The Power PC Thread [f*ck off consoles]

[Ray Gin]

I’ll be ordering a MacBook Air 13” with M4 chip in at some point in the next few weeks.

Anything better around this price? £1000 ish. It’ll be used for mostly text output via Claude and some short form media generation. Mega battery and being light helps.

Also, what options do I have for an additional screen on a MacBook?

 

[jenic]

I opted for a 13" M4 air for my latest work laptop, I regret this choice tbh.

Overheats and throttles very easily, takes me back to the old i7 days.

The M1 pro it replaced and my own M2 pro are both far better machines, just because they have a fan.

 

[Ray Gin]

I opted for a 13" M4 air for my latest work laptop, I regret this choice tbh.

Overheats and throttles very easily, takes me back to the old i7 days.

The M1 pro it replaced and my own M2 pro are both far better machines, just because they have a fan.

What sort of stuff are you doing on it, if you don't mind me asking? I won't need heavy video rendering etc.

I am now looking at a 15" M5 air in next couple months.

 

[Beauvais Motorsport]

I'm looking at laptops again after a year or so, spec I'm after going for 4k as a refurbished unit now🙄

 

[jenic]

What sort of stuff are you doing on it, if you don't mind me asking? I won't need heavy video rendering etc.

I am now looking at a 15" M5 air in next couple months.

Zoom and slack mainly lol, hence thinking an air would do 🤣 Really nothing stressful at all, but zoom client is resource heavy ime.

 

[Ray Gin]

Zoom and slack mainly lol, hence thinking an air would do 🤣 Really nothing stressful at all, but zoom client is resource heavy ime.

Ah fair enough good to know, it seems highly rated online. Maybe the M5 chip will be a noticeable step up. For the bulk part, it will just be for generating text outputs, hopefully it'll be sufficient for this. I can pickup a 15" M5 chip model for £1150.

Just don't want to buy something that's slow, struggles with multiple programs running, overheats etc.

 

[jenic]

Ah fair enough good to know, it seems highly rated online. Maybe the M5 chip will be a noticeable step up. For the bulk part, it will just be for generating text outputs, hopefully it'll be sufficient for this. I can pickup a 15" M5 chip model for £1150.

Just don't want to buy something that's slow, struggles with multiple programs running, overheats etc.

It's fantastic until it gets hot, it's in a warm room too, so it's under poor conditions really. It's just the lack of active cooling which lets it down, shame.

 

[dann2707]

Massively out of my depth when it comes to laptops and specifications...

But basically I am after a laptop (not pc rig as it needs to be portable)

With the following spec... I'd rather go for recommendation settings if my budget can afford it rather than minimum ideally. But I do think there was an update to that bit of equipment I need it for, that allows a lower spec machine to be used. Kind of in the mind of buy once cry once though.

Can anyone point me in the right direction please?

View attachment 1786337

Currently looking at this one

It's down to £3100 with discount at the moment.

Thoughts?

I would need to upgrade ram later on but as a solid base it seems decent value for money?

https://www.very.co.uk/lenovo-legion-pro-7-16iax10h-gaming-laptop-geforce-rtx-5090-intel-core-ultra-9-series-2-32gb-ram-1tb-ssd-16in-wqxga-oled-240hz/1601188453.prd?variantId=WMAHS&cm_mmc=google-_-BAU+-+Generic-_--_-__[*AdID*]&utm_campaign=Generic_Electricals+-+PMAX+-+Computers+-+Laptops&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_term=&campaigntype=generic&category=Electricals&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22868794290&gbraid=0AAAAAD2k1i1JtOlAu-kIS9zRW4MrgtL4M&gclid=CjwKCAjwuuPRBhAnEiwA2Ji8eiIOruusC_FBVbi2a48rSWqF_lz14iFJoc3CNvK5YxMhIYtaF9m4yhoCy_0QAvD_BwE

 

[Steve1986]

Currently looking at this one

It's down to £3100 with discount at the moment.

Thoughts?

I would need to upgrade ram later on but as a solid base it seems decent value for money?

https://www.very.co.uk/lenovo-legion-pro-7-16iax10h-gaming-laptop-geforce-rtx-5090-intel-core-ultra-9-series-2-32gb-ram-1tb-ssd-16in-wqxga-oled-240hz/1601188453.prd?variantId=WMAHS&cm_mmc=google-_-BAU+-+Generic-_--_-__[*AdID*]&utm_campaign=Generic_Electricals+-+PMAX+-+Computers+-+Laptops&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_term=&campaigntype=generic&category=Electricals&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22868794290&gbraid=0AAAAAD2k1i1JtOlAu-kIS9zRW4MrgtL4M&gclid=CjwKCAjwuuPRBhAnEiwA2Ji8eiIOruusC_FBVbi2a48rSWqF_lz14iFJoc3CNvK5YxMhIYtaF9m4yhoCy_0QAvD_BwE

That actually doesn't sound like a bad deal at £3100. Maybe have a quick look through https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/custom-laptops/ and see what a similar spec system would cost. Buying a laptop and then adding extra RAM could possibly end up being more expensive than just ordering a custom one with the RAM already included. (Assuming that matters to you 🤣)

 

[dann2707]

That actually doesn't sound like a bad deal at £3100. Maybe have a quick look through https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/custom-laptops/ and see what a similar spec system would cost. Buying a laptop and then adding extra RAM could possibly end up being more expensive than just ordering a custom one with the RAM already included. (Assuming that matters to you 🤣)

View attachment 1792806

Cheers yeah I can't help but keep coming back to it and although I know nothing about laptops and this stuff really... Lenovo seems to get a decent rep with these apparently. It's going to be an investment though.

Long term I'm getting it to 3d scan but buying this first means the scanner won't come until next year. So hopefully enough time for things to settle with ram prices as I won't need to ultimate upgrade it to 64gb instantly.

If I had the scanner first it would be a different plan of action.

 

[Steve1986]

Lenovo seems to get a decent rep with these apparently

My Lenovo gaming laptop is still going strong after 11 years. Obviously it's useless for modern games, but aside from the expected battery degredation I haven't had a single issue with it.

Much better than my girlfriend's 6 year old Dell that I had to replace the motherboard on 🤣

 

[R3k1355]

Can you actually upgrade the RAM?

More often than not, the RAM is soldered to the motherboard and not something that can be changed.

 

[dann2707]

Can you actually upgrade the RAM?

More often than not, the RAM is soldered to the motherboard and not something that can be changed.

Yeah you can on this one

 

[Steve1986]

Can you actually upgrade the RAM?

More often than not, the RAM is soldered to the motherboard and not something that can be changed.

That's usually an issue on thin notebooks, gaming/productivity laptops generally have proper RAM slots

 

[Rojer]

Steam machine is finally out.

 

[charltjr]

Goddamn AI-pocalypse.

It's still got a lot going for it IMO, but a) that price and b) they really made a rod for their own backs by claiming 4k 60fps.

 

[SharkyUK]

Steam machine is finally out.

Disappointing.

 

[Ray Gin]

That’s a big fat no from me.