Just a comment on Toshiba warranty. From my experience at a managed services firm where we looked after a heap of laptops, Toshibas were the longest and biggest PITA to resolve any hardware issues. Parts would often take 2-4 weeks to ship, and another 2 weeks to install.
They're also overpriced considering the hardware behind them. I'm not sure if GIS graphics requirements are higher than gaming rigs, but the specs on the quadro 2100m is a bit low http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-Quadro-NVS-2100M.25315.0.html For international warranty service and support, Dell is your best shot by a long mile. International next day onsite repair = awesome. http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/topics/topic.aspx/ap/topics/services/en/services_agreement?c=au&cs=audhs1&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=anavml I'ld skip over the XPS and go straight to Dell's Alienware range. You'ld be looking at around $3G for a top spec model, but it'ld map your socks off: http://configure.ap.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=au&l=en&s=dhs&cs=audhs1&kc=&oc=S510915AU Apple has great laptops too, but their warranty support is not so good. From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ian Thomas Sent: Monday, 14 June 2010 2:06 PM To: 'ozDotNet' Subject: [OT] Laptop - Dell vs Toshiba I have another off-topic question, wrto a laptop for GIS (mapping) focus rather than coding - the main requirement is a good graphics card. I have been looking at Toshiba Tecra M11 models and the Tecra M11 (PTME3A-00J00R) with i5 processor looks good to me. Price incl GST is $1925. I'm not familiar with Dell laptops. International warranty is important (incl India). Important features in this Toshiba Tecra model: * 3-year warranty (limited) * 64-bit machine, Windows 7 Professional, adequate RAM * excellent graphics card for GIS (512Mb NVIDIA QUADRO NVS 2100M with CUDA technology) * 320Gb HDD (7200rpm) * Gigabit Ethernet, adequate wireless (802.11agn), Bluetooth * dialup modem (still useful in some areas / situations) * size, weight, 14" screen size OK, webcam, DVD R/W * enough USB ports, eSATA port, card slot for expansion Con * Battery life is a bit low at 4 hours (but can buy an additional 6-cell battery). * Supplied with 4Gb (expandable to 8Gb) Other stuff like inbuilt card reader for SD/CF/MSP etc are not important. Any recommendations? ________________________________ Ian Thomas Victoria Park, Western Australia
