Help me choose a laptop replacement for CAD :)

[xPhoenixHeat]

Hey there! I'm a student and currently looking for a laptop to replace my current HP one. I have a budget of around 1.2k USD (flexible), and I intend to do CAD work on fusion 360. I would also be doing some light photoshop and lightroom stuff. I currently have a HP Elitebook 820 g3 with a i5-6200U so I need something more powerful.  What do you guys suggest I get? Also, has increased silicon prices affected laptop pricing, if so, should I buy now or later once they are cheaper? Thanks! 
 

[mg7134]

Dell inspiron 7610 would be a good choice but its plagued with Trackpad issues which dell will not resolve and alternative laptops are either expensive or missing few critical things like giving 1080p instead of 2560x1440p for 2K? Go with the thinkbook 16p if you want reliability and performance for cad at the same time. And no, the gpu crisis doesnt affect the mobile laptop market by a whole lot.  

[mg7134]

Link for the laptop if you are interested,

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/cty/pdp/spd/inspiron-16-7610-laptop#configurations_section

 

As i am plagued buy the touchpad problem, i would not recommend to go for this laptop. Probably go these ones

https://system76.com/laptops/oryp8/configure

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/thinkbook/thinkbook-series/thinkbook-16p-g2-ach/xxtbxpea600

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-envy-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-3060-1tb-ssd-natural-silver/6479370.p?skuId=6479370

https://swappa.com/listing/view/LVLO92266?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=dMLmqAbY_.mRN0UjZat_YJ3YqM61RmpXdgIFzvVXDbI-1636311015-0-gaNycGzNB_0

 

[GeorgeMKane]

I would recommend more storage be added ASAP, but I definitely recommend this for sure.

 

ASUS TUF Gaming A17 TUF706QE-MS74 17.3" Laptop Computer Platinum Collection - Gray

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/R7FKHx/samsung-870-qvo-2-tb-25-solid-state-drive-mz-77q2t0bam

 

You could definitely bring that SSD down to 1TB, if you also need to purchase a new mouse, unless the flexible budget allows for that too.

[mg7134]

8 hours ago, GeorgeMKane said:

I would recommend more storage be added ASAP, but I definitely recommend this for sure.

 

ASUS TUF Gaming A17 TUF706QE-MS74 17.3" Laptop Computer Platinum Collection - Gray

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/R7FKHx/samsung-870-qvo-2-tb-25-solid-state-drive-mz-77q2t0bam

 

You could definitely bring that SSD down to 1TB, if you also need to purchase a new mouse, unless the flexible budget allows for that too.

RTX 3060 would be better as the xx50 GTX/RTX nvidia graphics cards age like milk.

[GeorgeMKane]

6 hours ago, mg7134 said:

RTX 3060 would be better as the xx50 GTX/RTX nvidia graphics cards age like milk.

The RTX 3050 and 3050Ti laptop gpu's are newer, actually. If you can find a RTX 3060 gpu laptop, sure, but considering what OP is trying to be able to do with their new laptop, those GPU's would perform admirably still.

 

A RTX 3060 gpu laptop would be a little over OP's budget. https://www.microcenter.com/product/637182/lenovo-legion-5-15-156-gaming-laptop-computer-platinum-collection-blue

[xPhoenixHeat]

Thank you guys a lot for your suggestions.

[gargamel314]

On 11/7/2021 at 1:50 PM, mg7134 said:

As i am plagued buy the touchpad problem, i would not recommend to go for this laptop. Probably go these ones

https://system76.com/laptops/oryp8/configure

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/thinkbook/thinkbook-series/thinkbook-16p-g2-ach/xxtbxpea600

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-envy-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-3060-1tb-ssd-natural-silver/6479370.p?skuId=6479370

https://swappa.com/listing/view/LVLO92266?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=dMLmqAbY_.mRN0UjZat_YJ3YqM61RmpXdgIFzvVXDbI-1636311015-0-gaNycGzNB_0

 

Hey man, hoping you resoved this problem by now, I was also dealing with a similar touchpad problem while you were on the same model laptop! What probably helped me out getting attention from Dell was taking videos of my problems. I used a phone to video my finger on the touchpad while it glitched out in the BIOS, and they couldn't ignore it there. Also, they took particular interest in the words "persisted through 3 Windows 10 installations." It was slow, but they did end up replacing my laptop with a refurbished one, that in several ways (beyond the touchpad problems) worked better than the original one. Good luck with Dell, they do force you to buy those premium warranties, so they better deliver on it!

 

Also, regarding modern standby. I also dealt with this problem. And yeah, there's some weird thing that is commonly reported in this laptop along with a lot of XPS laptops. While it's sleeping, it starts running some Dell Diagnostic scan, which brings temps up to like 140C! I found a way to enable Disconnected Standby (S3 sleep), but it's a bit convoluted and takes editing the Windows Registry. Posting this frany Dell Inspiron or XPS user that has these problems!  See below:
 

First, lets re-enable S3:

1. WIN+R and type regedit

2. Navigate to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Power  and create a new DWORD 32-bit value, call it PlatformAoAcOverride and set it to 0

3. under Power, create a new DWORD 32-bit value, and call it CsEnabled (or edit the one that's already there), and set it to 0.

 

Now it's time to enable some Power plan options to make sure they appear in your Power Plan settings.

4. Stay within the Power folder, and navigate down to "PowerSettings"

5. Find the following keys and within each one, you will need to change "Attributes" to 2 if it is set to 1. If there is no "Attributes" value there, you need to create a DWORD 32-bit value, name it Attributes, and set it to 2.

 

Network Connectivity in Standby
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Power\PowerSettings\f15576e8-98b7-4186-b944-eafa664402d9

Disconnected Standby Mode

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Power\PowerSettings\68afb2d9-ee95-47a8-8f50-4115088073b1

 

USB 3 Link Power Management

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Power\PowerSettings\2a737441-1930-4402-8d77-b2bebba308a3\d4e98f31-5ffe-4ce1-be31-1b38b384c009

 

Allow Wake Timers

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Power\PowerSettings\238c9fa8-0aad-41ed-83f4-97be242c8f20\bd3b718a-0680-4d9d-8ab2-e1d2b4ac806d

6. Reboot the system.

 

7. go to Start and search Edit Power Plan.

 

8. Set the following settings:

Disconnected Standby Mode - set both to "Agressive."

Network Connectivity in Standby Mode - set both to "Disabled"

USB Settings/USB Selective suspend setting - set both to "Disabled" - this makes sure your USB devices don't wake your system

Allow Wake Timers - Disabled

 

9. Reboot again. Try it out. Close the lid, listen to your system to make sure the fans stay off, and nothing's really moving around inside. When you open the lid, it will now take a few seconds for the screen to come up, which is how S3 works. Good luck, I hope this helps you.