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Wanted - Hi-end laptop

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wemorgan

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 5, 2008
Messages
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A205 C220d
I'm looking for a new business laptop, something with a reasonable amount of processing power. So far the best I've found is this:

£820 inc. VAT
Ultimate Vostro 1720 Core 2 Duo T9550 (2.66 GHz)
Display 17in Widescreen WXGA+ ( 1440 X 900 )
8GB RAM
500GB
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
3 Year On site Dell Warranty

but if anyone knows of a better offer I'd be interested to hear. My budget is £1k, but would naturally like to spend less if possible, though if some one can find a good deal for a bit over budget I'd still consider it.

Many thanks.
 
Dell Vostro 1720 T4200 2.0Ghz 2.0GB RAM 120GB HDD

£350...

used UK laptops *many* times, cannot recommend them enough..

they'd got an alienware for a fraction over your stated budget

Alienware M17X Laptop P8600 2.4Ghz 4.0GB RAM 400GB HDD Red

[FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2]CPU Type:[/SIZE][/FONT][SIZE=1?]Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.4Ghz P8600[/SIZE][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2] Hard Drive Capacity:[/SIZE][/FONT]400GB[FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2]RAM:[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2]4.0 GB[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2] Optical Drive:[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2]DVD +/- RW[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2]Video Type:[/SIZE][/FONT]ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870[FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2]Video Memory:[/SIZE][/FONT][SIZE=-2]1.0GB[/SIZE][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2]LCD Max Resolution:[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2]1920 x 1200[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2]Screen Size:[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2] 17" Truelife[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2]Display Technology:[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2]Beyond HD[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2]Firewire:[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2]Yes[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2]Bluetooth:[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2]No[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2]WiFi Enabled:[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2]Yes[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2] SD Card Reader:[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif][SIZE=-2]Yes[/SIZE][/FONT]HDMI:YesInfraredYes
 
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Have you considered Apple?
 
crockers said:
Have you considered Apple?
Click to expand...

I've never owned one, so am unfamiliar with their products and how they compare to equivalent PC Intel laptops.

I'd also need to check whether the business software I use comes in Apple format.
 
It looks as if HP and Sony sell similar spec laptops for similar money. Is one make generally seen better than the other?
 
I've used Sony Vaio laptops and always found 'em reliable and quick, but look at Toshiba too; good build quality and reliability.
 
jorjXmckie said:
I've used Sony Vaio laptops and always found 'em reliable and quick, but look at Toshiba too; good build quality and reliability.
Click to expand...

I've always had Toshiba and Sony laptops. I love em, and most of the time for the money you can't beat them.

I now own the latest, lowest spec 15" MacBook Pro. I love it. The battery life is stupid. In a good way. They say around the 10 hours mark.... Well, I've pushed mine almost to that mark. and i'm a heavy user. I've had a solid 8 hours of video playback on it. I played three movies back to back (with my gf, hence the quantity). One of them was Titanic. and my new fav feature is that the mini display port outputs audio too, so i can hook it up to my TV via HDMI. Although Apple care over the phone is really really poo. Don't bother extending. Buy insurance for it instead though it is had to find a good one. I haven't yet.

You can't ignore battery power if you want a serious business laptop.

I still maintain there are better priced products out there. But if you're forever moving about then the new MacBook range should be good for that.
 
Yeah, I'd drive a MacBook too if the software I need the most was Mac compatible.
Apple have really made inroads in the last few years. Noticeably the latest Vaio I bought for work, with Windows 7 , had a task bar at the top of the desktop very much like the Mac one; I guess imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery!:):)
 
I would check to see if your software is available for the MAC. They really are supreme machines. Maybe not the cheapest out there but very very well built and amazingly fast and reliable.

You wont have virus issue either so no rebuilds to content with.

Worth a look before you do buy is my 2 peneth worth.

edit: You could always run VM ware or similar on it as well and put windows on it if you have to for PC only software.
 
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jorjXmckie said:
Noticeably the latest Vaio I bought for work, with Windows 7 , had a task bar at the top of the desktop very much like the Mac one; I guess imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery!:):)
Click to expand...

Oh for god's sake...

right click and hold the taskbar, drag it to the top, bottom, left or right of the screen and let go....

you prolly don't want to know when this feature was first available in mac / win / linux...
 
iscaboy I know that; this is a separate bar like Macs have where the icons scale up when you mouse over them; more like a floating taskbar in linux :doh:
 
I actually have win7 installed in bootcamp. TBH after installing software that was win only, after thinking I needed it... well I've only used win 7 once. and the battery was rubbish.

However, I do have to say if anyone does get a BMP consider the matte / anti glare. Personally I hate the look of apples matte screen so i opted for an anti glare visor. My core i5 has plenty power. I've maxed out the CPUs and turned all the power sucking toys to maximum, to calibrate my battery, and I still got well over 3 hours use.

I'm not sure if comet are still doing an offer, but I got mine with £100 off and free Office for mac 2008. Basically a saving of just under £200. that paid for my screen visor a new Crumpler laptop bag and a sleeve. Oh and my little Griffin mini display - HDMI converter.
 
jorjXmckie said:
iscaboy I know that; this is a separate bar like Macs have where the icons scale up when you mouse over them; more like a floating taskbar in linux :doh:
Click to expand...

Rocket dock or star dock. I think they're both free. I used them as side bars for everyday tools. They work but a bit gimmicky.

My gf Dell studio feels like a mac (not just because it has a dock). Though cheaper. nor is it as rapid. It does everything the mac does, just not as well. Examples such as the pinch and zoon, the back lit keyboard, function buttons being permanently turned to function rather than the conventional F1, F2, F3, ect.
 
Looks pretty much like stardock, I think its a bit of addon software bundled by Sony (can't get hold of it atm since it's at work)
 
I've now also found another Dell:

£999 inc. VAT
Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 720QM (1.60Ghz, 6MB cache)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit- English
OS Windows® Recovery Media Not included
Microsoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word)
1 year of coverage included with your PC
McAfee® SecurityCenter 30 Day trial version
Black Leather back cover : 15.6" (inch) Truelife 1080p Full HD WLED Edge to Edge Display
No Accidental Damage Support
4096MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048]
500GB (5400RPM) Serial ATA Hard Drive
9-cell 85Whr Lithium Ion battery
DVD +/- RW Drive (read/write CD & DVD) with Roxio Easy CD and DVD Burn software
1GB ATI® Radeon™ HD 4670 graphics card
Dell Wireless 1397 Mini Card (802.11 b/g)
Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module

or

£799
Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Mobile Processor (1.6GHz, turbo up to 2.8GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit- English
OS Windows® Recovery Media Not included
Microsoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word)
17.3” High Definition+ (1600x900) LED with TL
Black chainlink
1 year of coverage included with your PC
McAfee® SecurityCenter 15 Month Subscription
Computrace LoJack for Laptops, 1yr license - included with your PC
No Accidental Damage Support
4096MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048]
500GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
1GB ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 560v
Fixed Internal DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive including Software
Primary 9-cell 85 WHr Lithium Ion battery
Dell Wireless 1397 Mini Card (802.11 b/g)
No Bluetooth Upgrade
2.0 Mega pixel Integrated Web Camera
Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard

If you wonder how the 64bit flavoures of W7 allow different maximum memories:

Windows 7 Ultimate 192 GB
Windows 7 Enterprise 192 GB
Windows 7 Professional 192 GB
Windows 7 Home Premium 16 GB
Windows 7 Home Basic 8 GB
Windows 7 Starter 2 GB
 
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