Here are my musings as I selected the HP ZBook 15 G2, if it helps anyone else. This includes everything I vaguely considered (and, for completeness' sake, a couple of machines (Alienware, the heaviest Clevo, the 17" options) that I didn't look at seriously. I'm presently bringing my OneDrive over onto the ZBook, which I have configured with 24 GB of RAM and 2.75 TB of storage (256 GB ultrafast PCIe boot drive, 512 GB Samsung 840 Pro for working files, 2 TB Samsung Spinpoint hard drive interfaced with OneDrive for library). In its first 24 hours, it's a VERY nice, well-made, fast machine, and it's actually not terribly heavy riding in a decent backpack from my local hiking shop (note - it's in a technical daypack I bought on closeout that has a real suspension, NOT a laptop pack with no hipbelt. The display is gorgeous! The biggest surprise on the size is not the computer itself (if you remember 15" laptops from before Apple changed the rules with the Unibodies, this is no bigger - it's a bit wider, but a bit thinner), but the power supply - it truly deserves the name power BRICK, and it is connected to the computer by a garden hose instead of a nice thin wire.
The most powerful laptops under 5 lbs (it still looks like a standard laptop, but it packs a punch). These machines all have to compromise in some way to keep their size and thermals under control. All have obligatory glossy displays – the only matte option is on the Razer Blade, and you sacrifice RAM (8 GB soldered instead of 16 GB soldered) and resolution to get it.
Apple Retina MacBook Pro (15"). While the MacBook Pro uses Intel processors that give up some speed in return for better integrated graphics (inexplicably, Apple uses these processors even on models with discrete graphics cards), many other parts of the MacBook Pro are designed for speed. Uses an extremely fast PCIe SSD (non-standard, and non-upgradeable (yet) in the latest model). No additional disks. Many models have discrete graphics, but it's an older GeForce GT750M. Current models come with 16 GB of RAM, but that's all you'll ever get - it's soldered in. Extremely expensive to maintain, because many parts (including some that break) are glued together ($700 keyboard repair, because the keyboard, trackpad, battery and most of the case are one piece).
Dell XPS 15/Dell Precision M3800. Windows' closest approach to the Retina MacBook Pro has an even higher resolution screen (4k) on some models. A low-power processor performs 20% worse than the fastest quad-core mobile chips presently available. Graphics choices include the same GeForce 750 as the MacBook Pro (XPS) and a similar chip optimized for workstation use (Precision M3800). They don't take PCIe SSDs, but they will accept two drives (1 2.5", one full-length mSATA), both of which are user-replaceable. Maximum SSD capacity is 2 TB, and it's possible to shoehorn 3 TB in here by using a 1 TB mSATA SSD and the Samsung/Seagate 2 TB hard drive. It's possible to save a lot of money, especially on the Precision, by buying minimal storage and adding your own. 16 GB maximum RAM capacity - it is socketed, and there is some chance of a BIOS upgrade that might permit 32 GB (using nearly unavailable 16 GB SODIMMs - there are only two slots).
Razer Blade. The only machine in this roundup with less than a 15” display, the 14” Razer Blade is nonetheless exactly the same weight as the 15” MacBook Pro. Its notable positive feature is a GeForce 970M graphics card that is MUCH faster than other machines in this weight range. The processor is slightly faster than Dell uses in the XPS/3800 twins, comparable to the top model MacBook Pro, and marginally slower than most of the machines in the category below. Probably the worst storage options in this group – mSATA SSDs with no 2.5” bay offered – doesn’t have the speed of Apple’s PCIe SSDs OR the flexibility of Dell’s dual-drive design. Soldered RAM (most models have 16GB, but to get the matte screen, you downgrade to 8GB with no upgrade option).
Big laptops (in the 6-7 lb range). These would have been considered perfectly average-sized 15” laptops a few years ago, until Apple rewrote the rules. Today, the big beasts buy some extra CPU power, radically increased storage capacity (and, in one case, an unusual blend of storage options), high-resolution matte screens, 32 GB RAM capacity with 4 slots and better keyboards than their smaller siblings. The three I considered closely (including the ZBook 15 I wound up with) were all workstation models, but there are also a number of 15” gaming laptops that fit in this category, and also might adapt well to photographic needs. I included the Alienware 15 as a representative of this category, although I didn’t consider it closely myself. Workstations also tend to offer a huge range of ports, including the rapidly disappearing wired gigabit Ethernet (which is still the fastest way of getting large photos to the cloud, if your back end connection can handle it). These machines also accept docking stations (or, in Alienware’s case, a graphics amplifier that serves many of the same functions, although it doesn’t provide power or some other ports, and also accepts a desktop graphics card).
Gaming machines gain graphics power compared to the workstations, but lose build and keyboard quality as well as storage flexibility. The workstation graphics cards are not based on the latest gaming cards (tending to be a generation behind), and workstation manufacturers are too concerned about reliability to shoehorn the very highest power cards into a machine this size (while a gaming laptop in the same size and weight range might very well have a higher power card). On the other hand, workstation cards tend to perform well at real work, because their drivers are written differently from the gaming cards. I was, surprisingly, unable to find good reviews comparing a workstation card to a newer, faster gaming card in photo/video editing applications, so I’m unsure whether raw power or professional drivers win out. If you both photograph and work in CAD or GIS, go for a workstation without question, while if you will never use CAD or GIS, but enjoy some games on the side, the gaming laptops will be a better fit.
Lenovo ThinkPad W541. The lightest of the true 15” workstations (the Dell Precision M3800 is really a modified XPS) at just under 6 lbs, the Lenovo also has a built-in color calibrator in some configurations! CPU and graphics options are basically the same as the rest of this group, ranging from an Intel 4710MQ up to the massively overpriced 4940MX. Even the 4710MQ is significantly faster than anything in the 5 lb group, and upgrading to the 4810 or 4910 can open up a 20% gap, especially compared to the low-power chip in the M3800/XPS twins. Graphics options include the NVidia k1100 and k2100, the latter of which is faster than anything in the 5 lb group except the Razer Blade’s full-strength GTX970M. Storage options include a short m.SATA slot that holds up to a 256 GB SSD plus a 2.5” bay, two if you ditch the DVD drive. The disadvantages include some concerns about build quality and a relatively low-resolution 2880x1620 maximum display (that counts as very high resolution unless your competition offer 3200x1800 and 4k displays!). The port selection is excellent in any other company, but the fact that two of the four USB ports are garden-variety USB 2.0 (and they are located right next to the USB 3.0 ports and not well marked) is a bit of a disappointment, as is the limited selection of monitor connections (mini DisplayPort plus VGA). VGA ports are standard on these workstations, due to old projectors in a lot of business environments – but having a couple of better options is nice, and the Lenovo provides only one. They DO include a Thunderbolt port, which allows very high speed drive connections.
HP ZBook 15. At ~6.4 lbs, a little heavier than the Lenovo, with very similar options. The highest resolution display is 3200x1800, and reviews indicate that it has slightly better gamut than the Lenovo, but it is not self-calibrating. Other than build quality that all reviews agree is extremely high (HP reps like to demonstrate by dropping it and then standing on it!), the biggest differentiating feature is that the short SSD slot is PCIe instead of mSATA. It’s still limited to 256 GB, but it is extremely fast (the one 2.5” bay with another available by ditching the DVD drive is exactly the same). The port selection is a little better than on the Lenovo, because a full-size DisplayPort is available, in addition to Mini DisplayPort (on the Thunderbolt port) and VGA. Additionally, only one of the USB ports is only USB 2.0, and it is well separated from the USB 3.0 ports, so harder to confuse with them. Unfortunately, the USB ports are scattered around the machine, which is annoying when trying to use peripherals that plug into an extra USB port for power. One USB 3.0 port is a charging port, which may also supply extra power to a drive (the Lenovo’s charging port is USB 2.0).
Dell Precision M4800. At close to 7 lbs, this is a big, heavy machine. Most options are similar to the slightly lighter HP and significantly lighter Lenovo. The disk options are yet another minor variant – no PCIe, but the mSATA slot is full length, and not limited to 256 GB (you could theoretically RAID three 1 TB SSDs in this machine). A 4k Sharp IGZO display is an option, but it’s glossy, and the best matte option is standard FHD. Port selection is a variation on the same theme – a useful HDMI port replaces the Mini DisplayPort on the others (there is a full-size DisplayPort as well), and eSATA replaces Thunderbolt. HDMI is probably a good trade, especially given the presence of the full-size DisplayPort, but I’m less certain about eSATA for Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt is theoretically a much better port – it does everything eSATA does and more, with higher bandwidth, BUT Thunderbolt peripherals beyond drives are hard to find, and some are Mac only. eSATA is common on midrange drive enclosures, while Thunderbolt is increasingly common on higher end enclosures.
Alienware 15. gain a LOT of graphics performance (especially in games) compared to the workstations, give a little back in every other way. The processor maxes out at a 4710MQ, the lowest option on the competition, RAM maxes at 16 GB, the drive configuration is slightly less flexible than the workstations (no PCIe, 2 mSATA, 1 2.5”) and there is no external drive port faster than USB 3.0 (all four USB ports are 3.0, which is nice). Screen options range up to a 4K Sharp IGZO, but glossy is inevitable beyond the base screen. It’s actually slightly heavier than even the Precision M4800. The big feature is latest generation high-end mobile graphics cards with three or four times the raw power of the cards in the workstations (including a couple of cards much faster than the Razer Blade uses). Instead of the general purpose docking stations the workstations support (with every imaginable port and sometimes drive bays), the Alienware’s equivalent accessory is a Graphics Amplifier that focuses on accepting a full-size DESKTOP graphics card (with a 300W+ power budget). Some workstation “deluxe” docking stations may accept a PCIe card, but it won’t be double-slot or allow a lot of extra power – it’s meant for a Fibre Channel or 10 Gig Ethernet adapter or the like, not a full-power gaming card. Another trick the Alienware Graphics Amplifier can do that a workstation docking station won’t is that the external graphics card will actually drive the laptop display (as well as external monitors plugged into it). On the other hand, the docking ports (other than the video ports on the graphics card) are limited to 4 USB 3.0 ports – even power and Ethernet require the laptop’s ports, so it is less convenient than a workstation dock which supplies everything with one connection.
Is this really a Laptop??? 8 lbs and up, limited battery.
HP Zbook 17. Take a Zbook 15, add an additional 2.5” bay, a 17” screen and a pound and a half, and you have a Zbook 17. The high resolution screen option goes away, but a high-gamut DreamColor display is an option. Processors, RAM and ports are the same as the 15, but graphics options go up to much higher-powered workstation cards that can add thousands of dollars to the price… Dell’s M6800 has almost exactly the same relationship to the M4800.
Sager/Clevo (and similar) laptops using desktop processors. The 15” variants of these beasts weigh nearly 8 lbs, with the 17” models around 9 lbs. They are cousins to something like the Alienware 15, emphasizing performance, especially graphics performance, over mobility. Build quality suffers compared to workstations or even Alienwares, but you get a choice of graphics cards (including both the top gaming and workstation models – some of these will accommodate two graphics cards in SLI) and desktop processors that can be 10-20% faster than the top mobile models. These are still quad-core processors, and the performance differences between desktop and mobile quad cores are not huge.
MSI GT80 Titan. A 10 lb “laptop” with an 18” screen, a top-end mechanical keyboard, TWO of the fastest graphics cards you can get and (oddly) a power-saving low-voltage quad core mobile processor that won’t keep up with a 6 lb workstation. Once you’ve built a machine that’s not really any easier to move than an iMac, why not use a faster CPU?
Eurocom Panther 5SE (and other names – it’s a Sager/Clevo). A 12 lb “laptop” with one standout feature. It uses LGA 2011 processors, so it can have more than 4 cores (up to 12, if you’re willing to pay for a 12 core Xeon). They admit the battery is really only a UPS in case the power cord(s) pull out. Dual graphics - although the very newest cards aren’t available, the option for dual high-end workstation cards IS. Four drives, but no PCIe!!! Any port except Thunderbolt is somewhere on this behemoth. Some configurations need TWO 3 lb AC adapters! Can easily be configured over $10,000, highest-end configurations can top $15,000. Actually both heavier and more expensive than an equivalently configured "trashcan" Mac Pro (although not once you add the weight of the display to the Mac Pro). Realistically, how often will anyone use a computer in this cost/weight range without one or more external displays? Certainly the fastest laptop in the world, but certainly NOT the fastest practical laptop!