What laptop to get for high end budget??? (2014)

thephysicsguy

Estimable
Jun 4, 2014
5
0
4,510
Hello everyone,

I am starting mechanical engineering in university next year and I would like to buy a decent laptop this summer before I start. I do programming as a hobby and I will be using some memory intensive CAD software and some programming IDEs. I am planning to do partition with Ubuntu and Windows 8.1 (so no mac). I don't do gaming but may start if I get a good gpu in my laptop.
The properties I am looking for is:
- Full HD or higher display (preferably IPS, truecolour and all that good stuff)
- 8gb or higher ram
- 256gb or higher ssd (i really don't like hybrids but may compromise and not even mentioning hdds)
- 14 inches or higher screen size (definetely not lower, i used a 13.3" and it was the worst thing happened to me)
- 4th gen i5 or i7
- much preferably thin and light form factor(definetely not those huge gaming laptops they make)

What I found is all these properties usually comes with 13.3 inch laptops which is really too small. I would have built my own pc but I need a laptop to carry around to lectures and library. I looked everywhere and I mean everywhere, but could not find a decent laptop that ticks all these boxes. I can go up to £1500 or maybe higher, but cheaper laptop would be nice. I know I am quite picky, but can you think of any laptop that ticks all the boxes?

I would really appreciate any suggestions!
Many thanks in advance.
 
Solution
The W540 comes standard with the nVidia Quadro K1100m GPU which is roughly equal to a nVidia GT 745m GPU. Not particularly powerful compared to GPUs dedicated for games, but definitely more powerful than Intel's integrated iGPU.

There is a $250 option for the nVidia Quadro K2100m. It is a bit more powerful than the nVidia GT 755m when it comes to gaming performance.

gumbykid

Honorable
Jan 15, 2014
17
0
10,570
I was going to suggest the above laptop. The only issue is the form factor.

I simply did a search for you on Newegg and here are the results:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006740%20600423158&IsNodeId=1&name=256GB&PriceMin=50&PriceMax=2910&ScreenMin=14.1&ScreenMax=23&ResolutionMin=1920.5625&ResolutionMax=3200.5625&MemoryMin=8&MemoryMax=32

If you find a laptop you like, search for it on a website that you are able to buy from.

Also, the MSI GT Series GT70 is a complete beast. Has 24GB RAM, 1TB HDD, 256GB SSD, and a GTX780M. It reaches the maximum of your budget though and is also bulky.
 

thephysicsguy

Estimable
Jun 4, 2014
5
0
4,510


Thanks for reply! Although those laptops, have amazing specs, they simply look bulky and terrible. I simply don't like these huge gaming laptops :D



Yeah man, this is also a bit bulky for me. I really like the slim form factor. Basically like a mac book pro design. Although I checked out msi laptops and there are some slim and very nice ones. Thanks!
 

orlbuckeye

Distinguished
One reason why they are bulky is because they have powerful components that require bigger cases to allow for better airflow. The ultrabook are going to have less powerful components it integrated graphics. Some of the gaming machines will allow you so get up RAID 1 or 0 with 3 or 4 SSD or HD's. An Ultrabook will usually only have 1 SSD. For CAD work I recommend a laptop with a good discrete graphics card.
 

gumbykid

Honorable
Jan 15, 2014
17
0
10,570


Yes, that's true. I'm not familiar with CAD, however since the OP said he didn't do much gaming I flipped the GPU switch off. If he requires some GPU power, there are some less powerful but also less costly ultrabooks.

Here's one I found:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314330

14" screen
8GB RAM
256GB SSD
AMD 8750M
i7

Only 1250USD

 

orlbuckeye

Distinguished
Thats a nice system. I have had 2 Acer's and they have done me good. My current power machine is an Acer AS8950g. Now you may need to get an external HD at a later date to store files. I bet a year form now you will be able to double the size of the SSD for 200. Newegg has a Samsung 840 EVO 500 GB SSD for 263. I year ago those were 700 to 800.
 

thephysicsguy

Estimable
Jun 4, 2014
5
0
4,510


Yes, I mean who wouldn't like a RAID0 in their slim and light ultrabook, but I can compromise for that (we are just not there yet, maybe in few years :D). Also some dedicated memory and a nice gpu is pretty important I guess. I just don't wanna carry around a huge brick around uni, because I will be carrying it a lot...


Well that seems to be very good value for money indeed. Definetely considering this acer now. Although might have to put windows 8.1 in this.
 

thephysicsguy

Estimable
Jun 4, 2014
5
0
4,510



Yeah, I have never used an Acer before so not very familiar. Storage is not a problem, I got 2 1TB WD My passports. Also 500GB in my dropbox. I guess few years from now, I may end up building a desktop anyway :D
 
If you are doing CAD and you are looking for something powerful, then I would generally recommend the ThinkPad W540 "mobile workstation". Only the 3K resolution screen is IPS which adds $200 on top of the the base model. The quad core i7-4700MQ is included in the base price which starts at just over $1,300.

For a workstation it is pretty light at 5.45lbs. However, I am not sure if that is too heavy for your preference. A hard drive is included by default so replacing it with a SDD will increase the base price.

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/w-series/w540/#customize
 
The W540 comes standard with the nVidia Quadro K1100m GPU which is roughly equal to a nVidia GT 745m GPU. Not particularly powerful compared to GPUs dedicated for games, but definitely more powerful than Intel's integrated iGPU.

There is a $250 option for the nVidia Quadro K2100m. It is a bit more powerful than the nVidia GT 755m when it comes to gaming performance.
 
Solution

orlbuckeye

Distinguished
The good thing about my Acer is I had access to everything to upgrade. Some laptops require you to take keyboard off to get to second bank of memory. With my Acer I upgraded the memory from 8 gb to 16. I added an SSD and moved HD to 2nd bay and replaced the wireless card with an Intel card.