Laptop Recommendations for IT Use

[goobernoodles]

I'm going to re-image and give my current Lenovo X1 to someone who actually needs a lightweight laptop. I liked the X1 overall, although I disliked the touchpad. Also, the lack of a NIC (For ethernet/RJ-45), serial port, microphone port and optical drive can, at times, be an issue.

I'm looking for some recommendations for a solution that is a compromise between small size and low weight, and having the features I'm looking for.

Requirements:

1) i7 processor
2) 8gb (or up-gradable to 8gb) of RAM
3) 180-256gb or higher capacity SSD

Prefer if the following are built in, not not a deal-breaker:
4) Microphone port - I need to be able to record high-quality audio from a external microphone for voice-overs.
5) NIC

Nice, but unnecessary: Webcam, optical drive, serial port.

Considering I can buy a USB sound cards, NIC's and serial adapters, I guess I'm looking for recommendations of good business laptops that may or may not have the features I need built in. Recommendations for USB sound cards for mic input, optical drives and nics are welcome. I was thinking something along the lines of a T440s, however it has the touchpad that I don't like.

 

[Piano Man]

There are i7s that are only 2/4HT cores. Are you saying you need 4/8HT cores, or as long as its an i7, you are fine?

 

[goobernoodles]

There are i7s that are only 2/4HT cores. Are you saying you need 4/8HT cores, or as long as its an i7, you are fine?

I'd prefer 4 cores if possible, but any i7 is fine. I have a desktop that I use for the bulk of intensive applications.

Budget is roughly ~$1600. I'm open to buying a machine with a good CPU and adding a SSD and memory if it's cheaper.

 

[jaydee]

Might be able to find a cheaper config elsewhere, but here's what I came up with on Dell's website.

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...d=latitude-e6540-laptop&c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04

4th gen Intel® Core™ i7-4610M Processor
AMD Radeon HD 8790M Graphics 2GB GDDR5
8GB (2x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3L Memory
256GB Mobility SSD
8X DVD+/-RW
Intel® Advanced -N 6235 802.11AGN Dual Band Wi-Fi + BT 4.0LE Half Mini Card
15.6inch UltraSharp FHD(1920x1080) Wide View Anti-Glare
9-cell (97Wh) Lithium Ion battery with ExpressCharge™

No microphone port, but you can probably find on via ExpressCard slot
You can get the serial via legacy dock: http://accessories.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&sku=430-3115


$1650

 

[goobernoodles]

I've been getting e6540's mainly lately ever since HP Elitebooks stopped putting numpads on theirs. Good machines. I was hoping to find something smaller than a 15.6" laptop though. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[tsupersonic]

What about the T440/T440S/T440P? Sounds like it would fit the bill. D'oh, I just saw the part about the T440S trackpad.

 

[rsutoratosu]

I used to recommend lenovo but the x240/t440/t540 has turned me off..

we have so much issues on the x240, returned all of it, have a few t540 left, they randomly wont wake up.. even testing on factory image without loading anything on it.

here's most of my list

https://github.com/leoluk/thinkpad-stuff/wiki/Haswell-ThinkPad-problems

 

[brshoemak]

I was in the same boat a little while ago. I ended up going with a Dell E6440 to replace my aging E6400 and I'm very happy with it. It's definitely not the newest kid on the block, but it's a solid machine and I've had zero issues thus far.

It pretty much checks the boxes for every requirement you listed. I ended up getting a new SSD for the main drive, then picked up a hard drive caddy that fits in the optical drive bay and dropped my original SSD into that for additional space. The caddy came with a small nylon case and I just keep my DVD drive in that for the rare occasion that I need it.

If you go that route, just be sure to get the upgraded screen (1920x1080) to maximize the 14" of real estate.

It's not an ultralight or anything, but it feels solid and seems like it could take a beating if it came to it.