Man, remember when Firewire used to be a thing? Or what about VGA and DVI? As laptops have gotten slimmer over the ages and more efficient technologies have emerged, many of these ports have gone the way of the dinosaurs.
Thankfully, the headphone jack has held on, but forum member jasdbowen is searching fora laptop with two audio ports. She writes:
"I am in the process of researching PC laptops on behalf of a local church who will be using it to manage a good deal of sound, media, and recording processes. It is very important to them to buy a laptop that has two separate audio ports (one jack with audio-out headphone capability and one jack with audio-in mic capability) instead of just one combo port. My own MacBook Pro has two separate audio ports, but most PCs I have seen just have one. I could not find any lists or other resources online which identified PCs that have two audio ports. Do any of you know of any modern (within the last 5 years) PC models that have two separate audio jacks?"
Some of our readers have suggested that jasdbowen simply invest in an audio splitter, but the church she’s working with is insisting on a system with dual audio jacks. Luckily, there are several modern gaming laptops that have just what she's been searching for. Here are some of our top picks.
Acer Aspire V17 Nitro Black Edition ($1,349)
The Acer Aspire V17 Nitro Black Edition earned high marks for its understated looks, strong performance and powerful speakers. Starting at $1,349, this gaming laptop looks just as good in an office setting as it would in a LAN party.
It's a larger notebook at 7 pounds and 16.7 x 11.7 x 1.1 inches, but that means you have a bigger 1080p display to enjoy. It also has fairly decent battery life at 5 hours and 30 minutes and has a slew of ports, including the dual audio ports jasdbowen requires.
Alienware 15 R3 ($1,829)
With its customizable backlighting, the Alienware 15 R3 might be a little too distracting for a church setting (or you can configure it enhance the service), but it offers powerful performance on the gaming, multitasking and audio fronts.
In addition to the dual audio ports, you get a gorgeous Nvidia G-Sync display for smoother, sharper images.
HP Omen 15 ($1,659)
The name might be ominous, but the HP Omen 15's performance is anything but. The design goes a little heavy on the gamer aesthetic, but with a captivating 4K display, comfortable keyboard and great performance, this system should not be overlooked. The speakers deliver audio that's clear, loud and punchy, which might come handy.
Lenovo Legion Y920 ($2,199)
The Lenovo Legion Y920 offers strong graphics and overall performance with a pretty TK screen and gorgeous audio quality.
When it's not being used in a audiovisual capacity, the notebook's comfortable keyboard and high-end components make it a great content creation or productivity system.
MSI GS63VR Stealth Pro ($1,638)
We like the MSI GS63VR Stealth Pro because, at 4.2 pounds and 14.9 x 9.8 x 0.7 inches, the laptop is slim and very light. Thismakes for easier transport and storage. It has a lovely display, and its midtier specs can handle just about any content creation task you put in front of it. On their own, the speakers and subwoofer can fill a medium-size space when paired with the Nahimic 2 software. As far as the audio ports go, the Stealth Pro has a jack capable of supporting high-definition headphones. You also get a separate microphone jack.
OriginPC Eon15-S ($1,199)
Typically, something from OriginPC would cost you the proverbial arm and a leg. But the $1,199 Eon15-S is a welcome departure from the company's ongoing budget assault. The 15-inch laptop offers a host of ports with entry-level specs and a nice display. We particularly appreciate its lack of bloatware. And it has a fingerprint reader, in case you have sensitive files that need extra protection.
MSI WE72 7RJ ($1,799)
If you want to shy away from gaming laptops, MSI offers a few workstations that feature dual audio ports, like the WE72 7RJ. It offers an elegant black aluminum chassis, booming audio and a nice amount of storage for $1,799. Its Quadro Nvidia graphics are perfectly suited for productivity and content creation, and its speakers are so loud, you can use it as a substitute stereo.
Credit: Laptop Mag
