Laptop for Work

[haknslash]

I have used HP Elitebooks as my CAD workstation in the go. It’s an older model and heavy AF but it seems to handle ever current Inventor fine. I also use it with my FARO CMM, laser scanner and related reverse engineering software and it runs them fine. It’s old though and you could cook a steak on it as hot as she runs these days but she is hanging in there. I’m definitely not light user with it either in hopes it dies and I can get an upgrade from IT lol. Damn thing is like a tank but eventually I’ll get a new one and thankfully something g much lighter these days.

I don’t know your situation but these’s also the option to build a beast desktop/workstation and then have a non-frills laptop to use for remotely connecting to it. Personally I’d rather dump money into a desktop/workstation than laptop but I understand that’s not always ideal or an option. Just throwing it out there.

 

[RightStuff]

Not sure I could get any work done knowing all that biking is just right outside... Good luck on the move down there!

Not sure if you saw, but the new MS Surface devices were announced today, might have some options there, This looked close to what you wanted for specs: Surface Book 3 for Business: high performance business laptop

I think @haknslash is on the right track, have a supped up machine that you remote into for the heavy lifting, but keep a decent but portable laptop for going remote.

 

[HangOutdoors]

Not sure I could get any work done knowing all that biking is just right outside... Good luck on the move down there!

Not sure if you saw, but the new MS Surface devices were announced today, might have some options there, This looked close to what you wanted for specs: Surface Book 3 for Business: high performance business laptop

I think @haknslash is on the right track, have a supped up machine that you remote into for the heavy lifting, but keep a decent but portable laptop for going remote.

The surfaces are overpriced for what they are, you can do much better at the price point with an 11th gen processor vs the 10th gen. I have had them and really wanted to like them but did better with the Dell XPS at the same price point for better specs.

 

[adrianp89]

Why not Mac and run parallels?

I just put in an order a few hours ago for a MacBookPro. I don't really need that much but any half way decent laptop was $600-$700 so I figured why not just go Mac again. I will use parallels to run windows and then use data visualization tools.

 

[2kwik4u]

The surfaces are overpriced for what they are, you can do much better at the price point with an 11th gen processor vs the 10th gen. I have had them and really wanted to like them but did better with the Dell XPS at the same price point for better specs.

Same here. My wife has a Surface Pro 4. It's a neat device. I've also had a Motion Computing LE1700 , and an Asus EP121. They are neat devices and worked EXCEPTIONALLY well at taking notes in college. My Lenovo X230T, as well as my current Lenovo X1Y3 have digitizers as well, but I take far less notes now and don't use them quite as much.

The problem with a tablet first device is the setup when you're mobile. You need a stand a keyboard, and a mouse, and even then it's often difficult to use if you don't have a table-like surface to set the whole setup on. Things like using it on the bus, or on a set of stairs becomes, well, difficult. If you need/want that digitizer though, they're hard to beat.

In this case, I really think a name brand with global support is worth the extra cash to get. I haven't had the need (knock on wood) to use the warranty on my Lenovo's, but they're a global company that should be able to provide support in Brazil. I also really think you could get some mileage from an eGPU setup with a modest laptop.

 

[I_squared_r]

I'm thinking that I should bring my desktop and save money. The reality is that I never work mobile because my work requires a large monitor or dual monitor. And nothing beats the reliability and upgradability of a desktop. Also less chance of theft when traveling. I have a full size gaming tower so the idea is to move my components to a smaller tower that fits in a carry on, add 16gb ram, and 1tb ssd.

 

[2kwik4u]

I'm thinking that I should bring my desktop and save money. The reality is that I never work mobile because my work requires a large monitor or dual monitor. And nothing beats the reliability and upgradability of a desktop. Also less chance of theft when traveling. I have a full size gaming tower so the idea is to move my components to a smaller tower that fits in a carry on, add 16gb ram, and 1tb ssd.

I'm working from home today and my normal home setup is dismantled due to us doing some work in the basement. So I'm setup like this in the kitchen. It's not great, but it's getting at least SOME work done.

Giant 29in screen sitting on some wobbly tupperware. The laptop is a 4k screen at 125% scaling and the Giant screen is only 1080, so the transition when dragging windows isn't great. It'll get some work done for the day though.



The only benefit here is that all my settings and apps are all still working just fine. Aside from the screen real estate and wonky ergonomics of hte kitchen table, I've got everything I need to be productive.

 

[tabbibus]

sir, kudos to you for that empty inbox.

 

[adrianp89]

I hate those ThinkPads, next to useless machines lol.

 

[I_squared_r]

I know my workstation would make some of you with ocd get a cringe.

 

[adrianp89]

How do you make the forum with a black theme?

 

[I_squared_r]

How do you make the forum with a black theme?

Settings somewhere. I always change the backgrounds to a dark theme. Much easier on the eyes

 

[adrianp89]

Got it - this is so much better.

 

[2kwik4u]

sir, kudos to you for that empty inbox.

Thanks,

Again, a perk (curse) of OCD. Everything is labelled and filed away.

 

[2kwik4u]

I know my workstation would make some of you with ocd get a cringe.

View attachment 164073

Wires are in need of some grooming, but otherwise that's not bad.

What's that "fullsize" mousepad thing you have going on under the keyboard and mouse?

 

[2kwik4u]

I hate those ThinkPads, next to useless machines lol.

I know right, I can't get anything done on this thing. Not sure why I even carry it around. Wish I would get some Google Fit points for the extra exercise it causes me

 

[tabbibus]

Got it - this is so much better.

will it make "that thread" better? haha

 

[I_squared_r]

Wires are in need of some grooming, but otherwise that's not bad.

What's that "fullsize" mousepad thing you have going on under the keyboard and mouse?

It was on amazon "Jelly Comb Desk Pad 34"x23" Extended Large Gaming Mouse Pad with Kick Stand and Pen & Card Holders for Home Office and Gaming " but it doesnt seem to be available anymore. I've had it for 4 years and works great. More comfortable than the hard surface underneath

edit: also I let it hang over the edge of the desk where the corners were digging into my arms.

 

[I_squared_r]

I posted at another forum and didn’t get too much feedback. I’m thinking of taking the gtx1080 from my current pc, replacing it with a used gtx1060, then try to sell for $600. I’ll build this with the gtx1080:


Sliger SM550
2x Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM 25mm
gigabyte B550M MB
Ryzen 5 5800x (i will use the included fan)
Corsair Vengeance LPX 2x16gb
Samsung 970 Evo NVMe PCIe M.2 1TB
MSI GTX1080 8gb OC
Corsair SF600

I think it would cost me about $1100 after selling the old pc and the tower is small enough to fit in a backpack. The real upgrade would come from the SSD, 32gb memory, and processor. Modern nvme ssd’s have crazy performance.

 

[I_squared_r]

I changed some things. The new case (slightly larger) can fit a larger 240mm AIO cooler with a 2 slot GPU and still fits in a carry on bag. Im about $1000 in after selling the old PC. Its cheaper than a high end laptop, and absolutely outperforms with some overclocking.

Coolermaster NR200P Case
Gigabyte B550I
AMD Ryzen 7 5800x
Arctic Cooler AIO 240mm Cooler
G.Skill Ripjaws DDR-4000 C18 2x16GB
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB NVME M.2
MSI Geforce GTX1080 8GB OC Armor
Corsair SF600