My uncle's work has authorized him to spend up to $3500 on a new laptop or tablet for himself, he is looking for recommendations on what to buy.
He says he is a microsoft guy who will need office for all his work, but would also like to play video games while he's on airplanes. He hasn't provided anything more than that. I can ask him for more information if that's necessary, but if anybody has recommendations, they would be greatly appreciated.
I think most laptops are junk compared to PCs, but if I needed one for work/games?
Quick check on Amazon.com and I see ..... yup,
endless junk.
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_st_review-rank?keywords=laptop&fst=as
ff&rh=n:172282,n:541966,n:13896617011,n:565108,k:laptop,p_n_size_browse-bin:7817234011,p_n_feature_four_browse-bin:2289792011&qid=1547175013&sort=review-rank
Then I check
Alienware for the best hardware,
but it all cost too much!
https://www.dell.com/en-us/gaming/alienware-laptops?~ck=mn
First, I'd want a Solid State Drive because laptops are unbearably slow with mechanical drives.
I like programs to open instantly and Windows to load up in under 10 seconds from start!
Firecuda is a good compromise hybrid drive, but with $$$ available just get a big SSD.
The latest is the nvme SSD's which are even faster than older SATA SSD's.
Samsung Evo 970 is great.
Not as fast as the best which is Intel Optane 905P, but still pretty good.
So I'd definitely try to get the 970 Evo and not the 860 Evo.
https://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compa...2-1TB-vs-Samsung-860-Evo-1TB/m494791vsm423831
Windows 10 Pro because it has a lot of security features and convenience stuff for business.
17 inch monitor because 15 inch monitor for games is for the dogs.
The battery life is going to be crap with a good graphics card and 17 inch monitor, but there is no solution for that right?
Battery: Li-polymer Battery, 4 cells (4s1p 4100mAh)
62.32wh
Ugh, maybe 15 inch monitor if most of the gaming is on airplanes so it will last the whole flight, but I can't stand tiny monitors.
I'd probably buy something like this one with custom options. (woo, 144Hz monitor)
Added Windows 10 pro, gskill ripjaws because bad ram ruins your week, 970Evo 1TB (enough hard drive space at blazing speed, 240GB WD Green SSD is a $40 joke)
Maybe click a few more boxes for more warranty stuff, sound card, 2nd hard drive?, etc.
Is an optical drive required (dvd/blu-ray)? Most laptops no longer have them internally and the
external optical drives are sold separately.
From
Cyberpowerpc
https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Tracer-III-17-Xtreme-VR-300
Tracer III 17 Xtreme VR 300
$1546
Operating System: Windows 10 Pro (64-bit Edition)
Winter Featured Promotions: None
Laptop: Tracer III 17 Xtreme 17.3" FHD (1920 x 1080) 144Hz IPS Anti-Glare Displays LCD w/ RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, HDMI 2.0, mini Dp, USB 3.1 Type C [NB-408-122]
Laptop Color: Tracer III 17 Xtreme Cover
CPU: Intel® Core™ Processor i7-8750H 2.20GHz Turbo 4.10GHz 9MB Cache Processor (Coffee Lake)
Freebie of Processor: Get Call of Duty Black Ops 4 Game and More
Motherboard: Intel® HM370 Chipset
RAM / System Memory: 16GB (8GBx2) DDR4/2666MHz SODIMM Memory (Performance Memory by Major Brands)
Video Card: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti 4GB GDDR5 (INCLUDED)
Freebie of Video Card: None
Video Capture Card: None
M.2 SSD: 1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD - Seq R/W: Up to 3500/2500 MB/s, Rnd R/W up to 500/450k (Single Drive)
Primary Hard Drive: None
External Storage: None
External Optical Drive: None
Internal Wireless Network Card: Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 9650 802.11ac + Bluetooth 5
Sound: Build in Realtek ALC269Q
WiDi Router: None
Monitor: None
Projector: None
Cables: None
Speakers: Built-in 2W stereo speakers x 2, 2W subwoofer x 1
Internal Network Card: Gigabit LAN Supports 10/100/1000 Mb/Sec
Keyboard: Fully Programmable RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
Mouse: Clickpad 104X72mm, PS2 support
Mouse Pad: None
Headset: None
Microphone: None
Gaming Apparel: None
Gaming Gear: None
External Wireless Network Card: None
Wireless Routers/Hubs: None
Bluetooth: Built-in Bluetooth
Flash Media Reader/Writer: 2 in 1 Card reader connector type -Support MMC/SD/SDHC/SDXC card
Battery: Li-polymer Battery, 4 cells (4s1p 4100mAh) 62.32wh
Carrying Bag: None
AC Adapter: Power Adapter 180W
Video Camera: HD webcam with D-MIC*1
Power & Surge Protection: None
USB Port: USB 3.1 (Gen1) X 2, USB 2.0 x1, USB type C 3.1X 1 (Gen1)
Operating System: Windows 10 Pro (64-bit Edition)
Service: STANDARD WARRANTY: 1-Year Limited WARRANTY and Life-Time Technical Support
Additional Warranty: None
Rush Service: Standard processing time: ship within 12 to 15 Business Days
The 970 evo is around $250 on Amazon and this laptop maker wants $320 to put it in, so might save $70 if you are comfortable putting it in yourself.
Competitors offer GTX 1060 which is 50% better than 1050 Ti and they use the same power I think.
The graphics card on this custom laptop is the only thing that is a red flag for me, the 1060 is my minimum graphics card for a laptop.
Also a tiny ding since Cyber Power laptops are assembled in China, so using it for business would give me a tiny bit of unease if the business has major IP properties or national security concerns.
https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/forum/good-laptop-specs_topic52607.html
Might wait until Cyberpowerpc updates their video card cycle in 2019 and ditches the 1050 Ti graphics card.
