Best Laptop for a Web Programmer

[mfc2mfc2]

I am going to start evaluating laptops to use for Web development work while traveling, and for presentations and meetings. Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Visual Studio, SQL Server. My two top choices are Dell XPS M1710 and the 17 inch MacBook Pro. What else should I consider? Something by Toshiba possibly? I can afford any price.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[tickle_me_emo]

I don't know if the lights on the dell are somthing you'd be interested in showing people. You might also look into the dell m90 with the quadro 2500m video card, I think it's more professional looking.

other laptops to consider
sager 5760/clevo m570u
sager 5950/clevo M590K

 

[Chris__]

Lenovo T60

 

[masteraleph]

I am going to start evaluating laptops to use for Web development work while traveling

Very nice, you'll be carrying the laptop

My two top choices are Dell XPS M1710 and the 17 inch MacBook Pro.

Oh wait, no you won't.

If you're travelling/carrying the laptop on any sort of a regular basis, stay away, far away, far far away from anything in the 17" category. You don't need it, and it'll way 1/2 a ton.

Furthermore, you're looking at the wrong category, at least as far as the Dell goes. You're a businessman and a programmer, and not one of the programs you've listed gains anything from a strong 3d card.

As someone trying to look professional and make presentations, not to mention carrying around the laptop, your first look should be the Lenovo Thinkpad T60, in whatever flavor you want (14", 15", widescreen, or T60p if you need the FireGL card). Also reasonable are the Dell Precissions and Latitudes, and some of the HP business lineup as well. Business, not consumer line, is what you're looking for.

Make sure to take into account that you're going to want a good warranty as well. If you're travelling and using this regularly, you probably want at least a 3 year warranty. CompleteCare (Dell)/Accidental Damage Protection (Lenovo) would probably be a good idea too.

 

[mfc2mfc2]

Thanks for the suggestions.
You are correct that I don't need a 3D card, since I will not be playing games. I guess that knocks the XPS down a peg.
My reason for thinking of a 17inch screen would be in case where I have to work at the client site for a few weeks. The 24 inch monitor I current use is barely sufficient for VisualStudio and SQL Server.

 

[gunnm74]

I completely disagree that you don't need more than 15" for web development work. I did web development for nearly 3 years and I always wanted more real estate. Any time you are doing work where you need to have your code and your finished product on the screen at the same time, you should opt for the biggest screen you can reasonably expect to carry around. I assume that you'll be driving or flying to visit your customers so you shouldn't worry too much about the weight.

Focus on screen size, memory size and hard drive size. And then you'll be able to present and program in style.

I do agree that the XPS is a bit too gaudy for business related work, but the Macbook Pro 17" model implies several things:

1) You are successful enough to afford such a device.
2) You value appearance as much as you do substance (which carries over to web development).
3) You recognize that there is a need to test your work on several platforms. What better than a machine that can dual boot the two most commonly used operating systems?

 

[movax]

A high-res 15" screen is the smallest I'd go with. And like previous posters have said, OEM's business lines have the toned down professional look you want, not the gaudy light shows consumer laptops have.

 

[swatbat]

I'd go with apple if anything the fact that you can test your programming in mac os as well if that matters at all. I would think the ability to run more browsers legit would be nice. Hell you can run the unix browsers from within osx as well.

Personaly I would stay away from toshiba. Just do not like the built quality(use to be a notebook tech that had to work on them all the time). Also if you do get the dell format it right away. I really hate the crap they put on them. Feels like a new system compaired to how they set it up.

 

[mfc2mfc2]

It looks like the MacBook Pro is going to be the winner. gunnm74 and swatbat raised some great points about Macs. I looked for Lenovo laptops, but they don't seem to offer any 17inch screens. The Toshiba laptops look nice, but are targeted for multimedia purposes.

 

[mfc2mfc2]

I took a look at those sager laptops that tickle_me_emo mentioned. It was not a brand I am familiar with, but they seem to offer some great laptops. I didn't realize people were selling 19inch laptops. I would probably have to see one of these in person before buying one, which I doubt that I can do since I live in a small town. I priced out a few units. What surprised me is that the MacBook Pros don't seem that expensive compared to these other high-end machines. A MacBook Pro is $2650 through Amazon. Most of these other laptops, like the Sager, XPS, and HP are pricing out at > $3000 for a similar configuration.

 

[Lich]

It looks like the MacBook Pro is going to be the winner. gunnm74 and swatbat raised some great points about Macs. I looked for Lenovo laptops, but they don't seem to offer any 17inch screens. The Toshiba laptops look nice, but are targeted for multimedia purposes.

The new macbooks are beautiful. The 17 inch macbook pro is expensive, but it will last for a very long time. Macs tend to keep their value better than their PC counterparts. I'd also recommend getting the protection plan just in case.

ooh, and don't even think about upgrading the hard drive or CD drive yourself. that's a day's project itself with those things.

With that said, if I had the cash I'd buy one in a heartbeat.