Hi guys. I figured a quick post would surface some folks that are currently well tuned into the current models and values available. Any sources better than others? Should I avoid Amazon, or is Amazon a good option? Also interested in anything I should definitely avoid (brands, features, etc)?

Last Christmas I bought THIS drawing pad for my son. It required a USB and HDMI connection to the computer for it to work properly. Sadly, I've been unable to make it work with the Mac as the Mac only has USB-C and the conversion dongles lose something in translation (I've tried several). Since he also plays Stream games, he's bemoaned the lack of a Windows option for some of the Windows only games/features. And since he's a really Good kid, Santa is willing to get him a Windows laptop.

My only requirement is the HDMI out, but I guess screensize and game compatibility are good considerations. Less than a grand. Closer to $500 is better.


THANKS!

I have always been partial to Dell (I was a reseller for years).

IN MY EXPERIENCE; stay away from HP. I’ve worked on a lot of them. Power connections are notoriously weak. Heat problems abound with most of them. And they are usually loaded with trial software and bloat ware.

IBM/Lenovo seems ok. Good hardware but they suffer from the same bloat ware and proprietary software issues that plague the HPs.

I’ve even seen a few Samsung’s that I was impressed with

Dell Precision machines have been pretty good in my experience.

IME, YMMV. I’m partial to surface pro/laptop, Dell xps/ latitude, Lenovo thinkpad (T or maybe X series only). No HP, acer, asus, etc.

I would buy from Costco for the return and warranty policies.

For gaming, pay attention to memory: capacity, speed and topology (2 channel).

I only buy HP and Dell business lines.

The home use lines are shit.

HP and Dell both have online outlet stores and they can both be talked down and find you discounts if you tell then you need a better price. Talking them down works most of the time.

Windows surface machines are great but they price them to compete with Apple and have a premium price.

I don't understand. Are you using the HDMI connection to connect to the drawing pad?

quote:

Originally posted by Paten:
I don't understand. Are you using the HDMI connection to connect to the drawing pad?

Yeah, my best guess is that the software sends the image to the drawing pad through the HDMI, and the USB sends te drawing inputs into the PC from the pad.

From the Dell Outlet the $1,055 refurbished one of what's shown below and this 12% off coupon, 249112G7, will be under $1,000.


Dell G5 15” Gaming (5500)
Intel Core 10th Generation i7-10750H Processor (6 Core, Up to 5.00GHz, 12MB Cache, 45W)
Windows 10 Home
512GB PCIe M.2 NVMe Class 35 Solid State Drive
16GB (2x8GB) Up to 3200MHz DDR4 Non-ECC
15.6 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) Wide View Angle Anti-Glare 144Hz 300-nits LED-Backlit Non-Touch Display
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB GDDR6
Interstellar Dark - LCD Back Cover (Non-Touch Screen), mDP and Thunderbolt 3
Dell Outlet G5 15 - 5500 Laptop

quote:

Originally posted by r0gue:
My only requirement is the HDMI out, but I guess screensize and game compatibility are good considerations. Less than a grand. Closer to $500 is better.

quote:

Since he also plays Stream games, he's bemoaned the lack of a Windows option for some of the Windows only games/features.

I suspect you meant 'Steam' here. Think of Steam as equivalent to Apple Store in that it's just a medium to find, buy and manage software (in this case, game programs).

Steam-compatible games run the gamut from high-end games requiring state-of-the art (i.e. very expensive) graphics cards, lots of RAM and very fast processors to be playable at all, all the way to retro stuff that almost any laptop could run.

In other words, just knowing he likes Steam games isn't enough info to help you. You'll need him to give you specific titles, and then you can check out the specific requirements. Focus on OS/RAM/Video Card/Processor, but also keep an eye on storage as some of the games just soak up the gigabytes.

TL: DR. Getting a gaming-ready laptop that will make your son happy will take more research and, depending on what games he wants to play, the laptop models that support advanced games can get very pricey, very quickly. HDMI output is most likely the least of your constraints.

You're right. Steam! I think his games are pretty tame, but some don't have support for Mac.

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll get digging. Need to pull the trigger soon to allow for shipping.