Hey everyone! I'm coming from C4D where the CPU is more important than the GPU except you have Octane or Cycles4D ect. I really want to learn Houdini right now but my Macbook can't really handle this. I think im going to return it and buy a gamer laptop. Yes a laptop. I need/want it because i want to work everywhere i go. I know serious rendering is only possible on a desktop pc but for learning its ok i think. So what do i have to look out for? A good CPU or a good GPU? Thanks in advance!

You need both. Houdini uses some of the most advanced OpenGL features, compared to other software packages so if you don't have a decent GPU (i.e. nVidia) then you may experience display issues. A Mac laptop is the worst choice for Houdini you can make. So choose a high-end Windows based gamer laptop. But you are throwing your money away in that case (IMHO). Take that same money and buy desktop and you will get even more joy out of using Houdini.

Don't overlook ram either. I would recommend at least 16GB for starting out. As a novice you can explore Houdini using only 8GB of CPU ram but you will quickly outgrow that and hit a wall on simulation complexity. Also Houdini requires an internet license to run so the “work everywhere I go” may not be practical if you are in a cabin in the woods, for example.

Depending on the laptop you can get a very decent performance nowadays.
I own a clevo p370em, two years ago it outperformed most of the workstations at workplace, talking about maya, 3d coat.
It still is a very decent computer, two NVIDIA 680s, 32 gigs of RAM, and i7 processor.
And right now these laptops can have 2 NVIDIA 1080s, 64 Gb RAM, 4k display, latest gen i7.
By the way, i understand that you can have your license offline.

Depending on the laptop you can get a very decent performance nowadays.
I own a clevo p370em, two years ago it outperformed most of the workstations at workplace, talking about maya, 3d coat.
It still is a very decent computer, two NVIDIA 680s, 32 gigs of RAM, and i7 processor.
And right now these laptops can have 2 NVIDIA 1080s, 64 Gb RAM, 4k display, latest gen i7.
Houdini 15 wont use 2 gpus, but if you use redshift, por octane having 2 gpus will double rendering speed. And the trend is to rely more and more con GPU processing.
By the way, i understand that you can have your license served offline.