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Sadly I can't get too interested in a machine like this. What I want in a work machine is the following: 1) 16GB RAM (or more) 2) High density display 3) SSD d

Sadly I can't get too interested in a machine like this. What I want in a work machine is the following: 1) 16GB RAM (or more) 2) High density display 3) SSD drive 4) Quad core or better CPU 5) Small and thin 6) Discrete NVIDIA GPU (not the Intel integrated crap) Apple's MBP is the only machine I know of that fits this bill. I'm becoming less and less a fan of OSX, but you can't argue against the hardware. Can anyone point me to a non-Apple machine that does these things? EDIT: Thanks for the pointers! I'll look into the Dell and Lenovo machines mentioned here. It's been a year or so since I've looked for machines comparable to my older MBP, so it's cool to see some new options.

skynetv2 12y ago
I am in the same boat. I am trying to replace a 2010 MBP 15" with nvidia card, 8 GB ram. for me, it needs to last 5+ years (sorry, company policy). Anything with comparable specs (15", core i7 quad core, 8-16 gb ram, 1920X1080+ screen, decent battery life, 3yr support and <=5 lbs) comes to same price as a 15" mbp. and this mbp and others in my company lasted 5+ years without any issues. Well, i had to get my logic board replaced due to some known issue, which was covered. battery life is awesome, dont care for keyboard but its ok, hate OS X. Also, I want to move 100% to Linux but not at the cost of a good hardware. Yes, I can install ubuntu on mbp but whats the point then in paying apple tax and not everything works flawlessly in ubuntu on mac hardware, already tried it. They just seem to make the best hardware at the moment. m3800 is very close to these requirements but ends up costing same as 15" mbp and battery life is not as good. w540 is heavy t series dont have discrete graphics
shillx 12y ago
Asus NX500
- skynetv2 12y ago
  $2700
  - dman 12y ago
    http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MGXC2LL/A&step=config http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MGXC2L... is $2500. The ASUS has a higher resolution screen and a newer graphics card.
    - skynetv2 12y ago
      I just put it there for people to see without searching for it. Also, even at 2500, its $200 cheaper for a product thats proven itself to be solid hardware many times. asus is good, but i am not yet sure they are as good as apple hardware, esp. longevity
      - dman 12y ago
        How will PC manufacturers ever become better than Apple if they restrict themselves to building hardware that is cheaper than Apple?
pravpraveen 12y ago
u should try Dell M3800 .
andrewchoi 12y ago
How small? I've got a Dell Precision M3800 (I think same chassis as their XPS 15) which ticks all of the boxes you mentioned but in a 15 in form factor.
scoj 12y ago
Take a look at Dell's XPS 15, seems to fit your bill. I have the older version XPS 15, and it doesn't have the hi-res screen (1920x1080) and isn't too thin/light, but is great for me.
kbenson 12y ago
Someone already mentioned[1] here the M3800[2], which seems to fit the bill for the most part. 1: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9341506 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9341506 2: http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/555/campaigns/xps-linux-laptop?c=us&l=en&s=biz http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/555/campaigns/xps-linux-lapt...
mjewkes 12y ago
I'm in the same boat. The only machine I can find fitting those specs at the 13" form factor is a Clevo W230SD[1]. And I have serious concerns about its build quality. [1]http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np7339-clevo-w230sd-eta-03202015-p-8073.html http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np7339-clevo-w230sd-eta-0320201...
Someone1234 12y ago
Only Apple's top end machines ship with a Nvidia card now and in my experience those same machines have quite serious overheating problems. Thinkpad's T series fits some of your bill but I doubt the screen is high density enough. PS - I must be the only person on earth who thinks the user experience with 1080p is better than super-high resolution. Currently most operating systems (Windows, Linux, and OS X to a degree) suck at high DPI so your fonts and UI elements shrink as the resolution increases.
- skynetv2 12y ago
  i have had one since 2010, never had heat issues
  - Someone1234 12y ago
    Apple has "thinned" the MBP line several times since then. I had a 2014 Nvidia model and it over-heated like crazy, in particular in Windows.
    - skynetv2 12y ago
      ok fair. my colleague has 2014 rmbp 15 with nvidia and he plays games on it too, all in os x though. never had any issues with heating. maybe its windows compatibility issue
ntw1103 12y ago
The Lenovo Thinkpad w541 meets those requirements http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/w-series/w541/#tab-tech_specs http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/w-series/w541/...
WorldWideWayne 12y ago
I am looking forward to owning a Surface Pro 4 which will have everything except for the discrete GPU. For me - the touch screen, the pen and the extreme portability more than make up for the lack of GPU and if I need to play high-end games I can use my Playstation, Xbox or my tower workstation that has an Nvidia GPU. Outside of games though, I think the Surface Pro's GPU is fine for most graphics work using Photoshop, et al.

skynetv2 12y ago

I am in the same boat. I am trying to replace a 2010 MBP 15" with nvidia card, 8 GB ram. for me, it needs to last 5+ years (sorry, company policy). Anything with comparable specs (15", core i7 quad core, 8-16 gb ram, 1920X1080+ screen, decent battery life, 3yr support and <=5 lbs) comes to same price as a 15" mbp. and this mbp and others in my company lasted 5+ years without any issues. Well, i had to get my logic board replaced due to some known issue, which was covered. battery life is awesome, dont care for keyboard but its ok, hate OS X. Also, I want to move 100% to Linux but not at the cost of a good hardware. Yes, I can install ubuntu on mbp but whats the point then in paying apple tax and not everything works flawlessly in ubuntu on mac hardware, already tried it. They just seem to make the best hardware at the moment. m3800 is very close to these requirements but ends up costing same as 15" mbp and battery life is not as good. w540 is heavy t series dont have discrete graphics

shillx 12y ago

Asus NX500

skynetv2 12y ago
$2700
- dman 12y ago
  http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MGXC2LL/A&step=config http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MGXC2L... is $2500. The ASUS has a higher resolution screen and a newer graphics card.
  - skynetv2 12y ago
    I just put it there for people to see without searching for it. Also, even at 2500, its $200 cheaper for a product thats proven itself to be solid hardware many times. asus is good, but i am not yet sure they are as good as apple hardware, esp. longevity
    - dman 12y ago
      How will PC manufacturers ever become better than Apple if they restrict themselves to building hardware that is cheaper than Apple?

pravpraveen 12y ago

u should try Dell M3800 .

andrewchoi 12y ago

How small? I've got a Dell Precision M3800 (I think same chassis as their XPS 15) which ticks all of the boxes you mentioned but in a 15 in form factor.

scoj 12y ago

Take a look at Dell's XPS 15, seems to fit your bill. I have the older version XPS 15, and it doesn't have the hi-res screen (1920x1080) and isn't too thin/light, but is great for me.

kbenson 12y ago

Someone already mentioned[1] here the M3800[2], which seems to fit the bill for the most part. 1: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9341506 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9341506 2: http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/555/campaigns/xps-linux-laptop?c=us&l=en&s=biz http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/555/campaigns/xps-linux-lapt...

mjewkes 12y ago

I'm in the same boat. The only machine I can find fitting those specs at the 13" form factor is a Clevo W230SD[1]. And I have serious concerns about its build quality. [1]http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np7339-clevo-w230sd-eta-03202015-p-8073.html http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np7339-clevo-w230sd-eta-0320201...

Someone1234 12y ago

Only Apple's top end machines ship with a Nvidia card now and in my experience those same machines have quite serious overheating problems. Thinkpad's T series fits some of your bill but I doubt the screen is high density enough. PS - I must be the only person on earth who thinks the user experience with 1080p is better than super-high resolution. Currently most operating systems (Windows, Linux, and OS X to a degree) suck at high DPI so your fonts and UI elements shrink as the resolution increases.

skynetv2 12y ago
i have had one since 2010, never had heat issues
- Someone1234 12y ago
  Apple has "thinned" the MBP line several times since then. I had a 2014 Nvidia model and it over-heated like crazy, in particular in Windows.
  - skynetv2 12y ago
    ok fair. my colleague has 2014 rmbp 15 with nvidia and he plays games on it too, all in os x though. never had any issues with heating. maybe its windows compatibility issue

ntw1103 12y ago

The Lenovo Thinkpad w541 meets those requirements http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/w-series/w541/#tab-tech_specs http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/w-series/w541/...

WorldWideWayne 12y ago

I am looking forward to owning a Surface Pro 4 which will have everything except for the discrete GPU. For me - the touch screen, the pen and the extreme portability more than make up for the lack of GPU and if I need to play high-end games I can use my Playstation, Xbox or my tower workstation that has an Nvidia GPU. Outside of games though, I think the Surface Pro's GPU is fine for most graphics work using Photoshop, et al.