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Laptop for Finance Applications and Gaming

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ferjos

New Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2014
Hi All,

Requesting your help choosing between 3 laptop options. I am learning still and not yet that tech savvy but am pressed for time to decide which one best suites my needs as in my experience, though the specs look good, in actual fact they there can be disparities which I want to avoid. Forgive me in advance if there is an existing thread which answers my question. A tech savvy friend recommended this site.

BUSINESS USE: The primary use of this laptop will be for trading financial markets, our firm has programs which, as I understand it, will use the GPU's to calculate data (which will be provided through Bloomberg & Reuters mostly) for our proprietary trading models. The calculations will have to be done split second and are constantly updating as the data feeds in. Aside from this, there are about 7-8 other applications that we run at the same time, anything from email, excel macros to some proprietary programs to track trades P&L etc. The laptop will connect to 6 screens when at work and 2 screens when at home. The laptop will be on almost 24-7 in an AC room and I will travel with it (travel about once every 2 weeks).

PERSONAL USE: Basic surfing, email, youtube, Games (RPG, Shooters and MMO's. I do like playing games in maxed out settings but its not so important to me), some MATLAB and datapaint.

I'm a big guy, weight is not an issue. It doesn't matter to me if the screen is 17 or 18 although i do prefer glossy screens. Most places I travel to have reliable power so battery life is not an issue as well. We do have PC's in the office however we do use both our laptops and pc's at work at the same time (also for clients or the exchange). Price is not an issue as the company will be paying for it, all systems will be running windows 7 ultimate 64 bit.

The choices:
Alienware 18
18.4" FHD WLED (1920x1080) Super Clear Glare-Type Screen
- 4th Generation Intel® Haswell Core™ i7-4930MX (3.0GHz - 3.9GHz, 8MB Intel® Smart Cache) (SKU – X2X918)
- IC Diamond Thermal Compound - GPU & CPU
- SLI (2x) - NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 780M (8.0GB total) GDDR5 PCI-Express DX11 (SKU – GPUAW2)
- 32GB DDR3 1600MHz [SKU-844PX] (Kingston HyperX CL9 Dual Channel Memory (4x8GB SODIMMS))
- 4X 1TB Samsung 840 EVO Series Solid State mSATA

Alienware 17
- 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Matte Screen (1920x1080)
- 4th Generation Intel® Haswell Core™ i7-4930MX (3.0GHz - 3.9GHz, 8MB Intel® Smart Cache) (SKU – X2X918)
- IC Diamond Thermal Compound - GPU & CPU
- NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 780M (4.0GB) GDDR5 PCI-Express DX11 w/ Optimus™ Technology
- 32GB DDR3 1600MHz [SKU-844PX] (Kingston HyperX CL9 Dual Channel Memory (4x8GB SODIMMS))
- 4x 1TB Samsung 840 EVO Series Solid State mSATA
- 1TB Samsung 840 Evo SSD
- Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Dual Band Wireless-N 1202 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module + Bluetooth 4.0 | Up to 300Mbps (2x2) (SKU - WIFI07)


SAGER 9390
-17.3" FHD 16:9 "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Glossy Sager Screen w/ 90% NTSC Color Gamut (1920x1080)
-Sager - 4th Generation Intel® Haswell Core™ i7-4930MX (3.0GHz - 3.9GHz, 8MB Intel® Smart Cache)
-SLI (2x) - NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 780M (8.0GB total) GDDR5 PCI-Express DX11
-32GB - DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (4 SODIMMS)
-4x 1TB Samsung 840 EVO Series mSATA SSD
- Sager - Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Wireless-N 1202 + Bluetooth 4.0

Some specific questions I have are:

1. I read sager makes great systems but someone forums say alienware's build quality is better as they have customized their own case instead of getting a standard case and building on it. Is this true? given the 24/7 use, will this make a difference?
2. What is the difference between corsair and kingston with ram? Kingston HyperX CL9 Dual Channel Memory vs Corsair Vengeance CL9 Dual Channel Memory? Both are 32 gb and 1600Mhz. which has more reliable performance/better reliability?
3. I read a about the throttling issue with the 4th Generation Intel® Haswell Core™ i7-4930MX (3.0GHz - 3.9GHz, 8MB Intel® Smart Cache) on the alienware. What exactly is this and when does it affect performance? Does this also apply to the sager system?
4. What is the difference between 1TB Samsung 840 EVO Series Solid State and 960GB Crucial M500 SSD (Read 500MB/s - Write 400MB/s (SATA III)?
5. Is there a downside to using only SSD's?
6. Is AMD or Nvidia a better choice for business applications indicated above?
7. What is the difference between Msata and a standard HD slot on a laptop?
8. The laptop will be running almost 24-7, can systems like these take that kind of load (never tried myself)? Does anyone have experience with that kind of use? what advice can you offer to extend the reliability of the device?

Thank you all in advance for your advice.
 
1. This is subjective as you will see equal amounts of people say sager has better build quality than dell and vice-versa. It is safe to say that Alienware 18 and the Sager 9390 are about equal in terms of build quality given the kind of specs they boast.

2. Memory brand isn't a big deal in laptops unless you plan on overclocking. There may be aftermarket RAM that is faster, but might not be available in 8gig SODIMM packages.

3. Throttling goes into effect when the temperature reaches nearly 100-celcius. CPUs and GPUs are inherently designed to do this, so there is no way for you to change this. However, Sager allows for the user to manually control the speed of the fan through keyboard shortcuts to prevent the GPU/CPU from throttling by keeping temps at bay. I'm not sure how different the Dells are. Other gaming laptop manufacturers tend to control the fan speed automatically via uncustomizable software, and you, as a user, are lucky if the fan kicks to 80% of its full speed when under full load. So, sager (and possibly dell alienware) laptops allow for more consistent cooling.

4. Not too familiar with SSDs, but the Samsung 840s are the most popular ones.

6. That really depends on what hardware the software you use at work supports. For example, for mining crypto currency, the AMD is the top choice and is just as good for gaming as the nVidia. Whereas nVidia is generally the choice for top-tier gaming...

7. MSata is simply a smaller version of sata designed for laptop configurations.

8. This is answered in number 3. But to be more clear consumer grade laptops are not meant to run 24/7.

Having said all of that, if you were to choose now, I would go for the Alienware 18. According to Dell it appears to have the capability of having 3 displays without the use of a USB3.0 -> DVI output hardware accessory. The Sage appears to have only a single HDMI output...

Hope this helps. Also, are you hiring?
 
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This isn't a me "bashing" or "hating" or being a "fanboy" of "Something else"...


I really dont understand why alienware's are so popular. when specced, for the cost they put macintosh to shame as far as "cost effectiveness" is concerned. Is there a specific reason why you should go alienware vs, say MSI? (my friend just bought a laptop for 1400, the closest specced alienware costs 2200$ and doesnt include a 780m)

I guess Im asking, where is that extra money going? Bragging rights? If so, thats fine, but I don't get it.
 
@madhatter256
3. Throttling goes into effect when the temperature reaches nearly 100-celcius.... --> What happens to the laptops performance when throttling happens?

6. That really depends on what hardware the software you use at work supports... --> All i know is that our heavy applications use cuda cores to do advanced financial modelling using a real time data stream. I can ask our tech guy what else it does.

7. MSata is simply a smaller version of sata designed for laptop configurations. -->just curious, if they have Msata, why dont they just make all hd's msata allowing for a lot more memory?

8. This is answered in number 3. But to be more clear consumer grade laptops are not meant to run 24/7. --> run 24/7, what kind of shelf life would you expect? any way to extend this?

Also, are you hiring? --> We are not right now, dont usually do so at the start of the year but i do know we will be hiring in a few months. Where are you based and what is your specialization?

@bob4933
These were the options given to me by our company. I do find the alienware better looking than an MSI but would never really use that as the basis for my choice. Not really concerned with bragging rights either as I spend most my time either sitting at my desk or sleeping ha!
 
3. Depends on how much it throttles, but performance does drop.

7. mSATA form factor does not 'allow for a lot more memory'. In fact, most are usually limited in capacity versus their 2.5" counter parts due to size. The mSATA connector is actually bigger than SATA connectors.

8. I would expect a PC crunching data 24/7 to last a few years. The best way to ensure a long life is to keep it cool.
 
@MadHatter256
3. Throttling goes into effect when the temperature reaches nearly 100-celcius.... --> What happens to the laptops performance when throttling happens?

6. That really depends on what hardware the software you use at work supports... --> All i know is that our heavy applications use cuda cores to do advanced financial modelling using a real time data stream. I can ask our tech guy what else it does.

7. MSata is simply a smaller version of sata designed for laptop configurations. -->just curious, if they have Msata, why dont they just make all hd's msata allowing for a lot more memory?

8. This is answered in number 3. But to be more clear consumer grade laptops are not meant to run 24/7. --> run 24/7, what kind of shelf life would you expect? any way to extend this?

Also, are you hiring? --> We are not right now, dont usually do so at the start of the year but i do know we will be hiring in a few months. Where are you based and what is your specialization?

@Bob4933
These were the options given to me by our company. I do find the alienware better looking than an MSI but would never really use that as the basis for my choice. Not really concerned with bragging rights either as I spend most my time either sitting at my desk or sleeping ha!

3. Sorry. When it does throttle, like Earthdog had said, performance drops drastically. I was just saying earlier that the laptops I had mentioned have cooling that should prevent the GPU/CPU from reaching such high temperatures and thus avoiding throttling*. And like I said earlier, you cannot disable throttling.

6. If the software relies on cuda cores, then stick with nVidia.

7. Not really sure. Matter of economics since the standard SATA drives outnumber the mSATA ones. As for extra ram slots, well that is limited to the chipset/memory controller. 4 SODIMM slots is a lot as they typically come with two.

8. If run 24/7 under full load, I wouldn't expect the laptop to last you no more than a year or two like what Earthdog has said. Components within the laptop that are not actively cooled can build up heat - not all laptops are designed perfectly. Combine that with the cyclic effect of turning off the laptop and letting it cool when you travel and the solder that holds the components in place can develop microscopic cracks leading to problems. Now if you have the laptops above an AC vent that piped out cold air, that would certainly help. Laptop cooling pads help, too.

My question about hiring was more or less sarcasm. By trade i'm a civil engineer.
 
GAH... laptop.. yeah.. it really isnt made for that type of work 24/7 really. I would without a doubt get a laptop cooling pad to help keep things cool.

I still thing it will last a couple of years though...
 
Hi All,

Went with the alienware, the deciding factor was the ability to multi-screen capability. Thank you Earthdog and madhatter256 for your input. Definitely sparked my interest in this technology, didnt realize it was already so advanced lol.

Thanks Again!
 
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