Need a new laptop

[se7entse7en]

I'm gonna need a new laptop for work in the New Year. (Stupid bloated MS glorified text editors. *sigh* )

What have I got?
Acer Aspire 5610
T2450 @ 2.00GHz
2GB RAM

I need a faster CPU. I don't think I need more CPUs.
I need a FASTER HD. Much faster. Maybe even two (for the increase in performace)
4GB RAM minimum (no point in going more unless I go 64bit). I'll probably end up runng XP on it though, unless there really is a performance benefit to going with Windows 7 Professional.

15" screen seems fine. Less wouldn't be useable. More would probably just be too big. (Might as well get a tower then)

Price range: I guess 2-3000 just as long as I'm getting what I pay for. Obviously less is best.

There needs to be a significant improvement in performace over what I'm currently using.

Any suggestions/advice? Anything else I should be looking for?

[jeSteR]

If you're not looking for a sexy notebook... I would recommend a Lenovo thinkpad. They are tanks. Snoop around on Lenovo Canada, find the one you want and email me the model... I'll get demo pricing for you.

[se7entse7en]

Thanks. I'll check it out.

[nature boy]

i hear good things about lenovo too, but mostly from ingram employees lol.

stay away from department store brands (toshiba, dell, compaq) as they seem to be cheaper to me. i hear hp is getting better but i'm still not a fan.

having said all that though, i've only owned toshibas, dells, and compaq's...

[joel]

I've been using a lenovo t400 for work for the past 6 months about.
It seems pretty reliable so far and haven't had any issues.

The quality and workmanship is heads above my old dell laptop. Battery life has been quite respectable too. I think I can get almost 6 hours if I am just doing work type things on it. No heating issues to which is common to a lot of other laptops. I think 2-3k should be able to land you something on the highend as well.

Maybe the only negative is in comparison to some other laptops I find it a tad on the heavier side, but that might not be a concern for you.

You running Visual Studio?

[Wetundies]

They have a dual screen one.

[se7entse7en]

Weight is not an issue as I rarely go anywhere, though it is nice to have the option of being able to take it with me.

I've been leaning towards the T510 with a 128GB Solid State Drive and 4GB RAM. Ideally, I'd like an additional HD just for storage of regular files, movies, pics, mp3s, (I can see 128GB eventually becoming a tad on the small size) but not sure how feasible that is.

Not sure if I should go x64 though. Having the potential for more than 4GB of memory would be a plus, however, I'm not sure if it's worth the headache trying to get my 32bit apps working... not to mention getting some of my legacy hw peripherals working.

A dual screen is not a priority for me. I've had my 15" laptop for a couple of years and have never felt the need to plug in my 21" monitor to it. I'd rather spend more money on other features.

We're currently running Visual Studio 2003/5/8 and we'll be migrating to 2010 early in the new year. 2008 is virtually unusable on my current system. I can't imagine how much worse 2010 would be.

[joel]

i think any windows64 os can handle any 32bit apps.
legacy hw peripherals are another issue finding drivers that will run tho'.
what sort of peripherals do you need to hook up?

with only 128 GB, id rather find an alternative storage solution, like a media server to host larger files.

I think i would likely go the 64 bit route and as a fellow developer memory is a pretty big issue. I would even consider more than 4GB of memory, especially for heavily resource draining apps like VS. If you are running a full local development environment with an instance of IIS and some type of database too, you tend to chew up resources rather quickly.

[jeSteR]

Sorry Shaun, Gord just reminded me that they pulled the Demo program away from distribution in October.

[joel]

Here is an e-coupon to save a fex extra dollars if you go this route. I think it expires in a couple of days.

http://coupons.redflagdeals.com/i.php/c ... es-laptops

[joel]

it looks like the only option over 4g is 8g... i guess that may be overkill. oh well i suppose you can still get 4g and always have the option of upgrading at a later time.

[se7entse7en]

Yeah, the plan was to get 4 now and upgrade to 8 later if need be.

Thanks anyways Jai.

The coupon expires tomorrow... that's a little too soon for me. But I'll try keep an eye out for future deals... especially knowing that they do exist.

How easy/difficult is it to upgrade a laptop... say add another HD? I know it's easy on a workstation. Does it void any sort of warranty?

[joel]

For a HD it require that the case actually supports it. For Lenovo thinkpads, i don't think they support dual hd, it physical doesn't have the space to put another hd in it.

If you do go with a SSD and need extra room for media files, etc.. I would consider a media server or one of those routers that can support plugging in an external hd to. With wireless networks having the bandwidth they do nowadays hosting files off this type of network storage solution can be relatively quick.

The other option is a just a portable usb external hdrive. The benefit is you can take it wherever you go, but it's an additional power suck on your laptop.

[se7entse7en]

Checking on their site, it seems like some of their thinkpads do support dual hd... just not the T series.

I have a usb external hd (500GB?) that I use to store archived backups and stuff that I rarely ever use, yet do not want to lose nontheless. I also have an underutilized print server of sorts that can be used to host files. Ideally I would prefer being able to have a 2nd internal drive if possible but it isn't a dealbreaker.

[nature boy]

just a quick question, why laptop over desktop?
with today's phones and the new tablet market the way they are, it seems like the way of the laptop is becoming obsolete...
i only ask because my laptop is i think about to kick the bucket and i wonder if getting a new one is actually a good investment. i'm thinking i may just build a new desktop for cheap (you know, through my connections at ingram) and look into getting a new tab or just use my phone while i'm on the go.

then again, i have a netbook at work too that i can take with me.