Laptop suggestions
Thread poster: _Maric_
_Maric_
_Maric_
Croatia
Local time: 13:04
English to Croatian
+ ...
Apr 14, 2021

Hello,

I am looking to buy a new laptop. I own a Mac at the moment, but since I am planning to use SDL Trados (and some other loc. software) I want to use windows again. Do you have any suggestions? Which laptops are you using? What specs should I pay attention to when deciding?
I found an old topic on the same subject, but it‘s from 2019 so maybe some new suggestions would be useful. Also, I am not looking to spend huge amounts of money, but then again I would rather inves
... See more
Hello,

I am looking to buy a new laptop. I own a Mac at the moment, but since I am planning to use SDL Trados (and some other loc. software) I want to use windows again. Do you have any suggestions? Which laptops are you using? What specs should I pay attention to when deciding?
I found an old topic on the same subject, but it‘s from 2019 so maybe some new suggestions would be useful. Also, I am not looking to spend huge amounts of money, but then again I would rather invest into a laptop that would serve me well and that could potentially be used for a longer time, than to buy a cheaper one now only to have to invest into another one soon.
Thank you
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Erik Hansson
Erik Hansson  Identity Verified
Germany
Swedish
+ ...
Parameters Apr 15, 2021

Before taking any decisions, there are many questions to be answered. Will you use it mostly at home (maybe with a docking station), partly underway, or mostly while travelling? If you go for a 17 inch device, you might feel it's too heavy to bring along.
What performance do you need? Are you using other software (apart from Studio) on the machine?
Some months ago I took the leap from a tower machine and purchased a Z Book notebook from HP, 15 inch, now combined with a docking stat
... See more
Before taking any decisions, there are many questions to be answered. Will you use it mostly at home (maybe with a docking station), partly underway, or mostly while travelling? If you go for a 17 inch device, you might feel it's too heavy to bring along.
What performance do you need? Are you using other software (apart from Studio) on the machine?
Some months ago I took the leap from a tower machine and purchased a Z Book notebook from HP, 15 inch, now combined with a docking station for working at home. It's of course a personal thing, but I couldn't imagine working only on the notebook keyboard and the tiny screen for too long.
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Ivana Kahle
Ivana Kahle  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 13:04
Member (2007)
German to Croatian
+ ...
Dell Precision Apr 15, 2021

I stick to Dell. It's a working horse. Yes, it's expensive, but it's worth every cent. It never ever lets you down. As for specs, I can't say much as my current laptop is more than 4 years old. But it still serves me well

Michael Beijer
Joe France
Edwige Thomas
Yaotl Altan
 
Joakim Braun
Joakim Braun  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 13:04
German to Swedish
+ ...
Mac + Parallels Apr 15, 2021

With Parallels Trados works great (or rather as so-so as could be expected).
The experience is really seamless, I was agreeably surprised.

MacBook Pro 2020, MacOSX 10.15.7, Parallels 16.1.3, Trados 2021.
This setup is fast too.


Hans Lenting
Erik Freitag
 
Michael Beijer
Michael Beijer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:04
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
Dell Precision! Apr 15, 2021

Ivana Kahle wrote:

I stick to Dell. It's a working horse. Yes, it's expensive, but it's worth every cent. It never ever lets you down. As for specs, I can't say much as my current laptop is more than 4 years old. But it still serves me well


Indeed, I always recommend Dell Precision. From the business part of their website. Kind of expensive, but you get what you pay for. Better components, keyboard, trackpad, etc. My last one (17" Precision M6800) was 5 years old and still going strong. I wanted a newer model (17" Precision 7740), and so gave it to my mother (who is also a translator) and the thing is still going strong with no signs of ever dying.

Michael


Ivana Kahle
Edwige Thomas
 
_Maric_
_Maric_
Croatia
Local time: 13:04
English to Croatian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
tnx for your replies! Apr 18, 2021

Thanks everyone for your replies!

Since you mentioned Dell I searched for one:) and found this:
https://www.cyberport.de/?DEEP=1C33-1X4&APID=117&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqrDS1bOF8AIVFJftCh1lZgNGEAQYBCABEgIxV_D_BwE

Sorry the website is in German, but I guess the specs are almost the same in both English
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Thanks everyone for your replies!

Since you mentioned Dell I searched for one:) and found this:
https://www.cyberport.de/?DEEP=1C33-1X4&APID=117&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqrDS1bOF8AIVFJftCh1lZgNGEAQYBCABEgIxV_D_BwE

Sorry the website is in German, but I guess the specs are almost the same in both English and German. I loved the discount and I think I am considering this one seriously. I just hope it wouldn't be loud. What do you think?

I also found this one:
https://www.caseking.de/hp-envy-17-17-cg0220ng-43-94cm-17-3-zoll-geforce-mx330-notebook-nbhp-061.html?sPartner=999&wt_mc=googleads.12462974316.121240237889&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI97T93LKF8AIVL4BQBh2OGg-gEAQYASABEgLd2fD_BwE

I have a silly question: How come the price is so much different (2600 € vs. 1350 €, ok...the Dell one is discounted to 1800€ which is great, but is it also that much better)? They both are 17 inch laptops, both have 16 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD, i7 processors and come with Windows 10 64-bit.. Are the Dell's graphic card and the resolution that much better, is it that much faster? Anyway, I suppose there's much more to it, but I just don't see it:)
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Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 13:04
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Maric Apr 18, 2021



According to this page:
https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-10750H-vs-Intel-Core-i7-1065G7/m1053158vsm888368
...the Dell's CPU is about 25% faster than that of the HP, but it also uses three times as much power as the HP's processor. Dell's CPU is a 6-core processor vs. HP's CPU which is a 4-core processor (although the number of cores before 4 doesn't necessarily say anything).

According to this page:
https://versus.com/en/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1650-ti-vs-nvidia-geforce-mx330
...the Dell's graphics card is better in almost all ways than HP's graphics card (in a number of ways a lot better) but the maximum power usage of the Dell's graphics card is five times as much as that of HP's.

However, the size of the battery sometimes also says something about how long the battery will last, and the Dell has a battery that's almost twice as large as the HP's battery. So perhaps with the larger battery, the Dell's CPU and graphics card's extra power consumption wouldn't matter. One can only speculate and guess.

The fact that the Dell's graphics card has 4 GB of RAM vs. the HP's graphics card's 2 GB is also telling, but 2 GB is perfectly good enough for a translator's needs. If you're not buying the laptop for gaming or intensive graphics programs, HP's 2 GB graphics card may be sufficient.

The HP weighs in at 2.8 kg whereas the Dell is 2.2 kg -- this can be an issue if you tend to travel a lot with the laptop and carry it in a laptop backpack a lot... although most people use 17" laptops as desktop replacements anyway.

Some people might like the Dell's large track pad. On the other hand, have a look at the ports: the Dell has four Thunderbolt ports only (i.e. 4 USB-C ports that can also take Thunderbolt devices, if you have any), whereas the HP has one USB-C and three USB-A ports... plus it has an HDMI port (the Dell doesn't have HDMI, although perhaps one could use a converter to plug HDMI devices into the Thunderbolt port...?). The Thunderbolt ports can take USB-C devices, but take stock of what you would want in terms of ports. Also, many peripherals still use USB-A, so if you're going to go the Dell route you would have to carry one or two USB-C-to-USB-A adapters in the case.

According to your web sites, the Dell has an IPS screen, which means that it has very good viewing angles. I could not find out if the HP is also IPS (it says "LED" on the web site, but comparing IPS with LED is like comparing apples with alligators, so that doesn't tell us anything).

Michael Beijer wrote:
I wanted a newer model (17" Precision 7740), and so gave it to my mother (who is also a translator) and the thing is still going strong with no signs of ever dying.


Glad to hear that your mother is in good health. (-:

[Edited at 2021-04-18 16:36 GMT]


 
Yaotl Altan
Yaotl Altan  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 06:04
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
+ ...
I agree Jun 10, 2021

Ivana Kahle wrote:

I stick to Dell. It's a working horse. Yes, it's expensive, but it's worth every cent. It never ever lets you down. As for specs, I can't say much as my current laptop is more than 4 years old. But it still serves me well


Yes, both models (desktops and laptops) work fine with an incredibly fast support team. And they last years... As a matter of fact, my desktop is a 2007 Dell with a nice performance.


 


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