I need to choose a new Notebook for work - opinions please?

[Wiz]

I really like this Asus notebook - if I am forced to choose before any new ones hit I'm leaning towards this:

ASUS M70VM C2

I have heard there are quad chips coming soon, but I don't know if I can wait.

I have to choose between the CDWG site and DELL - I like the XPS series.
I want something that's fast, loads of ram, has a blu-ray player, of course HDMI & Digital audio out and great video processing.

My budget is $3K - but that's all inclusive and it will have to have 3 years no questions asked warranty service which is about $300 so the Notebook itself can only come up to about $2700.

I've had a nice Sony Vaio for the past 3 years, their new ones are pretty attractive like the AR870ND

Ideas, opinions, alternatives?

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: Wiz


Ideas, opinions, alternatives?

thinkpads

or

powerful desktop

and a thinkpad

 

[Wiz]

Thanks, Desktops are covered also but this is just for the Notebook.
They let me take it home for use when I telecommute or when I'm out of town on business or personal.
Since I'm pretty much always on call I have to be able to connect from anywhere.
This will be my main mobile rig for three years, so I know I have to pick something at the upper end for it to still be useful 30 months from now.

 

[slugg]

Decked out Lenovo T500? 3 years later, it'll definitely be in better shape than any Asus or Sony laptop... for sure.

 

[Wiz]

T500 looks nice - wonder if I can find one with a BD player.

 

[996GT2]

If you want portability as well as power, then go for the Thinkpad T400 with Hybrid Graphics, LED backlit screen option, SSD (if you have the cash), and a 9 cell battery.

That combo gives you tons of power with 7+ hours of battery life.

If you just want pure power in a 15.4" package, then go for a decked out Thinkad W500 with 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo, 4 GB RAM, WUXGA 1920x1200 screen, FireGL V570 Graphics, 320GB HDD, and every other option. It will still come out to be <$3k.

 

[aceO07]

Yup. Thinkpad. T400 or T500. It even has a BD recorder if you want that option. Too bad they don't offer UXGA on the 15" LCD anymore. I have a T42p with UXGA flexview lcd and it's beautiful.

Depending on how mobile you want to be, you could go for the X300 and buy a BD player/recorder for it's bay later when it comes out.

 

[Wiz]

I picked a T400 with a C2 2.8 and no BD. I wanted a fast memory & fsb - this one has 1066mhz for both.
Having to choose the preconfigured options I picked this one with additional 3 years accidental damage & loss insurance.

http://www.cdwg.com/shop/produ...fault.aspx?EDC=1553819

I know I'll be happy with it, thanks for the advice!

 

[slugg]

Is it in your hands, or did you just order it? I just ordered an X200 from Lenovo directly, so I'm curious about shipping times...

 

[Wiz]

I sent the order in to the department at work that orders it.
So it's probably going to take a while.

 

[Wiz]

I got the new Lenovo yesterday.
What a nice machine, and fast too!!! This thing out guns my desktop big time.
I know my desk top is just a puny 3.8 Ghz 2MB cache 3 GB DDR2 box...

Seriously, I use seti@home as a system benchmark and this sucker easily does twice the amount of work in the same time as my desktop.

I haven't tried running any games on it, what do you folks like as a benchmarking tool?

I noticed the Lenovo installed software isn't as bloaty as other vendors, I may just leave it on there. Vista takes a little getting used to, but I should come up to speed pretty quick.

 

[dinkumthinkum]

Nice! I ordered mine on Monday evening, direct. Your desktop is probably an older Pentium 4 single core, that's why the newer Core 2 duo outpaces it. Did you get a 9-cell battery?

 

[Wiz]

Yes, I got the 9 cell. It's pretty huge - but should last a long time.
I'm used to a Sony with a 13 inch widescreen. This Lenovo is giant by comparison.
Oh - and its a lot more powerful of course.