- Mar 12, 2002
- 4,855
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Looking for a new Mobile Workstation to replace a Dell Precision 490 at work.
I'm looking to replace it with a Mobile Workstation with the following specs (in order of importance):The Precision 490 is configured with the following:
- 2 x Xeon 5500 CPU's (2 Core w/HT, 3Ghz each)
- 16GB DDR2 667 ECC FBDIMM RAM
- 500GB WD Black HD (OS drive)
- 500GB WD Black HD (Virtual Machine drive)
- 750GB WD Blue HD (Application/Storage drive)
- 16GB RAM (I already have this, so overpriced vendor RAM isn't needed)
- Core i7 Quad core w/ HT (speed not of utmost importance. More cores needed for VM's)
- Good quality 15" Display (Dreamcolor may not be an option: Read below)
- Primary 500GB 7200 RPM HD (I already have a Seagate Momentus XT for this)
- Secondary SSD for Virtual Machines (I already have a 256GB Crucial M4 for this)
- Graphics not important, but must be able to run 2 x 24" LCD's @ 1080p each
- 3 year On-site warranty (work computer)
- Dell Precision Mobile Workstation M4600
- HP EliteBook 8560w
- Lenovo ThinkPad W520
Here are the basic specs across all customized builds:
- Intel Core i7-2720QM 2.2Ghz
- 4GB RAM (I can't select less than 4GB on any customized builds)
- 320GB 7200RPM Hard Drive (I can't select anything smaller on customized builds)
- 15.6” HD 1920x1080 LCD/LED
- AMD FirePro M5950 1GB / Quadro 1000M
- 6-cell Battery (Minimum)
- Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (Minimum)
- Bluetooth
- WebCam
- Fingerprint Reader (May need it)
- Intel vPRO (it's there, don't really need it)
- Back-lit Keyboard
- Support a 2nd 2.5" Hard drive (natively or via an adapter)
- 4 DIMM slots
- 3 year On-site "Premier/Pro" warranty
Pro and Cons for the 3 models...
Dell Precision Mobile Workstation M4600
Pros:
Cons:
- Fairly priced for the specs (almost on-par with ThinkPad W520)
- Decent chassis build
- I kind of like the keyboard layout (Have not had an eval unit to test first-hand)
- Very good display upgrade option
- Can do Nvidia Optimus graphics switching
- Less flexibility in customization
- Have to buy ProSupport/Premium support for US phone support (working in IT, this matters when I need less hassling to facilitate a repair)
- Cannot do graphics switching with AMD video it would appear
HP EliteBook 8560w
Pros:
Cons:
- Most flexible configuration options (More lower-end/free OS options, more hardware config options)
- Has the best display upgrade (10-bit DreamColor display)
- Has the best chassis build that rides the fence between business and consumer lines (Closer to an HP Envy than a typical business notebook)
- Back-lit keyboard option
- Premium 3-year warranty is standard
- Intel LAN and Wireless
- Most expensive out of the bunch (even with work discount)
- Has the most expensive display upgrade
- Display upgrade does not allow Nvidia Optimus graphics switching (due to it's 10bit display that Intel's integrated video does not support)
- Cannot graphic switch with AMD graphics card either it seems with 'default' display
Lenovo ThinkPad W520
Pros:
Cons:
- Cheapest of the 3 vendors for similar spec
- Nice hardware/software options/features (Lenovo RapidBoot, Access Connections/Power Manager, etc.)
- Cheapest basic 1080p LCD option
- ThinkPad keyboard. If you've ever used one for an hour, you know.
- Nvidia Optimus support (Graphics switching)
- ThinkPad build quality (you take that as you will, but my experience has been fairly positive)
- Cannot upgrade the display to something on par with the other 2 vendors
- No backlit keyboard option
- Textured Trackpad. Not crazy about it (had an eval unit for over a month)
- Needs lots of different software loaded to support what the add-on hardware can do
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