Considerations for new portable minion

rhoenix · Post by **rhoenix** » 2008-09-12 01:55am

At risk of being called a necromancer, I created a new thread rather than bumping my previous one.

As my old Mac Powerbook G4 is finally showing its processor's age, I'm making considerations as to its successor.

My needs thus far are to have a powerful and reliable portable system I can use as my primary computer, eliminating the need of having a desktop entirely.

For this purpose, I'm considering the following two laptops; I welcome all suggestions as to alternatives, or even alternate models from the same manufacturer. Mind you, I'm very much in the "forumlation of possibilities" phase - I'm trying to see what would fit my needs well, reliably last for at least 2-3 years, and be competitive during that time.

In order of consideration, here are my three contenders as of now. I look forward to this list changing, followed by shrinking thanks to your suggestions.

1. Macbook Pro
Not just because I've owned one previous Apple laptop and had good experiences, but also because of the options Boot Camp offers - having this computer be capable of WinXP/Vista and Mac OS X, and run both well, is quite attractive.

2. Lenovo Thinkpad (leaning toward W series)
I don't need to go into IBM's near-legendary reputation when it comes to laptops, or how Lenovo appears to be reliably passing on the torch. I've never owned an IBM or Lenovo laptop, but I've heard nothing but good things from those who do.
The W Series is their high-end laptop, but I'm not attached to that particular model specifically.
Their X series Tablet PC looks rather interesting, though admittedly that's mostly due to its multitouch screen, and not it's glaring lack of other features - like a screen larger than 12.1"

3. Alienware Area 51 m9750 or m17x
I admittedly don't know much about Alienware or have much experience with their products, nor do I know anyone personally who does. However, the specs and ratings appear impressive - beyond those, I'm open to suggestions.

My thanks to all of you in advance for your replies.

EDIT: There should've been a "making" in front of "considerations" in the second paragraph.

Jaevric · Post by **Jaevric** » 2008-09-12 08:41am

Alienware had a good reputation for high-end (and high-priced) gaming desktops. I'm not familiar with their laptop line. However, they got bought out by Dell and they've dropped off my personal radar after that. Though I understand Dell laptops have a pretty good reputation.

You mentioned you wanted something 'powerful' -- are you looking for a medium- to high-end gaming rig, or what? And what's your price range?

atg · Post by **atg** » 2008-09-12 09:19am

I recently bought a Asus m51V and I can highly recommend it. Quite powerfull; it's easily been able to handle any games I've thrown at it.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2008-09-12 09:24am

If you want a considerable amount of power, you may want to consider a Qosmio instead of the grossly overpriced Alienware machine. The Qosmio is a desktop replacement however, so it's a bit bulky but it's got more than enough capability for a fraction of the cost.

* Intel® Core™2 Duo mobile processor P7350 with 2 processing cores, 1066MHz system bus, 3MB L2 cache and 2.0GHz processor speed per core
* 4GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM for multitasking power
* Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with double-layer support records up to 8.5GB of data or 4 hours of video using compatible DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media; supports DVD-RAM; also supports Labelflash direct-disc labels using compatible Labelflash media

* 17" WXGA+ high-definition widescreen TFT-LCD display with TruBrite technology and 1440 x 900 resolution
* 200GB SATA hard drive (7200 rpm)
* NVIDIA GeForce 9700M GTS graphics with 512MB GDDR3 discrete memory, plus up to 1279MB dynamically allocated shared memory using TurboCache technology; 1791MB total available memory; 4 Harman/Kardon speakers and a subwoofer; HDMI-CEC REGZA LINK
* CD/DVD launch and control buttons, including play/pause, stop, previous track and next track
* Built-in webcam with microphone makes it easy to chat with and send video mail to family and friends
* 5-in-1 bridge media reader supports Secure Digital, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, MultiMediaCard and xD-Picture Card formats

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2008-09-12 11:10am

If you're still happy with a Mac and its in your budget you might as well go for a MBP. Going to Windows means you're going to have to switch, retrain, and possibly buy a bunch of software to replace your old stuff. That's never fun.

That said, if you don't plan on gaming much you don't really need to have a beefy GPU. The W500 is a mighty laptop, yes, but it'll also be heavy (rather heavier than your PowerBook G4) and it is a bit specialized for CAD/CAM work. Consider the T- or R- series (the R-series is cheaper, the T-series is lighter) if you want something a bit more portable (the 400-series laptops have 14" screens).

I am not particularly impressed with Alienware's offerings.

Ypoknons · Post by **Ypoknons** » 2008-09-12 01:30pm

I think you should decide on form factor first. I understand this is a desktop replacement, but do you intend on moving it around much? The MBP is much thinner than a 15X and a fair 2 pounds lighter too, but of course the 15X has a 8800GT option.

rhoenix · Post by **rhoenix** » 2008-09-12 02:21pm

My thanks for your replies so far, all of you.

As for retraining on another OS, I'm certainly not worried about it, as I've used both Windows, Mac OS X, and *nix for years, and I'm comfortable with all three (though it is a bit redundant to separate OS X and *nix, but hey). Shit, I might triple-boot with Ubuntu if I get a MBP.

So far though, it appears the consensus is the following:

1. MBP = awesome.
2. Lenovo Thinkpads = good; but W-series are overkill for what I need.
3. Alienware is of...questionable quality.

My thanks to you, as this is certainly helping me decide. Any further input will be welcome, however.