laptop recomondations

[Hefemeister]

OK I need a laptop for a friend in the US.

budget is $2,500.

Primary use is business. nothing too intense with the occasional photoshop and illustrator use.

low weight and fast speed are the 2 main concerns. He is the CEO and travels a lot.

He has always got the Sony Vaio ultraportables in the past and I am trying to get him away from them.

His old one was just stolen on a business trip to Italy.

Thanks for your suggestions. I am a desktop guy and do not keep up to date with the lappys.

 

[kmote]

I don't know that much about laptops either but I don't think you need to spend that much to get a good laptop for him. For example both of these look good.
Newegg.com - lenovo G530-444636U NoteBook Intel Pentium dual-core T4200(2.00GHz) 15.4" Wide XGA 3GB Memory 250GB HDD 5400rpm Dual layer DVD Burner Intel GMA 4500M - Laptops / Notebooks
Newegg.com - DELL Vostro 1520 (464-2008 - 58976P) NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T6670(2.20GHz) 15.4" Wide XGA 3GB Memory DDR2 800 250GB HDD 7200rpm Dual layer DVD Burner Intel GMA 4500MHD - Laptops / Notebooks

To me that dell looks great. Sadly there seems to be a lack of small powerful laptops so these are a pretty standard size.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

This Dell Precision M2400 was the most powerful laptop I could find that was still pretty portable.

For $1,873 you get the folowing:

Core 2 Duo T9900 (3.06GHz, 6MB L2)
14.1" 1440x900 LED Display
4gb DDR2 800
NVIDIA Quadro FX 370M 256MB
250GB 7200RPM HDD
6 Cell battery.

The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

If he doesn't mind doing some work on it himself he could always get the cheapest hard drive option then install a Intel X25-M G2 for even better performance. Dell does offer some optional SSD's however they don't list what controller they use so you would run the risk of getting stuck with a sub par drive.

 

[Hefemeister]

thanks for the suggestions. While I agree 2500 is a bit much it is what is budgeted.

The funny thing is if he does not spend the budget he will loose it in the future.

I was definitely thinking of a ssd.

 

[kmote]

thanks for the suggestions. While I agree 2500 is a bit much it is what is budgeted.

The funny thing is if he does not spend the budget he will loose it in the future.

I was definitely thinking of a ssd.

That type of budget huh, in that case PJ's FTW.

 

[Siena1383]

The funny thing is if he does not spend the budget he will loose it in the future.

The quoted price of a laptop may run higher if you need to factor in the cost of Windows Vista Business Edition, which is not the standard operating system that laptops come with. And then will he need upgrade versions of Adobe PhotoShop, etc. as well? (Maybe not. The corporation may be able to install it based on their corporate licensing agreement.

Corporations don't usually buy laptops at Best Buy and other retail outlets. They usually contract with the manufacturer and buy in bulk.

Sorry, I don't know enough to recommend a specific model. You can check specs for models at major manufacturers' websites, but it's better to get users' reviews about durability, quirks, etc.

 

[Druid]

This Dell Precision M2400 was the most powerful laptop I could find that was still pretty portable.

For $1,873 you get the folowing:

Core 2 Duo T9900 (3.06GHz, 6MB L2)
14.1" 1440x900 LED Display
4gb DDR2 800
NVIDIA Quadro FX 370M 256MB
250GB 7200RPM HDD
6 Cell battery.

The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

If he doesn't mind doing some work on it himself he could always get the cheapest hard drive option then install a Intel X25-M G2 for even better performance. Dell does offer some optional SSD's however they don't list what controller they use so you would run the risk of getting stuck with a sub par drive.

With that kind of budget, wouldn't you want something with more battery life? 10 cell lithium ion perhaps?