Originally posted by chef
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Reply to: New laptop, Dell XPS 15z?
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Previously on "New laptop, Dell XPS 15z?"
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Originally posted by Bunk View PostI think the main reason you don't see Blu-ray on many laptops is that the benefit is pretty negligible on small screens. It's just not worth the extra cost (and possibly size and weight) for most people. I had one on my Dell XPS M1530 a few years ago but when that gave up I wasn't too bothered about having it on my new laptop.
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Originally posted by Spacecadet View PostI am planning to upgrade though as for me having an extra couple of cores plus a wedge of extra ram and a third hard disk does make sense for running VM's and SQL Server processes.
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I think the main reason you don't see Blu-ray on many laptops is that the benefit is pretty negligible on small screens. It's just not worth the extra cost (and possibly size and weight) for most people. I had one on my Dell XPS M1530 a few years ago but when that gave up I wasn't too bothered about having it on my new laptop.
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Originally posted by VectraMan View PostI can't help feeling all this multi-core stuff is a bit of a scam. It's really not that beneficial for the typical task that the typical user does, yet many people are still on the old upgrade every couple of years treadmill convinced that multiple cores represents a significant upgrade. Especially when you consider the ability of modern processors to overclock a single core and boost performance of a single-threaded app.
I am planning to upgrade though as for me having an extra couple of cores plus a wedge of extra ram and a third hard disk does make sense for running VM's and SQL Server processes.
Lots of developers are going for VM's these days. It makes for a much better development experience and seperates "normal" computing from tasks which have the possibility of buggering up your system or need a different OS to run
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Originally posted by VectraMan View PostI can't help feeling all this multi-core stuff is a bit of a scam. It's really not that beneficial for the typical task that the typical user does, yet many people are still on the old upgrade every couple of years treadmill convinced that multiple cores represents a significant upgrade. Especially when you consider the ability of modern processors to overclock a single core and boost performance of a single-threaded app.
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Originally posted by chef View PostAlso a good choice ticks all the boxes with a very good speed and just 2.6kg but no blu-ray
I've had an X300 for a few years and IIRC at the time it was marketed as outdoing the Macbook Air. Came standard with SSD. Also has a DVD writer, so newer ones should have a blu-ray option.
You no longer need to settle for a heavy bulky laptop unless it has to be super-beefy in processing, storage, or graphics, or all three.
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Originally posted by chef View Postintial laptop circa £1300
8Gb ram upgrade £280
256SSD £350
TOTAL £1930
I agree a current top spec desktop replacement has everything but I very much want to reduce weight mainly but not compromise on spec and if I'm going to spend £2k and have the thing for 3 years then I would expect it to have blu-ray.
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Originally posted by chef View PostAlso a good choice ticks all the boxes with a very good speed and just 2.6kg but no blu-ray
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Originally posted by Spacecadet View PostProcessor Speeds are reaching a limit, it's all about multiple cores and lots of fast access memory now. I'll see if i can dig out the graph
This also means that crap programming can no longer be fixed by throwing more hardware at it. Chances are, it will still run like a dog!
The aforementioned Lenovo looks quite good. I hate the way so many laptops are going for 16:9 shiny screens (16:10 is better), and even worse are suddenly all adding number pads. I'd love to know who all the people are that want these. I'd like to upgrade my three-year old Dell Latitude, but despite all the newer laptops being thinner, lighter, more powerful etc., they don't seem to have as good a screen or keyboard as what I already have.
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Originally posted by doodab View PostHow much did you spend though? Include the cost of the SSD and extra RAM you added after you bought it.
A current top spec desktop replacement has a quad core CPU with hyperthreading, 16-32GB maximum RAM, 2GB graphics memory, full HD screen and probably longer battery life. You can fit a 600GB SSD if you want as well, though you'll have to buy that yourself I think.
8Gb ram upgrade £280
256SSD £350
TOTAL £1930
I agree a current top spec desktop replacement has everything but I very much want to reduce weight mainly but not compromise on spec and if I'm going to spend £2k and have the thing for 3 years then I would expect it to have blu-ray.
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Originally posted by chef View PostEDIT: and given the graphics, audio and 2 hard disks, i don't expect the battery life to be so good
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Originally posted by chef View PostI assumed that given my spec right now of:
256Gb SSD
8Gb RAM
15.6" Screen
4kg weight
DVD Writer
Webcam
3.06Ghz CPU
HDMI out via Display Port
that nearly 3 years later there should be something out there that would improve my current workhorse noticeably. It seems that I can shave 1kg off the weight or lose screen size and gain a blu-ray but speed hasn't changed so much and both options come at the cost of 1.5k+
A current top spec desktop replacement has a quad core CPU with hyperthreading, 16-32GB maximum RAM, 2GB graphics memory, full HD screen and probably longer battery life. You can fit a 600GB SSD if you want as well, though you'll have to buy that yourself I think.
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