Laptop recommendations?

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Author Message David G. Axt, CCS, CSI ,SCIP Senior Member Username: david_axt Post Number: 1789 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Saturday, May 18, 2019 - 12:23 pm:    I am currently in the market for a laptop computer. What do you recommend? This laptop will be used for business travel and taking to meetings. I like the idea of putting specifications on the cloud so when I sit down with a client I can look up what was specified. Currently I have to tell the client I will have to look up the specification when I get back to my office. This will not be my main production computer since I am addicted to my three screens and clicky keyboard. David G. Axt, CCS, CSI, SCIP Specifications Consultant Axt Consulting LLC Ronald L. Geren, FCSI Lifetime Member, AIA, CCS, CCCA, CSC, SCIP Senior Member Username: specman Post Number: 1541 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Saturday, May 18, 2019 - 12:44 pm:    My suggestion, since you're using it for travel, is to get one with a solid state drive (SSD). Hard disc drives (HDD) can be easily damaged if they get banged around a lot. Ron Geren, FCSI Lifetime Member, AIA, CCS, CCCA, CSC, SCIP Michael Chusid, RA FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: michael_chusid Post Number: 494 Registered: 10-2003 Posted on Saturday, May 18, 2019 - 02:38 pm:    I have used Apple Macbook Pro for a long time and am very happy with it. However, the current models have a keyboard that is prone to sticking due to crumbs or other gunk getting under the keys. With a clicky keyboard, even the ones in the previous macbooks, keys could be lifted out for cleaning. Not so with the current generation. If you want a mac, shop for a used one in good condition. Michael Chusid, RA FCSI CCS 1-818-219-4937 www.chusid.com www.buildingproduct.guru Nathan Woods, CSI, CCCA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: nwoods Post Number: 770 Registered: 08-2005 Posted on Saturday, May 18, 2019 - 02:54 pm:    Yes, the current generation of Mac keyboards are a love it or hate it kind of thing. In the current Mac range, the 13” MacBook Pro is ideal in terms of size/features/cost. The pre-touchbar 15” MacBookPro’s are exceptionally good machines. I have an early 2012 model that is still going strong and I use it for everything. I’ve upgraded the original 250gb SSD to a 1tb SSD, but that’s all. Liz O'Sullivan Senior Member Username: liz_osullivan Post Number: 249 Registered: 10-2011 Posted on Saturday, May 18, 2019 - 04:04 pm:    I'm not a computer expert, but I agree with Ron's comment about the Solid State Drive. My laptop is 5-1/2 years old, it gets carried around and used in different places most days of the week, and it's still working very well. It's a PC, an Ultrabook ThinkPad by Lenovo. I've never had a laptop last so long, and I think it's because this has an SSD. Colin Gilboy Senior Member Username: colin Post Number: 464 Registered: 09-2005 Posted on Saturday, May 18, 2019 - 04:08 pm:    Consider a 13" version - they do not have a dvd player and much lighter. Stay with a standard screen and not a high (4k) screen. An i5 chip will be fast enough and a i7 is not needed. Go for at least 8 Gb of memory. The savings with an i3 chip is probably not worth the savings. As a secondary computer 128-256 GB of ssd will be enough. Colin Gilboy Publisher, 4specs.com 702-505-9119 - Las Vegas J. Peter Jordan Senior Member Username: jpjordan Post Number: 1085 Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Monday, May 20, 2019 - 10:12 am:    I'm a Dell guy (they are from Austin). It is a latitude E5570 (almost 3 years old) with 16 GB of RAM and a half-gig hard disk drive. I do not hesitate to take it anywhere, but I am certainly not on the road every day. I have had a couple of issues with it, but it gets fixed in my office very quickly. It has a bigger screen (15 inches), but when I am traveling, I may be using it and want a bigger screen. I always travel with a power supply and a wireless mouse. J. Peter Jordan, FCSI, AIA, CCS, LEED AP, SCIP Robin E. Snyder Senior Member Username: robin Post Number: 769 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Monday, May 20, 2019 - 01:14 pm:    I love my Lenovo Thinkpad. I just picked up a travel monitor (13 inches) so I can have a second monitor when I really need to work on the road. Jeffrey Wilson CSI CCS SCIP Senior Member Username: wilsonconsulting Post Number: 288 Registered: 03-2006 Posted on Monday, May 20, 2019 - 01:59 pm:    Consider a backlit keyboard. This is something I did not know I needed, but was a standard feature on my current laptop. I find it so useful that I'll never buy another laptop without one. It makes working in low light very comfortable, so I never have to position a light source when working. It can be switched off in daylight. I'm not sure how common these keyboards are. I converted to HP after recurring problems w/ a couple Dell computers (although previously a lifetime Dell loyalist). Have not had a single problem w/ the laptop in the 3-4 years since purchased. It even got bashed on the ground once when I wiped out on a patch of ice near my office, and has worked fine ever since. Jeffrey Wilson CCS CSI SCIP Wilson Consulting Inc Ardmore PA Alan Mays, AIA Senior Member Username: amays Post Number: 221 Registered: 02-2003 Posted on Monday, May 20, 2019 - 02:12 pm:    I have a 15" Macbook Pro with 16g and 1TB SSD. I find it a great tool since I can run Windows on it when necessary and it can pretty much do everything I need to do with it. As far as a second monitor while traveling, I use my 12.9" iPad Pro. There is an app called Duet that allows a direct wired connection. I tried the Bluetooth connection for a while, but it just wasn't that great due to lag. There is another one out with a Dongle called Luna that seems to be getting good reviews as a wireless connection with the iPad. Duet now has a Windows connection available so it will work on either platform. Chris Grimm, CSI, CCS, SCIP, LEED AP BD+C Senior Member Username: chris_grimm_ccs_scip Post Number: 476 Registered: 02-2014 Posted on Monday, May 20, 2019 - 02:54 pm:    LG gram, touch screen (actually helps a lot for specs work, someone I know could not believe that, but every time you would reach for the mouse and then reach for a spot on the screen you potentially cut that operation in half), and yes to SSD and backlit keyboard! My 2 cents: Work with all your current files directly (offline) and sync them to the cloud as a backup! Then you are also not waiting with your client in their office while your files have to download on a slow connection! Look up 3-2-1 backups. I add some more layers than that though. I do not get it why people prefer the cloud (as the PRIMARY place to work). Your files are somewhere that you do not know! And this is somehow superior?!?! If that service ever falters, raises their prices, or someone hacks you, you're screwed. Connect to a couple of touch screen monitors when you are at your desk. Get a good gaming keyboard and you can type comfortably at your desk and program some extra automation too. J. Peter Jordan Senior Member Username: jpjordan Post Number: 1086 Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Monday, May 20, 2019 - 03:40 pm:    At my last office location, we had a server (a Dell), but after three occassions in two years where we did not have power in our building for two days or more, I decided to move to the cloud. I can get to them wherever I am without having to worry about weather-related power outages and our service is not noticeably slower than having the files physically in the office. J. Peter Jordan, FCSI, AIA, CCS, LEED AP, SCIP Robin E. Snyder Senior Member Username: robin Post Number: 770 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Monday, May 20, 2019 - 03:45 pm:    dropbox is the best of all worlds. Sync working files to your local hard drive, plus they are backed up on the cloud. I sync only current working files on my travel laptop. Backlit keyboard is a must. Touch screen is nice. I have had problems with duet, but will try again. I have had Dell, HP and now Lenovo. Most happy w/ Lenovo David G. Axt, CCS, CSI ,SCIP Senior Member Username: david_axt Post Number: 1791 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Thursday, May 23, 2019 - 01:55 pm:    I followed most of your advice and bought a Dell 15 inch touch screen with backlight keyboard. Thanks for the help. David G. Axt, CCS, CSI, SCIP Specifications Consultant Axt Consulting LLC John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: bunzick Post Number: 1781 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Sunday, May 26, 2019 - 09:22 am:    I use a Microsoft Surface Pro with detachable keyboard (which I mostly leave attached) which cost me about $700 (including keyboard, normally sold separately). It's modest in size, lightweight, and I can use it without the keyboard if I want to simply read online. I subscribe to Office 365 (as I imagine most specifiers do), so cloud storage is included. I put my working files and MasterSpec library in the cloud (which are mirrored on my desktop) and use them when I choose to work while traveling. It all works quite seamlessly, and for not that much money compared to other hardware (yes, I'm thinking of Apple's overpriced equipment).