Opinion on 17" Business Laptop

[jlfirehawk]

I need to pick a 17" laptop which I have narrowed down to either a Dell 1705 fully loaded only thing that bothers me is the x1400 video card, the other choice is a HP x9420 which they both have 2.16 Core duo 2GB memory dvd burner etc. The HP has a x1600 video card, both end up the same price so any opinions on this. Or should I take option 3 and get a Latitude 820 with same specs except a quatro video card and use 19" external lcd since it only comes with a 15.4 widescreen. I would be doing GIS on it and other sorta demanding stuff for a laptop.

Thanks in advance.

 

[AmigaMan]

I would always choose a smaller screen and an external monitor rather than one huge screen. I had a 17" Inspiron and it was bulky, heavy, and just awkward to carry around. Having a smaller 15" laptop allows me to lug it to meetings easier, use it on planes, and not feel crowded. Besides I can usually get a better resolution on the external LCD (a 2001FP in my case) which makes it great for programming.

 

[pkme2]

17" for desktop, AOK. But for a mobile, too heavy. 15" better, 14" best.

 

[WackyDan]

Depending on the GIS software you'll be using, you might want to look at a workstation class laptop like the ThinkPad T60P..... The cards they put in these (Fire GL) are cross certified on some GIS apps. - That makes it nice when you call in for support.

HP has some high end work station class machines as well....

It will cost you.