Dual Boot Laptop Recommendations?

[pearldrumbum]

I don't post here a lot, but I figured I'd ask here since KSP is pretty much the only game I play seriously (not a big gamer in general)

Time has come for my work to buy me a laptop upgrade and I get to pick it, there are just a few requirements they give me:

1. Must run AutoCAD 2015 and run it well. Unfortunately (for gaming purposes), though this means I need a good graphics card, it needs more of a 'work station' g-card than a 'gaming' g-card.

2. Implied from '1', but it must also run Windows 7 or 8. I personally prefer 7, my work encourages 8 which makes sense in a way. I won't get another upgrade for 2 1/2 years, and it's hard to know how well 7 will be supported by then.

3. Must have an HDMI, Display Port, and/or Thunderbolt port.

4. At least one USB3.0 port.

5. $1500 limit

My own requirements:

1. Be able to easily install either Mint or Fedora alongside Windows for dual-boot. Luckily my job is cool with this. We travel a lot for work so they understand that it will inevitably become a personal laptop too. I prefer Linux and that environment will be for my personal projects, gaming, and media.

2. Run games like KSP well (in Linux). Especially with a heavy amount of mods.

3. Must NOT have a touchscreen (gross)

4. Minimum 17" screen, but I prefer 19". I use AutoCAD a lot in the field, away from my big desktop monitor, and CAD on a small screen SUCKS.

5. Be able to output 4k resolution on the HDMI/DP.

6. Have a full number pad on the keyboard.

Let me know what laptops you either own or know about that meet/come close to these requirements. Anybody else forced to work with a workstation graphics card and still play games on it? How has that worked out for you?

[astecarmyman]

If you have a 1500$ budget, you can most definitely pick up a good desktop (or laptop but they are slightly more expensive) that has at least 16gb RAM i7 cpu and a decent gpu. I'm not sure about your software problems, but for that price you can get a gaming gpu that works wonders

[Newt]

I have found some good reviews of the Alien-ware 17, which is on the upper end of your price range, but seems to have good specs. They are made for gaming, but people in the Autocad forums seemed to like them, too.

As far as adding the Linux OS, I am not really sure of whether this is a 'good' laptop for it, but I cannot see why it should not be.

[wumpus]

Here is a page of 17" laptops that aren't Dell/HP/Lenovo (but tend to be reasonably well known for PC parts). The >18" are budget breakers, and the 17" have a reasonably wide selection of GPUs (I'd tend toward the Maxwell jobs, if only for heat/power consumption). Warning: nvidia has no plans for wayland, so it might not be a good long term choice for Linux.http://www.xoticpc.com/custom-gaming-laptops-notebooks-laptops-ct-95_51_150.htmlNo idea how to find a good Linux laptop. With desktops it seams you just buy the desktop and it works (I've had more things not work with windows than not work with Linux). Best answer is to find someone who has installed (and used) Linux on the laptop. Second best method is to google drivers for each part. I'm guessing the wifi chipset is the only real issue.

[Kinglet]

Dual boot, if native, is not demanding, you just need to have a big hard drive and standard or better components. But having good performance during heavy usage is a different story.

[Red Iron Crown]

I normally recommend Thinkpads for professional grade notebooks, but I don't think they make a 17" model.

Have a look at HP's Z-book line, it is available with a 17" display and professional GPU, plus it can be ordered with Linux so you know the driver support is there. I suspect $1500 is not oging to be enough for more than a base model, though.

[Newt]

I normally recommend Thinkpads for professional grade notebooks, but I don't think they make a 17" model.

They do have 15.5" ones, though.

And they formerly had 17" ones, but that was several years ago, and they appear to have been discontinued.

Edited February 3, 2015 by Newt

[atwood]

On that budget, you should definitely check the Asus Rog G751JT-CH71, you won't be disappointed with it, Its 16GB ram is big enough, the GTX 970M is fast enough to run all the current, most demanding games

Edited February 17, 2015 by atwood

[atwood]

The Lenovo Y50 is very good as well as Asus ROG. http://gaminglaptopunder1000.org/best-gaming-laptop-under-1500-dollars/