New laptop upgrade project for IT

[Davizzle]

Hi everyone! I am a TechLead of a law firm and yesterday we've got into a meeting and decided to upgrade our laptops for our IT staff. I searched the web for the best laptop out there (No gaming of course..) for CPU and RAM usage and, if possible, RAID 0 SSD configuration. I haven't found a lot except for Mac, they seems to do it... 

 

I am looking for some advice and even to know if it's impossible to fit a RAID 0, Intel XEON or i7-i9 CPU with 16/32Go Ram into a laptop without being super freaky heavy and super hot too..

 

If you guys know anything to enlighten on my search, that will be so appreciated! Thanks a lot!

[kladzen]

what is the day to day usage?... and why the RAID 0? If there is not real usage, then don't pay for it.. seems a big waste

 

we need to know a bit more about the usage of these computers...

[Davizzle]

We are looking for one single model to fit the Senior DBA Admin (Heavy CPU Load with SQL) to the Exchange Admins (Lots of Web based apps, powershell, etc.) and myself doing reporting, a lot of web base app and also for the helpdesk, same reasons, supporting a national law firm so a lot of applications could be run at the same time. Overall, we are looking for a laptop that the ROI is good. I don't mind to pay 30x laptops at 3000$ each if we keep them more than 3 years. Money is not the bottleneck in this case.

 

[SirPirate]

Im looking at doing something similar to my n5110, except its ancient

In any case from my research on the topic, any cpu thats the same socket and TDP should work ( some laptops might require a bios update though).

In my case I want to swap out a pentium on the g2 socket with a 2nd gen i5.Other people on the dell forum have done this successfully so it does generally work, all you need to do is set your sights on a machine and watch a 20 min teardown to see if it has everything you need ( a non soldered cpu and ram ) As for the raid 0, I agree with kladzen

[genexis_x]

Where are you from? No budget limit? Any preference on weight and battery life?

Might want to look into mobile workstations

[dalekphalm]

29 minutes ago, Davizzle said:

Hi everyone! I am a TechLead of a law firm and yesterday we've got into a meeting and decided to upgrade our laptops for our IT staff. I searched the web for the best laptop out there (No gaming of course..) for CPU and RAM usage and, if possible, RAID 0 SSD configuration. I haven't found a lot except for Mac, they seems to do it... 

 

I am looking for some advice and even to know if it's impossible to fit a RAID 0, Intel XEON or i7-i9 CPU with 16/32Go Ram into a laptop without being super freaky heavy and super hot too..

 

If you guys know anything to enlighten on my search, that will be so appreciated! Thanks a lot!

I would take a look at the Dell XPS line - they are high quality, and have high specs to match.

 

However, I would frankly entirely ditch the concept of making sure your laptop has RAID0 SSD's. Waste of time. It doesn't matter if the DBA admin uses a lot of SQL - RAID0 SSD's are just not worth the potential troubles.

 

Get an NVME SSD instead, and you won't even notice the difference.

 

Make sure to get the business grade warranty (there are different choices - but next day onsite tech is a good one) - because downtime is far costlier than a few $ saved.

 

I would personally advise you to avoid consumer grade laptops.

[Davizzle]

6 minutes ago, GeneXiS_X said:

Where are you from? No budget limit? Any preference on weight and battery life?

Might want to look into mobile workstations

We are a Canadian law firm. No real budget limit at the moment. Between 5-7 pounds (15'' - 5 pounds and 17'' 7 pounds max). Battery life doesn't really matter... 

 

5 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

I would take a look at the Dell XPS line - they are high quality, and have high specs to match.

 

However, I would frankly entirely ditch the concept of making sure your laptop has RAID0 SSD's. Waste of time. It doesn't matter if the DBA admin uses a lot of SQL - RAID0 SSD's are just not worth the potential troubles.

 

Get an NVME SSD instead, and you won't even notice the difference.

 

Make sure to get the business grade warranty (there are different choices - but next day onsite tech is a good one) - because downtime is far costlier than a few $ saved.

 

I would personally advise you to avoid consumer grade laptops.

Thanks for the advice. About the CPU, we want something overkill and if possible from HP. 

 

Is there a thread on LTT about the difference between SSD NVME Vs. RAID0 ?

[dalekphalm]

Just now, Davizzle said:

We are a Canadian law firm. No real budget limit at the moment. Between 5-7 pounds (15'' - 5 pounds and 17'' 7 pounds max). Battery life doesn't really matter... 

 

Thanks for the advice. About the CPU, we want something overkill and if possible from HP. 

Processor wise, if you want overkill, i7 or Ryzen 7 would be sufficient. Higher if you really need to go there - but consider any decent i9 based laptop is going to be a brick that happens to have a tiny battery.

Just now, Davizzle said:

Is there a thread on LTT about the difference between SSD NVME Vs. RAID0 ?

Not specifically, that I'm aware of. Again, why concern yourself with RAID0? Seriously, RAID0 itself introduces potential issues for little benefit.

 

An NVME SSD has roughly 300% faster sustained write speeds. IO and latency also increase massively compared to SATA SSD's.

Samsung's 970 Pro, for example, reads and writes at 3 GB/s and 2.5 GB/s, respectively.

[Bouzoo]

40 minutes ago, Davizzle said:

Thanks for the advice. About the CPU, we want something overkill and if possible from HP. 

Your best bets are i7-8750H and i9-8950HK. What you'll get with the i9 is 10% more performance and an unlocked multiplier for OC which you surely won't do on business laptops. It is usually found in way more expensive laptops than 8750H is so I'd say go with the i7. Both are 6 cores, don't let it fool you. I know money is not a problem but it is really not worth it. Mind you I don't know about any HP laptops with i9. If you want to go HP, your only options are Elitebooks G1 or ZBooks that I know of. We're talking business and not gaming segment here right?

If you want to go all out on CPU, Asus Strix GL702ZC does have Ryzen R7 1700 which is an 8 core but it's a ROG laptop so yeah, I wouldn't go there. 

I'd look up at Dell XPS 15, Zenbook Pro and Lenovo ThinkPad Extremes as well. 

34 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

Processor wise, if you want overkill, i7 or Ryzen 7 would be sufficient. Higher if you really need to go there - but consider any decent i9 based laptop is going to be a brick that happens to have a tiny battery.

i9 in laptops are really not worth it, even on an unlimited budget. They are 6 cores, same how i7 are. 

[Jtalk4456]

26 minutes ago, Davizzle said:

We are a Canadian law firm. No real budget limit at the moment. Between 5-7 pounds (15'' - 5 pounds and 17'' 7 pounds max). Battery life doesn't really matter... 

 

Thanks for the advice. About the CPU, we want something overkill and if possible from HP. 

 

Is there a thread on LTT about the difference between SSD NVME Vs. RAID0 ?

 

While I agree that raid ssd is a waste of money over an nvme, here's an example of raid ssd

http://www8.hp.com/us/en/elite-family/elitebook-1050.html?jumpid=in_r12131_us/en/psg/hp_elite_laptops_mlp/elitebook-1050-learn-more

 

I am NOT an expert on business products, so let other people check me on this, but I found this and it looks like an excellent option

https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-elitebook-1050-g1-notebook-pc-customizable-3tn94av-mb

@TopHatProductions115 @PCGuy_5960 @Techstorm970 @The Blackhat

[dalekphalm]

3 minutes ago, Jtalk4456 said:

 

While I agree that raid ssd is a waste of money over an nvme, here's an example of raid ssd

http://www8.hp.com/us/en/elite-family/elitebook-1050.html?jumpid=in_r12131_us/en/psg/hp_elite_laptops_mlp/elitebook-1050-learn-more

 

I am NOT an expert on business products, so let other people check me on this, but I found this and it looks like an excellent option

https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-elitebook-1050-g1-notebook-pc-customizable-3tn94av-mb

@TopHatProductions115 @PCGuy_5960 @Techstorm970 @The Blackhat

That's a good laptop. HP Elitebook's will do nicely.

 

I'd still suggest the OP get the business grade 3 (or 5) year warranty from HP though.

[Pixel5]

you could find something like this with some Dell Precision models.

 

Also take an NVME SSD, its more than 3 times faster than a regular SSD RAID.

[dalekphalm]

1 minute ago, Pixel5 said:

you could find something like this with some Dell Precision models.

 

Also take an NVME SSD, its more than 3 times faster than a regular SSD RAID.

Dell Precision would do nicely. So would Latitude, depending on the model.

[The Blackhat]

1 hour ago, Jtalk4456 said:

snip

@Jtalk4456 I’m confused as to why you tagged me in this discussion.

[Jtalk4456]

23 minutes ago, The Blackhat said:

@Jtalk4456 I’m confused as to why you tagged me in this discussion.

cuz you're smarter than me. I don't know who has the expertise with business models, so i tagged a few people i know to be smarter than me

[genexis_x]

12 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

i9 based laptop

waste of money due to thermal and firmware limitations

11 hours ago, Bouzoo said:

GL702ZC

Many issues

12 hours ago, Davizzle said:

We are a Canadian law firm. No real budget limit at the moment. Between 5-7 pounds (15'' - 5 pounds and 17'' 7 pounds max). Battery life doesn't really matter... 

Mobile workstations - Thinkpad P52/P72, Zbook 15/17 G5, Precision 7530/7730

 

Or Clevo P750/P751/P775/P870 with 8700K from HIDevolution or ObsidianPC (or any other resellers that provide delid CPU)

[peacefulpolarbear]

11 hours ago, GeneXiS_X said:

waste of money due to thermal and firmware limitations

Many issues

Mobile workstations - Thinkpad P52/P72, Zbook 15/17 G5, Precision 7530/7730

 

Or Clevo P750/P751/P775/P870 with 8700K from HIDevolution or ObsidianPC (or any other resellers that provide delid CPU)

These are laptop processors my friend. They’re bare die already.

[dalekphalm]

12 hours ago, GeneXiS_X said:

waste of money due to thermal and firmware limitations

Many issues

Mobile workstations - Thinkpad P52/P72, Zbook 15/17 G5, Precision 7530/7730

These are good suggestions

12 hours ago, GeneXiS_X said:

Or Clevo P750/P751/P775/P870 with 8700K from HIDevolution or ObsidianPC (or any other resellers that provide delid CPU)

This is not.

 

For a large law firm, and an IT organization? Get something with more robust support - and delidding a laptop CPU? Utter waste of time and money.

[peacefulpolarbear]

6 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

These are good suggestions

This is not.

 

For a large law firm, and an IT organization? Get something with more robust support - and delidding a laptop CPU? Utter waste of time and money.

YOU CANT DELID A LAPTOP CPU

[dalekphalm]

6 minutes ago, peacefulpolarbear said:

YOU CANT DELID A LAPTOP CPU

Well... You can. Because some laptops use Desktop CPU's, which is most likely what he was alluding to.

 

Also, why are you even quoting me? Even if it is possible, it's a stupid and completely pointless thing for an enterprise environment to do.

[peacefulpolarbear]

3 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

Well... You can. Because some laptops use Desktop CPU's, which is most likely what he was alluding to.

 

Also, why are you even quoting me? Even if it is possible, it's a stupid and completely pointless thing for an enterprise environment to do.

Because I was replying to what you said, obviously. I bet you can’t find a laptop that has a desktop processor with an IHS.

 

[dalekphalm]

1 minute ago, peacefulpolarbear said:

Because I was replying to what you said, obviously. I bet you can’t find a laptop that has a desktop processor with an IHS.

 

Well that sure didn't take long:

 

https://shop.obsidian-pc.com/en/p775tm1.html

Obsidian P775TM1 Laptop

 

So - please stop being aggressive. You were wrong. It's not a big deal, since only an idiot would delid a bunch of laptops intended for a Law Firm, but hey, options are good.

[genexis_x]

30 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

Get something with more robust support - and delidding a laptop CPU? Utter waste of time and money.

Their support is good. The delid will be included in the purchase

What are your suggestions then?

[WkdPaul]

* Thread cleaned *

[MandoPanda]

You should check out Lenovo P1 and P72 (72 is not out yet):

 

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-p/ThinkPad-P72/p/22WS2WPWP72

 

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-p/ThinkPad-P1/p/22WS2WPP101