All-in-one laptop, is it a reality today?

Aes-Sedai

Estimable
Nov 10, 2014
5
0
4,520
I've been looking at N+1 laptop reviews over the past few months and visited pretty much every IT-shop in town to poke, prod and rub the physical examples out there, looking for a laptop that would match these criteria:

  • Have a blindingly fast processor - i7 preferred, maybe quad-core?
    Have an option to upgrade to 16GB of RAM or more (while 8GB would be OK today i'd like some future-proofing here)
    Feature a graphics card capable of handling Photoshop (photo only, no video edit), CAD, simpler games (Civ V and EVE Online are the only ones i touch these days)
    Full-HD resolution or greater IPS panel with accurate sRGB reproduction
    Have a fast SSD drive in combination with a 1TB or larger traditional drive
    Be built like a tank (Dell Precisions come to mind) and be discrete enough (alien skulls and "Gamer-something" badges are not welcome)
    Stay cool-ish under load, i want a laptop not a stove
    Enable me to connect a high resolution monitor (DisplayPort probably?)
    Have decent battery life (let's say 5 hours of WiFi surfing)
    Have Win7 or Win8/8.1
Things i don't care about much:

  • Size and weight
    CD/DVD drive
    Touchscreen
Is there a laptop that does all these things or should i wait for Broadwell/Skylake/Cannonlake?
I've looked and looked and things always come short in at least one criteria - I look at Dell Precision M4800 and the FHD screen has a TN panel (i cannot afford the 3K IPS Dells atm), I look at MSI gaming series and everyone says they overheat like there's no tomorrow, plus that hideous badge... And so on...
 
Solution


http://www.mysn.eu/shop/
check out this site. They have plenty of powerful options. Keep in mind that systems ship without OS unless you select an OS and that thinner systems have worse cooling. You can basically choose whatever you want in your laptop. Prices for laptops similar to those that you ask range from 1400 to 2000 but you can...

Aes-Sedai

Estimable
Nov 10, 2014
5
0
4,520


I'm located in Estonia, well represented brands here are Dell, Lenovo & HP, less so with Asus (they seem to be struggling with demand and the Baltics get less than optimal volumes), very limited with Acer and MSI. There's also a Clevo builder here but they have rather mixed feedback.
Budget? up to 2000 euros if need be, would rather stay below 1500€.
 

Demosthenest

Estimable
May 21, 2014
12
0
4,570


http://www.mysn.eu/shop/
check out this site. They have plenty of powerful options. Keep in mind that systems ship without OS unless you select an OS and that thinner systems have worse cooling. You can basically choose whatever you want in your laptop. Prices for laptops similar to those that you ask range from 1400 to 2000 but you can easily stay under 1500 if you choose well. Many of their systems allow for QHD resolutions. However, I would strongly recommend you buy a cheaper laptop and build a rig. Good luck!
 
Solution

Aes-Sedai

Estimable
Nov 10, 2014
5
0
4,520
That looks like a great store, but i would rather stick to manufacturers that have a licensed dealer here to take care of possible warranty issues and suchlike.
And yes, i know that it would be sensible to build a rig and spend the remaining cash on a cheaper laptop, but the way life is now i'm more on the move that before, i'd still maintain a screen and maybe a dock at home for easy connecting, but most of the time the laptop will be fired up outside the house.
 

Aes-Sedai

Estimable
Nov 10, 2014
5
0
4,520
Thanks for the advice.
I went and got the 17" Acer Aspire Nitro Black Edition in the end, not a perfect thing by far, but a good price (1100 euros) led to a compromise in battery life, ports and cooling (oh my, it gets hot under load).