Reassurance for the other half, advice required!

[xDanny]

Hi all!

My Boyfriend is very kindly posting this for me as he has more experience with PC Specialist than I do (that and I don't much like using my current laptop outside of working hours anymore). (Boyfriend: Also I've had a laptop from PC Specialist and it's lasted me 5 years, I'm still using it to play pretty hi spec games so I strongly advocated she get her next laptop from here).

My current laptop (Dell Inspiron 5570) has been causing me problem after problem. The one I have now is a replacement for an earlier one and it is experiencing loud crackling and popping sounds severely interfering with my ability to listen to any sort of music or video (a work requirement) even after several (hardware and software) solutions though Dells own tech and support service. I just want a device that can play music whilst I'm working without any of the sound interference that I'm currently getting. I don't think that should be a lot to ask. Not to mention that as I travel between Germany and Britain a fair amount, and it's in a lot of use, I need to be sure that the Chassis is solid and the hinges are going to hold up to wear and tear. Also I'd like to know the dimensions of it if possible.

So: I'm looking here at PC Specialist because I've had no luck with mainstream off the shelf manufacturers (HP Overheated, Lenovo Chassis broke, Dell audio issues x2). Here is the laptop and specs I'm thinking of;

UltraNote 15.6"
i5-8250U
8gb Corsair (1x8GB) Ram
Intel HD Graphics
500gb Samsung Evo SSD
Intel 2 Channel HD Audio
Gigabit LAN and Wireless Intel

I primarily use my laptop for work. Sometimes work will be Word/PowerPoint and PDF Based, sometimes work will be using specialised translation software (Transit and Trados, specs listed below).

I will typically have Chrome, Trados/Transit/Word+PDF and a music player (typically Groove) open when working and would really expect the music to play without any crackles or pops, even when I brows the internet.

My gut feeling is that this build should be able to handle that without any issues whatsoever. (I think my Dell may be suffering with latency issues). Would any of this build lead to latency?

I may also install Dragon Naturally Speaking on the laptop because it is compatible with Trados. (Obviously wouldn't be listening to music at the same time - That would confuse the Dragon!)

Transit System Requirements:
Windows Vista/7/8.1/10, Intel processor at least 2GHz, RAM at least 1GB, SVG Graphics card min, res 1280 x 1024

Trados:
Windows Vista/7/8.1/10, intel or other compatible processor, 4gb RAM, SCreen Res, 1024 x 768

Dragon Naturally Speaking
Windows Vista/7/8.1/10, 2.2GHz Dual core processor, Processor Cache 512KB, 4GB Ram for 64-bit sound card capable of support 22KHz 16bit recording

Thank you all for all help and advice, or even a fresh spec.

Boyfriend: Hokay, as the BF, her Dell that she has right now is over kill for what she needs it for and it cost her £1k+ I'm pretty sure it doesn't need to be that expensive so anything around the 600 - 700 mark would probably be more apt for her, maybe not even that! I've assured her that PC Specialist is the way to go from past experience but I'm still no expert, which is why I also why I defer to the experts and well versed on the site! Thanks again!

 

[Oussebon]

The spec seems fine for those needs; more than fine indeed.

I might suggest looking at 16gb RAM if running a lot of programs and of course chrome tabs at the same time. 2x8gb also has the benefit of being dual channel, and so could improve performance a bit.

Rather than the 850 Evo SSD, consider an M.2 SSD from the M.2 SSD Drive menu instead. WD Black possibly as these are much faster, or the SX6000 is an option too, being still very fast and cheaper than the top end ones like the WD Black. Being M.2 it also keeps the 2.5" drive bay free for a wide choice of storage upgrades (e.g. an HDD if that were ever required).

It depends on the screen size and whether you want the internal DVD player which the Ultranote has as an option, but consider as well the 14" Lafite, which is smaller, lighter, and has an aluminium chassis I believe.

As for the dimensions and weight, click the "detailed specifications" tab on any of the laptop configurators and it will tell you

 

[kennylarsen]

As mentioned above, the lafite is worth having a look at for travel. I've had an older one (and just ordered a new one!) and it's been great for travelling round with. You'll pay a touch extra for the same specs mind you.

For what it's worth you can listen to music and use Dragon, I've got a Jabra headset and the music isn't picked up by the microphone, biggest problem is singing lyrics which then get transcribed!

 

[ubuysa]

What's going to limit the multiprocessing capabilities is RAM, and if RAM starts to become heavily used things will slow down very quickly (because of the way the Windows memory manager handles RAM shortages). I would second the 16GB suggestion to be sure you're not likely to be RAM starved.

500GB isn't a great lot of storage these days, and around 10% (or even more) of that will be used by Windows and programs. You're wise to select an SSD for Windows and programs, but for the language translation and the music it's a waste - because neither of those will benefit one jot from having their data on an SSD. If the budget will allow, a 128GB M.2 SSD for Windows and programs and a 500GB (or bigger) 7200rpm HDD for the user data (music etc.) will offer the best trade-off between cost and performance. You really won't notice that the music (especially) in on an HDD.