Hi everyone,
As many of you know, Intel, NVIDIA, and AMD have all made major announcements announcing new CPUs and GPUs. These announcements have changed the laptop market signicantely! Below, I will have relevant posts link:
Intel Announces 3 New 35W 11th Gen Tiger Lake CPUs
AMD Announces Ryzen 5000 Mobile CPUs: 15W U Chips, 35W HS Chips, 45W H Chips, and 45W+ HX Chips
NVIDIA Announces RTX 30 Series GPUs: RTX 3060 Laptops Starting @ $999, RTX 3070 Laptops Starting @ $1,299, RTX 3080 Laptops Starting @ $1,999
[U.S] List of All New RTX 3000 Series + Intel 11th Gen + Ryzen 5000 General Use and Gaming Laptops!
[Canada] List of All New RTX 3000 Series + Intel 11th Gen + Ryzen 5000 General Use and Gaming Laptops!
[UK] List of All New RTX 3000 Series + Intel 11th Gen + Ryzen 5000 General Use and Gaming Laptops!
You may have already saw my list of general use laptops. This time, I have an updated version of my general list of good gaming options. If you are looking for a general use devices list, please click here to view my list from January 2021!
As a reminder, this list isn't a definitive list to determine what you should get. It should give you an overall idea of what you should be able to expect in a given price range. If you have any questions about anything listed here, let me know, I will assist you!
This category applies to anyone who is on a tight budget, all the way to the most expensive devices. It applies to anyone who want to play lighter games, as well as demanding games. Here are some bullet points to refer to when looking for a good gaming laptop:
Look for a good processor! For gaming, the processor is definitely an important factor. It is more important than in a general use device, since games will benefit from having higher clock speeds and more cores / threads. Most of the U processors are not ideal for gaming, since they often cannot sustain their boost clock speeds. But, they can still make do on a budget. Here is the order of processor strength of the devices I will be presenting: i5-4300M < i5-1035G1 < i5-10300H < Ryzen 5 4500U < i5-10500H < Ryzen 5 4600H = i7-9750H < i7-10750H < Ryzen 7 4800HS < Ryzen 7 4800H = i7-10870H < i7-10875H < Ryzen 9 4900HS < i9-10980HK < Ryzen 9 5900HS
Look for a good graphics card! This is the most important aspect for gaming! This is the main factor that will be able to fuel gaming capability. Here is the order of weakest to strongest GPUs that are available on this list: Intel HD Graphics 4600 < Intel UHD Graphics G1 < Vega 6 [Ryzen 4000] < MX350 < GTX 1650 < GTX 1650 Ti < GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q < GTX 1660 Ti < RTX 2060 Max-Q < RTX 2060 < RTX 3060 Max-Q < RTX 2070 < RTX 3060 < RTX 3070 Max-Q < RTX 3070 < RTX 3080 Max-Q < RTX 3080
Please keep in mind that for this generation of GPUs, wattage matters a lot, often more important than the GPU model. For example, a very high wattage RTX 3060 may outperform a lower wattage RTX 3070 or RTX 3080. We don't have enough numbers yet to know exact equivalents, however, for your convenience, I have included all of the wattages that are known for the RTX 3000 laptops on my list.
Pay attention to thermals! This has become larger and larger of an issue in recent times. As much as I love the power of the new AMD Ryzen 4000 series processors, some manufacturers have decided to skimp out on cooling, meaning that these processors will happily run at 100°C, which really isn't ideal for long term use. So, you should search up reviews on the device you intend on purchasing for an idea about how hot it runs. If you intend on getting an AMD Ryzen 4000 series processor, take a look at my tutorial video on how to disable turbo boost on Ryzen 4000 series laptops. It will decrease temperatures by 20°C to 25°C in games without affecting gaming performance.
In wake of the release of the subreddit's official website, laptopsdeals.net, this month's list is conveniently organized in a table there.
A lot of these laptops are not necessarily on sale, so keep your eyes peeled for the deals that are regularly posted on the subreddit! If you're looking for a specific laptop recommendation, considering making a request in the pinned weekly request thread.
If you are looking for a general device instead, take a look at my Best General Use Laptop list from January 2021.
Hi everyone,
For this month, I've updated this list with newer options that now run Windows 11 instead of Windows 10. Most options are similar as before.
My best gaming laptops list was last month. This time, I have an updated version of my general list of good general use options. If you are looking for a gaming laptop list instead, please click here to view my list from January 2022!
As a reminder, this list isn't a definitive list to determine what you should get. It should give you an overall idea of what you should be able to expect in a given price range. If you have any questions about anything listed here, let me know, I will assist you!
Here is a general list for options that are good for general use.
General use applies to anyone who streams videos or movies, browses the Internet, does school work, does music production, etc. This list also has options that are good for light gaming.
If you're looking for a specific laptop recommendation, considering making a request in the pinned weekly request thread.
Here is a small guide for searching for a good general use laptop.
Look for a decent processor! For general use, you will likely want at least an i3 or Ryzen 3 processor for smooth performance. Big into multitasking? Then, go for at least a quad core processor. It is important to note that Intel has continued to excel in single-core performance, while AMD has continued to excel in multi-core performance, and as a result, it is a bit difficult to compare options from both brands. As a result, I have organized the CPUs into general categories [generally in performance order, but as I mentioned earlier, the discrepancy makes comparison difficult]:
Low-End CPUs: MediaTek Helio P60T, Celeron N4020, 4th Gen i5
Mid-Range CPUs: Ryzen 5 3450U, i5-1135G7, Ryzen 5 5500U, Ryzen 5 4680U, i5-11300H
High-End CPUs: i7-1165G7, i7-1195G7, i7-11370H, Ryzen 7 4700U, Ryzen 7 5700U, Ryzen 7 5800U, Ryzen 7 5800H, Apple M1
Look for SSDs in laptops! If you want a smooth performance, an SSD is highly recommended for faster boot times and faster load times. Any laptop with an extra M.2 slot can add this 120 GB ADATA SU650 M.2 2280 SSD. Any laptop with an extra 2.5" drive slot can add this 120 GB Inland Professional 2.5" SATA III SSD.
Looking for a good battery life or low weight? It is available! If you're looking for a good battery life, look for a laptop with a large capacity battery. Additionally, if the laptop has a high-power CPU [H], battery life will be lower. For general use, most people will be fine with a low-power CPU [Y, U] processors, which will improve battery life. Another factor is a dedicated graphics card. Most users won't need one. If you don't need a dedicated graphics card, then it is a wise choice to avoid one for a better battery life. In the $500+ range, a low weight is easy to find.
In wake of the release of the subreddit's official website, laptopsdeals.net, this month's list is conveniently organized in a table there.
A lot of these laptops are not necessarily on sale, so keep your eyes peeled for the deals that are regularly posted on the subreddit! If you're looking for a specific laptop recommendation, considering making a request in the pinned weekly request thread.
If you are looking for a gaming device instead, take a look at my Best Gaming Laptop list from January 2022.