No set budget for now. I'm looking for reasonable ability for a reasonable price. I've seen some gaming rigs that cost more than my desktop and that's not what I would call reasonable. Under $2K for would be reasonable for me...

Thanks.

Dell ALIENWARE X15 is one I have my eye on (m15 is similar but a bit heavier). Should be sales as the new CPUs are released this fall. They appear to manage heat well despite their small sizes.

4K is a liability for laptops as the screen size is too small to benefit from it and text and icons can be hard to see.

I wrote this reply to a similar question on another forum a few days ago:

I recommend checking out the Dell Outlet and in particular the Alienware laptops. Outlet ones are far cheaper than new plus there are frequent special offers of further discounts of 12-15% so keep watching.

A 500gb SSD can soon eat up your main drive even just for the OS and program files so look for 1TB. It is very easy to add a second internal SSD and cheap from a third party vendor such as Crucial. Likewise it is cheap and easy to switch 16gb RAM to 32gb RAM so you are then well within Fusion.

An Nvidia RTX 3060 6gb works great.

I bought an Alienware laptop from the Dell UK Outlet a year ago. It cost a whisker over £1,000UK including sales tax. I updated it from Windows 10 to Windows 11.

It has an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H, RTX 3060, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD

I added a 2nd SSD rather than using external drives, from Amazon, a Crucial 2TB NVMe M2 at £225 (now £183), and a 32GB RAM kit from Amazon, Crucial DDR4 3200MHz at £120 (now £95).

Its been brilliant. It renders my multicam 1080p h265's - some well over an hour of playtime - in 1/10th of the playtime so thats very convenient and easy to try out all sorts of what-ifs.

I had been looking to add a desktop as well but no point any more.

I can't really see the point of 4k on a small laptop but it should be easy to connect a separate monitor when you need it. I do that (mine on 24" Dell 1920x1080 monitors) occasionally on a 55" 4K LG TV via the appropriate HDMI cable.

100% agree on Dell Outlet- that's where I have been looking. You can get 32GB ram and 1TB or 2TB SSD for the price of a new system with 16GB ram/512GB SSD.

This is the other system I've been looking at: https://rog.asus.com/laptops/rog-zephyrus/rog-zephyrus-m16-2022-series/spec/

@Peter-Riding @RogerS  ... OMG! I never knew about Dell Outlet. Thank you so much for highlighting this. And Dell Outlet is even in Australia. Prices for an Alienware desktop offered in Outlet AU are nearly half the cost of a similarly spec'd new model. But the only downside is that no customisation is possible, not that there is very much customisation available on current models compared to Dell's desktop products around 10 years ago.

My current Dell XPS 15 was on the outlet- I watched it as models came in and out until the mix of specs came into place. There was also a sale around Black Friday driving down the price further. Happy shopping!

Concur on the Dell Alienware choice. This line has the best thermal design by far for portable laptops. This is what I recently went for, however my usage is more balanced to the Audio side so I opted for a not so high end GPU.

Provided you are choosing with the long term in mind, there are several important aspects to consider in your actual model-configuration choice:
1. A new RAM generation was just released, so you'd prefer Alienware X15 R2 which uses DDR5, latest one.
2. Similarly PCIe 4 was launched at 2021 so both X15 released versions R1 and R2 have this specification. Bear in mind that PCI versions last many years, and allow for almost double SSD max speeds, so you want to be on PCI-4 . Some M15 R versions still being sold at Dell online sites work at PCI-3.
3. You want portability so your choice is 15" sizes (not 17"), however unthinkable this is, Dell has designed both X15 R1 and R2 with soldered RAM!! So you NEED to buy 32GB RAM versions and accept that it will not be possible to upgrade this laptop to 64GB RAM or more, as is attainable with dual RAM sockets nowadays...
4. Also beware, some Dell laptop Alienware models require Nvidia 3060 or superior in order to have Thunderbolt connector... if one chooses lesser 3050 GPU Thunderbolt is not included
5. INTEL. Intel has been pushing the thermal limits of its CPU generations. They were barely able to compete with Taiwan's TSMC factories and so keep at the same 10nm lithographic mode for almost 5 years. In practical terms this has meant for us that until version 11th gen X15 R1 included (2021) the same happens with 9th and 10th previous CPU versions... as a consequence ALL professional INTEL laptops had to routinely work at 100°C for demanding work!! So laptop manufacturers released machines that were MOSTLY designed to support this heat at middle term at least, so to comply with regular warranty lapses.
Fortunately, this changed at 12th version launched this 2022, so 12ᵗʰ Gen Intel® Core™ i7-12700H usually maxes at 80°C on X15 R2 and more likely so on X17 R2 Alienware line.
6. Thermal and performance improvements are expected to increase at INTEL 13th gen just announced to be launched in the coming months later this year. So here are THREE potential reasons to delay your acquisition to later this 2022; one to buy on the latest laptop specs. Second, to wait for the comparatively LARGE price discounts to be expected on the weeks prior that launch if you want a well specced X15 R2. And thirdly, Dell might possibly maybe produce a X15 R3 with socketted (non soldered) RAM, that would be the perfect portable laptop for media without a doubt.

I guess most relevant points are covered here. Also discount coupons are eligible at Dell's outlets, search for them. Also, sometimes you may get better discounts for a given configuration if ordered by the regular online Dell store, the key being to have a chat/call with a representative, whom at special occasions are allowed to offer an specification upgrade or a discount no published online. Plus, You may want to visit unofficial Alienware reddit for extra advice or to be updated on latest news.
 

Many excellent points and opinions. Thanks!

I chose Sager because I could easily configure everything directly on their website and get the system I really wanted and the price was cheaper than the other companies. This is my current laptop:

https://www.sagernotebook.com/Notebook-NP7880P-S.html

I then upgraded two two drives 2TB drives (solid state), 64Gig ram. Been very happy with the performance. Delivery was very fast.

Many people overlook the most important thing for editing on a laptop -- get the biggest, most accurate screen you can afford. Advice goes double if you're over fifty.

Many people overlook the most important thing for editing on a laptop -- get the biggest, most accurate screen you can afford. Advice goes double if you're over fifty.

How right you are @Musicvid .. screen size is a biggie for me. What sort of travel? Airplanes and hotels?

If portable means it fits in airline carry-on along with a laptop, consider an Intel Nuc Phantom Canyon Enthusiast. I have an older Ghost Cayon which is the same form factor and still works better than Dell xps-15 laptop. Phantom looks even better with a 1165g7 cpu/igpu, 3060 gpu, and 64gig ram limit. All I need on the road is a display, keyboard, and a mouse which the laptop can fulfill with Remote Desktop if I cannot lay hands on a big screen tv or a motel's business facilities. I got my Ghost as a bare-bones kit and filled it in myself... see: photos

I'm also kicking around the idea of upgrading from my Dell Xps15-9570. Thinking about an Asus UX582HS-XH99T. About the same size, weight, and 4k display as the Dell. But probably lower batter life.

edit: think I'm settling on the Asus Zenbook Pro 16x instead... 16" solo 4k display and better battery life

Travel definitely includes air travel and I do prefer 17" screens having used a few such laptops in the past, but I'm not so sure today's travel bags will fit a 17" and of course the weight of one after living 5 years with a 1/2" thick, < 3 lb. version may be tough!

I do like reading all the great suggestions! Thank you!

... You want portability so your choice is 15" sizes (not 17"), however unthinkable this is, Dell has designed both X15 R1 and R2 with soldered RAM!! So you NEED to buy 32GB RAM versions and accept that it will not be possible to upgrade this laptop to 64GB RAM or more, as is attainable with dual RAM sockets nowadays...

Just for clarification: the laptop I referred to earlier is the Alienware M15 Ryzen R5. As described above I added a second SSD at 2TB and switched the RAM from 16 to 32GB - which was the max for both an SSD and RAM. The SSD was easy and I got a free heatsink enclosure direct from Dell within a couple of days when I asked about that. The RAM was not soldered for my particular machine and I was able therefore to slot in the larger cards in the normal way. The descriptions for both the SSD and the RAM upgrades are fully described and illustrated in the downloadable user manual. I shall look out for future soldering issues though should I plan a laptop that may need extra RAM.

... Thermal and performance improvements ...

My laptop runs rendering like the proverbial s%£t off a shovel and the heat as described in the Task Manager components is low. No fan noise either. I added a small laptop stand as seen in the photo below but that is to better see and use the keyboard rather than to help dissipate heat.

The grab photo shows a 24" wall-mounted Dell monitor alongside the laptop linked by HDMI which I use when relaxing in the lounge instead of working at my office. I would not find 17" to be any better for me than 15" regardless of having a 2nd monitor or not. Just out of shot is a bluetooth speaker which although it is slightly out of audio sync is much better than laptop internal speakers.

A previous Dell XPS laptop I bought was a special offer which a tele-sales associate offered me instead of using the Outlet so yes there can be that option as well.

Many of my friends and colleagues have been using the Outlet for years and nothing else :- )

My desktop configuration is beyond what most laptops.....

In any case...... any suggestions you care to make.

Jonathan

The Alienware is excellent, but I have had excellent luck with Sager models as they have many actual desktop components. But only drawback is that they are heavy, weighing in at slightly under 3 tons. The SAGER NP9672M-G1 is the most powerful one they make right now. I've never had any problems with the several ones I have had over the years. https://www.sagernotebook.com/Notebook-NP9672M-G1.html

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/alienware-x17-r2-gaming-laptop/spd/alienware-x17-r2-laptop/wnr2x17cto10ssb

"3 tons" 😁

weighing in at slightly under 3 tons.

The airline excess baggage fee will surely outstrip many times the cost of that 3 tons computer 😃😃😃.

Dexcon, it's not so much the airline fee, but rather the cost of the forklift that cramps your budget. 😬

@garuda  . it would be preferable if you edited your comment about the weight of your computer into a realistic real world weight. 3 tons is a greater weight than a top end Rolls Royce motor car which have always been known to be extra heavy.

472 stone?

... You want portability so your choice is 15" sizes (not 17"), however unthinkable this is, Dell has designed both X15 R1 and R2 with soldered RAM!! So you NEED to buy 32GB RAM versions and accept that it will not be possible to upgrade this laptop to 64GB RAM or more, as is attainable with dual RAM sockets nowadays...

Just for clarification: the laptop I referred to earlier is the Alienware M15 Ryzen R5. As described above I added a second SSD at 2TB and switched the RAM from 16 to 32GB - which was the max for both an SSD and RAM. The SSD was easy and I got a free heatsink enclosure direct from Dell within a couple of days when I asked about that. The RAM was not soldered for my particular machine and I was able therefore to slot in the larger cards in the normal way. The descriptions for both the SSD and the RAM upgrades are fully described and illustrated in the downloadable user manual. I shall look out for future soldering issues though should I plan a laptop that may need extra RAM.

... Thermal and performance improvements ...

My laptop runs rendering like the proverbial s%£t off a shovel and the heat as described in the Task Manager components is low. No fan noise either. I added a small laptop stand as seen in the photo below but that is to better see and use the keyboard rather than to help dissipate heat.

The grab photo shows a 24" wall-mounted Dell monitor alongside the laptop linked by HDMI which I use when relaxing in the lounge instead of working at my office. I would not find 17" to be any better for me than 15" regardless of having a 2nd monitor or not. Just out of shot is a bluetooth speaker which although it is slightly out of audio sync is much better than laptop internal speakers.

A previous Dell XPS laptop I bought was a special offer which a tele-sales associate offered me instead of using the Outlet so yes there can be that option as well.

Many of my friends and colleagues have been using the Outlet for years and nothing else :- )

Yes, Peter-Riding some recent Alienware 15" laptops have socketed So-Dimm RAM (AMD CPU ones).

Currently on the intel CPU offerings there is the M15 R7, which has non-soldered upgradeable DDR-5 RAM. It sports Generation 12th CPUs. PCI-4 and most all mentioned features above the OP either asks about or has been recommended to.
However, note that in this particular model Thunderbolt functionality is only provided with 3060 or above GPUs.
Also, thermal dissipation is not as advanced as the X15 line and it is not so thin-small, plus only comes in grey color.

About timing, I'd wait a few weeks until the rush of the return from holidays ends, or directly ask for relevant discounts to the online sales representative. More so, if this is considered:

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/bursting-pc-inventories-might-stoke-aggressive-discounts-and-promotions/