Laptops: WTF

[james]

So Im thinking of getting a new laptop for Black Friday, work from home and all that.

Im reading reviews, and the Dell line has GLOWING reviews.

Except for one little fucking problem.



NO ETHERNET
NO USB A
NO HDMI

Are they fucking serious?

It's 2020.

It's a pandemic.

And this is not a small laptop either. Im looking at the 17 inch model!

My current laptop is the same fucking size and not only does it have all that, it has a fucking DVD recordable drive too.

Like, fine, skip the DVD drive.

Ok, skip the VGA port and S-video ports, sure, we've moved onto HDMI.

SO DONT SKIP THE HDMI PORT YOU FUCKERS

And no ethernet!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Oh, and sure, lets have all this useless space instead of a number pad



Absolute fucking imbeciles

[Mr Gilhaney]

yeah but they included other nice features now

[bork]

Guess they just want to keep it that thin.  Just buy a USB-C hub (unless you need 4K 60hz, you can get them cheap with multiple USB-A ports, HDMI-out, ethernet, etc.) or USB-C-to-A adapters and you're set anyway.  You can also buy number pads separately.

Or...just buy a different laptop? 

[headwalk]

17inch? might aswell buy a desktop PC and a palacial mansion to keep it in you opulent fatso.

[james]

Guess they just want to keep it that thin.

Or...just buy a different laptop? 

Thats the thing, it's really not any thinner. I understand it for the super skinny pieces of shit, but I want a workhorse, not something an aspiring writer takes to the cafe to look hot.

And yeah, that's what Im doing, Im not rewarding this behavior.

[team filler]

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Adapter-USB-C-HDMI-Ethernet-DA200/dp/B012DT6KW2

https://deals.dell.com/en-us/productdetail/5qww

 

[james]

HP just restored my faith in humanity

[nudemacusers]

buy HP laptops in 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020, brehs

those ports remind me of the hp garbaggio i use at work... terrible hardware. specs may be ok or even great depending on the model, but the trackpad is awful, screen sux, and the overall build quality is diarrhea.

[team filler]

using an hpizzle rn and it runs like crap mostly 

[nudemacusers]

also my dude it's 2020 time to ditch ports for portability; just leave a dock somewhere if you need em that badly (which you prob don't)... pulling out a web of tangled cords from your jansport at work will just dry every puss in a 20 foot radius.

[james]

buy HP laptops in 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020, brehs

those ports remind me of the hp garbaggio i use at work... terrible hardware. specs may be ok or even great depending on the model, but the trackpad is awful, screen sux, and the overall build quality is diarrhea.

Counterpoint: Dell reliability is also garbage

My current laptop is an Asus, which has held up well, but 7 years is a big ask for a laptop.

My current desktop is an HP Omen that turns 2 this week, and havent had a single issue.

also my dude it's 2020 time to ditch ports for portability; just leave a dock somewhere if you need em that badly (which you prob don't)... pulling out a web of tangled cords from your jansport at work will just dry every puss in a 20 foot radius.

So the idea is staying at my moms house for 5 weeks or so for the holidays. So it will basically be my desktop replacement while Im there. Thats why Im looking big and beefy.

The only time I use my laptop for work is when we're giving a presentation, and in those cases, the VGA port on my older model (2009) comes in like a heavy hitter because thats what the projector at the meeting sites usually demands anyway. Not that we're doing anything in-person any time soon.

[headwalk]

"sorry babe, can't watch that film you wanted because i left my mini-hdmi adaptor in my other JNCOs. besides,"watch movies free online" is coming up dry and mom wants to use the big TV anyway."

[Human Snorenado]

Buying pre-built desktops

[bork]

So the idea is staying at my moms house for 5 weeks or so for the holidays. So it will basically be my desktop replacement while Im there. Thats why Im looking big and beefy.

You want to buy a new computer just for staying at your mom's house for a month?

[bork]

Buying pre-built desktops

(Image removed from quote.)

Got a great deal on mine in 2016.  It's a monster and still runs perfectly.

[bork]

Are you wanting to play vidya?  If not, I'd just get a Chromebook or something.  The Lenovo Chromebook Duet is awesome and it's on sale for $229 at Best Buy. 

[Transhuman]

What's the cheapest laptop I can buy that I can use to screen mirror to watch movies on my tb? The default Media Player app keeps crashing

[bork]

What's the cheapest laptop I can buy that I can use to screen mirror to watch movies on my tb? The default Media Player app keeps crashing

Get a streaming device like a Roku and use Plex to stream locally-saved videos from your computer instead.

[brawndolicious]

Chromebook isn't the worst idea, depends what kind of programs you need to use and also how important portability/battery life is to you.

buy HP laptops in 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020, brehs

those ports remind me of the hp garbaggio i use at work... terrible hardware. specs may be ok or even great depending on the model, but the trackpad is awful, screen sux, and the overall build quality is diarrhea.

HP sells a lot of enterprise desktops and I always hated them, but their laptops are legitimately good. Great screen, arguably the best keyboard/trackpad (even compared to macbook), and ports galore.

Whether you get HP, Lenovo, or whatever I would suggest getting something with one of those new Ryzen 4000 series CPUs. Huge boost in performance and battery life, Intel doesn't have anything that compares.

[nudemacusers]

HP sells a lot of enterprise desktops and I always hated them, but their laptops are legitimately good. Great screen, arguably the best keyboard/trackpad (even compared to macbook), and ports galore.

probably but that port side view gave me ptsd 

[team filler]

the keyboard and trackpad are nice 

[benjipwns]

just buy a cheap usb numberpad

also buy like six or seven models and report back which one is the best for entering mass amounts of numbers, the one I got for $4 off a Target clearance rack like a decade ago is kind of mushy

[Himu]

laptops these days are total rip offs

[james]

So the idea is staying at my moms house for 5 weeks or so for the holidays. So it will basically be my desktop replacement while Im there. Thats why Im looking big and beefy.

You want to buy a new computer just for staying at your mom's house for a month?

I don't have 6 weeks of vacation day dude I need to work

[remy]

using an hpizzle rn and it runs like crap mostly 

poor one out for filler man damn

[MMaRsu]

Laptops are total garbage

[nudemacusers]

I have two macbook airs (2020 ver) and they are nice 

[Pissy F Benny]

[Pissy F Benny]

But you’re also giving up 2x data to the chi-coms now

[nudemacusers]

But you’re also giving up 2x data to the chi-coms now

bruh i work for the gov, china already has it all anyway.

[Cauliflower Of Love]

What laptop is that?

If it's anything from this year, those are thunderbolt ports and you can get a hub to plug in all that shit.

[EightBitNate]

Why do you need an Ethernet port on a laptop in 2020

[bork]

So the idea is staying at my moms house for 5 weeks or so for the holidays. So it will basically be my desktop replacement while Im there. Thats why Im looking big and beefy.

You want to buy a new computer just for staying at your mom's house for a month?

I don't have 6 weeks of vacation day dude I need to work

So maybe tell us this?  I take it you use your desktop at home for work, then?  Are you driving to your mom's?  Why not just take the desktop with you and buy a portable monitor or something? 

Again...you want to buy a new computer just for staying at your mom's house for a month? 

[bork]

laptops these days are total rip offs

Not really.  Just depends on what you need and where you're buying from.  But I certainly wouldn't buy a gaming laptop right now just because of the new Nvidia and AMD cards that will start coming out in laptops next year.

[team filler]

can't wait to spend 1700+ to f5 thebore.comm all day  n watch/listen to stolen movies n music 

[james]

So the idea is staying at my moms house for 5 weeks or so for the holidays. So it will basically be my desktop replacement while Im there. Thats why Im looking big and beefy.

You want to buy a new computer just for staying at your mom's house for a month?

I don't have 6 weeks of vacation day dude I need to work

So maybe tell us this?  I take it you use your desktop at home for work, then?  Are you driving to your mom's?  Why not just take the desktop with you and buy a portable monitor or something? 

Again...you want to buy a new computer just for staying at your mom's house for a month? 

I live in NJ. I have a great desktop I got in 2018. Runs like butter.  Mom lives in Cali. No way this monster is flying across the country.

My current laptop is from 2013. It put up a good fight, but is incredibly slow. I basically use it as an external hard drive to backup old photos (secondary backup, I have a real external HDD as well).

I usually go to Cali for 2 weeks for vacation. With work from home and COVID, I figure Ill go 5-6 weeks. Take 2 weeks off, and work the rest from her house. If Im buying a laptop, I figure I might as well get something good. Maybe in March Ill also work remote from my dads or something.

I need a laptop that can handle basic design work - InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, and your basic office suite. I dont work with video.

Be nice if it could also handle basic games - I like stuff like Planet Coaster and Civilization. So I need something that can handle 2,000 unhappy customers running around. Dont care about first person shooters and billions of frames per second.

Good battery life would be great. Mostly so 4 years from now, when the battery is at 50%, its still useful.

Ports are important to me. Ethernet a must. SD card slot is a basic requirement for photo transfers. I, like a normal functional adult, use a mouse, so USB A is always used. Extra USB A for external HDD also important and might as well throw in a couple more. HDMI is useful if I need it for work and we use a projector. Not an absolute requirement, but Im suspicious of anything that lacks basics. USC C of course because its 2020. Number pad is not a requirement, but I also question why it would be missing if it fits.

I see a lot of laptops are skimping on HDD space, which is odd. 500GB bare minimum. 1tb preferred.

Screen size is important to me. No way Im going under 15. Im looking at 17 because the XPS 17 is actually the same size as most 15 inch laptops, but not a deal breaker either way. I dont need 100% adobe colors (Im not paying $3,000) but the screen shouldnt be crap either.

For reference, my current laptop size is around 10x15x1 and 5ish pounds. Im fine with that. I dont need ultralight. Aside from a few plane rides, it will be used at a desk. Im a big boy, I can carry 5 lbs. Ill go up yo 8lbs.

Im looking at $800-$1400.

This is my current laptop
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16834231114

I paid $999.99 on October 29 2013

This is my desktop:
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/omen-obelisk-gaming-desktop-intel-core-i7-8700-16gb-memory-nvidia-rtx-2080-2tb-hdd-256gb-ssd-hp-finish-in-shadow-black/6285801.p?skuId=6285801

I paid $1,499.99 on 11/23/18 which I recall was a $500 off Black Friday special

[Cauliflower Of Love]

Oh it's the XPS 17. Those are thunberbolt ports and can handle all those connections via a small dock.

Youl'll find it'd preferable to have a single cable to the dock than having all these random shit plugged in.

[team filler]

I had an a nice dell xps, it was slammed(twice) on the carpeted floor of the house I was staying at while at fort benning. girl was pissed and hit me where it hurt most  took it to a shop and they got it running, but it was never the same 

[james]

I had an a nice dell xps, it was slammed(twice) on the carpeted floor of the house I was staying at while at fort benning. girl was pissed and hit me where it hurt most  took it to a shop and they got it running, but it was never the same 

Did you take her to court for damages?

[team filler]

how much should I have sued for  you guys are priceless 

she also started swinging on me while I sat on the couch  I just covered up so my glasses wouldn't break  she kept hitting my head, but afterwards I maybe had some scratches and her she was crying because her hands hurt  she can beat up other girls, but my haki is too powerful 

[james]

how much should I have sued for  you guys are priceless 

Cost of laptop x3

[nudemacusers]

how much should I have sued for  you guys are priceless 

she also started swinging on me while I sat on the couch  I just covered up so my glasses wouldn't break  she kept hitting my head, but afterwards I maybe had some scratches and her she was crying because her hands hurt  she can beat up other girls, but my haki is too powerful 

Why sue when you could have pawned her off to some other garrison dolt you hated thus dooming them both to a life of dependa misery.

[nudemacusers]

Even better would be to separate then come back in the picture after 12 years, fukk her, get them divorced, and force the dude to pay alimony for the rest of his life. 

It really depends on how much you want to hate humanity.

[team filler]

weaponized breeding :nudemacs

[BIONIC]

No wonder filler is a misogynist 

You deserve better 

[Himu]

Laptops have never been better, and more affordable...

This forums is weird lol

I'm sorry but I"m bitter because of my macbook. Comes with zero usb-a, no hdmi, no card slots. It's gimped as fuck to me when my 2008 asus rog laptop had all of these things.

[team filler]

at the time I was using meth and afraid her screaming and bullshit was going to make the neighbors call the cops  shit came out of nowhere, I had put myself to sleep and woke up to her banging on the door and just opened it without thinking  had I been sitting there awake I would never have answered as I just recently did some shid I knew had her raging   

[Tripon]

XPS are great laptops. They're ultrabooks and are made to be thin, light and elegant.

Try a thinkpad from Lenovo for mobile work stations.

[bork]

Laptops have never been better, and more affordable...

This forums is weird lol

I'm sorry but I"m bitter because of my macbook. Comes with zero usb-a, no hdmi, no card slots. It's gimped as fuck to me when my 2008 asus rog laptop had all of these things.

That's Apple for you.  And then there's the various ultrabook type Windows laptops that are similar.  But it's like Cauli noted- you just get a USB-C dock and/or adapter with all the ports you need.  I decided to get one for use with my Chromebook Duet and didn't need a lot of ports.  This one works great and was $20 on Prime Day:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B089M7WSHM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1



There's various kinds out there.  Need more USB ports or card readers?  Those are available on other models too.  These adapters are small and easy throw in your laptop case or backpack so it's not really a big deal, plus if you don't need to bring them with you, then it's just one single cable to disconnect to take the laptop on the go.  I just wish laptop makers would include things like these with the laptops that only have one or two USB-C ports, but whatever.

Docks are awesome too but I dunno if I'd buy one for personal use.  I guess if I only used a laptop I might but I was glad that work gave me a dock to take home for use with that laptop.

And speaking of thunderbolt, I just tried this out for the first time today, lol.  I picked up a portable monitor and to test it, hooked it up to my GPD Win Max- pretty awesome seeing a single cable powering the monitor and displaying the image. 

[james]

It'll be a cold day in hell before I use a dock. I'm not a fucking boat.

[bork]

I need a laptop that can handle basic design work - InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, and your basic office suite. I dont work with video.

Be nice if it could also handle basic games - I like stuff like Planet Coaster and Civilization. So I need something that can handle 2,000 unhappy customers running around. Dont care about first person shooters and billions of frames per second.

Good battery life would be great. Mostly so 4 years from now, when the battery is at 50%, its still useful.

Ports are important to me. Ethernet a must. SD card slot is a basic requirement for photo transfers. I, like a normal functional adult, use a mouse, so USB A is always used. Extra USB A for external HDD also important and might as well throw in a couple more. HDMI is useful if I need it for work and we use a projector. Not an absolute requirement, but Im suspicious of anything that lacks basics. USC C of course because its 2020. Number pad is not a requirement, but I also question why it would be missing if it fits.

I see a lot of laptops are skimping on HDD space, which is odd. 500GB bare minimum. 1tb preferred.

Screen size is important to me. No way Im going under 15. Im looking at 17 because the XPS 17 is actually the same size as most 15 inch laptops, but not a deal breaker either way. I dont need 100% adobe colors (Im not paying $3,000) but the screen shouldnt be crap either.

For reference, my current laptop size is around 10x15x1 and 5ish pounds. Im fine with that. I dont need ultralight. Aside from a few plane rides, it will be used at a desk. Im a big boy, I can carry 5 lbs. Ill go up yo 8lbs.

Im looking at $800-$1400.

OK, gotcha.  For your price range, I don't think you'll have any problems finding what you want, but you might want to go with a 15.6" model over a 17" model to save some cash and then use that money saved for a few extras, which I'll touch on below.

-Having lots of ports is good and I'm sure there's something out there that will have what you need, BUT as mentioned already, you can also just buy a USB-C adapter with all that stuff available, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

-Ditto on the storage space.  Just make sure to get something that has one or two additional bays for storage and then you can buy and slap in another HDD or SSD as needed. 

-You might want to consider a portable monitor for working- having two screens is always awesome and a must for me for work.  A 1080P screen isn't going to cost too much and lot of them are often on sale on Amazon for $150-$200.  I'd recommend the LePow brand and the Z1 Gamut model if you want the best color.  These things are pretty thin and really light, so they won't take up much space.

-If you want anything with remotely decent battery life, avoid anything "gaming."  The gaming laptop I have is about four years old and it still runs games great (has 16GB of RAM and a 1060, plus I added a 1TB SSD) at 1080P.  It has all the ports you're asking for.  But one thing- the battery life is not very good.  When not plugged in it runs in a lower-power/performance mode and even then it's maybe got 2-3 hours max of battery life.  That's OK for me because I didn't buy it for use when not unplugged.  The only device I've had that actually REALLY works great and has crazy good battery life has been this Chromebook.

Would recommend checking out The Wirecutter for laptop reviews.  Dave 2D on Youtube also has lots of quick bullshit-free reviews/impressions, but he mostly covers gaming laptops.

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/electronics/laptops/
https://www.youtube.com/c/Dave2D/featured

This guy does Chromebook-related videos, but his portable setup is worth checking out.  I picked up the same laptop stand he recommended.  Didn't get the LePow monitor because of him; that's just a coincidence.  I got that based on a review from another Youtuber (ETA Prime, who mostly covers various devices you can use for emulation) whose opinion I trust on tech.

[bork]

It'll be a cold day in hell before I use a dock. I'm not a fucking boat.

If you mean those $20-$30 USB-C adapters (they're not docks), you're just making things unnecessarily more difficult for yourself, but you do you.

[Cauliflower Of Love]

It'll be a cold day in hell before I use a dock. I'm not a fucking boat.

Then stop looking at ultra slims, wtf

btw, I consider those small adaptor docks

[Ghoul]

[james]

OK, gotcha.  For your price range, I don't think you'll have any problems finding what you want, but you might want to go with a 15.6" model over a 17" model to save some cash and then use that money saved for a few extras, which I'll touch on below.

-Having lots of ports is good and I'm sure there's something out there that will have what you need, BUT as mentioned already, you can also just buy a USB-C adapter with all that stuff available, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

-Ditto on the storage space.  Just make sure to get something that has one or two additional bays for storage and then you can buy and slap in another HDD or SSD as needed. 

-You might want to consider a portable monitor for working- having two screens is always awesome and a must for me for work.  A 1080P screen isn't going to cost too much and lot of them are often on sale on Amazon for $150-$200.  I'd recommend the LePow brand and the Z1 Gamut model if you want the best color.  These things are pretty thin and really light, so they won't take up much space.

-If you want anything with remotely decent battery life, avoid anything "gaming."  The gaming laptop I have is about four years old and it still runs games great (has 16GB of RAM and a 1060, plus I added a 1TB SSD) at 1080P.  It has all the ports you're asking for.  But one thing- the battery life is not very good.  When not plugged in it runs in a lower-power/performance mode and even then it's maybe got 2-3 hours max of battery life.  That's OK for me because I didn't buy it for use when not unplugged.  The only device I've had that actually REALLY works great and has crazy good battery life has been this Chromebook.

Would recommend checking out The Wirecutter for laptop reviews.  Dave 2D on Youtube also has lots of quick bullshit-free reviews/impressions, but he mostly covers gaming laptops.

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/electronics/laptops/
https://www.youtube.com/c/Dave2D/featured

This guy does Chromebook-related videos, but his portable setup is worth checking out.  I picked up the same laptop stand he recommended.  Didn't get the LePow monitor because of him; that's just a coincidence.  I got that based on a review from another Youtuber (ETA Prime, who mostly covers various devices you can use for emulation) whose opinion I trust on tech.

I think you're right about sticking to 15 inches. I keep forgetting how much monitor prices have dropped, it really incredible. I can probably get a 22 inch for my moms house for 100 or so on black friday.

Sort of weird that laptop prices are always the same (ie ~1,000) but monitors are dirt cheap these days.

I did some research on Thunderbolt and it blew my mind. I just knew it as a weird square port stupid apple used to be different. I didnt realize its also USB shape now and does so much.

I guess Im stuck in the past. In my mind, you need one cable for video, one for audio, one for internet, one for power etc etc. The fact that a single port can do it all at the same time is pretty mind blowing. Im still impressed that HDMI does video AND audio.

That being said, I still want to avoid needing an adapter/dock. Its just one more thing to lose or forget. I want my laptop to have everything I need to avoid that anxiety.

-Ditto on the storage space.  Just make sure to get something that has one or two additional bays for storage and then you can buy and slap in another HDD or SSD as needed. 

Is this really a thing? In my mind, with a laptop, what you buy is what youre stuck with. I had a dell where the graphics card kept giving me a blue screen of death. They had to replace the entire motherboard to fix it (under warranty thankfully).


Im still leaning towards gaming laptops though.

From what I can tell, laptops are sold under the following types:

-Regular or chromebooks. Cheap, good for MS office, internet, and nothing else
-Professional. Not cheap, not powerful, but sold to business types who dont know shit apparently. Long battery life tho.
-Gaming. Best components. Stupid shit I dont need like color changing keybaords but whatever. Mediocre battery but fans for days.
-Ridiculous tier. Laptops that cost $6,000 no thank you sir Im not Mr Pixar.

When I bought my current one, there was a "multimedia" tier which was gaming-like components, but not gaudy, Those seem to be less common now.

Honestly 2 hours battery life is good enough for me.

[Cauliflower Of Love]

Is this really a thing? In my mind, with a laptop, what you buy is what youre stuck with. I had a dell where the graphics card kept giving me a blue screen of death. They had to replace the entire motherboard to fix it (under warranty thankfully).

Depends on the price point, when you're nearing 1500, they should defnitely have at least accesible memory and an additional ssd slot.

[bork]

I think you're right about sticking to 15 inches. I keep forgetting how much monitor prices have dropped, it really incredible. I can probably get a 22 inch for my moms house for 100 or so on black friday.

You can get a 22" 75hz 1080P ViewSonic "gaming" monitor right now for $109 off Amazon, so that definitely would not be a problem.

Sort of weird that laptop prices are always the same (ie ~1,000) but monitors are dirt cheap these days.

Again, it depends on what you want to do with them- you can get a good laptop for $500-$600 if you don't really care about playing games.

That being said, I still want to avoid needing an adapter/dock. Its just one more thing to lose or forget. I want my laptop to have everything I need to avoid that anxiety.

Again, you do you.  Just know that the option is there. 

-Ditto on the storage space.  Just make sure to get something that has one or two additional bays for storage and then you can buy and slap in another HDD or SSD as needed. 

Is this really a thing? In my mind, with a laptop, what you buy is what youre stuck with. I had a dell where the graphics card kept giving me a blue screen of death. They had to replace the entire motherboard to fix it (under warranty thankfully).

LOL, yeah.  Like mine has a port on the underside of the laptop with a single screw to remove to get to the extra bay.  I slapped an extra SSD into it in like two minutes.

A "budget" $1000-$1200 range gaming laptop is not a bad pick at all if you're OK with the battery life (and knowing that it's really going to need to be plugged in for any kind of real "power" use) and should give you all the ports you need, but the pandemic may have affected prices.  Plus you may end up paying more money for features you don't need, I.E. a 144hz screen.

Would check out the Acer Helios 300 (Predator) and Lenovo Legion lines.  IIRC the latter is available for sale at Costco if you're a member.  The Lenovo laptops also look way less "gaming."  When I got my laptop in 2016, I initially went with a Lenovo model and only returned it for an Acer because the Acer model had a better graphics card for the same price.

[james]

Right now Im liking the HP Omen 15 and the Lenovo Legion 5. Ill read up on the Acer. I like my Asus, but apparently they have heat issues on the current lines.

I do have a Costco membership (via my mom) so thats an option for sure. One weird thing is that theyre selling the HP with 2020 components but in the 2019 body, which apparently has heat issues. So might look elsewhere.

I need to see if they let me expand the SSD. That would be cool. I work with lots of photos, so they fill up fast. Much better than dealing with an external HDD which I rather have as a backup instead of a daily driver

Good stuff guys. This has made the shopping experience easier.

[Cauliflower Of Love]

mmm top of page dock

DOCK!

[bork]

Right now Im liking the HP Omen 15 and the Lenovo Legion 5. Ill read up on the Acer. I like my Asus, but apparently they have heat issues on the current lines.

I do have a Costco membership (via my mom) so thats an option for sure. One weird thing is that theyre selling the HP with 2020 components but in the 2019 body, which apparently has heat issues. So might look elsewhere.

I need to see if they let me expand the SSD. That would be cool. I work with lots of photos, so they fill up fast. Much better than dealing with an external HDD which I rather have as a backup instead of a daily driver

Good stuff guys. This has made the shopping experience easier.

Costco is great because they let you return anything, no questions asked, for like two years.  So good way to check out one of the laptops and not have to worry about not being eligible for a refund or having to pay a restocking fee.

For all your photos, have you looked into using cloud storage?