Advice on buying a laptop

[AnnainItalia]

Ciao a tutti,
I would very much like to buy a laptop for work and pleasure (preferably both at the same time). I've read as many reviews as my brain can take and I really need some solid advice. My comments/preferences are as follows:
1. It's my own money (!) so I'd like to get something now which lasts for a while (3 years at least)
2. I can afford up to top of the range but my savings are not substantial after this so I guess I'm after value for money. If it's really worth the extra I will pay it.
3. My work mainly involves optical and mechanical design so it's really important I can use the following software:
Zemax (which I think only works on Windows - though I'm happy to hear otherwise), the normal non-optimum packages of Word, Excel. Also Coral Draw, IDL, ProE, PovRay (raytracing)
3.5 I burn lots of DVDs (movies as well as data) so a dvd burner would be nice!
4. I would love an Apple G4, because the OS2 operating system is simply beautiful but, firstly, I'm very unsure if Zemax can be made to work on it and secondly I'm unsure how difficult it is for me to quickly open documents/drawings sent from colleagues who all use Windows applications.
5. I have little interest in Games.
6. A 60Gb HDD or better if poss., at least 2.4Ghz or faster, 3hrs or > battery
7. It doesn't have to be ultra-light - I'm ok with a brick, though <3kg is good.
8. 15inch screen is ok. I love the Sony xblack screens and would buy a laptop simply for this feature alone (because I'm shallow). I like watching movies on the laptop though.
9. Wireless LAN, bluetooth etc etc
I thought I had come to a conclusion with the Sony Vaio A115b (the 15 inch version). Now I don't know. If you have kindly managed to get to the end of this message then I would greatly appreciate your advice.
Ciao e grazie mille,
Anna

[saphalline]

There are 3 categories of laptops/notebooks right now: ultra-performance, cheap, and ultra-portable.

The ultra-performance models tend to be $1300-2500, weigh in at 10 pounds or more, and have the absolute top-end parts (often desktop parts). These ones typically have P4's with HT at 3GHz or Athlon64's at 2.2GHz, 512MB to 2GB of RAM, top-end mobile video chips, huge 60-80GB hard drives, built-in DVD burners, 15"-17" widescreen displays, and ports all over the place (USB, firewire, VGA, S-Video, etc). They also have a battery life under 2 hours.

The cheap ones are the standard, bottom-price bracket models. They tend to be $900-1400, weigh in at 7-11 pounds, and have the cheapo parts. Celerons at 2.4GHz or AthlonXP-M's 2200+, 256MB of RAM, standard onboard video, 20-40GB hard drives, built-in CD drive/burner, 14"-15" displays, and a few standard ports (USB, VGA, PS/2). They have decent battery life around 2-3 hours depending on the model, and often have extended batteries you can buy.

The ultra-portables are quickly gaining popularity among those who really do care about size and weight. They tend to be $1100-1600, weigh only about 3-4 pounds, and are designed for ultimate portability and battery life. Pentium-M's at 1GHz-1.8GHz, 256-512MB of RAM, standard onboard video (some models sport dedicated video chips for a higher price), 30-60GB hard drives, external CD/DVD burner, 10"-12" display, and as many ports as will fit on these tiny things (USB, VGA, S-Video, firewire, etc). Battery life of 3-6 hours.

It's up to you which type you want, and there are certainly some models that blend between these categories, but my advice is to get that weight down! You will almost always need to carry extra accessories with you, so don't think that a 7 pound laptop will actually be 7 pounds total when you travel.

[Paleo Pete]

Here's all I could find about Zemax (http://www.zemax.com/zemax/) and what it runs on:

ZEMAX System Requirements

ZEMAX runs under the current versions of Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP
256 MB minimum, 512 MB recommended RAM
Physical Optics Analysis may require more RAM
200 MB or more of free hard disk space
Parallel port or a USB port for hardware key depending on key option
CD-ROM drive
Minimum display resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels
Internet and email access for technical support and program updates


Nothing there about running on a Mac or Linux...so you might be locked into Windows machines. From those system requirements you'll probably need a high end laptop, and be sure you get one with 512MB RAM, minimum, more if possible...Usually you can pretty easily find out how much RAM is in a machine and what its upgrade possibilities are.

As for specific brands, several people here like Toshiba really well, my older P II-266 Tecra has been excellent. IBM Thinkpads are generally considered to be good machines and reliable, but getting one to match your needs night take some looking. They tend to be oriented toward the average user, not high end graphics.

Off topic...the Zemax site sure brought back some memories, I was trained in the military to repair optical instruments, mainly binoculars, but also sextants, hand held telescopes, stadimeters, compasses, gunsights, rangefinders and even periscopes. Part of it was learning optical theory and lens/prism properties, as well as lens cementing. I just wish there was such a thing as a binocular repairman in the civilian world...NOPE! I really enjoyed it.

[AnnainItalia]

To Paleo Pete and Lord of Latency (mmm... I really lacked imagination with my username didn't I?)

Many many thanks! I'll check out the Toshibas. Thanks for the info on Zemax... it looks like I have to get a Windows machine after all. Plus I'll try and get a lighter machine.

Off topic: Pete - you should have moved into Astronomy! There are lots of jobs for optical designers... and you still get to be a geek! (speaking as a proud badge holder myself).

Ciao and thanks again,
Anna

[deddard]

Another brand to look at is ACER.
I've got an ACER 302xmi laptop here (well it's actually a combined laptop/tablet) which I think is fine. It's a bit hefty for a tablet, but that's just because of the specifications. I get a good 4-5 hours out of the battery, and it has a DVD-RW.
One of the things I like is that the HDD and the DVD-rw are all upgradeable - you can change things later to keep things more up to date.

Bear in mind that if you do want wireless connectivity, then most, including this one only come with 802.11b cards built in, which can cause compatibility issues with the newer 802.11g access points and encryption standards.

[classicsoftware]

If you are buying a laptop, there are three names you need to look at. ACER, IBM and Toshiba. They are the best brands whn it comes to lap-tops.

Look at their web pages and decide what yoiu can afford & you'll come up with a match,

[123456]

Another brand to consider, (they last very long, 1-8 years!) MicronPC. A bit overpriced, I had a Transport XKE for $6,000! Specs of that one: 233MHz Pentium MMX, cd-rom, floppy, huge built in keyboard, large 13" display, (for 1998 it was huge), 64mb RAM, Windows 98, 4mb Video Card, and a 5 year warranty. Jeez, that lasted 6 years, 4 gb hdd died and then I dropped the notebook accidently while carrying it to the storage room. Oops. Other Micron laptop: 1997 Transport VLX Enhanced, 233MHz, b RAM WIndows Me, 2mb video card?, cd-rom, external cd-rw for both micron laptops, missing keyboard buttons, 3 gb hdd, and still works today.

[Paleo Pete]

Off topic: Pete - you should have moved into Astronomy! There are lots of jobs for optical designers...

I wasn't a designer, although I have the theory and a bit of study would probably put me in the running. I was a repair tech, nothing more...I wish the equipment weren't so expensive, I could have started into that immediately after leaving the military. Just one collimator telescope was well over $5000 in 1976...not to mention a roomful of other specialized tools and instruments, dust and moisture free climate control unit, lens cementing equipment, special mounting hardware for collimator, other collimator stands, lathe and milling machine, drill press, grinders, paint booth...(machine shop equipment is to make unavailable parts) And no such thing as a job repairing binoculars in the civilian world...and you can't put that kind of money into equipment on what Uncle Sam pays...

Astronomy would have been fun too though, I've always dabbled in that area from time to time. I've only used two desktop wallpapers in 5 years or more, one is a Hubble Telescope picture taken through a gravitational lens of a number of galaxies up to 13 billion light years away...really cool picture, the other is a hummingbird picture...and that's on Linux, I don't use wallpaper at all on Windows, slows it down way too much...used to watch the moon on the ship through a pair of 20X binoculars mounted on the fantail (I rebuilt them, had to test them now and then, hehe)...you can see individual craters.

[AnnainItalia]

Thanks guys.

I've decided... as I can't have an Apple it's gonna be a Sony (I checked lots of other brands but I couldn't stop thinking about the xblack screen... ). Specs are:

Sony Vaio A140 series
15.4" WXGA
Pentium M 715
80 GB HDD 5400
DVD +-RW
512MB (2Gb max, plus sony have a "special" today - 256Mb free...
brings down the cost by 0.001E-15%)
Windows XP Pro
No Av dock (for US$350 I'll buy a TV, tuner, DVD and VHS player separately thanks).

It weighs in a 7lbs ish. I really thought a lot about going to a lighter model - someone suggested this earlier, for example there is the S1XP with a 13.3" wide format screen. But then I thought welllllll for me I really want the larger screen because I have no monitor at home and at work I can use the desktop to do zemax/rendering things and work on my laptop for other stuff. So, I convinced myself out of it.

Now I have to buy it, which is turning out to be ordeal number 2. It's only available in the US... or at least the UK sonystyle site isn't telling me otherwise. In fact they aren't telling me anything, unlike their US counterparts who replied almost immediately. Anyway... I will persevere... once you have decided what you want it's very difficult to go back. I'd be happy with a configurable Vaio A115 model (15") - available in Europe, but it doesn't seem possible.

C'est la vie.
Thanks for all the help,
Anna

[PrntRhd]

Italy is not the only area that has those limited selection issues, there are some incredibly lightweight and thin notebook PCs that are only sold in the Japanese market by Fujitsu, Sony, and others.
:)