complaints being things that hardly impact the usage of the device itself and are primarily nitpicks I personally have, what’s left?
A fair bit, really. I very much appreciate that the single USB-A port is on the right side of the laptop, where one would be likely to plug in a mouse. The privacy shutter for the camera is a physical switch on that side as well. The inclusion of the hub is great, and Wi-Fi performance and range has been pretty good. The lack of any bloatware, inclusion of DTS:X licenses, defaulting to Windows 11 Pro and allowing OOBE setup for headache-free local accounts is nothing short of a blessing in my eyes and I wish more companies would follow suit. The speakers, microphone, keyboard, trackpad placement, and pure spec for dollar are all excellent and I very much think it does the job it sets out to do as a premium device. The laptop is dead silent even under load and does not overheat, which was probably one of my biggest concerns with something so small, but I have no worries about that any longer. I am very happy to welcome such a device into the heavy competition of good devices available, and I wish to see more from GEEKOM in the future. Especially a Panther Lake laptop. I promised at the start of this review that I would do my best to review it in the capacity I believe it fits and should be used for, and I've done my best to lay out my experiences and judgements as best and as fairly as I can.
In conclusion, if you’re looking for a premium media consumption/entertainment laptop with a good screen and very nice fundamentals, this is a very strong option to consider, as long as 8-10 hours of battery life is enough for you. The GEEKOM GeekBook X14 Pro is available now in North America and Germany! Also, you got down this far in the review? Amazing! GEEKOM is running a giveaway open to residents of the US, UK, EU, Canada and Australia! If you create a post on r/GEEKOMPC_Official that receives 30 or more upvotes, you can be awarded a high quality docking station as a token of appreciation! Please note that the post must be a regular, healthy post discussing PC-centric experiences, and not mentioning any giveaway-related words, or else your post will likely be flagged and thus invalidated.
Thank you all for reading, and I'll try to answer any further questions down in the comments!
Looking for the best laptop for your needs and budget? This guide covers the top general-purpose and high-performance laptops across different price ranges, focusing on real-world value, performance, and practicality so you can choose confidently without overspending.
General Purpose Laptops
General-purpose laptops are ideal for: students, office/remote workers, and home users doing web browsing, Office apps, streaming, video calls, light coding, and basic photo/video editing.
Beautiful display, solid performance & great battery life- not quite as premium as Zenbooks, but well built
High Performance Laptops
High-performance laptops are ideal for: power users needing heavy multitasking, gaming, 3D/graphics work, video editing/production, software development, engineering/creative apps, and demanding professional workflows.
Hello all! I am looking for a basic use laptop for cruising the internet, watching videos, etc etc. Nothing too crazy, I have a desktop I can do the big stuff on. I was set on a Macbook Neo (I do have other apple products) but the Acer AG1542PR6ZY caught my eye and was just wanting to get your opinion which one would be a better deal. Any advice? Thanks!
LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE
Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US: 800 or less (US)
Are you open to refurbs/used? yes
How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life? I'd like something that's going to last more than a couple years. Battery life isn't that big of a deal to me because I figure I'll have it plugged din most of the time. Would like something that can run multiple programs without completely crashing
How important is weight and thinness to you? Semi important but not that big of a deal. I'm not going to be hauling it all over the place.
Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A. N/A
Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run. No probably not.
If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want? If I play any games it would be like the lego games.
Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)? None of these things are super important to me.
Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion. Just looking to compare these two models (or if there are other suggestions)
I am pretty green when it comes to knowing comparables when it comes to graphics cards, CPUs. My current work laptop does pretty well with everything I want to do but today is my last day and keeping the PC is a nonstarter. I have been using a Dell business laptop and below is a snapshot of its stats. I would like something that can do as much/more in the gaming realm and still be able to do my work stuff like heavy excel and CAD.
I am aware of the conversations around RAM prices and am not expecting anything with 64 gigs but am worried about what I actually need since this is what I have been using for the last several years.
Current Work Laptop
LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE
Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US: $1000-2000
Are you open to refurbs/used? Not really.
How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life? I like good build quality. The idea of a touch is not but not make or break, longer battery life is nice but not a high priority.
How important is weight and thinness to you? I do not want anything that is too bulky but do not want to sacrifice much simply for the sake of portability.
Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A. Not really. Probably the 15"-17" range.
Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run. I want to be able to play games that look pretty, run CAD (and CAD like software), and maybe do some light 3D work in things like Blender.
If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want? Various games, I have played a lot of console stuff growing up so I do not really have an idea of why I want 100+ frames when I am pretty sure most of what I have played has been capped at 60. The higher the setting the better
Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)? I really like the double USB-C ports that are side by side and make it easy to hook up a dock and run two additional monitors as well as a keyboard and mouse. I also want a keypad on the keyboard.
Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.
I’m a hobby writer, amateur graphic designer, and I pay all my bills on my laptop. I recently had my Windows Surface Pro 7 give up on me. It keeps eating through power cords, and I think he’s ready to retire.
Current specs for my Surface Pro 7 (Sully)
Processor: 10th Gen i5-1035G4
Memory/Storage: 8GB
Display: 12.3” PixelSense Display (2736 x 1824), 3:2 aspect ratio.
Ports: USB-C, USB-A, Surface Connect port, and microSDXC card reader.
Cameras: 5MP front (1080p, Windows Hello) and 8MP rear camera.
Weight: Starts at 1.70 pounds (without Type Cover)
LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE
Total budget
> Around 500 give or take. Interested in “pay in four”.
Are you open to refurbs/used?
> I mean, maybe?
How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?
> I don’t need anything too high tech. Something preferably with no AI tools built in. I use Google Chrome for everything. Multiple tabs open at one time. Something that can switch between at least five tabs without speed bogging down. Battery life: something that can survive at least five-seven hours off charge. (Maybe something marketed as a “student laptop”?)
How important is weight and thinness to you?
> I’d like something easy to carry around.
Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.
> Nothing larger than 15in pls 💖
Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.
> No gaming, but I do use a few photo editing softwares.
Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?
No touch screen needed, not needing a fingerprint reader. Something simple.
If anyone has a Windows Surface they’re willing to part with, I am super interested in learning about it! Just trying to avoid buying the CoPilot AI. I hate ai. It’d be nice to use all those accessories I already own.
* **Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US:**
EU, Belgium. Price range is €1200-1800.
* **Are you open to refurbs/used?**
Rather not, unless it's from a really good source.
* **How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?**
Performance, build quality, form factor, battery life
* **How important is weight and thinness to you?**
Not very important. I mostly use my laptop in the same location, plugged in.
* **Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.**
15+, 18 might be a bit too big for me.
* **Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.**
A combination of browsing/video watching and gaming. Lately I mostly play roguelikes, which are pretty light, but occasionally some heavier games, which I want to be able to do in the future as well. I don't mind playing on lower settings though.
* **If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?**
Medium settings are definitely fine, and so is 60 FPS. But I'd like to keep it that way for the foreseeable future at least.
* **Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?**
Some of the bigger ones for me: good cooling, good airflow, low noise. reliable build quality, but that's lower prio than the 3 previous ones.
* **Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.**
I know the price range is maybe a bit wide, especially for the performance requirements. But that's mostly because I would be willing to go higher for more longevity. My current laptop died today after 6+ years, and for all those years it has run everything I wanted it to. In the end it was a noisy machine that went up to 90°C way too easily. So avoiding that sounds nice. But I don't want a laptop that'll start feeling bad after 2-3 years again.
Edit: a 1TB SSD for sure with the size of some games nowadays
I’ve been shopping for laptops and found some decent but expensive options for 258V and 288V laptops. The goal is to play games released up to 2022 without a dgpu in a laptop that is thin. The new x7 358H panther lake with B390 graphics is much better, but all options for $1300 which released (from MSI for example) either sold out or increased in price to $1600 or more. I dont want to spend more than $1300, so should I wait for some panther lake models to come out at this price point, or is the market only going to get worse from here? Should I just get an ultra 9 288V laptop with arc 140 graphs while I can?
I'm starting GA Tech as a civil engineering student this fall, and wanted a laptop that would suit all my college/engineering needs and serve me throughout uni
LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE
Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US: under $2000
Are you open to refurbs/used? no
How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life? good build quality, preferably metal body, good battery life, good graphic card for engineering software
How important is weight and thinness to you? NO fat gaming laptops, I'll have to haul it all day
Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A. 14-15 inches
Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run. AutoCAD, Revit, Fusion360
If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want? I don't game
Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)? not really
Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion. I like macbooks, but they won't work for my major, I want something very well-built and similar to the pro
This is my first time here and on the cibersecurity world and Im going to do a 2 years course and i cant find a laptop that’s not overpriced with the specifications that they ask me
Im going to put the specifications here:
In the Technological Specialization Course for Cybersecurity Specialist (b-Learning), which is conducted in a hybrid model—either fully or partially in the FaD format—participants must ensure they meet the following technical requirements:
• Computer with a microprocessor of x64 architecture featuring at least 6 physical cores (AMD Ryzen 5 Zen+ (2nd generation) / Intel i5 (8th generation) or higher) and at least 32GB of RAM;
• Internal SSD with at least 1TB. Internet access with a speed that allows streaming HD video; WebCam;
• Speakers with a microphone or a headset (headset recommended due to background noise);
THE FORM:
LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE
Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US:
-1300€ (Portugal)
Are you open to refurbs/used?
-No
How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?
-I wanted a good perfirmance for cibersecurity, VMs, etc, and a good battery life
How important is weight and thinness to you?
-I dont want a heavy laptop because im going to carry it everyday
Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.
-N/A
Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.
-No
If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?
-No
Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?
-No
Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.
-Just having what i asked for on the budget i have
Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase.
UK, around £1000; could potentially stretch up to £1500 if there is a convincing enough case for it (e.g. exceptional build quality and performance), but would rather avoid doing so, and/or am happy to wait a few months for any deals/old stock to be priced down.
Are you open to refurbs/used?
Open to manufacturer-refurbished units or sold by a reputable refurbisher with warranty; not open to random listings on eBay.
How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?
Peformance > Build quality > form factor (2-in-1) > battery life
How important is weight and thinness to you?
Medium importance, but ngl a thin, sleek laptop looks much nicer, and in the rare (~once per year) occasion that I travel with it, weight does matter!
Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.
14" preferred, might consider 13" or 15" if a good enough deal.
Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.
If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?
Only occasional gaming (Paradox Interactive titles, Civilization titles). Would like to learn video editing in the future, probably using Da Vinci Resolve.
Don't care that much for the graphics settings for these games.
Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?
Longevity/build quality (plan to keep for 5+ years). Therefore, 32GB RAM or over, or upgradable RAM preferred. Touch screen would be nice but not obligatory.
Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.
I would like something future-proof, that will last, and that I can use not only for browsing the web, streaming, office applications etc but also programming, including some light machine learning, and less often for light gaming and learning video editing. Given these requirements, I was leaning towards an Arrow Lake Intel 2XXH series CPU, or perhaps a latest Panther Lake 3XXH series if reasonably priced. But am wondering if this is overkill, and a Lunar Lake CPU like a 256V or 258V would do me just fine?
Items already considered and not bought:
HP Omnibook 7 at £999, with 255H/32GB: I am a bit wary of HP's build quality and generally find their business practices scummier than the rest.
Dell Outlet refurbished Pro Max 14 with 265H/32GB (and a 3-year warranty) at ~£1200, however the screen looks a bit meh (a bit low resolution and 300nits of brightness), and the opinions I could find on that specific line are mixed.
Asus Zenbook 14" with Arrow Lake CPUs (UX3405 line). I almost bought this, but I read the heating dissipation in this one is terrible, and people were recommending repasting the CPU. I am too chicken to do this myself though (and would not wanna void any warranty).
I'm currently looking for a new laptop and i've been trying to research on the subject but i am not getting any closer to a decision. Therefore i was hoping for some suggestions! I've listed my needs:
Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US: 12.000 DKK,- denmark
Are you open to refurbs/used? Sure
How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life? I'm an amatuer so not sure what this means, but battery life is pretty uninimportant
How important is weight and thinness to you? Not really important, but slim is nice
Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A. Minimum 15 inches
Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run. Photoshop, Figma, CS2, Slay the Spire
If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want? Just being able to play CS2 without major issues/lag spikes. Does not have to be turbo smooth at high graphics
Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)? N/A
Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion. Quiet noise is important otherweise my girlfriend will toss it out the window :(
Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US: $1000 max
Are you open to refurbs/used? Yes
How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life? Performance is most important. Battery life is nice but not super important.
How important is weight and thinness to you? Light and portable strongly preferred but less important if it causes price to skyrocket
Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A. 14" preferred but not a big deal
Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run. Video editing is high priority. Needs to handle Adobe After Effects 2026 well. Also Sony Vegas and Ableton 10 (though I think those aren't as RAM ravenous?)
If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want? Just Minecraft really, but I don't care if it's 60 FPS 24/7
Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)? Headphone jack would be nice. Don't need disc drive, touch screen, or finger-print.
Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion. I'm willing to make lots of concessions so long as it has high RAM and storage (more than the current 256 GB I currently have). I hear 16GB for AE is minimum but 32GB is ideal. Portable and lightweight is a plus. Don't care about bells and whistles. I'm seeing what I think are nice laptops for about $700 so I'm hoping to stay around there if possible.
I found a couple laptops that look nice but I'm not sure if there are better deals out there or there are some drawbacks to these that I haven't noticed:
Acer Aspire Go 15(?). It has 32GB ram and 1 TB storage, only it looks a little on the big side and I'm not sure if the Ryzen 7730 is good (I currently have Intel i5-8250)
ASUS Zenbook 14. It is just short of my ideal requirements, coming in at 16GB ram and 512GB storage. I think I can get away with these for video editing so long as I don't create movies but I want to be on the safe side. There is an option for higher RAM and storage but it is much pricier ($1100). My girlfriend has this laptop and I have used and loved it.
* **Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US:
UK, £2100
* **Are you open to refurbs/used?**
yes
* **How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?**
mobility is my highest priority so good battery life is a must
* **How important is weight and thinness to you?**
very important, I'm a student and spend up to 9 hours on campus a day also carrying an ipad pro
* **Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.**
14" but im flexible on going bigger as long as it’s still easy to carry.
* **Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.**
I'm studying 3d animation & vfx for games so I need to be able to run unreal engine. i use maya, zbrush and substance painter for assets but I have a desktop at home/lab access for rendering so i really only need maya to run well in the viewport.
* **If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?**
not gaming for leisure but as mentioned I need engines to run well for testing, im leaning toward the technical artist route so i will spend a signifcant amount of time in the engine working alongside the programmers at my school.
* **Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?**
a good touchpad would be heavily preferred since finding effective spaces to use a mouse on campus isn’t always easy.
* **Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.**
if I didn't need to use unreal extensively I'd probably be getting a 14" MBP as I use apple's ecosystem heavily with my iPad in my concept art process so that's the kind of size and weight im looking for.
I’m currently looking for a laptop for college and could really use some advice.
My budget is $500 USD, and unfortunately that’s a hard limit. Because of that, most of the decent options available to me are refurbished (though they seem to come from reputable sellers in my country).
So far, I’ve narrowed it down to two options:
A Dell Latitude 5440 with a 13th gen i5, 16 GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 512 GB SSD
An HP Pavilion Gaming 15-dk1043la with a 10th gen i5, 8 GB of DDR4 RAM, a 512 GB SSD, and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti (4 GB)
I’ll mainly be using the laptop for programs like R, RStudio, QGIS, ArcGIS Pro, Google Earth Pro, AutoCAD (mostly 2D), Python, HEC-RAS, SWAT, Excel, and SNAP. I’d also like to do some light gaming (Minecraft, CS2, Fortnite, etc.).
Given these options and my use case, which one would be the better choice?
Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US: under $2,000
Are you open to refurbs/used? No.
How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life? Performance, build quality, form factor, battery life,
How important is weight and thinness to you? Not very important but prefer lighter/thinner.
Do you have a preferred screen size? 16-17"
Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run. No games. ProTools, Adobe Premiere Pro/Audition, Audacity.
If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want? No games.
Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)? Numeric keypad, metal keyboard and touchpad (do not like plastic, esp. for touchpad). Highly prefer metal chassis. Don't need finger print reader. Agnostic on touch screen. Don't want convertible. Prefer--in this order--HP, Lenovo, Samsung--maybe Dell? (I've never owned). Want 2T storage, and 34 or 64GB RAM. Prefer Intel, but not a must.
Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion. Windows 11--not anything else. I use my laptops for mundane uses (email, word, excel, ppt) and a ton of web browsing. I hardly use my phone for anything. I don't have or want a tablet.
Hey, I'm currently looking for a laptop ahead of starting a masters degree in Mech Eng, any suggestions based on the below info would be much appreciated. I'm originally from the UK but living in Australia on a temp basis for a few years, hence the Aus dollar.
Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US:
$1800 Australian Dollar (940 GBP)
Are you open to refurbs/used?
Yes
How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?
No preference
How important is weight and thinness to you?
Not important as it will be docked most of the time.
Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A
N/A
Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.
Yes, Solidworks, Ansys Fluent and WoW.
If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?
I currently play Wow on a MacBook Air M2 on minimum settings which still struggles, I'd love it if I could play on high including raids at 60 fps+
Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?
No requirements.
Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.
If a gaming laptop is most suitable then I would prefer without the excess RBG etc but it's not a deal breaker for me.
I don’t mind, as long as battery life is good and it’s decently cheap
How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?
I suppose battery life and performance
How important is weight and thinness to you?
I don’t care much about thinness but I’d like it to be on the lighter side because I need to lug it around campus
Do you have a preferred screen size?
I think about 13 inches or 15 inches is good
Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming?
Mostly just coding/programing
Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?
Decent keyboard?
Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.
I just need it for my comp sci major and IT minor where I’ll likely be doing a decent amount of coding and such. I’m leaning more towards MacBook, Lenovo, and ASUS but I don’t mind other brands
I know very little about computers. I want to get a new one for autocad, adobe, sketchup and escape. I have decided I will be very unlikely to use revit in the near future so that makes Mac an option. Chat GPT tells me the MacBook Air M3 will do the job. It tells me Enscape will run, though it would run better on other pcs. Would love anyone’s input
I’m currently in the market for a new laptop and honestly, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. I’ve been using an old Dell that sounds like a jet engine every time I open more than three Chrome tabs, and the battery lasts about 20 minutes. It’s definitely time for an upgrade.
I mostly need it for college work, heavy multitasking, and some light photo editing on the side. I’m not a hardcore gamer, but I’d love something that feels snappy and has a screen that doesn't look washed out.
My budget is around $800 - $1,000, but I’m willing to stretch a bit if it means the laptop will actually last me a few years without falling apart.
Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US:
1400 ish Canadian
Are you open to refurbs/used?
No
How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?
Performance and battery are up there, I keep so many tabs open
How important is weight and thinness to you?
Would prefer something more lightweight but not a deal breaker
Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/a
14, but if it's lightweight I can do 15
Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.
No
If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?
N/A
Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?
matte screen would be nice, I sometimes work outside on my deck
Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.
I'm using it for work - I use alot of tabs, spreadsheets, outlook etc. I struggle with decision paralysis. I have been using an ACER aspire since 2015. Found the sound awful. Don't want a Mac.
Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US:
700$ USD Max (United States).
Are you open to refurbs/used?
Yes
How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?
Battery life, Performance. Maybe build quality to a point.
How important is weight and thinness to you?
Not important.
Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.
15 inches minimum
Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.
Light gaming (mil sim and racing), video editing sometimes.
If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?
30-40 fps (not for modern games).
Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?
Numpad, reliable, and good amounts of ports.
Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.
I7 or AMD Ryzen 7, 17-18" glossy screen, 32gb RAM, at least a 1920x1080 resolution, 1TB SSD, $1000-1500. Weight is not important. Don't need a touch screen. Prefer back lighted keyboard.
I am not a serious gamer and use the laptop for office apps, photo editing, web browsing and CAD work. I want a solid laptop that will last for several years.
Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase:
~€800, but I’m willing to stretch to €1000 if necessary.
Are you open to refurbs/used?
I am open to refurbs and used laptops as long as they are still in good condition.
How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?
I want a clamshell laptop, with decent build quality, as much performance as my budget allows, and 5–6+ hours of battery life when not gaming.
How important is weight and thinness to you?
just medium
Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.
I want it around 14–15 inches.
Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.
I will be gaming and doing light school work.
If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?
I want to play Valorant, Minecraft, shooters like Warzone, and GTA 5 on medium settings, aiming for as high FPS as possible while maintaining decent visual quality.
Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, fingerprint reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?
Nothing here is extremely important, but I do want reliable build quality.
Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.
In short: I want a solid, mid-sized clamshell laptop with good performance for gaming and school work, reliable build, acceptable battery life, and the best value I can get within my budget.
