[RndTbl] Advice on finally buying my first laptop

[Bradford C. Vokey]

Hi all!

I want to purchase my very first laptop in the next few days. :) I've 
purchased several for the wife and kids over the years but I've always 
stayed "desktop forever" for my daily tasks, mostly due to the 
cost/performance of desktops vs laptops.

However, I am now spending so much more time outside remote connecting 
to my various desktops on mobile devices that maybe it is time to 
finally just get a decent laptop.

I've always hated the small screen real estate available when using 
laptops when compared to a multi-monitor desktop that I am really drawn 
to a dual screen laptop like the ROG Zephyrus Duo 
(https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Laptops/ROG-Zephyrus-Duo-15/). However, I 
don't want to invest so much $$$ ($4K+!) into my very first laptop.

So I have given in (for now) and narrowed it down to a much more 
affordable Ryzen 7 laptop from HP (I know, lots of bloatware coming my 
way from HP):

https://www.costco.ca/.product.100673520.html

Looks like the HP Omen 15 line has lots of future upgrade ability (at 
least for a laptop) with 2 internal NVMe M.2 connectors, and up to 64GB 
of DDR4-3200 memory max. Plus it is fairly portable vs beefier "gaming" 
laptops and I can easily get it at Costco so I will have a no hassle 
return if needed (at least for the first 90 days).

Looking over reviews on the web, the Ryzen 7 "H" series seems to give 
1.5 - 2.0 x the battery life vs a similar speed Intel i7 / i9 "H" variant.

Of course I will have to give up getting Thunderbolt with any of the 
current generation Ryzen laptops and will usually be stuck with low to 
mid-end discrete graphics with the current Intel vs AMD laptop politics.

For you laptop users out there, is Thunderbolt worth the Intel tax and 
the Intel battery draining premium?

During the summer, I want to be able to play AAA games by the pool and 
on the docks with this laptop so at least an entry level or better 
discrete graphics card *and* a matte or > 300 nit display will be mandatory.

Thoughts and comments on your favorite laptop(s) are welcome!

For the MUUG Roundtable topic police: I intend to install WSL2 so :P.

-- 
Bradford C. Vokey

Treasurer
Manitoba Unix User Group