May 12, 2009 at 9:41 pm
I'm finally going to break down and buy a laptop (computer, that is 😛 ). I'd prefer a 17" display but will go with a decent 15" display. Of course, it needs to be able to handle presentations and a couple of different revs of SQL Server Developer Edition including SQL Server 2000 (I believe that leaves out Vista machines). Some decent battery life would be nice, as well. Any personal favorites?
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
May 12, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Jeff Moden (5/12/2009)
I'm finally going to break down and buy a laptop...
Any budgetary constraints Jeff?
If I win the lotto this weekend, I know which one I would buy.
(NZ) $17,500 is quite a lot though :sigh:
Paul White
SQLPerformance.com
SQLkiwi blog
@SQL_Kiwi
May 13, 2009 at 12:11 am
Jeff Moden (5/12/2009)
john.arnott (5/12/2009)
It's an interesting series of posts from the latest pork chop target.What's the link for that one, John?
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic715000-338-1.aspx
May 13, 2009 at 3:36 am
Paul White (5/12/2009)
Jeff Moden (5/12/2009)
I'm finally going to break down and buy a laptop...Any budgetary constraints Jeff?
If I win the lotto this weekend, I know which one I would buy.
(NZ) $17,500 is quite a lot though :sigh:
OK, which?
I've always gone for Dell laptops and they've always been reliable.
These days it seems you can get laptops that exceed the spec a server would have had a few years ago... 4Gb ram, 250Gb disk, dual (quad?) core cpu ... The main thing I've looked for is good graphics/screen and lots of USB ports.
Derek
May 13, 2009 at 3:53 am
Jeff Moden (5/12/2009)
I'd prefer a 17" display but will go with a decent 15" display. Of course, it needs to be able to handle presentations and a couple of different revs of SQL Server Developer Edition including SQL Server 2000 (I believe that leaves out Vista machines). Some decent battery life would be nice, as well.
17" and good battery life do not go together. The 17" laptops I've had have a 2 hour battery life at best.
For SQL 2000, you can always pull an earlier version of windows from MSDN and install it into a virtual. It's how I had SQL 2000 on my Vista laptop. I don't know how easy it'll be to get a laptop with XP on it now.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
May 13, 2009 at 4:10 am
I've got a Dell Precision 15" 2 years ago with:
2.2Ghz dual core intel processor
2GB Ram
250Gig hard drive
NVIDIA Quadro FX 370M 256MB - good enough to allow some gaming entertainment when holed up in hotels
The screen was the highest resolution available (1920x1200), means everything is very small but it also means I can see a LOT at the same time
Was about £2,000 which included MS Office 2007, SQL Server 2005 developer edition and full worldwide on-site support and accidental damage cover for 3 years
I've had to claim on that accidental damage and Dell had replacement parts sent to my hotel within 24 hours no questions asked. They offered to send an engineer round too - although all I was doing was replacing the keyboard so I declined their offer
For business use, I'd definitely recommend a Dell, just make sure you spend enough to get their top level support. Home users tend to get dealt with by an off-shore call center who aren't quite as helpful
Looks like Dell still offer the XP downgrade option... and having had a look at the prices the US gets a far better deal than the UK:crazy:
May 13, 2009 at 5:21 am
Mine is a Dell XPS M1530
Core2 Duo, 256 MB NVIDIA, 4 GB, 15.4" Wide Screen WXGA (1280 x 800) display with TrueLife.
Not Bad. Company gave it to me.
-Roy
May 13, 2009 at 5:22 am
GilaMonster (5/13/2009)
I don't know how easy it'll be to get a laptop with XP on it now.
Windows 7 will ship with "XP mode" ... maybe worth waiting?
http://sqlblog.com/blogs/john_paul_cook/archive/2009/04/26/xp-mode-in-windows-7.aspx
Paul White
SQLPerformance.com
SQLkiwi blog
@SQL_Kiwi
May 13, 2009 at 5:27 am
Derek Dongray (5/13/2009)
Paul White (5/12/2009)
(NZ) $17,500 is quite a lot though :sigh:OK, which?
It's an AlienWare M-17 with QX9300 Extreme Edition Penryn Quad Core, 8GB RAM, Dual 512MB ATI HD3870s, RAID 0 over two 256GB solid-state disks (512GB!), 17" 1920 x 1200, Vista Ultimate x64, 2x Blu-ray Burners...and so on.
Maybe Santa will bring me one?
Paul White
SQLPerformance.com
SQLkiwi blog
@SQL_Kiwi
May 13, 2009 at 6:05 am
GilaMonster (5/13/2009)
I don't know how easy it'll be to get a laptop with XP on it now.
As far as I know a DELL can be shipped with downgrade rights to XP (at least if you purchase in "company mode")
It worked for my DELL Precision 6400 I got 6 months ago and I just checked DELL web side: they still do offer the downgrade option.
If you need to buy it for private purpose it's still worth asking to get the downgrade...
May 13, 2009 at 6:18 am
Paul White (5/13/2009)
Derek Dongray (5/13/2009)
Paul White (5/12/2009)
(NZ) $17,500 is quite a lot though :sigh:OK, which?
It's an AlienWare M-17 with QX9300 Extreme Edition Penryn Quad Core, 8GB RAM, Dual 512MB ATI HD3870s, RAID 0 over two 256GB solid-state disks (512GB!), 17" 1920 x 1200, Vista Ultimate x64, 2x Blu-ray Burners...and so on.
Maybe Santa will bring me one?
I hope he brings me one too! Can we get a SQLServerCentral bulk discount?
Jack Corbett
Consultant - Straight Path Solutions
Check out these links on how to get faster and more accurate answers:
Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help
Need an Answer? Actually, No ... You Need a Question
May 13, 2009 at 6:36 am
Jack Corbett (5/13/2009)
I hope he brings me one too!
There is no way I have been *that* good all year :angry:
Jack Corbett (5/13/2009)
Can we get a SQLServerCentral bulk discount?
Uncle Steve can do anything!!! Right?
A 90% discount would suit me...
Paul White
SQLPerformance.com
SQLkiwi blog
@SQL_Kiwi
May 13, 2009 at 6:40 am
I've always had decent luck with Dell laptops. they just seem to consistently beat out IBM And HP on price for the same hardware. My only recomendation is not to buy RAM from them. My last laptop I bought from them they wanted an extra $1000 to upgrade from 1 GB to 4 GB of RAM. I bought ram that was guaranteed to work from crucial.com for much like a 1/3 less. Granted this was 3 years ago when laptop RAM was a bit more expensive than today, but still look at this as an option.
-Luke.
May 13, 2009 at 6:42 am
Paul White (5/13/2009)
Jack Corbett (5/13/2009)
I hope he brings me one too!There is no way I have been *that* good all year :angry:
Jack Corbett (5/13/2009)
Can we get a SQLServerCentral bulk discount?Uncle Steve can do anything!!! Right?
A 90% discount would suit me...
90% discount?
...
Steve, which the cost center? 😀
May 13, 2009 at 6:45 am
Yep Dell's are pretty sound - I bought one a while back for my wife.
We got a nice one from Dell Outlet - the price was outstanding too.
http://www.dell.com/content/segmenter.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dfo
Paul White
SQLPerformance.com
SQLkiwi blog
@SQL_Kiwi
Viewing 15 posts - 4,366 through 4,380 (of 66,712 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply