16gb ram, dual ssd laptop

[Guest1212]

(Looks like my original post isn't showing)

Hello,

I am looking to buy a new laptop that can be upgraded to 16gb ram, two ssd drives and preferably weighs 5lbs or less (15 inch screen). I will not use this for gaming, so features like graphics card etc are not important. I would like to spend $1800 max including the parts. Any suggestions?

Also, are there any online sites that allow me to search for laptops based on these criteria? I found crucial.com helpful, but it only seems to help check a specific model. There seem to be lots of sites that allow a search by amount of ram, but it always seems to be the amount ram pre-installed, not max possible ram.

Thanks.

[Karamazovmm]

try the w150erq, its the lightest that I know that can support 2 2.5'' bays, otherwise pretty much every model now support a msata SSD

[misterhobbs]

How much storage will you need because the difference between getting a 128gb and 256gb SSD is significant?

I don't know of many 15" laptops being under 5lbs but I know there are quite a few in the 5-6lb range.

The one I looked at was the Sager NP2252. You could upgrade to the 3610qm to get the better IGP than the Sandy Bridge cpu. You'd also have to use an optical bay caddy for the 2nd SSD. The starting price of this laptop is well below $1000 so it wouldn't be hard to get all the upgrades you wanted.

[Guest1212]

Cool, thanks I'll take a look at that model.

I'm also considering putting an SSD drive in the optical bay, and using an external optical cd/dvd drive. That seems to open up a bunch of different choices.

[danishh]

two ssd's for capacity, right? If you're trying to raid0 them you'll probably be out of luck.

If you're fine with ssd in the optical bay, you can buy practically any mainstream laptop.

16gb ddr3 1600 ram on newegg is ~$130 (~$100 if you're fine with ddr3 1333)
Crucial M4 64gb = $80
Crucial M4 128gb = $150
Crucial M4 256gb = $210

i'd recommend 64 + 256 = $290

generic ssd caddy for your optical bay is about $10-$20, same for a generic usb case to stick your stock optical drive into.


that leaves you around $1300 to find a laptop with a design you like. 99% of 15"ers with an ODD will have two available sodimm's and fit the 2.5" hdds

you can probably make ~$100 back by selling the ram and hdd the computer comes with.
it might help us if you could explain your use for the computer a bit more. If you're not gaming, my guess is that you actually want to avoid the more bulky custom alienware/sager/clevo/msi type gaming laptops and just find a thinner, lighter mainstream brand.

[Guest1212]

Thanks. Yes I do pretty much want to avoid the gaming laptops. I will use this as an audio workstation. I have a sampling program (gigastudio4) that streams samples off of a dedicated hard drive.

In terms of storage, for now I can get away with one 120gb drive and one drive that is 60gb or more. I am looking at the Sager NP2252. Even though people may use it as a gaming notebook, it seems I can configure it to meet my needs. I can also get a 3rd gen intel processor in it. It looks like it would cost around $1400 which is great.

[virtualjock]

You can buy a Thinkpad T420/T430 that meets that criteria.

Mine T420 has 16Gb ram, 3 as in three SSDs and the ability to power a 30" monitor. You can get them for under $1000

My set-up: Fortysomething Geek: Thinkpad T420 Impressions