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I’m mostly with you but there are some people who like to use one machine for both laptop and AI work, and it’s much cheaper than buying two separate devices.
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I generally agree for everything except Macbook Pros which outperform most available desktop setups for AI tasks - but they are also now out of reach for most people after the price hikes (6.7k now for 128gb, i got mine for 4.7k just about a year ago).

Honestly I think this is just a bad time to be buying hardware - everything is marked up an insane amount that doesn't really make sense.

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For me the smaller footprint, lower power consumption and portability (admittedly between desks only) are the three advantages of using a laptop over a desktop for these purposes.
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The Strix Halo mini PCs use the exact same chip, and have a much smaller footprint than any laptop. Have you seen the size of these machines? I can and have easily popped my daily driver computer into my very small backpack to attend a demoparty for example.

With the laptop you probably won't get silent operation at the peak 100-140w, i.e. you've now massively overpaid for lower performance.

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Can you get these from vendors like Asus and lenovo these days?

The ones I've seen on aliexpress are from unknown Chinese vendors.

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I have a Framework Desktop as primary PC (great cooling, beautiful case with handle) and the Bosgame M5 dedicated for AI use.

I was also a bit wary about Bosgame but TBH they've been great and the machine is rock solid, if a little noisier than and not as pretty as the FD. You can just buy from them directly and be fine, best computer deal out there by a mile.

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Maybe there is a reason?

It's like you are advocating for a public transport instead of a personal car but when questioned how to get to a place which is not erviced by a public network your solution is to rent a bus.

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