15" workstation / gaming notebook recommendations

[Wuzup101]

Hey all, just got word that I'll be traveling back and fourth for the next 18 months or so for work to support the upstart of a new facility (I'm a consultant). I bought a new laptop at the beginning of my last project in Feb 2012, but it's getting a bit long in the tooth. I currently have a dell Latitude e6220 w/ an i5-2520m (2.5ghz dual core sandy), 4gb of memory, and a samsung 830 256gb ssd that I installed after purchase. At the time I thought I'd want something more portable, but I've grown to learn that this 12.5" wxga display simply isn't enough size or resolution to do what I need to do (a large part of my work is authoring technical documents and I often need to have several hundred pages of word documents open at once across 4-6 files). In any case, I'm looking to buy a new system and ideally want the following:

- Quad core Haswell or Broadwell processor
- Mid level or higher discrete GPU (I'd like to be able to play some games here and there)
- 16gb of memory available (really doesn't ever seem to be an issue in machines with the 2 above)
- Relatively thin / light package (obviously I understand you only get so thin and light with a quad + dGPU). I don't plan to take this to the coffee shop daily, but it'll probably be in my carry-on at the airport every other week.
- Good to Great keyboard (I'll spend a lot of time using it)
- Good to Great screen (ideally IPS / PLS / etc...)
- HD resolution (I'd like straight up 1080p or 1920x1200). I don't need to deal with the scaling issues associated with 3k and 4k in windows (3k might be okay in a 15.6). Also considering the rMPB but scaling in OSX seems to be much better from what I've seen.
- 14-15.6" screen size.... touch isn't important at all to me
- Method to output to a pair of 1920x1200 displays
- Extra m.2 slots are nice (I don't do anything that requires super high IO speed so PCIe based m.2 slots aren't critical)
- More battery life is always better, but not a major factor in my buying decision.
- Max budget is $2500, really just because I can't see myself buying anything more expensive than a rMPB 15" (with dGPU). Ideally, I'd like to keep it under 2 grand.

I've only just started my research, but so far I'm looking at

- MSI GS60 Ghost Pro (specifically the i7-4710HQ/16GB/970m 6gb/1080p) model (-064) and the i7-5700HQ/16gb/970m 3gb/1080p) model (-606)
- Asus ZenBook UX501JW-DS71T (4720HQ/16gb/960m 2gb/4k display)
- Would go with a XPS 15 if the infinity display was carried over... kinda expensive when you get into the more detailed HDD+battery configurations as it is
- Aorus X3+ V3 (i7 4710/16gb/970m 6gb/13.9" QHD+ matte)
- Maybe an HP Omen (kinda seems meeh price for the same quad an a 860m)
- 15" rMBP (I've had mac laptops before, and while I like apple, I'm kinda thinking I'd rather have windows based machine).

Any thoughts about those machines would be great, and of course I'm looking for other recommendations. At the current moment I'm leaning towards the GS60 Ghost Pro and just swapping in a largest m.2 SSD (vs the 128mb SSD / 1TB spinner combo stock config). I need to have the machine in about 2-3 weeks (sooner is better). Have the broadwell quads started shipping yet?

 

[fralexandr]

yep the i7 5700hq is available in some gaming notebooks.

notebookcheck has quite a few laptop reviews; you can search for models you're interested and see if they turn up.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Laptop...lan=&os_type=&tag_type=&nbcReviews=&orderby=0
This search is set up for laptops with high end graphics cards

In your price range you can afford a razer blade (14") or gigabyte p-series laptop (various sizes). If weight and portability still factor in, those are some of the thinner/lighter notebooks sporting a beefy gpu.
http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems#laptop

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/list.aspx?s=46&p=55&v=12&ck=5#1;400,401@401|1,3@4

cyberpower has some customizable broadwell offerings
https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/category/notebook

 

[Commodus]

I'd be very tempted to get the 15-inch MacBook Pro, if just because it scratches a lot of those itches... particularly the portability, keyboard and screen. It's still baffling to me how many Windows laptops can't get the keyboard right, and how Microsoft still hasn't figured out high-DPI scaling while Apple got it right on day one.

What software do you need and want? That'll dictate your options to an extent. The MBP is sweet if you can use cross-platform or Mac-only software (Office 2016 Preview is surprisingly good!), but as I tell a lot of folks: if you're primarily going to be using Windows software, get a Windows system.

 

[saratoga172]

Two that come to mind with those requirements:

rMBP 15
Dell Precision M3800 (I use this one myself)

Dell is also refreshing their XPS 15 line with the updated infinity display they have on the 13's. Not sure when they're due out but I've seen one and they're pretty slick. Haven't looked into dgpu options on them.

 

[Wuzup101]

Thanks for the advice all, I'll check out those additional systems. I do like the XPS 15 / m3800 and I have looked into those systems. If the XPS 15 with the infinity display was available now, I'd probably buy that. My only issue with the XPS 15 / m3800 as it currently stands is that when you start configuring them with the 91w battery and a m.2 SSD, they jump up in price real fast. They also are still using a Nvidia GT 750m. The Zenbook UX501 has basically the same specs as the XPS 15 except it has a 960m instead of a 750m, and the Zenbook can't be configured with an extended capacity battery... but it's also $1500 on amazon vs $2550 for the top XPS 15 config on the dell site (not including any Dell coupons to bring that down). With that being said, the XPS 15 / m3800 are among my favorite PC laptop designs. I'm just not sure that I can justify one of those over a 15" rMBP. A refreshed broadwell one with the infinity display and a nvidia 9xx series gpu... yeah that I could get behind.

In regards to applications, I could get by doing my office work on a Mac just fine (it actually would be a pretty good fit). I don't have to use any specialized software at all - just office tasks with a lot of stuff open. That being said, I don't really want to dual boot, and I've already played the 6 games available on MAC, and spending that much money on a rMBP and not being able to play some games makes me cringe lol. I use my computer enough to easily justify it though... and I suppose I could just play a bunch of starcraft2 / Diablo3.

 

[CodeGunnerDev]

This is just my opinion I would go with the MSI GS60 myself. You won't be able to upgrade the processor because it is soldered on, but you would be able to upgrade the GPU since it is the Maxwell architecture model. MSI also gives you 1 year accidental damage and 2-year parts&labor general warranty. I have friends that have the Ghost Pro and they enjoy it and I have a GE70(Pre Apache moniker) that I have and enjoy and am getting a GT72 Dominator Pro as well as several accessories(ASUS wireless router, Mobile Edge Backpack, Razer gaming headset, and a Razer gaming mouse) as payment for the website and the mobile app that I built for them. I've dealt with MSI support personally and while I'm not happy with the lack of communication on their part I do respect the quality of their work which is more than I can say about ASUS, DELL, and HP. As far as Apple goes you can buy a top of the line MSI GT72 Dominator Pro for the price of a Apple MBP with Retina Display. One of the things I will say about the Apple though is the ability to take it into your local Apple Retail Store and get it serviced and fixed without the hassle of shipping it into Apple. Also the AppleCare Protection Plan is a must if you get it.
CGD

 

[Wuzup101]

So I ended up buying a 15" MBP. Adorama currently has the 15" high end model from the last generation (the mid 2014 one) for $1800 after a $200 rebate (and no tax as I don't live in NY/NJ). That is the one I had previously been looking at anyway, and is like $450 better than any offers I saw on it previously (before the refresh was announced) and $700 better than the Apple MSRP. Compared to the refreshed model, it is only missing the 4x PCI-E drive (but has a 2x PCI-E drive of the same size), the updated GPU (750m vs M370x - neither are really going to let me play games), and the force touch track pad (which I'm sure is cool). I'll also likely get a little less in the battery life department.

I was leaning towards the 15" MBP, but the nice "deal" (if you can call $1800 for a notebook a deal), pushed me to it. I did take the time to hit up a few local big box stores to check out keyboards and build quality. The keyboard on the MBP is great, but I also found the one on the HP omen to be pretty good (and the large track pad on the omen was nice). I didn't get to see the UX501 zenbook in person, but I read too many articles that criticized the super glossy 4k display as being hard to use around even indoor light sources. I wasn't impressed by the keyboards / track pads that the smaller zenbooks had (but I'm just assuming that the 501 is similar). I loved the keyboard on the thinkpad yoga that Best Buy had when I visited, but the rest of the machine couldn't be configured to my needs. The trackpad was also pretty good, but a second demo machine showed that it can get very wobbly with time (and being in a best buy store lol). I couldn't seem to configure a thinkpad with a quad core haswell/broadwell on their website. Lenovo's website gets more confusing every single time I visit it (didn't there used to be a "p" version of the T series with a quad in it).

I wanted to love the Ghost Pro. It ticked most of my boxes, but in the end I decided that I needed a bit more battery life, that I had a tower to game on, and that I didn't want to buy something with an unknown (to me) keyboard/track pad. I also would have had to spend an additional $200 or so to swap out the 128gig SSD for a more suitable 500+/- gb sized SSD.