OT. Laptops

Any recommends for a decent laptop computer , needs to be high spec

thanks

steve

--

 

What are you going to use it for? I use a Sony Vaio VGN-A197VP, which has a
lovely wide screen, with 1920x1200 resolution. Screen real-estate was the
most important thing for me, and this laptop fits the bill perfectly. There
aren't many other laptops with that sort of high resolution.

 

Mac Book Pro.

Don't laugh, but the new Intel Macs have been tested running XP against
branded 'Wintel' machines and come out on top.

Also gives you the option to dual boot OSX.

 

it will be used as a general office / site tool so needs to be suitable
to read cad drawings off of

--

 

He said decent, not Dell. Actually, I'm sure they're all fine if you want a
desktop replacement, but they're far from being portable IME.

 

Having owned a few - and using them regularly at work. Does that experience
qualify?

If you must know, I think their desktops are reasonably good.

 

My original 4 /5yr old Latitude was ok. Newer Dells seem to be much worse.
Latitude ones at work have appalling build quality, even the new ones. Bits
keep falling off - drive bay covers (?) and the plastics seem pretty cheap.
Bought an Inspiron 6000, and it weighed an absolute ton - well, about 4kg,
but way too much for a proper laptop. And its battery life wasn't great -
thankfully, I was able to sell it on ebay (after its DOA DVD drive was
replaced) and get a T42 thinkpad. Oh, and their customer service is pants.

 

My crowd have moved from Toshiba to Dell.

I've now got a D610 which I was dreading. Once I switched the silly
touchpad thing off it was fine. Six months on it's standing up
admirably to being chucked about on my bike on an almost daily basis, oh
and sometimes being used for looking at pictures on the internet.

It doesn't look as nice as the Portege 4010 (or whatever) did but then
again it was half the price. I'm quite happy with the Dell.

 

I have a D410 which is it's smaller brother (12.1" screen, no internal
optical drive etc). It's great, doesn't weigh anything notable - which was
the reason I changed as a fucked shoulder was disagreeing with lugging my
old Medion 2.6 P4 desktop chipped machine across campus on a daily basis.
The battery lasts for ages, the screen is bright, it hasn't broken, and it
was half price from the outlet (cancelled business order or summet) 8 months
or so ago. it's about as portable as laptops get before you go for one of
those tiny little Sony Picturebooks or summet.

 

Got a poster of it on your bedroom wall, have you?

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Pip

LOL. Bad man.

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Despite currently owning a Dell and a Thinkpad I'd second that.

I just need to get the financial manager's approval to buy one.

 

I'm just coming to the end of lease on a D400 - it's not missed a beat
in 2 years. I went for the tiny one as I was lugging my Tosh ProM30
about for personal use whilst I was travelling O/s. Figured therefore
that I didn't want 2 full size machines in my bag.

It will be replaced with whatever the newest version of it is - can't
see any point going bigger - I have a docking station with 2 x 17"
monitors for when I'm in the office. Actually, when I upgrade, I'll get
1 x 19". Hmm. Have to talk nicely to pet IT guy.

 

How portable does it need to be? Sling under-the-arm, or carry in bag, or
walk around and type? There's always a compromise between speed,
portability, battery life, screen size etc...

 

Inspiron 6000 is for home use apparently.

All our Dell laptops have been superb performers and Dell support has
been great for the three problems we've had out of 40 portables over the
last four years. Bluetooth card came loose and someone spilled coffee
over their 2 day old machine.

I've stuck to Latitude D series, D600, D610 and now D620, apparently
they're for business use and have a lighter and tougher chassis.

I've got an Inspiron 9600 with the 17" screen and it's really a desktop
replacement, okay to lug from home to car to work on an occasional
basis. My preference is for the D620 now they've got the Core 2 Duo
processors.

For road warriors the D420 with media slice gives you the best of both
worlds but I find the 12.1" screen just that wee bit too small.

The one engineer who insisted on a Thinkpad has had no end of problems.
We've also got a couple Acers and Sonys which have had no problems either.

So there you go, clearly our users are less ham fisted than yours yaboo !

 

Another recommendation for Macs...

 

Transported in a bag , doesnt have to be lightweight needs at least a
15 inch screen

--

 

<blatant spam>

I have a bunch of Inspiron 6400s due this week. 2GHz Core 2 Duos, 120GB
disk, 1GB RAM, 15.4" widescreen with or without Truelife (the shiny
screen). You'd save about 20% off list price.

 

....other than plenty of Dells, for a start.

 

Strange, though. Dell have been doing hi-res big screens for years - I
bought one back in 1999[1] with a 15.4" monitor that went up to, IIRC,
1600*1200. I then had a work one with a slightly smaller screen but
still hi-res, which sadly was replaced by an Hp-Compaq one (what I'm
typing on) which only goes up to a paltry 1024*768. I fucking hate it,
but beggars, choosers etc.

But why haven't the other major manufacturers like HP followed suit?

[1] Now residing in the South of Spain with a certain gentleman of
this parish.
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