Laptop advice needed for machine learning and casual gaming

sherlock7

Contributor
Hi everyone

I am looking a buy a laptop for machine learning as well as casual gaming. These are the features I am looking for:
1) Either AMD or Intel processors (Intel 13th generation raptor lake or 14th generation meteor lake)
2) At least 16 GB RAM (DDR5)
3) At least 1TB SSD (SATA or NVIM)
4) Nvidia GPU GDDR6 (Cuda enabled as required by Tensorflow)

Please suggest a laptop.
 
How much VRAM do you need?

If you don't know the answer to that question, you shouldn't be buying a laptop for machine learning at all. Use cloud compute services like everyone does and get a cheap gaming laptop.
 
How much VRAM do you need?

If you don't know the answer to that question, you shouldn't be buying a laptop for machine learning at all. Use cloud compute services like everyone does and get a cheap gaming laptop.
4 GB atleast

Which cloud services do you recommend?
 
R7 7840HS + 4060 laptops should be the minimum you get IMO, like Omen or Legion 5 Slim or even LOQ (if you can get it with a good display, 100% sRGB one)

But mention a budget & there exists a questionnaire for a reason.
 
Man if you have 90k to burn, get a 30k'ish laptop for your "portable needs" (If you REALLY REALLY need a laptop) and spend the rest on an actual machine. Cuz it doesn't make sense to spend that much i an laptop when all you are gonna do is casual gaming and machine learning.

However if you are hell bent on spending 90k+ on a laptop then the suggestions on this thread are the best for the budget.
 
Man if you have 90k to burn, get a 30k'ish laptop for your "portable needs" (If you REALLY REALLY need a laptop) and spend the rest on an actual machine. Cuz it doesn't make sense to spend that much i an laptop when all you are gonna do is casual gaming and machine learning.

However if you are hell bent on spending 90k+ on a laptop then the suggestions on this thread are the best for the budget.
What do you mean by "an actual machine"? A desktop?
 
Man if you have 90k to burn, get a 30k'ish laptop for your "portable needs" (If you REALLY REALLY need a laptop) and spend the rest on an actual machine. Cuz it doesn't make sense to spend that much i an laptop when all you are gonna do is casual gaming and machine learning.

However if you are hell bent on spending 90k+ on a laptop then the suggestions on this thread are the best for the budget.
Actually, there are certain laptop configs which are very good for its price & can outperform bit lower-budget desktops.

Consider a 110k LOQ with R7 7840HS + 4060. 7840HS will outperform R5 7600 & R7 5700X, but i5 13500 is surely better. On GPU side laptop 4060 performs similar to desktop 3060 but the latter has more VRAM, which is an advantage. Considering 80k budget for a desktop including an 11k 1080p monitor, you can't build an i5 13500 + 3060 build unless you seriously compromise on other parts. R7 5700X + 3060 12GB desktop might be possible at 70k. So for someone who wants portability, the 110k LOQ makes sense & is worth the premium for portability.

Beyond 7840HS + 4060 on laptops, the gap between laptops & desktops widens a lot.

I was using gaming laptops for almost 10 years before I purchased a desktop. I still have my old laptop for my extended trips to hometown. I even thought of investing more in making my PC SFX, but I can just build a 2nd decent-powered PC at my parent's place & carry my GPU instead, which will be much more convenient on flights.
 
Actually, there are certain laptop configs which are very good for its price & can outperform bit lower-budget desktops.

Consider a 110k LOQ with R7 7840HS + 4060. 7840HS will outperform R5 7600 & R7 5700X, but i5 13500 is surely better. On GPU side laptop 4060 performs similar to desktop 3060 but the latter has more VRAM, which is an advantage. Considering 80k budget for a desktop including an 11k 1080p monitor, you can't build an i5 13500 + 3060 build unless you seriously compromise on other parts. R7 5700X + 3060 12GB desktop might be possible at 70k. So for someone who wants portability, the 110k LOQ makes sense & is worth the premium for portability.

Beyond 7840HS + 4060 on laptops, the gap between laptops & desktops widens a lot.

I was using gaming laptops for almost 10 years before I purchased a desktop. I still have my old laptop for my extended trips to hometown. I even thought of investing more in making my PC SFX, but I can just build a 2nd decent-powered PC at my parent's place & carry my GPU instead, which will be much more convenient on flights.
Agree and if someone can make peace with preowned parts, a desktop is a no-brainer if portability is not a pressing requirement. I just never got comfortable with spending 1L+ on a laptop (or smartphones for that matter) somehow but if it works for someone it works.
 
Agree and if someone can make peace with preowned parts, a desktop is a no-brainer if portability is not a pressing requirement. I just never got comfortable with spending 1L+ on a laptop (or smartphones for that matter) somehow but if it works for someone it works.
I was a desktop user for 2 decades before I switched to a gaming laptop because I missed having a gaming machine when working away from home, sometimes for months at a stretch. However, getting a gaming laptop around the 1L mark was also a disappointment as the build, screen, audio, battery life, thermals are generally poor with an overall bulky setup considering the charger.

Now my game time has reduced significantly to the extent that I prioritise other aspects of a machine. It cost me 1L+ but the 120 Hz, 600 nits Dolby Vision, 100% DCI-P3 OLED screen of my Vivobook with Dolby Atmos Harmon Kardon speakers makes it worth it from a productivity/multimedia perspective alone. It still has a 75W RTX 4050 which still allows me to play something like Cyberpunk 2077 at 60 FPS at the native 2.8K resolution using DLSS Quality Frame Gen and everything set to high, while offering portability at 1.7 kg (400g charger) with decent battery life.

I, for one, can no longer afford to sit for hours at a corner of the house like a few years earlier and not to say, it frees up a lot of space at home, which is worth a lot in a city like Mumbai.
 
I was a desktop user for 2 decades before I switched to a gaming laptop because I missed having a gaming machine when working away from home, sometimes for months at a stretch. However, getting a gaming laptop around the 1L mark was also a disappointment as the build, screen, audio, battery life, thermals are generally poor with an overall bulky setup considering the charger.

Now my game time has reduced significantly to the extent that I prioritise other aspects of a machine. It cost me 1L+ but the 120 Hz, 600 nits Dolby Vision, 100% DCI-P3 OLED screen of my Vivobook with Dolby Atmos Harmon Kardon speakers makes it worth it from a productivity/multimedia perspective alone. It still has a 75W RTX 4050 which still allows me to play something like Cyberpunk 2077 at 60 FPS at the native 2.8K resolution using DLSS Quality Frame Gen and everything set to high, while offering portability at 1.7 kg (400g charger) with decent battery life.

I, for one, can no longer afford to sit for hours at a corner of the house like a few years earlier and not to say, it frees up a lot of space at home, which is worth a lot in a city like Mumbai.
This is an excellent reason to buy a laptop, I mean you carefully weighed your options and in this case you paid a premium not just to get a laptop but to free up your space, portability etc. Also, dont stop playing brother :D
 
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