Most upgrable Laptop chassis (15-17")

Hi Guys

looking to get a mid range laptop, but one with some potential for future 'upgradeability' of the basic internals (CPU, RAM, and hopefully GPU).

Which chassis lend themselves to this, and which companies use good quality motherboards with suitable support (BIOS updates etc).

Also, are PSU's every upgradeable in notebooks?

Cheers

 

Clevo/Sager.

What's your price range?

 

before going after an 'upgradeable' laptop, price out some of those 'upgrades' and decide if the price is worth it.

 

yeah its more for down the line, i.e. when i7 socket is obsolete i can grab the last of the line and still get useful life out of the platform. I've done the same thing with desktops for years. I don't upgrade too often, every 2 years or so.

Budget is anywhere up to 3K, happy to buy from the US as well, just not sure which stores are good or how to get it sent here...

In Australia by the way

 

With a $3000 budget, whatever you get will be maxing out the upgradability already.

 

Also, Neutralizer, do you care about battery life at all, or just moving the chassis to different locations and then plugging it into the wall?

 

Yeah mobility is not a huge issue, it won't get moved much and won't be away from power for too long so battery life is not a big issue.

 

With $3K to play with you have basically two routes to follow:

1) Max out the system you buy now and forget about 'upgrading' anything except for maybe the OS (ie. Win8) for 3 or 4 years.

2) Spend at most $1200 to $1800 now and use the system as is for as long as it works for you - when it is (to you) 'obsolete', sell/give/trash it and do it again.


Personally; there is almost no reason to follow route #1 - unless your paid-for work requires cutting edge tech and each second saved is money in your pocket (or can result in more billable hours).

Route #2 is easily the recommended way to have the most current computing HP over the longest time period. Or, try a variation and instead of 2 purchases in the next 2/3 years roughly totalling $3000, do three purchases (one each year or so) for the same amount.

One thing is certain:
there is nothing you can buy today (even if it could be 'fully' upgradeable***) that will be able to compete with what you can buy in 2-3 years or so - at half the cost. Nothing.


*** There is no platform that is 'fully upgradeable', even on desktop systems. Only manufacturer's that want you to think there is (because then they can sell you more parts - for your old system; and for the new one you'll buy when you realize that the old one really is old (even after upgrading it).

 

thats pretty much the conclusion I have reached. I think I'll just get a studio 15 and be done with it.

Which laptops (if any) have an HDMI output?

 

So many of them have HDMI output it would take a month to write you a list, but most don't have HDMI input.

It should be listed in the specs.

 

You do have a penchant for siding with the system? Anyway, a more preferred (and consumer oriented, may I add) way of looking at things would be: Although there are limitations to every system, some offer a great deal more upward mobility than others (which may have a "built-in" obsolescence as part of their design).



Take for example, the auto industry: An entire following was created out of the desire (and need) to purchase a standard chassis at an inexpensive price, then upgrade parts piecemeal. In fact, consumers got so good at this, the manufactures themselves took notice had to get in on the action. Enter, the Subis and Evos--also known as pocket rockets.

Incidentally, there was a time when you had to remove the entire dash just to install a different radio on a "GM" car. Is there any wonder consumers took their business elsewhere?