In need of Laptop reccomendation

[mlah384]

I'm in the market for a laptop. I use desktops mainly, but when I travel I would like to have a powerful laptop that would satisfy me. My desktop is an i7, 36gig ram, dual ssd's, 6TB storage, etc... I do a lot of design work, video, etc...

My road of thought was a laptop that:

- i7
- lots of memory
- 2 hard drive bays (SSD in one and Storage 1TB+ in other)
- nice large screen (since I'm older now and can't see as well!! argg...)

I've looked at the Asus gaming laptops, since gaming laptops are built for more desktop type power... But is there a more economical way?

Should I buy a barebones type laptop and buy SSD, Memory, 1TB+ storage drive, etc... separately and upgrade it to the desirable specs? Or buy it with all of that stuff right off the shelf? or is that even available right off the shelf?

Suggestions?

*EDIT*
Also, I still run Windows 7 64bit... I dont like Windows 8, but am willing to try it again if it would be better for laptop... if not, i'll just format laptop when I get it and put Win7 on it... So I probably can save money by not getting the touch screen?

Thanks!

 

[Imaginer]

Are you doing any rendering? (Yes, dGPU; no, latest iGPU offerings is fine for navigation and manipulation)

Are you doing two dimensional sketching (since you mentioned design)? You might find that a pen option is valid.

For memory, it depends how much your typical past usage has run you before Windows starts complaining about memory across all opened processes. 8GB is a basic minimum for any computational working tasks. More of course is better, but if you do not even tap into above 50% or higher 80% of the time, it is a waste for more memory (in my opinion) cost wise over time.

Design is VERY broad. To really narrow down specifics, something needs to be given. Are you organically 3D modeling and doing 3D character design? Are you designing software? Are you looking to create in image creation suites? Video? Audio?

You mentioned video. Many suites still use the CPU as grunt. i7 is good for that. Anything that would offload to external storage or dual storage is fine. I think the Helix offers a general power usage in a lightly traveled form. Same with the Yoga 2 Pro.

 

[mlah384]

I don't do much 3D... I mainly use the Adobe Suite (After Effects, Premiere, Audition, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc...) I also use Sony Vegas and Sony Soundforge as well as Sorenson Squeeze... I'm bad about multi-tasking and having all of them open at once... not all rendering at once necessarily, but all are open with different client projects open...

At the same time I will have firefox, chrome, IE, and safari all open testing websites, etc... and normally I'll have 10 different firefox sessions open with 20-100 tabs open in each... I normally crash firefox... thank GOD firefox has the option to open past tabs! lol

I would rather have too much available then not enough...

I was looking at this MSI laptop just a minute ago: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834152395 But I don't see the need for 3 SSDs in raid... I think one 500gb SSD is fine with 1 high capacity storage drive...

I don't play games as much as I used to... but figured a rig that would handle games should handle anything...

 

[mlah384]

Also, should I consider a Macbook Pro? I've always been a PC guy though, but thought of getting a Macbook Pro to go along with my PC desktops...

 

[Imaginer]

The ONLY reason why I would go for a Macbook Pro, is if I am insistent on using the trackpad as my ONLY pointing device, with no intention of using an external mouse/trackball. Also, another user has suggest that has been done by many, to pare down the OSX partition to a very bare small size for updates, leaving a large chunk for a native Windows install. Driver issues will have to rely on generic ones from Intel and others. Otherwise, there are many offerings with various configurations. It boils down to display (you may need to see these in person) and weight (for travel) balanced with computing performance.

The many reasons why I settled for a Surface Pro, was my intended travel weight, on the fly sketching with sketching, drawing, and painting performance to boot, and ability to 3D manipulate CAD and now Mudbox (bonus that I can do this by using a two button pen and eraser alongside touch).

Also, the keys of the keyboard is something I would also try. Pictures do not do it justice, but actually sampling what is the equivalent size in a brick and mortar will help decide. A laptop is more than specs, hence why many are quick to point out Macbooks. But I believe there are just as viable options to the Macbook out there, but it isn't as in your face advertised.

Seems to me, your RAM usage should be 16GB with an i7 - if you are cost concious and not settling for anything lower. Display wise, I can't find anything so far that offers higher than 1080p for 17 inch displays, but I haven't looked hard enough. I think that narrows it down. A strong iGPU would not only keep power down unplugged, but the associated weight and cooling as well - something that one would appreciate over a laptop's lifetime and usage.

I am personally biased to having a balance of power and weight and mobility rather than strictly power. This is coming from an ENVY 14, with 4 and quickly soon 8GB of RAM 4 years ago. 5 pounds of weight may not seem much, but over carry time and distance, it can be straining.

 

[mlah384]

I just noticed that you can no longer purchase the Macbook PRO in 17"... I think 15" is way too small for my eyes... ;( .... I guess PC is probably the way to go then? So the questions is, which PC? I'm sure some are known to be buggy, while others are rock solid? I definitely want the least headaches possible!

 

[Imaginer]

The Dell XPS 15 lines offer QHD resolutions at 3200x1800. The SSD and drive options may not be to your liking.

The Lenovo T-series laptops offer a good resolution in a 15 inch screen alongside CPU and RAM options.

But even when I laptop shopped years ago, I seldom encountered a two drive caddy. If that is an important requirement that trumps things, the MSI sounds like an option.

Edit. scratch that. You made mention of no 15 inch displays.

 

[Imaginer]

What about this?

http://www.toshiba.com/us/computers/laptops/qosmio/X70/X75-A7298

 

[halw]

Check out the Lenova Thinkpad series. I have a T420 and I know that if I wish the dvd drive can be removed and with a hd caddy (purchased separately), insert a hard drive.

With a setup like that, if you need a dvd drive, you can purchase an external device.

And if I'm not mistaken, you can still get Win7 on it.

 

[tamm]

Lenovo Y510P.

If you can snag the i7 with dual SLI you should be golden.

It has an amazing screen, and the second video card takes the place of a DVDR so swapable.

However do note, your desktop performance would be hard to match on any sub-1000 new condition notebook. The y510P is as close as you can get without jumping down to a 4th gen i5 or 3rd gen i7.