14" laptop for engineering

[Buffalo]

Need a new laptop. However my role is more managerial these days, only occasionally needing processing power for modeling and heavy graphics. Looked at 14" laptops on account of the new MBPs, and also as dont want to go up to 16" from 15". But Macs on windows server can still be a bit of a pain and some software i (may) have to use can detect VMs and won't activate the licence (v annoying). So while my preference is the Mac, its an expensive gamble to find out I may not be able to do what I need on it.

I cannot find a reliable review of 14" PCs. Lenovo is go to make. Their yoga range looks good but limited to 32Gb, the thinkpad seems bit clunky but can take 64Gb ram.

Anyone have real world experience of any of these in 14" size, or offer an alternative?

[journeymanpro]

Think pad t14

[alock]

X1 carbon is the premium slim 14" laptop. I believe it can be customised to 64GB

[Sheepshanks]

journeymanpro said:

Think pad t14

On my third - T14 Gen 3 Intel i7, but I really only changed it as for Black Friday 22 the Lenovo configurator allowed you to select many ( but not all ) spec upgrades without changing the price.

Only issue with Thinkpads is the basic screen can be crap - think mine was 300 nit standard and I upgraded to 400 nit. Also add the backlit keyboard if you can and it’s not standard.

[JimJobs81]

Buffalo said:

, only occasionally needing processing power for modeling and heavy graphics. ?

How occasional and what spec does this require? Autodesk certified/graphics card/high colour accuracy?

Can you get a MPB and a Windows Cloud VM?

[ridds]

Another vote for the Thinkpad. Great laptops, been using them in an engineering environment for 15 odd years now.

We moved to HP for a couple of years at work and nearly everyone had to have their screen replaced.

I'm on a T14 now, i7-1355U, 16GB GDDR5, 512GB M2 SSD, onboard graphics.

Had a P14S before, i7-10610U, 64GB GDDR4, 512GB M2 SSD, Quadro® P520

Both were short on storage (we're supposed to use the servers, great when you're dealing with 100mb files...), don't miss the P520 (it never really got tasked that much even with Siemens Teamcentre).

I do miss the RAM though, 32GB min for handling any large data files or multiple application use.

13th Gen and GDDR5 is certainly a step up but more RAM, more better. imho.

[Buffalo]

I'm happy with Lenovos, we usually use fully spec'd 15" models (i9, 128Gb ram, addn graphics, etc) but I personally don't need that level of power now, or if I did it would be occasional. And mostly, I don't want to go up to 16" as is current trend.

So i spec'd up a loaded P14s vs an x1 carbon 14". The P series is £1000 less expensive £1800 vs. £2800. For as far as I can see the same specs exactly as I've configured them both. Am I missing something with the x1? If not, then probably the P14s wins on sensibility.

[ridds]

https://realit.com.au/lenovo-thinkpad-x-t-p-series...

From Aus but probably still relevant.

My T series is much more battery efficient than my previous P series.

[nuyorican]

I have a nice little Dell Lattitude 14 incher. Not sure on the exact model as i''m on the macbook currently. I use the Dell for music production. It's a fair few years old but 32gb ram, 1Tb SSD, Quad core i7. Nice little machine.

[jesusbuiltmycar]

Personally I prefer Macbooks, but if you go the Windows route avoid Dell

See: https://dontbuydell.com/

My current client supplied a Dell with a high spec, it cost more that most MacBooks and it is an unreliable p.o.s. Dell's quality has fallen off a cliff over the last few years.

[Buffalo]

Went for the P14s, there is a pretty good deal on at the moment on Lenovo website for anyone interested. Saved over £400 per laptop.