Hardware Is there a good AMD gaming laptop?

[AkiraKurusu]

I'm thinking of replacing my 2018 Lenovo Legion Y530 laptop somewhat soon, since it's definitely starting to show its age now and it doesn't have the best specs anymore. I did a bit of searching, and apparently the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is a great laptop, that has an AMD CPU instead of an Intel one. I can also replace the 512-GB SSD with a 1-TB one.
However...it doesn't seem to have a secondary HDD, which is unfortunate, nor does it seem to have a webcam (kinda necessary for university Zoom meetings, at present). The absence of these is kinda a dealbreaker, since I'd like to not have to use up SSD space on downloaded games nor have to spend more money and use up a USB slot on a webcam.

The Asus TUF A15 does have a webcam, it seems, along with a numpad...but does it have room for a HDD? I don't know, but so far it seems to be the best option.

Are there any other laptops with decent AMD processors, a webcam, and both a SSD and a HDD? I'd have to see if I can even get them in Sydney, but suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[tigersaman]

Go for Asus Zephyrus G14 or G15. From what i've seen and read, Asus TUF series have build and cooling problems.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

I don't expect you'll find many modern gaming laptops that use 2.5" HDDs at all these days, they take up too much space that could be better used for things like cooling or battery life. According to ASUS's website, their A15 series could have a HDD bay, but I'm not seeing any that are actually sold by anyone. You could try contacting ASUS and asking them for a link to a retailer that does, but I expect they just don't make them anymore.

The A15 linked above does have a second M.2 slot for more storage though, TBH it's probably the best you'll get for anything modern.

 

[raystriker]

I'm thinking of replacing my 2018 Lenovo Legion Y530 laptop somewhat soon, since it's definitely starting to show its age now and it doesn't have the best specs anymore. I did a bit of searching, and apparently the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is a great laptop, that has an AMD CPU instead of an Intel one. I can also replace the 512-GB SSD with a 1-TB one.
However...it doesn't seem to have a secondary HDD, which is unfortunate, nor does it seem to have a webcam (kinda necessary for university Zoom meetings, at present). The absence of these is kinda a dealbreaker, since I'd like to not have to use up SSD space on downloaded games nor have to spend more money and use up a USB slot on a webcam.

The Asus TUF A15 does have a webcam, it seems, along with a numpad...but does it have room for a HDD? I don't know, but so far it seems to be the best option.

Are there any other laptops with decent AMD processors, a webcam, and both a SSD and a HDD? I'd have to see if I can even get them in Sydney, but suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

How soon do you need one?

 

[SAIYAN48]

Thinkpads are great laptops.

 

[notimp]

Yup.



Linus Tech Tips is the channel to watch imho - best gaming laptop reviews out there. And I'm serious. (Not 'best' for most other stuff, but here they are leading. )

See also:

https://www.youtube.com/c/LinusTechTips/search?query=gaming laptop

 

[B-alpha]

I would advise against the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 a lot of users have issues with their speakers, reddit is full of that and recommend the (Schenker) XMG Neo 15 (2021) instead. It also doesn't throttle as hard as all the asus notebooks

 

[notimp]

I would advise against the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 a lot of users have issues with their speakers, reddit is full of that and recommend the (Schenker) XMG Neo 15 instead. It also doesn't throttle as hard as all the asus notebooks

While good to know - this should be an issue that eventually should be able to be ironed out by the manufacturer. And they should want to iron out as well. So... Just an opinion, I guess..

 

[tech3475]

I own a TUF A15 (FA506IU-HN255T), make sure to check the specific variant you’re looking at.

It was possible to add a 2.5” HDD, but as a form of idiot test it was a separate flat flex cable in the box. So if you’re uncomfortable with these, avoid.

Also, it only had a single stick of 8GB RAM (i.e. no dual channel) and it doesn’t support XMP in the BIOS, so I had to buy specific RAM which supported their full speed by default (JEDEC profile).

Biggest problem I’ve had with it is that buggy AMD code means I can’t run Win98 in a VM.

Overall it’s ok, but I would try to find better if you can.

 

[pcwizard7]

I went from a lenovo yoga 730-15ikb to a Asus ROG Zephyrus G15-502IV Ryzen 4900HS 8C/16T nvidia RTX 2060

its one of best laptops i ve ever used. On battery it will try to stay slient for as long as possible on any power profile and it stays between 45C to 60C even while playing games (xcom 2) and no throttling but if u have GeForce installed it will cap games 45fps on batte which is fine for xcom but u can chqnge these in the settings.

The only issue is the speakers are very soft with default settings. I fix it by using a custom preset with all frequencies max out improves volume by 3

I wish i had more control on fans and cpu and gpu voltages but overall great laptop

Its the 2020 model so i look to see if speakers have changed in the 2021 models with the rtx 30 series cards in them

 

[B-alpha]

While good to know - this should be an issue that eventually should be able to be ironed out by the manufacturer. And they should want to iron out as well. So... Just an opinion, I guess..

I agree on that one, although it depends on how long you wanna wait. By the time the issue is fixed it may be smarter to buy the successor, especially because it's hard to come by the device in question as well their yearly schedule, even though this might be the worst case scenario.

Spoiler

it starts at 9:50

I wish i had more control on fans and cpu and gpu voltages but overall great laptop

the XMG supports that

Spoiler

to be coherent with linus channels


I recommended the XMG because (at least in Germany) the price for value is the best on the market (as of time of writing)