Just ordered a new "Super" work station laptop

[JWC86]

The P1 Gen7 doesn't have a num pad but the P16v does. The specs on the P16v are pretty good but there's a lack of ports. One USB-A, one USB-C (that also doubles as the charging port), one HDMI, a SD card reader, and headphones jack and is 16in.

The HP Zbook Power G11 is decent too but comes with a 2k screen and is a 16in.

It looks like laptop manufacturers are moving to 16" for powerhouses.

Yes, 16” is fine.

Looking hard at a P16 Gen 2 currently. (Gen 3 doesn’t have 2 slots for hard drive)

I’ll check out the p16v

 

[JWC86]

So after a lot of research I ended up getting a Eurocom Raptor X17, yes I know a 17" was outside my original criteria but I wasn't thinking about how thin the bezels are now and turns out that the new 17.3" screen overall size is within a 1/4" of my old 15.6".

Here's the specs:

System and Display	EUROCOM Raptor X17
Choose your LCD Display	17.3in (43.9cm); 144Hz; UHD 3840x2160; Matte; 100% DCI-P3; BOE NE173QUM-NY1
CPU /GPU on-board; Motherboard	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080; 12GB DDR6; 7424 CUDA cores; 232 Tensor AI Cores; ADA Lovelace Architecture and Intel Core i9 14900HX; 24C/32T; RAPTOR X17
Robust Mechanical Design	Aluminium Magnesium Alloy (5052); Bottom case, Top case and Back cover
G-Sync	with NVIDIA G-SYNC™
Display Calibration	Professional Display Calibration with .icc Profile Saved on USB Flash Key
GPU Heatsink - Thermal Paste	IC Diamond 7 Carat Thermal Compound for Maximum Performance
CPU Heatsink - Thermal Paste	IC Diamond 7 Carat Thermal Compound for Maximum Performance
Memory (RAM) Configuration	32GB; 2x 16GB; DDR5-5600; Kingston; 262-pin; 2 SODIMMs
Operating System(s)	Microsoft Windows 11 Professional; 64-bit; OEM; with DVD and USB key
Keyboard (Language)	US English; QWERTY; Backlit
Office/Business Productivity Software	Microsoft Office 2024 Home and Business Edition; OEM; MLK; US/Canada
Internal PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD	2TB SSD NVMe; PCIe 5.0; M.2 2280; CORSAIR MP700 PRO; R/W: up to 12400/11800 MB/s
Internal PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD	Choose your SSD M.2 type 2280 (80x22mm) from the options below:
Internal PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD	Choose your SSD M.2 type 2280 from the options below:
Wireless LAN	2-in-1; Intel BE200; Wi-Fi 7 (802.11ax) + BT 5.4; WLAN Module; M.2 2230; M.2 CNVio2; up to 5.8 Gbps (320MHz,4096QAM)
LAN Adapter; RJ45 - built-in /onboard	2.5 Gigabit Ethernet Intel/Killer E3100X;on-board; RJ-45
Add Extra LAN Port(s) to your laptop	Optional - Add Extra LAN Port(s)
Built-in Web Camera	2.0 Megapixels; Webcam; Built-in
Thunderbolt Port	2x Thunderbolt 4 Ports
Standard Battery (internal)	8-cells; 99Wh; Polymer; Battery Pack
Standard AC Adapter	330W AC Adapter; Auto-switching; 100-240V; square plug; 2.2lbs/1kg; 7.25x3.25x1.5in/185x80x35mm

As you can see I ordered it with only one 2TB CORSAIR MP700 harddrive, the reason for that is they charge about 4 times the going Amazon price for hard drives if they install them, so I picked up two more CORSAIR MP700 SSDs and have installed them myself.

I also only went with the 32 GB of ram as RAM is simple to upgrade myself and I'm sure the comparable ram will become very cheap as it becomes "old tech" in a year or two so I will just upgrade then unless I think I need it before then.

I've been using the laptop for a few days now and unsurprisingly its been a pleasure, the speed is there obviously and the extra size of the 17.3" screen is a nice upgrade. 144hz refresh rate on a 4k screen makes it easy on the eyes too.

Hopefully I can get 10 years of service from it!

 

[WeyounDS9]

Update: I received the laptop yesterday and checked it out, it was a big disappointment. Here's what I didn't like:

Keyboard: The keys are small and cramped, I assumed(wrongfully) this would have the "standard" 15.7mm width, they were only 15.0mm and more importantly, the key pad keys were even smaller. I do thousands and thousands of keystrokes on the number pad a day so this is major. Also the keyboard quality seemed poor, when you pressed one key you can see the other keys around it move, even a few keys way... just feels cheap.

Screen: As someone already pointed out this only has a 1080p screen, I'm actually coming from a 4k screen but I didn't expect this to make much difference but I couldn't believe how much difference it made, even just viewing web pages like this forum you could very easily see the difference.

Speakers: Really poor sound from the new unit, I often have youtube going in the back ground most of the day and this was a major downgrade also.

So its going back to Eurocom and I'm in the market again, this time I will draw on the knowledge of the BITOG computer people.
Here is my wants/needs list:

15.6" 4k Anti glare screen
Full size keyboard and number pad
64GB or more ram
I'd really like the ability to have 3 hard drives, with 2TB each, I know this one might be hard to find but here is my reason, one for the OS and daily programs and files, one 2TB for storage and one 2TB as a dedicated backup drive. I'm sure I could also partition a 4TB into two and use that also as a storage/back up drive.
Decent speakers
Backlit keyboard is a must also.

Currently looking at a P series thinkpad but very open to other options.

EDIT: NVM you already got one .


Have you considered a gaming laptop?
They generally have good specs.

I paid 4000 for my MSI Raider 78 with i9 14900HX (good for work applications), 64GB of DDR5 RAM, 6TB in 2 SSDs , 4TB of which is a Samsung 990 PRO, and finally a RTX 4090 graphics card.
Yes, laptop RTX 4090 is like a desktop 4070ti but still thats way above your 4090 in previous computer.

17.3 inch 2.5k screen

I do not know what the size of the Keyboard is though or is it matches the robustness you expect.
But the specs are all there. Had it for a year now and keep marvelin on how nice the screen is.
I use it to entertain myself in hotel rooms on business travel ( at home I have a Desktop)

 

[PandaBear]

I like ThinkPad P series, I have 2 from work. The build quality and keyboard IMO are better than Dell and much better than HP.

I understand the wish to get a good laptop and never replace it for 10 years, but the battery would wear out before that and it will be heavier than a lesser laptop upgrade more often. That's my opinion.

For your work I personally would get the biggest screen size possible, 16 inch if not 17 inch.

 

[JWC86]

I like ThinkPad P series, I have 2 from work. The build quality and keyboard IMO are better than Dell and much better than HP.

I understand the wish to get a good laptop and never replace it for 10 years, but the battery would wear out before that and it will be heavier than a lesser laptop upgrade more often. That's my opinion.

For your work I personally would get the biggest screen size possible, 16 inch if not 17 inch.

See post #25

 

[PandaBear]

See post #25

on my screen your post is #25.... you sure?

 

[JWC86]

on my screen your post is #25.... you sure?

sorry, post 22

 

[Pew]

I'm surprised it's barely 8 pounds. That's pretty good considering it's size.

 

[JHZR2]

Update: I received the laptop yesterday and checked it out, it was a big disappointment. Here's what I didn't like:

Keyboard: The keys are small and cramped, I assumed(wrongfully) this would have the "standard" 15.7mm width, they were only 15.0mm and more importantly, the key pad keys were even smaller. I do thousands and thousands of keystrokes on the number pad a day so this is major. Also the keyboard quality seemed poor, when you pressed one key you can see the other keys around it move, even a few keys way... just feels cheap.

Screen: As someone already pointed out this only has a 1080p screen, I'm actually coming from a 4k screen but I didn't expect this to make much difference but I couldn't believe how much difference it made, even just viewing web pages like this forum you could very easily see the difference.

Speakers: Really poor sound from the new unit, I often have youtube going in the back ground most of the day and this was a major downgrade also.

So its going back to Eurocom and I'm in the market again, this time I will draw on the knowledge of the BITOG computer people.
Here is my wants/needs list:

15.6" 4k Anti glare screen
Full size keyboard and number pad
64GB or more ram
I'd really like the ability to have 3 hard drives, with 2TB each, I know this one might be hard to find but here is my reason, one for the OS and daily programs and files, one 2TB for storage and one 2TB as a dedicated backup drive. I'm sure I could also partition a 4TB into two and use that also as a storage/back up drive.
Decent speakers
Backlit keyboard is a must also.

Currently looking at a P series thinkpad but very open to other options.

Sorry to hear that.

I don’t know how you can stand to work on one of obnoxiously large laptops. And as noted, the keyboards have never struck me as great.

Screens vary wildly. This has been the case for the last 20 years!

I have to wonder if a usb mouse and a usb number pad might be the best bet… then you can get the other features you want, the best screen, and not be caught up with the keyboard.

 

[Ranger83]

For poops and grins I ran my current laptop in Benchmark, looks like the biggest thing holding it back is the CPU which makes sense since it's the only thing I haven't upgraded.

UserBenchmarks: Game 52%, Desk 74%, Work 43%
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700HQ - 65.5%
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1070 (Mobile) - 73.6%
SSD: Samsung 960 Pro NVMe PCIe M.2 1TB - 126.6%
HDD: Seagate FireCuda 2.5" 2TB - 723.5%
HDD: Seagate ST2000LM015-2E8174 2TB - 59.6%
RAM: Micron 8ATF1G64HZ-2G3A1 2x8GB - 60.9%
MBD: Eurocom SKY MX5 R2

Where do you find benchmark? Seems there are a number of sites.

 

[k1xv]

One of these days I will upgrade my original Compaq, with its built in CRT, 8088 and two floppy drives.

 

[Kira]

^^A joke, obviously.

(begun reading about computers here as Mrs. Kira will be in the market soon)

 

[goingplacesanddoingstuff]

So I'm not a computer guy other than the fact I like having a fast one for my work.
My work computer needs require running a lot at once, sometimes up to 12 excel workbooks, multiple PDFs open, schematic drawing programs, etc.

I like to buy my laptops with the plan to keep them a long time(for a laptop), current one is a Eurocom that is now 9 years old, has 32 GB of ram, 3 HDs with 5TB storage total and has served me well until just recently when the schematic drawing program I've been using was "upgraded" and now requires more computing power which is making things kinda slow.

Eurocom has a trade in program where they will give you 25% off your new laptop if you trade in your old Eurocom, this made their price very competitive and I really like the quality of there cases and keyboard, mine is still great after 9 years. As a bonus the new one is fully upgradable (even the CPU, which isn't on my current one).

Anyways, here the specs:

Base System and Display EUROCOM Nightsky RX415z; 15.6in; 144Hz; FHD; 1920x1080; Matte; eDP CPU /GPU on-board; Motherboard NVIDIA RTX 4060; 3072 CUDA; 96 Tensor cores; 8GB DDR6 and Intel Core i9 14900HX CPU (24C/32T); Nightsky RX4/RX4z Security - ANTI SPYING Package Choose: optional Factory ANTI SPYING package. Display Calibration Optional - choose from the options below: GPU Heatsink - Thermal Paste IC Diamond 7 Carat Thermal Compound for Maximum Performance CPU Heatsink - Thermal Paste IC Diamond 7 Carat Thermal Compound for Maximum Performance Memory (RAM) Configuration 96GB; 2x 48GB; DDR5-4800; Micron/Crucial; 262-pin; 1.1V; 2 SODIMMs Operating System(s) Microsoft Windows 11 Professional; 64-bit; OEM; with DVD and USB key Keyboard (Language) US English; QWERTY; Backlit Office/Business Productivity Software Microsoft Office 2024 Home and Business Edition; OEM; MLK; US/Canada RAID Configuration None - Choose from the options below: Internal PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD 2TB SSD; SAMSUNG 990 Pro; PCIe Gen 4.0 x4, NVMe 2.0; M.2 2280; R/W: up to 7000/5100 MB/s Internal PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD 2TB SSD; SAMSUNG 990 Pro; PCIe Gen 4.0 x4, NVMe 2.0; M.2 2280; R/W: up to 7000/5100 MB/s Internal PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD 2TB SSD NVMe; PCIe 5.0; M.2 2280; CORSAIR MP700 PRO; R/W: up to 12400/11800 MB/s External Optical Drive None - Choose from the options below Wireless LAN 2-in-1; Intel BE200; Wi-Fi 7 (802.11ax) + BT 5.4; WLAN Module; M.2 2230; M.2 CNVio2; up to 5.8 Gbps (320MHz,4096QAM) Add Extra LAN Port(s) to your laptop Optional - Add Extra LAN Port(s) Gaming Accessories None - Choose from the options below Standard Battery (internal) 4-cells; Polymer Battery Pack; 53.35WH Choose Extra Battery None - Choose from the options below Standard AC Adapter 230W; 100V-250V; Auto-Switching (Worldwide) Standard Power Cord - included USA / Canada Choose Extra AC Adapter None - Choose from the options below Extra Power Cord None - Choose from the options below Carrying Case None - Choose from the options below Choose Your Warranty Plan 1 Year Return to Factory Depot with 1 Year of Tech Support

What do you guys think? will this make a decent work station for the next 10 years?

I would seriously consider a MacBook Pro instead. The performance and power efficiency is nearly unmatched.

 

[Pew]

I would seriously consider a MacBook Pro instead. The performance and power efficiency is nearly unmatched.

Some CAD programs are not natively supported on Mac and need parallels or boot camp to run. I believe Autodesk supports their products if ran that way but not Bentley.

 

[Leo99]

I would replace it every 3-4 years if you really want a "fast one" vs every 10 years. The changes that happen over that time span can be huge !

I remember years ago, there was an independent computer builder store in town. They'd advertise their prices for a specific build were only valid for 2 weeks, implying the price would go up. The joke was the price went down in 2 weeks as change was happening that fast back then. Things have slowed down since then. I paid $200 for the CPU in my PC six years ago. Today, that same CPU sells for $150.

 

[goingplacesanddoingstuff]

Some CAD programs are not natively supported on Mac and need parallels or boot camp to run. I believe Autodesk supports their products if ran that way but not Bentley.

Can it run on Linux?

 

[Pew]

Can it run on Linux?

Not natively/officially either. AutoCAD will give some support if ran on macs but I do not believe AutoDesk and Bentley will give any tech support if ran on Linux, outside of their user forums.

Autodesk may be better in support of this, especially if you order via a reseller (going through reseller support as an option) but I have had the 'you need to run it on supported hardware and software' book thrown at me before.

 

[JoeDirt41]

I've been playing with fire.... my current laptop is 12 years old. Its an HP Envy DV6. I more or less use it as a desktop. I had to have the screen replaced once because it fell, and the webcam no longer works. The battery doesn't last as long as it used to, but I keep it plugged in almost all the time. Everything else still works great. I really should replace it, but it still works well and I can't find anything reasonably priced with the same large screen and keyboard. I've got large hands and can't type well on small keyboards.

 

[JWC86]

I would seriously consider a MacBook Pro instead. The performance and power efficiency is nearly unmatched.

Not a possibility at all, even just sharing Excel based programs with someone with a Mac creates all kinds of compatibility issues.

I know it's suppose to be compatible but thats not the reality, occasionally I will have to share files with someone with a Mac and lots of random issues come up. It's not just me either, everyone has the same issues and we hate working with "those" Mac guys just for that reason alone.

 

[goingplacesanddoingstuff]

Not a possibility at all, even just sharing Excel based programs with someone with a Mac creates all kinds of compatibility issues.

I know it's suppose to be compatible but thats not the reality, occasionally I will have to share files with someone with a Mac and lots of random issues come up. It's not just me either, everyone has the same issues and we hate working with "those" Mac guys just for that reason alone.

Interesting. I have no issues collabing on Excel files in a professional setting with multiple users in Windows and Mac OS. I think we’re mostly past the dark ages of tribalism in technology providers.

On the hardware side, there really isn’t much of a contest: Apple M4 is superior to everything but the most advanced ARM chips. Perhaps that’s something to look into, Windows on ARM?

Obviously if you have a legacy style Windows installable rather than a SaaS or multi-platform solution, it may not work, and you might be stuck with x86. It’s just not the best hardware for laptops anymore, plain and simple. Hopefully software catches up.

Edit: if x86 is a must, the new Ryzen AI series mobile processors are probably the best bet.