Is it really worth spending 2000$ ???

vin28761

Hi,

I am looking for a laptop on which i can build vmware labs. I am a network security guy looking to setup a VMWare lab for checkpoint CCSE R77.

I have a Sony Vaio laptop 2007 model which is having upgraded RAM of 2 GB & Core2Duo T7250 running windows 7 32-bit.I want to buy a laptop on which i can build many virtual machines. For my lab i need to 8 machines to be minimum. During my training i was given a Dell desktop having i5 and 16GB RAM.

I am looking for an option which can stay valid and can run anything which is thrown at it so that i do not have to buy any new laptop in the coming 10 years at least I know its a bit too much i am asking for, but i am not a person who upgrades his gadgets yearly; cost is a factor. So spending a one-time money seems right instead of buying a new laptop every 2-3-4 years.

I am considering 15-inch Macbook, Retina display i7 quad core with 16GB RAM without dedicated Graphics card as i am not into gaming or video editing. So:
-> is it a wise decision to spend 2000$ ?
-> Will this Macbook last for some good years(10)?
-> Is it durable enough, i take good care of my gadgets although.
-> Even if i buy this macbook,will it run windows 7/10 smoothly? I absolutely have no knowledge on this.I am 100% New to OS X.
-> If macbook runs windows 7/10, would it run VMware without any issues??? There is no use if my sole & prime purpose is not met.

Please give your opinions and feel free to advice me. I am looking you guys to help me out with your knowledge. Thanks in advance.

Kind Regards,
Vin

thomas_

***Background Story***

My current laptop is when that I purchased in 2008. It's also a Sony Vaio, VGN-z520n to be exact, and runs an Core2Duo P8400. Mine was running 32-bit Windows Vista for Business up until a few months ago when I decided to upgrade to Windows 8.1.

When I upgraded it to Windows 8.1 I was kind of shocked to find out that the Windows installer had installed 64-bit 8.1 instead of the 32-bit 8.1. I had kind of always assumed I had a 32-bit processor because my Windows Vista was 32-bit and I don't really keep up with processor specs.

Since the upgrade I've found that my laptop does run a lot better than it ever did with Windows Vista. It boots up a lot faster, shuts down a lot faster and I can't remember it freezing on me yet. The only annoyance was that the fan is a lot noisier now than before, for whatever reason. I tried to update the graphics driver, but nvidia doesn't support my laptop model anymore. I think I might have to go in and put a shim between the GPU and the cooling assembly. At some point I removed some sort of thermal foam pad or something that was apparently needed due to a 1mm gap.

I also tried to upgrade my RAM to 8GB instead of the 3GB that came standard in it. I researched the specs on the chipset and everything seemed to indicate that the chipset would support 8GB in spite of Vaio saying that the max supported RAM was 4GB. I purchased two 4GB ram sticks, but I could only ever get 6GB of RAM to work, one of the new 4GB sticks and the old 2GB stick.

Now the only thing that is limiting me is the existing USB 2.0 ports, which I have somewhat remedied with a USB 3.0 expresscard. It transfers data about 50% faster than my USB 2.0 ports. I don't think it's really USB 3.0 speeds, but I think most computers are limited by the hard drive read/write speeds when transferring files.

***Opinion on Your Situation***

I don't think $2000 sounds unreasonable if you like the laptop and it handles the VMware stuff. I'm only wary about Macs because I heard they started soddering the hard drives in, making it impossible to replace the hard drive. I'm not sure if that's true or not though.

What specific i7 processor does it have in it?

I think there is virtualization software available for Mac, I think it's called Parallels? I think VMware has a program called VMware Fusion 7 pro that supposedly will let you run Windows 8 on a Mac and says that its compatible with i7 processors.

If you're wanting take your laptop with you and study where ever you happen to be, then I would say the laptop route is the way to go. If you are mainly going to be doing your studies at home then I think you can spend $2000 in a different way to potentially get more hardware to play around with and get to where you didn't have to use a nested lab and could have multiple physical ESXi hosts.

Which brings me to the point of my story with my laptop. You may be able to get some more life out of your existing laptop. I think your CPU has a 64-bit processor despite it having a 32-bit operating system. If you were to put a 64-bit operating system on it and were able to upgrade the RAM to 4-8GB you could potentially run a couple of virtual machines on it. You could spend less money on a desktop or other type of solution and potentially get more VMs than you would $2000.

If you're wanting a new laptop anyways then I would go ahead and purchase the laptop that you fancy. I would still consider seeing if you could upgrade your old laptop and use it as another physical host. It might be the cheapest way to get an extra 2-3 VMs that you might not otherwise have.

vin28761

thomas_ wrote: »

***Background Story***

My current laptop is when that I purchased in 2008. It's also a Sony Vaio, VGN-z520n to be exact, and runs an Core2Duo P8400. Mine was running 32-bit Windows Vista for Business up until a few months ago when I decided to upgrade to Windows 8.1.

When I upgraded it to Windows 8.1 I was kind of shocked to find out that the Windows installer had installed 64-bit 8.1 instead of the 32-bit 8.1. I had kind of always assumed I had a 32-bit processor because my Windows Vista was 32-bit and I don't really keep up with processor specs.

Since the upgrade I've found that my laptop does run a lot better than it ever did with Windows Vista. It boots up a lot faster, shuts down a lot faster and I can't remember it freezing on me yet. The only annoyance was that the fan is a lot noisier now than before, for whatever reason. I tried to update the graphics driver, but nvidia doesn't support my laptop model anymore. I think I might have to go in and put a shim between the GPU and the cooling assembly. At some point I removed some sort of thermal foam pad or something that was apparently needed due to a 1mm gap.

I also tried to upgrade my RAM to 8GB instead of the 3GB that came standard in it. I researched the specs on the chipset and everything seemed to indicate that the chipset would support 8GB in spite of Vaio saying that the max supported RAM was 4GB. I purchased two 4GB ram sticks, but I could only ever get 6GB of RAM to work, one of the new 4GB sticks and the old 2GB stick.

Now the only thing that is limiting me is the existing USB 2.0 ports, which I have somewhat remedied with a USB 3.0 expresscard. It transfers data about 50% faster than my USB 2.0 ports. I don't think it's really USB 3.0 speeds, but I think most computers are limited by the hard drive read/write speeds when transferring files.

***Opinion on Your Situation***

I don't think $2000 sounds unreasonable if you like the laptop and it handles the VMware stuff. I'm only wary about Macs because I heard they started soddering the hard drives in, making it impossible to replace the hard drive. I'm not sure if that's true or not though.

What specific i7 processor does it have in it?

I think there is virtualization software available for Mac, I think it's called Parallels? I think VMware has a program called VMware Fusion 7 pro that supposedly will let you run Windows 8 on a Mac and says that its compatible with i7 processors.

If you're wanting take your laptop with you and study where ever you happen to be, then I would say the laptop route is the way to go. If you are mainly going to be doing your studies at home then I think you can spend $2000 in a different way to potentially get more hardware to play around with and get to where you didn't have to use a nested lab and could have multiple physical ESXi hosts.

Which brings me to the point of my story with my laptop. You may be able to get some more life out of your existing laptop. I think your CPU has a 64-bit processor despite it having a 32-bit operating system. If you were to put a 64-bit operating system on it and were able to upgrade the RAM to 4-8GB you could potentially run a couple of virtual machines on it. You could spend less money on a desktop or other type of solution and potentially get more VMs than you would $2000.

If you're wanting a new laptop anyways then I would go ahead and purchase the laptop that you fancy. I would still consider seeing if you could upgrade your old laptop and use it as another physical host. It might be the cheapest way to get an extra 2-3 VMs that you might not otherwise have.

Big thanks to you for replying

I have purchased my Sony Vaio VGN-CR23G in December 2007. It shipped with windows Vista home edition with 1 GB RAM. Sony documents says it can support RAM upto 2 GB max. I did that already. It is noticeable. Its featuring T7250 2.00GHz Core 2 Duo processor. It was the latest at that time. I have heard from my seniors that it can support 4GB RAM easily. They say C2D processor can support 4GB RAM easily.

I haven't tried installing any windows 7 64-bit. I only installed win 7 32-bit ultimate. Its runing much better than windows Vista especially after upgrading RAM to 2GB.

Healthwise this laptop is rocking till date. No issues with it, whatsoever. It has become old, weighs 2.5KG. I have to see how much RAM can it support? Can you help me out here finding its RAM limit without any issues?

I am definitely not an Apple user, i don't like iPhones as well. But iPod and Macbook are the things which are really innovative So i am thinking if a high end macbook is durable and strong enough to last for 10+ years; it would be a worthy upgrade. But again i am only getting 256 GB SSD which is very low by today's standards. It will cost 800$ more if i go for 1TB SSD and 300$ for 512GB SSD. Cost is really going up here

Also i would be investing in some accessories like some converters or mouse etc. I was also thinking to get it covered by Apple Care Protection Plan for 2 additional years costing 350$. This is crazy amount of money.

I have only heard Macbooks for their super performance. If this is true and provided they will last for many years to come by, i hope this i7 16GB RAM will not be outdated any time soon; atleast for few years, then its worth buying it.

Also , is there anything major coming out in next year's upgrade like newer processors? I felt unlucky after buying my sony vaio in December 2007. Its matter of 1 month but all additional anti virus software sony gave to me belonged to 2007. So if any major upgrade is expected, is it worth the wait? I can wait but my studies will have to take a hit.

jibbajabba

I think we are getting to a point where 16GB, or 32GB of RAM, barely cut it without a heck of a lot tinkering and / or frustration.

Assuming you go nested, even Autolab needs at least 16GB, or better 32GB of RAM. It will be ... tight .. especially with the default VCSA to use 16GB alone, not to mention a minimum of 4GB for each nested host + nested VMs + AD and whatnot ...

vin28761

jibbajabba wrote: »

I think we are getting to a point where 16GB, or 32GB of RAM, barely cut it without a heck of a lot tinkering and / or frustration.

Assuming you go nested, even Autolab needs at least 16GB, or better 32GB of RAM. It will be ... tight .. especially with the default VCSA to use 16GB alone, not to mention a minimum of 4GB for each nested host + nested VMs + AD and whatnot ...

Is there any option in laptop offering 32GB of RAM? Is there any news when apple is starting to offer 32GB of RAM in Macbook Pro?

cyberguypr

32 GB machines: Computers & Tablets, Laptops / Notebooks, All Laptops / Notebooks, 32GB - Newegg.com

Have you considered running the lab at home and connecting remotely? I toyed with the laptop idea many years ago but seeing how little you get for your money and how fast they obsolesce I quickly changed my mind. I then decided to run everything at home and VPN in. Been a happy camper since.

NetworkNewb

This mine I just bought. Looked to be pretty good specs for the price from what I could find. I'm liking it so far.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T7XRGGC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s01

Deathmage

NetworkNewb wrote: »

This mine I just bought. Looked to be pretty good specs for the price from what I could find. I'm liking it so far.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T7XRGGC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s01

hopefully you got the $999 option and just bought a SSD off Newegg for half the price and loaded up Windows on it.

vin28761

Is there any chance macbook receiving 32GB of RAM this year or next?

wd40

No body knows what Apple will do in the future.

Why do you need a MAC?

I am thinking about buying one myself, or a more powerful Windows Laptop, but like cyberguypr I can't justify the cost compared to a desktop.

jibbajabba

There's a UK site where you can spec up laptops with up to 32GB of RAM ...

PCSPECIALIST - Custom PCs, Custom Computers, Custom PC, Desktop PC, Custom Built Computers, Gaming PC

Obviously won't help if you are in the US

vin28761

wd40 wrote: »

No body knows what Apple will do in the future.

Why do you need a MAC?

I am thinking about buying one myself, or a more powerful Windows Laptop, but like cyberguypr I can't justify the cost compared to a desktop.

Macbook is really powerful and performance is great. No matter how powerful your laptop(don't include desktop), it will always lag. Because of windows. Also there is no support. Every release you have to shell out a big money to buy. Mac are getting upgrades for free. Also they have a good lifetime.

Xavor

I bought a dell e7440 laptop refurbished for 900 8 months ago which can be had now for about 600. HD non-touch screen, 16 gb ram, i7. You can get a non-Mac and save the $1k markup.