A good workstation laptop?

[thinkingmonkey]

Hi All,

I am looking to buy a new laptop. Minimal gaming Use. Programming and for some business use.

Budget : 2000-2500 USD(can stretch to a $100 at the maximum)

Usage :
Mainly for programming (Java, web programming, DB programming, geo-data). I use eclipse extensively. Some photoshop use. I also run some Virtual machines, Virtual Devices. I also work on some big data at times, so, data processing.

So, I am looking at a portable work station

Currently I have my eyes on :

Lenovo ThinkPad W540(yet to be released):
Processor :
4th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-4900MQ (Up to 2.8GHz, 8MB L3, 1600MHz FSB)
OR
4th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-4930MX (Up to 3.0GHz, 8MB L3, 1600MHz FSB)
Display :
15.5" 3K (2880 x 1620) (300 NITS)
Graphics :
NVIDIA Quadro K2100M 2GB
Memory :
16gb
Storage :
256GB SSD
Optical Drive :
Blu Ray writer(would be nice)
Weight :
5.57 lbs
Price :
?

Dell Precision M4800:
Processor :
Intel® Core™ i7-4900MQ Processor (Quad Core 2.80GHz, 3.8GHz Turbo, 8MB 47W, w/HD Graphics 4600)
Display :
15.6" UltraSharp QHD+ (3200x1800) Wide View Anti-Glare LED-backlit
Graphics :
NVIDIA Quadro K2100M 2GB
Memory :
16gb
Storage :
256GB SSD
Optical Drive :
Blu Ray writer(would be nice)
Weight :
6.6 lbs
Price :
$3,590.43 and a 30% discount brings it down to : $2,513.30
Extra :
the review on this looks really good: Review Dell Precision M4800 Notebook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews


Planning on purchasing by next month first week.

Any suggestions between the above 2 models? And why?
Any other laptops in the same categories that you guys would suggest?
Also, any ideas release date of Lenovo W540?

TIA & Regards,
ThinkingMonkey

P.S. Currently, I use a desktop with config :
Processor : AMD Phenom II X6 1090T
Ram : Cosair 8GB DDR3(4x2)
MotherBoard : Asus m4a89gtd pro
PSU : Cosair 700w
Storage : Samsung 840 Pro 256 GB

 

[holden j caufield]

thinkpads are great. My family has bought them for their business for many years and they pretty much are the Hondas of laptops. That said, you may save yourself some money going with w530 or w520. I work with a ton of virtual machines and I have a few w520 that have served me well. It has the old school ergonomics, 32gb ram, up to 3 hard drives, fhd, and esata (which my w530 doesn't have).

 

[thinkingmonkey]

thinkpads are great. My family has bought them for their business for many years and they pretty much are the Hondas of laptops. That said, you may save yourself some money going with w530 or w520. I work with a ton of virtual machines and I have a few w520 that have served me well. It has the old school ergonomics, 32gb ram, up to 3 hard drives, fhd, and esata (which my w530 doesn't have).

Thanks for the input.

After some thought and looking at the specs and the discount that dell was offering went ahead with Dell Precision M4800 with the following specs.:

Intel Core i7-4900MQ Processor (Quad Core, 8M Cache, 2.8 GHz, w/HD Graphics 4600)
16GB (2x8GB)600MHz DDR3L
39.6cm (15.6") UltraSharp QHD+ (3200x1800) Wide View Anti-Glare LED-backlit Premium Panel Guarantee
NVIDIA Quadro K2100M w/2GB GDDR5
2.5 inch 500GB Solid State Hybrid Drive(Will be replacing this with the 256GB SSD I already own)
2X Blu-Ray Writer Tray Load
9-cell (97Wh) Lithium Ion battery with ExpressCharge
Dell Wireless550 2X2 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.0
Internal English Backlit Dual Pointing Keyboard

Smartcard Reader Base for QHD+ Panel and Windows 8
SWIPE Fingerprint Reader and Smart Card Reader (Contact and Contactless) Palmrest,Dell Precision M4800
Bezel cam/mic QHD+
Back cover QHD+ panel WiGig
Safety, Environment, and Regulatory Information (English)
Mobile Precision Configuration
Resource DVD not Included
180W AC Adapter
Dell Professional6" Business Case
Red Hat Linux Enterprise 6.4 English Year RHN
ProSupport 3 years: 7x24 Technical Support & Assistance, NBD, Global

 

[yhelothar]

I'm doing similar kind of work. I find building a desktop as a workstation and using remote desktop to access that workstation from a budget laptop to work very well for me. With FIOS pushing 30mbps upload, remote desktop is about as fast as accessing it natively. A desktop processor will be faster and the whole system will cost about a quarter of the price.

 

[thinkingmonkey]

I'm doing similar kind of work. I find building a desktop as a workstation and using remote desktop to access that workstation from a budget laptop to work very well for me. With FIOS pushing 30mbps upload, remote desktop is about as fast as accessing it natively. A desktop processor will be faster and the whole system will cost about a quarter of the price.

I agree about the desktop costing much lesser. But I needed a portable workstation. Hence the purchase. Also, I do not have access to good internet connections here .

 

[Fox5]

Why are you doing workstation laptops? Just get a consumer laptop.

The new Dell XPS 15 has the same specs as that Dell you posted, but it's cheaper.

 

[tynopik]

does the screen matter that much? I mean can you just hook external monitors up to it usually and then just get by with whatever on the road?

also the quadros are most likely a waste for what you're (not) doing

 

[thinkingmonkey]

does the screen matter that much? I mean can you just hook external monitors up to it usually and then just get by with whatever on the road?

also the quadros are most likely a waste for what you're (not) doing

I agree with you on the screen.

Quadro 2100M was just to ensure I have a good graphics card for gaming if the need be. I was an avid gamer.

 

[TerryMathews]

Why aren't there any HP EliteBooks on the list? They are tanks!

ETA: If you're specifically looking for ultra high res, I guess HP doesn't offer that.

 

[holden j caufield]

I've used a bunch of business line laptops and I've administered them in the past. In terms of quality, support, user forum support. It's Thinkpads my a long shot. For some reason the thinkpad forums are filled with very knowledgeable IT gurus, engineers etc. They have figured out a lot of things before ibm/lenovo (and they are a billion dollar company) even figured them out.

Thinkpads ->>>>>>>>>> Tecras ->> Latitudes -> Elitebooks/Probooks