LAPTOP HELP!

ibrahimk said:

Hello. I'm looking to buy a laptop that will be good for light gaming and for programming software as I'm majoring in digital forensics. I don't know what computer to get, let alone the brand. Any suggestions would be great. 

"Light gaming" can be interpreted a variety of ways, I'm sure you understand, so might want to be a bit more specific with your inquiry

For most games though, except the select few out there, they're mostly going to be GPU intensive, so that would be your primary concern, and then a reasonably robust CPU (quad core of course) should round out the rest. There's a few games out there (i.e., Cities Skylines, Hitman, COD: IW) that will lean heavily to your CPU, but again a solid quad core with hyper threading and turbo boost from Intel should suffice very well, as well as any other common task performed on something with a laptop form factor.

Considering you're looking into a laptop, size is limited, as are upgrade options, so whatever set of guts you have likely aren't going to be upgradeable. This means the GPU and CPU combo you have is what you likely will always have to work with for as long as you use the unit, but there's a workaround for that we'll cover in a bit.

For under $1k, you're definitely not going to get anything with a beefy GPU like a desktop grade GTX 1080, or even a GTX 980, but you can definitely get something between a 970m and 1050 ti, which should get you some pretty solid FPS on low/medium settings @ 1080p. I really couldn't in good conscience recommend anything that's older, like a 950m or below, cheap as they might be; it's just not a good investment, but it totally depends on the games you play, and what's "playable" to you.

Likely not going to see 60 FPS with the big titles out now, but you should be able to manage above 30 FPS, which is playable for most, if admittedly not the absolute best experience. It's almost guaranteed as well that you'll get a solid quad core CPU to match as well with any GPU in this range. Wouldn't worry much about RAM either, as again most units packing this sort of hardware are coming with 16 GB, which is more than enough in most cases.

As for that workaround, you just need to make sure you snag something with a Thunderbolt 3 port, which has a USB-C 3.1 interface. This port is EXTREMELY important, as it's currently the fastest port you can currently get, with speeds up to 40 gbps. This means it's fast enough for an external GPU.

E-GPUs, though in their infancy, are still an excellent alternative for some as they allow you to add power as needed, meaning you can now get a unit with a weak GPU, but with a good CPU, a smaller form factor and at a lesser cost. Then, when you need the power, plug in your E-GPU in your Thunderbolt slot with your desktop card, and now you can have an almost limitless amount of expandability for performance with minimal drawbacks. Would allow you to run whatever programs you need out on the go, and then when you want to game, get home, plug in your E-GPU and you're good to go.

Obviously you'd have to invest in a graphics card, which is a downside, since if you aim for a higher end unit like a GTX 980, expect around $300-$500 used, and over $600 new, not to mention you also need an enclosure like the Razor Core which is another $400. Of course you could always aim lower, but technology never moves backwards. Just invest in good tier stuff and do it right from the beginning, save yourself wasted time and money.

There's a lot of things to consider here, so I would honestly look over units with Thunderbolt 3 ports, quad core and an M.2 NVME drive if you get fortunate enough. Here's a list to help you get started: https://www.ultrabookreview.com/10579-laptops-thunderbolt-3/

Best of luck.