Laptop - Request for Advice

[erik_0000]

I need to order a laptop for my daughter for university. Here are the guidelines that we were given:

- Processor: intel i5 or i7
- RAM: 16GB
- hard drive: 500MB
- o/s: Windows or Linux

She will be studying computer science, she will not be using the machine for gaming, so the graphics card is not much of a concern.

Based on that, below is the spec that we came up with so far. Here are the questions that I have:
- For RAM, I have a choice of PCS Pro versus Corsair, what's the difference?
- Am I right in thinking that 2x8 gives more flexibility than 1x16 with regard to possible future upgrades? (I do not anticipate upgrading the RAM)
- For the SSD I have a choice of PCS versus SOLIDIGM P41 or P44, what's the difference?
- I am thinking of ordering an additional monitor, what would you recommend?
- Should I consider getting a docking station or other peripherals?

With regard to budget, the price of the current spec is €1,112. I don't have a maximum figure in mind but I don't think that changing any of the items above would break the bank so for practical purposes I would say that the budget is unlimited.

Châssis et affichage
Fusion Studio Series : Écran large LED mat 14 pouces 90 Hz sRGB 95 % WQXGA (2880 x 1800)
Processeur (Unité centrale)
Processeur 14-Core Intel® Core™ i7-13700H (5,0 GHz Turbo) 14 Mo de cache
Mémoire (RAM)
16 Go PCS PRO SODIMM DDR5 4800 MHz (2 x 8 Go)
Carte graphique
Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics intégré
1er disque SSD M.2
512 Go PCS SSD PCIe M.2 (jusqu'à 3500 Mo/R, 3100 Mo/W)
Adaptateur C.A.
1 × Adaptateur AC 120 W
Câble d'alimentation
1 câble d'alimentation européen Cloverleaf, 1,5 m
Batterie
Batterie lithium-ion intégrée de 99 WH série Fusion
Carte son
Nahimic par SteelSeries audio HD 2 canaux
Carte de réseau sans fil
INTEL® AX211 (2,4 Go/s) + BT 5.3
Options USB/Thunderbolt
1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 + 1 x USB 3.2 (TYPE C) + 2 x USB-A 3.2
Langue du clavier
CLAVIER BELGE RÉTROÉCLAIRÉ COULEUR UNIQUE SÉRIE 14" FUSION
Système d’exploitation
SYSTÈME D’EXPLOITATION NON REQUIS
Langue du système d’exploitation
France/République Française - Français
Support de récupération Windows
SUPPORT DE RÉCUPÉRATION NON REQUIS
Logiciel Office
Essai GRATUIT de Microsoft 365® (système d’exploitation requis) pendant 30 jours
Antivirus
PAS D'ANTIVIRUS
Navigateur
Firefox™
Clavier et souris
PAVÉ TACTILE 2 BOUTONS INTÉGRÉE
Webcam
CAMÉRA INTÉGRÉE WINDOWS HELLO 2 MP
Garantie
Garantie or de 3 ans (2 ans collection et retour, 2 ans pièces, 3 ans main d'œuvre)
Châssis
TongFang PH4PRX1 (i7-13700H, 2880x1800, 90Hz, sRGB 95%, Blank KB)
Livraison
LIVRAISON EN 2 JOURS EN BELGIQUE
Délai de construction
Assemblage standard - Environ 3 à 5 jours ouvrables
Prix : €1.112,00, TVA et livraison comprises
URL unique pour reconfigurer : https://fr.pcspecialist.be/configurations-sauvegardées/FusionV-14/e!hjnf8XwG/

 

[SpyderTracks]

I need to order a laptop for my daughter for university. Here are the guidelines that we were given:

- Processor: intel i5 or i7
- RAM: 16GB
- hard drive: 500MB
- o/s: Windows or Linux

She will be studying computer science, she will not be using the machine for gaming, so the graphics card is not much of a concern.

Based on that, below is the spec that we came up with so far. Here are the questions that I have:
- For RAM, I have a choice of PCS Pro versus Corsair, what's the difference?
- Am I right in thinking that 2x8 gives more flexibility than 1x16 with regard to possible future upgrades? (I do not anticipate upgrading the RAM)
- For the SSD I have a choice of PCS versus SOLIDIGM P41 or P44, what's the difference?
- I am thinking of ordering an additional monitor, what would you recommend?
- Should I consider getting a docking station or other peripherals?

With regard to budget, the price of the current spec is €1,112. I don't have a maximum figure in mind but I don't think that changing any of the items above would break the bank so for practical purposes I would say that the budget is unlimited.

Châssis et affichage
Fusion Studio Series : Écran large LED mat 14 pouces 90 Hz sRGB 95 % WQXGA (2880 x 1800)
Processeur (Unité centrale)
Processeur 14-Core Intel® Core™ i7-13700H (5,0 GHz Turbo) 14 Mo de cache
Mémoire (RAM)
16 Go PCS PRO SODIMM DDR5 4800 MHz (2 x 8 Go)
Carte graphique
Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics intégré
1er disque SSD M.2
512 Go PCS SSD PCIe M.2 (jusqu'à 3500 Mo/R, 3100 Mo/W)
Adaptateur C.A.
1 × Adaptateur AC 120 W
Câble d'alimentation
1 câble d'alimentation européen Cloverleaf, 1,5 m
Batterie
Batterie lithium-ion intégrée de 99 WH série Fusion
Carte son
Nahimic par SteelSeries audio HD 2 canaux
Carte de réseau sans fil
INTEL® AX211 (2,4 Go/s) + BT 5.3
Options USB/Thunderbolt
1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 + 1 x USB 3.2 (TYPE C) + 2 x USB-A 3.2
Langue du clavier
CLAVIER BELGE RÉTROÉCLAIRÉ COULEUR UNIQUE SÉRIE 14" FUSION
Système d’exploitation
SYSTÈME D’EXPLOITATION NON REQUIS
Langue du système d’exploitation
France/République Française - Français
Support de récupération Windows
SUPPORT DE RÉCUPÉRATION NON REQUIS
Logiciel Office
Essai GRATUIT de Microsoft 365® (système d’exploitation requis) pendant 30 jours
Antivirus
PAS D'ANTIVIRUS
Navigateur
Firefox™
Clavier et souris
PAVÉ TACTILE 2 BOUTONS INTÉGRÉE
Webcam
CAMÉRA INTÉGRÉE WINDOWS HELLO 2 MP
Garantie
Garantie or de 3 ans (2 ans collection et retour, 2 ans pièces, 3 ans main d'œuvre)
Châssis
TongFang PH4PRX1 (i7-13700H, 2880x1800, 90Hz, sRGB 95%, Blank KB)
Livraison
LIVRAISON EN 2 JOURS EN BELGIQUE
Délai de construction
Assemblage standard - Environ 3 à 5 jours ouvrables
Prix : €1.112,00, TVA et livraison comprises
URL unique pour reconfigurer : https://fr.pcspecialist.be/configurations-sauvegardées/FusionV-14/e!hjnf8XwG/

On the whole, looks good.

I would still suggest a secondary drive for data, especially if she’s doing computer sciences, she’ll be doing virtualisation which you can’t run effectively off the OS drive. It means she can reinstall the OS simply without affecting data.

The CPU and chassis are solid, but I would suggest 32Gb RAM personally, although you could upgrade the RAM later on down the road yourself if you wanted to keep costs down now, and she may not have the requirement for 32Gb.

I would get a windows license, BUT if she’s a student, she’s eligible for a hefty discount on microsoft products, so I’d suggest buying the license direct from MS under her own Microsoft account (using her uni email address), that’s also eligible for office products too which she’ll likely need.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/d/windows-11-home/dg7gmgf0krt0?rtc=1

Linux is THE OS though for computer science, irs much lower level, and in fact is far more widely used in the corporate world, even in the cloud as Amazon Web Services (the largest cloud provider by a significant margin) is all Linux based, any security stuff also is all generally Linux based.

But she’ll need windows as well, she can dual boot both Linux and windows from the one 512gb primary SSD.

I’m not certain but the Corsair may have lower timings which would mean it’s effectively a bit quicker even though it’s still 4800mhz. If the price difference isn’t too much it’s probably worth it.

For the drives, definitely go for the solidGM drives, much more reliable and will make a huge difference for high read/write scenarios like virtualisation and databases.

Yes, you want 2 x whatever sticks of RAM as it’s dual channel.

 

[SpyderTracks]

For a monitor, you don’t need anything incredible, but real estate is very beneficial for this sort of thing as she’ll be using multiple applications at once. I’d suggest a basic 4K, Samsung will almost always beat other manufacturers at the budget end with far higher quality as they make their own panels and sell them to everyone else who of course have to pay the premium.

This is a very capable 4K LED monitor for not much more than a mid range 1080p monitor

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/samsung-lu28r550uqpxxu-4k-ultra-hd-28%E2%80%9D-led-monitor-dark-grey-10207961.html

4K has the same real estate as 4 x 1080p panels, so you can very easily snap 4 different windows to each corner and they’ll still be usable and readable.

 

[SpyderTracks]

For a docking station, there are numerous options.

Thunderbolt - likely the best for monitors, Ethernet ports and connectivity, but more expensive.

There’s actually a really decent refurbished Dell one for under £100 if that’s suitable, new they’re around £160
Dell TB16 Thunderbolt Dock 240w AC Adapter (Renewed) https://amzn.eu/d/f8FbmVg

USB C - these may be more limited in display output so you may have to use a separate HDMI for the display.
Plugable 11-in-1 USB-C Hub 100W USB-C Pass-through, Laptop Docking Station Dual Monitor with 4K 60Hz HDMI, Compatible with Thunderbolt 4/3, USB-C Windows, Chromebooks, 1x USB-C, 3x USB, SD, Ethernet https://amzn.eu/d/eZX3ZaN

 

[davhun]

There is only one M2 port so I suggest a minimum of a 1TB SOLIDIGM P41 M2 drive. If installing Windows and Linux then a 2 TB drive.
Your daughter's data could be priceless to her. An external drive to backup or duplicate data would be a good idea.

 

[SpyderTracks]

There is only one M2 port so I suggest a minimum of a 1TB SOLIDIGM P41 M2 drive. If installing Windows and Linux then a 2 TB drive.
Your daughter's data could be priceless to her. An external drive to backup or duplicate data would be a good idea.

You're absolutely right , spot on, I didnt check if it could support a second drive.

 

[erik_0000]

I went ahead and ordered the laptop with all of the changes that you recommended. Below is the revised spec.

Regarding peripherals, this is for delivery in Belgium, so I can't order from the UK because we get hit with a big customs fee for anything outside the EU.

The order form included the following list of external monitors that could be added to the order, none of them says 4K. So I guess I will research separately for monitor and docking station for sale within the EU.

Many thanks for your help, much appreciated!

@Spyder it looks like I owe you another cup of tea in la la land 😆


Châssis et affichage
Fusion Studio Series : Écran large LED mat 14 pouces 90 Hz sRGB 95 % WQXGA (2880 x 1800)
Processeur (Unité centrale)
Processeur 14-Core Intel® Core™ i7-13700H (5,0 GHz Turbo) 14 Mo de cache
Mémoire (RAM)
32 Go Corsair 4800 MHz SODIMM DDR5 (2 x 16 Go)
Carte graphique
Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics intégré
1er disque SSD M.2
1 To SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe SSD PCIe (jusqu'à 7000Mo/sR,6500Mo/sW)
Adaptateur C.A.
1 × Adaptateur AC 120 W
Câble d'alimentation
1 câble d'alimentation européen Cloverleaf, 1,5 m
Batterie
Batterie lithium-ion intégrée de 99 WH série Fusion
Carte son
Nahimic par SteelSeries audio HD 2 canaux
Carte de réseau sans fil
INTEL® AX211 (2,4 Go/s) + BT 5.3
Options USB/Thunderbolt
1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 + 1 x USB 3.2 (TYPE C) + 2 x USB-A 3.2
Langue du clavier
CLAVIER BELGE RÉTROÉCLAIRÉ COULEUR UNIQUE SÉRIE 14" FUSION
Système d’exploitation
SYSTÈME D’EXPLOITATION NON REQUIS
Langue du système d’exploitation
France/République Française - Français
Support de récupération Windows
SUPPORT DE RÉCUPÉRATION NON REQUIS
Logiciel Office
Essai GRATUIT de Microsoft 365® (système d’exploitation requis) pendant 30 jours
Antivirus
PAS D'ANTIVIRUS
Navigateur
Firefox™
Clavier et souris
PAVÉ TACTILE 2 BOUTONS INTÉGRÉE
Webcam
CAMÉRA INTÉGRÉE WINDOWS HELLO 2 MP
Garantie
Garantie or de 3 ans (2 ans collection et retour, 2 ans pièces, 3 ans main d'œuvre)
Châssis
TongFang PH4PRX1 (i7-13700H, 2880x1800, 90Hz, sRGB 95%, Blank KB)
Livraison
LIVRAISON EN 2 JOURS EN BELGIQUE
Délai de construction
Assemblage standard - Environ 3 à 5 jours ouvrables

Prix : €1.239,00, TVA et livraison comprises

URL unique pour reconfigurer : https://fr.pcspecialist.be/configurations-sauvegardées/FusionV-14/cbma8MyQ8u/

 

[SpyderTracks]

Regarding peripherals, this is for delivery in Belgium, so I can't order from the UK because we get hit with a big customs fee for anything outside the EU.

You shouldn't do with Amazon, they have a special arrangement with customs. It will clearly state if any import tax is on the product. I order stuff from european amazon sites and even US quite frequently as a lot of records are only sold abroad, I've never had to pay any customs fees through amazon. I have had a couple of occasions where Amazon has expressly stated that import duties would be additional and just haven't purchased those.

 

[erik_0000]

Shortly after Brexit I ordered on Amazon a pair of running shoes from Italy for delivery to England and got hit with a huge payment, there was no advance warning. Since then I haven't ordered anything from UK to EU or vice versa. That was a long time ago though, maybe they give you advance warning now.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Shortly after Brexit I ordered on Amazon a pair of running shoes from Italy for delivery to England and got hit with a huge payment, there was no advance warning. Since then I haven't ordered anything from UK to EU or vice versa. That was a long time ago though, maybe they give you advance warning now.

I guarantee, it's totally different now, it's been a while, most places are inline with brexit issues now.

 

[erik_0000]

The monitor and docking station that you recommended, I found them on Amazon Belgium and went ahead and ordered them. Many thanks again!

 

[SpyderTracks]

The monitor and docking station that you recommended, I found them on Amazon Belgium and went ahead and ordered them. Many thanks again!

Even better

 

[erik_0000]

This is what the seller of the docking station came back with:

So I cancelled that. I will poke around for something else. No stress, just thought you might find that interesting given our discussion!

 

[SpyderTracks]

This is what the seller of the docking station came back with:
View attachment 38494
So I cancelled that. I will poke around for something else. No stress, just thought you might find that interesting given our discussion!

Damn, that's a shame.

 

[erik_0000]

The PC Specialist technician told me that he personally uses this docking station:

https://www.amazon.fr/Stations-Displayport-Quadruple-Affichage-Microsoft/dp/B0BTP537S8/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=station+d%27accueil

He says: "It's not guaranteed to work if you want to extend the display because there's no dedicated graphics card, but it does extend the USB aspect." I don't quite follow that. The docking station has HDMI1 and HDMI2 ports, is he saying that I could connect the laptop to one external monitor but not two? I would be grateful for any advice.

 

[SpyderTracks]

The PC Specialist technician told me that he personally uses this docking station:

https://www.amazon.fr/Stations-Displayport-Quadruple-Affichage-Microsoft/dp/B0BTP537S8/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=station+d%27accueil

He says: "It's not guaranteed to work if you want to extend the display because there's no dedicated graphics card, but it does extend the USB aspect." I don't quite follow that. The docking station has HDMI1 and HDMI2 ports, is he saying that I could connect the laptop to one external monitor but not two? I would be grateful for any advice.

That’s what I said above, a usb dock isn’t necessarily going to be able to carry video well, it’s total hit and miss based on that laptops specific usb chip.

Thunderbolt is more reliable if you want to carry video.

 

[erik_0000]

I got you, many thanks. I just researched Thunderbolt, I understand a bit better.

The feedback above from the vendor of the Dell docking station implies that it only works with Dell hardware.

I see on Amazon Belgium a Thunderbolt docking station from Belkin which seems more likely to work with linux.

I am thinking of holding off for the moment. For now she can just plug the monitor straight in to the laptop, once she runs out of ports I will rethink.