Do you hate the looks Windows 10/11 - WindowBlinds might be the solution, look like Mac or anything

[sQeetz]

First thing I do with a fresh install is to change all search to duckduckgo.

The results seem marginally less annoying but they don't pay you to use it, do they?

No, why? Should I be charging?

[sQeetz]

Quite the opposite, but I'm tired of see these arguments, and telling exactly the same. Anyone buying a high-end gaming laptop knows they kill ANY MacBook anytime, anywhere. But then... the Apple fanboys don't even know what is a gaming laptop. Do they even know we can PLAY GAMES in a computer?

I have no problem playing, for example, Shadow of the Tomb Raider on either the ole MacBook or the M2 Mac mini. With constant 60 frames and graphics set to highest.... just saying. The games that don't have Mac versions run actually quite smoothly in Parallels (Windows)

[fmr]

Quite the opposite, but I'm tired of see these arguments, and telling exactly the same. Anyone buying a high-end gaming laptop knows they kill ANY MacBook anytime, anywhere. But then... the Apple fanboys don't even know what is a gaming laptop. Do they even know we can PLAY GAMES in a computer?

I have no problem playing, for example, Shadow of the Tomb Raider on either the ole MacBook or the M2 Mac mini. With constant 60 frames and graphics set to highest.... just saying. The games that don't have Mac versions run actually quite smoothly in Parallels (Windows)

Really? I'm surprised that you can run a game in Parallels - didn't even knew that Steam would run in Parallels. I did a quick search, and it seems you can play "SOME" games, indeed (mainly older games). Anyway.. good for you

[sQeetz]

Really? I'm surprised that you can run a game in Parallels - didn't even knew that Steam would run in Parallels. I did a quick seacrh, and it seems you can play "SOME" games, indeed. Anyway.. good for you

I can play actually every single game I have on Steam via Parallels.

[fmr]

Really? I'm surprised that you can run a game in Parallels - didn't even knew that Steam would run in Parallels. I did a quick seacrh, and it seems you can play "SOME" games, indeed. Anyway.. good for you

I can play actually every single game I have on Steam via Parallels.

If all of them are the same age of "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" or older, I believe you can

Anyway, it's not the age that makes a game good or bad, that's a fact

[sQeetz]

If all of them are the same age of "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" or older, I believe you can

Anyway, it's not the age that makes a game good or bad, that's a fact

Of course, it's no gaming rig. It doesn't come near a fully equipped PC, but you were saying people don't play games on Macs.... well... they actually do

[2DaT]

What exactly are you referring to by "everything gaming related"? Unless you are talking about overpowered graphics (yes, there are some laptops with those) I don't see what else could be "gaming related" only. Having a dedicated GPU is somethig you SHOULD ask for, IMO.

Non-gaming laptops usually are designed for power saving, therefore may be underpowered (sometimes SEVERELY underpowered). And I had bad experiences with iGPU in the past.

Oh, there is a lot of stuff that has a "gaming" aesthetic to it that is not really worth the money. Pompous cases, monitors, headphones, RGB coolers, RGB keyboards. Gaming laptops are in the same category.

I don't think external GPU is really needed these days. If you don't play games, that is. I've used iGPUs and they are fine. Maybe old ones were lacking in some ways, but modern iGPUs have hardware video decoders that will keep you battery when watching videos. Maybe if you have a specific task that benefits from GPU acceleration, that can warrant it, but generally speaking you don't need a dedicated GPU for laptop that you use for audio.

As for the underpowered laptops - there are different models available, you need to do a research on this one. But I'm sure you can find a performant laptop without a GPU in it for way less money that you would spend on a gaming laptop with similar CPU. In general, GPUs in laptops are both worse performing and more expensive than their desktop counterparts.

[fmr]

What exactly are you referring to by "everything gaming related"? Unless you are talking about overpowered graphics (yes, there are some laptops with those) I don't see what else could be "gaming related" only. Having a dedicated GPU is somethig you SHOULD ask for, IMO.

Non-gaming laptops usually are designed for power saving, therefore may be underpowered (sometimes SEVERELY underpowered). And I had bad experiences with iGPU in the past.

Oh, there is a lot of stuff that has a "gaming" aesthetic to it that is not really worth the money. Pompous cases, monitors, headphones, RGB coolers, RGB keyboards. Gaming laptops are in the same category.

I see... but of course I wouldn't advise a laptop with those. There are simpler (but still powerful) models, priced between 1.000 and 1.500.

I don't think external GPU is really needed these days. If you don't play games, that is. I've used iGPUs and they are fine. Maybe old ones were lacking in some ways, but modern iGPUs have hardware video decoders that will keep you battery when watching videos. Maybe if you have a specific task that benefits from GPU acceleration, that can warrant it, but generally speaking you don't need a dedicated GPU for laptop that you use for audio.

Many plug-ins reside on accelereated graphics, and the iGPU don't usually behave well with them. At least that's my experience, but maybe you're right and more recent models can hold them better.

As for the underpowered laptops - there are different models available, you need to do a research on this one. But I'm sure you can find a performant laptop without a GPU in it for way less money that you would spend on a gaming laptop with similar CPU. In general, GPUs in laptops are both worse performing and more expensive than their desktop counterparts.

Last time I really checked was two/three years ago, when I bought my last laptop. Maybe things have changed in the meanwhile, but sometimes I take a look at the promotions, and either I see gaming laptops that are really performant, or I see "regular" laptops that lack power

Anyway, as I said I would be afraid of buying a laptop without a dedicated GPU. I would not demand "the latest and greatest" (I don't have one of those even in my desktop machine - they are expensive as hell) but a good one.

[jamcat]

So it’s all about playing video games for some people. Makes perfect sense now.

[GaryG]

I looked at a few gaming laptops and they all seemed to have a hairdryer mode, permanently on. Which, call me weird, was a bit of a turn off for audio use.

[BONES]

Why? I've had computers with noisy fans and it didn't bother me in the slightest. I get more noise through my speakers from hardware or a Juno chorus emulation than any laptop fan is capable of making. It's not like you work in anechoic chamber, there is always noise around, your brain just ignores it.

Gaming laptops are terrible purchases. You will overpay for everything gaming related almost always. You can have a non-gaming laptop for work with decent CPU for way less.

But not of the same material and build quality of a MacBook, which is the entire premise of the argument. That said, Dell's "G" series gaming laptops are excellent value - loads of power but in a less expensive chassis. The G7 I had was an absolute beast, running a desktop CPU for around a grand, brand new, direct from Dell. And Dell lets you upgrade them without voiding the warranty, which is another reason to buy a gaming laptop. I doubled my RAM and added a second SSD for less than half what it would have cost to buy it with that configuration. Best of all, after three years I only lost a couple of hundred bucks when I sold it.

That's the beauty of the PC world - you can find a computer that does exactly what you need without having to pay for anything you don't. That's where Apple always failed when I used to include them in my search for my next new laptop - to get all the features I wanted inevitably involved paying for a heap of things I'd rather not have. That always made them too expensive.

Still a lot worse than desktop

Unless you need to use it on stage or in someone else's studio or at a rehearsal space.

If you don't play games, iGPU will do just fine.

There is so much GPU acceleration around these days, a good GPU will definitely be an advantage over integrated graphics. Then, of course, are those of us who work in film and TV and need a grunty GPU just to do our normal, daily work.

No, why? Should I be charging?

I think everyone should. Google's entire busines sis built on exploiting teh data they gather through their search engine (and other sources). They make billions from it and you get nothign in return. OTOH, Microsoft pay me to use Bing, through Bing Rewards. It's not much, maybe $40-$50 a year, but that's infinitely better than Google or DuckDuckGo and it's an acknowledgement that there is value for them in my use of their search engine.

Oh, there is a lot of stuff that has a "gaming" aesthetic to it that is not really worth the money. Pompous cases, monitors, headphones, RGB coolers, RGB keyboards. Gaming laptops are in the same category.

RGB keyboards cost $20, no more than any other keyboard. Some of the cool looking cases are not more expensive, either. You can pay a lot more but, as with most things in PC land, you don't have to if you 'd rather not.

[2DaT]

Unless you need to use it on stage or in someone else's studio or at a rehearsal space.

I don't disagree with that, but mobility comes at a price. Manufacturers like to trick the consumers: laptop CPUs and GPUs have somewhat misleading names at times. You might think that laptop "i7" is somewhat equivalent to desktop "i7" part, but in reality it may be even worse than desktop "i5" of the same generation.

[GaryG]

Why? I've had computers with noisy fans and it didn't bother me in the slightest.

Well, good for you.

I get more noise through my speakers from hardware or a Juno chorus emulation than any laptop fan is capable of making.

Wow, that's one noisy fecking chorus...

I wear headphones most of the time so noise isn't even that much of an issue to me, had plenty of towers thrumming away at my feet in the past. But these laptops were that level, all the time, right on the desk, intruding on my ambient drone bllx big time.

[fmr]

I looked at a few gaming laptops and they all seemed to have a hairdryer mode, permanently on. Which, call me weird, was a bit of a turn off for audio use.

I have a gaming laptop, and up to today, I hardly ever heard the fan. It is called only when temerature reaches critical levels, which will only happen if you are playing really demanding games that push the graphics to its limit. When using audio software, I never hear the fan working.

[jamcat]

Absolute bullshit. Only an idiot would think to compare a $400 PC laptop to a $2000 Macbook. Apple's laptops are no better built than a comparably priced PC laptop.

See, this response actually makes little sense.

First off, obviously I had made the decision to invest a little more in a laptop in order to get a better build quality. So that goes without saying.

And no, there is no comparison between a MacBook and a cheap Windows laptop. That much is true.

But, if I’m paying $2000 for a laptop anyways, why would I buy the one that only runs Windows, instead of the one that runs both, ceteris paribus.

Of course all things are not the same, since Windows laptops in that price range are all “gaming systems” as already pointed out, and are noisy as hell.