Fairly new to PC, buying from Switzerland, in need of decision taking :)

Gachan

New member
Hello every one!

I'm quite excited about PCS, which I discovered yesterday morning. Since then, I've spent something like 20 hours prospecting online and to avoid brain damage, I decided to post a request here and then take a real break.

About my computer usage:
I use some Adobe programs a lot, namely Indesign and Photoshop for creating content for school; I sometimes use Garageband and often use Imovie for creating videos and/or audio for school or friends, and I'll be looking for replacements for these programs (the latter I certainly won't come to regret); I use Stickies (love it) and Pages (yuck). My OS has been stuck to Lion since it came out because of reasons (not interesting).
I use my laptop for daily tasks, I watch DVDs occasionally, I watch movies all the (free) time and I never play video games on it. This might change. Actually it was one of my reasons for not just going straight for a brand new Macbook pro 16".

A few words about me:
I've been a Mac user for 10 years, owning a Macbook pro 13" since then. It did its job but I expect it to die any minute now— hopefully after I could choose my new laptop.
I'm a primary school teacher AND a professional singer, so I need my computers transportable.
I ask a lot of questions. Then, when I have my fill of answers, I buy without hesitation.
I am NOT tech savvy. Your grand-ma is probably worse but I can't say I can knit either, so I'm probably the worst out of you, her and I. Joking aside, I read a lot of technical terms and I have a good memory, so don't be fooled if I start talking about specs: I know next to nothing.
I am very eco-sensitive and eco-conscious, so my first and biggest concern is buying things I need and not necessarily things I want. Therefore, I need a computer that is as future-proof as they get. This is actually the main issue that gave me pause when looking at the new Mac line-up: every thing is soldered to the motherboard, and replacing the battery means replacing everything. No thanks. Then I thought : "PCs!". And here I am.
I am not a native English speaker, so please bear with me.

What I need:
- A future-proof rig! I don't care about the latest trends, but I'd love to take another 10 years ride with the same machine, so I want a PC built with as many replaceable parts as I can get, and if I have to buy top tier materials now, I can and I will, provided it does not exceed my budget of 2500ish CHF (think 2400€) too much (3000 CHF would be a limit). From what I gathered, GPU and CPU are usually not replaceable in laptops (apart from Alienware's Area 51, or so it seems to me). True ? If that is indeed the case, shouldn't I take these parts at the highest values available today?
- A screen under 16". I want to travel with my laptop.
- A laptop that can edit videos and create content (think Imovie), and play games as well. I need speed and stability; I wasted so many hours of my life waiting for my current Mac to execute the simplest commands — or maybe take of to the skies, buzzing like a drone as it is right now. I need speed. I fantasize at night about using SSDs. Or using 3 apps at the same time!
- A decent Swiss-FRENCH keyboard and touchpad. Gimmicky crap like Mac's Butterfly switch can go sell themselves elsewhere, I don't need them. Comfortable, stable keyboard. Please hear me out on this: Swiss keyboard for French speaking users. Not Swiss-German (if that exists as keyboards)! It means a QWERTZ keyboard with é, è, à keys on the right!
- High-end USB ports. I think. The idea being to not get left behind: what ports will last for the next decade and serve me best in the long run? USB-C? Thunderbolt 3?
- A good battery. These things are hell to recycle, so let's make it worth the construction costs and take a reliable, long lasting one, right?
- Decent built-in speakers.
- A durable shell/casing. Brushed metal etc. I'd like to avoid wobbly plastic.
- I like sober designs.

So, to summarize:
Future-proof
Ideal maximum budget: 2500 ~ 3000 CHF
Maximum size: 16"
Enough speed for creation and gaming, so I guess a good CPU, GPU and SSD storage (I'm open to hybrid SSHD if you think they are decent and a better solution)
Reliable keyboard, touchpad, battery, speakers and ports encased in a durable, simple shell.
I don't really care for gimmicks and gadgets, so no need for gaming-styled leds everywhere, nor an incredibly thin chassis. I don't even need a webcam as I use an external one anyway and tend to obscure the integrated lens at all times. I don't really care for extraordinary light nor silent systems either — let them breath if they need to!
I don't care for QHD, 2K and up either. I think for screens this small, FHD are enough; a high refresh rate must be good, though, so I'm thinking 120Hz+.

What I did up until now:
Renounce the Mac line-up.
Discover PCS, configure a Defiance VII out of curiosity, then realize I don't know what I'm doing at all.
Prospect. Read "Best 2020 laptops" articles.
Try to call PCS on the phone.
Almost buy the famous newcomer Asus Zephyrus G14 (until I got in touch with 2 different but equally unpleasant ASUS persons on the phone earlier today).
Try to call PCS on the phone.
Consider buying a Lenovo Y740-15.
Try to call PCS on the phone.
Getting tired of not being convinced by anything because of not knowing much and feeling like there is always too much to compromise for too high a price.
Come back to PCS, get a better grasp of things but still get frustrated at not understanding everything.
Try to call PCS on the phone.
Try to call PCS on the phone.
Try to call PCS on the phone.
Throw in the towel and write this here message — I'm sorry it is so long…

What I did was choose the Defiance VII because of the advertized fat battery, and choose the most expensive options almost everywhere, guessing only one SSD would be enough, which takes me to an average 2500 CHF. But is this the base model I need to fulfill my needs? Are the Recoil IV (better battery and chassis, it seems) or Viper III better? Which has the best casing? Which is the most upgradable/repairable? What are your recommendations, dear all?
And lastly: am I correct in thinking that I can get my PCS custom laptop repaired here in Switzerland in case something breaks or goes wrong?

That's it, I'm out :)
Thanks for reading!
 

Gachan

New member
Hi again,
I'll post a few new thoughts:
I'm planning to play only occasionally. Plus I'm not into competitive playing, nor will I desperately want to play the last best games all the time. My point is, I still enjoy playing good PS1 games, even 8 or 16-Bit era games, so on a PC, I can see myself subscribing to Steam and try the occasional current gen game, but not much more. I mostly need a good machine to work on Indesign, photoshop and edit video (DaVinci is reportedly very capable) or audio on. I prefer a machine I can use for many years as I would use it today, rather than a machine I can play anything I can think of for only 2 or 3 years before having to buy a new one.
So there is no real need to overkill it when it comes to specs. Maybe an RTX 2060 is already awesome enough that I will still be able to use my current versions of said softwares in 7 years from now and use them with great speed thanks to the SSD and capable CPU/GPU. I guess 32Go of RAM would keep me safe from slowing performance over time, but then again, is 16 awesome (or even overkill) already?
This being said, I'll say that again: if higher/highest specs mean a longer life for the machine, I'm not afraid to shell out what it costs.

Thoughts?
Am I wrong in my guesses?
You guys enjoy laptop gaming or is it considered rather silly or pointless?
What would be the best specs for a durable laptop, work station and occasional game station?
 

maha

Silver Level Poster
Go to PCS UK site, their forum is far more active than this one.
But order on your local site (price may differ)
 
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