High Spec Laptop

[A[L]C]

Hi all,

Speccing up a laptop for development use at work (visual studio, eclipse, emulators, vm's, sql etc)

Looking at the Dell Mobile Precision M6600

Intel Core I7-2860QM (2.50GHz, 8MB cache, Quad Core)
AMD FirePro M8900 Mobility Pro Graphics with 2GB GDDR5
16GB 1600MHz DDR3 Dual Channel (4x4GB)
44cm (17.3") UltraSharp™ FHD (1920x1080) Wide View LED-backlit Multi-Touch LCD Panel with Stylus
256GB 2.5inch Serial ATA III Solid State Drive

Comes in at £2,450.00 exc VAT+Shipping.


Anything else worth looking at with similar specs?

Thanks

 

[Saundie]

The HP EliteBook 8760w and Lenovo W520 spring to mind, however I don't know which of the three would be the best. It occurs to me that there should be an Ivy Bridge refresh of these laptops soon, which may be worth waiting for.

 

[yer_averagejoe]

I'd be worried about using a single SSD for the type of work you've suggested. Continually compiling code and running vms will wear the SSD like nothing else. Since it's for work, I'd want something a little more reliable. Perhaps a dual drive setup?

 

[A[L]C]

Shouldnt be too bad, as any source code will be in a repository system, and I will take an image

 

[Izi]

I'd be worried about using a single SSD for the type of work you've suggested. Continually compiling code and running vms will wear the SSD like nothing else. Since it's for work, I'd want something a little more reliable. Perhaps a dual drive setup?

I wouldn't worry. SSD's are becoming cheaper and cheaper. After a couple years use you could simply just get a new one.

The only thing I would worry about would be the size of it.

I would personally get the 15z which is half the cost for pretty much the same spec.

 

[A[L]C]

Also looking at the Alienware M17x

Intel® Core™ i7-3720QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.6GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660M
16384MB (2x8GB) 1600MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
256GB Dell Mobility Solid State Drive 6Gb/s
17.3" WideFHD (1920 x 1080) WLED LCD

£1,749.15


Can't find a 15z with a close spec as they don't seem as configurable?

 

[Saundie]

I'm pretty sure the consumer laptops (M17x, 15z etc.) have glossy screens (which would drive me nuts, personally) and don't come with 3 years next business day warranty. They also can't be used with proper docking stations. If you can live with these limitations, then you can save yourself a lot of money by not going for a business grade system.

 

[A[L]C]

The warranty could be an issue.

 

[Izi]

The warranty could be an issue.

With the 15z you can get the 3 year warranty;

"3 Years Next Day In-Home Service with Premium Phone Support [add £220.83 or £8/month-1]"

With the 3 year its £1600 ish:

Components
English Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2640M processor (2.80 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.50 GHz)
Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook
OS Windows® Recovery Media Not included
3 Years Next Day In-Home Service with Premium Phone Support
No Accidental Damage Protection
DataSafe Online Backup 2GB - 1 year licence
McAfee® SecurityCenter 15 Month Subscription
Also Includes
Adobe® Photoshop® Elements + Premiere® Elements Bundle
XPS 15z Config 5 Base
N0515Z05
EMEA1 Documentation (ENG,ARA,DUT,GER,ITL,RUS,FR,SPA)
256GB Solid State Hard Drive
Internal Backlit UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard
90W AC Adaptor
XPS 15z Order - UK
8192MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x4096]
Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6230 (2x2 b/g/n+ Bluetooth Combo Card) (Europe)
1 year Collect & Return Hardware Support included with your PC
40 cm(15.6") FHD WLED True-Life (1920x1080) with 1.3 Mega Pixel Integrated Camera
No Carrying Case
UK 250V Power Cord
8-Cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
8x DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
2GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 525M Graphics Card with Optimus
XPS 15z Resource DVD (Diagnostic & Drivers)
Datasafe Local 2.3 Basic

The reason I would go for the 15z is because of the weight factor: You can easily take it on a train / abroad and continue working. With a 17inch jobby its always a PITA.

 

[A[L]C]

Is the i7-3720QM a big improvement over the i7-2640M?

 

[Saundie]

Is the i7-3720QM a big improvement over the i7-2640M?

The i7-3720QM is a quad core CPU, whereas the i7-2640M is dual core. In multi-threaded applications you would notice a large improvement; I looked up both CPUs in the passmark database, the i7-3720QM scored 9644, the i7-2640M scored 4065.

 

[A[L]C]

Thanks Saundie, the alienware is quite a bit better then.

 

[Izi]

Thanks Saundie, the alienware is quite a bit better then.

Sorry, yes I should have pointed this out. I would (if you can) wait for about 1 month and I reckon the 3rd gen i7s will be put in the XPS laptops.

 

[Saundie]

The GTX 660M in the Alienware is quite a lot faster than the GT 525M in the XPS 15z, which is something to consider. As Izi points out, there will most likely be a refresh of the 15z with the 3rd gen i7s (i.e. Ivy Bridge) soon. The point Izi makes about the weight and bulk is an important one to consider; if you don't have to move the system around very often, or if you don't have to carry it far, then the Alienware would be the better choice. I guess I am stating the obvious, though

 

[FredFlint]

I use a m18x R1 as I do not move it about much and the screen is bigger. I put a 128GB SSD in and a Samsung 1TB HDD. I got the 2760 CPU as the 2860 cost much more and the difference is small. I also added 16GB Ram. Dell charge way to much for Hard Drives and Ram upgrades so just add them your self.

I mainly use Rad Studio XE2 and MS SQL Server but also use VC ++ and eclipse.

 

[kmca]

What about an RF711

Samsung RF711:
17" Screen
Core i7 2670QM (Quad)
Nvida GT540M
8GB RAM
1TB Samsung disk (has a second drive bay free with all fittings ready to go)
Weight 2.9KG

Cost £750 (ex display from JL)

OCUK: SSD + 16GB RAM = £200 ish

Total cost = a lot less than the Dell!

 

[FireShadow]

I bought an Asus G75VW-DS71 from excaliberpc.com in california
for £1120 (plus shipping to UK £80)

i7-3610QM + GTX660M (Kepler DX11.1) + 2*750GB HDD + 17.3" 1080p
I switched one HDD for Crucial M4 256GB

There is no import duty on laptops but VAT is payable ...

Given that laptop has UPS built-in (and buying separate UPS for desktop is expensive) I can't see much reason to buy desktops anymore except for multiple monitor support

The only big-name laptop with multi-monitor support I could find is HP ENVY 17 (3002ea model in UK has 2*mini display port) but ENVY is too expensive in USA

Also if you want HP machine watch out for coupons - they had 20% off everything last week
You can buy HP laptop with coupon discount in USA and then ship to UK and save ~45%

Only machine in UK with same spec is M17x at TWICE the price

 

[A[L]C]

Thanks guys, work will be buying it for me through our normal suppliers, so no coupons and separate purchases allowed

 

[A[L]C]

Thanks guys, I will check out the Samsung and Asus. I don't think I can get away with spending as much as the alienware costs

 

[winter zombie]

Thanks guys, I will check out the Samsung and Asus. I don't think I can get away with spending as much as the alienware costs

alienware is way expensive, paying just for a brand name i think