Question:
Help with choosing laptop with special requirements.
Hello all,
I have been reading this forum a great deal since I found it a week ago. In need a laptop in the next 30 days. I was looking at Turions but was put off by the performance reviews from Tom's Hardware I saw. Thanks for your input.
Special Requirements:
High Altitude – Use at 10,000ft+.
Dry – Relative humidity <5%
Cold/Warm flux – will be taken from normal temps to extremely cold for limited periods of time (always covered in bag).
Reliable – Will not have access to shipping of any sort for the better part on one year.
General Usage
What will you be using the notebook mainly for? Will you be using it to play games? Will you be using it for word processing / general productivity? etc.
I will be using for DVD playback, light development with Visual Studio, test bed for applications and some light gaming (Civ3, some RPG stuff).
Are you looking more at a very small notebook, a standard notebook, or a large desktop replacement?
I am transporting it 5000 miles and am allotted 75 pounds for all my gear for one year. Lighter is better.
Will you be carrying the notebook around a lot or be keeping it stationary most of the time?
Once on site carrying it very little.
How important is battery life to you?
Not incredibly important.
How long do you intend on using this laptop?
For at least one year.
Features
Do you need lots of hard drive space?
Need approximately 80GB for software and dev partitions. Will use external HD (prefer same manufacturer and model) in external enclosure for backup.
Will you be burning DVD's or just CD's?
DVD’s and prefer dual layer.
Do you tend to work with a lot of applications at once?
Yes - Visual Studio, Exchange System Manager, Firefox, Remedy, Outlook, Active Directory Users and Computers, NVu, plus some monitoring software is open now on my desktop.
Graphics & Display
How big would you like your screen to be? Do you care if it's widescreen or not?
Prefer widescreen as this will be my primary DVD viewer for one year. 15.4” seems to the way to go.
Are you willing to pay more for premium screens enhanced by XBRITE, Crystal View, or Bright View? (Go to the bottom of this post for an explanation)
Yes.
(If applicable) Will you be playing casual games or the latest games?
Casual.
(If applicable) Will you be doing work in a 3D modeling program like 3D Studio Max or Maya?
Will do some DVD editing, but no modeling.
Miscellaneous
Do you care if your notebook looks good or not?
I would prefer something with a good paint job, but not the end all – be all.
Are there particular brands you prefer or won't buy from?
Dell’s tech support has lost me forever. IBM is fantastic from my past experience, but way too expensive for performance.
How much are you willing to pay for this notebook?
I’d like to stay around $2,000 USD. I also have needs for many accessories, I would like to be able to buy them all on one transaction for tax purposes (& keep shipping down).
Are there particular models you have already looked at?
Uniwill 259EN3 , a variety of Turion's For Example - . Uniwill 2359EN3 seems like it will do the trick, is there something better? Who is the best vendor to get such a unit? Is the Notebook DIY a good way to go? (I’m A+ certified).
Thanks for responses ahead of time.
Regards…
Answer:
Re: Help with choosing laptop with special requirements.
How about an Asus Z70va.
Answer:
Re: Help with chosing laptop with special requirements.
That's an interesting place to have a laptop! :p Very unique!
Reliability, reliability....I'd say a ThinkPad T43 would fit those specs pretty well. ;)
Answer:
Re: Help with chosing laptop with special requirements.
You could also look at Panasonic's Toughbooks.
Not sure if they would stand those conditions though. But at least you know if it drops it'll live! :p
Answer:
Re: Help with chosing laptop with special requirements.
Don't think you'll find a recent model Toughbook under $2k.
Answer:
Re: Help with chosing laptop with special requirements.
Don't think you'll find a recent model Toughbook under $2k.
yea..i don't think so either...u might have to spend a bit more to get a good notebook
Answer:
Re: Help with chosing laptop with special requirements.
Yeah, I think I might have to spend a little more. What I'm concerned about is the heat output. At that altitude Western Digital HD's on desktops burn out in about 6 months. We burn through LCD projectors in about 500 hours. So do companies spec high altitude equipment for laptops? I live in Denver (5800 ft) and know they sell special special plasma and LCD panels here to prevent separation. I will be living at 10,000+ft at the Pole for one year. I saw a lot of Dell D610's and Raytheon issues Compaq's of a variety of makes to some of the staff, but those are only there for the four months of daylight.
Plus very little humidity, dirty power, and no grounding of any electronics. I looked at toughbooks but they are generally poor in the performance realm. I guess I am looking for a robust laptop with modern hardware and decent performance. Maybe I am shooting for the stars...