recommend me a laptop - small screen, ubuntu 18

erik_0000

Bronze Level Poster
i have an optimus VIII 15" on which i run ubuntu 18. i find that the machine is a little bit too big to use on the plane or train. so i would like to get a second machine to use on the road and to serve as a backup. my budget is more or less unlimited.

i would run ubuntu 18 only, no dual boot. the main purpose of the machine would be for software development. i want something smaller than the 15" but i'm not sure how small to go - small enough to use on a plane or train but no smaller. the optimus has a 1TB hard drive and i'm using less than 15% of it so i think i could get away with a smaller hard drive for the backup machine.

my biggest complaint with the optimus is that the chassis seems a bit fragile. the lid isn't rigid and bends very easily if light pressure is applied between the hinges. so i would prefer for the new machine to be as sturdy as possible.

i would be grateful for any recommendations.
 

erik_0000

Bronze Level Poster
wow, i'm glad i asked. many thanks for getting back to me. how can i tell which PCS laptops are the Clevo chassis?

what about the 14" ENIGMA VIII?
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/clevo-laptops/40/

The Engima apprently's isn't a Clevo chassis. That's not necessarily a problem, though some of the others like Tongfang have had issues with the trackpad not working with certain versions. Not sure if that was patched yet in Linux or not.

The Enigma's CPUs are extremely low power, even moreso than the ULV CPUs in the Lafite and others of that kind. I'd probably recommend the lafite with an i5 8250U or maybe the newer 8265U
 

erik_0000

Bronze Level Poster
shame, the enigma looks much sleeker and slimmer.

what hard drive would you recommend for the lafite?

here is what i have so far, any feedback welcome:

Chassis & Display
Lafité Series: Aluminium Chassis: 14" Matte Full HD IPS LED (1920 x 1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor i7-8565U (1.80GHz, 4.6GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
INTEL® HD GRAPHICS (CPU Dependant) - 1.7GB Max DDR4 Video RAM - DirectX® 12
1st Storage Drive
500GB Samsung 860 EVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SAMSUNG 970 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 2300MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x Lafité Series 40W AC Adaptor
Battery
Lafité Series 3 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (36WH)
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf European Power Cable
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9260 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.1 PORTS
Keyboard Language
LAFITÉ SERIES SINGLE COLOUR BACKLIT USA KEYBOARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Quantity
1

Price £1,097.00 including VAT and Delivery
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
If you look at the detailed specification tab of each configurator:

Lafite 14"
Dimensions (w x d x h): 329.8mm x 225mm x 18.8mm
Weight: 1.40Kg

Dimensions (w x d x h): 340mm x 232mm x 14.9mm
Weight: 1.49KG

So not too bad hopefully.


I'm not sure the i7 is entirely worth it over the i5 since it's just a fairly modest frequency difference (they won't sustain boost for all that long under load), but if you'll benefit from the modest additional performance and have deep pockets, sure I guess. And I take it you're sure you need 32gb RAM?

What's the deal with the storage by the way, how are you thinking of using that SSD setup?
 

erik_0000

Bronze Level Poster
If you look at the detailed specification tab of each configurator:

...

fair point, if anything the lafite is smaller. i prefer the aesthetics and color of the enigma but i'm not going to base my choice on that.

I'm not sure the i7 is entirely worth it over the i5 since it's just a fairly modest frequency difference (they won't sustain boost for all that long under load), but if you'll benefit from the modest additional performance and have deep pockets, sure I guess. And I take it you're sure you need 32gb RAM?

i have no reason to think that i need the i7 so based on what you say i'll go with the i5. and i can probably get by with 16GB of RAM too, especially since i have 32GB on the other machine if i ever need it.

What's the deal with the storage by the way, how are you thinking of using that SSD setup?

i don't have a plan, i am not well informed about hardware and am looking for advice.

my proposed choice is based on this advice that Stephen M gave me regarding my previous purchase:

m2 drives, especially the Samsung SMs are amazingly fast, I think a smallish one, 256GB is well worth it for the OS and main programs. My preferred set up on my two current PCS machines, an Optimus VII and Octane, is an m2 plus 7200rpm HDDs, the WDs are very good but the standard ones OK as well but if budget is not a problem than a large SSD is probably worth it, although if it is just a storage disc you will not notice any difference from a fast HDD.

so the idea would be to install the OS on the M2, and everything else on the hard drive. that said i have no idea which hard drive to get.
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
Sounds good.

For the storage, it depends how much space you need. Maybe you can fit everything you need onto just one drive? Would a single 500gb SSD be enough do you think for your OS, apps, and necessary files/projects? If so, drop that 860 Evo.

If 500gb total storage isn't enough, then I'd suggest a fast M.2 SSD like the one you have now, and for mass storage you could get maybe a 1TB 7200rpm Hard Drive.

The drive you have at the moment under 1st Storage Drive is an SSD. Which is smaller and more expensive than a hard drive. Use files like music and movies gain no benefit from being on an SSD, and so an HDD is more cost effective for storing those. However, files like databases can benefit a lot from being on an SSD.

However, if you need 1TB's worth of SSD storage for things like large databases or project files, it would be better to just buy a single 1TB SSD rather than 2 500gb SSDs.

Also the 970 Evo is a very fast M.2 NVMe SSD. Around as fast as the 970 Pro for a good bit cheaper. So unless your work relies on max storage performance, you could save some cash by going with the 970 Evo / WD Black.

You know what your storage needs are better than we do, but hopefully those are some helpful starting points :)
 

erik_0000

Bronze Level Poster
many thanks, that's a huge help.

honestly i could probably get by with the M2 drive alone. but just to be on the safe side i am thinking using the M2 drive only for the OS and getting a second drive for storage. based on your comments plus some additional research i think that an HDD would be preferable to an SDD because it's cheaper and because i wouldn't notice the difference in performance. following your advice i would also downgrade the M2.

so how about this:

1st Storage Drive 500GB SEAGATE SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st M.2 SSD Drive 250GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3400MB/R, 1500MB/W)

those changes, combined with downgrading the RAM and CPU, have taken the price (including VAT) down from £1,096 for my original configuration to £764 for the current configuration.
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
Seems good - though get the 1TB 7200rpm HDD. £4 more only and it's double the space - and in principle should perform better, having a larger cache I guess.
 

erik_0000

Bronze Level Poster
thank you! it would be helpful if they indicated the price next to each item. as it stands, in order to see the impact that a given change has on price, you have to select the item and watch the price update.

this is what i have so far. does that look all right?

Chassis & Display
Lafité Series: Aluminium Chassis: 14" Matte Full HD IPS LED (1920 x 1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Quad Core Processor i5-8265U (1.60GHz, 3.9GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
INTEL® HD GRAPHICS (CPU Dependant) - 1.7GB Max DDR4 Video RAM - DirectX® 12
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE 7mm SERIAL ATA III 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 128MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
250GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3400MB/R, 1500MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x Lafité Series 40W AC Adaptor
Battery
Lafité Series 3 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (36WH)
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf European Power Cable
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9260 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.1 PORTS
Keyboard Language
LAFITÉ SERIES SINGLE COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Quantity
1

Price £769.00 including VAT and Delivery
 

erik_0000

Bronze Level Poster
many thanks again for all your help. i will post a review of the machine when the time comes.

out of curiosity, where did you acquire all your knowledge? to grab just one random example:

I'm not sure the i7 is entirely worth it over the i5 since it's just a fairly modest frequency difference (they won't sustain boost for all that long under load),

how do you know things like that? does your career involve computer hardware? or do you just study every new development?
 
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