Dad needs a new laptop. Who do I look towards?

[Tarrant64]

My mom wants to get my dad a new notebook for christmas. He desperately needs one to replace his old dell inspiron(don't know model number, but it's old). It has served him well for many years(5 to 6 years), but it's slowly falling apart(broken hinges, missing keys). Just needs to be replaced.
I'm looking for something that can handle both windows and linux apps very well. I'm not sure which company provides the best so I'm wondering whether you guys know what's my best bet.

Looking for P4 or AMD64(might wanna go 64-bit later).
Something that may run Windows Server(should he choose to use it, not sure which version)
He does a lot of networking, so I don't know what may help with that.
Needs to be mobile. Since the one he has now has battery issues, he's been married to the living room couch with it. My family wants him to be able to take it anywhere and do what he needs to do without having to plug in.
I don't think graphics is a big deal, but I've personally seen performance drops using integrated graphics on a lot of things. He occasionally plays games, nothing real intense, but I think he might do more if he had the power to.

Budget is apparently not an issue(that's what my mom says), But i'm looking for the most at $2000. If it goes over, it's ok I suppose.


Any ideas??

THANKS!

 

[SuprNatrl]

With a P4 or an AMD proc your gonna get alot less battery time out of it compared to a Pentium M proc. It will also run hotter than the PMs. Look for a laptop that has built in WiFi (wireless fidelity) so you dont need a add-on card

I would look at the Sony Series S260 model. It has a battery life of up to 6.5 hours. It only weighs 4.2 pounds, has integrated WiFi, and 13.3" WXGA with XBRITE? Technology . If you order from Sonystyle.com there is a $100 price drop and $100 mail-in rebate. It comes with ATi Mobility Radeon 9200 w/ 32mb of vid RAM, and a 60 GB HDD and 512mb of DDR2700 mem.

 

[hopejr]

I friend of mine has one of those Sony's. He likes it.
Windows would be a better OS to have if you want to run both Linux and Windows apps IMO. I feel that Wine doesn't quite cut it, but cygwin on windows allows you to run Linux apps, and I think it works better than Wine. Windows Server 2003 is a nice stable version of windows (I'm running it on a P2 350MHz and it's quite quick, whereas Windows XP runs like a dog on it), but needs a bit a tweaking to run like a normal desktop OS. There's guides on the net that detail such tweaks. Just be aware that it is expensive (I got my copy through MSDNAA, so I didn't have to pay for it, but I can only use it for educational purposes).

 

[Duddy]

This is incredible, I was just about to post the EXACT same topic!

Does anyone suggest anything else?

 

[jdiddy]

Check out the IBM T42 Think Pads with the 2.0 Dothan cpus. Thinkpads are wonderfull machines, awsome built quality, great technical support. you can't miss with a Thinkpad.

 

[jvarszegi]

I'm typing this on a Thinkpad, which I love, but for your budget I think that they're too overpriced.

The first thing you should decide, since mobility is an issue, is not to buy an AMD or P4 processor. The Pentium M is where it's at. I think you have plenty of choices for machines that are screaming fast and decent in every way for $2000, but none of them will be AMD64 machines. The power drain and heat issues are just too much. I can tell you from experience, Pentium Ms are not slow (they're very good at even processor-intensive tasks like compiling code).

Is your dad a programmer? Why would he need to run Windows 2003 server (even if he is a programmer), or why would he want an older version?

 

[Tarrant64]

he does everything from networking, programming, database stuff, everything you can think of. and he moves between different jobs and what not, so he never really knows she he will do. what OS he's running will depend on the job he's doing.

 

[jvarszegi]

I just configured a zForce F2 with the following for $1930 at abscomputer.com:

Pentium M 755 (2.0 Ghz Dothan)
1GB 333Mhz RAM (split into 2 DIMMs)
15" SXGA+ resolution (which happens to be my personal fave, by far, for programming)
Mobility Radeon 9700 128MB
60GB 7200RPM hard disk
CD-RW/DVD drive
XP Professional
Intel 2200BG wireless (b/g)
nylon carrying case

I'm not sure about the warranty specifics, but you can upgrade the warranty. You can even buy a no-dead-pixel guarantee for fifty bucks. I think it's a pretty good deal, all things considered, but I hope you can find an even better one in your search.

 

[jvarszegi]

I just priced this Inspiron 9200 for $1900, out of curiosity. Note that you'd want to bump up the RAM, but you can usually get that cheaper somewhere else:

Inspiron 9200 Intel Pentium M 755 Processor (2GHz/400MHz FSB)
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
LCD Panel 17" UltraSharp? Wide Screen UXGA Display
Memory 256MB DDR SDRAM at 333MHz 1Dimm
Video Card 128MB ATI's? Mobility Radeon? 9700
Hard Drive 60GB 7200rpm Hard Drive
Document Management Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0
CD ROM/DVD ROM 24X CD-RW/DVD Combination Drive with Sonic RecordNow
Wireless Networking Cards FREE Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 Internal Wireless (802.11 b/g, 54Mbps)
Productivity Software Productivity Pack including WordPerfect
Security Software No Security Subscription
Digital Music Dell Jukebox - easy-to-use music player and CD burning software
Primary Battery 53 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options 1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr Mail-In Service, and 1Yr Technical Support
Dial-Up Internet Access 6 Months of America Online Membership Included
Digital Imaging or Digital Photography Paint Shop? Pro Trial plus Photo Album? Starter Edition
Dell Media Experience Dell? Media Experience


Edit: Sorry, I forgot to say that I used this coupon code:
20% off Inspiron Notebooks $999+ PZRC2L128C5MS2

 

[Tarrant64]

Thanks, I'll take a look and see what the rest of my family thinks.

 

[jvarszegi]

Hey, I noticed today that the best battery life quoted on Dell's site for the 9200, even with the bigger battery, is only 2:45. I didn't know that when I suggested it; I probably would stay away from it just for that reason. That's pretty poor for a Pentium M. It's probably due to the huge screen. I can recommend the following laptops if you're going for something more thin and light:

Fujitsu S6231: 13.3" super-bright XGA; very thin and light with a modular bay that can take extra battery; 8:30 battery life with two batteries in; good hard-drive options at portableone.com; very nicely configured, around $1900-$2200. A pretty powerful machine with the 1.7GHz Dothan and a fair amount of RAM. Integrated graphics, though.

Thinkpad T41/T42: Powerful; well constructed; can accept modular battery; low cost for upgrades/accessories; expensive to get into. My T41 has a very nice 14.1" SXGA+ screen, is light, and has a great keyboard. It's got lots of little knicknacks too, like a built-in keyboard light that reduces frequency of beatings from sig other when typing in bed at night. If you buy one of these, I'd recommend looking into educational purchase plans if you or someone in your family is going to school; many schools offer the T42 right now with a MR 9600 64MB for well under two grand, which is a real steal.

Inspiron 600m: Pretty nice 14.1" screen; nice keyboard; modular bay that can take an extra battery, for long battery life; fairly light. It's cheaper than the T42 and the S6231, but you can't choose a fast hard drive. It does have a magnesium alloy case, unlike most Inspirons of the past. MR 9000 w/64MB available.

The HP nc6000: MR9600 64MB, Dothan processors, decently priced, modular bay and very good battery life. It's a very nice machine; the sales guys at my previous job had them, and the keyboard and everything was very solid. They're rated very highly for usability and durability; about the only drawback is that they're slightly heavier than some competitors, especially with two batteries in, but I don't think that's much of a drawback. They weren't what I call heavy. The website says they start at 5 lbs. You can also order this one with a 7200 RPM drive.

I still think the zForce is a contenda, even though it doesn't have a modular bay (that I can tell). I didn't find mention of its battery life on the ABS site, though.

Edit: I forgot about the Acer 3200. That model has a MR 9700, is very thin and light, and has won lots of awards recently. I also cruised Acer's site and noticed the nice TravelMate 4500, around 6 pounds and with lots of nice stuff. It gets about five hours of battery life, and I think it also has a modular battery available. It's offered for around $1500 at PC Connection:
http://www.pcconnection.com/ProductDetail?sku=5283521