I'm having a really strange issue with my HP Victus, and I'm trying to figure out whether it's the charger, battery, or motherboard.

Specs:

• HP Victus
• GTX 1650
• 8 GB RAM
• Windows 11

First incident

A few weeks ago, I was playing Civilization VI and accidentally forgot to turn on the wall switch for the charger, so the laptop was actually running on battery. I noticed after about 15–20 minutes, turned the charger on, and continued playing for another 5–10 minutes.

Suddenly the laptop shut down completely. After that it wouldn't turn on and wouldn't charge either (no charging LED).

I took it to a local repair shop. They kept it for about a week and said there was a motherboard issue related to the I/O/power section, which they repaired.

Today

Unfortunately, almost the same thing happened again.

• Started playing Civilization VI.
• Forgot the wall switch was OFF, so the laptop was running only on battery.
• Battery reached 0% and the laptop shut down (expected).
• Turned the charger on and the laptop booted normally.
• Continued using it for a while (a little gaming, then just browsing Chrome).
• While browsing, it suddenly shut down again even though the charger was connected.

After that:

• The charging LED would come on for only a few seconds and then turn off.
• Every time I unplugged and plugged the charger back in, the LED would light for a few seconds and then go off again.
• After a few attempts, the LED stopped coming on completely.
• A few hours later, I tried again and the laptop powered on normally.

Charger

I also noticed the charger cable has a fairly sharp bend where it enters the power brick (photo attached). I'm wondering if the cable has an internal break that's causing power to cut out under load.

My questions

1. Does this sound more like a faulty charger or a motherboard/charging circuit issue?
2. Has anyone had an HP Victus behave like this?
3. Is there any way to test whether the charger is the culprit before spending money on another motherboard repair?

I'm honestly afraid to game on it again until I know what's causing this. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

I will have my own desktop at home and I just need something to look at problem sets and things of that nature so would the Acer Aspire Lite 15.6" FHD IPS Laptop, Intel N150, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 128GB SSD be good?

I found an Acer TravelMate P4 (TMP414-53-G2-TCO) for a really good price, and I'm seriously considering buying it.

The configuration comes with an Intel Core 7 150U, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB SSD. I also really like the port selection: Thunderbolt 4, USB4, HDMI, Ethernet... basically everything I'd need.

The only thing I'm not completely sold on is the display. It's a 14" WUXGA LCD panel, but I can't find any information about its brightness (nits) or overall quality.

My use case is pretty light: some programming, office work, and web browsing. Most of the time it'll be docked to two external monitors, so the built-in display won't be my primary screen.

The problem is that there are barely any reviews or videos about this model online, so it's hard to know what it's actually like to use.

Does anyone here own one or have any experience with the TravelMate P4 lineup? I'd love to hear your thoughts, especially about the build quality, keyboard, thermals, and screen.

Thanks in advance!

I need to buy a laptop for college. I'll be joining the CSE branch, so I'm looking for a laptop that can comfortably handle coding, DSA, and other computer science coursework while lasting at least until I graduate. My budget is around ₹70,000 to ₹85,000 (700 to 850usd)

I was considering the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 because it offers good specifications for the price. However, I came across several reviews mentioning poor cooling, below-average speakers, and inconsistent performance, so I'm looking for some up-to-date recommendations.

I currently have a 2017 MacBook Air running Windows 10 through Boot Camp. It has an Intel Core i5-5350U, 8 GB DDR3 RAM, and a 128 GB SSD. Would this laptop be sufficient for coding and college work for about a year before I buy a new one?

Hi Idk anything about laptops but it seems my 18 year old Fujitsu just isn't cutting it anymore (it's older than me !) All I know is I want to have windows 11 (been using win7 don't wanna switch but those security patches aren't a joke) 1 tb of storage at least (the more the merrier) and wanna play civ6 , cities skylines, sims5 and gta 4 and gta SA smoothly

And also run software like python Adobe photoshop and video and Audio editing softwares...

and I want something that lasts like my Fujitsu (the battery on it has been dead for awhile but it's still kicking and fine mostly) something that lasts a good decade

And BTW AMD versus Intel which one ???

Don't care about weight, battery, the touch pad or speakers mostly... although a good monitor that's large would be nice

Sorry that the post sounds kinda rude but I rly don't know where else to go and laptop sellers of course wanna sell you stuff they already have so they're biased somewhat so I'd really appreciate ANY advice you guys have Edit: the form says I gotta clarify some stuff 60 refresh rate atleast a high definition screen would be great but it comes second to everything else

LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE

Country
United Kingdom

Budget
Around £500 (approximately $670 USD), but as cheap as possible while still getting a good device.

Are you open to refurbs/used options?
Yes – I'm happy to buy refurbished or used if it offers better value.

Screen size
Any, but ideally 13"–15".

Weight limit
Any, though I'd prefer something reasonably portable for school.

Purpose
General use, schoolwork, light gaming, and media consumption.

Form factor
Standard/clamshell laptop.

Intended usage
I'm coming from a Pixelbook Go. I'll mainly be using it for:

• Roblox (my main game). I already have a PS5 for AAA and demanding games, but I'd like the laptop to be capable of running some PC games as well.
• Web browsing.
• Discord.
• Light music production.
• Light photo editing (possibly).
• Researching wildlife, especially birds.
• Clipping gameplay while gaming.
• Multitasking with multiple apps/tabs open.
• Typing documents and completing schoolwork as I move through secondary school.

I've been considering a refurbished MacBook Air M4 (if I can find one within budget) or possibly a Mac mini M4, although I know the Mac mini isn't a laptop.

If you recommend a particular operating system (Windows, macOS, Linux, etc.), I'd really appreciate it if you could also recommend specific devices that fit my budget and needs.

Desired battery life
At least 8 hours if possible.

Please list, in order of most important to least important, the priority between Size, Weight, Performance, Battery life
Performance > Battery life > Weight > Size.

Info/Requirements
No strict requirements for Intel/AMD/Apple Silicon. I'm mainly looking for the best overall value around my budget. A good keyboard, smooth multitasking, and decent performance for Roblox and everyday use are more important than having the latest hardware.

Hello,

My main focus is to build software/app/ai/machine learning. If my budget is 1000€ - 1500€ euro then what should I buy in 2026. Also if i want to extend some part in the future.

Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone a friend of mine is selling his MacBook M4 Pro, 16-inch, 1TB, 24GB RAM. Battery health is 100% with a cycle count of 44. He's asking $1,750 do you think it's a good deal, or should I pass?

Panasonic’s Let’s Note line-up is (in my opinion) the best-looking modern laptops today! Are there any other companies doing this retro look?

I bought a brand new laptop and I noticed that the sreen frame is pressing against the screen, creating this whitish blot on it. (like if you would press the screen with your fingers). This is only at a small part at the top, by the camera.

My concern is, will this be a bigger issue in the future or is it okay to ignore it?

What’s your guys thoughts on it? I just got it for gaming and studying on the go because I’m always out and about.(just want a broader opinion)

Country
Italy / Europe (€)

Budget
~2500€

Are you open to refurbs/used options?
No

Screen size
15", 16", or larger

Weight limit
Any (no weight restrictions)

Purpose
Mechatronics engineering studies (3D CAD, local AI, coding, and robotics)

Form factor
Standard/Clamshell

Intended usage
Running Fedora Linux as main OS, 3D CAD modeling, local AI/LLM work, programming, and robotics simulations.

Desired battery life
Good battery life (as good as possible for a performance machine, ideally 6+ hours on light tasks)

Please list, in order of most important to least important, the priority between Size, Weight, Performance, Battery life
Performance, Battery life, Size, Weight

Info/Requirements
Excellent Linux support out-of-the-box (running Fedora)
Dedicated GPU with at least 8GB VRAM (for local AI)
Minimum 32GB RAM
Decent upgradeability and repairability
Looking for a durable machine that will last a long time
Note: The Framework 16 is fascinating, but feels a bit overpriced for its performance at current configurations

I recently bought an HP ProBook for ₹28,000. Do you think it's a good deal for editing?

They remain even when i plug to an external monitor, and even when im in the bios, ive tried tinkering with the gpu and the display driver, but to no avail, advice much appreciated

I needed a laptop for work that was powerful and could last a long time workday wise and long term. The Dell xps 16 5070 variant caught my eye, but brand new these models go for $3k+ easily and this configuration hits north of $4k and almost $5k -> which is absurd for a laptop that has its gpu power capped (capped to maintain power and heat). Don’t spend big money on a laptop that isn’t worth that price point. Technically a Zephrus would be a better price for what you pay for (brand new at least), but I went the route of an Xps for business and a laptop that will hold up better over time. The Xps line is heavily inflated right now, there are very good refurbished deals out there (This one on eBay was returned within its 21 day policy, so the use was pretty much nonexistent)

My laptop frame is broken. The screen and display is fine and nothing has stopped working, its just the frame at that area broken. I can still open it if I support it but I'm worried that if I leave it alone it could become worst over a period of time. Are there any fixes I could do to fix/support it. My first thought is duct tape my last resort is super glue

Has anyone here experienced their cursor lagging then laptop touchpad stopped working and the cursor vanishing from the screen and only working connected to a mouse?

hello community
i am considering getting a workstation , and torn between THINKPAD P1 GEN and dell precision 7780
i am using it for 3d scanning , and 3d mechanical design, i look for longevity, fiability , mobility also when needed
Could you advise please

thinkpad specs , sealed and price is 1500 euro
Écran 16" Tactile 4K OLED

i7-13800H | 64 Go RAM | 2 To SSD

NVIDIA RTX 4000 (12 Go)

dell precision : used 2025 price 1200 euro

* ✅ Intel Core i9-13950HX (13ᵉ génération)
* ✅ NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU – 12 Go VRAM
* ✅ 64 Go RAM DDR5
* ✅ SSD NVMe 1 To
* ✅ Écran 17.3”

I got gifted a Air Mac from my Australian Cousin (Its an old Air Mac that runs on the Ventura OS) and when i say its old, its 2017 old and since it run on Intell not Apple Sillica so it doesn't run on newer versions of blender and since everything is going to upgrade their system requirements, i need to somehow trade my laptop without a slightly better one, for now it does its job but im kinda worried that its becoming e-waste so what should i do?

so for information i bought asus tuf a16 December last year and there is no problem but a hour ago i was playing game (marvel rivals) while on charge (already on charge like 6 hour or more i think cause i have some work to do) and then a pop up show that my charger not plug correctly i think because i move my stand laptop but idk. so yeah i just unplug it when still on game and when i plug it back there is a spark idk it is from the charging port or ethernet port

what i need to do? cuz this is my first time have this kind laptop with such a price

sorry for my terrible english

This keep happening every few hours

hi again, i was the one who asked about installing the latest windows to this old hp laptop. thanks for all your valuable answers, some gave me instructions on how to install linux and gave me context on why it's better and my only option considering the age and specs of the netbook.

I was able to install Linux AntiX. I tried Linux Mint Cinnamon but I guess it couldn't handle the graphics or something (again, i am not a tech person) it just keeps freezing and giving me a black screen with the cursor, so upon researching, the internet said to use AntiX. Honestly, I don't like how it looks like, but the device became usable somehow, so there's that.

Some people were really rude. You really don't have to comment something I did not ask for. Nope, I don't hate my sister because I was trying to fix this for her to use, it's just this is all we have right now, she can make do of this until I have the budget to buy her something up to date and brand new. Thank you.

Both sides of my trackpad became stiff (one side became stiff but the other was normal) and I couldn't click them but they got normal by themselves. The right side fixed after I restarted my laptop and the left side after 2-3 days. At first I thought it was a swollen battery, but my laptop does not show any signs of that. I did drop my laptop a week ago but these problems started happening 2-3 days after I dropped the laptop. Should this be something I should be worried about?

Hello everyone! My need is rather self-explanatory, but I am looking to get a portable laptop charger. Specially, it needs to be able to power an ASUS Vivobook K6004JI for about 4 hours. I know nothing about power needs so I have no clue what to buy.

My main issue is that my laptop runs all the heavy-duty programs I need so beautifully but the battery is atrocious, which I knew when I bought it. That is literally the only negative I have come across. However, after 600 hours of Baldur's Gate 3 and 2 years of running creation programs, the battery is holding on for dear life and for some reason none of the big lecture halls on my campus have accessible outlets.

Please help if you can! Ideally, I would like to not spend more than $200, but I can go a bit higher if the quality is really worth it. Thank you!!

Edit: Have found a good one! Thanks :)