Unlimited budget workstation laptop

[BenDroid]

Hi All

 

Long time no post. Figured this would be the right forum for this.

 

I'm currently looking for a laptop with a very specific set of criteria. I will replace my R53600X/32GB/RTX2060 Workstation with this in compination with an appropriate dockingstation. It needs to be able to drive a 5k screen (over TB3 ofc) without lagging so no Intel iGPUs pls, but no mega high end power shlurpers either. 6c12t should be adequate, I still want to have quite good battery life out of it as I will be using it for university. It needs to be fairly thin and light. I will not game on this machine as I have a separate gaming PC. Budget: unlimited.

 

Plot twist: If I find a perfect enough laptop, I am am willing to look into a eGPU box and have that run my 5k screen. That way I could live with a iGPU.

 

In short: Powerful but not overly powerhungry (I know it's a tradeoff), thin and light, TB3 and ~15inch.

 

Absolute must haves:

• Thunderbolt 3 40GBit/s
• ~15 inch screen
• True CH ISO layout available (you mostly won't know if it has this until you bought it sadly, so can't really list this as a searchable criteria)
• Big Battery
• Intel 10th Gen or Ryzen 4000 series
• Better than Intel integrated graphics

 

Should haves:

• 2-in-1 functionality with pen input option
• dedicated NumPad (BIG BONUS POINTS) why did we get away from NumPads? (HP has this)
• WiFi 6 (802.11ax)
• USB Type A port (Yes it IS possible Dell and Apple!)
• Fingerprint Reader

 

Nice to haves:

• Accurate colors screen
• good trackpad
• 4G Modem

 

I don't care at all about:

• Keyboard feel (for me only layout is important)
• 4k screens (can be 1080p no problem, 1440p would be ideal)
• High refresh rate screens
• Speakers
• Design
• Webcam
• SD card readers

 

So far I've searched the sites of Dell and HP, Lenovo only a little. The new Dell XPS 15s look interesting but have some downfalls. I sincerely hope Dell will release a 2-in-1 version of the new XPSs. HPs x360s look interesting bc they have a NumPad and are always 2-in-1 capable.

[Noob872]

26 minutes ago, BenDroid said:

 

 

So far I've searched the sites of Dell and HP, Lenovo only a little. The new Dell XPS 15s look interesting but have some downfalls. I sincerely hope Dell will release a 2-in-1 version of the new XPSs. HPs x360s look interesting bc they have a NumPad and are always 2-in-1 capable.

Why dont you like the xps, the 17 inch version looks like the perfect fit for you. 

[Commodus]

My main question: what software do you intend to run on it? That could affect your options somewhat.

 

I'll be honest, though, I think some of your requests could make this very difficult. Finding a 15-inch 2-in-1 that has a dedicated GPU, a six-core processor and a numpad keyboard is... not all that likely, aside from perhaps that HP example.

 

If I was in your position and was software agnostic (i.e. it doesn't matter what platform I use), I'd get a 16-inch MacBook Pro. You do give up all of the "should haves," but it strikes me as one of the best at virtually everything else. There are also some harder-to-quantify things, such as Apple's eagerness to embrace Thunderbolt 3 and its superior scaling for high-DPI screens.

 

Also, on the numpad front: you do you, but there are plenty of reasons people don't like numpads on keyboards. It shifts the rest of the keyboard off-centre, so you're either moving your hands slightly off to the side while you type or looking off-centre at the screen. As someone who doesn't deal with numbers often, I find numpads interfere with my work!

[BenDroid]

25 minutes ago, Noob872 said:

Why dont you like the xps, the 17 inch version looks like the perfect fit for you. 

Main point being: Keyboard layout (no NumPad) and no USB type A ports. I'm in the process of contacting to Dell to get info on if there will at least be a true CH ISO layout version. If it has this it will currently be the #1 contender.

[Noob872]

4 minutes ago, BenDroid said:

Main point being: Keyboard layout (no NumPad) and no USB type A ports. I'm in the process of contacting to Dell to get info on if there will at least be a true CH ISO layout version. If it has this it will currently be the #1 contender.

ok i see, you could also try the macbook pro

[BenDroid]

31 minutes ago, Commodus said:

My main question: what software do you intend to run on it? That could affect your options somewhat.

Sadly I use windows. I would run Linux (CentOS or Fedora) but battery life and driver support (for egs. fingerprint sensors) keep holding me back. (And I'm not a Apple fan to begin with...) Also I'm not comfortable with giving up all of the 'should haves'.

 

Software that will run on the device: IDEs (Eclipse and NetBeans), MSOffice, many putty sessions and FireFox with at least 69 open tabs.

[Commodus]

2 minutes ago, BenDroid said:

Sadly I use windows. I would run Linux (CentOS or Fedora) but battery life and driver support (for egs. fingerprint sensors) keep holding me back.

 

Software that will run on the device: IDEs (Eclipse and NetBeans), MSOffice, many putty sessions and FireFox with at least 69 open tabs.

In which case, I'd be tempted to toss out the 2-in-1 ideas and spring for an XPS 15. I'm not sure I'd go with the 4K touchscreen, though -- if battery life is the most important thing, I'd rather get the 1200p model and deal with a lower resolution. It bugs me that screen options in Windows land are usually split between no-frills 1080p/1200p screens and 4K touchscreens that can cut your battery life by hours.

[BenDroid]

8 minutes ago, Commodus said:

In which case, I'd be tempted to toss out the 2-in-1 ideas and spring for an XPS 15. I'm not sure I'd go with the 4K touchscreen, though -- if battery life is the most important thing, I'd rather get the 1200p model and deal with a lower resolution. It bugs me that screen options in Windows land are usually split between no-frills 1080p/1200p screens and 4K touchscreens that can cut your battery life by hours.

Same here my friend. I also don't know why 1440p display are not more common, as they would strike an almost perfect middle ground. Probably bc it reduces the probability of a customer upgrading to a 4k screen, generating less revenue.

[BenDroid]

Also something that came to my mind: would it maybe be worth waiting a little longer for Ryzen 4000 chips to be integrated and USB4 to be implemented more commonly?

I would love to see a Ryzen 4000 laptop with USB4 or TB3.

[Commodus]

3 minutes ago, BenDroid said:

Also something that came to my mind: would it maybe be worth waiting a little longer for Ryzen 4000 chips to be integrated more commonly?

I would love to see a Ryzen 4000 laptop with USB4 or TB3.

I wouldn't worry too much. Current hardware will still be fast, and it's clear that for your needs RAM is the most important thing (you can configure systems like the XPS 15 with 64GB).

 

As for displays, part of it is that Windows 10 doesn't scale nearly as well as macOS. It's just easier in Windows to choose 4K and create a very crisp 1080p than to figure out something in between. On Macs, it seems like any high-DPI display will do so long as you choose the scaling setting that fits your eyes.

[BenDroid]

Status update: I have contacted both my local reseller and Dell themselves (which proved difficult since they don't have any buyer support in switzerland and refuse to help unless I VPN to germany and use their Chat) about the Keyboard. Both say they will reach out to me at a later date with the info.

 

But I found this video by a german guy:

 

And there is a ISO layout, which would mean that there is a good chance we swiss people get a proper ISO layout aswell

[BenDroid]

Dell guy replied and confirmed my speculation with the ANSI DE Layout being the same for ANSI CH Layout.

 

In other news I found this: https://www.lenovo.com/ch/de/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-x1/ThinkPad-X1-Extreme-Gen-3/p/20TKCTO1WWDECH1

 

With this the questionnaire with the keyboard repeats. And also why tf does Lenovo think it's a good Idea to put a FN key where the CTRL key is supposed to be? Otherwise seems like a solid contender for the XPS 15 9500.

 

I also just bought a Lenovo TB3 docking station for my work laptop, which would harmonize well with the ThinkPad. Also also I could get a ~16% rebate on the ThinkPad bc I'm a student.... Very compelling.