What's Laptop would you want

[synack2]

Gateway NV Series

I have carried a lot of Acers and Gateway. I currently have a NV53. I am rought on laptops. My laptop goes with me everywhere and I have in in and out of the bag about 20 times a day, and normally drop it at least once a month. The NV53 is going on two years and is still ticking. And at $500 if it breaks its disposable, compared to what I used to pay for a laptop back in the day.

 

[tim fitzgerald]

Well thanks everyone for the input. All of you are busy so i really appreciate the time spent. Tim Fitzgerald

 

[altrenda]

I go up and down stairs most days, so I prefer to travel light.
I carry an Acer netbook with a 9 cell battery that lasts at least 8 hours. Cheap, less than $300, easy to use standing up,

Win 7 runs amazingly well on the Atom with 1.5 gb ram. No Aero glass, but better than XP.

If I don't need a hard wire connection to the network, I am more and more carrying an iPad instead.

 

[ConozoComputers]

My next laptop would be an ultra book with an external cd drive. That way Incan use the cd drive on a customers computer if theirs doesn't work.

 

[Big Jim]

As I am sort of still setting up, I use whatever laptop I have bought in cheaply from customers.

Currently my one tech is using a fujitsu siemens on windows vista, that i upgraded to 2gb of ram and a core 2 duo (was celeron originally) it came in with 4 knackered usb ports and he didn't want to replace the board so I offered to waive the diagnostic in place of the laptop then thought I would have a go at repairing the usb ports given that I now wouldnt have to offer a warranty or pay for the laptop if it screwed up, out of the 4 2 now work perfectly, one will only recognise the usb mouse that is plugged into it and one just doesnt work.

The other laptop I use onsite is a HP DV6000, that I am desperate to get rid of as soon as something comes up at a reasonable price I can replace it with, it's had so much money spent on it now it's not even funny.

failed reflow (postage only)
then replacement board
2 new sticks of ram
replacement heatsink x 2
motherboard reball
upgraded cpu.

I have bought all of that apart from the replacement board and reflow.
and the battery life isn't great either.

 

[tycomps]

Dell D430, 630, and D830

I guess it all depends on where, when, and how the laptop is to be used as it ultimately needs to do what is needed when it's needed. Running my business from home is a big difference than working on enterprise systems in mission critical data centers (if they're even still called that). That being said with the availabilty of spare parts and knowledge of the machines here's what I went with-

The Dell D430, D630, and D830 for multimedia use as well as local and remote diagnostics. All have the magnesium alloy cases and are very reasonably priced on ebay if you look for bargains. I'm planning on using the D430 as an ultra portable. Though not advertised, the D630 and D830 take 8 gig of ram, having the gm965 chipsets, and the D430 is quick enough with it's 2 gig max. Another convenient feature is they will all accept the same power adapter so I can keep an adapter plugged in at home, in the car, and keep one in my bag for onsite use. I've got xp pro 32 bit on my D430, xp vista business 64 bit to recognize the 8 gig of ram in my D630, and windows 7 64 bit ultimate for the 8 gig in my D830 which I use at home as a desktop replacement and mutlimedia machine since it has the nvidia video card in it.

There is an issue with the nvidia card and heat as many know but I use that one with a laptop cooler and as soon as ssd prices drop again I'm going to see if replacing the conventional drive with an ssd reduces the temperature inside the case. If need be I may also drill strategically placed holes in the case bottom to increase airflow.

In my opinion the ATG series D630 is over priced but I'm building a Panasonic Toughbook CF74 to use as an automotive OBD diagnostic system and heavy duty laptop as they come with dual cores, touch screens, are reasonably priced on ebay and can be configured with conveniences like a fingerprint scanner, and sd card slot.

 

[RedFoxComp]

My old laptop is dead, so after too much research I think I've settled on the Dell Vostro 3350.

My reasons:

13.3" screen
2 USB 3.0 ports.
built in optical
e-sata port (this was big for me)
HDMI
backlit keyboard
comes standard with 8 cell battery - 10 hours
price

I'm going to order it next week. I really wanted an Asus but this checked all the boxes. The only drawback is that it's still a little heavier than I'd like at close to 5lbs.

 

[FoolishTech]

I carry an Acer netbook with a 9 cell battery that lasts at least 8 hours. Cheap, less than $300, easy to use standing up,

Win 7 runs amazingly well on the Atom with 1.5 gb ram. No Aero glass, but better than XP.

I also carry an Acer netbook with a 9 cell, but I packed it with 2GB and Win7 does run ok on it, I wouldn't say better than XP... also I certainly don't get 8 hours, maybe 4-6 depending on. my CPU is the .. n450 or something like that, not the earlier 270 I think it was... maybe that drains the battery more. I would love to get an SSD in it to speed things up but I'm poor and can't afford it lol.

Wait, how do you have 1.5GB in there, yours come with 2 RAM slots?!?

Still, I find it is invaluable to me.

vs. a regular laptop:

• Battery life, battery life, battery life. I hate lugging a power adapter with me to an onsite and having to search for a plug, and stretch out cords across a walking path or something. Plus multiple service calls and various activities can really drain on your battery, and I'm never in the car long enough between calls to recharge a laptop with my power inverter.
• Light, easy to carry (the 9 cell provides a good hand grip) With this thing I quit carrying a laptop bag entirely and just carry it by hand.
• If I'm in a crowded server room or other place with little space to set down a full 15.5" or 17" laptop, the small size helps a ton.
• Did I say battery life?
• Cheap. (Did I mention I'm poor?)

vs. a tablet

• Wired nic for testing purposes
• I can type on the thing easier.
• Windows OS + USB ports to plug up a client's HDD to it for data recovery / advanced virus removal
• Remote desktop to my main PC for invoicing or whatever is just easier than on a tablet

That being said, I would love a Lenovo tablet PC

 

[Brokenframe]

Dell XT3!

Small, light weight and affordable at the dell outlet. It has a 3 year warranty at dell. It is a tablet, and im going to use it for customer signatures etc. Great laptop... Im saving up now, almost there...

-Bri

 

[PC-MOT]

My old laptop is dead, so after too much research I think I've settled on the Dell Vostro 3350.
/QUOTE]

The i5 model does look pretty great I must say.

 

[pc-quebec]

I only purchase Dell and I make sure my customers purchase Dell one too. Alltrue I have also Apple notebook too, I find them sexy, but not as much productive as my Dell as my accounting and few other software don't run nativelly on OSX.

 

[RedFoxComp]

Small, light weight and affordable at the dell outlet. It has a 3 year warranty at dell. It is a tablet, and im going to use it for customer signatures etc. Great laptop... Im saving up now, almost there...

-Bri

I checked, it looks like the xt3 is discontinued? Also, starting at 2K! Too rich for my blood.

 

[NWPhotog]

I checked, it looks like the xt3 is discontinued? Also, starting at 2K! Too rich for my blood.

Did an on site repair for an insurance appraiser on an XT3. All the appraisers in his office had one. Next to a toughbook very rugged. I would guess that is the reason for the cost. What was it replaced by?

 

[Brokenframe]

Xt3

I checked, it looks like the xt3 is discontinued? Also, starting at 2K! Too rich for my blood.

No, go to dell.com/outlet

You can find them there for 700 to 1200. Very affordable.

 

[RedFoxComp]

No, go to dell.com/outlet

You can find them there for 700 to 1200. Very affordable.

Hmm, 3 year warranty too it looks like. Have to keep that in mind.

 

[RedFoxComp]

Ended up buying a Vostro 3350 and I'm very happy with it.

 

[Rodrick]

MBA 13" and a usb NIC is all I carry onsite. (That and my box of USB sticks) Most stuff I need to do I can do from my phone, the laptop is for notes and if I need to do more than google/wifi diagnostics.

 

[itech88]

If i where to upgrade my Lenovo T60 right now i would not hesitate to buy another Lenovo Thinkpad. For clients my most recent recommendations are the HP Probook 4530s, they are well built and have not got a single complaint from any of the clients i have sold them to, and they are reasonable priced, anywhere from $450-550. I tend not to recommend Dell or HP consumer grade laptops.