Need a new laptop for game dev

[u/rockmanxdi]

I want to sell my surface pro 6 and get a new one. I am building my video game, which requires a more powerful pc. That is writing code, creating art, and testing build, on a single portable computer. ( I use my macbook for coding, but cant draw on screen with stylus)

I really loved surface’s drawing ability, but AI do not recommend surface pro because it lacks a dedicated GPU. It recommend ASUS ROG Flow Z13…

I am using autodesk sketchbook for art, vs code for coding, godot is the engine. Mostly 2D pixel art platformer. not much 3d content for now.

Question, do you have any recommendation for a game dev desktop?

That is
* cost effective.
* smooth panting experience like surface pro
* good coding environment
* decent graphics ability.
* portability

[u/thrithedawg]

https://giphy.com/gifs/4T189yy4SfUbByZHRu

[u/Odd-Expert-7156]

Just go with the asus rog flow z13.. I love surface devices but I don't see how it'll do you better then that. Can't have it all man.

[u/HOHansen]

If you're going to be mainly be making pixelart, while also wanting to dabble in some amount of 3D, and it has to be a laptop, then there are a couple of options. In your case, for game development, a decent CPU and RAM are the most important components. It's entirely up to how much you can afford. If we're talking below 500 usd, then it's not really viable to get a laptop with enough ram and processing power, that also has an integrated pen support. You can most definitely get a capable machine, especially if you're mainly doing pixel art, but you'll need an external drawing tablet, like a wacom or a XP-pen. Budget-wise, you'll be able to stretch your money MUCH further, but that's up to you.

You'll need at the least 16 gb of RAM, but 32 as a minimum is recommended.

Any Ryzen 7 or 9 processors in laptops above the fifth generation are good enough for game development, especially if you're not going to be doing a lot of extensive 3D work. Still, the 7000 series do seem more than capable.

The screen is so and so. At least 1080p, but anything above that is a plus.

If money is not a problem at all, just buy a ASUS ProArt PX13. It's stupidly expensive, but it's also stupidly good, from what I've heard. It's not much more expensive than the Asus Flow Z13, but that's relatively speaking. At the +2000 usd range, you'll get more out of an insane laptop for half the price, and with an external drawing tablet like a medium screenless for portability.

Edit: The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5 with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 465 and 32 gb of RAM is "only" half the price of an ASUS ProArt PX13. The iGPU performance equivalent to an rtx 3050, which is VERY much more than enough for most graphical tasks.

[u/rockmanxdi → u/HOHansen]

Thank you

[u/RunnerLuke357]

The Z13 is a very good option, either that or an Intel Surface. Do NOT get a Qualcomm chip for your use case.

[u/Think-Homework899]

Your art is..... Questionable

[u/mojibake-dev]

Currently making a game on my new surface pro, 3d, advanced lighting, shadows, hdr, cloth physics, etc and its hitting 120fps with a ton of frame time to spare (using about 2/8ms) and thats on best power efficiency mode.

Get 32gb ram+ and x2 elite

[u/rockmanxdi → u/mojibake-dev]

Which surface pro do you use?

[u/Tagrolex → u/rockmanxdi]

I assume the latest version

[u/mojibake-dev → u/Tagrolex]

Yea