Tell me if this is possible

Here's what I want.

Preface: This will be used mainly as a desktop machine. But I want a machine that is very mobile in the size/weight department, I honestly could care less about battery life. Less than 1% of this computer's life would be used unplugged.

I'm sold on the XPS15 9560 being the form factor I want, but I would like to tweak the specs a little:
- 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ Quad Core Processor (6M cache, up to 3.8 GHz)
- 16GB DDR4-2400MHz (maybe up to 32GB
- 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) InfinityEdge (don't want 4K, but I want the machine to be able to play 4K movies with HDMI out)
- 512GB PCIe Solid State Drive (would even like a 1TB, bigger the better for me)
- NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 with 4GB GDDR5 (I wish they supported the 1060, but I get it would be too much power/heat)
- 56Whr Battery (I want the space for an extra SSD)

Anyone know if this is possible to spec out with Dell?

I would plan on pairing this with a TB16 dock. I have 3 1080P monitors that this machine needs to run (I likely won't go 4K at the office any time soon).

Also, does anyone know how the monitors connected to the TB16 dock are run? Does it use the silly CPU virtual GPU driver? Or does the laptop GPU/Integrated GPU run all monitors?

Thanks!

 

...I'm thinking of maybe going with the Alienware 13r3...basically has everything I want except the 15" screen.

 

Are you aware of the Gigabyte Aero 15? It's like the same thing with a 1060. Could be what you want.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834233205

If you are willing to pay, XoticPC also will customize it if you want a higher amount of storage.

 

For what you want, you'll want to look at:
Razer Blade 14"
Alienware 13
Gigabyte Aero 15

Razer Blade has superb materials and build quality. Uses all aluminum body for it's chassis. It looks and feels like a black-colored MacBook Pro (and that's a good thing). Expect to pay around $1900-$2300 on average.

Dell's Alienware 13 is a great laptop as well. Solid build, but larger, heavier. Expect to pay around $1300-$1700 for a decent configuration.

Gigabyte Aero is the newest product in what I'll call the cheap Taiwanese-designed thin and light category. Companies like Acer, Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, Sager / Clevo. They're powerful. They're a bit cheaper. But the materials and build quality leave a lot to be desired. (In Asia, people buy based purely on specs of computing hardware. Things like build quality, screen image quality are not features that sell well in that market). Expect to pay around $1500-$1600.

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From what iunlock has been saying the build quality is nicer than other offerings from Gigabyte.

The Alienware 13 is a good option but heavier, though it does have a sweet 1440p OLED option.

The Razer Blade is terribly quality controlled, so buy it from the Microsoft Store or HIDEvolution to ensure you don't get a dud... Because a lot of them are. It's also one of the lowest performing 1060 notebooks on the market. When it works it's a very nice form factor though.

 

Btw. You're spending an extra $600-$1000 for the laptop form factor. You're also eliminating any future upgrade path; so if you want to upgrade any major component like CPU or GPU, you pretty much need to buy an entirely new machine.

Compare that to a desktop, which will literally cost half the price of some of these gaming laptops mentioned. If you need a laptopsthe, then buy a separate non-gaming laptop in addition to the gaming desktop. And the price of both will still be cheaper than a gaming laptop.

I just wanted to mention this, since it doesn't make sense for you to pay for portability in a machine that won't be moved.

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The Aero is 1900 btw, not 1500. It's more premium you're paying for the form factor like you said.

 

I wouldn't say the Razer blade is any more or less quality controlled than any other laptop out there, or that I have ever owned. You can't use these forums as a measure of laptop quality, since people only come onto forums when something goes wrong.

So I'd argue Razer Blade quality control is on-par with other laptops. However, their support is sh*t. THAT you do hear complaints about, and rightly so. If someone does buy a Razer blade , I'd say yes, go through a Microsoft store.

If Razer didn't make such awesome laptops, then nobody would buy them due to the poor reputation of their customer support. But they DO make incredible machines, so some people are willing to put up with it. Nobody else has pulled off a thin-and-light laptop 14" or lower with a GTX 1060 in it, and an all-aluminum body.

As far as "slower" performance... In laptops, you're usually looking at about a 10% variation in GPU performance across different laptop designs. It's mostly due to cooling (which impacts maximum sustained clock speed). A laptop that is thinner and lighter will not be able to dissipate heat as well as a larger laptop with better cooling; and therefore usually runs a bit slower. So the trade-off is whether you'd prefer that 10% GPU performance, or if you'd prefer the smaller form factor.

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Ah, didnt realize the aero was 1900. Thanks for catching that.

I must have been thinking of gigabyte's more generic P34vx laptops.

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I wasn't really referring to something here specifically. I've dealt with five Razer systems in person, and 3 of them needed RMA for serious problems from failed mobos to fans literally hitting the chassis. There is also feedback here, and on reddit for system issues. Proportionately to other brands who have way more sales, they have a lot of complaints that are rather serious. From the Blade Pro Raid failure to double click issues on their mice.

Also don't recommend the Blade Pro... It's 4000 dollars for a GTX 1080 that performs worse than my Clevo P650's 1070 with a terrible keyboard and RAID forced. The Aorus X7 is a much more solid thin 1080 machine.

I'm saying this as someone who likes Razer by the way. I have plenty of Razer peripherals. But no, their support, and quality control are both fairly bad. (Their keyboards seem to be their most reliable product)

And yeah, the P34 series laptops are not very impressive.

 

Thanks guys, pretty seriously looking into the Gigabyte, it looks very much like the square peg for my square hole. I've thought about getting a desktop, but this is a production machine (I'm a CPA), I need to have my setup (and installed tools) with me. As far as CPAs go, I'd consider myself pretty high-level in the tech-arena for small business CPAs, so I'm able to clean up messes with greater ease (but not if I don't have my production machine with me). It's just one of those necessities...plus, I can write this machine off, so at the end of the day, it doesn't cost me what I pay up front for it.

Thus, the laptop. It is also my personal machine (thus I like to have at least 1.5TB on hand). I also have a 4K TV at home, so I'd like that capability as well.

And, on the off chance I get a few minutes, I do like to try out a game here and there (like the new edition of SW BF, since I'm also a sucker for Star Wars).

Notebookcheck rates the Gigabyte very highly, fwiw, almost 90%.

Thanks!

P.S. And it even has a 10-key...cherry on top!

 

fwiw:
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Gigabyte-Aero-15-7700HQ-GTX-1060-FHD-Laptop-Review.215364.0.html

In review: Gigabyte Aero 15. Test model provided by Gigabyte Germany.
Whether you consider the Aero 15 primarily as an all-rounder or a gaming platform, Gigabyte has taken an important step forward in its notebook development. The extremely slim 15-inch laptop (19 mm/~0.75 in) might reach a top place in our Multimedia Top 10 as well as in the mobile Gaming Top 10.

Not only its balanced hardware, but also its various features, which can only rarely be found in competitors, contribute to the positive impression of the Aero 15. For example, the very small display frame ensures a stylish look. Furthermore, the display calibration (X-Rite Pantone) and the Thunderbolt 3 port, which is finally used by Gigabyte, deserve praise. The battery runtime is also respectable. Only few performance notebooks exceed 7 to 8 hours in everyday Windows use.

There are hardly any serious complaints. Apart from a disappointing sound quality, we have only to criticize the steep price and the not always reliable touchpad.

Overall, the Aero 15 proves to be a worthy rival to the multimedia top dogs the Dell XPS 15, the Razer Blade 2017, and the Acer V15 Nitro.

 

I second the Aero 15. Excellent pre-calibrated screen, Thunderbolt 3, 2 SSD slots, a GTX 1060, Battery life in case you ever need it, very good build quality for a machine that feels like plastic, good thermals.... Does it get better?

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One thing to note is Gigabyte just held all sales of it to fix something... People suspect something with the keyboard firmware. Hardware wise I don't think there are major issues apparent yet.

 

Thinking I'll do the RAM & SSD upgrades myself. They give you $0 credit for the part you're upgrading from...pretty silly.

Thanks for the update.

I need to wait for a new credit card to come in the mail anyways...gotta get those sign-up bonus points and I need to spend $4K =]

 

We'll disagree on this and move back to the topic...