Portable but capable laptops

timbim_2

I'm trying to help my Uncle get a laptop. He's a Barrister, in chambers in London, and also a keen photographer considering going digital (still uses a pentax film SLR).

He needs a laptop that is primarily capable of taking a hefty bicycle commute every day of the week, and frequent train journeys. Therefore it really can't afford to be too heavy, and would ideally be 13in, for maximum portable, but I suspect that a 15in would also fit the bill, he's a strong cyclist (goes cross country skiing in Norway every year!), as long as it doesn't get too heavy.

In terms of power, it doesn't need to be extreme. Primary function is going to be office, a decent DVD writer is essential for archiving and backup. It also needs to be fast enough to handle long word documents without any problems, and fairly complex excel sheets. It also needs to be able to handle photo editing when he does upgrade, but I can't see him doing much more than storing and minimal editing, think picasa and I don't think you'll be far off.

In terms of specs, I appreciate that it's not a huge demand, and most machines will handle it without too many problems, I'd always go for a 7,200rpm disk, and I'd be happy to swap a 5,400rpm out if I couldn't get a machine with one as standard.

What I'm worried about is the build quality. I know for a fact that even something like a Dell Latitude would fall apart very quickly, mine is showing serious signs of wear after 3 years of careful handling and not an enormous amount of movement. I've been looking at the Lenovo and Toshiba end of the market, I did look at the HP Probook line, but found some pretty critical reviews of their build quality, which put me right off.

My problem is that I've had no first hand experience with these machines, so any personal experience or other suggestions as to models would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Tim

KillerWatt

timbim wrote: »

I'd always go for a 7,200rpm disk, and I'd be happy to swap a 5,400rpm out if I couldn't get a machine with one as standard.

Why would you want to increase the power demand on the battery, as well as increase the heat generated by the drive itself?

timbim wrote: »

My problem is that I've had no first hand experience with these machines, so any personal experience or other suggestions as to models would be greatly appreciated.

We have a 3 year old Toshiba Satellite that has been dropped, had crap dropped on it, been kicked around the floor of whatever site we are on, and it still works.

It is very much "battle scarred" after the abuse it has taken, but it still works perfectly and that is all that matters to us.

b33r

I spotted this deal earlier on HotUKDeals for a 13" IBM ThinkPad Edge and was very tempted myself as they are incredibly well built solid laptops. They come at a small premium but worth every penny. Can upgrade the hard drive to a 320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm for £12 as well. There are versions with and without built in mobile broadband too but with a £90 odd premium I personally don't think that's worth it. Only thing it doesnt have which you specified is a DVD drive but to be honest that's quite hard to find on a 13" laptop. Could always get something like this though for when he needs to archive and backup.

EDIT: Use Voucher code JUNETHINKSALE for 15% off on the site too

The_Grandmaster

Just a question possibly worth remembering is: is 13 inch screen too small? Not calling your uncle old but with age it does get difficult to look at a small screen especially for long hours.

Also if you want to make your old computer 'better', run malwarebytes (updated and newest version) and a hijackthislog and post on this forum.

timbim_2

I'm quite aware of the ways of improving/repairing old machines, but he currently doesn't have a laptop at all, only a desktop in his chambers, so nothing in his flat, and has to share a desktop when he comes down to Steyning at the weekends.

I did spot the thinkpad edge a while ago, any idea how well it's likely to drive a larger external monitor from VGA/HDMI?

I'll have another look at the Satellite range again as well.

b33r

timbim wrote: »

I'm quite aware of the ways of improving/repairing old machines, but he currently doesn't have a laptop at all, only a desktop in his chambers, so nothing in his flat, and has to share a desktop when he comes down to Steyning at the weekends.

I did spot the thinkpad edge a while ago, any idea how well it's likely to drive a larger external monitor from VGA/HDMI?

I'll have another look at the Satellite range again as well.

You're welcome.

Not sure what you mean by 'drive' a monitor? It has VGA and HMDI out if that's what you mean?

timbim_2

b33r wrote: »

You're welcome.

Not sure what you mean by 'drive' a monitor? It has VGA and HMDI out if that's what you mean?

Well there's a difference between being able to display somthing on an external monitor, and being able to display something usable. Basically how good are the graphics chips, I've never really got hold of what the laptop graphics chip names mean...

Hammyman

To the OP:

Lenovo Thinkpad X61s. Very slim lightweight laptop built like a tank. Core 2 Duo CPU and a battery life typically several hours. Downside is that they're not cheap.