Laptop Suggestion II : possible?

[Rooftop]

Inspired by ukgimps post and the answers he is getting...

My requirements are a little different.  I'm thinking of unifying my desktops by just dragging a laptop around from place to place - rather than desktop at work + laptop at home, meetings & on the go.  So has to be reasonably powerful (win7 64bit, core i5/i7, 8gb Ram). I'd rather not go with anythign too big either.

That bit is easy. The hard bit is that I can't be dealing with a laptop as my main system at work, so was thinking docking station. The dock should be easy to connect, give me use of full keyboard & mouse, network access and most difficultly use of 2 full size monitors for side by side display.  I've not even seen a docking station since the mid nineties.

Is this doable?  Any recommendations?

[ukgimp]

Why 64 bit. I was informed by a uber geek that it was not that popular and as a result may even get scaled down.

[Brad]

I know docking stations are out there, a friend of mine got one at work about 2 years ago.  Not sure on the details tho.

[Rooftop]

Why 64 bit.

Good question - and one we've battled with here a bit.  However we're making the plunge.  It's just about RAM.  <4gb just isn't enough.  Too many badly written, memory hungry applications running at once.  We're only 2 systems in to our changeover to 64bit, but it is going well so far.  Some adobe software had a freakout, but the colouring in department have worked around that and are loving the resulting performance.

We're now going to be going with 8gb as a minimum spec on systems used for development or graphics.

[Torben]

>Too many badly written, memory hungry applications running at once

Make sure that you are running native 64bit versions of your applications where possible. Be aware of that OEM version of MS office is 32 bit with no possible upgrade path, so get a full license.

[bill]

I did a bit of research when I got Office 2010, and the general consensus was that the 32-bit version was just as good for most, even on a 64-bit OS. The only real benefit of 64-bit Office was that you could handle much larger spreadsheets in Excel, and Outlook was supposed to run better.

[jetboy]

If you give up on the idea of the docking station, check out the 15" Asus N53. A hell of a spec for the money:

http://www.asuslaptop.co.uk/#search=1&screenSize[2]=15-16.9&cpu[6]=Intel%20Core%20i7

There's also a similarly specced 17" variant.

[Rooftop]

Funny - I was looking at that N53 at the weekend.  Without a dock though it isn't much use to me.  I'd be better off with new desktop + cheap laptop/netbook at that point.

[eurotrash]

Just came across this laptop for Brits!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300572875855&clk_rvr_id=245134423146#ht_1938wt_1139
The 15-inch HD screen uses a integrated Intel GMA4500MHD graphics chip to deliver outstanding and crystal clear graphics at all times.
The ultra-thin design and superb 12 hour battery life make this laptop the perfect companion for those on the move and those looking for a stylish compliment to their technology line-up.
Processor:

*Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
*Model Number: SU7300
*Clock Speed: 1.3GHz
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Memory:

*4GB (4096MB) 2 x 2048MB DDRII 800
Storage:

*320GB SATA-II (5400rpm)
*3 in 1 Card Reader (SD, MMC, MS, MS-Pro)
Graphics:

*Intel GMA 4500MHD
I/O Ports:

*1 x Microphone-In (3.5mm)
*1 x Headphone-Out (3.5mm)
*1 x VGA (D-SUB 15pin)
*1 x HDMI
*3 x USB 2.0 Ports
*1 x RJ-45 Ethernet LAN
*1 x Kensington Lock Port
Connectivity:

*WiFi 802.11b/g/n
Optical Drive:

*DVD Super Multi Dual Layer
Power:

*Output: 19V DC / 3.42 A / 65W
*Input: 100~240 V AC / 50-60Hz
*8 Cell Battery
Misc:

*Free 30 Day Trend Anti Virus Trial
*1 year warranty

[GerBot]

I currently run a HP ProBook 4720a and an Hp Elietbook 8540w
elietbook is better overall and more portable but always need the bigger screen.

else I fall back to Toshiba.

[4Eyes]

Just ordered one of these:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/laptop/range/nspire2720.html

i7-2720
8G Ram
choice of either 1Tb drive (cheaper) or 500G Hybrid with 4G of SSD to speed things up a bit.

£669.98 Inc VAT


I went for the Hybrid drive - I know they have a reputation for unreliability, but I thought 'bugger it', I want to play with that blistering fast start up, and if it breaks it will be under warranty, and anyway I will back up all my data daily anyway..... yes I will... no, really, I will ...... yeah, Ok... but that was last time, this time I WILL back up all my data daily..... Oh yes I will .... ..... I can't hear you ..... nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah......


NB
Its that cheap because Novatech are one of the few Laptop manufacturers that will sell you a Laptop without the operating system.
I intend slapping some variety of  Linux on this one, so its perfect for my needs

.... oh yes it WILL take linux.... yes I am sure all the drivers are available..... no, I don't think I will spend days trying to get it set up... no I won't.... no, really, it will be a doddle, I am sure.......  (please refer to "I can't hear you... nah nah" section above)

[Rooftop]

interested to know how you get on with that.  Novatech are local to us, but I gave up on them some years back after many years of faithful custom.  Heard better stuff about them lately. That combined with a promised discount is tempting!

[4Eyes]

The nearest equivalent is a good £200 more .. I'll accept a bit of buggering about for that ... and my wallet opened a little easier knowing that none of my money is going to either of the evil OS empires

[werty]

If you are not planning to watch videos or play games on the monitors you can get a variety of USB to DVI adapters for around 50$. So you can run numerous monitors off of any computer.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?field-keywords=usb+to+dvi&url=search-alias%3Daps&x=0&y=0

Also some USB docking stations:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?field-keywords=usb+to+dvi&url=search-alias%3Daps&x=0&y=0#/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_6?field-keywords=usb+docking+station&url=search-alias%3Daps&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ausb+docking+station