Looking for a development laptop, i5 or i7?

[Negata]

I'm trying to figure out the best laptop for work and I'm not sure which features and specs to look closely into. I've been looking at Samsung Series 7 and 9 which run on i7 and i5 respectively. Is there a big difference between the i5 and i7? The series 9 is very compelling for its better mobility, but I'm afraid I might lose on performance. But then again according to some reviews, the 2012 model of Series 9 outperforms Series 7. How can it be?

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I'm not completely decided on Samsung, so if you have any great recommendations, I'm all ears. I want something elegant with good battery life and great performance. It doesn't need to be good for gaming (and it should not be profiled as a gaming machine). The price is not an issue, but if it's nearing 2k€ it will enter consideration. I will primarily be running Ubuntu on it. As a side note the HD isn't a factor as I will replace it with my current SDD anyway (it will have to be possible, of course!).

Any advice greatly appreciated!

 

[Ron]

Depends really. I have a core i5 2500k overclocked and it benches better than my friend's i7 build, however its a desktop.

Personally I'd go with an i7 simply for the fact you can get a great laptop for under your budget. $2500 USD to work with, you could get a great development laptop for far cheaper since you won't need it for gaming.

I'd suggest going through a brand which lets you customize the hardware, personal favorites for laptops are samsung and asus. Choose the lowest-end video card you can get and use the savings on more ram or simply a better CPU / bigger screen.

lienware might not be a bad option tbh. Even though they are gaming laptops, they are impressive as hell, turn heads and receive comments, and you'll be completely satisfied with using it. I just customized a m17 with the highest-end i7 they offer and 12gb of ram, the price came out to just under $2k USD. If you want a smaller screen you'll save a few hundred.

Usually I wouldn't recommend alienware because of the price but if you can afford it without breaking your budget they are amazingly built and high quality. I have multiple friends from school with m17's and I highly envy them.

 

[Negata]

After your comment I'm glad I went the way I did. I had not realized that Samsung had the Series 9 Business models in a separate section, that's where I found one with i7 when I kept looking. So I get best of both worlds. Well the order is placed at least, just not sure if the dealer our company uses can provide it. If not, I'll definitely have to check out Alienware and Asus.

It's a great thing not having to worry about budget when it's not me who pays for it

Although I made my decision this time, I'd still like to hear what others look for in a laptop these days. Myself I haven't really been following the hardware market properly in a long time.

 

[Rishwin]

Just throwing this out there as something to consider- Many business oriented people buy Alienware purely due to their on-site tech warranty. Having a tech sent out to you regardless of where you are within 2 working days for any issue you could possibly have? To some people that's worth more than the laptop itself.

Not to mention the Ati cards can be flashed into professional firepro cards, and every component is removable and replaceable/upgradable.

Plus the flashy lights look cool too 8)

 

[Negata]

I checked the Alienware configuration options and I must say it's pretty cool to be able to select each component by yourself for a laptop, not to mention the looks! My next laptop might as well be Alienware.

 

[Ron]

For sure. I really want the m18, getting one as soon as I can finance it.

 

[Hejula]

For sure. I really want the m18, getting one as soon as I can finance it.

The M18x sure is awesome. Being able to have up to 32GB of RAM in a laptop just because you can is awesome!

 

[Rishwin]

The M18x sure is awesome. Being able to have up to 32GB of RAM in a laptop just because you can is awesome!

Sure, if that's what's important to you in a laptop... What's that old saying about a fool and his money?

 

[Hejula]

Sure, if that's what's important to you in a laptop... What's that old saying about a fool and his money?

I personally wouldn't splash out on it but I know people who would ;P

 

[Rishwin]

Yea... People for the most part really don't know what RAM is. It doesn't make your PC any faster -AT ALL- having 32GB instead of 8GB, if you actually have a use for it then you can do more things at once, but having 28GB of unused RAM will not make your PC any faster than it was when you only had 1GB of unused RAM.