Just ordered a new "Super" work station laptop

[JWC86]

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?

 

[Hall]

I like having a fast one for my work.

will this make a decent work station for the next 10 years?

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 !

 

[tcp71]

While you have a beast of a computer and it has held up the last 9 years, a shorter replacement cycle with less horsepower has worked better for me in electronics and mechanical design and test work.

 

[JWC86]

While you have a beast of a computer and it has held up the last 9 years, a shorter replacement cycle with less horsepower has worked better for me in electronics and mechanical design and test work.

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 !

Perhaps with these being completely up gradable now I might look into it in 3-5 years.

 

[JWC86]

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

 

[ripcord]

That looks like a really nice workstation class laptop, but for that level of computing power, a desktop machine will always come out on top in terms of performance, cost and most importantly, reliability. With cheap, ubiquitous cloud storage, there's no reason to limit yourself to one machine that you have to pack around, either. Use the desktop most of the time and fall back to your laptop if you need to take your work somewhere.

 

[JWC86]

That looks like a really nice workstation class laptop, but for that level of computing power, a desktop machine will always come out on top in terms of performance, cost and most importantly, reliability. With cheap, ubiquitous cloud storage, there's no reason to limit yourself to one machine that you have to pack around, either. Use the desktop most of the time and fall back to your laptop if you need to take your work somewhere.

Thats the thing, my work is always "somewhere". I work in the field out of a office trailer or pickup. My computer goes with me everywhere I go.

 

[jayjr1105]

14th gen Intel is a gen or two behind plus they had some issues with them. Should have probably looked into Core Ultra series or the newest Ryzen chips. Also, userbenchmark is a very biased site. They are banned on a lot of reddit computer related forums.

 

[JWC86]

14th gen Intel is a gen or two behind plus they had some issues with them. Should have probably looked into Core Ultra series or the newest Ryzen chips. Also, userbenchmark is a very biased site. They are banned on a lot of reddit computer related forums.

Admittedly Eurocom isn't ever on the cutting edge with their components but I like the package they provide and costumer support so I know I could probably have something better built somewhere else but I will still choose the Eurocom. Plus I like to support Canadian companies when I can.

Edit: Also good to know about userbenchmark, like I said, I'm not a "computer guy" by any means.

 

[ripcord]

Your use case makes a semi-ruggedized laptop appealing.

 

[Hall]

Also, when I hear the term "workstation" used for a computer, I think it's usage is for 2D or 3D CAD modeling, CFD, and so on, not Excel spreadsheets and PDFs. Even those "schematic drawing programs" are not high-end CAD, are they ? Are you generating the drawings or just viewing them ?

 

[ripcord]

Also, when I hear the term "workstation" used for a computer, I think it's usage is for 2D or 3D CAD modeling, CFD, and so on, not Excel spreadsheets and PDFs. Even those "schematic drawing programs" are not high-end CAD, are they ? Are you generating the drawings or just viewing them ?

Folks who don't crunch a lot of data or push Excel to the limit usually aren't aware of how much RAM and CPU cycles it can consume. I've had Excel files that were over a gig in size with lots of formulas and calculations embedded that would drag a business class laptop to a crawl. Excel can be a lot more taxing than the typical CAD project.

 

[JWC86]

Also, when I hear the term "workstation" used for a computer, I think it's usage is for 2D or 3D CAD modeling, CFD, and so on, not Excel spreadsheets and PDFs. Even those "schematic drawing programs" are not high-end CAD, are they ? Are you generating the drawings or just viewing them ?

Like ripcord said, some of these are not your typical excel work books, they have a lot of calculations(formulas) going on in the background.
Yes generating drawings.
PDF's of course don't need a lot of computing power but opening 6-12 of them at once seems to and editing them seems to slow things down considerably.

 

[Pew]

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 !

This is what I would do too, buy a 1500-2000 one every 3 years instead of buying a $5000 one every 10. If you need the processing power, it's nice having the advancements every few years bring. I can absolutely say with certainty, a 10 year old CPU won't hold a handle to a candle to new budget CPU.

With that said, OP, that is still a blazing fast laptop. You will notice a huge speed difference.
I'm assuming you're not connected to a company network? I give my CAD folks a midrange laptop and they can rdp into their desktop workstations if they want the processing power.

25% off is very enticing too.

 

[JWC86]

I'm assuming you're not connected to a company network?

Correct, and I won't argue about it making more sense to get a $2500 laptop every 5 years rather than a $5K one every 10 years, probably makes more sense but I do find it really a hassle switching laptops.

With the new one being upgrade-able(even the CPU) it might work out ok if I just go that route when I feel like its time.

 

[Pew]

Correct, and I won't argue about it making more sense to get a $2500 laptop every 5 years rather than a $5K one every 10 years, probably makes more sense but I do find it really a hassle switching laptops.

With the new one being upgrade-able(even the CPU) it might work out ok if I just go that route when I feel like its time.

Understandable. However, you would have to change the mother board as well. The new mobile CPUs are a different socket. Generally speaking, Intel's chipsets usually last only two generations of CPUs.

 

[CarbonToast]

That is a beast of a machine. The display seems kind of lack luster at 1080p.

Do you have better monitors on the jobsite?

 

[JMJNet]

Looks like an awesome powerful laptop.

 

[JWC86]

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.

 

[Pew]

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.