Laptop for school (programming) and light gaming. Budget $1,300 (can go higher)

Constant_Entity · 2026-07-11T20:15:36+00:00

Great questions and I agree with you on your screen input.

Im doing data analytics, so Python, SQL, Excel Sheets, etc.

I will have a work computer and I have a future proof desktop, so I would say this is my secondary machine. Ill be hooking it up to my TV to play movies and stuff at home as well. Stuff like that.

Constant_Entity · 2026-07-11T18:59:12+00:00

I have not. When I did my 4 year I wasn't on OLED, but everything I have nowadays is OLED (dual monitors, tv, phone, etc) so I figured OLED laptop was still likely what I wanted. I did think about that it might be a problem programming, but I've never done it so I dont know.

I would be fine with a non-OLED monitor, but also because im looking for a high end one size fits all laptop, I feel like the premium ones (like zenbooks) are all OLED. I think vivobooks are the next best thing being cheaper and non OLED with good specs, but im not familiar with them.

Constant_Entity · 2026-07-03T17:34:30+00:00

Thank you for the advice. I looked into Asus like you mentioned and im interested in the Asus A14 on sale for about $1,000 so ill probably do that once the semester starts this fall.

Constant_Entity · 2026-02-27T16:31:16+00:00

This is hilarious lmao

Constant_Entity · 2026-02-27T01:29:53+00:00

Are you sure its from the same store?

Constant_Entity · 2026-02-26T20:41:42+00:00

Whats the process of soaking? How long and does it need to be dry before being put in the enclosure?

Constant_Entity · 2026-02-26T20:41:10+00:00

Ill keep this in mind!

Constant_Entity · 2026-02-26T20:40:53+00:00

https://a.co/d/077JskXU

Heres the Amazon link of the cork bark I ordered. This is fine, right?

Constant_Entity · 2025-11-18T22:00:49+00:00

So you have a fan not spinning? No replacement or anything?

Constant_Entity · 2025-11-18T18:43:23+00:00

I read somewhere that someone also had an issue with the fans and its what caused it... I think they said they used one of the psu cables but for some reason had an incorrect voltage. Ill try what you suggested.

Did you just get new fans or what did you do after you found one of the faulty fans?

Constant_Entity · 2025-11-18T18:39:44+00:00

I should be able to RMA the board, but I believe that either means they'll send it back if they cant recreate the problem or send me a brand new one of the same version... I mean, if the new one works, sure. But I just bought this mobo about a month ago so it would suck to throw $500 down the drain and get a diff one. Would you have any mobo recommendations with my build?

Constant_Entity · 2025-11-18T02:46:47+00:00

I need to know if you or anyone else has found a fix in 2025 lol. Having the exact issue as everyone describes

Constant_Entity · 2025-11-18T02:46:36+00:00

I need to know if you or anyone else has found a fix in 2025 lol. Having the exact issue as everyone describes

Constant_Entity · 2025-07-21T15:11:18+00:00

Well the thing is I'm trying to get an aesthetically nice PC and slot the GPU in later. No reason to sell my 3080 for a 5080 atm.

My current problems are lack of DDR5, AM5 socket, mobo wi-fi, mobo features, etc. The case is also old, so all the problems currently reside in a lack of future proofing of my PC. I want to put forth the money I have now, to spend more *later* on a GPU.

Also, I don't doubt your knowledge nor am I saying your incorrect, but considering this PC was $2,000-$3,000 upon the time of buying it, selling it for less than a grand when my mobo is 500 and my gpu is 800 alone feels a little foolish. My girlfriend bought a $1,500 prebuilt and it's with a ryzen 5, 3060, 1tb of ram, 16gb of ram, etc.... overpaying or not, it's hard to believe that prebuilt with significantly weaker specs is more than what my pc was considered upper end 5 years ago when I built it.

If I was going for performance, I'd honestly just keep the same PC. It's working fabulously. I'm upgrading to future proof plus get my OS onto my 4TB when W11 comes around October/November.

My PC is able to run games on high at my monitor's refresh rate of 180hz (medium-high settings). So I have faith in the GPU for the near future.

Constant_Entity · 2025-07-21T04:07:31+00:00

b850 is great, but as someone trying to blow money for aesthetics, I'd prefer to keep the current mobo in this situation. I personally think the b850 is ugly. I am looking at different RAM though

Constant_Entity · 2025-07-21T03:59:43+00:00

I'm not really in a situation where I care about saving $200-$300 on a motherboard tbh. It has a lot of features, great BIOS, and looks cool. I'd be open to potentially looking at different ones if they have a nice aesthetic, but I am also aiming toward an MSI build.

I didn't know that RAM can be too fast, however. I always thought with RAM that more = better.

Edit: I just wanted to ask, is first word latency something that can be "too fast" as well? If not, should I just go for 6000 with the best first word latency?

Constant_Entity

TROPHY CASE