New laptop, lots of choices (wait for skylake?), what's my best bet?

wenqi · Aug 4, 2015

Hi all,

I'm thinking about getting a new laptop to do my programming/work on. My requirements aren't very high, but I do run codes that need to iterate calculations millions of times.

So, I'm currently running a core i3-3217u in an ASUS vivobook. It lags slightly when running Mathematica, and Canopy is a little sluggish at times. I would like a laptop that can run these programmes smoothly.

I'm wondering if it's worth waiting for skylake, or should I just jump on broadwell bus? Basically, I'm a little behind in the advancements skylake will bring and am just wondering if I will notice any of the benefits.

Just an FYI, if I do buy now the two laptops I'm tossing up against are the Macbook Pro 13' and the Lenovo Thinkpad t450s. Both will have more ram, a better processor and an SSD, so I assume I'll notice differences vs my trusty vivobook. They're top of my list due to keyboard comfort and battery life. Would the community recommend one over the other? I'll be running some flavour of linux, so this isn't a OSX vs Windows debate.

Also, an aside, what's the life span of SSDs like? If I've got software which is constantly autosaving my work will that shorten the life of my SSD? I've read that the memory can only be written/read a certain number of times.

What would the Tom's Hardware community suggest?

jaguarskx · Aug 4, 2015

Preliminary benchmarks do not show a significant improvement in CPU performance between Skylake and Broadwell. I have seen no benchmarks for integrated graphics performance yet, but Intel has a track record of increasing the Intel HD graphics performance by 15% - 20% every generation since they started to integrate the graphics core in the CPU beginning with the 2nd gen Sandy Bridge Intel HD 3000.

I cannot say what the life of the SSD is, but it has improved since they were first introduced. I would say on average it should about 5 years. Best to ask that question in the Storage Sub-Forum. Between the two laptops I would go with the ThinkPad T450s because ThinkPads are designed as semi-rugged laptops which can handle rough treatment better than most laptops. The exception is probably Panasonic's ToughBook which are very rugged (heavy and expensive).

I have been looking at the ThinkPad T450s myself, but I have not pulled the trigger. It can potentially allow you to install up to 3 SSDs in it. Ordering it with a standard harddrive and a 16GB cache (or whatever the capacity is) means that it will have a mSATA port. Excluding the the 16GB cache from the build could also exclude the mSATA interface. There is also a M.2 interface you allow you to install a SSD using the M.2 format. Therefore, you potentially have 3 interfaces to install a SSD; the standard 2.5" SATA drive bay, mSATA and M.2 interfaces.

Lenovo does not guarantee a large capacity mSATA SSD will work, but I have read enough posts about people sticking in a large capacity SSD drive and using that instead of the of the hard drive as the OS drive. However, they used a Windows program which allows the laptop to boot from the mSATA drive instead of the 2.5" SATA hard drive. I do not know if such a boot manager exist for Linux.

wenqi · Aug 5, 2015

Thanks for the reply. I doubt I'd need to improved graphics performance since I'm not a heavy gamer, and I doubt 3D graphing is that taxing.

I'm more curious about the t450s now, especially since they're much more customisable than a rMBP. That said the MBP comes with 10 hours of battery life for a 1.5kg unit, which is pretty enticing. I guess I'm just going to have to decide what matters more to me.

In terms of screen resolution, would you get the 1920x1080 screen on the t450s or stick to the standard 1600x900? Would it make much of a difference?

jaguarskx · Aug 5, 2015

A minor correction to my previous post.... the 16GB cache SSD is M.2 not mSATA so the ThinkPad T450s comes with a standard 2.5" SATA bay for a HDD / SSD and two M.2 interfaces for SSDs.

Regarding the MBP's battery life, is that what Apple states, or is that based on a review. Manufacturer's stated battery life is generally longer than actual battery life based on average usage. The Lenovo ThinkPad T450s is rated up to 17 hours battery life if used with the extended 6 cell rear battery and the internal 3 cell battery. Lenovo does not state what the battery life is when using the standard 3 cell rear battery. According to the video review below of the T450s, average battery life when using the standard 3 cell rear battery is 7.5 hours and 13 or 14 hours (I don't remember) when using the extended 6 cell rear battery.

https

/www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9G7TR5kJUg

Regarding the screen itself, I would configure it with a 1080p screen because it allows me to see more information on the screen compared to the 1600x900 resolution screen. You also get a better quality screen, the 900p screen is a TN panel which is okay, but has limited viewing angles. The 1080p screen is an IPS panel which allows for better viewing angles. If you are concerned that 1080p is going to make text look too small, then go to a BestBuy and check out the 14" ThinkPad Yoga 2 14 which has a 1080p screen (at least the Bestbuys around where I live carries them)

velo3100 · Aug 5, 2015

I personally would go with the lenovo as all the programming software are windows based. And they last just as long as the mac would. I would only get the mac if the software is optimised for it.

wenqi · Aug 6, 2015

Thanks for the advice. The software is available for both Mac and windows, but the terminal of the mac makes life slightly easier. After a bit of shopping around I'm now leaning towards a third laptop the Lenovo x250 - I'm only slightly hesitant due to the small screen but it seems like I can get similar performance for a few hundred cheaper than both the t450s and rMBP. The claimed screen brightness is 400nits which seems crazy birght (macbook territory) so it's tempting as the reason why I'm leaning towards the rMBP is the screen brightness. (will allow me to work outdoors). Also the rMBP has Iris pro graphics, how do they compare to intel HD 5500?

Do Lenovo supply a boot USB/DVD for their laptops? Lets say I order the base model with a regular HDD and replace my own SSD, how will I get their preinstalled software onto the SSD?

Also, would the 1920x1080 resolution on the 12.5' screen make all the icons unbelievably small?

I guess this is something I need to think about but here are the main pros and cons of the three models for me:

rMBP: a touch more expensive, but has a much nicer screen, faster SSD and force trackpad OSX means I won't need to dual boot linux. Iris pro graphics (should I be concerned about this?)
t450s: meets all my needs, but scree appears as though it could need more work
x250: same specs as t450s, brighter screen (rMBP territory) but smaller screen.

velo3100 · Aug 6, 2015

Out of the 3 I would then go with the macbook pro 13 as it runs the software you want, has enough power that will last you a while, has a good screen and keyboard which is important when you spend a lot of time looking at the screen and write lots of code.

I know that I originally said the lenevo was better but that was before I knew the software was available for both os. I would not get the x250 due to the small screen as it can be very annoying when you write a lot of code and have to keep scrolling.

wenqi · Aug 13, 2015

Just thought I'd post a closure to this: A good deal came up on a second Macbook Pro 15' (2012). It's running an Ivy Bridge i7 with Nvidia GT650M, which is a bit dated but all the benchmarks I could find puts it into a similar ballpark as Broadwell. It actually geekbenches better than the 2015 i5 Macbook Pro 13' so I assume it's plenty fast for me. Everything runs plenty smooth and the battery life is excellent (I'm getting 6-7 hours - way more than the 2.5 I was getting out of my Vivobook).

If Skylake is significantly better then I can hop on board without losing too much on this mac, and if it's only another 10% as suggested by the preliminary benchmarks I'm sure I'll be more than happy with the i7.

Another bonus is the 15'4 inch retina screen, on paper it's only 1'4 inches bigger than my previous laptop, but it feels so much larger than my 14 inch screen of old. It makes certain aspects of my work so much easier. Certainly glad I didn't opt for a 12'5 inch screen.

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