Cardia on 1/9/2026 at 07:49
Hi everyone,
I'm planning to buy a new Windows laptop and I'd really appreciate some advice from people who regularly use DromEd. I'll mainly need the laptop for work and university (preparing lessons, writing documents, doing research, etc.), so I'm not necessarily looking for a high-end gaming laptop. However, I'd also like to use it for Thief 2/1 and, more importantly, DromEd to continue working on my missions. If any of you are currently using DromEd on a relatively recent laptop, I'd be very interested to know what model/specs you're using and how well it works.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
DarkMax on 5/9/2026 at 02:30
You don't need anything super specific to run DromEd/Thief. Just ask for anything that can get games installed on it that isn't too pricey.
StandAndDeliver on 5/9/2026 at 03:05
Avoid Intel Arc graphics cards. I had a number of issues that took me over a year to figure out and fix related to it, some of which kept me from using DromEd effectively on my travel laptop. Black pixels flickering in game mode, random/unpredictable dromed crashes, brightness issues, and more. Do AMD or Nvidia, not necessarily an expensive one.
Aged Raver on 5/9/2026 at 10:56
Hello Cardia
I know little of DromEd, only of playing Thief but for what it's worth, from limited experience, I don't recommend HP laptops.
...................... Why? .............................
I've always had Dell machines and when my trusty Dell (Windows 7) died in 2020, a friend (not a games player) told me that HP laptops were good. Because I have certain eye problems I have always bought large screen machines and as the 17” HP laptop was cheaper than the Dell equivalent I bought a Hewlett Packard ENVY 17.
It came with Windows 11 installed and I spent two months making it look like Windows 7. (I bought some software called StartAllBack to help). I only wanted a large screen but it came with things I don't need or use, like a touch monitor, a finger print key, and goodness knows what.
I know that people play Thief using a mouse or other gadgets but I've always used the keyboard. Unfortunately on the HP ENVY 17 the four arrow keys take the space of only 3 keys, because the 2 up-and-down arrow keys are half-size, one above the other, using the space of one normal size key.
So moving Garrett forward or backward can be a problem, if you have normal-sized or podgy fingers. So it's easy to press both buttons at once. I've been compensating for so long that I'd forgotten until now that the down-arrow stopped working properly ages ago, although the key is not broken. So when Garrett needs to back off from a situation, I have to turn him round first and then go forwards.
Why, when there's such a large area for the keyboard? (To make room for the fingerprint reader key that I've never used). And a few months ago the up-arrow key broke. I wasn't aware of using undue pressure and I feel the laptop is poorly designed and made. I see that somebody sells these keys so I'll have to buy a new one.
The speakers (Bang and Olufsen - which I assumed would be good) are not impressive and this year the sound became very distorted, first in one speaker and then a few weeks later in the other. It wasn't the software and I replaced them after seeing a YouTube video on how to do it.
Some of these things I should have researched thoroughly beforehand (I know) but I was in a hurry when my Dell died (I think it was the motherboard). I then had to take out the hard drive and painstakingly copy stuff to the new machine, with various problems in going from Win7 to Win11.
Other considerations that I was not ready for ... I can't play CDs or DVDs as it has no player (I know - like most modern laptops - I just didn't realise). :tsktsk:
I'll be interested in what you choose Cardia as I also may have to upgrade in the near future.
Azaran on 5/9/2026 at 19:41
Considering how expensive new, good laptops are these days, I suggest buying a used business laptop. I have a business Thinkpad that I bought as a backup computer for around $300 in 2019 or thereabouts, and it's still going strong.
Definitely avoid new laptops under $600, they're built to break. And the cheapest ones are just e-waste with specs that would have been terrible in 2016 (4 GB of RAM, 128/256 GB of flash storage)
DuatDweller on 5/9/2026 at 20:45
There was a nice Laptop with a Intel Core 7 Ultra and a nvidia 5060 with 16 GB of system RAM and 8 GB of VRAM and a 1T SSD, unfortunately is it an HP.
spillz00 on 5/9/2026 at 21:00
Quote Posted by StandAndDeliver
Avoid Intel Arc graphics cards. I had a number of issues that took me over a
year to figure out and fix related to it, some of which kept me from using DromEd effectively on my travel laptop. Black pixels flickering in game mode, random/unpredictable dromed crashes, brightness issues, and more. Do AMD or Nvidia, not necessarily an expensive one.
I think the newer Arc chips (Lunar Lake era) are better than the prior generations and don't have these texture bugs.
My son has one of the Lunar Lake devices -- Acer Aspire 14 and we got it for under $US700, which was a pretty good deal. He doesn't play Thief, but hasn't had any issues with the games he plays.
DuatDweller on 5/9/2026 at 21:03
What games, we want names... spill the beans..
DuatDweller on 5/9/2026 at 21:10
Anyway I also got a good deal with an Acer Aspire 5 15 nvidia RTX 2050 it was discounted from USD1000 to around 600.
That was in 2024 though.
spillz00 on 5/9/2026 at 21:20
He likes a lot of Indie stuff like Risk of Rain 2. But I know he was also playing one of the Rainbow Six games and Elden Ring. They all run fine for him, but framerates on Elden Ring aren't the best (30-40 fps) but not horrible considering this is not a gaming laptop. Gets decent battery life for non-gaming stuff.
