New laptop advise please (Page 1 of 2)

Apologies, should have mentioned that Dell is not on the approved list due to previous warrantee issues. Anything else is fine.

A Fujitsu/Siemens Lifebook or even better,  a Thinkpad,  seems to be the obvious choices: Business computers with extensive warranties across the board (my Thinkpad came with 3 year warranty, and for £40 pounds I upgraded to "on site" warranty (i.e. they will come and work on it at my place if that is more convenient for me).

Ed, are you in the US?

If you are, Lenovo has an outlet store (like Apple's refurb store), where they amongst the consumer series (ideapads et al) also sells Thinkpads:

http://outlet.lenovo.com/laptops/thinkpad.html

Thinkpads have everything she wants and needs, and it's dead certain the IT people will support it. Almost as certain is the Lifebooks from Fujitsu/Siemens.

Both my Thinkies have finger print reader, hardware security (you can't just swap the HDD and then use it), and you can tie it all together with an encrypted harddisk so everything is 100 percent safe if you think you need the same security as an intelligence agency - one of those that doesn't forget unencrypted material in trains, that is

Okay Ed,

When I had decided I wanted to do the switch and I wanted a Thinkpad, my search began. Even from just one manufacturer they have so many different models, not to mention a plethora of choices. I really thought it was hard.

However, since she already have an idea what she wants and at what size she wants it, may I suggest a T400 (14") with a screen resolution of 1440x900. You can also get a 12" X-series with that resolution (my X200s), but it might be a tad too much in dpi-department for an architect.

If you go to that site you can narrow down the search, if for nothing else, then to get a better overview over the models.

I ordered my two Thinkpads from Germany (with DK keyboard), and my GF's Thinky was bought here in Denmark. All of them were made to order, so to speak. Apparently that's how Thinkpads are sold (real Thinkpads, not the "Thinkpad SL" - bleh!).

The T400 has switchable graphics and you can get a caddy for an extra HDD instead of the optical drive, if so needed.

The W-series are utter workhorses, the T-series more of a compromise between portability and power, and the X-series are dedicated to portability.

Anyway, no matter what, check the resolution as many of their models comes in different resolutions and so. My X200s has the same resolution as my 15" MBP, but it's at the expense of a webcam. The X200s also comes with a much lower screen resolution , but then includes a webcam.

It's good to know exactly what model one wants and then go search for that model specifically (besides, say, "X200s", at the bottom of my computer the exact model number is - wait (had to look at the bottom) - 7469-5KG), that way you know exactly what the specs are on that specific computer.

Eh, I hope I havent confused you more than I have helped ...

Bought my Samsung Q210 from John Lewis. It was the best price around. I am very pleased with it, but its a little one - 12" screen. The screen failed after a few months, and I returned it to the nearest Waitrose. Had it back in a few days. Can't complain at that.

The Overclockers Forum lads know their stuff, and they know the UK market but they can't mention other suppliers explicitly on the Overclockers forum! Dabs prices are always very keen.

http://www.dabs.com/

And they have a good reputation.

Last edited by Labarum (2010-02-07 00:52:20)

No problems, Ed

Sweet! The T510 is  a nice computer. Had it been around when I bought our Thinkies I would have gone for the T410 (the same as the T510, only 14" instead of 15"). Good choice, methinks.

What resolution did she get? 1920x1080 or 1600x900? She didn't go for the 1366x768 I hope?

Nice. That's about the same dpi I have on my X200s.

The T510 with a resolution of 1920x1080 has a dpi of around 141.
My X200s is 12" @ 1440x900 has a dpi of just around 140.

I came from a 15" MBP with the same resolution (1440x900) and it took me a while to adjust. The first week or so I caught myself moving my head and body really close to get the same relative size as on my MBP.

After a while, though, I keep my distance, and when ever I have to use the MBP these days, I feel like it's too big, that it's too close.

If she feels it's too small - even after a little while, she can adjust the dpi setting of the OS. It's set to 96dpi as the base setting, but one can set it higher, so things are a bit easier to read if so needed. I'd wait a couple of days doing so, because one has to adjust oneself a little if such a high dpi isn't what one works on every day.

Haha, Werner! Life's a bitch at times!

Hehe, yeah. It takes a while. 7-10 days is pretty quick, though. For one of mine I waited five weeks. F.I.V.E!

Horse,

Have been using the wife's swanky new Lenovo Toshiba replacement today while Mac is restoring. It's not bad, which is high praise from a Mac man like me. Thanks for the advice.

Last edited by Bull.ed (2010-05-11 00:09:44)

I'm a daft bugger - I meant to type 'Lenovo Toshiba replacement'! Have edited it now.  That old Toshiba was my nemesis so as you see, I still cant gat the loathsome thing out of my head.

This Lenovo is great (for a PC )! See the PM.