Setting Up Office

Re Core 2, I thought I read there would be a mobile one cause I was going to wait but I thought it was meant to be a way off? Looking at the HP laptops with it, they're all very large and heavy which normally suggests someone has wedged a CPU into a box it really shouldn't be wedged into

Do you reckon its worth paying the bit extra for this over the IBM I posted above then Greg?
http://www.dabs.com/productview.asp...105,4294955430,46030000,46040000&v=2#infoarea

 

Ooo tough call with this one. I personally really like the IBM/Lenovo builds, especially the level of testing and after sales service, however the battery life on this one is not as good as the HP above. Tough call.

 

The HP I posted is a Core 2 though. What do you reckon- worth the extra £150 over the IBM for the core 2? Other than that, not much in it, the core 2 HP has better batt life but the IBM has a better screen res.

 

The weight of the NC HP's tends to be very close to the IBM T's. I picked a 14" T Series cos they're just "right" size and weight wise.

Regards the NC6400 personally I'd very much like a Core 2 Duo rather than a Core Duo so in which case big positive, but it's an WXGA res. I can't live with less than SXGA/WSXGA res. The resolution is the one thing you absoutely have to live with and is usually the first thing I check. 1400 * 1050 is IMO the best res for a 14"/15" notebook.

 

Following with interest. I forgot to mention that:

i) size and weight do NOT matter as the laptop only gets carried between my house - car - hotel (no walking, trains).

ii) Hard disk size is not an issue as the server at home will hold most of the data.

iii) Screen size/quality isn't that important as 95% of the time I will use an external LCD.

Basically, I want a big, heavy, powerful b**stard laptop.

Which HP and IBM laptops fit's that bill for under a £1000?

 

All three of the laptops posted do except the HP I posted which is about 70 notes over budget. It is also not in stock which I just noticed so won't be ordering anything tonight by the looks of things. Otherwise there really isn't much to call between the HP Greg linked and the IBM I linked. HP is much better battery wise though so take that into account.

 

Anex, I have bookmarked that IBM deal.

Greg, it looks like that link to the HP deal has changed, what was the product code so I can find it again?

I see that wwws.laptopsdirect.com also allow Euro purchases (I will be Ireland VAT registered) so they may be a good option. Here's their Euro equivalent deal that works out at £950ish

http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Lenovo_3000_N100_15.4_inch_Laptop_TY05FUK/version-1.asp

Good to hear IBM has good after sales service. That's worth paying a bit extra for on the purchase price as far as I'm concerned.

 

I know I have come to ths thread a bit late but I feel that the range of kit offered by Insight in terms of maker and price is worth a browse.

 

I just had a long chat with the IT guy where I currently work.

He basically said he would be choosing either HP or IBM laptops if giving free choice by his clients (most use Dell of course).

Narrowing down my search to two brands saves me loads of time. The whole after sales service issue is a big one for me.

 

Another question re. the IBM/Lenovo thing.

I have looked at the Lenovo website and am I right in saying that the 3000 series 'Z/R/T/X' are IBM's own 'Thinkpad' range and the 'C/N/V' series are Lenovo's own models?

Any pro's and con's separating the two diferent ranges?

 

A glossy "Why choose Lenovo" sales blurb fell out of the Sunday papers and the products are devided into two ranges. The likes of the Lenovo Think Pad and Lenovo Think Centre whith titles that suggest close links with the old IBM name and badging plus their own home grown badged and branded 3000 N & V series boxes. It looks like you can now pay for the branding and badging of your choice as to my eyes both ranges of kit are good and I would be happy to pay for either.

 

I have had a chance to look at the various IBM/Lenovo models and keep coming back to this one (Z61m):

http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/ibm-thinkpad_z61m_ua03huk-laptop-3-n2.htm

It's a bulky thing, but it'll only be moved between the house and car so that's no problem.

Re. the external monitor, the Samsung SM205BW looks good for about £260 (I want widescreen but don't need 1600x1200 resolution):

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/114798/rb/21726058943

Any thoughts?

 

The Z61n is a lovely machine. Sure being widescreen and 15.4" makes it quite wide, but 2.9kg is light for a full sized notebook.

My co is an IBM Business Partner and when visited recently by a couple of senior IBMers they both had a Z61n so I'd say that's a good endorsement within the IBM range.

That Samsung SM205BW seems v cheap considering the spec and the build quality of their new range seems very convincing. Worth at least considering is this one. Same res but 21" plus the contrast is 1000:1 whereas the 205BW is 700:1 though whether it's worth an extra ton (eBuyer don't seem to have the 215TW) I couldn't say. The 204B I have is 700:1 and it seems plenty bright enough to me.

 

Thanks Greg,

I had seen the SM215TW and may go that extra for it (very well reviewed screen).

Re. the Z61m, there seems to be two "versions" of the same machine configuration that have wildly differing prices. One is Stock No: UA03HUK (about £1100) and the other is Stock No: UA19JUK (about £1700). See here:

http://lambda-tek.com/componentshop...level2_uid=0&keywords=z61m&show=all&Filter=GO

There's a few sites listing the two different models but the processor, memory, HD, etc. are all the same. Maybe one is aimed at the consumer market and the other the business market (i.e. extended warranty, etc.)?

 

Ok, here's what I have ordered:

IBM/Lenovo Z61M ThinkPad Core-Duo T2500, 1GB memory, 100GB HD;
SAMSUNG SM215TW 21inch TFT;
HP colour LaserJet 2605DN;
WESTERN DIGITAL My Book Pro external 250GB HD

I ended up going for a moderatly priced colour laser printer as I just kept going round in circles looking at all the options. Can just sell it on in a year if I think I made the wrong choice. All the sub £1000 colour laserjets I looked at were only 600x600dpi resolution so that was my only concern (would have preferred 1200x1200dpi)

Thanks for all the help.

Edit: I ordered my gear from http://www.technoworld.com as they are really cheap. Wasn't expecting great service to be honest but they have been the best online shop I have ever dealt with - they managed to deliver it to Nth Ireland overnight (after saying it would take 3 days) and any phone conversations have been quick and efficient. Forget Dabs!