Need a new laptop. Recommendations and advice are welcome
In general I like Dell. https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/scr/laptops
They have a wide array of laptops based on your needs. Yhey even offer a ruggedized option.
Another vote for Dell. Specifically, the Dell Precision line for work.
Third vote for Dell, I have a Dell G15 edition laptop and love it. I run Carlson SurvCad with C3D as the CAD engine and can run multiple other programs with no speed or performance issues.
Another vote for Dell, but my favorite is the XPS line. Also, if you sign up for a business account, you can sometimes talk to your representative on the phone (in the U.S. too!) and they will give you an additional discount.
The business support plans are amazing as well -- I've only had to use it one time in 10ish years, but it was a life saver. My RAM failed at 4pm one day, so I reported it to Dell support via website chat. THE NEXT MORNING AT 7AM, a technician was at my office to replace the RAM, then confirmed it was working well. The whole process was about 10-15 minutes. I could have done it myself, but I would have had to wait for the RAM to be shipped and that would have taken much longer. There was no fee or anything. Absolutely incredible support experience.
I second the business side of Dell. I had a wifi issue and after some time over the phone a tech was out within 48hours and worked until the issue was resolved to my satisfaction.
See my comment in the other thread about computers where I had not 1 but 2 Dell lemons to get my thoughts on the situation. 😏
I've owned 2 laptops, a Sony and an Asus, and the Asus has been a champ so far.
Mike,
A lot depends on the type of applications and how you use them. I'm very satisfied with my current laptop, a 2-year-old Windows Surface Studio Laptop w/ and Intel i7-11370H, 32.0 GB RAM, NVIDIA RTK A2000 video card, 14" monitor and 1 TB SSD. They are not cheap, the new version is on sale for around $3,200, but well worth it.
It is more than capable of running CAD and will even process most LiDAR processing. I'm sure it is capable put would be painfully slow at image processing. I still use a workstation for heavy lifting and when in the office just because it is there, and it has a lot more screen space.
One nice feature is the size. It is easy to carry in a small case, I have it with me on most occasions. It is also easy to use in the truck cab or the economy section of an airliner. The screen size is a bit harder for CAD but I usually carry a monitor in the back of the truck for use in hotels when out of town.
As a bonus, you can contort it into a tablet for times when a tablet format is preferred.
Edit: Over the past 2 years this thing has been rock solid.