More Laptop Dithering

[JavaBrewer]

JYL, I had the same sorts of questions when my son Zack studied engineering. From my experience the incoming freshman won't be working with hard hitting programs/files from the start. Half or more of their workload will be G.E. courses required for a 4 year. I would send him to school with what he currently has, or something pretty basic but functional, and let him absorb the program and ask the Junior/Senior folks in the program what they use. Zack studied aeronautical engineering at ISU and frankly most of the computer intensive work was done in labs that were all kitted out with needed hardware. I'm fairly skeptical that college undergrad students are going to be messing around with file sizes that challenge a typical mid range performance computer. YMMV.

My son went with a 3 year old MacBook pro 13", easy to carry around the campus and enough to run programs he used. Reality is that for lots of current college work students use Google Drive or similar drop box setup to share files and/or submit coursework for grading to professors.

[bleucamaro]

A 17" screen is overkill. Go with the 15".

Justification: I recently was in the market for a laptop and thought I NEEDED a 17". Largely because I wanted the 10 key with the keyboard. I'm taking some graduate classes and bringing the 15" I went with (Dell XPS9575) is nearly too bulky. We sit at work tables of 5-6 students and laptop plus notebook plus textbook gets really crowded.

Get the 15" and a docking station for the dorm.

Other specs, SSD is the way to go. For more storage USB-C or thunderbolt external drive.
Also, shop for something where the RAM is either upgradeable or maxed.

[Geronimo]

You don't need a workstation for Autocad or Rhino or PS, That being said Used ebay workstation DELL's are an amazing deal for a very durable computer.

SSD is a must, a 2nd large HD is nice, most any good video card, even gaming cards will eat most 3d/2d graphic software.

I like 15" for portability and a large monitor for when I need to get to work.

[Shifter]

I have a P52 as my work laptop. It is a tank, you feel it when you are carrying it around. Battery life is pretty good, three hours if I am not beating on it too hard. But, and it is a huge but, the power supply is 170w, weighs over a pound and is almost the size of an actual brick.

https://www.lenovo.com/ca/en/accessories-and-monitors/chargers-and-batteries/chargers/PWR-ADP-BO-TP-170W-AC-Adapter-slim-tip/p/4X20E50574

However, the screen is good, and the 10 key is really nice. The thunderbolt docking solution is terrible, I would avoid it if you can.

[A930Rocket]

Our son went to school with his used MacBook Pro for the first two years. Then built a monster PC for the heavy lifting in his dorm room the last two years.

[jyl]

Originally Posted by Shifter

I have a P52 as my work laptop. It is a tank, you feel it when you are carrying it around. Battery life is pretty good, three hours if I am not beating on it too hard. But, and it is a huge but, the power supply is 170w, weighs over a pound and is almost the size of an actual brick.

https://www.lenovo.com/ca/en/accessories-and-monitors/chargers-and-batteries/chargers/PWR-ADP-BO-TP-170W-AC-Adapter-slim-tip/p/4X20E50574

However, the screen is good, and the 10 key is really nice. The thunderbolt docking solution is terrible, I would avoid it if you can.

Hmm, 3 hours battery life would be pretty inconvenient for him on campus. I'm reading the 4K screen hurts battery life, do you have that or the standard screen. That charger is ridiculous!

Have you found an alternative to the Thunderbolt docking station? Seems a docking station of some sort is needed to conveniently use external monitors?

[Shifter]

I have the standard screen. I just finished charging it, and if I drop it to best battery savings, it goes up to six hours. I can't run sql server and few other things I usually do, but I can do the basics.

The laptop does have a hdmi port and a mini display port, not sure if you can use them at the same time, but that would give some output. There are two thunderbolt ports also, so there might be a passive aftermarket dock, I haven't looked. The lenovo thunderbolt dock not only uses the 170w brick, it also needs another 85 or 95w supply plugged in also.

Overall, this is a nice laptop, a great desktop replacement if you only need to move occasionally. I can tell you I am tired of dragging this thing through airports. You are not sneaking this through customs. I wouldn't want to daily lug this thing.

How about getting him a lightweight laptop and then a more powerful desktop/laptop that stays in his room? When he is in class, he just remotes into the machine in his room, does whatever he needs to do, and if something happens to the lightweight laptop, he doesn't lose anything because it is all on the machine in his room.

[jyl]

Ok, the lighter laptop now + later a desktop makes sense. Ordered the P1 with the highest CPU and GPU choices (i7 6-core 2.60GHz and Quadro P2000 4GB), 32GB RAM/other slot empty, 512GB SSD/other slot empty, standard screen. I figure if he stays in architecture this plus a large external monitor can serve him for awhile, there's still upgrade headroom for RAM (to 32GB + 32GB) and SSD (to 512GB + 1TB), and we can add a desktop workstation in 2 years if needed. If he changes fields then who knows. Just a bit over $2K, before I added on-site repair and spill/fall insurance (because, college kid). Thanks everyone for the help!

Edit: well, I tried to. My online purchase didn't go through. Trying again today

Edit: Not sure why it takes 5 online attempts, 3 chats, and a phone call w/ Lenovo to buy a laptop through their online site. There is a reason why Amazon is taking over retail, and its called being competent.

[Bill Douglas]

Sounds great! Lots of processing power.

[RWebb]

https://www.pcworld.com/article/3430678/you-can-finally-buy-a-10th-gen-laptop-dells-xps-13-2-in-1-hits-the-shelves.html


-that is a brutal major too... does he know that?

[jyl]

Originally Posted by RWebb

https://www.pcworld.com/article/3430678/you-can-finally-buy-a-10th-gen-laptop-dells-xps-13-2-in-1-hits-the-shelves.html


-that is a brutal major too... does he know that?

He's been told many times, including by the fifth year UO architecture student currently living with us. Not sure he's hearing it.

But - I've also told him repeatedly the realities of modern development are that the architect often has little control over the major features of the project, and is stuck putting cheap lipstick on a pig. I've told him to do a business minor and intern a couple summers in a real estate development firm, so that he can at least learn the developers' language and mindset, and potentially be more of a design-build type. Didn't think he was hearing that either. To my surprise, for his elective in his first term, he chose Introduction to Business.

[Alan A]

Get a MacBook Air for reports and carrying around and a desktop with a real monitor for the heavy lifting.

[jyl]

He's got an old Air - the 11" - for other classes!

[RWebb]

it's good that he took some of your advice instead of relying entirely on his peer group

maybe he can find some 3rd, 4th, 5th yr. Arch. students to talk to about the laptop and the career

- there are tons of busted Arch. majors around town, also unemployed grads. AND there are 2 employed ones on my block, plus an employed one who had a 911 in town

I may be able to get an Emeritus Professor to talk to him - LMK - I usually see him on Friday afternoons while drinking truth serum