Please suggest a laptop for art or school! $5,000 USD

Buying Help
1

Budget (in local currency and country of purchase): Around a couple thousand USD, but up to $5k if needed (United States). If there’s a laptop that exceeds this but meets every criterion, feel free to mention it.

Open to refurbs/used? Possibly, I haven’t thought much about it.

Priorities (form factor, build quality, performance, battery life): No 2-in-1s. I want a laptop that can hold up its own screen (no stand needed). Decent battery life for school is important. Build quality doesn’t need to be super tough, as I haven’t had issues damaging my devices.

Weight and thinness: Very important something lightweight for carrying around at school.

Preferred screen size: Around 14". A bit of flexibility here, but nothing too large.

Usage (CAD, video editing, gaming, etc.): I will be using art programs (Krita, Rebelle) and want to be able to game casually. macOS might not be ideal for this.

Gaming preferences: I would like to run games like Raft, Rainworld, House Flipper, and Starve.io. No specific FPS/settings, just want to avoid overheating while playing.

Other requirements (keyboard, build, ports, etc.):

  • No touch screen.
  • At least one USB A port.
  • No shortcut key to AI, if possible.
  • Backlit keys (including key letters) would be nice.
  • I’d like it to last at least 4-5 years.
  • Prefer no touch bar (like on some Apple laptops).
  • Comfortable for typing (not hard on the wrists).

Additional thoughts:
I am worried about OLED burn-in but want good color accuracy for art. I’ve heard QLED is a good alternative with fewer burn-in issues? Repairability (like Framework laptops) would be nice but isn’t a dealbreaker. I am leaning against Apple due to game support on Windows. Thanks for your help!

2

You might want to check out the Lunar Lake laptops—they’re coming out this Tuesday and seem like a great fit for you.

Also, people tend to overreact about OLED burn-in. Unless you’re leaving the same static image on your screen 24/7 all year, you should be fine.

3

Even though it seems intriguing, I’m not really interested in an AI-focused computer. Although I don’t actually use AI and I disagree with many of its applications, I appreciate your suggestion! Regarding the OLED issue, one of my friends mentioned that he is noticing burnin on his phone. This worries me because, from what I’ve heard, there is a danger involved, and the lifespan is generally believed to be shorter. I use my laptop a lot on a daily basis, thus this is also quite significant. However, I am not an expert I learned about this risk today.

4

The “AI” branding is mostly marketing. Any computer with an iGPU and dGPU can handle AI and ML tasks—it’s not like this purchase is going to steal your artwork to train some AI model that generates art, haha.

Most new laptops, whether they have Intel Core Ultra, Apple’s M4, or AMD’s Ryzen, are branded as “AI laptops” now. (I agree, though, I’m not a fan of it—it feels unnecessary.)

That aside, the power efficiency benchmarks are what make this really appealing for traditional x86 systems, putting it on par with Apple’s M3 in some areas and checking almost all the boxes.

As for OLED, the newer screens are much safer from burn-in compared to older models. Another good option is MiniLED. QLED is mostly for TVs, so you won’t see it in laptops (at least not by that name).

Here are some good previous-gen alternatives that might fit your needs:

5

Thanks for the suggestions! As for the AI features, what I am not into is the display tracking whether I’m looking at it, the “dedicated AI chip,” and the AI-specific button on the keyboard.

Also, I appreciate the info on the screens!

Regarding the first link, a friend told me that Dell’s quality specifically the parts and build is not great. I am not sure how that affects the user experience, but do you think it’s a valid concern?

As for the second and third links, I noticed they’re touch laptops, which I am not really interested in since it adds something else that could break. Plus, I did not use the touchscreen much on a 2-in-1 I had before. However, the screens do seem to hold up without needing a stand, which is nice

6

Is the MSI 18HX Titan a good option? Its CPU and GPU are overclocked, and it sports a Mini-LED display.

7

Thank you for the suggestion. I am not sure how I feel about the RGB keys, touchpad, and cables behind the computer. Is it feasible to turn those off? I am not sure if this also applies to the touchpad, but I’ve heard that it’s a good idea to avoid physical features that I don’t especially want because it increases the risk that the laptop will break.

8

My 18HX Titan laptop is the only one I’m aware of with a Mini-LED display outside of MacBooks, and it’s only purple (my favorite color) or white when I’m at work, so it doesn’t have to be rainbow puke.