Business Laptop

[dink]

I am starting my new job on Monday and I will have to eventually spend some money on a laptop, because I will be away from home. I have the option of my new company paying flexirent or similar before tax, so I'll save a buck or 2. Since I am flexirenting it is quite important to have the laptop and warrenty last at least 2 years. I have done some comparisons and have come up with the following options. The prices below are recommended retail prices and may be adjusted down after I have selected the laptop I want.

IBM T43 (187164m)
Pentium M 2Ghz
512 MB RAM
40GB Hard Drive
Intel Graphics
14.1" Screen
2.33KG Weight
$3199 Price
Warrenty 12 months standard

HP NC4200
Pentium M 1.6Ghz
512MB RAM
40 GB Hard Drive
Intel Graphics
12.1" Screen
1.76KG Weight
$3195 Price
Warrenty 12 months standard

Toshiba Portege R200
Pentium M 1.2Ghz
512MB RAM
60GB Hard Drive
Intel Graphics
12.1" Screen
1.29KG Weight
$3520 Price
Warrenty 3 Years Standard

Sony Vaio VGNS56GPS
Pentium M 1.8Ghz
512MB RAM
60GB Hard Drive
NVidea Geforce Go 6400
13.3" Screen
1.95KG Weight
$2999 Price
Warrenty 12 Months Standard


Normally I wouldn't ask for opinions about my purchase, but I am spending a lot of money and have come to somewhat of a conundrum. I would like to ask you all some questions about my reasoning.

In the Features vs Price comparison, the Sony wins. It has Geforce graphics and a DVD burner that the other laptops do not have. Both the Intel Graphics and Geforce have 128MB shared memory. Is there going to be any difference in performance between these 2 chipsets?

I have dealt with IBM, HP and Toshiba laptops and therefore I know the warrenty/repair procedure and the build quality of the laptops. Does anyone own a Sony laptop? Can someone tell me about the build quality and the warrenty/repair procedure?

Did I forget anything in my comparison? Are there any other laptops I should be looking at?


Thanks for your help.

[Angelic]

If you can salary sacrifice the notebook you'll pay closer to purchase price than you do with Flexirent.

[browniezz]

I work for Toshiba + Dell in the Territory... i would RECOMMEND GOING for a Toshiba... R200 = WICKED MODEL!!!

sold to many people espically for business use. Note, this laptop is not intended for gaming and only weighs 1.2kg. However, if a DVD burner is important, you can go with another model.

I would also Salary Sacrifice as this is the most popular option to actually own it faster.

Thats my 2c worth

[dink]

Originally Posted by Angelic

If you can salary sacrifice the notebook you'll pay closer to purchase price than you do with Flexirent.

I am looking at Flexirent's Salery Sacrefice. Anyone know if it is any good?

[dink]

Originally Posted by browniezz

I work for Toshiba + Dell in the Territory... i would RECOMMEND GOING for a Toshiba... R200 = WICKED MODEL!!!

sold to many people espically for business use. Note, this laptop is not intended for gaming and only weighs 1.2kg. However, if a DVD burner is important, you can go with another model.

Playing the latest High End games is not what I need the laptop for. I'll be using to stay in touch and do some work. Possibly play some old games and DVD's.

What is so good about the R200? It is also the most expensive laptop listed and also the slowest.

[sreg0r]

it seems you are after a smaller sized screen. If you can bump it up to 15" the HP NX6125 is feature-packed and very good value.
For just over $2k you can get
AMD Turion MT40 2.2Ghz processor
80gb HD
1GB RAM
cd/dvd burner
wireless
definently worth checking out.
http://www.cworld.com.au/product_info.php?ID=118544

[dink]

Originally Posted by sreg0r

it seems you are after a smaller sized screen. If you can bump it up to 15" the HP NX6125 is feature-packed and very good value.
For just over $2k you can get
AMD Turion MT40 2.2Ghz processor
80gb HD
1GB RAM
cd/dvd burner
wireless
definently worth checking out.
http://www.cworld.com.au/product_info.php?ID=118544

I am looking for a smaller, lighter unit as it will be travelling around. This laptop is 2.7KG without battery, which is a bit much for me. That is a very beefy laptop for a good price, but not quite what I am looking for at the moment.

[dink]

I am now pretty certain I want the Sony Vaio VGNS56GPS after talking to a supplier of all these notebooks. I was offered this notebook for $2849, which is quit resonable. It is definately the best bang for my buck, which also worries me a bit. There is always a reason for the cheaper price. I know Sony is trying to increase it's laptop marketshare and I hope that is the reason for the good price.

I am still not sure of the advantage of the GeForce video card. Can anyone tell me the benefits of having one.

Also, is there anything you can say or link me to that can convince me not to get a this Sony Laptop.