Laptop Workstation Recommendation for 2017 - Gigabyte Aero 14

[mike07722]

Hello Everyone,

I'm looking to buy a laptop workstation and I'd like a second opinion. I move around a lot so a desktop just isn't viable. Originally, I was going to go with a Macbook, but after researching online I've decided to go with Windows for a number of reasons.

At first, I was looking at the Asus Zenbook Pro:

Intel i7 6700HQ

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 4GB

16GB of RAM

512GB SSD

has a card reader (this is indispensable)

$1,700

But as I was looking around on the forums here it seemed that people have run into problems with this specific graphics card when using Premiere, so I continued on looking for the right PC. I considered the spec'd out Dell XPS, but it's over $1,000 more than the Asus, and I've read here to stay clear of Dell for various reasons. I also had a Dell back in the Windows XP days before going to Apple, and it was a nightmare. I also looked at the Razorblade Pro, but it's too expensive and the 1TB version is apparently sold out anyway. After days of searching for something with the right specs to run Premiere flawlessly, I think I'm settling on the Gigabyte Aero 14. I should stress that I am not a hardware guy and sorting through all of this information was not fun for me. I just a machine with which I can use Premiere and other Adobe programs without a problem, and which has sufficient ports. So I'm looking at this one:

Gigabyte Aero 14

Intel i7-6700HQ

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB

32GB of RAM

1TB 960 EVO M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD

has a card reader

$2,331 (with Office and Antivirus)

This really is my upper limit for cost, and it seems to be a great machine, one that will last for years to come. But the one flaw seems to be its relatively poor color gamut, but this is a compromise I think I'm willing to make. I mean, it can't be that bad, can it? I'd love to hear from the people here who really know hardware, like Bill Gehrke (I know you recommended this laptop about a year ago, but can you still speak highly of it now?) and RoninEdits (thanks in advance for leading me to xoticpc), to know that the experts think before I commit.

Thanks in advance!

[Bill_Gehrke]

Well there are two problems and two comments if I were to get one for myself.

1. I would have to see one with Premiere to see if I could use that 14" screen and that 2560 x 1440 resolution.  I am sure that I have much older eyes than you.
2. I might go for a slightly different storage setup.  I have found  a slightly different workflow that works great for me.  Your proposed laptop has one USB3.1 and also three USB3.0 ports.  I might go for only a 512 GB M.2 onboard SSD and put all my projects on one of several Samsung T3 portable USB 3.1 SSD's with only a 512GB onboard you can shop with many sources available and then buy one (or more, I now have three).and keep the cost down.  Two 512 GB T3's are only $336 
3. With the newer i7-7700HQ now available you might have a very slight speed advantage but on the other hand you might find bargains on the i7-6700HQ version.
4. Using the 960 EVO versus the 960 Pro for a single storage device I will have to get back to you,  My 960 EVO just arrived yesterday and I do not have a good answer yet, so I will get some more time today. 

[RoninEdits]

the i7-7700hq is out now, its going to be a bit faster. the gtx 1050 4gb and 1050 ti 4gb for laptops are also out now and normally would be plenty for a laptop. you would have to be doing lots of gpu accelerated fx or heavy grading to need the gtx 1060, or playing video games...  if you are doing color work then you might want a very accurate screen and perhaps even a quadro for 10bit display, otherwise it won't be as critical. if you are going to buy from xoticpc you may want to call them up to have them compare screens on laptops with card readers and the rest of the spec's you want. screen types, viewing angles and color accuracy are some factors they should be able to compare and list.

it looks like xoticpc only offers mcafee for anti-virus? intel probably offers some kickback deals for vendors to use mcafee, but i wouldn't touch it. bitdefender and kaspersky had some of the best detection rates last i looked.

[mike07722]

Thanks for the feedback guys! In response to Bill's points:

1. I did have increased 4k sharpness in min, but tiny menus could be an annoyance.

2. Is there a disadvantage to having a 1TB SSD other than the price? I'm willing to pay for that onboard storage

3. On the laptops that I was looking at, the i7-7700 was only an option available on the Dell XPS, everything else was the 6700. It seemed to be that the trouble is finding a company that will allow you to properly customize the machine to tailor your needs. XOTIC PC seemed to do it best, but even for the Gigabyte Aero 14, there is not option to upgrade the processor. Anyway, if it's only a bit faster it might not be worth the trouble and that the 6700 will be just fine.

4. I look forward to hearing about what you learn!

And Ronin: Like the processor it was just a matter of what was offered, I was not able to change the graphics card on this partucular model, but it's good to know that the other cheaper cards will suffice, if I have the opportunity to choose which card goes into the machine.

And when I posted this originally, it was after days of searching for a machine that has what I need, and I was a bit relieved to find the Gigabyte Aero 14, which was just so close. Really, only the screen was an issue, but since I've had time to reflect and further research it, the screen has put me off. I will continue to search, and will get in touch with XOTIC PC to see if they can sort me out. If you have any other suggestions for stores to check out, please let me know! I'll update this as I make progress for anyone else in this situation.

Mike