Laptop Recommendation

[reicherb]

Never mind that I've got like 5 threads going here. It just seems like I've got a million things going on that I could use some help with.

I need to decide on a laptop model to replace desktops for school administrators. They don't do anything special with them. Basically just MS Office and GroupWise. They will be spending a fair amount of time using them away from their desks giving presentation though.

Here is a general idea what I'm thinking:
Pentium IV 1.70GHz
256MBDDR
20GB Hard Drive
15" TFT Display
24X CD-ROM Drive
1.44 MB Diskette Drive
NIC and Modem (preferably integrated)
WinXP Pro
I also like the dual pointing devices on some of these.

They will also need to have a wireless NIC in addition to the wired one. I like the idea that IBM has one built into the sides of the LCD. Does anybody else do that?

We will probably also purchase docking stations, keyboards, mice, and monitors to be used when they are at their desks.

Has anybody purchased business laptops such as these lately? Any advice or recommendations?

Thanks.


Edit: I forgot to mention that Dell basically isn't an option. We have a few laptops with docking stations and they seem to be pretty flakey. We also have a ton of their desktops and are very unhappy with the rate hardware dies in them.

 

[Gibson486]

PIV @1.7 Ghz? That is kind of high requirements for just basic MS office.

 

[reicherb]

That appears to be one the low end unless you want to go with the Celery or I mean Celeron.

 

[Gibson486]

I do work study for an Engineering place in my school. I set up alot of their presentations with projectors and so forth ( I physically set up everything, I do not actually make teh presentation). For their presentations, they usually use this Toshiba that has a Celeron. I don't know how fast it is, but my guess would be around 1 Ghz. Anyways, it has done them good and never has failed from what I have saw. So, if they really want to save money and youa re sure that basic office and powerpoint is all they will do, then a Celeron would do good. Oh yeah, I like Toshiba and Gateway lappies..

 

[reicherb]

The Celeron just seems like a waste of money to me. It really isn't that much cheaper.

Does anybody else have experience with Toshiba? I was basically planning on Compaq, IBM, or Gateway.

 

[Siddhartha]

IBM Thinkpad

 

[erikistired]

if you're going to be using docking station/monitiors and projectors then you could probably go with a smaller screen size.

oh, i'd have to suggest ibm as well, from working on the things. they take abuse pretty well (within reason), might want to avoid the i series tho if they are still making them. that's the economy line.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Ooo! Ooo! I like the Compaq Evo 610c.

 

[reicherb]

The IBMs are looking good, but they seem to be more expensive......back to the research.

 

[wyvrn]

 

[erikistired]

Originally posted by: wyvrn
IBM's are more expensive because they are higher quality and made of superior materials. One of the companies I worked for used IBM Thinkpads and we seldom had problems. For presentation laptops, you really should spend money on reliability first and features second. Users will get more pissed at you if their laptop breaks down during a presentation than anything else. I have mucho experience on this one!

They will also need to have a wireless NIC in addition to the wired one. I like the idea that IBM has one built into the sides of the LCD. Does anybody else do that?

If it uses the USB bus, stay away from them!!!! I have a wireless nic on my Compaq 1500T that connects on the back of the lcd screen and it sucks. Constantly dropping connection and forcing me to reboot. Plus I am hearing more and more than USB-based wireless products are flakey.

with most (if not all) of the ibm thinkpads with builtin wireless it's not a usb solution, it's an internal card with the antenna going up both sides of the lcd panel.

 

[buleyb]

I think the most important question is how much are you prepared to spend? That will really dictate what you have available as options...

 

[reicherb]

I'm willing to spend what it takes to get a decent system. We are a public school distrcit so by no means do we have a large amount of cash, but if we are going to spend money, we are going to do it right. Right now I'm leaning toward the IBM A Series, but I'm waiting for vendor quotes.

 

[Valinos]

And this is how our public school system spends money...

I think they're fine with this. Seriously, I could go cheaper for what they really need. For that kind of work you guys should be looking at notebooks for less than $900...around $600. And then spend the thousands you save on improving education for students by, not offering computers, but good teachers and struggling programs like art/music.

A 800mhz system would do everything they need more than adequately. You can always purchase wireless pcmcia cards for ~$60

 

[reicherb]

Maybe I'm on the wrong track track here, but I can't really justify spending $900 on a 1.2Ghz systems with a 13.3" TFT display when I can get a 1.7 with a 15" SXGA+ display fot $1500. It just seems like getting the best bang for your buck should always be important. We can spend $900 every 3 years or spend $1500 ever 5 years. That might noe be exactly right, but it works out to the same cost a less work for me.

 

[Valinos]

Sure.

 

[reicherb]

What part of that logic doesn't make sense? I work 60+ hrs a week now and barely get everything done. They can either buy equipment that will last or pay another person to help install it. I bet they would rather spend money on equipment than labor.

 

[andrey]

I use my IBM Thinkpad T23 (P3-1.13Ghz, 512MB of RAM, NIC + WiFi built-in, 14.1" screen @ 1400 x 1050 resolution) for presentations at my work and I have never had problem. I also run entire MS Office XP Professional, MS Visual Studio .NET, Macromedia Studio MX along with Adobe Photoshop and everything works fast and perfectly fine. But the best thing about my laptop is that it weights only 4 lbs, so I don't have to carry a brick with me together with a dozen of batteries

You can find brand new IBM Thinkpads T23s for around $1200 - $1400, especially if you're buying more than one. If you're interested, PM me and I'll point you to several IBM dealers who sell these laptops for that price.

--Andrey

 

[reicherb]

I may do that, but I'm waiting from a price from a local vendor and want to see what they can do first.

Thanks.

 

[yellowperil]

Check out IBM's eBay store. this It's a little below your spec, but for office apps a P3/PC133 RAM is sufficient (and consumes less battery). 128MB extra is at most another $40.

 

[SuperGroove]

Originally posted by: andrey
I use my IBM Thinkpad T23 (P3-1.13Ghz, 512MB of RAM, NIC + WiFi built-in, 14.1" screen @ 1400 x 1050 resolution) for presentations at my work and I have never had problem. I also run entire MS Office XP Professional, MS Visual Studio .NET, Macromedia Studio MX along with Adobe Photoshop and everything works fast and perfectly fine. But the best thing about my laptop is that it weights only 4 lbs, so I don't have to carry a brick with me together with a dozen of batteries

You can find brand new IBM Thinkpads T23s for around $1200 - $1400, especially if you're buying more than one. If you're interested, PM me and I'll point you to several IBM dealers who sell these laptops for that price.

--Andrey

Your IBM T23 only weighs 4 lbs if you took out the cdrom and the battery. With battery it's closer to 5lbs. With CD-ROM ~5.5lbs.

That said, I wish I still had mine.

 

[andrey]

Originally posted by: SuperGroove

Originally posted by: andrey
I use my IBM Thinkpad T23 (P3-1.13Ghz, 512MB of RAM, NIC + WiFi built-in, 14.1" screen @ 1400 x 1050 resolution) for presentations at my work and I have never had problem. I also run entire MS Office XP Professional, MS Visual Studio .NET, Macromedia Studio MX along with Adobe Photoshop and everything works fast and perfectly fine. But the best thing about my laptop is that it weights only 4 lbs, so I don't have to carry a brick with me together with a dozen of batteries

You can find brand new IBM Thinkpads T23s for around $1200 - $1400, especially if you're buying more than one. If you're interested, PM me and I'll point you to several IBM dealers who sell these laptops for that price.

--Andrey

Your IBM T23 only weighs 4 lbs if you took out the cdrom and the battery. With battery it's closer to 5lbs. With CD-ROM ~5.5lbs.

That said, I wish I still had mine.

LOL, want to trade your Powerbook G4 for Thinkpad T23?

As far as weight, you're somewhat correct, 4 lbs with floppy drive + main battery and around 5 lbs with DVD + main battery, but since I have floppy drive inside 80% of the time, that's 4 lbs for me! ;-)