Laptop Recommendation for Young Developer?

[Scheimong]

I used to be quite up to date on the laptop market, but the current influx of various new CPUs from both red and blue has left me somewhat confused. Also work has been keeping me away from being able to delve into researching SSD performance and whatnot. Unfortunately I'm also quite picky about what things I buy, for if I buy something and then find out there's a better alternative, I tend to bash myself over it (also I live in Shanghai). This is especially true for expensive purchases like a laptop. So I'm here looking for recommendations.

 

Some basic info about myself

• I am a JS developer by profession and am looking for a new laptop to buy for work and leisure. Mainly for work though.
• I am 22 and have just completed my uni degree this year; this might give you some idea of what design styles I'm comfortable with.
• I currently live in Shanghai, China. But feel free to recommend North American exclusive models. Thanks to Taobao, buying those from Shanghai isn't difficult at all.
• I do not have difficulty accessing services blocked by GFW (like Google).

What I demand of my laptop

• Costs 2K USD max, ideally <1.7K USD.
• 15''±1''.
• A pretty good CPU. Something around the level of a 6-core Intel.
• A usable discrete GPU. Something like a 1060 is ideal; a 1050 level chip is acceptable.
• 16G RAM or upgradable slots.
• A good, US layout keyboard (Chinese models use US layout too). I type a lot (obviously), so no BS layouts and/or mushy switches please. I cannot tolerate the type of rubbish crap on XPS13 2015. Also I would love to have a menu key (the one next to RCtrl). ThinkPad keyboard is the gold standard for me.

"Nice to have" things

• A 2K screen. But I'm willing to drop down to a 1080p screen if necessary.
• An additional 2.5'' drive bay, ideally empty. I have a few 2.5'' SSDs lying around and would like to put theme to good use.
• USB 3 Type A, full size HDMI, ethernet port, SD card reader, Thunderbolt 3, in descending order of importance.
• Isn't too flashy to bring to a business meeting. It doesn't need to be "ThinkPad formal", just not RGB everywhere. E.g. MSI GS65 Stealth is perfectly fine.

What I don't need

• A stereotypical gaming laptop that emphasises GPU over CPU. CPU first; expandability second; GPU third.
• A specfic brand. As long as it's a reputable international brand I'll take it. MSI Asus Gigabyte Lenovo Dell Acer HP LG Microsoft Razer whatever.
• A system preinstalled since I'm going to slap on CentOS anyways.
• A high refresh rate screen. I'm not a serious gamer.
• A touchscreen. I've had a touchscreen laptop before and I didn't use it at all.
• Particularly thin bezels. I don't care.
• A webcam. I don't use it.
• Advanced biometric security features. I like my password.

What I absolutely don't need

• Apple. Fk Apple.
• An expensive drive. I know preinstalled SSD is a gigantic ripoff and am perfectly comfortable with taking apart my laptop to swap in my own 1T SSD (this SSD doesn't count towards budget).
• A 4K screen. 4K screens on laptops are stupid. There I said it. Sue me.

 

I know this is a lot to ask, perhaps a little too much for my budget. But again, I'm the type of stingy person that has to get the best deal possible or I would feel terrible. Also thank you all who spare your free time to help a bewildered internet stranger beforehand. I really appreciate it.

[Streetguru]

3 minutes ago, Scheimong said:

 

If you're trying to do gaming just get a machine with an i5 8300h or 9300h + 1660ti they're probably the best value for more mid ranged hardware.

Kinda like this one

https://www.walmart.com/ip/ASUS-ROG-STRIX-Laptop-15-6-Intel-Core-i5-9300H-NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-1660Ti-GDDR6-6GB-8GB-RAM-512GB-PCIE-SSD-GL531GU-WB53/665853169

[Scheimong]

Just now, Streetguru said:

If you're trying to do gaming just get a machine with an i5 8300h or 9300h + 1660ti they're probably the best value for more mid ranged hardware.

Kinda like this one

https://www.walmart.com/ip/ASUS-ROG-STRIX-Laptop-15-6-Intel-Core-i5-9300H-NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-1660Ti-GDDR6-6GB-8GB-RAM-512GB-PCIE-SSD-GL531GU-WB53/665853169

Um. Work first, game second, or third. I think I said I'm not a serious gamer.

[Firewrath9]

MSI's Prestige 14/15 are like 1500$, and come with a 6c12t intel proc, a GTX 1650, and 16GB of ram and 512GB of fast SSD.

Quite good value, esp. for ram and SSD. For 100$ more, you can upgrade to 1TB SSD and 32GB of ram.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-prestige-15-15-6-4k-ultra-hd-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1650-512gb-ssd-gray-with-blue-diamond-cut/6382856.p?skuId=6382856&ref=212&loc=1&ref=212&loc=1&ds_rl=1260666&ds_rl=1260576&ds_rl=1266837&ds_rl=1266837&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2b7uBRDsARIsAEE9XpFb4mEnwoh5BtCbJSGE_kxxdDZYssNcbCvdJ7Uob-DuYh-AAFgXeIYaAhI-EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

1500$ for 6c12t, 1650, 4K, and decent storage and SSD? Great value compared to XPS and X1 Extreme

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16834155291

200$ more for 32GB ram (worth 80$-ish, and 1TB SSD, worth ~80$ ish as well. You get to keep warranty tho) 

Keep in mind on newegg the 16GB/500GB SSD one has a 1080p screen

[Scheimong]

3 minutes ago, Firewrath9 said:

MSI's Prestige 14/15 are like 1500$, and come with a 6c12t intel proc, a GTX 1650, and 16GB of ram and 512GB of fast SSD.

Quite good value, esp. for ram and SSD. For 100$ more, you can upgrade to 1TB SSD and 32GB of ram.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-prestige-15-15-6-4k-ultra-hd-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1650-512gb-ssd-gray-with-blue-diamond-cut/6382856.p?skuId=6382856&ref=212&loc=1&ref=212&loc=1&ds_rl=1260666&ds_rl=1260576&ds_rl=1266837&ds_rl=1266837&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2b7uBRDsARIsAEE9XpFb4mEnwoh5BtCbJSGE_kxxdDZYssNcbCvdJ7Uob-DuYh-AAFgXeIYaAhI-EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

1500$ for 6c12t, 1650, 4K, and decent storage and SSD? Great value compared to XPS and X1 Extreme

 

Hmm, looks like a very solid choice. It's probably at the top of my list at this point.

One thing I am wondering though, is how much performance I'm giving up by going with a low-voltage processor? Back when Intel had their 6th gen CPUs I remember U processors were quite a bit worse than H processors. Is that still the case or has the scene changed?

Also is there a non-4K version? I really want to sidestep the scaling issues.

[Streetguru]

5 minutes ago, Scheimong said:

Um. Work first, game second, or third. I think I said I'm not a serious gamer.

https://www.newegg.com/p/1TS-0016-00HW9

i7-8750H are actually fairly cheap too now I guess, 6 cores 12 threads.

[Firewrath9]

Just now, Scheimong said:

Hmm, looks like a very solid choice. It's probably at the top of my list at this point.

One thing I am wondering though, is how much performance I'm giving up by going with a low-voltage processor? Back when Intel had their 6th gen CPUs I remember U processors were quite a bit worse than H processors. Is that still the case or has the scene changed?

Also is there a non-4K version? I really want to sidestep the scaling issues.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/MSI-Prestige-15-A10SC-Laptop-Review-One-of-the-Best-Dell-XPS-15-Alternatives.441280.0.html

Quote

CineBench results are impressive as raw multi-thread scores are neck-to-neck with both the Hex-core Core i7-8750H and Core i7-9750H. Performance sustainability is also excellent as shown by our CineBench R15 Multi-Thread loop test below especially when compared to what we observed on the Dell XPS 13 7390 with the same hexa-core CPU. Users can expect about 30 to 35 percent faster performance than the Core i7-1065G7, Core i5-8300H, and Core i5-9300H or about 60 percent faster performance than the Core i7-8565U.

It's not that much worse than the H-series procs, for sustained cinebencz (so a heavy blender workload), however under artificial workloads (Prime95), it gets a little worse.

The processor does get hot (95c), which can be remedied with a slight undervolt. (-5-10c with undervolt, no dissambley required, and another 5c if you repaste)

Also, it comes with TWO m.2 slots, which Is great for upgrading. 

 

And yes, there is a 1080p option for 300$ less, although scaling should be fine. What issues are you talking about? You can set windows scaling to 200%, and Most apps should run 4k. as most professional video editors, photo editors, and even just people who stare at text often have higher-res screens.

For 300$ more, you get a 1TB ssd instead of a 512GB, 32GB ram instead of 16GB, and a 4K screen. That's a pretty good deal imo.

[Scheimong]

18 minutes ago, Firewrath9 said:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/MSI-Prestige-15-A10SC-Laptop-Review-One-of-the-Best-Dell-XPS-15-Alternatives.441280.0.html

It's not that much worse than the H-series procs, for sustained cinebencz (so a heavy blender workload), however under artificial workloads (Prime95), it gets a little worse.

The processor does get hot (95c), which can be remedied with a slight undervolt. (-5-10c with undervolt, no dissambley required, and another 5c if you repaste)

Also, it comes with TWO m.2 slots, which Is great for upgrading. 

 

And yes, there is a 1080p option for 300$ less, although scaling should be fine. What issues are you talking about? You can set windows scaling to 200%, and Most apps should run 4k. as most professional video editors, photo editors, and even just people who stare at text often have higher-res screens.

For 300$ more, you get a 1TB ssd instead of a 512GB, 32GB ram instead of 16GB, and a 4K screen. That's a pretty good deal imo.

I'm reading the review RN. Also have to do a bit of research into the 4K compatibility of the software I use. I'll get back to you later, but for now this has been an excellent find.

[Firewrath9]

7 minutes ago, Scheimong said:

I'm reading the review RN. Also have to do a bit of research into the 4K compatibility of the software I use. I'll get back to you later, but for now this has been an excellent find.

Happy to help!

[Scheimong]

On 11/17/2019 at 1:12 PM, Firewrath9 said:

Happy to help!

Thanks. After doing some further research I ultimately decided to go with your recommendation. There's a listing on Taobao that offers the top configuration model for 12500CNY (1778USD) and I cannot resist. I don't think 4K scaling will be a problem but hey, you never know, so let's hope not.

 

Another concession I made was with the keyboard. For some reason MSI decided to put an additional backslash where the menu key is (???). But I guess I can't have everything. =(