Dodge DeBoulet

I'm still schlepping a 16GB Lenovo T420 with an i5-2520M @ 2.5GHz. Performance is fine until I load it up with 3-4 virtual machines of various flavors. Execution threads are part of the problem, so is RAM.

I started a similar thread a year or two ago, wondering why there were no options supporting more than 16GB and was provided some great information by nkedel and others. But my quest hasn't ended.

Ultrabooks are now shipping with the Broadwell architecture, which supports 4 cores/8 threads (i7 HQ) and up to 32GB of RAM. Of the current crop, they all seem to be lacking in one or more areas, unfortunately.

This week's dream machine would have these specs:

• i7-5700HQ or better
• Hardware support/socketing for 32GB RAM (yes, I know selection for 16GB SoDIMMs is limited, but I'M Intelligent Memory seems to have cracked that nut so others will follow)
• 14" FHD IPS display with discrete graphics (nVidia 950M or better)
• Support for internal/upgradeable 3rd party 2.5" SSD >= 500GB
• Support for 2nd internal SSD (M.2 is ok)
• Backlit keyboard

I'm hoping the as-yet-unannounced Lenovo T450p will at least come close, but I haven't found anything else that does. Am I missing anything?

ou81two

Just get a Macbook Pro. Better resale value and better engineered than anything else in the market.

superangrypenguin

I'm in the same boat, lugging a T430s and can't get rid of it.

All I need is 16gb of RAM for my VMs. I can't find any tablet like device with it.

Dodge DeBoulet

Not interested. Thanks anyway. If you have any thoughts on something that meets the specs I listed, though, they would be appreciated.

Internaut

By the time I'm finished with a Notebook, the resale value is pretty negligible. Do Apple even sell a notebook with the full 32Gb? I can see where the OP is coming from - such a device will make quite a portable lab.

Personally, if I needed that level of performance, on the move, I'd be looking at a workstation class laptop (and accept the size/weight compromise).

ou81two

You have to go pretty long with an MBP for it to have no resale value. It's the best designed laptop in the marketplace. That's coming from someone with an MBPr, $3000 Precision laptop and a new model XPS13. The people who actually innovate should be rewarded.

broadwayblue

That's great, but plenty of us have no interest in an iOS device. User friendly my .... lol

Dodge DeBoulet

One of the guys on my team has burned (literally) through 3 MBPs doing similar work to what I do. The first two might have been a coincidence. The 3rd, I'm thinking not. Lets just say that their resale value was minimal.

I've had a T60, a T61, two T400s, and now two T420s. While I was with IBM, I purchased similar models through IBMEPP for other family members. The T60 had a hard drive failure while using it on a train, most likely due to the crappy rails between BON and POR. That's the only issue I've ever experienced with IBM/Lenovo notebooks, and it wasn't even a Lenovo part.

tmiw

The primary purpose of an ultrabook is portability, not performance. However, the performance tradeoffs are perfectly acceptable/unnoticeable for most people. It sounds like an ultrabook may not be a good option for you considering your requirements--at least for the next few years--but if you're willing to go a bit heavier (~5.5lbs) the Lenovo W541 looks like it can be configured with 32GB of RAM, a 3K 15.6" LCD display as well as a 512GB SSD.

FWIW I have a late-2013 13" retina MBP with 16GB of RAM/2.6GHz i5/512GB SSD and it handles running a Windows 8.1 VM with no issues (albeit the fan does start kicking in). I haven't tried running multiple VMs at once so I don't know how that'd go. I am coming close to filling the SSD though so I will probably go larger the next time I upgrade. This is all with OS X, but I imagine it would be similar if I ran Windows as the host OS.

pitz

I'm still stuck on a Dell Latitude D830, though its been extensively upgraded with parts cannibalized from other laptops and extra antennae hacked in. I'd like a 15" replacement, but they don't seem to make them in Ultrabook flavour, and I'd like better than just FHD. Doesn't need to be full 4K, but better than FHD. Also I find keyboard on the E6540 or the T540 to be awful in that its not centered on the screen. A laptop does not need the number pad!!!! Put some speakers there, put some dead space, or whatever, but a big number pad that forces my wrists to bend in some assymetric fashion when using it is definitely not cool.


Dell had the Precision M3800 which looked promising at first with its display, but the real shocker is that it had no proprietary docking solution. Without being able to hook it up on the desktop easily to a pair of 4K displays, it not really suitable for my next laptop. It doesn't have a trackpoint/pointing stick either, which is another mandatory feature for me.

Likewise, the Apple products fail for the same reason. If they want to be serious business-class tools, they need to be able to be dropped onto a dock, and must have the trackpoint. The touchpad just doesn't cut it when on a plane or otherwise subject to any sort of vibration, and lacks the precision.

Dodge DeBoulet

Thanks for your input.

The W541 has been considered, but I'd really like to shave a pound or two from the weight.

MBPs are off the table; too fragile. Sorry, I know a lot of Mac folks take that personally.

I'm holding out for the Lenovo T450p, I guess. I'd prefer to go lighter, but it looks like the technology's still not there (or my needs are too far out of the mainstream for hardware vendors to be interested in meeting them). But if the T450p has two RAM sockets and an i7-5700HQ option, it would be damn close to what I'm looking for.

chx1975

Well, Intel announced a Xeon mobile, that will certainly eat up 32GB. Whether ultrabook? Not sure. I am hoping Lenovo will put in the Retro ThinkPad they are planning. That would be sheer win.

tmiw

Speaking of the W541, Lenovo announced the P50/P70 today, which among other things can be configured with mobile Xeon processors and 64 GB of RAM. No difference in weight though but perhaps this increases the possibility of something lighter coming out in their lineup later?

http://www.engadget.com/2015/08/10/l...d-p50-and-p70/

MaxBuck

They suck for running Windows, though. I should know, I tried for three years. Finally went back to a Sony Vaio, which is a great machine that sadly is now an orphan.

BTW, the best-looking specs-for-the-money I've seen are on an ASUS Zenbook:

Dodge DeBoulet

Actually, the Zenbook Pro UX501 comes closest, but I'd want at least double the RAM (32GB) and SSD (1TB) storage. The fact that they're able to cram what they have into the Zenbook's form factor gives me hope that someone will come up with a solution that is reasonably light and portable, and not too far into the future.