Choosing a High Performance Laptop for Poly

[Icterine]

Hi, i've just enrolled into poly. Currently looking for a suitable high performance laptop. Budget is about $1.5k~2.5k.

The software that i will be using is Revit.

Here are my school's minimum requirements:
-Runs Windows 10
(Mac is Strictly Not Allowed)
-16GB of DDR4 Ram
-2GB of Discrete DDR5 VRAM

Here are my preferred specs:
-Quad Core i7 CPU
-16GB DDR4 Ram (If 8GB, it must be easily Upgradable to 16GB)
-2GB or 4GB of Discrete DDR5 GPU
-512GB SSD or 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD
-14"/15.6" 1080p IPS Display
(Borderless Display Preferred)
-Weighs not more than 2KG (1.5~1.8KG)
-10 Hours Battery Life

I narrowed down to 2 laptops but i'm unable to choose between them.

Dell XPS 15 4K (9560)
-Quad Core i7-7700HQ 2.8GHz
-16GB DDR4 Ram
-4GB GTX 1050 DDR5
-512GB SSD
-15.6" Borderless 4K IPS Touch Display
-2KG
-7 Hours Battery Life

Lenovo Ideapad 720s (14-IKBR)
-Quad Core i7-8550U 1.8GHz
-16GB DDR4 Ram
-2GB GeForce MX150 DDR5
-512GB SSD
-14" Borderless 1080p IPS Non-Touch Display
-1.55KG
-14 Hours Battery Life

The XPS 15 is of course a powerhouse but the battery life is a little short, but is expected for a 4K Display. I might encounter scalling issues too. Sadly, Dell SG do not offer 1080p 97WH models.

I do not know whether the 8550U processor of the Lenovo 720s can hold up CAD stuff which is CPU intensive. Is the MX150 sufficient for these work? I'm also concern if it will overheat due to smaller fans in the body. Not to mention that there is no HDMI Port & SD Card Slot which mean i will have to live a dongle life. However, the compactness, lightness and long battery life (14 hours!) will be very useful for me.

Lastly, is a 14" screen too small for Revit work? Will getting a 15.6" screen over the 14" make a huge difference?

Many thanks.

 

[Icterine]

On a side note, anyone know what's the best price of the XPS 15 & where to get it? I understand it's $2560 on last year's COMEX show. (Sept 2017) Anyone got it at a cheaper price than this? Do i have to wait till IT Show 2018 to get a good price?

 

[Ark Law]

Can also consider Precision 5520. Same as XPS 9560 except that it has Quadro M1200 and it should come with 3yrs ProSupport instead of the 1yr "Premium" Support on the XPS.

Call Dell sales direct and get them to send you prices for the series you're interested in. Direct sales price can be cheaper than their website price, especially so for business class laptops.

 

[86technie]

Can also consider Precision 5520. Same as XPS 9560 except that it has Quadro M1200 and it should come with 3yrs ProSupport instead of the 1yr "Premium" Support on the XPS.

Call Dell sales direct and get them to send you prices for the series you're interested in. Direct sales price can be cheaper than their website price, especially so for business class laptops.

I also agree with your suggestion get a precision instead.
CAD application usually have to use ISV certified graphics
Like Firepro/Quadro.

Geforce/Radeon is more for gaming than CAD drawing.
When asking for quote, ask for Edu pricing which is cheaper.
Can look at Dell Precision or Lenovo Thinkpad P series.

 

[Icterine]

Thanks guys, never heard of Precision 5520 before. Just checked it out, it so happened to be the perfect laptop i've been looking for. A 7700HQ XPS 15 body, 1080p screen, 97whr battery and with the quadro graphics card!

 

[Intrinion]

Between the 2, get the XPS. Can never emphasise the need for a good graphics card with high graphical memory and a powerful processor.
If possible, an NVIDIA Quadro or AMD FirePro is preferred as their drivers are catered to Industrial used softwares. Especially when you will be using softwares like Revit, Cad and opening up / drafting possible very huge files.

Renderings are sometimes cpu or gpu based.
Some are cloud based - via Autodesk cloud