Autodesk Revit Laptop

Other than a Lenovo Thinkpad a while back I’ve had MacBooks for the Adobe Suite editing softwares for a decade now.

Need a new laptop to run Revit, Bluebeam, RSMeans, etc.

Since I’m not building a desktop and Revit on a tiny screen is rough I’m prioritizing a large screen as a middle ground.

Was thinking Dell XPS 17 for 17” screen size:

$3,789 Dell 2023 XPS 17 9720 Laptop 17" Touchscreen UHD+ Display 14-Core 12th Intel Core i7-12700H NVIDIA RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6 64GB DDR5 4TB NVMe SSD Thunderbolt 4 WiFi 6E Backlit KB FP Reader Windows 11 Pro

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-XPS-9720-Touchscreen-Thunderbolt/dp/B0BXKNYMC5

A couple others are larger but they’re gaming computers, I would assume you can turn off all the rainbow lights ha.

ASUS (18”):

$2,850 EXCaliberPC 2023 ASUS ROG Strix G18 G814JZ-G18.I94080 (i9-13980HX, 16GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, RTX 4080 12GB, 18" QHD+ 240Hz 3ms, Windows 11) Gaming Notebook

https://www.amazon.com/EXCaliberPC-G814JZ-G18-I94080-i9-13980HX-Windows-Notebook/dp/B0C1JQX8ZW

Alienware (17.3”):

Alienware m17 R5 Gaming Laptop (17.3" 360Hz FHD,AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (Beat i9-11900H), 64GB DDR5 RAM, 2TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8GB) RGB Backlit KB, USB 4.0, G-SYNC, Win 11 Home, Dark

https://www.amazon.com/Alienware-m17-R5-RX6850M-Thunderbolt/dp/B0CB87MT26


I’m leaving towards the Dell purely for the lack of gaming aesthetics but do like the even larger screen and having had more experience with the ASUS brand.

Any reliability, quality, longevity, performance differences I’m ignorant of feel free to point out.

Good with CAD, bad with computers, oddly enough. Thanks for any input!

We all know why you’re really here

 

Gotcha

 

Do you travel? If so a 17 in. laptop will be challenging. I had a 17in Alienware as my personal rig and used it for work since the company was on VDI. Going to coffee shops for the day to work remote was a bitch because of the size of the power brick and the damn thing took up a lot of space in my backpack.

Otherwise it was sweet. The large monitor makes such a difference and I loved having the keyboard and number pad on my laptop keyboard.

 

Why not get a 15 inch and then an external monitor? Best of both worlds if you have to travel. Also can get a portable external monitor. I have one that's the size of a tablet. CES just wrapped. Dells should be on sale with other laptop makers too.

 

I’ve traveled all over the world and country with an older MacBook Pro 15, but have never had anything larger. I find the 15” screen too small for me. Not dead set on 17+ over a 16.xx but the more real estate the merrier for me.

I’ll be in a truck instead of carrying a backpack all over so I’m not prioritizing portability over size but it’s still on the podium.

Performance needs for Revit are an obvious must.

Then large screen size strongly preferred

Finally portability (hence laptop over desktop) last.

 

I’ve considered it but the laptop will be used out and about significantly more than at home so having a primary screen that’s ideal would be preferred. Not dead set, but pretty high “want”

 

Dells dropping a new XPS 16 soon. https://www.dell.com/en-us/blog/dells-new-xps-lineup-futuristic-design-with-built-in-ai/

 

Perhaps I can push things off for reviews!
I’m at a lapse where I kind of need it yesterday, but can make do on the old Mac. Next window will be December when I’ll need one no matter what (moving jobs).

They’re replacing the 17 with the 16, or offering both? I’ll research it now, thanks!

 

"Dell XPS 15 and Dell XPS 17 are being retired — both are discounted today"
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/dell-xps-15-xps-17-laptop-deal-dell-january-2024/

Yeah looks like it. I have an older XPS 15 that is still running like a champ. I just use for PS,LR, Premier on the go. For me the 16/17 are normally too big to travel as most backpacks fit the 15s max.

 

Thank you! I wonder if this means I could find a good sale on a 17 soon ha.

I also run PS/LR/Premiere etc on my 2015 MacBook and man is it struggling these days. On its last leg for sure.

I won’t need a backpack for this one. It’ll never be used for personal travel. Only work.

 

You got me...

Cant say much other than Ive had 15.6" Dell Precision series laptops for work for the past ~7 years now. They have been fairly solid overall, ignoring any dumb updates pushed out by company IT. 17" would be a stretch IMO, but possibly worth it if you don't have an external monitor(s). Also I love having the dedicated num pad next to the keyboard built in.

 

Agreed on the keypad. I’d be fine with a 16 to 17, would get used to whatever I’m sure. Just not happy with my 15 currently so want to go up a bit.

Good to hear on the longevity aspect as well. I tend to buy a computer per decade or so if I can help it..

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/DellXPS/comments/18yf69i/xps_16_is_not_even_better_than_xps_17/

 

Crazy that some laptops weight more than some rifles haha

 

Alienware is owned by Dell they seems to run a generation or two behind (to me)
there are extra screens that frame attach to the back of the main screen and slide out when needed (doubles as well, I believe)
I'd look for one with Thunderbolt 4 for maximum future I/O needs (extra screens, fast external drives)

 

This is kind of why I saw it as consider the ASUS before committing to the Dell XPS. I hate to admit the aesthetics but me but I’d be looking for stickers or a case to help with the gaming computers for sure ha.

 

I picked up a used Dell Inspiron 17 7791 last year on the cheap (EBay)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f75nlx1-KU8

Does pretty much everything I need for video editing (I'm not a gamer)

Intel i7 Core
GeForce MX250
24GB RAM
512GB SSD
2TB HDD
2-in-1 Touchscreen Tablet


Been pretty solid