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[Scott Holtzman]

Precision 5xxx/7xxx does not have copper NIC (current version(s))

Precision is 15/17" formfactor.

Precision 3xxx is basically the 15/17" version of latitude 5xxx 14" series.

I highly recommend the 14" class of laptops over 15/17" for everything except coding.

I have even given up on that since you can daisy chain Display Port.  I have a travel 19" monitor that fits in my backpack and weighs 1 pound.  I have to admit I just carry tons of dongles for the same reason almost every case in our company has a pair of .50 reading glasses in them.  I carry a 2020 13.3" Macbook Pro which I find myself using more and more of.  I am waiting for someone to leave so I can grab one up that has the esc key as a hard key.  I also carry an X1 Carbon Gen 4 I think, it is a beast with dedicated graphics and 32GB of RAM.  I have Fedora Linux on that box and I run VirtualBox so I can boot Windows if I need be.  For lighting and sound we have dedicated laptops of various vintages.  Video I use Dell SFF computers.  They fit in a Pelican and are thermally much more stable than a laptop.  The streaming machine with OBX is a 19" Supermicro. 


Lots of different tools for different jobs.  I was a Thinkpad guy for 25 years.  If I was buying a Windows Laptop Dell would be my choice too.  The XPS's are very nice lightweight machines IMHO, I think as nice as the X1 Carbon and the keyboard is better.


I don't know about you Nathan but I still have a desktop too.  Google Drive and docs, Having our AD in Azure and 1/2 the apps migrated to AWS EC2 I don't install much software anymore but I have two 32" 4k monitors and two ancient 21" 4:3 Samsung 214T's.  These are medical imaging grade monitors.  I find that the 4:3 format is better for shell windows and it is so easy on the eyes.  They are getting hard to find.  I have a stash of about a dozen and I relamped and replaced the inverter caps that go bad in all of them so they should cover me until I am dust.  But anyway I still like to work with the desktop all day, I have a killer keyboard, graphics cards.  64g of memory and it doesn't make any noise.  The laptops stay in the backpack.

[Nathan Riddle]

PSA

Fix for Broken Audio

https://www.dell.com/community/Latitude/Dell-5420-i7-i5-Ice-Lake-Audio-amp-USB-Hub-issues/m-p/8301582/thread-id/46125

[Thomas Le]

Thread Necro but I replaced my Getac v110 for a Dell Latitude 5420 rugged. Works great but I do miss the twist screen of those early tablets. The getac is now a media player/backup.

i7-8650U, 16gb RAM, 512gb nvme, 1080p touch, iGPU + dGPU (disabled in bios for battery life), ready for w11/w12 when we're forced out of w10

[Steve-White]

For the field Windows based laptops of your picking - I use 17.3" HP Workstations with RJ45's on them.  Yeah for field use having RJ45 ethernet capability on the laptop is the way I prefer as well - not sure how much longer that will be an option without a "dongle". 

For the office, like Scott I'm a Desktop kinda guy with 27" monitor simply because it's the largest that will fit into this desk.  32" monitor on video security setup that sits atop the 27" for the PC.  Also setup with 4-port KVM so I can maintain laptops easily just connect to docks.  Logitech gaming class keyboard and vintage Logitech LX3 gaming class mouse.

[John L Nobile]

Yeah for field use having RJ45 ethernet capability on the laptop is the way I prefer as well - not sure how much longer that will be an option without a "dongle". 

RJ45 ports are becoming rare on laptops. I need to find one for my day gig as my LAN port just died on my laptop. Dell Refurbished had some nice Precisions but they didn't have LAN ports and I've found that those USB dongles are not 100% reliable.

[Steve-White]

RJ45 ports are becoming rare on laptops. I need to find one for my day gig as my LAN port just died on my laptop. Dell Refurbished had some nice Precisions but they didn't have LAN ports and I've found that those USB dongles are not 100% reliable.

I hadn't even considered reliability for ethernet out in the field.  In the home office, when docking an HP Envy on a USB "Dongle" I need to reset the power on the "Dongle" from time to time when the video drops out going to the KVM and ourboard monitor.

Computers are great (to include any processor controlled device) until they aren't.  Every piece of micro-processor controlled device I've ever encountered requires power-down or complete "Reset to factory defaults" every now and again.  All of them and I'm including things from my day job like avionics automatic test equipment and tactical fighter aircraft (no brand or make/model mentioned as they are all the same anyway) - yep, sometimes we "Re-Boot" the aircraft to clear avionics faults.

So, yeah in our world "Dongles" are not a preferred solution and ultimately lead to more headaches and troubleshooting.  Manufacturers are miniturizing today's laptops more and more - to the point they are nearly a folding tablet with keyboard.  Hard wired networking for them is going away as things get more and more "Dumbed Down" to consumer level.

[Brian Jojade]

I completely hear you on the dongle thing.  I've been frustrated since 2013 when Apple pulled ethernet from their laptops.

But, on a positive note with USB-C, you can have ONE dongle that gives you all of the ports you need.  I found one that wraps the cable neatly right into the dongle, so it fits nicely in my bag.  Includes HDMI, Ethernet, USB - A and SD card reader all in one.

On my things I'm searching for list is a USB dock with power delivery and integrated power supply that is about the same size as the power adaptor I'm using.  There are few out there, but then use an external brick, which sucks.  If I could get those ports to hang out in the power adaptor, that would be a win!

[John Schalk]

But, on a positive note with USB-C, you can have ONE dongle that gives you all of the ports you need.  I found one that wraps the cable neatly right into the dongle, so it fits nicely in my bag.  Includes HDMI, Ethernet, USB - A and SD card reader all in one.

Hey Brian,
Can you post a link to your ONE dongle solution please.  I'm still in analysis paralysis regarding upgrading to a somewhat newer MB Pro for my Smaart / MAPP 3D rig, or combining everything on a Dell.  I really like the displays on Macs, but hauling around two laptops is a bit of a PITA.

[Steve-White]

Hey Brian,
Can you post a link to your ONE dongle solution please.  I'm still in analysis paralysis regarding upgrading to a somewhat newer MB Pro for my Smaart / MAPP 3D rig, or combining everything on a Dell.  I really like the displays on Macs, but hauling around two laptops is a bit of a PITA.

I have 2 docks, both HP - don't know how they stack up against other brands but can tell you they work pretty well on my HP laptops.

HP USB-C G5 72C71AA  for the HP 8770W's
LINK

HP Thunderbolt Dock 230W G2 for the HP Envy
LINKY THING

[Tim McCulloch]

RJ45 ports are becoming rare on laptops. I need to find one for my day gig as my LAN port just died on my laptop. Dell Refurbished had some nice Precisions but they didn't have LAN ports and I've found that those USB dongles are not 100% reliable.

Dell Precision 5540 (at dellrefurbished.com) with i7-9xxx, 64GB, with gigabit ethernet port ~$920.

[ProSoundWeb Community]