Choosing Vista Laptop for Work
Alrighty. Since at some point we're going to begin transitioning to Windows Vista within my company, my boss and I need to replace our current laptops with some Vista capable ones. I've been tasked with spec'ing out a few models.
Here's what we're looking for:
-Must have a port replicator available
-At Least 2GB of memory
-Not excessively bulky
-Under $2000, accessories included (if possible)
I've looked at HP, Lenovo, and Sony. The chances of Dell's entering this building is slim-to-none. My boss is dead set against them, and I've never been that impressed with their support. If someone can present a good argument otherwise, I can pitch it to my boss.
Keep in mind these are corporate use laptops, and we'll be looking for a good 3+ year warranty on them. So, they won't be chosen for gaming and the like. However, if we can fit in a nice graphics card, I won't complain. Hah. It's easier to pitch anyway with Vista's "graphically resource intensive interface."
Thanks for your help, guys.
Here's what we're looking for:
-Must have a port replicator available
These will be our work/travel computers. So, we don't want to be connecting and disconnecting a bunch of cables every day.
-At Least 2GB of memory
It just doesn't seem like any less would be beneficial for running Vista.
-Not excessively bulky
Like I said, these are used in and out of the office. I take my laptop home every night because I typically have to do at least a small portion of work while no one is in the office.
-Under $2000, accessories included (if possible)
It's hard enough to push $1200 for a laptop including accessories for any other user here. We're "the computer guys," so we get something a little better. However, we don't want to be excessive. If it turns out that our best bet is to go with a $2000 laptop, then accessories can be purchased separately. Although, we want to avoid this if at all possible.
I've looked at HP, Lenovo, and Sony. The chances of Dell's entering this building is slim-to-none. My boss is dead set against them, and I've never been that impressed with their support. If someone can present a good argument otherwise, I can pitch it to my boss.
Keep in mind these are corporate use laptops, and we'll be looking for a good 3+ year warranty on them. So, they won't be chosen for gaming and the like. However, if we can fit in a nice graphics card, I won't complain. Hah. It's easier to pitch anyway with Vista's "graphically resource intensive interface."
Thanks for your help, guys.
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Comments
- ThinkPad T60p
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087¤t-category-id=1F106632CBC24D2CBD23DF19644D3694
I just wish they had Nvidia as an option
One brand I would say that is making a rise is the ASUS systems, I have ran into a handful of their new systems in the business front and they are nice system with some sweet setups
Looks like the consensus is leaning toward Lenovo, as I was initially too. The T60p is a very nice corporate laptop, IMO, and that's the one I was looking at.
My only complaint which is more of a preference is the GPU. Nvidia's workstation GPU's are far superior to AMD/ ATI's FireGL series. But either or the chip in the system is fast and gets the job done...
Also the cost of this machine is on par with all companies… and these are the best suited for Business out of all those.
The A200/A205 are nice boxes.
Some reasonable video options.
Stay away from Sony.
I'm doing a review of a laptop I bought a couple of months ago and may be posting it here soon. This may be more for my personal laptop- but you may find what you're looking for. Here are some excerpts. :
My laptop:
Model: PowerPro A 2:38 SUPRA
Date of Purchase: 3/22/07
Price with S&H: $1827.48
Main Barebones Shell: ASUS Model Z84JP, 667 FSB rating
Screen: 1680x1050 Hi-gloss 17” Widescreen LCD
CPU: T7200 (2.0GHz Merom processor with 4MB cache)
Memory: 2x1GB Corsair DDR2 667 (PC2-5300) 5-5-5-15
Hard Drive: 160GB/8MB cache 5400RPM Seagate ST9160821AS
Video Adapter: nVidia GeForce GO 7600 with 512MB
Optical Drive: Matshita DVD-RAM UJ-8505 (8xDVD-R/RW with DL support)
Ports: 4xUSB, 1xLAN, IEEE-1394, e-SATA, HDMI, 3-jack Audio, VGA, S-Video, SD
Sound: 4.1 speaker system built-in, Realtek ALC883
OS: None purchased with unit.
Wired Network: Marvell Yukon 10/100/1000 Ethernet Chipset Controller
Wireless: Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG, and Toshiba Bluetooth V2.0+EDR
Other Goodies: 17” canvas laptop bag, 3-year parts & labor warranty, Car Power Adapter
Reference Links:
Pictures: http://powernotebooks.com/specs/images/a2-38/
Specifications & Options: http://powernotebooks.com/specs/PowerPro/a2-38.php
Warranty: http://powernotebooks.com/info/powerpro_warranty.php
Operating Systems policy: http://powernotebooks.com/OS.php3
Company Name: PowerNotebooks.com
Location: Genoa, Nevada
Owner: Don Stratton
Link: http://powernotebooks.com/ (imagine that )
Phone: 1-877-711-1777
Laptop Product Lines offered: PowerPro (in-house model name), Crown, Sager, and ASUS
Resellerratings.com’s Rating (5/31/07): 10.0 (six-mo)/9.99(lifetime) Reference Link
Here are some of the compelling reasons (not in order) that sold me on PowerNotebooks:
1. Reseller’s rating. This should say something by itself. It is simply the best in the business.
2. OS Selectability. With Vista being forced on us by most major vendors, it was a relief to find someone who offers both installation and support for XP/Vista/Linux/None. That’s right- you read both Linux and none.
3. Helpfulness. The site is fairly straightforward, but answers to my queries by forum, phone and e-mail were prompt, knowledgeable, truthful, and courteous. You generally have (and to some measure, can select) your representative to work with. Mine was Ron Baird who actually phoned me shortly after I placed my order to see if I was really OK installing my own OS. (Apparently some people really do want one but overlook the selection as the “None” option is the default).
4. Discount for cash purchase. This one amazes me because it is an untold truth that you pay extra on your products because of the cost of debit/credit transactions. This discount is generally 3% off the price. However, your trust is tested because you basically give them your money via deposit or Bank-Wire Transfer (which may have a fee associated with it- generally less than $10). But if they have ever reneged on someone, I think their Reseller rating would have suffered severely.
5. Pricing. While I can build a machine for less than a boutique equivalent, I found myself unable to beat that of the PowerPro line soundly enough. Since my cap for this venture was $2000 (and I told myself I’d never go past there again), I wasn’t going to build a boutique machine anyhow. When done, this became the least expensive out of the 4 laptops I have purchased.
6. Three-year warranty at no additional cost (for PowerPro machines). If you go to a major retailer, you may be hit with an extra $250-450 to get this. When I factored this in, it was NO contest- I could not find a better machine at any retailer. Be careful here though- this warranty does not apply to all product lines sold by PowerNotebooks.
7. Overall, I think PowerNotebooks.com is about as good as it gets for this market. I have found nothing with which to impact their rating. I have no reservations about coming here again and recommend this as a stop worth spending some time at for anyone.
I know it's overkill- but I just got done with the draft and hope it can help. I can only say- for everything I want to do- even professionally- it is a solid unit.