90K+ Suggestion Needed for a Workstation Grade Laptop

[RomeoSix]

Good day, fellow forum members,

A quick rundown on what I have to work with:

Budget: 2 Lakhs INR and not more than 3.5 Lakhs INR

Purpose and Usage: A Mobile Workstation, High CAD Workloads (Simulations and Rendering) with AI Programming and Data Science Workloads

Programs used: Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and Lightroom. Autodesk AutoCAD, Fusion 360 and DS CATIA V5. Python, C# and Javascript (All IDEs made by JetBrains) Programming and minor server hosting over SSH.

Size and Weight Consideration: None, though I would prefer a screen on the bigger side (>15.6 inches)

Brand Preference: Any reputable brand that has good customer care and prevalence in the Indian Market (for example, something like Dell or HP and not something like Origin PCs)

Misc Considerations: Ideally a 60Hz+ Screen but that is not a constraint, a RAM that doesn't bottleneck its applications (somewhere around the ballpark of 16Gb+ with expandability), Good Thermals, mostly to increase the CPU lifetime but also due to me constantly using my laptops on my lap (no duh), I am not considering getting a refurbished or serviced laptop .

Now I'll say the specs I have in mind; please do correct me if it sounds too unrealistic or plain impossible:

CPU: Intel Core i7 or i9 10th Gen

GPU: nVidia RTX 2080 Series (with VR Support) or an equivalent Quadro RTX 3000 Ampere Series Card

RAM: 16-32 Gb 2133 MHz Dual Channel RAM with expandability in the future

Storage: 256-512 NVMe or M.2 or Standard SSD with 4-8TB 7200RPM HDD Storage

Display: 15.6 to 17 Inch IPS Display with a resolution of at least 1080p

Port Selection: Just don't be a MacBook Pro (Thunderbolt 3 ideal with external GPU support)

I don't have the option of building a desktop cause I prefer the mobility offered by a laptop as a college student. I'll be buying this laptop in the year 2021, and I'm willing to wait if the right laptop is around the corner. I wouldn't mind those 'gaming' laptops with their 'gaming' aesthetics as ergonomics isn't my concern in this purchase, but I do want the laptop to be rugged as hell as it needs to survive the backpack of a college student.

This laptop mainly has to survive a strong 6 to 8 years of usage, even if it means I have to pay a bit extra as the price tag is flexible to the 3-3.5 Lakh range.

Also, I'd prefer to buy this laptop from a reputed retailer who has functional return policies and customer protection; just don't wanna be scammed by some Chinese website.

With regards,
a confused man.
Thank you!

 

[Amien]

Do you plan on using Solidworks apart from the listed applications? How much of a premium are you willing to pay for the same relative performance on a workstation card (Quadro for example) versus consumer stuff? If you plan on buying next year, its best to start looking for candidates then. That said, there's very little difference between 9th and 10th gen Intel H parts if you need something right away.

 

[RomeoSix]

Do you plan on using Solidworks apart from the listed applications? How much of a premium are you willing to pay for the same relative performance on a workstation card (Quadro for example) versus consumer stuff? If you plan on buying next year, its best to start looking for candidates then. That said, there's very little difference between 9th and 10th gen Intel H parts if you need something right away.

I am certainly on the lookout for good CAD Software and if Solidworks fits the bill, there would be a high chance I'd work with it. I have seen many on paper comparisons of the consumer RTX cards
and professional Quadro cards on offer, to my knowledge, almost all Mobile Quadro cards (RTX 5000 and below) are underperforming in the following departments:
1. Base and Boost Clocks
2. Core and Transistor Count
3. Realtime 3D and RayTracing
4. Thermals and Display outputs
With such bottlenecks and a price that is equal or greater than a consumer RTX 2080, I don't see a good reason why to choose Quadro Cards for my use cases. Yes, I do understand Quadro cards have professional features unlocked out of the box and perform marginally better in 3D workflows, but they are not enough to supplement the deal-breaking disadvantages on the hardware aspects, plus I would be doing some light to moderate video editing on the side and would a Quadro be able to handle it? Please do correct me if whatever I said was horrendously wrong. But I certainly am willing to pay a good premium if Quadro cards are optimized for my workloads in a way I don't know yet.

With regards to the future-proofing of the device, aren't the 11th Gen dropping this September along with the Ampere line-up of RTX 3090 Cards? Plus I read on some sources that Intel is planning to unveil its Amber Lake series of 12th Gen Processors sometime next year, should I rather bite my teeth and hold out for them or just splurge and get the i9 10th Gen ones?

Regards.

 

[vivek.krishnan]

HP has some new laptops coming.

Try to get one which has quad DIMM + Quadro/FirePro in MXM (is this even a there in 2020?)