Reply to: Best Top End Windows Laptop

[Snarf]

Yeah, this'd be close to my choice but that means running Windows in a VM, which I've heard works really well but am loath to recommend it to the friend who asked me this question. He'll be running CAD/CAM stuff. When I need a new laptop I'll go the Apple route myself and see what happens.

You dont need to run windows in a VM, you can use bootcamp to run it directly on the apple hardware... but if your going to do that then I'd question if its worth paying the "Apple Tax" just to have the hardware and run windows... for the same price you can have a thinkpad x1 Carbon...
For half the price you can get a lenovo yoga 3 pro (I know it doesn't meet your RAM requirements but then again neither does the mac)

[Sysman]

Yeah, this'd be close to my choice but that means running Windows in a VM, which I've heard works really well but am loath to recommend it to the friend who asked me this question. He'll be running CAD/CAM stuff. When I need a new laptop I'll go the Apple route myself and see what happens.

I've come across folks who have simply wiped OS X and installed Windows instead.

Here we go: MacBook Pro declared 'best-performing' Windows laptop

Perhaps a bit more work to get there but probably worth it.

Soluto did list the disadvantages of running Windows on a Mac, including that it's more work to set up Windows on a Mac and there may be driver issues.

[Platypus]

Exactly what i would recommend

Sounds like a good recommendation, except that I'm concerned that this will be too technical for the non-techy I'm intending to make my recommendation to.

But thanks.

[Boney M]

It doesn't have to be on a VM, with boot camp you have a dual boot scenario to pick between Windows and OS 10. You will not find a better build quality and the screen/resolution is one of the best. If you can afford it - go for it.

Exactly what i would recommend

[BlueSharp]

Yeah, this'd be close to my choice but that means running Windows in a VM, which I've heard works really well but am loath to recommend it to the friend who asked me this question. He'll be running CAD/CAM stuff. When I need a new laptop I'll go the Apple route myself and see what happens.

When I was looking for 8GB RAM, decent Processor and Solid State drive of 256GB the Mac Book Pro worked out about £300 CHEAPER then windows machines with similar spec (minus the DVD drive) but much better battery life.. This was last year. Use Bootcamp and you can boot straight into windows.

[kevpuk]

As others have alluded to, gaming laptops can be the choice here.
I bought a Gigabyte P35k 18 months back, costing just under £1,500, and have used as my daily work machine with current client. Technically fits ultrabook dimensions et al., i7 quad, 16gb ram, 2x SSD, 1TB HDD, 765GTX gfx, bluray burner and so on....all in a nice shell, mostly metal, and slim/not too heavy

Naturally, had to buy a Surface Pro 3 (i7) t'other day too....need to find a 'proper' use for it, although MyCo defined it as a simply essential purchase

[sal]

Yeah, this'd be close to my choice but that means running Windows in a VM, which I've heard works really well but am loath to recommend it to the friend who asked me this question. He'll be running CAD/CAM stuff. When I need a new laptop I'll go the Apple route myself and see what happens.

It doesn't have to be on a VM, with boot camp you have a dual boot scenario to pick between Windows and OS 10. You will not find a better build quality and the screen/resolution is one of the best. If you can afford it - go for it.

[eek]

Yeah, this'd be close to my choice but that means running Windows in a VM, which I've heard works really well but am loath to recommend it to the friend who asked me this question. He'll be running CAD/CAM stuff. When I need a new laptop I'll go the Apple route myself and see what happens.

until you said CAD I just thought boot camp and boot directly into windows. My issue would be using a trackpad without a right "mouse" button

[Platypus]

"15 MacBook Pro retina top model is exactly £1999

Yeah, this'd be close to my choice but that means running Windows in a VM, which I've heard works really well but am loath to recommend it to the friend who asked me this question. He'll be running CAD/CAM stuff. When I need a new laptop I'll go the Apple route myself and see what happens.

[cosmos]

Have you ever used it for CPU heavy work? I theory it have core i7 in reality due to the "brilliant" no fan design it will overheat after 20min and throttle the CPU to death.

Yes, I've used it for some pretty intensive including Visual Studio compilations. Never had any problems with heat or CPU throttling

[MicrosoftBob]

Have you ever used it for CPU heavy work? I theory it have core i7 in reality due to the "brilliant" no fan design it will overheat after 20min and throttle the CPU to death.

I've only got an i5 one,but I've managed to play Battlefield 4 for hours using it's integrated graphics card, and that normally shows any overheating issues.

It got noisier but didn't get hot

[eek]

While it wont have 16Gb Ram, the Surface Pro 3 (plus dock) is an amazing device. The i7 is super fast and it'll handle pretty much anything you can throw at it. You could even squeeze in a 4k monitor within your budget and have a lovely set up (as do I now).

Do you need a desk or can you work on your lap?

[sal]

While it wont have 16Gb Ram, the Surface Pro 3 (plus dock) is an amazing device. The i7 is super fast and it'll handle pretty much anything you can throw at it. You could even squeeze in a 4k monitor within your budget and have a lovely set up (as do I now).

Have you ever used it for CPU heavy work? I theory it have core i7 in reality due to the "brilliant" no fan design it will overheat after 20min and throttle the CPU to death.

[MicrosoftBob]

While it wont have 16Gb Ram, the Surface Pro 3 (plus dock) is an amazing device. The i7 is super fast and it'll handle pretty much anything you can throw at it. You could even squeeze in a 4k monitor within your budget and have a lovely set up (as do I now).

And it ways almost nothing, and boots up and shuts down in a second, great for sitting on a train and coding

Just factor in another £100 for a decent keyboard

[cosmos]

While it wont have 16Gb Ram, the Surface Pro 3 (plus dock) is an amazing device. The i7 is super fast and it'll handle pretty much anything you can throw at it. You could even squeeze in a 4k monitor within your budget and have a lovely set up (as do I now).