new laptop

[bassman]

Aloha gang. Long time no see. Sorry I missed everyone over the holidays. Hope everyone is doing well.
It is the new year and time to spend some money on long over due office upgrades. I have been telling myself I would get a new laptop for my business for 2 years now and this time I am going to do it. 3rd times a charm.
I have looked at HP, Toshiba, and Dell :eek: so far and like the HP price the best (cheapest :D ) but would like some recommendations if anyone has them. This is first and foremost a business machine so my basic needs are as follows:
E-mail
Internet
Office (word process, database, spread sheet)
Job management
Blueprint reading

I would also like to use some of the entertainment capabilities of a computer so multi-media is good. I may be doing job/investment presentations soon so the multi-media becomes even more necessary.
Some of the upgrade choices I have made on the units I looked at are:
2 Gig Intel Core2 Duo, 2Gig RAM, 100 Gig (5400 rpm) SATA HDD, 128 Mgb video card (256 when available), CD/DVD rw, XP Pro, MS Office 2003 (full).
What I would like is recommendations on manufacturer (preferably a model as well), CPU, upgrades, and software. I am very familiar with MS Office but not afraid of something else.
I am a bit of a cheapskate but also know the value of the dollar properly spent (was that clearly vague enough? ). Right now I am looking at $2000- $3000 and not satisfied with options offered at $3000. Plus HP has rebates that bring it well below $2000.

Thanks in advance.
Happy New Year

[classicsoftware]

You need to look at the Acer Travelmate (http://shopper.cnet.com/4144-5_9-0.html?query=Acer+Travelmate&tag=srch&searchType=sh) line of notebooks.

I still have my six year old Celeron 500 and I have a two year old Pentium M 1.6 ghz. The Pentium-M survived a 3 foot drop off of a table to the floor and still works great with only a small crack in the frame (YOUR RESULTS MAY VARY).

Acer is the best bang for your buck right now.

[Erik]

My opinion:

Acer = best value
IBM ThinkPad = best quality

What size are you looking for? I think that the IBM T60 is a really nice laptop, and you could get one configured as you need.

[HomeSA]

Blueprint reading

You will be getting good advice as far as specs/brands are concerned. The only comment I can add is about your requirement for blueprint reading. I believe that'll necessitate a 17" display which turns a laptop into an expensive and large/heavy machine. You may not be satisfied even with a 17" display, but that depends on the size/details of the blueprints and how often you have to view them on your laptop.

My H2

[bassman]

Thanks all.
Took a look thru Acer's site. Lots to choose from but I could not find a way to build the exact machine I wanted (though several I looked at would do just nicely) nor can you get pricing thru their site. I will look at IBM today and more resources to purchase Acer.
As for size, everything I have looked at customizing was a 17". I did not see a 17" at Acer, but I did not look at everything, yet.
I have been reading blueprints on a 13" screen for some time now and though it is a lot of scrolling and resizing, it is not to bad. Anything would be better at this point. I have had this machine for over 6 years now and expect to have my next one just as long. I did not pony up for the most I could get the first time, I will this time.
Thanks again and willing to hear anyone else's ideas ;)

[HomeSA]

Thanks all.
I have been reading blueprints on a 13" screen for some time now and though it is a lot of scrolling and resizing, it is not to bad.

wow, you must have hell of an eyesight. Depending on how much you will be using the laptop for its mobility, a 15" display laptop (less money) plus a separate 19"+ monitor (for desktop blueprint reading) maybe another option to think about.

[jlreich]

Which way do you have to scroll, horizontal or vertical? Because most laptops have a widescreen these days. A 15.4" widescreen (on many of the Acer's) is a considerable amount of horizontal real estate.

Do buy online to get a much better deal in most cases, but go down to your local comp store and check out the different screen sizes to get a feel for what will work for you. ;) It will also make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside when compare the extremely high prices/low specs in the store to what you can get online. :D