Laptop workstation replacement

[Longhorn_Fan68]

So my small architecture firm bit the bullet about 8 months ago and did a major technology upgrade - about $15k worth. We bought a slew of Dells - a "powerful" quad-core workstation for me, a laptop for my boss and a and a fairly powerful workstation for the office manager (as well as some large monitors and other things). For the most part I am pretty underwhelmed with the value we got out of those computers. Not to say they haven't been reliable, but they just haven't been as fast as I had hoped (keep in my I have built computers for myself my whole life).

Now we are looking to hire on someone and I'm thinking of giving that new employee my 'old' workstation and buying myself a laptop so I can have portability as an option.

I've been looking at various makers - Dell, Lenovo, Gateway, IBM, HP, etc but am having a hard time choosing. Anyone have some good insight into who is the most reliable "out-of-the-box" pc maker these days (besides Mac, I need a pc at this time)? I need a system that is swift but also has a good video card so I can do CAD an 3D modeling stuff. Thanks in advance.

 

[TexanByChoice]

Dell for the workstation class.

 

[Stuck_At_Work]

You have to keep in mind that it is a notebook. No matter what, it won't be as powerful as a desktop based workstation. If you need a portable workstation, the Dells aren't bad.

 

[Longhorn_Fan68]

I'm seriously considering buying a barebones notebook and putting in my own components. Look as though I can save a large amount of $$ that way.

 

[TexanByChoice]

Dell just came out with two more pretty sweet looking Prec. NB's.

 

[uisge beatha]

I've been really satisfied with the Lenovo T61 I have for work. Before this one, I'd always used Macs at home and just used Windows machines at work. Now I use this machine all the time. I like it better than the Dells and HPs because it is less bulky and more rugged than the Dell and HP equivalents. I'd advise staying away from the Gateways.

 

[Longhorn_Fan68]

In reply to:

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[kevwun]

Dell's estimated ship dates are usually wrong. Almost all of the time, you'll have it before the estimated ship date. They do get behind on laptop orders right before school starts and then again before Christmas. It might take a while for you to get it because of that.

 

[Stuck_At_Work]

In the last few years, Dell has had some fullfillment issues. When the pink notebooks came out, the demand was FAR more than anticipated. They led customers to believe they would have their notebooks earlier than they could actually provide them. I think that is why they are now providing customers with very conservative estimates on when they should expect their notebook. If you notice, the text probably says "Notebooks USUALLY ship in 3-5 days". If demand for the product is high, that 3-5 days can slip a week or so....

I agree, Sept 12 seems like too long of a delay....