Hello!

I went through some of the threads recommending some hardware. I would think desktop is better, but
1. I am often on the move, going from residence to residence. I like to be mobile.
2. I tend to not do more than 4 or max 6 tables.

So figured a laptop would be better for me than a desktop. Are there any significant things I am losing out on playing on a laptop?

Main Q:
Looking for laptop recommendations for playing poker, and running software (solver, PT4, etc). Not really gonna be used for other things as I have an overpriced MacBook for the rest.

I am illiterate when it comes to PC specs. What is the best bang-for-buck I can find (either in UK or mainland western Europe)?

So far, this one from another thread looks like the best @€500
https://www.amazon.de/Latitude-Proze...%2C264&sr=8-16

I think €500 is a good budget tbh.

Thank you so much!

Speaking simply, by using a laptop, some of the money goes towards making the thing portable. Thus, you pay a premium for that compared to a desktop.

For the same performance, a desktop is going to be substantially cheaper (or, for the same money, you get substantially better performance in a desktop).

I'll defer to the advice from others on specific devices. The one you highlighted is likely very decent.

Yeah, that makes sense. Desktop grinding is just not really for me with how mobile I am atm. I don't know where I'll be living a few months from now.

If your Macbook is suitably beefy, have you considered just buying virtualization software and a Windows license to run your poker needs in a VM?

If still buying a separate laptop:

8th Gen or newer Intel Core i5/i7 8xxxU parts upgrade from 2 physical cores to 4, so that's a reasonable target to move up to. The older ones will be less expensive, so that's the trade-off.

16GB is a good target for RAM, going to 32 in a thin laptop is rarely an option. Check the manufacturers page for the model you're buying to determine if the RAM is soldered to the mainboard or in slots. If it's soldered to the mainboard, no upgrades are possible. Neither one is necessarily the right or wrong choice, you should just know what your future options are before buying.

15 watt CPUs (Intel U series) are going to be pretty thermal/power limited for running solvers. You can look at H series 45 watt parts, some of which come with additional physical cores relative to the U series parts. These are going to be in thicker, heavier chassis so there can be some pretty big tradeoffs. If it mostly lives on a desk, not really a problem. If you (in more normal times) carry it around in a backpack frequently, you may want to stick to a 15 watt U series thin and light.

Picking a chassis size informs your decision as well. Do you want a 12-13" slim chassis, 14" business class medium thick as linked, 14" slim (think Lenovo x1 carbon), 15/15.6" largish laptop (either moderately thick or gamer/workstation thicc), or 17" luggable monstrosity?

Drive space: NVME OS drive should be table stakes at this point. a 128GB drive is going to be really tight for running a Windows system. I'd suggest a minimum of 256. 500GB is comfortable unless your DBs are large, then go to 1TB. M.2 drives are replaceable on almost all laptops, but degree of difficulty in getting to them varies tremendously(from a few screws to debonding the screen with a heatgun (would not advise attempting).

Ports and docking options matter too. Do you want a docking station to connect a couple screens+KB/mouse? In that case a laptop with Thunderbolt3 is a good choice, USB C is good as well (TB3 shares a port shape with USB C so a TB3 laptop can use a USB C dock).

You should also consider Asus ZenScreen as a portable external monitor. There are other options around but Asus seems to be the most reputable brand in the space now.

I used to use iPad as a portable monitor with a program/app called Duet but that solution was always buggy and would give me problems at seemingly worst times possible although it was fine 99+% of the time. The Asus ZenScreen has worked flawlessly over thousands of hours and it was plug&play out of the box.

As for the laptop itself, it really depends on personal preferences and usage pattern. How big is your database? How reliant are you on HUDs? Do you run sims? Keyboard? Screen size? Resolution? Weight? Background apps you run? Tolerance for weight?