Anyone fairly knowledgeable about laptops ?
Posted by NickKK
I've decided to change my desktop for a laptop as I'll be moving abroad for a while, and I know virtually nothing of current laptops 
I'm looking for a reliable, fairly tough machine (likely to in the field) which I can depend on. I need fairly good processing and memory power as I do a lot of photo editing and work with GIS software. Screen quality is fairly irrelevant as I'll be attaching it to a proper monitor. Graphics are also unimportant as I don't play the latest and greatest games. I also don't want any bells and whistles - ethernet, DVD burner and a PCA slot or two will do.Budget is something like 600-900 maybe, not sure yet
From experience I really liked my dad's T41 - simple, tough, fairly speedy for its age, IBM pedigree. So I was thinking along the lines of T400 / T500, but reading around it quickly becomes apparent Thinkpads of today are cheap and shoddy quality, opting to save weight/costs instead.
So what would you guys recommend ? I'm not too fussy, but the more unassuming a laptop is the better imo
I'm looking for a reliable, fairly tough machine (likely to in the field) which I can depend on. I need fairly good processing and memory power as I do a lot of photo editing and work with GIS software. Screen quality is fairly irrelevant as I'll be attaching it to a proper monitor. Graphics are also unimportant as I don't play the latest and greatest games. I also don't want any bells and whistles - ethernet, DVD burner and a PCA slot or two will do.Budget is something like 600-900 maybe, not sure yet
From experience I really liked my dad's T41 - simple, tough, fairly speedy for its age, IBM pedigree. So I was thinking along the lines of T400 / T500, but reading around it quickly becomes apparent Thinkpads of today are cheap and shoddy quality, opting to save weight/costs instead.
So what would you guys recommend ? I'm not too fussy, but the more unassuming a laptop is the better imo
Are they £, € or $?
You'll struggle to go wrong with a Lenovo. I was seriously looking at one before I got my XPS 1530M (which is also lovely by the way), though a T400 or T500 might be a bit of a stretch for a decent one within that budget.
Maybe consider a Dell XPS Studio as an alternative, though perhaps they are a little too 'stylish', though they are subtle and in no way tacky. There aren't many alternatives at this end of the scale. The Vostro laptops were built like brick @#$%& houses a couple of year back (and presumably still are, but I've not had a recent one), so if rugged is important, perhaps one of them.
You'll not get one worthy at this price, but ideally you'd of be looking at an SSD drive if you're looking for rugged laptops. It's a shame you're looking before they start getting financially viable really, as they'll obliterate laptop hard drives in terms of speed too.
You'll struggle to go wrong with a Lenovo. I was seriously looking at one before I got my XPS 1530M (which is also lovely by the way), though a T400 or T500 might be a bit of a stretch for a decent one within that budget.
Maybe consider a Dell XPS Studio as an alternative, though perhaps they are a little too 'stylish', though they are subtle and in no way tacky. There aren't many alternatives at this end of the scale. The Vostro laptops were built like brick @#$%& houses a couple of year back (and presumably still are, but I've not had a recent one), so if rugged is important, perhaps one of them.
You'll not get one worthy at this price, but ideally you'd of be looking at an SSD drive if you're looking for rugged laptops. It's a shame you're looking before they start getting financially viable really, as they'll obliterate laptop hard drives in terms of speed too.
Yeah, I meant £'s. It's a bit of a shame with the Lenovo machines, but I might go for one eitherway. The Dell Vostros look really nice as well, maybe if I can find a decent Core2 setup it should be ok.
Sucks with SSDs, I've been wanting to get one as a system drive for a while, but they're still prohibitively expensive !
Sucks with SSDs, I've been wanting to get one as a system drive for a while, but they're still prohibitively expensive !
The offer on the Vostros ends today!
It's not a small offer either. £140 off the 1520.
You can get the Vostro offers through here (click on the Vostro 1520 tab) (it redirects you to the Dell UK site with the offer code included when you go to "more info"
. 8GB enough? RAM :P Note that you have to change the colour to the alternative black one or the cherry one for an extra £10, and I'd upgrade to the 9-cell battery when configuring (+£60) too. £840 including VAT and delivery.
There's a 17" equivalent from the same place too, the 1720. It also comes with a better graphics card (though as you said, it's not a concern of yours). It only has £70 off, so it's probably too expensive at £940 all included.
Both 15" and 17" systems have 1440x900 screens, Vista Ultimate and 7,200rpm hard drives (both quite uncommon in even decent laptops) as standard.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/09/2009 10:48AM by gav.
It's not a small offer either. £140 off the 1520.
You can get the Vostro offers through here (click on the Vostro 1520 tab) (it redirects you to the Dell UK site with the offer code included when you go to "more info"
. 8GB enough? RAM :P Note that you have to change the colour to the alternative black one or the cherry one for an extra £10, and I'd upgrade to the 9-cell battery when configuring (+£60) too. £840 including VAT and delivery.There's a 17" equivalent from the same place too, the 1720. It also comes with a better graphics card (though as you said, it's not a concern of yours). It only has £70 off, so it's probably too expensive at £940 all included.
Both 15" and 17" systems have 1440x900 screens, Vista Ultimate and 7,200rpm hard drives (both quite uncommon in even decent laptops) as standard.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/09/2009 10:48AM by gav.
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