Lightweight, durable business laptop w/ a good battery

[Trevelyan]

Basically, I want something that will be easy to carry around cause I'll be taking it everywhere. So I guess it needs to be small and lightweight. A long battery life is a nice plus. But probably the most important thing is that it be well-built. I hate seeing all the Dell laptops falling apart after one year.

So... IBM? Acer? Any specific recommendations for a good laptop around $2000?

 

[phisrow]

IBM(well, now Lenovo) makes really solid machines. I'm a big fan of my T42. The X series is downright featherweight, at the expense of screen size and optical drive. The 14 inch T4/6Xs are also quite light for machines of their size. I'm not so sure about the new widescreen ones; but the T and X series are very much worth a look.

 

[Ionizer86]

Seconded. The 14.1" T42's are really light for the size (~4.5lb) and they don't sacrifice anything in the way of dedicated graphics, optical drive etc either. They tend to have longer battery life than the T43. If you have the money, a T60 would be sweeter, as those have the new roll cage chassis, Core Duo, newer video cards, etc.

Just so you know, you don't even have to spend $2k if you don't want to. Buy a cheaper thinkpad and add ram and/or swap the hard disk aftermarket, saving lots of money.

The 12" X series are indeed light, but it is up to you if you are willing to give up the optical drive, the additional 2" of screen real estate, take on a slightly smaller keyboard, etc.

 

[aigomorla]

i have a T41p, and it straight out OWNS. Thinkpads were built solid, are solid, and it will take quite a beating. Also should note, they have one of the longest battery times. My T series can go 9 hours with the 9 cell on moderate undervolting and lcd set to low.

:]

 

[AmigaMan]

I would stay away from Acer. I bought one for a relative and was not impressed with it's build quality at all. It flexed when I held it up on one corner, was very "plasticky" feeling, and just didn't inspire confidence in me that it would last more than a year. While I really like my MacBookPro, if you have no need for OS X, then you really should get a Lenovo Thinkpad. Great quality at a decent price with good performance. Sure you can find a Dell or Acer that's cheaper and may be more powerful, but you really do get what you pay for.
Get a T60 with a 14" LCD and a Core Duo and it should last quite a while.

 

[Trevelyan]

Okay, I'm really looking at the T43 and T60 right now... I guess IBM is the top of the line, eh?

Which wireless option is better... I can't see any difference between the Intel one and the Thinkpad one?

 

[BUrassler]

IBM is always top of the line for quality.

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: Trevelyan
Okay, I'm really looking at the T43 and T60 right now... I guess IBM is the top of the line, eh?

Which wireless option is better... I can't see any difference between the Intel one and the Thinkpad one?

either will work. I'd get the T60 since you can get it with the Core Duo, but if you can get the T43 cheaper and with the options you need, it may be worth it.

 

[Trippytiger]

Originally posted by: Trevelyan
Okay, I'm really looking at the T43 and T60 right now... I guess IBM is the top of the line, eh?

Which wireless option is better... I can't see any difference between the Intel one and the Thinkpad one?

Avoid the Intel 2200B/G at all costs. It's awful.

I've seen a lot of good reports on the IBM wireless cards, and far fewer on Intel's offerings, so I would reccomend going for the IBM option if you can.