I’m looking for a new laptop to replace my 2021 Legion 5 (5800H, 3070, 16/512GB).
I’m looking at ASUS offerings because my previous laptop, a G14, had a much better user experience right up until the day it fell off my desk, preferably not Lenovo as my current one’s only appeal is price while my even older HP was just rubbish in every possible way (it was a very budget item though).
Since the most hardware-intensive tasks I subject it to are slightly modded Minecraft and very simple CAD projects (university assignments, nothing too fancy), would it be unreasonable to think I could get by with just integrated graphics on something like a 285H Zenbook Duo with 32 GB of RAM?
The only other nice options in my price range is a Zephyrus G16 with 185H, RTX 4050 but only 16 gigs of RAM or a Flow X16 with the same config but an I7 13650H (slower, though the RAM is upgradeable) .
I like the idea of the Duo, it has a lot of usefulness for what I do but I’m afraid it’d be just whirring its fans when it comes time to actually use it or, worse, the little iGPU simply not being enough.
Any advice?
More generally, what level of tasks starts requiring a proper, dedicated and cooled GPU?
Would it be unreasonable? No. I think you might be able to get away with it if you don’t care about your laptop scaling with you over time for more complex projects and games. It’s not the choice I would make in your scenario, but I can admit that I like to be overprepared and have more power than I need. I almost always daily drive a laptop with a dGPU for the rare occasions when I need to review videos, even though 90% of the time is office tasks.
ASUS Duo fan noise is better than a gaming laptop for sure, we measured about 52 dB, but that might still be annoying during performance use.
To answer your more general question, I would research hardware requirements for the applications/games you want to run and then compare that against the hardware you are looking to purchase. For example, your current 2021 laptop with a 5800H/3070 is going to perform about the same as the ASUS Duo in Timespy according to benchmarks. CPU is way better in the new one, GPU is still worse. I don’t think I’d want a lateral move in performance if I was buying new, personally. The DUO is a pretty unique laptop though, so I get the struggle since you can’t get a dGPU in that form factor.
What is your budget, btw? There might be other options other than the Zephyrus.
My budget is of around 1500€ (Italy), can stretch to 2 grand for something I like particularly (the Duo for example) but the laptop selection here is a joke.
Also I do most stuff in silent mode so rarely do my fans ever spin up (but it’s a 2021 Legion so they’re always, albeit barely audibly, active). I’d have liked to keep that going with the new laptop.
Lastly, this one was overkill with a high-power 3070 and even its slow RAM (again, 2021 might have been the worst year to buy a laptop!) and even using purely USB-C power I can do anything I need. So a side-grade to the Duo might not so much slow me down as it could reduce my performance overhead. My worry is more about it being louder / throttling more than the very understressed Legion due to all the power and heat getting concentrated in the CPU die.
PS Cierra (if you are the real one), you might get this a lot but you have been a great addition to the hosting team.
Arrow Lake does still get warm despite its improved efficiency over prior gen Intel. The Duo heats up to 45 on the underside during the 10-min Cinebench test. When comparing to a 4 year old laptop though, heat and fan noise will likely be an improvement regardless. You’re kind of in a funny spot here, but if you truly don’t need improved GPU performance and only need improved CPU the Duo will probably be fine for you. It’s also a one of a kind laptop.
However, if you’re comfortable waiting just a bit longer, Intel’s next chip announcement is under embargo until the 9th. You might be very interested in what they have in store if you want to wait for our video on it, but I can’t say anything more than that.
I might wait until the 9th and more, what even is a couple more weeks at this point. Though I doubt whatever you have will be available here before next summer, I was planning on using Black Friday discounts anyways.
And an eGPU is also something I can look into if the 140T or is it V isn’t quite up to the task.
Usually CES models start appearing in summer in a couple of configs which then go on and off of shelves.
The worst offenders are gaming laptops. For some reason we often only get the plasticky messes from MSI, Legion (only the fives) and Strix.
Funny story is when the G14 2021 came out on lur shelves (June I believe) I got one. It had a defect and broke and by the time I’d returned it (plus two full months while ASUS “repaired it” - I got my money back) there wasn’t a single G14 or G15 listing in the region, hence me getting a Legion.
Razer doesn’t sell here while the other more premium options seem to arrive in limited quantities (only listed for a few weeks).
I will say that ASUS have just opened a new e-store after the whole Digital River failing (their former partner in never having anything in stock) which seems to actually sell stuff.
Thanks for the info, we definitely don’t have our fingers on the pulse of the international market yet.
Back to your original question, if you’re considering getting an eGPU at all, I’d just get a portable laptop with a dGPU like the Zephyrus you mentioned. I know it’ll suck to lose out on the dual screens but the longevity of a device that offers more performance will likely make better use of your money in the longer term. Ultimately up to you of course.
I’ve taken up enough of your time as is and, while I hope someone eventually gets some use out of this post, I doubt many people have the same kind of question lol. Maybe I’ll update once I get it.
I guess it’s up to the gods of Black Friday to choose for me.
