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Joan M wrote: I can't imagine a situation in which I would need more than 32GB ram
I thought so too. I started "seriously" using VMs on a system with 16GB, and quickly outgrew that. Fortunately the motherboard could handle 32, so I maxed it out then.
It didn't take long before my VM use habits made it clear 32GB was also not going to be sufficient--the more you have, the more you'll use. Nowadays, my main VM host has 64GB, and I wish it had more - while the CPU (i7-4820K) is not a bottleneck and could handle some more, that's all its motherboard will take.
Eventually I wanted to play with multiple Linux distributions, so that had to be moved to an Intel NUC with 32GB. Just for tinkering, most Linux distributions are plenty happy with 4GB (I run most with just 2). It's an i5 rather than an i7 (though newer than the i7), and frankly I notice the difference. Though I don't suppose it's fair to compare an i5 in a NUC with an i7 in a desktop system.
Joan M wrote: when I buy the laptop I'll get it with the 32 GB in one slot and one extra RAM slot free, just in case I need to expand the memory in the future
That's a wise approach. Take a good guess as to what it is you'll need, then buy hardware that can accommodate more if it turns out you need to turn it up to 11. 
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For what it's worth, when I bought my new laptop this past spring I bought it with 32GB of RAM. The price difference at the time between an i5/16GB and an i7/32GB was about $200.
With everyone working from home now and wanting a new laptop YMMV  .
Software Zen: delete this;
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It will be an i7, and maybe 32GB RAM in a single chip...
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The Thinkpad X1 seems to be a favourite on Slant too: best-laptop-for-programming[^]
I had a lot of laptops of different brands in the medium price range but after some years of intensive usage they all had problems, never had a Thinkpad though so this might be an interesting option.
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If you jump into Thinkpads be aware they have the left Ctrl key swapped with the Fn key... 
I've been super happy with them since the first day.
Their keyboard is super nice to type in, as in other business laptops you have the "nipple" in the middle of the keyboard to assist you in summer days when you don't want to put your sweaty fingers into the touch pad, the software updater they include is super easy to use and (as other brands out there) they can come to solve any problem in your device at any place in the world in 24 hours, which is very nice if you travel around and your work is done in your laptop.
Before the "extreme" versions appeared the X1 were more focused on travelling and being ultra light, and therefore much more expensive than a T series laptop. Nowadays the extreme version is much more powerful than the others (it's exactly the same than a P1 workstation with a different processor and graphic card) and it makes it a good choice as a laptop that must last +/- 5 years.
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A big disadvantage of the X1 is that it has no ethernet port, the "ordinary" Thinkpads do have one though. So if weight is not your main concern, the ordinary Thinkpads seem to be a better and cheaper choice.
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I've been using T series Thinkpads and work wonderfully well, but they can't be upgraded to the same levels: less RAM, less HDD capacity... That's why I decided to go for the X1 extreme...
They seem they have added more options in the T15... I'll wait for the T15s to show up (it should be less bulky) and then I'll decide...
Currently I have a T460s and I'm super happy...
^^
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At work lately we have been having difficulty with the newer Lenovo docks. Sometimes the laptops inexplicably go to sleep and won't wake up. Sometimes none of the USB ports work on the dock. Very intermittent and with everyone WFH very hard to debug.
I bought a Dell XPS 15 for my SO with the thunderbolt dock and she loves it. She switches it between her work machine and home machine all the time and it works flawlessly. My 2 cents.
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I will get a Thinkpad, get used to their keyboard and to the ways the brand work, but I'll keep an eye to those dock stations before buying one...
It's incredible they make this kind of mistakes...
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Hi again Richard,
Have you updated all drivers?
You've scared me a little... I need something that works well, and searching the internet I've seen other people had problems till they updated manually the drivers...
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Yes, eventually I saw the "manually" recommendation. The automatic method clearly missed many updates. I think the USB dock is now stable. We only have one like the model you mentioned. We have 3 of the previous model that is a "dock style" but the connectors slide in from the side (very problematic). And we have quite a few more of the older docks with the connector on the bottom of the laptop (very reliable).
Perhaps the USB dock is an improvement over the cheesy slide dock. It is hard to judge with just 1 and I am having other driver problems with it (logitech USB camera causing BSOD, not the dock); so, I am probably being overly harsh.
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P53 is too bulky for the kind of job I do, some times I end up programming/monitoring things on top of a ladder.
P14s and P15s are very similar to P1 / X1 extreme, once you configure them with all the bells and whistles they end more or less at the same cost.
And I don't need the Xeon/Quadro items those laptops offer.
That's why I thought going for the X1 extreme... up to 64 GB RAM (who knows what I will need in the future), the most powerful processors, a NVIDIA graphics card and 2 SSD HDD slots up to 2 TB each... The pity is that there is no RJ45... but there's a dongle that can help and (when on a ladder) I end up using an access point to have wireless connection to the machines.
but thanks, yours are good recommendations.
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Have you always wanted to learn to juggle, but never had the balls to do it?
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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You doubt my Monocharisma 
In Word you can only store 2 bytes. That is why I use Writer.
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My clubs won't allow that sort of membership. They start sphere-ing at me.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Actually, I used to be a juggler, but the cats always ran away. I guess the cats think I'm the jerk.
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You didn't need to juggle for cats to think that . . .
| Ravings en masse^ |
|---|
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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The 3D printer has finished printing the latest version of one of one of the most difficult parts of the Eagle model. The 3D model suffers from all the problems I mentioned in the other post, plus some more.
The good news: I spotted only a few minor things where the Cura misinterpreted the improved mesh. It's far from perfect, but I may get around redesigning it from scratch.
The bad news: Lowering the printing temperature did not help. The 'cobwebs' are now turning into 'hairs'. That's a similar effect, but a bit messier and even harder to get rid of. I must raise the temperature again and then find another way to get a cleaner print. Maybe it's just that brand of filament.
Here are some pictures, taken outside to reveal eaven tiny flaws: Space 1999 Eagle model - Album on Imgur[^]
I should order a lot of sandpaper and some new skin for my hands along with more filament.
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.
His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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Wow you weren't kidding there is terrible stringing. Retraction?
I'm not sure how many cookies it makes to be happy, but so far it's not 27.
JaxCoder.com
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Retraction did not change anything, not even with a Z step of 2 mm. The low printing temperature also did not help. I'm now at 180 degrees, 20 degrees below the temperature for this filament and that made everything even more messy. I will go back to a healty 210 degrees and check the settings of the cooling fans.
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.
His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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Could be the filament as you suggested. I've had filaments that had more stringing than others, but never that bad.
I'm not sure how many cookies it makes to be happy, but so far it's not 27.
JaxCoder.com
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Maybe not. I have tried to update Cura to the latest version. That did not work because they removed the option to manually select the printer's port and autodetection for some reason does not work. However, they now had a settings profile for my printer. So I just copied these settings into my old version of Cura and now it's printing again. No stringing at all so far, but the interesting part is still coming up. And it has become much faster. The last print took 16 hours at 0.15 mm layer height, nou it will be done in 12 hours at 0.1 mm layer height. In the morning I will be smarter.
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.
His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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You mean PIGS in space?
In Word you can only store 2 bytes. That is why I use Writer.
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