Subscriber Discussion

Sales Engineer Machines For Demos - Purpose-Built Or Off-The-Shelf?

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
Mar 13, 2018

I'm curious to hear how many of my SE counterparts have purpose-built laptops vs off-the-shelf laptops, and: 

1. For those that purpose-build what specs do you aim for and who is the easiest manufacturer to work with to get the specs you want?

2. For those that buy off-the-shelf do you have a make/model that you/your SE team are happy with?

I'm going through this discussion with my employer and would love some input from other folks in the industry on both the integrator and manufacturer side.

-Thanks!

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Sean Patton
Mar 14, 2018

I would imagine that it is going to depend a little bit on the size of your company (more "standard" machines) and job role.

As an SE at multiple small security/networking integrators, I had freedom to request a laptop with better processing (Core i7), more RAM, and preferably a dedicated GPU and SSD. By the same token, the company wasn't going to drop $3000 bucks on a laptop that was going to be traveling around the region, getting on planes, used on top of a ladder for a camera FoV demonstration, etc. So I typically was able to get a off-the-shelf model from one of the major manufacturers (HP, Dell, Lenovo, etc) that came available with those specs. You also don't want to have to wait a month for a custom laptop to get built and shipped out.

(2)
UI
Undisclosed Integrator #2
Mar 14, 2018

It's also going depend on what software you need to work with and demo on the laptop.  Some will require a lot more horsepower to run well on a laptop, others are a bit lighter and can run a client more efficiently.  I'd look to something workstation grade at the least.  I know a lot of people go after gaming laptops.  They have come down in size since I bought one last, but you would want to have a separate graphics card at the least.  

(1)
U
Undisclosed #3
Mar 15, 2018

Gaming laptops look ridiculous, but you can get a 4 core / 8 thread i7, GTX1060, 16GB ram, M2 SSD + HDD for about $1200. Not bad. But why do they have to be so fugly.

 

(3)
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Jon Dillabaugh
Mar 15, 2018
Pro Focus LLC

I have a Dell XPS 13 and LOVE it. I got mine from Costco on a closeout last year for $800. Intel i7-6560, 16GB RAM, 512GB m.2, Intel Iris Graphics, InfinityEdge 4K touchscreen, backlit keyboard, USB-C....

(1)
U
Undisclosed #3
Mar 15, 2018

How well do the Iris graphics handle a VMS client?

Avatar
Jon Dillabaugh
Mar 15, 2018
Pro Focus LLC

Well, I’m not sure because DW Spectrum doesn’t use GPU and that’s the only VMS we generally sell. But it handles multiple 4K streams well enough for my expectations. 

(1)
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