DIfference in a laptop workstation vs a Desktop workstation

[Luuk17]

Hi, i just asked about specs for a workstation, but i would like to know some other things:

a laptop workstation vs a desktop workstation 

I know it depends much about what type of hardware it have but let's say:

Desktop: i asked about specs (still not sure about this) for a pc near 1200-1500 euros

ryzen 5 3600 gpu 2060-2070 ssd nvm2 ram high speed  optane (maybe if get in the price)

Laptop:

i7-8750h/i7-9850h 1050ti with 16 ram (2666 mh) 512 ssd [it's about 1k in the shops], if i get  a 2060 or 2070 rtx it cost [1.5-2k or even more] same ram and maybe you get a nvm2[but it's portable that's the fact why cost more right?]

i would like to ask what would be better for a workstation? about their prestation, maybe i have to tell more details if it so tell me i try to explain better myself.

I hope someone understand what i mean ahaha.

thanks guys.

[Eigenvektor]

A laptop is portable, a desktop will have better bang for the buck. So unless you need portability, a desktop is usually the better deal.

 

~edit: A desktop is also more flexible, since you can build it with whatever specs you need/want, while a laptop is mostly a fixed packagw that may or may not have everything you want and may include stuff you don't care about.

[Kisai]

1 minute ago, Luuk17 said:

Hi, i just asked about specs for a workstation, but i would like to know some other things:

a laptop workstation vs a desktop workstation 

I know it depends much about what type of hardware it have but let's say:

Desktop: i asked about specs (still not sure about this) for a pc near 1200-1500 euros

ryzen 5 3600 gpu 2060-2070 ssd nvm2 ram high speed  optane (maybe if get in the price)

Laptop:

i7-8750h/i7-9850h 1050ti with 16 ram (2666 mh) 512 ssd [it's about 1k in the shops], if i get  a 2060 or 2070 rtx it cost [1.5-2k or even more] same ram and maybe you get a nvm2[but it's portable that's the fact why cost more right?]

i would like to ask what would be better for a workstation? about their prestation, maybe i have to tell more details if it so tell me i try to explain better myself.

I hope someone understand what i mean ahaha.

thanks guys.

 

I would strongly advocate for avoiding mobile workstations. They are BAD. The use cases, particularly things like AutoCAD and Lumion will drag the system to it's knees, and engineering offices want their staff to be mobile so they keep buying them these laptops for CAD work and then giving them rubbish displaylink-based docking stations that don't work with CAD programs.

 

If you are actually working for a client, you should be billing them for the cost of the PC you use. So don't cheap out on parts if it improves the productivity.

 

If you are considering a laptop, you MUST avoid the gaming laptops. Only the laptops marketed as 17" laptops are CAD laptops, the rest are complete rubbish. 15" thin-and-light laptops typically suffer failures within months, and even the Precision 7000 series laptops from Dell are typically under-engineered for using with CAD products and the fans run full tilt on those just like the thin laptops.

 

 

[Tristerin]

I use a laptop workstation because portability only.  If I didn't need it I would use a workstation desktop only.  For me, that's the only reason I use a laptop - more power in a desktop but no mobility is all.

[PopsicleHustler]

In laptop you will always sacrifice some performance for portability. I mean you can always get one of those obnoxious gaming laptops that weigh as much as a desktop and take more space, but I wouldn't recommend doing that. 

 

Laptop CPUs and GPUs are always downgraded in order to reduce power consumption and thermal output.

 

Desktops will always perform better with same specs because components are not downgraded due to power and heat limitations.

 

As @Kisai, stay away from mobile workstation as they will thermal throttle like hell and may die prematurely due to high heat and load.

[Luuk17]

I think i get my answer, thank you for spending some time with my thread!

[Tristerin]

8 minutes ago, PopsicleHustler said:

 

 

As @Kisai, stay away from mobile workstation as they will thermal throttle like hell and may die prematurely due to high heat and load.

Im having zero issues with my Dell Latitude with a Xeon E-2276M crunching numbers all day with thermals.  You can hear the fans going but personally I don't have issues with my workstation laptop in that regard.  As someone with a mobile and desktop workstation for work, I highly recommend the laptop for portability (if you NEED portability, if you don't its not worth)

[Luuk17]

5 minutes ago, Tristerin said:

Im having zero issues with my Dell Latitude with a Xeon E-2276M crunching numbers all day with thermals.  You can hear the fans going but personally I don't have issues with my workstation laptop in that regard.  As someone with a mobile and desktop workstation for work, I highly recommend the laptop for portability (if you NEED portability, if you don't its not worth)

I have one that is enough for what portability i need 

[Kisai]

6 minutes ago, Tristerin said:

Im having zero issues with my Dell Latitude with a Xeon E-2276M crunching numbers all day with thermals.  You can hear the fans going but personally I don't have issues with my workstation laptop in that regard.  As someone with a mobile and desktop workstation for work, I highly recommend the laptop for portability (if you NEED portability, if you don't its not worth)

Funny enough the biggest complaint about hardware at the office is the fact that the engineering laptops weigh a ton. Everyone would love to have a 12" Latitude, but those fail ultra-quickly (like, hours) if you can even get the CAD program to run at all. 

 

The ideal situation is to simply get the Workstation desktop in the first place and leave it at the office. If your office wants you to work from home, have them buy an additional workstation. It will be cheaper in the long run when productivity isn't constantly being sacrificed and the health of the engineer is improved by not having to carry a heavy laptop to work, or loss of the device/data on transit/vehicle break-ins.

 

If someone is not actually doing engineering work, but still needs to open the CAD documents for clients, then that is what the 15" Precision 5000 "thin and light" laptop is suitable for. But run that full tilt all day and it will fail.

 

The 17" Precision's are constantly having fan failures which is why I have to bring this back around to avoid laptops if you're doing serious work.

[Tristerin]

4 minutes ago, Kisai said:

Funny enough the biggest complaint about hardware at the office is the fact that the engineering laptops weigh a ton. Everyone would love to have a 12" Latitude, but those fail ultra-quickly (like, hours) if you can even get the CAD program to run at all. 

 

The ideal situation is to simply get the Workstation desktop in the first place and leave it at the office. If your office wants you to work from home, have them buy an additional workstation. It will be cheaper in the long run when productivity isn't constantly being sacrificed and the health of the engineer is improved by not having to carry a heavy laptop to work, or loss of the device/data on transit/vehicle break-ins.

 

If someone is not actually doing engineering work, but still needs to open the CAD documents for clients, then that is what the 15" Precision 5000 "thin and light" laptop is suitable for. But run that full tilt all day and it will fail.

 

The 17" Precision's are constantly having fan failures which is why I have to bring this back around to avoid laptops if you're doing serious work.

I believe if you work for a small company, this may make sense.  I work for a very large corporation with contracts with Dell - my laptop has an issue it just gets replaced.  Ive had it since its release in Q2 2019 with zero issues and I watch thermals for funzies (and put all 12 threads to work religiously)

 

I also agree that if you work from home it would make more sense (a second workstation)- but that's not the case for myself and the portability is why I have it (for moving around the plant - I cant cart my desktop places - is what I refer to when I mean portability).  

[Roswell]

I've never seen so much misinformation in one thread...

 

No, mobile workstations don't magically die in a few hours unless you're doing something dramatically wrong. No, the fans aren't breaking every other week. No, 17 inch laptops aren't the only reliable from factor... Jeez.

 

Do any of you have sources for this wildly anecdotal data?

[Kisai]

4 hours ago, Vitamanic said:

I've never seen so much misinformation in one thread...

 

No, mobile workstations don't magically die in a few hours unless you're doing something dramatically wrong. No, the fans aren't breaking every other week. No, 17 inch laptops aren't the only reliable from factor... Jeez.

 

Do any of you have sources for this wildly anecdotal data?

Dell service records . Every 17" workstation laptop eventually has to have it's cooling serviced within a year. Don't buy them for serious work, because having to get it serviced will destroy your productivity while you have to wait for Dell to ship parts to the depot and a tech to pick up the parts and drive out to your location, so you can end up losing between 3 and 14 days of work, there's at least a dozen of these in the office. No laptop is good for serious CAD work. None. 

 

Precision 7710/7720/7730 laptops: Engineers eventually report the machine doesn't boot, makes rattling/grinding noise, or is stuck on the "fan malfunction" BIOS screen. All typically between the 1 year and 2 year point.

 

Precision 7510/7520 laptops: These have weaker GPU's in them than the 17" models but are otherwise identical, and many of them that get used for engineering work end up with the same fan malfunction problems after a year.

 

Precision 5520/5530 laptops: So far one person has managed to kill one completely (no POST), and that was an ordeal to get repaired as the tech came and fixed it but then the board it was fixed with the GPU didn't work on, so it had to be serviced a second time. So the staff member was without their machine for two weeks. Since these are also the newest (they have the same hardware configuration as the 7520) they've so far had the least amount of hardware problems, but sure enough these have all had teething problems ranging from unable to POST, to coming FROM THE FACTORY with non-working fans.

 

Right now I'm dealing with a 5520 that is just over 1 year old that random BSOD's and a 7710 that random BSOD's, and all the hardware diagnostics are giving it a pass.

 

I've also posted before how the Latitudes are terrible for having poor batteries that barely last a year, so I wouldn't recommend those for any kind of serious work, not even excel spreadsheets. Yet those are not the ones dying to cooling malfunctions, one had the RAM fail and the the other 20 or so have had the battery replaced in one year.

 

Meanwhile, the worst issue with the precision desktops are the front USB3 ports being damaged and not working.

[noura2586]

Hey all , 

 

I am a big fan of Linus and have been following his YouTube videos for years . I wouldn't quite call my self a tech-savvy kind of person , but I try to keep my information fresh as much as possible. Since you guys are some sort of experts I would like to ask your advice for which laptop/or portable workstation you might advice me with . I would be really grateful for any tips or suggestions as I am on a tight budget . 

First of all, I am an architect with a master degree and currently doing my PhD in urban studies. So I basically use CAD softwares , Rhino + Grasshopper ( visual programming ) , c# and Python , and GIS ( Arc Maps ) . I will be also doing renderings (high quality ) and some data analysis .

 

As you can see I need quite a responsive reliable system ( without sudden crashes and slow sluggish performance) .

 

During my masters , I used (and still now using ) HP ( y7x67ea - i7 7th generation - 15 inch display ) and it has served me very well so far ( survived multiple system crashes , durable body built ) but the screen resolution started to fade ways noticeably .

 

My Budget : 1300 to 1600 $ .

 

Options that I have viewed are : 

1-Dell G5 15 Gaming Laptop – Core i7 2.2GHz 16GB 1TB+256GB 4GB Win10 15.6inch FHD Black + Pre-loaded MS Office ( at 1300 $ ) .

2- Lenovo Ideapad L340 Gaming Laptop – Core i7 2.6GHz 16GB 1TB+256GB 4GB Win10 15.6inch FHD Black ( at 1100 $ ) .

 

Your advice will be valuable !!

 

P.S: I live in Dubai , and the local market has limited options in comparison to US markets , but I can buy and ship easily to here . So if you can recommend certain models it would be great :) . 

 

Thanks , 

Noura 

[Luuk17]

I mistake threads

Edited December 15, 2019 by Luuk17