Quiet, heavy-duty 17" laptop

More popular than ever, but some are still very noisy.

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mcv
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Quiet, heavy-duty 17" laptop

Post by mcv » Sat Aug 10, 2019 2:46 pm

I'm looking for a quiet but powerful 17" laptop. My old Macbook is dying, and I hated the noisy fans, so I'm looking for something quieter that can still deliver.

It's primarily a programming laptop: I'm a programmer, I want it to be compile, run VMs, have tons of memory, etc. But I don't care about gaming at all for this thing, so the sensible thing seems to be to get a laptop that doesn't have a dedicated GPU. Sadly, those seem to be incredibly rare at 17 inch. They're all either for gaming or for industrial design, with those special Quadro GPUs.

I've looked at everything from the Thinkpad P72 (outstanding quality, but heavy and has a Quadro GPU I don't need), LG Gram 17 (very light, but also light in specs, build quality probably not as good), and even the ASUS ROG ZEPHYRUS S GX701, which is a gaming laptop, has an expensive GPU I don't need, an awkward keyboard, but does pay special attention to cooling.

The stupid thing is, laptop reviews pay attention to everything except noise. I have no idea where to even start looking. Any ideas?

CA_Steve
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Re: Quiet, heavy-duty 17" laptop

Post by CA_Steve » Sat Aug 10, 2019 3:23 pm

There's rumors that Apple is releasing a 16" MBP this fall..perhaps September.
Notebookcheck is a decent site for laptop noise comparisons. There's the search page if you want to do a deep dive on specific traits.

Abula
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Re: Quiet, heavy-duty 17" laptop

Post by Abula » Sat Aug 10, 2019 11:32 pm

I think the LG Gram 17'' is the best choice atm for your needs if you want to go into Windows. Else another MBP or steve suggestion into 16'', there are also rumors of Dell XPS 17 comming soon.

But my real suggestion is post on NBR forums, fill the your petition with the sticky ### What Should I Buy FORM (Must Read Before Posting!) ###. they will give you much more options than us.

mcv
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Re: Quiet, heavy-duty 17" laptop

Post by mcv » Tue Aug 13, 2019 10:34 pm

Thanks for both suggestions.

I would like the new laptop to last me a long time (my old Macbook is from 2011), and the LG Gram 17 sounds a bit flimsy to me, and I fear its specs aren't as good as I might need.

The upcoming 16" MBP certainly sounds interesting, but I'm actually trying to move away from Apple. I'm not too happy with their direction. Also, I need it now and not in a couple of months. Still, it's an option to keep in mind. I have been really happy with my old Macbook, after all.

A Dell XPS 17 might well be exactly what I need (if it's quiet, that is), but that's only next year, and I need one now.

I'll check out the NBR forums.

Abula
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Re: Quiet, heavy-duty 17" laptop

Post by Abula » Wed Aug 14, 2019 6:12 am

One thing to keep in mind is there are lots of business oriented laptops, specially from DELL, LENOVO and HP, and in most cases these laptops are more rugged and durable laptops, backed with better warranties, but at the same time they are no thin or quiet as a standard for this segment. LG breaks the mold in terms of having what you want, probably without the ruggedness, i still think is the best option as long as you take care of it, i never buy buisness grade laptops, most of the time i end up with gaming laptops and i travel 3 of 4 weeks of the month, flights, roads (tought ones where only 4x4 can enter), and i still manage fine without buisness grade laptops, and most of my laptops i keep for 4-5 years, but im careful with them.

Good luck on NBR, hope you find what you are looking for.

mcv
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Re: Quiet, heavy-duty 17" laptop

Post by mcv » Wed Aug 14, 2019 10:56 pm

That's a useful perspective. I seem to want both the advantages of a business laptop and the advantages of a home or gamer laptop, and those may not go together.

I don't entirely understand why, though. Surely business people would also prefer a lighter and quieter laptop? I understand ruggedness and lightness kinda conflict with each other, but at least quietness should be possible? Or maybe quietness in a laptop is impossible with anything but an anemic processor, unless you make sacrifices like the awkward keyboard design of that ROG Zephyrus to allow better airflow in a tight package.

CA_Steve
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Re: Quiet, heavy-duty 17" laptop

Post by CA_Steve » Thu Aug 15, 2019 5:30 am

Business user/corporate laptops tradeoffs: Seldom need a discrete GPU, so that cuts the thermal load in half. Battery life is king, so that can increase the size/bulk. Ruggedness might be nice from the IT guy's viewpoint, but a traveler would rather have a less weighty anchor in his briefcase. In the corporate world, though, the individual road warrior doesn't get to pick his laptop from whatever is available in the world - he gets to pick from one or two that the IT dept and purchasing have decided to standardize on.

mcv
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Re: Quiet, heavy-duty 17" laptop

Post by mcv » Thu Aug 15, 2019 3:41 pm

Well, I don't think I need a discrete GPU, so that cut is fine with me. The problem is that all 17 inch Thinkpads (which I would prefer) do have a discrete GPU: an Nvidia Quadro GPU. Not exactly useful for me. I wish they made one without a GPU, but there doesn't seem to be any place for that in their lineup.

I'm fine with some weight. Or short battery life. I mean, low weight and long battery life are both nice to have, but I can do without them.

And there are plenty of light weight corporate laptops. The Thinkpad X1 Carbon, for example, is pretty light.

In the end, there are plenty of self-employed programmers who do get to pick their own machine and can afford to pay for a good one. I have a hard time believing I'm unique in my wishes for a laptop, so I'm a bit surprised nobody is selling what I need.

I've taken my question to the NBR forums, but no reactions there yet. So far the SPCR forum is turning out to be more useful to my quest for the perfect laptop.

Abula
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Re: Quiet, heavy-duty 17" laptop

Post by Abula » Tue Aug 20, 2019 8:44 am

mcv wrote:I've taken my question to the NBR forums, but no reactions there yet. So far the SPCR forum is turning out to be more useful to my quest for the perfect laptop.
:(, sorry you didn't get suggestions there, i hoped they were more options there.

Btw i still think the LG 17'' is your best fit, i see user reviews being very favorable, and i personally tested a LG 13 and was a really nice laptop.

In case you are still considering it, Hardware unboxed released a semi review of it, Intel’s 10nm Woes are Hurting Laptops, My Thoughts on Upgrading to LG Gram 17

mcv
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Re: Quiet, heavy-duty 17" laptop

Post by mcv » Tue Aug 20, 2019 11:44 am

I just got a few suggestions there, which I still need to check out: the MSI GS 75, and the Gigabyte Aero 17. The MSI seems to be a high-end gaming laptop with a heavy duty GPU and corresponding heat, but the Gigabyte seems to have the option of Intel UHD graphics, which I assume saves a lot of heat, and it claims to have extra good cooling, whatever that means.

But I admit the LG Gram also looks attractive. It might be less powerful, but then again, that also means less noise, and it's probably still going to be way more powerful than my old Macbook. (30%-60% according to https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/I ... 1977vsm949 ) On the other hand, http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads ... gs.827892/ sounds like there are some serious problems with the Gram 17.

CA_Steve
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Re: Quiet, heavy-duty 17" laptop

Post by CA_Steve » Tue Aug 20, 2019 1:11 pm

notebookcheck -
LG Gram
MSI GS75 Stealth
Note the emissions testing.

Abula
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Re: Quiet, heavy-duty 17" laptop

Post by Abula » Tue Aug 20, 2019 1:19 pm

mcv wrote:But I admit the LG Gram also looks attractive. It might be less powerful, but then again, that also means less noise, and it's probably still going to be way more powerful than my old Macbook. (30%-60% according to https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/I ... 1977vsm949 ) On the other hand, http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads ... gs.827892/ sounds like there are some serious problems with the Gram 17.
You gotta understand this is a thin laptop that was given a supposily low voltage cpu, but its 1.8ghz quad that turbos to 4.6ghz, to me that not by any means low powered. My latops i7, which is not a low voltage, only turbos to 3.4ghz, mines doesnt throttle but at the same time i have a very big cooler and the CPU is appropriate, reason why i havent moved to the newer 6/8 mobile cpus, i dont think its worth atm, too much heat for a restricted space.

I feel intel is trying to deliver better performance, both in spec sheets and in more tight turbo clocking, we seen this behavior since AMD released Ryzen, its already reaching laptops, my guess is they are trying to close out door so AMD has a tougher time selling their products in the mobile market. And intels out is simply to throttle the cpu if certain temps/power targets are reached, that way they can brag about high turbo clocks that the laptops cant sustain.

I do think you find better options with better cooling on 17'' but wont be as thing nor have huge battery life and very likely will come with a dedicated gpu.
I just got a few suggestions there, which I still need to check out: the MSI GS 75, and the Gigabyte Aero 17. The MSI seems to be a high-end gaming laptop with a heavy duty GPU and corresponding heat, but the Gigabyte seems to have the option of Intel UHD graphics, which I assume saves a lot of heat, and it claims to have extra good cooling, whatever that means.
On my MSI GT73VR, i have a choice on the gpu i use, MSI decided to not support optimus for reasons of performance (they used to support it), so my laptop has switchable graphics, i simply click a button and reboot and the other gpu becomes active while the other turns off. Other vendors are still supporting optimus, but i personally prefer the manually switchable, i mostly use it on Nvidia GPU but you can do it with Intel as well, as you seem to prefer. Both seem like good laptops, research more on each and see if either fits what you are looking for, i leave you a couple of the cheapest of each of this gen,

GIGABYTE AERO 17 SA-7US1130SO nVidia GTX 1660Ti 6GB GDDR6, 144hz, 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750H
MSI GS75 Stealth-249 nVidia RTX 2060 GPU 6GB GDDR6, 9th Gen Intel Coffee Lake

mcv
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Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2008 11:26 pm

Re: Quiet, heavy-duty 17" laptop

Post by mcv » Tue Aug 20, 2019 1:55 pm

CA_Steve wrote:notebookcheck -
LG Gram
MSI GS75 Stealth
Note the emissions testing.
Quite a difference. Sounds like the GS75 is a poor choice. And frankly, I suspect I'm going to have the same problem with every laptop that has a powerful GPU.

The Gigabyte Aero 17 is unfortunately not listed, but their tests of the Aero 15 show similar high noise levels.

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