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m.hache
Dec 1, 2004


Fun Shoe

NObodyNOWHERE posted:

The screen is only 1080p if you care about that.

I would normally care but at 15" I'm not sweating it.

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Kaiser Schnitzel
Mar 29, 2006

Schnitzel mit uns


I'm looking at these three laptops:
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/vostro-7620-laptop/spd/vostro-16-7620-laptop/smv167w11p2c3303

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/lenovo/lenovo_slim_series/lenovo-slim-7-16-inch-amd/82ux0001us

https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/ConfigureView?langId=-1&storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&catEntryId=3074457345620383331&urlLangId=&quantity=1

For this use case:

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

I need a laptop. I've been out of the computer-buying game for a while and can't remember what any of the numbers mean or what's important, so please assume I'm kind of a moron with regards to all that. It'll mostly be for work and CAD modeling, as well as normal web browsing, some light photoshopping/illustrator etc. I'd definitely like something that will travel well. I don't plan on really doing much gaming and if I did it would be like AoE 2 or something. These are the system reqs for the CAD program I use:


Do any of those stand out as substantially better/worse than the others? All are well within my budget and I could up the specs on any of them a bit if needed. My buddy that is more of a computer knower than I am says he doesn't love Lenovo when he has to work on them and much prefers HP or Dell-is there anything wrong with lenovo or is that just personal preference? Same with AMD vs intel-he prefers intel. Is it usually cheaper to get more RAM when buying the computer or do it yourself later?

PC LOAD LETTER
May 23, 2005
WTF?!

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

Do any of those stand out as substantially better/worse than the others?
The first 2 use soldered RAM which limit or flat out prevent you from upgrading it. Top one is all soldered and the latter has 1 DIMM slot open. But you're stuck with DDR5 4800 speeds at best because that is all the other RAM runs at. Its not terrible but its a tad disappointing for something new.

The 3rd has 2 upgradeable RAM slots but uses DDR4. Its not bad but DDR4 is on the way out and if you're buying something new and plan to keep it for a long time something DDR5 is better to have.

And yeah its usually much cheaper to buy the RAM yourself and put in it then to buy it from Dell or HP. Looks like they charge over $200 for the same RAM you can buy else where for less than $60 for instance.

I can't speak to how easy any of the brands are to work on. I only open up laptops every now and again to change out hard drives or add RAM and they nearly all seem like a pain to deal with to me if you need to do serious repair work like replacing a mainboard or keyboard. Generally the Lenovo business class stuff is regarded as higher quality and less prone to breakage than other brands. I'm not aware of any high quality public numbers on any of the brands respective failure rates though.

For the CPU Intel currently can have a pretty nice performance advantage over AMD depending on what you're doing. The AMD CPU's currently are usually a fair bit more power efficient though. So if you plan on plugging yours in most of the time Intel makes a lot of sense. If battery time is more important AMD could be worth looking at. If you can wait than AMD has a new line of laptop CPU's coming out in a month or 2. If not don't worry, neither are bad and will probably be fine or awesome for your needs so long as you get something with 8 cores and ~3Ghz+ clocks so don't stress too much on picking one.

Kaiser Schnitzel
Mar 29, 2006

Schnitzel mit uns


PC LOAD LETTER posted:

The first 2 use soldered RAM which limit or flat out prevent you from upgrading it. Top one is all soldered and the latter has 1 DIMM slot open. But you're stuck with DDR5 4800 speeds at best because that is all the other RAM runs at. Its not terrible but its a tad disappointing for something new.

The 3rd has 2 upgradeable RAM slots but uses DDR4. Its not bad but DDR4 is on the way out and if you're buying something new and plan to keep it for a long time something DDR5 is better to have.

And yeah its usually much cheaper to buy the RAM yourself and put in it then to buy it from Dell or HP. Looks like they charge over $200 for the same RAM you can buy else where for less than $60 for instance.

I can't speak to how easy any of the brands are to work on. I only open up laptops every now and again to change out hard drives or add RAM and they nearly all seem like a pain to deal with to me if you need to do serious repair work like replacing a mainboard or keyboard. Generally the Lenovo business class stuff is regarded as higher quality and less prone to breakage than other brands. I'm not aware of any high quality public numbers on any of the brands respective failure rates though.

For the CPU Intel currently can have a pretty nice performance advantage over AMD depending on what you're doing. The AMD CPU's currently are usually a fair bit more power efficient though. So if you plan on plugging yours in most of the time Intel makes a lot of sense. If battery time is more important AMD could be worth looking at. If you can wait than AMD has a new line of laptop CPU's coming out in a month or 2. If not don't worry, neither are bad and will probably be fine or awesome for your needs so long as you get something with 8 cores and ~3Ghz+ clocks so don't stress too much on picking one.

Thanks. How do you tell from the specs etc. if the RAM is soldered or not? I see where it says that on the Lenovo but not on the Dell.

PC LOAD LETTER
May 23, 2005
WTF?!
It says 'integrated' for the Vostro 7620 under the memory options. Note too how all the options are all "8GB + whatever" for upgrades.

v1ld
Apr 16, 2012

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

For this use case:

Do any of those stand out as substantially better/worse than the others?

The graphics reqs for Autodesk are very low and seem to indicate a very low end discrete gpu or an integrated gpu with more vram. Looking around found this reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fusion360/comments/xe6gm6/do_you_need_a_dedicated_gpu/

That's pretty recent and says Autodesk is using your CPU to crunch numbers, not the GPU.

Which is all to say you may be fine with a recent Ryzen cpu with integrated RDNA2 graphics. That integrated GPU is actually pretty powerful and may be more than you actually need.

Not paying for a discrete GPU will save you money but will also in all probably get you a lighter, less power-hungry laptop that easier to travel with.

You should confirm at your workplace if a discrete GPU is really needed before buying a laptop.

Kaiser Schnitzel
Mar 29, 2006

Schnitzel mit uns


Thanks for all the input, decided to go with this XPS and hopefully be set for a good while.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/xps-15-laptop/spd/xps-15-9520-laptop/ctox15w11p1c4002

Hadlock
Nov 9, 2004

Sorry just saw this

I have the dell XPS and there's been all sorts of fuckery with the sleep modes and bios/efci poo poo I can't recommend the Dell based on that. HP and Lenovo don't seem to have these problems.

Kaiser Schnitzel
Mar 29, 2006

Schnitzel mit uns


Hadlock posted:

Sorry just saw this

I have the dell XPS and there's been all sorts of fuckery with the sleep modes and bios/efci poo poo I can't recommend the Dell based on that. HP and Lenovo don't seem to have these problems.

Ah, well, nevertheless.

I had a hard time finding an HP with the specs I decided I wanted and a lenovo with similar specs to what I got on the XPS was out of the budget, so here we are.

Hadlock
Nov 9, 2004

You probably won't hate it but definitely do whatever Google fu is required to search your model number on the Dell support forums and find out what you're in for

My model (6 years old at this point) had all kinds of lovely firmware "upgrades" pushed to it after I got it that made it objectively worse and I cannot close the lid without shutting it down otherwise it'll thermal shutdown from overheating the battery due to bad sleep blah blah blah

Yours is 6 years newer should hopefully be less hellish

Minus the hosed up sleep settings that dell literally locked me out of (I'm not bitter at all) it's been a good reliable laptop hopefully yours stays that way

Should be solid for fusion 360. Don't be a stranger over in the CAD thread there are some literal experts over there they have a wealth of knowledge to share

Xander77
Apr 6, 2009

Fuck it then. For another pit sandwich and some 'tater salad, I'll post a few more.



mobby_6kl posted:

Do we still have another goon with a Chuwi Minibook X?

I really need their help to unfuck my touchscreen :v: I tried an update that turned out to be incompatible and basically my touchscreen/digitizer is now all mirrored and has weird dead zones. The issue is with the configuration of the touch controller, which lives on the chip and isn't affected by drivers, so no amount of re-installation of windows or drivers helps. Their support as you can imagine doesn't go beyond :pt:

I made a little program that will read this configuration from a good device and then I'll be able to use it to update mine with the data. The volunteer would just need to run it (no virus I promise :angel:) and copy the data that it reads.
Just as another note on "I hate this laptop\minibook so much" - I have basically the same issue. Sent it to the nearest repair store - apparently Chuwi doesn't really automatically update drivers and occasionally just fucks things up so that you can't use the touchpad or bluetooth or touch screen. I curse this piece of poo poo every single day I have to use it.

TITTIEKISSER69
Mar 19, 2005

SAVE THE BEES
PLANT MORE TREES
CLEAN THE SEAS
KISS TITTIESS




Docking station question: my current work laptop is a Dell Latitude 5430, and my boss has offered me a Precision 3570. I'm just wondering if it requires a docking station with two USB-C connections, or will it work with just one? My teammmate believes it will ostensibly work with one but complain about lower voltage and drive only one monitor.

Scruff McGruff
Feb 13, 2007

Jesus, kid, you're almost a detective. All you need now is a gun, a gut, and three ex-wives.

TITTIEKISSER69 posted:

Docking station question: my current work laptop is a Dell Latitude 5430, and my boss has offered me a Precision 3570. I'm just wondering if it requires a docking station with two USB-C connections, or will it work with just one? My teammmate believes it will ostensibly work with one but complain about lower voltage and drive only one monitor.

As long as your dock can do 90w PD and is TB4 it shouldn't have any issues, that's assuming you're running your monitors over regular DP or HDMI and not daisy chained over USB-C, not sure how well that would work. I would add that while Dell tends to say you can do dual 4k@60hz I've had issues actually getting that to work, but I have no problem driving dual 1440p@60hz and still using the laptop screen, and some of my co-workers are running three 1440p monitors.

Falcon2001
Oct 10, 2004

Eat your hamburgers, Apollo.
Pillbug
I'm looking to buy a laptop for work (company provides crappy hardware but we can bring our own) - my starting guess is basically a Thinkpad mobile workstation, but wanted to see if I'm overthinking it. For price I'd like to keep it under 2k as a general rule.

Requirements / etc:
- I'm looking for something that can push two 4k screens through a dock without significant issue, so I'd prefer discrete graphics (even if it's a low-end GPU).
- My main workload doesn't involve a lot of VMs or anything, so I'm unlikely to need some massive 16core monster, but I'd prefer to err on the side of caution when it comes to workload.
- Additionally the tools we use at work can definitely fill up 16GB of RAM so I'm aiming at 32 to be safe.
- Input lag or other things like that drive me batshit
- I don't really plan on using this outside of meetings without a dock, so this won't be used on my lap/portable very much. Actual laptop screen size isn't that important to me as such; it'll just be a third screen most of the time, but obviously a bit higher def is nice.
- Windows / Linux is a must; not interested in relearning my OS from scratch even if the new Macs are super nice and all that.

Main workloads are software development and general productivity tools, nothing like blender/photoshop/etc

I assume from the above anything with a Thunderbolt 3+ connector should work with a decent dock, but any other thoughts/etc?

Falcon2001 fucked around with this message at 19:48 on Apr 17, 2023

Lockback
Sep 3, 2006

All days are nights to see till I see thee; and nights bright days when dreams do show me thee.

Falcon2001 posted:

I'm looking to buy a laptop for work (company provides crappy hardware but we can bring our own) - my starting guess is basically a Thinkpad mobile workstation, but wanted to see if I'm overthinking it. For price I'd like to keep it under 2k as a general rule.

Requirements / etc:
- I'm looking for something that can push two 4k screens through a dock without significant issue, so I'd prefer discrete graphics (even if it's a low-end GPU).
- My main workload doesn't involve a lot of VMs or anything, so I'm unlikely to need some massive 16core monster, but I'd prefer to err on the side of caution when it comes to workload.
- Additionally the tools we use at work can definitely fill up 16GB of RAM so I'm aiming at 32 to be safe.
- Input lag or other things like that drive me batshit
- I don't really plan on using this outside of meetings without a dock, so this won't be used on my lap/portable very much. Actual laptop screen size isn't that important to me as such; it'll just be a third screen most of the time, but obviously a bit higher def is nice.
- Windows / Linux is a must; not interested in relearning my OS from scratch even if the new Macs are super nice and all that.

Main workloads are software development and general productivity tools, nothing like blender/photoshop/etc

I assume from the above anything with a Thunderbolt 3+ connector should work with a decent dock, but any other thoughts/etc?

You're not overthinking, for software dev I'd definitely push for 32GB if your on the fence. For general productivity I am not sure 32GB gets you anything, for compiling your poo poo it definitely does.

Personally I'd lean toward a smaller laptop with a dock so its easier to bring around.

I'd do the Ryzen 7 pro version of the T14, the far right guy here: https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpadt/thinkpad-t14-gen-3-(14-inch-amd)/len101t0013

The latest gen of the X1 Carbon is a bit over 2000 for a 32GB model. If you can go a little higher then this would be a step up:
https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpadx1/thinkpad-x1-carbon-gen-11-(14-inch-intel)/len101t0049 (4th guy, i7 1365 with 32GB of RAM)

The P series is good too but I am not sure you need the extra weight and size.

FYI, for anyone that was waiting the T14 AMD prices are good again

Beve Stuscemi
Jun 6, 2001




This is a real weird ask, I know, but can anyone help me identify this MSI laptop? Here is what I can gather:

-Red stripe running around the bottom, but not the screen
-Led indicators for 7 things on the front, some MSI machines that google returns only have 3 LEDs on the front
-Brushed metal-ish looking palmrest?
-Lower-case (looks like chrome?) MSI logo on the screen case

marjorie
May 4, 2014

Maybe the MSI GE70?

(That's a 17in, GE62 or something should have the same appearance just 15.6 in - I think that's how the numbers went)

marjorie fucked around with this message at 01:41 on Apr 18, 2023

Beve Stuscemi
Jun 6, 2001




Ooh, looks a lot like a GE70, that might be it!

OneSizeFitsAll
Sep 13, 2010

Du bist mein Sofa
Can I please get some suggestions for a Windows laptop for my son, who is about to turn nine. Budget is around Ł500.

He will be using it for learning coding, Youtube, as well as some light gaming (Minecraft, Roblox, Among Us). I assume for the budget we are looking at integrated graphics, which I understand have come on a fair bit. If it can handle more than those games and give him some room for growth then all the better, but he has consoles to game on and can always get a desktop or more expensive laptop for graphically intense games when he's older, so I'm not prepared to stretch the budget much for more graphical prowess.

Because he is a small boy, bonus points if it looks cool. I'm guessing we would struggle to find one with his requested "anime dragon", but perhaps there are transfers or something we could stick on it, or a case with said design?

Lockback
Sep 3, 2006

All days are nights to see till I see thee; and nights bright days when dreams do show me thee.
I'd get a cool case sticker.

Any particular models you are looking at? I got an IdeaPad for my son, that came out to be about $550USD. I was able to find one with a 3050 in it, so you might be able to squeeze in a lower end GPU.

OneSizeFitsAll
Sep 13, 2010

Du bist mein Sofa
Not looking at anything specific yet. Had a glance at an HP Pavillion and a cheaper Acer, but not gotten too far yet really.

Aware
Nov 18, 2003

Lockback posted:

I'd get a cool case sticker.

Any particular models you are looking at? I got an IdeaPad for my son, that came out to be about $550USD. I was able to find one with a 3050 in it, so you might be able to squeeze in a lower end GPU.

Er what model is this if you don't mind?

OneSizeFitsAll
Sep 13, 2010

Du bist mein Sofa
Based on Lockback's post I have been looking at IdeaPads. Given UK prices, I don't think a discrete card is feasible. I like the look of the middle one here: https://www.lenovo.com/gb/en/p/laptops/ideapad/ideapad-300/ideapad-slim-3-gen-8-(14-inch-amd)/len101i0072?sortBy=priceDown. The one for Ł450 which has the "add to basket" rather than "build" option.

For some reason, under graphics, the other two just say "Integrated Graphics" whereas this one says "Integrated AMD Radeon™ 610M". Is there a difference?

More importantly, would Integrated AMD Radeon™ 610M graphics allow him to play Minecraft, Roblox etc with ease, maybe even allowing him to move onto more graphically intense games at some point? My understanding is that it should, as long as he isn't looking to play the latest AAA games at full settings, but some confirmation/clarification would be good, as this is looking like a very solid option overall.

Lockback
Sep 3, 2006

All days are nights to see till I see thee; and nights bright days when dreams do show me thee.

Aware posted:

Er what model is this if you don't mind?

https://www.microcenter.com/product/663052/lenovo-ideapad-gaming-3-15iah7-156-laptop-computer-platinum-collection-grey

BestBuy had it for $549 last August.


OneSizeFitsAll posted:

Based on Lockback's post I have been looking at IdeaPads. Given UK prices, I don't think a discrete card is feasible. I like the look of the middle one here: https://www.lenovo.com/gb/en/p/laptops/ideapad/ideapad-300/ideapad-slim-3-gen-8-(14-inch-amd)/len101i0072?sortBy=priceDown. The one for Ł450 which has the "add to basket" rather than "build" option.

For some reason, under graphics, the other two just say "Integrated Graphics" whereas this one says "Integrated AMD Radeon™ 610M". Is there a difference?

More importantly, would Integrated AMD Radeon™ 610M graphics allow him to play Minecraft, Roblox etc with ease, maybe even allowing him to move onto more graphically intense games at some point? My understanding is that it should, as long as he isn't looking to play the latest AAA games at full settings, but some confirmation/clarification would be good, as this is looking like a very solid option overall.
Radeon 610M is integrated.

It will play Minecraft (maybe not maxxed, but good enough) and Roblox. Beyond that its not great, it's on the lower end of iGPUs.

This would maybe be a better laptop:
https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/lenovo-v15-g2-alc-ryzen-5-5500u-16gb-512gb-ssd-15.6-inch-windows-11-laptop-82kd008xuk-16gb/version.asp

With 16GB of RAM instead of 8, and the gpu on the 5500U is about 4x better.

Next step up would be this. Only 8GB of RAM but a legit dGPU
https://www.box.co.uk/9S7-14C612-044-MSI-Prestige-14-Intel-Core-i5-8GB-RAM-51_4110590.html
This would be a good Fortnite laptop

OneSizeFitsAll
Sep 13, 2010

Du bist mein Sofa

Lockback posted:

Radeon 610M is integrated.

It will play Minecraft (maybe not maxxed, but good enough) and Roblox. Beyond that its not great, it's on the lower end of iGPUs.

Thanks for the reply. I realise it's integrated, but it's unclear (to me anyway) what the difference is between just stating "Integrated Graphics" as per the other two machines on that page, and specifying "Integrated AMD Radeon™ 610M". Thank you for clarifying what it is capable of in real world terms. Not even being able to play Minecraft maxxed is pretty wimpy.

quote:

This would maybe be a better laptop:
https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/lenovo-v15-g2-alc-ryzen-5-5500u-16gb-512gb-ssd-15.6-inch-windows-11-laptop-82kd008xuk-16gb/version.asp

With 16GB of RAM instead of 8, and the gpu on the 5500U is about 4x better.

Next step up would be this. Only 8GB of RAM but a legit dGPU
https://www.box.co.uk/9S7-14C612-044-MSI-Prestige-14-Intel-Core-i5-8GB-RAM-51_4110590.html
This would be a good Fortnite laptop

Appreciate the suggestions/links, thank you. Can I clarify, are you saying the first one has about 4 times better graphics capability than the one I posted? I note it's still integrated, but the details on the link just say "AMD Radeon Graphics" which is a bit vague.

What would it be capable of, in real world terms, compared to the MSI in your second link? I need to gauge whether it's worth stretching the budget for something like the MSI, or if something like the Lenovo in your first link would suffice for a 9 year old who will game on it but plays AAA titles on PS5/Switch and will probably graduate to a more potent gaming PC when he's older. As said though, it would be nice for him to be able to grow into this laptop a bit, hence me considering whether the MSI is worth it.

Eletriarnation
Apr 6, 2005

People don't appreciate the substance of things...
objects in space.


Oven Wrangler

Falcon2001 posted:

- I'm looking for something that can push two 4k screens through a dock without significant issue, so I'd prefer discrete graphics (even if it's a low-end GPU).

I assume from the above anything with a Thunderbolt 3+ connector should work with a decent dock, but any other thoughts/etc?

As far as Thinkpads go, Lenovo maintains a document with supported dock/display configurations by model: https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/pd029622-display-and-video-output-configurations-docking-stations

In my experience, the TB3 dock was able to run dual 4K/60Hz + 1080/60Hz when connected to an X1 Carbon (6th gen/Intel 8000-series) so I would expect other TB3 platforms to handle dual 4K as well. Current stuff would more likely be TB4 and Lenovo claims the TB4 dock will do quad 4K or single 8K, but I haven't upgraded any displays since I moved to 9th gen/TB4 so I'd have to take their word for it.

Mental Hospitality
Jan 5, 2011

Lockback posted:

Next step up would be this. Only 8GB of RAM but a legit dGPU
https://www.box.co.uk/9S7-14C612-044-MSI-Prestige-14-Intel-Core-i5-8GB-RAM-51_4110590.html
This would be a good Fortnite laptop

Just to note; I believe this machine uses soldered LPDDR4 RAM in single channel mode, so you'd be stuck with 8GB in the worst possible configuration. Honestly think it'd be a better machine with 16gigs in dual channel, the i7-1260, and without the RTX chip. XE graphics (while nowhere near a rtx3050), aren't terrible when given a good chunk of ram in dual channel if you're not looking for AAA gaming.

Mental Hospitality fucked around with this message at 17:16 on Apr 19, 2023

Lockback
Sep 3, 2006

All days are nights to see till I see thee; and nights bright days when dreams do show me thee.

OneSizeFitsAll posted:

Thanks for the reply. I realise it's integrated, but it's unclear (to me anyway) what the difference is between just stating "Integrated Graphics" as per the other two machines on that page, and specifying "Integrated AMD Radeon™ 610M". Thank you for clarifying what it is capable of in real world terms. Not even being able to play Minecraft maxxed is pretty wimpy.

Appreciate the suggestions/links, thank you. Can I clarify, are you saying the first one has about 4 times better graphics capability than the one I posted? I note it's still integrated, but the details on the link just say "AMD Radeon Graphics" which is a bit vague.

So to explain, for iGPUs it depends on the CPU. The graphics chip is on the CPU and (unless its a very specific exception you probably won't deal with here) every CPU model has the same model of GPU. So the first one you had had a 610M (because of the CPU). The first link I gave you is an older CPU but, importantly, a higher end one that has a better GPU built in that performs about 4x better.

OneSizeFitsAll posted:

What would it be capable of, in real world terms, compared to the MSI in your second link? I need to gauge whether it's worth stretching the budget for something like the MSI, or if something like the Lenovo in your first link would suffice for a 9 year old who will game on it but plays AAA titles on PS5/Switch and will probably graduate to a more potent gaming PC when he's older. As said though, it would be nice for him to be able to grow into this laptop a bit, hence me considering whether the MSI is worth it.

For games in particular, Fortnite would be a good benchmark for a game that would be kinda unpleasant to run on dGPU but would run quite well on a 3050. The 3050 is about 3x faster and on a 1080p and would be capable of running just about anything as long as your ok with more demanding games being set to low/medium. A 3050 would be faster than a Steam Deck (but you're pushing more pixels).

Mental Hospitality makes a good point that you're stuck on 8GB, so that will be a problem. But if you want to play Fortnite, or maybe Apex Legends or something the GPU will help you more than the RAM. You wouldn't need to upgrade right away but if you want something he'll grow with that will be important.

This HP is interesting, but it's 16" so he's a big boy.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/HP-Victus-...181&sr=8-4&th=1

Keep in mind, I am kind of upselling you here. If it's really "Minecraft and Roblox" the Lenovo with 16GB is a really killer deal.

Mental Hospitality
Jan 5, 2011

Lockback posted:

Keep in mind, I am kind of upselling you here. If it's really "Minecraft and Roblox" the Lenovo with 16GB is a really killer deal.

Yeah it is. I couldn't imagine having such a machine at that age (mostly because I'm now old :smith: ). I hope OP gets some drop/spill protection because I know at that age I would probably drop and/or spill something on it.

Kaiser Schnitzel
Mar 29, 2006

Schnitzel mit uns


What's the deal with ports and external monitors on these fancy newfangled laptops? The XPS 15 I have coming has this for ports-how I connect it to an external monitor (or two):

Ports
1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C™ (with DisplayPort and PowerDelivery)
2 Thunderbolt™ 4 (USB Type-C™) with DisplayPort and Power Delivery
1 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack

What does a dock do and who makes a decent one? All my current USB things are old school USB- presumably there are adapters?

Lockback
Sep 3, 2006

All days are nights to see till I see thee; and nights bright days when dreams do show me thee.

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

What's the deal with ports and external monitors on these fancy newfangled laptops? The XPS 15 I have coming has this for ports-how I connect it to an external monitor (or two):

Ports
1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C™ (with DisplayPort and PowerDelivery)
2 Thunderbolt™ 4 (USB Type-C™) with DisplayPort and Power Delivery
1 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack

What does a dock do and who makes a decent one? All my current USB things are old school USB- presumably there are adapters?

Adapters or you plug the USB things into a dock that plugs into your TB4 (or USB) port. For docks it sorta depends on what you want to do. How many monitors, what are you plugging them into? If you have modest needs you can get a modest dock and be fine. Better docks are better, but also pricey, and you may or may not need them. Do you need them to supply USB power? If so how much?

I use one like this. It works great. There are reasons you may need a nicer one or a can get by with a cheaper one. https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Universal-Laptop-Docking-Station-Usb-C-Triple-Display/dp/B01FKTZLBS

Hadlock
Nov 9, 2004

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

What does a dock do and who makes a decent one? All my current USB things are old school USB- presumably there are adapters?

A dock is a port expander

I would get one from Dell or Lenovo. Don't cheap out on this, get a name brand one. It's ok to spend a couple hundred dollars on it, you're going to use it every day for the next 5+ years. I've been using my thunderbolt 3 dock for 6 years now and have no need to replace it

Get a dock where you can "bring your own cable", then go buy a 6' cable (or longer) so you can get the dock and the ensuing rats nest of cables off your desk and into a drawer or at least on the floor out of sight.

If you're doing it right you'll only have one cable going to the laptop which looks and feels super clean

voiceless anal fricative
May 6, 2007

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

What's the deal with ports and external monitors on these fancy newfangled laptops? The XPS 15 I have coming has this for ports-how I connect it to an external monitor (or two):

Ports
1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C™ (with DisplayPort and PowerDelivery)
2 Thunderbolt™ 4 (USB Type-C™) with DisplayPort and Power Delivery
1 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack

What does a dock do and who makes a decent one? All my current USB things are old school USB- presumably there are adapters?

If you don't want a dock, you'd need a USB-C -> HDMI or displayport cable or adapter, those tend to only be like $20. Weird that they bother to specify that the USB 3.2/thunderbolt 4 is "with displayport" but I guess they're just making sure people know they can still plug external monitors in?

Also Hadlock has weird hangups about docks being visible, you don't need to prioritise the 2m cable unless that's actually important to you. Buying one with a separate cable just introduces more potential points of failure or problem imo. The cable on my Lenovo dock is only like 50cm and it is fine. It's good advice not to try and save money on the dock though, they're important bits of hardware.

Kaiser Schnitzel
Mar 29, 2006

Schnitzel mit uns


So is the one wire going from the laptop to the dock providing power to the laptop and data to whatever usb things or monitors I might plug into the dock? All in one cord?! The future is truly here.

E: since I haven’t bought a monitor in a while either-are they mostly usb-c now or still hdmi? Does the usb-c provide power too or are they still going to have their own separate power cord?

voiceless anal fricative
May 6, 2007

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

So is the one wire going from the laptop to the dock providing power to the laptop and data to whatever usb things or monitors I might plug into the dock? All in one cord?! The future is truly here.

yeah a single little 5mm thick cable, it's pretty wild. Different docks have different power throughput capability but any decent dock will do 100W or more

This is another issue with the separate cables thing though. Just because the laptop or dock has ports that support Thunderbolt 4 and power throughput and poo poo, doesn't mean your cable does. There's an absolute nightmare of overlapping standards and specifications and poor quality control and poo poo now.

bull3964
Nov 18, 2000

DO YOU HEAR THAT? THAT'S THE SOUND OF ME PATTING MYSELF ON THE BACK.


bike tory posted:

Weird that they bother to specify that the USB 3.2/thunderbolt 4 is "with displayport" but I guess they're just making sure people know they can still plug external monitors in?


Actually....

Thunderbolt supports Displayport natively. But it also can (optionally) fall back to USB-C Displayport Alt mode. That matters for the downstream device. A Thunderbolt port on a laptop that does not support DP Alt Mode won't be able to output to a USB-C only display. It will only output to a thunderbolt display or a thunderbolt dock that has other monitor connection types on it.

So, I suspect this is their way of indicating Displayport Alt mode. There have actually been a number of high profile devices that don't support it (either intentionally or through a bug) which renders the laptop unable to connect directly to a non-thunderbolt display.

Hadlock
Nov 9, 2004

Found out at a recent family gathering (and extremely disappointed my nephew who was looking forward to playing 4 player mario kart) that nintendo switch uses the rarer of the two things, probably displayport alt mode to convert usb-c to hdmi, so like 95% of docks and poo poo won't work with it. I left the cheap lovely generic one from target at home and brought my shiny metal Anker brand adapter and loving didn't work.

bull3964
Nov 18, 2000

DO YOU HEAR THAT? THAT'S THE SOUND OF ME PATTING MYSELF ON THE BACK.


Actually, Nintendo doesn't use an established standard at all.

voiceless anal fricative
May 6, 2007

bull3964 posted:

Actually....

Thunderbolt supports Displayport natively. But it also can (optionally) fall back to USB-C Displayport Alt mode. That matters for the downstream device. A Thunderbolt port on a laptop that does not support DP Alt Mode won't be able to output to a USB-C only display. It will only output to a thunderbolt display or a thunderbolt dock that has other monitor connection types on it.

So, I suspect this is their way of indicating Displayport Alt mode. There have actually been a number of high profile devices that don't support it (either intentionally or through a bug) which renders the laptop unable to connect directly to a non-thunderbolt display.

Jesus Christ that's worse than I thought

bike tory posted:

There's an absolute nightmare of overlapping standards and specifications and poor quality control and poo poo now.

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bull3964
Nov 18, 2000

DO YOU HEAR THAT? THAT'S THE SOUND OF ME PATTING MYSELF ON THE BACK.


That's even without getting into how many displayport lanes the laptop manufacturer decided to wire up to the connection which can determine the maximum output displays/resolution/refresh rate

Actually, I was wrong about one thing, all thunderbolt controllers support displayport alt mode, but there have been some that have had issues.

bull3964 fucked around with this message at 02:19 on Apr 20, 2023

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