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Looking to upgrade - what are good laptop system specs for translators and interpreters in 2021?
Thread poster: Adieu
Adieu
Adieu  Identity Verified
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
Jan 3, 2021

Please advise, getting back into this industry and looks like I need new hardware.

Needs:
*Runs CAT tools well (currently memoQ 9.6, but preferably good for all popular ones) fast and stable under heavy loads with lots of other stuff in background
*Simultaneously run CATs, Office, ~10 open PDFs and 200+ open browser tabs with no slowdown or lag
*Good for audio editing, also do some voiceover work (just speed wise, audiocard itself doesn't matter, use an external Fo
... See more
Please advise, getting back into this industry and looks like I need new hardware.

Needs:
*Runs CAT tools well (currently memoQ 9.6, but preferably good for all popular ones) fast and stable under heavy loads with lots of other stuff in background
*Simultaneously run CATs, Office, ~10 open PDFs and 200+ open browser tabs with no slowdown or lag
*Good for audio editing, also do some voiceover work (just speed wise, audiocard itself doesn't matter, use an external Focusrite Scarlett)
*Some video editing capability would be nice
*Good for running videoconferencing and stable sharescreen with any or all of the above running simultaneously
*Good keyboard, preferably WITHOUT a numeric pad on the side
*Preferably low on bloatware or easily uninstallable with little resistance
*Good video card and at least FHD with a nice screen, preferably 4K or something
*Probably 15.6", possibly open to 14 or 17
*NO COOLING ISSUES - spoiled by Android... btw what's better in that regard, Intel or AMD?


Btw, is there such a thing as a laptop with double HDMI for two external monitors? I haven't used PCs much in years, really just for doing taxes once a year before corona hit and I got back into translating as the perfect remote job.

Thx for any constructive input. Specific models, minimum hardware, preferred processors, brands to avoid due to bad keyboards or whatnot...

PS let's keep it under $1k if at all possible
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Andrzej Mierzejewski
Andrzej Mierzejewski  Identity Verified
Poland
Local time: 14:33
Polish to English
+ ...
200+...? Jan 8, 2021

"*Simultaneously run CATs, Office, ~10 open PDFs and 200+ open browser tabs with no slowdown or lag"

Is "200+" correct? You'll need lots of RAM, maybe as much as 64 GB. And probably a separate monitor for viewing the list of all the sites kept open. BTW you forgot to specify your preferred HD (or SSD) size.

And all this at below 1,000 USD? Pls make a small effort and check by yourself what laptop specification you can buy for USD 1,000. As far as I can see in computer
... See more
"*Simultaneously run CATs, Office, ~10 open PDFs and 200+ open browser tabs with no slowdown or lag"

Is "200+" correct? You'll need lots of RAM, maybe as much as 64 GB. And probably a separate monitor for viewing the list of all the sites kept open. BTW you forgot to specify your preferred HD (or SSD) size.

And all this at below 1,000 USD? Pls make a small effort and check by yourself what laptop specification you can buy for USD 1,000. As far as I can see in computer stores, prices have increased by approx. 20% over the last 12 months (the reason thereof seems clear: the demand for computers has increased).

HTH
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Eric Azevedo
 
Adieu
Adieu  Identity Verified
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
200+ is very correct Jan 8, 2021

Andrzej Mierzejewski wrote:

"*Simultaneously run CATs, Office, ~10 open PDFs and 200+ open browser tabs with no slowdown or lag"

Is "200+" correct? You'll need lots of RAM, maybe as much as 64 GB. And probably a separate monitor for viewing the list of all the sites kept open. BTW you forgot to specify your preferred HD (or SSD) size.

And all this at below 1,000 USD? Pls make a small effort and check by yourself what laptop specification you can buy for USD 1,000. As far as I can see in computer stores, prices have increased by approx. 20% over the last 12 months (the reason thereof seems clear: the demand for computers has increased).

HTH


You just need a good browser (not Microsoft-anything, not Firefox - I usually use Avant)

I used to run 400-500 open tabs back in the early 2000's on much simpler hardware. On laptops with like 1 - 2 GB RAM.

Currently have an old i5 Vaio with like 4GB, does 200+ tabs pretty well, but starts choking pretty hard if >10 of em are big PDFs or embedded video (and yes, that same computer will choke HARD on ten tabs of anything at all opened in a Microsoft browser, even just wikipedia and gmail)

Basically, if I open reference materials like wikipedia, news articles, scientific publications etc., I tend to leave em open until I'm done working on that topic.


PS written from my 2018 cell phone, with 99 open tabs in Samsung browser (pesky limit) and 38 more in Chrome

[Edited at 2021-01-08 12:13 GMT]


 
Andrzej Mierzejewski
Andrzej Mierzejewski  Identity Verified
Poland
Local time: 14:33
Polish to English
+ ...
OK then. Jan 8, 2021

I see that you're much more advanced in the hardware specifications than I am. I can only repeat: make a small effort and check by yourself what laptop specification you can buy for USD 1,000, and buy the highest spec within your financial capabilities.

HTH


 
Mr. Satan (X)
Mr. Satan (X)
English to Indonesian
Business Laptops Jan 10, 2021

Oh, just get a business laptop. Thinkpads, Elitebooks, Probooks, Latitudes, they're all good. They might be a bit more expensive, but it'll be worth every penny. Although if you do plan to keep your laptop for 8-10 years, probably best to avoid Thinkpads as Lenovo has been doing the soldered RAM nonsense these days.

For RAM, 16GB is a sweet spot for today, IMHO. But you can get 8GB and it'll do for the time being. If you need more in the future you can always upgrade it. Again, avoi
... See more
Oh, just get a business laptop. Thinkpads, Elitebooks, Probooks, Latitudes, they're all good. They might be a bit more expensive, but it'll be worth every penny. Although if you do plan to keep your laptop for 8-10 years, probably best to avoid Thinkpads as Lenovo has been doing the soldered RAM nonsense these days.

For RAM, 16GB is a sweet spot for today, IMHO. But you can get 8GB and it'll do for the time being. If you need more in the future you can always upgrade it. Again, avoid Thinkpads if that's your plan.

CPU? AMD Ryzen 4000 series are highly praised by the tech community. Intel has released their 11th generation processor, but I haven't really looked into the comparison benchmarks, so I can't say if it's better than AMD's or not. But if your choice is between AMD Ryzen 4000 series or Intel 10th generation, get the former. It runs faster, cooler, consumes less energy, and cheaper too.

Multimedia editing might require a color accurate screen, so aim for something with 95% sRGB in its product description. But it might not be a big deal. Just make sure it doesn't use PWM for the sake of your own health.

Also, how big the video resolution you would be working on? If it's only 1080p, any integrated graphic will be good enough. But if you deal with 4k, it's probably better to buy a gaming laptop, actually. HP Omen and Lenovo Legion are the best available in the market currently. Just pick one that suits your taste and budget. They can be cheaper than business laptops. Buuuuut, they usually have a lot of bloatware pre-installed.

BTW, you don't want a 4k screen for your laptop. I suggest ditching it from your requirements to reduce the cost and focus on something more substantial.

[Edited at 2021-01-10 15:08 GMT]

[Edited at 2021-01-10 15:09 GMT]

[Edited at 2021-01-10 15:11 GMT]
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Mr. Satan (X)
Mr. Satan (X)
English to Indonesian
Update Jan 26, 2021

Ooookay, after a little digging, I highly suggest you hold your finger from pulling that trigger a little longer, if you could. Here's why.

CPU
Intel's 11th gen mobile CPU offers a slight improvement in CPU performance over the 10th gen. Where it actually shines is in the iGPU performance. Iris Xe the best iGPU in the market today, although it's still nowhere as capable as proper dedicated GPUs.

That being said, AMD's Ryzen 5000 series mobile CPU is just ar
... See more
Ooookay, after a little digging, I highly suggest you hold your finger from pulling that trigger a little longer, if you could. Here's why.

CPU
Intel's 11th gen mobile CPU offers a slight improvement in CPU performance over the 10th gen. Where it actually shines is in the iGPU performance. Iris Xe the best iGPU in the market today, although it's still nowhere as capable as proper dedicated GPUs.

That being said, AMD's Ryzen 5000 series mobile CPU is just around the corner. The benchmark data is of course unavailable yet. But from the spec-sheet that I've read, I wouldn't be too surprised if it turns out to beat Intel once again.

GPU
The GeForce 30 series had just been released. It's Nvidia's most recent high-end GPU class/family. It should take a little longer until they release their mid-range GPU variants (this was the case with 20 and 16 series). I would say the mid-range GPUs are the most cost-efficient option for most people. And since your budget limit is below $1k, this will be your only option, realistically speaking.

So yeah, wait a little longer. 2021 looks to be a battleground for IT companies. I would also suggest to not get the first batch of newly released laptops, just to avoid potential problems. Their QC is usually a bit loose whenever there are fresh products being rolled out to the market.
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Rolf Keller
Rolf Keller
Germany
Local time: 14:33
English to German
Browsers - yesterday and today Jan 27, 2021

Adieu wrote:

You just need a good browser (not Microsoft-anything, not Firefox - I usually use Avant)

Let the hard facts speak. The heart of any browser is the rendering engine. In order to display all webpages completely & correctly you need a non-outdated engine. In 2021 there isn't much choice: the Chromium engine is used by nearly any browser, Firefox is the only exception. Microsoft provides one browser only, Edge, that (today!) is based on Chromium.

With Avant you can choose only between Chrome and Firefox. So, what's your choice?


 
Adieu
Adieu  Identity Verified
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
It has always puzzled me, too Jan 27, 2021

Rolf Keller wrote:

Adieu wrote:

You just need a good browser (not Microsoft-anything, not Firefox - I usually use Avant)

Let the hard facts speak. The heart of any browser is the rendering engine. In order to display all webpages completely & correctly you need a non-outdated engine. In 2021 there isn't much choice: the Chromium engine is used by nearly any browser, Firefox is the only exception. Microsoft provides one browser only, Edge, that (today!) is based on Chromium.

With Avant you can choose only between Chrome and Firefox. So, what's your choice?


...but Avant's implementation of other browser engines somehow has superior memory management to the originals. Others choke and it just keeps working. And if you do manage to crash it eventually, just reopen and everything is still there.

Well, whatever. If it works...



[Edited at 2021-01-27 13:39 GMT]


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 14:33
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Adieu Jan 27, 2021

Adieu wrote:
You just need a good browser (not Microsoft-anything, not Firefox - I usually use Avant)
I used to run 400-500 open tabs back in the early 2000's on much simpler hardware. On laptops with like 1 - 2 GB RAM.


Yes, but that is because browsers in those days loaded all tabs into a single instance of the browser. These days, browsers are designed to load separate tabs into separate instances (every tab essentially runs in its own browser), which is why modern browsers are so RAM hungry. This is apparently for stability -- if one tab crashes, it doesn't crash the entire browser, but only that one tab. There are "lazy loading" browser extensions which load tabs only when you click on them, or stop processing tabs when you navigate away from them, which can reduce RAM usage.


Mr. Satan (X)
 
Dominic D.
Dominic D.
Local time: 14:33
Serbian to Russian
+ ...
Personal contribution Mar 8, 2021

Ok, since I have about the same question I won't start a new thread. What laptop are you guys using nowadays for multi-CAT-ing, simultaneous Finereadering and loads of intense web browsing with some Youtube online training playing in the background? We're talking hours of consistent performance without overheating.

I'm looking at replacing my Surface Pro 2017. It's got to be a 4k screen laptop, 16GB RAM and i7 at least, though. I couldn't live with a 1080p screen having been spoiled
... See more
Ok, since I have about the same question I won't start a new thread. What laptop are you guys using nowadays for multi-CAT-ing, simultaneous Finereadering and loads of intense web browsing with some Youtube online training playing in the background? We're talking hours of consistent performance without overheating.

I'm looking at replacing my Surface Pro 2017. It's got to be a 4k screen laptop, 16GB RAM and i7 at least, though. I couldn't live with a 1080p screen having been spoiled by the gorgeous Surface display with super crisp text displaying. It comes in very handy in occasional field work, displaying more calendar events at once, more accurate OCR work etc.

Should I definitely avoid low-voltage processors for top performance in our field of business, or would this:

https://www.komputronik.pl/product/703402/hp-spectre-x360-13-aw0025nw-155h4ea-czarna.html

...ensure top performance for at least 5 years to come?

[Edited at 2021-03-08 07:36 GMT]

[Edited at 2021-03-08 07:37 GMT]

[Edited at 2021-03-08 07:52 GMT]
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Adieu
Adieu  Identity Verified
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Same instincts, BUT... Mar 8, 2021

Ekhangel wrote:

Ok, since I have about the same question I won't start a new thread. What laptop are you guys using nowadays for multi-CAT-ing, simultaneous Finereadering and loads of intense web browsing with some Youtube online training playing in the background? We're talking hours of consistent performance without overheating.

I'm looking at replacing my Surface Pro 2017. It's got to be a 4k screen laptop, 16GB RAM and i7 at least, though. I couldn't live with a 1080p screen having been spoiled by the gorgeous Surface display with super crisp text displaying. It comes in very handy in occasional field work, displaying more calendar events at once, more accurate OCR work etc.

Should I definitely avoid low-voltage processors for top performance in our field of business, or would this:

https://www.komputronik.pl/product/703402/hp-spectre-x360-13-aw0025nw-155h4ea-czarna.html

...ensure top performance for at least 5 years to come?

[Edited at 2021-03-08 07:36 GMT]

[Edited at 2021-03-08 07:37 GMT]

[Edited at 2021-03-08 07:52 GMT]



...I hear persistent rumors that most CAT tools and office applications do not have useable UIs for small 4K displays.

IDK how true or not that is, although going by the infuriating tiny-checkbox-hunting end of day minigame known as MemoQ QA on a mere FullHD laptop --- I can certainly see how some things might not be 4K friendly.

I wish Windows application developers had the same kind of culture as phone app companies. Why does everything work A-OK on a 6" 4k screen, but 16", noooo forget about it...


Dan Lucas
 
Dominic D.
Dominic D.
Local time: 14:33
Serbian to Russian
+ ...
... Mar 8, 2021

My present Surface is 2,736 x 1,824 px; not sure if it makes it a 4K screen or not? Either way, after having worked with it for several years now I can't look at a 1920x1080 laptop screen anymore. The difference is very obvious with fonts that are at least a little smaller, and in our line of business there's plenty of user scenarios for this (extensive .xls-es, forms with small type, footer notes etc.). I tried pushing myself into considering a 1080p HP x360, but having tried it at the store ev... See more
My present Surface is 2,736 x 1,824 px; not sure if it makes it a 4K screen or not? Either way, after having worked with it for several years now I can't look at a 1920x1080 laptop screen anymore. The difference is very obvious with fonts that are at least a little smaller, and in our line of business there's plenty of user scenarios for this (extensive .xls-es, forms with small type, footer notes etc.). I tried pushing myself into considering a 1080p HP x360, but having tried it at the store everything just looks kind of blurry on it compared to the Surface. Also, the lower resolution means that less content will be displayed on the screen simultaneously in apps such as Windows Mail or Windows Calendar.

I also have an Ultrawide monitor (3440×1440) in my office setup and a 1080p laptop would make the constant and significant rescaling between the displays intolerable.

So a higher-than-1080p display is a must for me. Also, with my resolution the UIs in both MemoQ and Studio are ok, but on a 3840 x 2160 screen things would probably get more problematic indeed.
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Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:33
Member (2008)
Italian to English
You're making this up Mar 9, 2021

Adieu wrote:

200+ open browser tabs


I've just tried opening a mere 25 open tabs in Firefox on my 27" monitor - and already I can't see what websites they are.

So for 200+ open websites you will need at least a 200" monitor (more than 5m wide) -unless you use one of those "multiple tabs bar" add-ons (but in that case you would need so many additional tabs bars that half of your screen would be filled up with them)

Sounds expensive - you may also need a new, much bigger workspace.





[Edited at 2021-03-09 16:03 GMT]


 
Adieu
Adieu  Identity Verified
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
I'm really not Mar 9, 2021

Tom in London wrote:

Adieu wrote:

200+ open browser tabs


I've just tried opening a mere 25 open tabs in Firefox on my 27" monitor - and already I can't see what websites they are.

So for 200+ open websites you will need at least a 200" monitor (more than 5m wide) -unless you use one of those "multiple tabs bar" add-ons (but in that case you would need so many additional tabs bars that half of your screen would be filled up with them)

Sounds expensive - you may also need a new, much bigger workspace.





[Edited at 2021-03-09 16:03 GMT]


Some browsers let you shrink down tab size or hide the tab bar entirely.

Seriously, "never close a relevant search result, wikipedia page, etc. until a project is done" is a thing that people actually do.

Also, why would you need to see what they are? That's not the point. The point is you don't remember what you googled or if/how you bookmarked it (I rarely do) etc., just what's in there and roughly where the open page is. The little icons for websites help do the rest.

PS btw, I currently have 99 tabs open (unfortunate limitation) in one browser and 67 in another. On my phone. Which is stable enough that I never close tabs at all.



[Edited at 2021-03-09 17:06 GMT]


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 14:33
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Tom Mar 9, 2021

Tom in London wrote:
I've just tried opening a mere 25 open tabs in Firefox on my 27" monitor - and already I can't see what websites they are.


This comment tells me that you're using a horizontal tab bar. Try using a vertical one (i.e. one that lists the tabs underneath each other on the left or right side of the browser). As soon as the screen fills, a scroll bar appears. Vivaldi can do this without any add-ons (I'm sure others can too).

Adieu wrote:
I currently have 99 tabs open (unfortunate limitation) in one browser and 67 in another. On my phone. Which is stable enough that I never close tabs at all.


True, but a phone browser typically shows only one tab tab at a time, and it doesn't actually load all of the tabs whenever you restart the browser. The browsers on my Android phone work like that: the tabs are all there (unless I close them) but they don't load unless I go to them.

FWIW, my desktop computer's browser (Vivaldi) also does lazy loading by default, so even if I reboot my computer and restart the browser, it only loads tabs when I click on them (it does show the name and favicon of the page on all the tabs, though).

[Edited at 2021-03-09 17:13 GMT]


Dominic D.
 
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Looking to upgrade - what are good laptop system specs for translators and interpreters in 2021?






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