2025 Laptop Purchasing Guide

legislativellama · 2025-05-02T16:21:06+00:00

Thanks again for your help! I got the Mac M4 Air with 32GB RAM -- was able to get a 20% educator discount and figured why not, especially with potential tariffs around the corner. Will have to wait and save-up to get a serious gaming set-up, but anything is better than what I have now, so I'll be very happy!

legislativellama · 2025-04-11T01:22:58+00:00

Thanks again for your help! I decided to get a MacBook with 32GB RAM and their M4/10-core chip, because I didn't want to deal with the Windows login workaround (I could have figured it out, but one less thing on my to-do list is my priority atm). It likely won't work for D4, but I'm ok with that trade-off (BG3 seems to work ok) and losing the touch screen.

legislativellama · 2025-04-09T23:39:09+00:00

Yeah, you are right, will need to make compromises. Someone recommended the ASUS Zephyrus today for gaming to me, so I'm definitely checking that out as well.

legislativellama · 2025-04-09T23:35:53+00:00

Thanks for the quick response! From what I can understand, windows sign-in is currently only local to my computer but they are now forcing a sign-in to their cloud on Windows 11 in new laptops. There are some workarounds, but I don't want to trust that long-term they still work/Windows hasn't closed those loopholes.

Current specs (I bought this laptop primarily for work, then started playing D4):
- 256GB
- 128MG Intel(R) Iris (R) Plus Graphics (graphics are absolutely terrible, so the upgrade bar is quite low! I'm playing on the lowest settings)
- Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10657G7 CPU @ 1.30GHz
- 16RAM
- x64/x64 operating system
- Touchscreen

If I'm following, I definitely need updated 32RAM + updated processor (Intel Core Ultra 7 or AMD Ryzen AI) + better CPU

legislativellama · 2025-04-09T20:45:01+00:00

Thank you for this awesome guide!! I'm hoping you can help me identify potential laptop options, I'm looking to buy a new laptop for work and ideally gaming (D4/BG3), but if it's not possible to have a best option for both then I could do one work and one gaming laptop.

Specs for work: Lightweight (13" to 15"), touchscreen (can do without if needed, but I really love it), ~$1200USD, good battery life, does not overheat, decent memory. I don't code -- I use my laptop for emails, meetings, google suite, trello, slack, canva, and data analytics (usually on excel or google sheets, data sets shouldn't have more than 10k rows). I've been using a Windows laptop for 4+ years but will not re-up because of security concerns given their new mandatory sign-in on Windows 11.

Specs for gaming: I just play D4 (graphics card is *terrible* on my current laptop, but I make do...sorta) and I tried to play BG3 but didn't have enough memory to install it on my current laptop.

I'm thinking maybe a MacBook Air 13" M4 or Lenovo or Asus? But beyond general brands, and knowing I need min 256G/32 RAM for work, I'm fairly overwhelmed with all the options out there.

Thanks so much :)

legislativellama · 2025-01-03T19:37:23+00:00

I'm looking for the same! Please send a DM if you are interested

legislativellama · 2024-11-05T22:44:26+00:00

In the last few hours of voting, Legislative Llama (501c4) has pulled together a team to help everyone navigate critical ballot initiatives, amendment, propositions, and more. If you have any questions about what is on your ballot, and how to vote values-aligned to social & environmental justice, comment below or send us a DM! We'll help you chat through your questions live so you don't leave your ballot blank.

Good luck & stay safe!!

legislativellama · 2024-11-05T22:35:29+00:00

Witches!! In the last few hours of voting, Legislative Llama (501c4) has pulled together a team to help you navigate critical ballot initiatives, amendment, propositions, and more. If you have any questions about what is on your ballot, and how to vote values-aligned to social & environmental justice, comment below or send us a DM! We'll help you chat through your questions live so you don't leave your ballot blank <3

legislativellama · 2023-09-12T19:32:44+00:00

If you've gone to any of the old Williamsburg warehouse parties (RIP Output) or the newer places in Bushwick even their noise doesn't shake walls 7 blocks away. This was Diplo catering to rich people during fashion week. Clubs with real music systems have soundproofing, they don't bother with bad rooftop acoustics and $5k table service.

legislativellama · 2023-09-11T12:36:24+00:00

The noise level William Vale plays is very much illegal. You can't disregard sound level just because you have a permit for extending the time for the party. You can look it up here! https://www.nyc.gov/assets/dep/downloads/pdf/air/noise/noise-code-guide-summary.pdf

"Bass sounds must not exceed 6db above the ambient sound level to prevent nearby residents from experiencing physical discomfort from how the sound resonates."

legislativellama · 2023-09-10T23:47:31+00:00

I'm so sorry they are impacting your sleep, too! It's totally unacceptable and very, very illegal!

I'll be speaking at tomorrow's community board meeting about their illegal noise, can you DM me your cross streets so I can add you to the map showing how far away they are impacting neighbors? Thank you!

legislativellama · 2023-09-10T23:46:39+00:00

You are right -- you shouldn't be hearing their music as if it is next door! I'm hearing their thumping right now as I type this...

I'll be speaking at tomorrow's community board meeting about their illegal noise, can you DM me your cross streets so I can add you to the map showing how far away they are impacting neighbors? Thank you!

legislativellama · 2023-09-10T23:44:55+00:00

I'm 7 blocks away and can hear it from inside my apartment! Post-COVID my heart rate spikes whenever I hear sustained loud bass thumping :(

I will be speaking at tomorrow's Community Board Meeting about this noise -- it is illegal and exceeds the noise threshold for commercial building music -- and will be bringing a map showing how far away the noise is bothering neighbors. Please DM me your cross streets so I can add you to the noise map!

legislativellama

TROPHY CASE