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Need buying advice for a work Laptop

RoyceSraphimRoyceSraphim Registered User regular
edited September 2010 in Help / Advice Forum
So I am getting into a big thing with family and some investors. This project is going to be multifaceted and take place in the field and will be one of many projects I will be helping support my father complete. A laptop is in the budget but I have no clue what to get.

I need something future proof, that looks professional, and can run any office program in the market, from publisher, to project planner. Wifi, bluetooth, etherenet are prefered.

I really need advice because 5 years ago, I let myself get pushed around and got stuck with a Fujitsu Siemens M1425.

It did the deed but proved to be a beast in later years.

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Posts

  • matt has a problemmatt has a problem Points to 'off' Points to 'on'Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    Lenovo is pretty much the go-to for business laptops. The Thinkpad line borders on legendary. The X series is good if you're on a smaller budget, the T series I'd recommend to anyone.

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  • amateurhouramateurhour One day I'll be professionalhour The woods somewhere in TennesseeRegistered User regular
    edited August 2010
    We use the Lenovo T500 at work and it's a beast, even with the 5400 RPM hard drive they purchased it with.

    edit: it works well for other stuff too. I use it at home and on trips and it handles netflix and stuff just fine.

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  • matt has a problemmatt has a problem Points to 'off' Points to 'on'Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    We have two X series tablets that we use at work for taking orders (I work in a bakery). They ingest more dust and flour in a week than most laptops will in a year. They've both been dropped multiple times from around 4 feet onto tile floors, over the course of 3 years. Both still work just fine, the screens are perfect.

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  • RuckusRuckus Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    amateurhour wrote: »
    We use the Lenovo T500 at work and it's a beast, even with the 5400 RPM hard drive they purchased it with.

    edit: it works well for other stuff too. I use it at home and on trips and it handles netflix and stuff just fine.

    We use T500's as well.

    Ruckus on
  • RoyceSraphimRoyceSraphim Registered User regular
    edited August 2010
    These would work well with powerpoint presentations and running video? Maybe some gimp and some choice pickings from GOG.com and Guild Wars?

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  • SpudgeSpudge Witty comments go next to this blue dot thingyRegistered User regular
    edited August 2010
    The HP 425 is a good model, discrete (ATI) video card, up to 8 GB RAM, 7200 RPM SATA HDD, etc

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  • amateurhouramateurhour One day I'll be professionalhour The woods somewhere in TennesseeRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    RoyceSraphim wrote: »
    These would work well with powerpoint presentations and running video? Maybe some gimp and some choice pickings from GOG.com and Guild Wars?

    Yeah, the T500 will handle all of that. We use them for virtual conference presentations with monitor sharing and powerpoint with a projector as well and the video has always held strong.

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  • RoyceSraphimRoyceSraphim Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    amateurhour wrote: »
    RoyceSraphim wrote: »
    These would work well with powerpoint presentations and running video? Maybe some gimp and some choice pickings from GOG.com and Guild Wars?

    Yeah, the T500 will handle all of that. We use them for virtual conference presentations with monitor sharing and powerpoint with a projector as well and the video has always held strong.

    Projecter....homeworld 2.....point defense 6.0....it was beautiful.......;)

    Oh, Lenovo doesn't sell it anymore, I checked earlier, what would you recommend after that model?

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  • RuckusRuckus Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Looks like the T510 is it's direct replacement, on sale right now for $1299:
    http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=19C791A03AF24034A0011B825513BCED&tabname=Gallery

    Ruckus on
  • amateurhouramateurhour One day I'll be professionalhour The woods somewhere in TennesseeRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    RoyceSraphim wrote: »
    amateurhour wrote: »
    RoyceSraphim wrote: »
    These would work well with powerpoint presentations and running video? Maybe some gimp and some choice pickings from GOG.com and Guild Wars?

    Yeah, the T500 will handle all of that. We use them for virtual conference presentations with monitor sharing and powerpoint with a projector as well and the video has always held strong.

    Projecter....homeworld 2.....point defense 6.0....it was beautiful.......;)

    Oh, Lenovo doesn't sell it anymore, I checked earlier, what would you recommend after that model?

    Whatever their next step up is I guess.... It looks like the 510 series.

    It's not cheap, but it's durable as hell and does the job for the next four years or more.

    edit: ruckus, that $1299 model is the most decked out. You can get one for about $1070 which will have the core i5 and nvidia graphics.

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  • WildEEPWildEEP Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    There are a few options that the Lenovo also carries - like, did you want to be able to write on it like a tablet?

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  • RuckusRuckus Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    WildEEP wrote: »
    There are a few options that the Lenovo also carries - like, did you want to be able to write on it like a tablet?

    In 6 years of network administration across 3 companies now, and a few years before that as a hobby, I've never found tablet notebooks be useful for anybody.

    Though, I guess there is a possibility that in my years working in A) the pharmaceutical industry, B) the graphics industry, and C) the diagnostic medical industry, that I've just never found the particular niche they fill.

    Ruckus on
  • RoyceSraphimRoyceSraphim Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Ruckus wrote: »
    WildEEP wrote: »
    There are a few options that the Lenovo also carries - like, did you want to be able to write on it like a tablet?

    In 6 years of network administration across 3 companies now, and a few years before that as a hobby, I've never found tablet notebooks be useful for anybody.

    Though, I guess there is a possibility that in my years working in A) the pharmaceutical industry, B) the graphics industry, and C) the diagnostic medical industry, that I've just never found the particular niche they fill.

    There this device will join me in African, not the parts were Simba, Timon and Pumba played. Touchscreens are a needless luxury.

    RoyceSraphim on
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  • Shazkar ShadowstormShazkar Shadowstorm Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Ruckus wrote: »
    Looks like the T510 is it's direct replacement, on sale right now for $1299:
    http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=19C791A03AF24034A0011B825513BCED&tabname=Gallery

    They gave me a T510 for work last week. It is pretty good. Especially with the whole docking station business. Bit heavy though, but it works well, and has a nice keyboard.

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  • illigillig Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Thinkpad definitely. And after you get it, replace the mechanical hard drive with a solid state one.

    Hell, I'm still using a T60, and with an SSD and upgraded ram it runs all office apps and win7 flawlessly. And its still in great shape unlike business grade HPs or dells of similar vintage.

    illig on
  • FagatronFagatron Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    As an alternative to a Thinkpad, the Macbook Pro 13" I just purchased is a more of a beast than it deserves to be, the build quality is stellar (much better than a Thinkpad), battery life pushes 10 hours for normal usage without discs in the drive, and it's fairly rugged in addition to being lightweight because of the aluminum enclosure.

    Whatever you decide on doing, don't waste the money on an SSD. They're nice, but a 500GB Momentus XT from Seagate will provide you with the same performance most of the time, and cost about $1500 less than an desktop SSD with an equivalent amount of space.

    They don't even make 2.5" fully SS 500GB drives yet so...

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