Budget : I can do 1L or 2L or more , it's fine.
My requirements :
Processor : anything above i5 13th gen that i currently have. No battery saver BS, I don't care for that. H intel processors or better. I don't prefer AMD as I have never worked with it before and I don't have the time/patience to test them as my work is everyday.
My main usage will be excel/pdf/word/Chrome(huge usage here)/VirtualBox(huge usage here too), whatsapp/telegram/calender/streaming. I'll be handling a business with this laptop and no I can't go for desktop as I want portability here as I have to work from home too and offc.
Ram : Has to be 32gb or more. if it's soldered, I'm okayish with it but extra slot would be great. Ofc DDR5 +
SSD : only SSD, I don't want HDD, my laptop usage is less about storage but I don't want HDD at all, just dedicated SSD of 512 will do or more it's fine.
Numpad : Most important, I won't accept any laptop without numpad. Can't compromise here.
Fingerprint : I want face ID or fingerprint (preferably not on power button, I hate that. May be dedicated fingerprint underneath the keyboard on right side for easy access and if not fingerprint, I'll settle with face authentication but I want some authentication.
Screen : OLED has spoiled me and that's the only thing I like abt my current ASUS S5504. My earlier laptops I used to keep brightness 100% as I love bright screen but this OLED laptop asus 5504 really is so damn bright that I have to keep the brightness to 80% not more and I want 120hz screen and atleast 600nits. I just can't go back to 60hz. I can compromise on OLED but not on 120hz. Screensize has to be atleast 15.6". I can't go lower than that and I don't like 18" screen but 15.6" or 16" can do. Hopefully with more than 1080p. I currently have 2.2k display on my laptop and I'm comfortable with that. 4k might seem a stretch but if it's acc to my use case, I'll go for it.
Ports : Need atleast 2 USB A ports and usb c but 2 USB A are important as I have to connect headset/mouse adapter. I don't want to work with usb a to c converters, it will create a mess for me. Don't care for HDMI/MICROSD/ etc ports.
Body : Hopefully aluminum or better, can't go back to plastic.
OS : Windows. I don't mind mac but I just can't change my whole environment for work, but if someone rents me a latest mac for 3-4 days to test 😛 to see if I can work with it acc to my usage then I don't mind going for mac 16 m3 pro 32gb which costs 2.9L.
Gaming : Here's the important part, I DON'T CARE FOR GAMING. THERE WILL BE ZERO GAMING ON MY LAPTOP. I have PS5 for that. But I do work, VM, Streaming, and huge chrome usage so if what I use my laptop for, a dedicated graphics card can help, then I don't mind going for a laptop with dedicated GPU (for chrome/VM etc) but as I said I will never ever game on my laptop(I am fixed on this).
Battery : if the laptop can give good battery, then why not but I don't want any compromise in performance so if u suggest a laptop which fits my needs but I have to compromise on battery backup, I don't mind. My laptop is 99% of the times plugged in anyways. But hopefully the laptop will have atleast 1 hour of back up 🤣
Wifi/bluetooth should be latest (wifi 6+).
Keyboard : Numpad and backlit is mandatory. If the backlit is rgb, even better but I'm fine with white only too.
Brand : I don't care but honestly I had the worst experience with this asus laptop so I might be a bit biased for Asus but if what u suggest is asus, I might settle for it. Ugh ASUS.
AI : I don't care for it, hence new intel line ultra 5 7 9 etc seems useless to me so ofc I don't care for co-pilot AI button.
Speakers : Very much preferably front or side facing speakers as down speakers are dogshit.
Fan/Heat vents : Need them side/front(upwards) or from the bottom screen hinge. Not bottom as 50% of the times I use my laptop from my bed.
Touch : I don't care for it but what u suggest only comes with touch it's fine but I prefer non touch if possible.
Security : I don't care for it, I'm a IT pro myself so I can handle everything manually.
I wish lenovo/dell could make a customized laptop for me personally. I don't mind paying extra for it ofc but I guess 2L/3L/4L is nothing for them just to build me a specific laptop acc to my needs.
I had a Lenovo laptop earlier and I used to love it but twas 7th gen i5 and I was earning quite less that time so kept it for 5 years. It was 15.6" IPS, with fingerprint at the best location (not power button, twas on right side underneath the keyboard and worked 100% of the times) had ssd, with 8gb ram and one extra slot in which i put 16gb so total 24gb ram.
Now I bought a new laptop of Asus OLED last year with 13th gen i5/16gb ram (Soldered with no extra slot) and fingerprint on power button. I HATE THIS LAPTOP, I JUST HATE IT TO THE CORE. I loved my Lenovo but Lenovo doesn't make laptops anymore which is for my use case so I feel I am damn stuck here. The biggest need I have currently is more ram as I use VM on my laptop and out of 16gb 50% is always used by win 11 and rest when VM (win10) starts, takes 4gb ram and my host laptop's ram usage hits the roof for 85%. So I def need a new laptop for my use. I use youtube too and my current one costed me 80k with i5 h series 13th gen and it fckn' stutters/lags on when i seek(forward) a video, can u imagine? ugh
I know I'm being too picky/choosy here but hey, I'm in my early 30's and I have a business to handle and I'm ready to pay for premium and I am set in my ways (like numpad requirement) so it is what it is.
