I need a work laptop (new). Help me out

[Gman]

I prefer HP Z-series on the professional workstation side, but the Dell Precisions are pretty close. When IBM built ThinkPads they were built like tanks. Now that Lenovo does it, I'd stay away. If you're using it for business I'd go no lower than with the vendor's enterprise-class systems (Dell Latitude/HP EliteBook/HP ProBook) as they're built to be worked hard and stand-up to it.

[ray1970]

I could do that, just like I could bolt my 32' ladder to my 40' ladder in case I ever need a 70' ladder. But I'd probably just rent a lift.

Ladders are irrelevant when you have a mini van.

[brutal]

Running OS > running program to run another OS to run another program (which is resource intensive) > running another OS > running program = an insane amount of tolerance stacking and resource usage.

While fun in a lab environment, not the most practical thing for what Irving needs.

I'd agree for what I assume Irving needs is a graphic intensive app.

I run all my work stuff in a VM - VMware on my W540 4-core i7, 32GB, SSD + SATA drive for local storage for work. VirtualBox for personal stuff on the home machine (I can also port my vmdk's to VB if needed). Makes recovery so easy, and creating a backup after first setup that I can go back to if things go sideways is beneficial. Then again I also light up various OS' and simulators, etc. so running some kind of virtualization is a must.

[Rucker61]

I'm probably going to go the workstation route.

My current laptop works great, just not while I'm running Xact. I didn't know this laptop was as old as it is, and am pretty impressed that it runs as well as it does. For something that lasts that long, I'll be glad to pony up the scratch.

I'm running an HP Zbook 14u G5, with pretty much maxed out hardware - i78650u, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, but I work for HP.

[Irving]

Your W520 probably has the Optimus feature of selectable graphics cards. You can use the motherboards Intel graphics when you want to conserve battery, and then switch to the discrete NVidia Quadro card when you want performance. Are you aware of that feature and if so are you confident that xactimate is working with the NVidia Quadro Discrete Graphics when it is running? It's possible that the drivers for the quadro aren't loaded properly, etc. Do you have a NVidia Control Panel in your task bar?

Lenovo's latest Mobile Workstation offerings include the P52s which might be a consideration for a new machine.

https://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/laptop.../p/22TP2WPP52S

They make both touch and non-touch versions of this device and generally you would want to pick one of their "topseller" configurations for best price/performance offerings...

Attachment 74531

20LB0010US
20LB0027US (touch)
20LB0026US
20LB0028US (touch)

would all probably rock and roll.

-John

I missed this post earlier. I'm not aware of those features. I started using this machine with Xact just over a year ago and don't remember my frustrations being so great back then.

[iego]

If you want to try and diagnose to see if that is or is not a factor in your xactimate performance, there are a few things you can try, however if you have a computer guy you trust you might be better off asking for their help.

I looked at the manual for your W520...
https://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/m...w520_ug_en.pdf

And it sounds like the quickest test to see if you have the Optimus installed and enabled is to "Right-click on the desktop and select NVIDIA Control Panel. The NVIDIA Control Panel opens." If you do that, you are likely good to go, and the Optimus is not related to your xactimate performance issues.

If however the NVIDIA Control Panel is not an option, then there are a number of places you would need to check for potential problems. The easiest would be to right click on "my computer" (or sometimes just "computer") in Windows File Explorer, and go into device manager. Or you can use the start menu and search for "device manager."

In device manager, you should see something like this...



On your computer, you should see something about Optimus, or NVIDIA, along with or in place of the Intel Display Adapter listed. (Yours will look different from mine, just pointing you to the area.)

If it's in there, but has a yellow exclamation point on it, or there are other things with yellow exclamation points, then it is possible you may need to update drivers.
https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/p...w520/downloads

Now is the time to call in a favor from your computer guy, if you have one. If you don't I could try and help remotely, etc., if you wish.

You may be missing one or more drivers, etc. There are Lenovo tools on that support site I linked above that will scan your system to look for missing drivers like Lenovo System Update.
https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/ht003029

If everything looks good in device manager, then it may be your Power Settings, or BIOS.

From the manual I linked above, for the Optimus driver to switch to the discrete NVidia Graphics Card, it has to think it has the "power" to do that. Namely that it is plugged in and not running on battery, and that the Windows Power Settings are set in a way that do not limit performance in favor of saving the battery. To check your power saving settings, use the start button and search for "power saving" and go into that control panel and try and change your settings to settings that will allow the computer to perform at its highest power potential without any regard for power savings or battery savings.

If none of that works, and the device itself does not show in device manager, then we would have to check the BIOS of the computer and make sure it is not disabled there. There are some pages in the manual that describe this procedure as well.

Lastly, we should make sure before you go down this path that we identify exactly what model laptop you have just so we know what it should have. There's a chance it doesn't even have Optimus, although unlikely. If you look on the bottom of the laptop, potentially under the battery, you should be able to find the model number and/or serial number. If you will post that information I can double check the features that your notebook is supposed to have.

I'm about as far away from Thornton as one can get without leaving town, but if you want some help with this I would give it a go as I enjoy these sorts of things, and making computers work to their potentials. I'm typing to you on my 2008 built homebrew machine. Still does what I need it to do.

-John

PS. Edit to add, that you might start by checking your power saving settings, as that would explain the change in performance. Maybe as your battery got less and less powerful over time, you dialed down your performance settings in an attempt to conserve battery, and now the device is not (ever) engaging Optimus mode, and therefore xactimate is suffering. So start by checking that.

[Gman]

I'm running an HP Zbook 14u G5, with pretty much maxed out hardware - i78650u, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, but I work for HP.

Sweet! I love the new chassis. Still waiting to get my hands on the new ZBook 14u and 15u G5s that I ordered so we can deploy them as our standard notebooks.

Looking forward to the new Thunderbolt dock in May.

[Brian]

If you want to try and diagnose to see if that is or is not a factor in your xactimate performance, there are a few things you can try, however if you have a computer guy you trust you might be better off asking for their help.

I looked at the manual for your W520...
https://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/m...w520_ug_en.pdf

And it sounds like the quickest test to see if you have the Optimus installed and enabled is to "Right-click on the desktop and select NVIDIA Control Panel. The NVIDIA Control Panel opens." If you do that, you are likely good to go, and the Optimus is not related to your xactimate performance issues.

If however the NVIDIA Control Panel is not an option, then there are a number of places you would need to check for potential problems. The easiest would be to right click on "my computer" (or sometimes just "computer") in Windows File Explorer, and go into device manager. Or you can use the start menu and search for "device manager."

In device manager, you should see something like this...



On your computer, you should see something about Optimus, or NVIDIA, along with or in place of the Intel Display Adapter listed. (Yours will look different from mine, just pointing you to the area.)

If it's in there, but has a yellow exclamation point on it, or there are other things with yellow exclamation points, then it is possible you may need to update drivers.
https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/p...w520/downloads

Now is the time to call in a favor from your computer guy, if you have one. If you don't I could try and help remotely, etc., if you wish.

You may be missing one or more drivers, etc. There are Lenovo tools on that support site I linked above that will scan your system to look for missing drivers like Lenovo System Update.
https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/ht003029

If everything looks good in device manager, then it may be your Power Settings, or BIOS.

From the manual I linked above, for the Optimus driver to switch to the discrete NVidia Graphics Card, it has to think it has the "power" to do that. Namely that it is plugged in and not running on battery, and that the Windows Power Settings are set in a way that do not limit performance in favor of saving the battery. To check your power saving settings, use the start button and search for "power saving" and go into that control panel and try and change your settings to settings that will allow the computer to perform at its highest power potential without any regard for power savings or battery savings.

If none of that works, and the device itself does not show in device manager, then we would have to check the BIOS of the computer and make sure it is not disabled there. There are some pages in the manual that describe this procedure as well.

Lastly, we should make sure before you go down this path that we identify exactly what model laptop you have just so we know what it should have. There's a chance it doesn't even have Optimus, although unlikely. If you look on the bottom of the laptop, potentially under the battery, you should be able to find the model number and/or serial number. If you will post that information I can double check the features that your notebook is supposed to have.

I'm about as far away from Thornton as one can get without leaving town, but if you want some help with this I would give it a go as I enjoy these sorts of things, and making computers work to their potentials. I'm typing to you on my 2008 built homebrew machine. Still does what I need it to do.

-John

PS. Edit to add, that you might start by checking your power saving settings, as that would explain the change in performance. Maybe as your battery got less and less powerful over time, you dialed down your performance settings in an attempt to conserve battery, and now the device is not (ever) engaging Optimus mode, and therefore xactimate is suffering. So start by checking that.

I would take iego up on his offer, whether you want to get another laptop or not. Especially as you're saying you're feeling like you're getting different performance now vs. originally, I'm betting you can tweak settings and you might find you are in a better spot. He's on the money with what to look for.

Looking at old notes, I don't have the specific SN or anything anymore but I'm pretty sure this is the config, with a relatively vanilla build and driver load. The RAM in particular is probably killing you.

Unused? Comes with original box and fresh OS load
(NEW) IBM Lenovo Thinkpad W530
Intel Core i7 2760QM @2.4GHz
4GB RAM DDR3, DVD+/-RW
320GB 7200RPM HD
Win10 Pro
Multi-GPU: Intel HD 3000 + NV Quadro 1000M
1920x1080
802.11n WiFi, Gigabit Wired, SD Card Reader
170w PS

[Irving]

I'll have to check into that stuff this weekend when I've got some time to dig into it.

[Irving]

Working right now and I put two and two together. Everything is pretty functional until I open Google Maps and Xact at the same time; that's when everything comes to a screeching halt.