Looking for a reliable laptop under 3k to run large excel spreadsheets, calculate formulas, and do other scientific stuff. It's not for me, it's for scientist friend of mine.

As light and powerful as possible (if that's possible) as it will be traveling often to meetings and conferences.

Nice screen, intel processor (dual core of course), large HD, lots of ram, camera, etc...

This is being purchased by the business, so no replacing parts or rebates.

And go!

9/2/2009 9:50:51 PM

Is your friend more biased towards the portable side or the powerful side?

On the power side this would work http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220503

You can also find it with a quad core cpu.

Or, if he would prefer a Nvidia GPU (better driver support) http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_configurator.asp?PRID=14266

[Edited on September 2, 2009 at 9:53 PM. Reason : /]

9/2/2009 9:52:36 PM

$3,000? Damn that's one hell of a budget.

What size screen does he want? Said another way, how important is the light/portable thing? Power vs Portable...which is more important? Judging from your post, I'm thinking it's the portable.


^

Quote :

"Weight 11.46 lbs."

9/2/2009 9:56:01 PM

like i said, that's leaning towards the powerful.

If you want portable, go with a 15 inch Macbook Pro. It's relatively lightweight for the amount of power it has, and if Windows is a necessity you can always get Bootcamp for it. Plus with their stores all over the place the AppleCare plan is pretty useful for someone who travels a lot.

9/2/2009 9:58:52 PM

with that kind of budget and portability requirements, a macbook pro/air is a good bet

9/2/2009 10:03:04 PM

Portable would be better. Woman scientist, most likely would nonplussed at the idea of carrying around a 8+lb laptop.

Screen size of 14.1" or greater.

Mac's are out. They are not approved by the department.

9/2/2009 10:19:04 PM

You can't go wrong with a ThinkPad for use in professional enviroment (most of the time)... Check out the new T400 if you prefer performance. For more portability, you can go with the T400s.

Or you can do a high-end HP dv4t, portable, decent performance, and more aesthetically pleasing than a plain black ThinkPad.

Anything above 14" is going to sacrafice portability. Personally, I use a $5K ThinkPad W700 at work. All performance, zero portability.

9/2/2009 11:31:20 PM

why would you need a "powerful" laptop to run excel spreadsheets? Today, every laptop is "powerfull" unless you're talking about editing video, playing huge games or something huge like that. Surfing the internet and office stuff can be done on cell phones now so all new laptops kill those flies with sledgehammers.

9/3/2009 12:00:19 AM

^ i'm guessing, since its a scientist and he said "large" excel spreadsheets, we're talking about someone who's crunching a shitload of numbers wanting a computer that will be able to handle dumping that much information into a spreadsheet.

if i were you i'd definitely go thinkpad, find the beefiest, highest-spec'd one out there. should easily be had within a 3k budget.

9/3/2009 12:21:23 AM

I echo the ThinkPads. Solid machines, and usually carry higher resolution screens. I have a 1600x1200 15" in mine. Makes SolidWorks much easier on the eyes.

Check out the W series of the thinkpads (found in workstations, not laptops - well, probably both.)

That extra screen and/or the built in wacom tablet is straight MONEY. I'm a web guy that does photography and videography for side cash and it's definitely, without competitor, at the top of my list.

EDIT: The W series is not shipping with NVIDIA CUDA in thier 500 & 700 series. API could be used to really crunch numbers with the quickness.

[Edited on September 3, 2009 at 12:41 AM. Reason : .]

9/3/2009 12:31:10 AM

for $3k spent by the company, get a top of the line 15" macbook pro and put windows on it if that's she prefers windows.

9/3/2009 7:46:29 AM

if she just wants excel and a camera, she needs nothing more than a netbook. they weigh under 3lbs and have more than enough power to do anything in microsoft office. I'd spend another hundred on a copy of windows 7. worst case is she buys a netbook and a big desktop and just vpn's back to the desktop if she needs more horsepower.

9/3/2009 7:46:45 AM

large spreadsheets on a netbook = fail

9/3/2009 8:32:58 AM

Quote :

"for scientist"

LINUX

also,

Quote :

"laptop under 3k"

holy moley, you can get pretty much anything you want for that kind of scratch. I'd echo getting a ThinkPad, wipe Windows off it and go with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (not the best, but if it's a university computer you can get unlimited support for it) or Ubuntu or Fedora Core 11 (if you want to support it yourself).

9/3/2009 8:50:38 AM

this really isn't that hard...$3k will buy you most anything...go custom-build a 14.1-15.6" laptop from dell or HP or lenovo (my preference if money weren't a concern), max out everything, and be done with it

if portability matters, do NOT go bigger than 15.6" and even then, 14.1" would be preferable

9/3/2009 9:01:36 AM

why aren't mac's approved? that's fucking retarded since they run windows fine.

9/3/2009 9:12:42 AM

^ why in the world would you get a mac for the SOLE purpose of running windows? i understand the argument that the mac hardware and mac software together make for a very nice machine, but when it's just about WINDOWS performance, their hardware is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay overpriced

9/3/2009 9:23:41 AM

k

9/3/2009 9:27:21 AM

you disagree? okay, i admit that i haven't really been paying attention to mac prices...considering the fact that both machines will be running windows and so the same specs matter, find me a mac with the same (or better) specs as a laptop PC for the same price (i suppose we can even ignore the fact that she'd have to buy windows separately)

i'm betting that will be next to impossible because of the markup apple charges for "pretty"

9/3/2009 9:31:06 AM

a. i never said a damn thing about price, or that they were better, or any god damn thing else for that matter. all i said is it's retarded for mac's to not be allowed by that company/lab or whatever since they can run windows just fine. nothing else.

b. yes, the price is higher for the same basic "specs"

but so is the quality. i had a whole paragraph typed out but i really don't feel like dealing with you on the whole "specs are the same so it must be more expensive for no reason!!1!" argument. it's been done 1000x times. having owned a computer from basically every manufacturer, i would personally still be fine with paying the premium for another apple computer.

what's the price of the aluminum case that doesn't fall the fuck apart after 6 months? the price for hinges that don't flop around after 3 months? price for the mag safe adapter that doesn't get destroyed the first time my dog runs into the cord? price for apple's support that is usually awesome?

9/3/2009 9:42:27 AM

Quote :

"a. i never said a damn thing about price, or that they were better, or any god damn thing else for that matter. all i said is it's retarded for mac's to not be allowed by that company/lab or whatever since they can run windows just fine. nothing else."

have you EVER done IT support? if so, you would realize why minimizing the purchasing options for non-IT personnel is a good idea

Quote :

"b. yes, the price is higher for the same basic "specs" but so is the quality. i had a whole paragraph typed out but i really don't feel like dealing with you on the whole "specs are the same so it must be more expensive for no reason!!1!" argument. it's been done 1000x times. having owned a computer from basically every manufacturer, i would personally still be fine with paying the premium for another apple computer."

this is completely subjective...MY experience is that apple shit is the same as PC shit, but in a prettier package...if you have some actual evidence that apple hardware is objectively better than the hardware of every other laptop manufacturer (including IBM/lenovo), i would LOVE to see it

Quote :

"what's the price of the aluminum case that doesn't fall the fuck apart after 6 months? the price for hinges that don't flop around after 3 months? price for the mag safe adapter that doesn't get destroyed the first time my dog runs into the cord? price for apple's support that is usually awesome?"

i have never owned a computer with an aluminum case, i fully admit...does it make my breakfast for me? does it give me a blowjob every night before bed? tell me how it actually makes a difference (i realize that metal transfers heat and plastic keeps it in...but my fucking screen doesn't generate enough heat to matter, my processor has a damn heatsink with a fan to blow hot air out through the grating, and i have never owned a laptop where the hard drive overheated)...just because it's "better" doesn't mean it's worth the premium when the stuff that's half the cost does just fine

i don't know what the price for hinges are...since i don't buy shitty bargain-basement laptops in the first place, i have NEVER run into that trouble...i have a 6yo toshiba (notorious for bad hinges, i admit) that doesn't flop around

magsafe is awesome...i wish my HP had it, but it's not worth hundreds of dollars to me (but hey, if a couple of hundred bucks is worth it to you, by all means)

as for support, i've never needed support...EVER...and if the OP's person has restrictions on the kinds of computers she can buy, it's a good bet that their support will be done in-house, so it's a moot point

look, i'm glad you want your laptop to cost twice as much and last twice as long...unfortunately, most people want to upgrade after 4-5 years, if for no other reason than performance...i, personally, would rather spend the same amount of money (over the lifetime of your superduperlastsforever mac) and get a NEW laptop 4 years down the road while you're still plugging away on your outdated one (and do remember that this discussion has to do with WINDOWS, so 4-5 years actually matters)

9/3/2009 10:00:49 AM

Quote :

"you would realize why minimizing the purchasing options for non-IT personnel is a good idea"

If that were the situation in this case, this thread would not have been made. The IT department in question would have simply issued a standardized laptop.


RE: the textwall argument about price... completely irrelevant since the cost is being footed by the company. for $3k, price is not a limiting factor at all.

from the OP:

Quote :

"As light and powerful as possible (if that's possible) as it will be traveling often to meetings and conferences."

On my desk right now, I have a Lenovo W500 and a MBP 15". The lenovo is _considerably_ heavier than my MBP. My previous PC laptop was a T60p, which was a little lighter than the W500, but still quite a bit heavier than my MBP.

for performance/weight ratio, (remember price doesn't really matter since SHES NOT PAYING FOR IT) what's going to be better than the MBP running windows? That's the main argument for the Mac.

9/3/2009 10:15:43 AM

Quote :

"since i don't buy shitty bargain-basement laptops in the first place, i have NEVER run into that trouble"

i had to replace my dell d620 hinges a while back. it wasn't a shitty bargain basement laptop. i just used the hell out of it.

i'm very happy with my 15" MBP and don't feel i overpaid for it at all

9/3/2009 10:17:29 AM

Quote :

"for performance/weight ratio, (remember price doesn't really matter since SHES NOT PAYING FOR IT) what's going to be better than the MBP running windows? That's the main argument for the Mac."

unfortunately, there IS no argument for the mac...she was told no

9/3/2009 10:19:34 AM

ah, i missed that post.

carry on.

9/3/2009 10:21:11 AM

you're right, though...if money is no object, a mac would be the best option

i keep forgetting that it's not an issue...i wouldn't be caught dead overpaying for a mac for the SOLE purpose of running windows, but i guess if money weren't a concern, that would be a great option

9/3/2009 10:22:44 AM

ThinkPad W700 -

Intel Core 2 Quad Core Processor Q9000 (2.00GHz 1066MHz 6MBL2)1
Genuine Windows Vista Business 6412
17" WUXGA 400NIT TFT+10.6"WXGA+ TFT
NVIDIA Quadro FX 2700M 48-core CUDA parallel computing processor 512MB (dedicated)
4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
Ultranav + Fingerprint Reader + Pantone Color Sensor + WACOM Digitizer
Internal RAID - Not Enabled4
Non-RAID HDD, 320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
DVD Recordable 8x Max Ultrabay Enhanced (Serial ATA)5
Integrated Bluetooth PAN
Intel WiFi Link 5300 (AGN) with My WiFi Technology10
9 cell Li-Ion Battery

1 Yr Depot Warranty
3 year onsite 9x5 Next Business Day

ThinkPad 17W Business Topload Case

Total: $3,079.15

This is a monster of a computer.

9/3/2009 10:25:29 AM

so you're agreeing the mac is the best option? lol, wtf is wrong with you

Quote :

"If that were the situation in this case, this thread would not have been made. The IT department in question would have simply issued a standardized laptop. "

not to mention that there are so few versions of mac hardware that the drivers are insanely easy to find. it's not like an HP or Toshiba where you have to dig through 2398 different options to find one that works.

[Edited on September 3, 2009 at 10:39 AM. Reason : a]

9/3/2009 10:38:04 AM

Quote :

"so you're agreeing the mac is the best option? lol, wtf is wrong with you"

in this particular case? no, of course not...she's not allowed to have one

in a case where money doesn't matter (within reason) and you want the lightest, best-performing laptop...sure...i would feel irresponsible spending that much money to save half a pound in weight, but if money isn't a concern, why not?

Quote :

"not to mention that there are so few versions of mac hardware that the drivers are insanely easy to find. it's not like an HP or Toshiba where you have to dig through 2398 different options to find one that works."

some people would see the lack of options as a bad thing (though i think your point is that you could 2 very similar laptops from HP and one might have an atheros card while another had a broadcom)

[Edited on September 3, 2009 at 10:44 AM. Reason : .]

9/3/2009 10:43:33 AM

^^ I haven't looked for a drive in a long time, I <3 Windows 7

9/3/2009 10:45:34 AM

hey guys i need to buy a new car...i only have a $250k budget...are there any options?

9/3/2009 10:58:42 AM

Quote :

"ThinkPad"

If you wait just a few more weeks, you can get ahold of the new "extra screen" model (basically an extra half-screen slides out of each side of the screen, and then hinges...doubling your workspace...only problem is the 'top is like 1.25" thick).

[Edited on September 3, 2009 at 11:01 AM. Reason : ]

9/3/2009 11:01:41 AM

man that's cool as fuck. had never heard of it until just now

9/3/2009 11:08:07 AM

I was pimping out laptops yesterday, because I want a 17" laptop with ~WUXGA (1920x1200) resolution. Obviously I kinda want a macbook, it would be nice to be able to do iPhone development, but it'd probably mostly run Win7 anyway. The problem I saw with the mac was that other people had better processors, better video cards, cheaper RAM, blu-ray, or etc. - you could make a much better computer for the same price as the mac. If I build exactly the same system, or as close as possible, as the macbook they are hundreds of dollars cheaper. Maybe after the next refresh, or if the next time they update the processors - it would be kinda nice to have a quad core processor in there.

[Edited on September 3, 2009 at 11:12 AM. Reason : .]

9/3/2009 11:11:57 AM

^^^wasnt that thing supposed to come out like 6 months ago?

9/3/2009 11:15:09 AM

Quote :

"traveling often to meetings and conferences."

i'd vote for MBP if they didn't have to do presentations, but i have to say 90% of people i know with MBP's trying to do presentations ALWAYS forget their mini-display adapter. Apple's just aren't geared for the business world, or rather the other way around.

Get a ThinkPad

[/thread]

9/3/2009 1:12:57 PM

nvm, the new ones are different

[Edited on September 3, 2009 at 1:28 PM. Reason : a]

9/3/2009 1:27:22 PM

thinkpads have gone pretty far downhill since lenovo took over. they're still decent, but gateway and dell top end lines are on par if not better.

9/3/2009 3:26:15 PM

i have to agree on the lenovo line going down hill. a few ppl in the company had them back around 2000'ish and they all lasted 4-5 years before being replaced. never had a single problem out of them. actually we still use some of them as basically terminal servers out on one of the production lines.. damn things won't quit working.

i got an X61-tablet a month or so ago and the screen looks like something from 1994--total shit compared to any modern laptop i've seen. and the pen has already broke twice. and the damn swivel thing is wobbly as hell. and i've had to take it apart to fix the thing that holds the pen in because it is terribly designed

9/3/2009 3:47:33 PM

thinkpads post lenovo are chinese shit. Dont get one. If you want maximum power for your money go with a dell precision. You can get retarded shit like a quad core procs and GPUs for cad or whatever.

9/3/2009 4:03:43 PM

Quote :

"thinkpads have gone pretty far downhill since lenovo took over. they're still decent, but gateway and dell top end lines are on par if not better."

and this one ^ some of the dumbest statements I've ever read on TWW.

[Edited on September 3, 2009 at 10:04 PM. Reason : ]

9/3/2009 10:01:58 PM

just wait until the iTablet comes out from apple

[Edited on September 3, 2009 at 10:08 PM. Reason : .]

9/3/2009 10:08:42 PM

why would they do that?

9/3/2009 10:49:41 PM

You can get custom, high powered laptops here:

http://www.ibuypower.com

If your scientist friend doesn't have to have a brand-name laptop. You can get one with an i7 processor for ~$3080 there. That would probably be overkill, but ... just sayin...

Think I'm gettin my next one from there.

[Edited on September 3, 2009 at 11:44 PM. Reason : ]

9/3/2009 11:34:09 PM

Quote :

"thinkpads have gone pretty far downhill since lenovo took over"

Quote :

"i have to agree on the lenovo line going down hill"

Quote :

"thinkpads post lenovo are chinese shit."

just to be clear, are y'all saying that thinkpads in particular have gone downhill from what they were, or does this extend to all lenovo being poor quality? the last time i really looked at lenovos was 2.5 years ago and it seemed to get high reviews at the time.

i was thinking about picking up a nice desktop at the lenovo warehouse sale message_topic.aspx?topic=575206 but now y'all got me questioning myself

9/4/2009 9:35:08 AM

Don't listen to the marks. We picked up some Lenovo stuff, Thinkpads included, at the last warehouse sale. It all works great, and we're quite happy.

9/4/2009 9:45:58 AM

i was under the impression that the ideapad line was the cheap chinese crap and thinkpad was still pretty solid

9/4/2009 10:02:43 AM

Yeah, that's the popular opinion.

9/4/2009 10:09:00 AM

^^ That's correct. The 3000 series is on par with Dell or HP. The ThinkPad line remains the best choice, undisputed.

[Edited on September 4, 2009 at 10:20 AM. Reason : ]

9/4/2009 10:20:04 AM

Will check out Dell and IBM.

I do find it odd that they specify XP as the operating system, kinda puts a damper on everything.

9/4/2009 10:39:03 AM