Suggestions for a sleek laptop that has a docking station

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VDiesel

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My aging 2Ghz single core Dell i8600 is starting to show it's age so I'm looking for a replacement. My last 3 Dells have all had docking stations and I won't go without one.

I use my laptop as my desktop at work and at home connected to an external 20" LCD as well as for travelling so a docking station is important for quick docking and undocking everyday.

I'm asking you guys for suggestions for a sleek, good looking powerful laptop (2.4Ghz dual core/4GB ram/200-250GB HD). I've always had a 15" screens and as long as the notebook is light I don't mind, but I'm not closed to the idea of a 13-14" screen either.

On a whim I almost bought a macbook pro this past week-end after playing with it at best buy thinking I would bootcamp/VMware Vista on it until I found out there was no docking station for it.

Thanks for the help guys.
 
Lenovo sells docking stations for its Thinkpad line, but you'll have to be more specific about what you do with your laptop. If you game or use it for a lot of multimedia stuff, I'd consider alternatives.

On the other hand, if you're only a casual gamer and you don't watch a ton of movies on your computer, the Thinkpad line is designed with business customers in mind--in other words, people who regularly do exactly what you do.
 
thanks for the help jdawg

I'm not a gammer, but I do encode and transcode movies to my media server and other multimedia stuff.

I have to admit, and I hope I'm not offending anyone, but I don't particularly find Lenovos as sleek.
 
don't want to sounds like a pusher, but I work with dell's on a daily basis and have been pleased with the latitude + docking station combination
 
Check out the Asus line of laptops. They're powerful, very sleek and some models have docking stations.
 
Thanks for the suggestions.
So far the list of notebooks with docking stations are;

Dell Latitudes
IBM Lenovo (models ?)
Asus (some models ?)
Sony SZ series


What else to add to the list ?
 
The latitudes or precisions are a good alternative or the HP business line is good as well.
 
Well I tried configuring a Dell Precision M4300 how I want it.
2.4Ghz C2D, 4GB, Dock etc and it came out to around 2k right around the same price as a Macbook pro but the MPB has an LED screen in it's favor that the M4300 doesn't.

I wish Dell made it easier to find technical dimensions and weight of the laptops which don't seem to show up anywhere. I did manage to find a review on the M4300 and it said it was just over 7lbs. The MPB is 5lbs.

Don't know much about the HP line. They generally tend to have high gloss screens and bodies which can get annoying in any daylight, not to mention fingerprints and dust.


Guess I'll keep looking around.

Am I crazy for considering a MBP ?
 
Sony SZ700-series? <4lbs, 2.6 Penryn options, good spec, 13" screen is a tad cramped but not terrible, long battery life.

There's the Crapware aspect (no Fresh Start is offered on the SZ), but apart from that half-day spent swearing at the machine doing uninstalls, they're very nice.
 
Approx 6 pounds is the weight of the M4300. Anything else you would like to know about it?
 
Ronco said:
Sony SZ700-series? <4lbs, 2.6 Penryn options, good spec, 13" screen is a tad cramped but not terrible, long battery life.

There's the Crapware aspect (no Fresh Start is offered on the SZ), but apart from that half-day spent swearing at the machine doing uninstalls, they're very nice.
Click to expand...

I just came from the sony site, my SZ config came out just under 2k, but includes the port rep cost so not bad I suppose. The tradeoff here is as you mentioned the smaller 13.3 screen vs the 15's on some of the other choices, but it is considerably lighter (almost by half).

I don't really mind the crapware. I usually image the new system drive as soon as I get them and store the image away. Then reformat and do a fresh install. That way I know exactly what's on there.

The SZ does look sleek, just don't know how or if I'd miss having a 15" screen or not. Will have to hit a Sony store and check it out. I noticed they don't have a NBD on site warranty option tho. I've always taken those on my Dells and they've been worth every penny.
 
You've got to ask yourself if the 15 inch screen is something that you absolutely need on the move... i.e. what reason are you buying the docking station if not to have a desktop workstation with an external monitor?

Personally, I find anything more than 4lbs to hinder me in general truly all-day use and for deskbound use I have full desktops - so the SZ-series, the TZ-series and the recently superceded UX are my everyday notebooks of choice. For me, the docking stations are there because I am supremely lazy and cannot bother unplugging cables before I go. I have many other laptops but these are what I actually use daily. And because I have so many, I don't have to settle on a single spec for a machine for me.

Your needs will definitely vary, but figuring out how you're actually going to use your laptop on a day to day basis and not to buy for how you might use it is the biggest key to finding the ideal machine for you.
 
Ronco said:
You've got to ask yourself if the 15 inch screen is something that you absolutely need on the move... i.e. what reason are you buying the docking station if not to have a desktop workstation with an external monitor?

Personally, I find anything more than 4lbs to hinder me in general truly all-day use and for deskbound use I have full desktops - so the SZ-series, the TZ-series and the recently superceded UX are my everyday notebooks of choice. For me, the docking stations are there because I am supremely lazy and cannot bother unplugging cables before I go. I have many other laptops but these are what I actually use daily. And because I have so many, I don't have to settle on a single spec for a machine for me.

Your needs will definitely vary, but figuring out how you're actually going to use your laptop on a day to day basis and not to buy for how you might use it is the biggest key to finding the ideal machine for you.
Click to expand...

Thats some really good advice. To the OP, I have a 15.4" HP Pavilion, it is very sleek and light for its size however it still seems big and heavy to carrry around. I have been looking at 13.3" screens because of the fact that they offer just about the same performance experience of a 15 but in a smaller package. I have never been impressed with a 12.1" for my purposes because I use my laptop more than my desktop and the 12's either have low voltage procs and good battery life or full specs and terrible battery life. I have been looking at the m1330 from Dell but now I am waiting for the New Dell Latitude E series expected very soon. They are supposed to be very sleek and Latitude docks are some of the best. I suggest you wait like me and see if they work for you. They are making a 15.4" a 14.1" a 13.3" with an optical drive, and a 12.1" w/o optical. I personally am interested in the 14 because it has discrete graphics option and optical. The 13.3" is being labeled an ultra portable and only has integrated graphics.
 
My only major suggestion is don't get 3rd party docking solutions. Get a notebook with a true docking station.
 
I'm using a Dell D830 (essentialy the same as M4300) docked and I'm highly satisfied. I have a D420 for traveling though.
Docking, WUXGA screen and media bay make me forget about the MBP.

If you're in no rush, then you might wait a month or two for the centrino 2 based laptops - like the new E series Latitudes from Dell (and comparable models from HP/Lenovo).

Narisatu said:
MacBook pro Docking Station
Click to expand...

Thats just a fancy port extender, not a real docking station.
 
um.. isnt that technically what a docking station is? a port extender that stays on your desk? I dont know of too many docking stations that add a bunch of features..


Then again, im not well versed in docking stations, as i dont normally use them.
 
Thanks guys. I knew I'd get some great ideas from the [H] gang.

@Ronco: That's some great advice. I do use the laptop when docked with my external Dell 20"flat panel 1680x1050. I'll be doing some VM with the new laptop so I thought I would run it with both screens when docked so I could send certain apps to the external screen and keep the desktop on the laptop screen. I also try to always get a matching screen rez of 1680 x 1050 WSXGA so the desktop meshes better with my external screen. On flip side 13.3 and 4lbs does sound great for travelling and even mobile around the house. hmmm choices ...choices.

@thefewtherproud:
Hey I didn't know there was a new Dell Latitude E series release expected soon. Might be worth waiting for. I've always been happy with and treated well by Dell. I don't really want to change unless I can't find what I'm looking for with them. I've had 3 generations of fully loaded Inspirons + docks, but they don't make docks for them anymore.

Do you have any more details or info on the Dell Latitude E series ?

@Sean:
Yeah I suppose bumping up the 6 cell batt to a 9 cell was what drove it up to 7.5lbs. I wanted longest runtime, but lowest weight...I guess I'm being too greedy :)

@Narisatu:
A friend of mine got one of those and returned it after 3 days. It's a mechanical port extender type dock and biatch to get aligned each time you want to dock. The only type of dock I'll go for is native to the unit that has a dock port on the laptop itself. I'm really surprised Apple hasn't released anything. They're usually quite good about cool hardware.


Presently on my i8600's dock I've got 2 usb devices and 1 usb connection to the ext monitor usb ports, audio out to spkrs, cat5, power in, DVI all connected at the dock. I'd hate to have unplug and replug all this each time I go mobile at least 2x/day. With the current Dell dock I just press 1 btn and hot undock/redock. Works great.
 
The HP notebooks have bad ass docking stations. Im actually selling mine if you ever get an HP.
 
VDiesel said:
T@Ronco: That's some great advice. I do use the laptop when docked with my external Dell 20"flat panel 1680x1050. I'll be doing some VM with the new laptop so I thought I would run it with both screens when docked so I could send certain apps to the external screen and keep the desktop on the laptop screen. I also try to always get a matching screen rez of 1680 x 1050 WSXGA so the desktop meshes better with my external screen. On flip side 13.3 and 4lbs does sound great for travelling and even mobile around the house. hmmm choices ...choices.
Click to expand...

External + internal screen work of course without no problem. Matching a WSGXA resolution will however require a 15,4" laptop at minimum.
Still, being used to a high resolution makes it a little painful to adjust yourself to a lower res (1280x800 on most 13,3").

VDiesel said:
@thefewtherproud:
Hey I didn't know there was a new Dell Latitude E series release expected soon. Might be worth waiting for. I've always been happy with and treated well by Dell. I don't really want to change unless I can't find what I'm looking for with them. I've had 3 generations of fully loaded Inspirons + docks, but they don't make docks for them anymore.

Do you have any more details or info on the Dell Latitude E series ?
Click to expand...

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/22/dells-leaked-latitude-e6000-and-e5000-series-of-laptops-pack-gp/

VDiesel said:
I'm really surprised Apple hasn't released anything. They're usually quite good about cool hardware.
Click to expand...

Not after the stopped caring about the business crowd. In the old days they even had fancy docking stations that swallowed the whole laptop!
 
Narisatu said:
MacBook pro Docking Station
Click to expand...

It's not worth it. Once the moving parts start wearing, you begin to have to manually mate the connectors. Defeats the object of having a docking station.

Oops sorry, the OP is aware of it I see.

Not after the stopped caring about the business crowd. In the old days they even had fancy docking stations that swallowed the whole laptop!
Click to expand...

Which was just as much of a nightmare. My Duo was always in and out of the 'shop. I'm sure it was a lemon and I know Apple hardware was built like a tank. But that was then, and it ain't now.
 
XLeezardx said:
The HP notebooks have bad ass docking stations. Im actually selling mine if you ever get an HP.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately most of the latest HP notebooks I've seen lately have glossy screens and for some strange reason, glossy bodies too. I'm more of a mat LED/LCD screen, carbon fibre/ brushed aluminium body kind of guy :p
 
Lack said:
External + internal screen work of course without no problem. Matching a WSGXA resolution will however require a 15,4" laptop at minimum.
Still, being used to a high resolution makes it a little painful to adjust yourself to a lower res (1280x800 on most 13,3").
Click to expand...

Very true. It's exactly what's drawing me back to a 15.4" screen vs the lower res but lighter mobility of a 14" or 13.3 screen. A choice I'm struggling with a little right now.


http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/22/dells-leaked-latitude-e6000-and-e5000-series-of-laptops-pack-gp/
Click to expand...

Thanks ! This new E series looks great and appears to be the sleek machine I might be looking for.

Not after the stopped caring about the business crowd. In the old days they even had fancy docking stations that swallowed the whole laptop
Click to expand...

Maybe they're changing their ways back to enterprise again. Their latest iphone activesync exchange support release seems to point in that direction at least.
 
iPhone for the enterprise? Apple may see it that way, but the hub of iPhone syncing is...

...iTunes. Yeah.

How about Lenovo then? Docking stations galore, solid machines, yada yada. The dockable ones aren't that sleek... well, they aren't sleek at all really, but a studied, serious lumpiness is part of the Thinkpad thing. Amazingly I found that even the X300 has a studied, serious lumpiness in an ultraportable sense that the Air and TZ lacks.
 
well, their Exchange support means push support. Just needs an internet connection for cal, mail and contacts. They are using the same technology for their MobileMe service
 
Another company I'd keep an eye on would be the fujitsu laptops they're fairly sleek although I do not know if they offer docking stations.
 
Ronco said:
iPhone for the enterprise? Apple may see it that way, but the hub of iPhone syncing is...

...iTunes. Yeah.
Click to expand...

The 3g iphone is supposed to setup & sync email, contacts etc using activesync the same way a windows mobile phone does. No itunes needed.
 
Ronco said:
It's not worth it. Once the moving parts start wearing, you begin to have to manually mate the connectors. Defeats the object of having a docking station.
Click to expand...
And, the thing costs $299... for a docking station???? :eek:
 
Ronco said:
How about Lenovo then? Docking stations galore, solid machines, yada yada. The dockable ones aren't that sleek... well, they aren't sleek at all really, but a studied, serious lumpiness is part of the Thinkpad thing. Amazingly I found that even the X300 has a studied, serious lumpiness in an ultraportable sense that the Air and TZ lacks.
Click to expand...

My mother has a new T61. It's nice (I like the ghetto look), but it's build quality is not as solid as my Dell D830.
I'd love to change my D420 for an X300 though.

Mr. Wolf said:
And, the thing costs $299... for a docking station???? :eek:
Click to expand...

Regular docks for business machines go for like 199$ retail, so that aint bad.
Of course, you can get a Dell docks for 30$ off ebay, and use it with 4 generations of different machines...
 
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