• This topic has 18 replies, 16 voices, and was last updated 13 years ago by Kuco.
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  • IT question – £1k budget for a durable laptop – which one?
  • winston_dog
    Free Member

    At work I have been asked to have a look at laptops, we want something portable and durable.
    Not looking for a “Toughbook” type machine, just something that can handle being generally abused, not left out in the rain or in a puddle.
    Portability and battery life more important than out and out performance, probably a 12 – 14″ screen.
    Any suggestions around the £800 – £1200 price range?

    mikertroid
    Free Member

    Macbook?

    damo2576
    Free Member

    Thinkpad if you need to be PC based. Otherwise Macbook/Pro

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    willard
    Full Member

    Second for the Mac, but you may struggle to find one in that price range. Maybe a newer 13″ dual core job…

    Failing that, HPs seem pretty tough. My work laptop (HP something) has taken a lot of abuse, but I hate it now. Only because I bought the 15″ Macbook Pro though

    winston_dog
    Free Member

    It’s got to be Windows, I liked the look of the Thinkpads, may go that way.

    br
    Free Member

    I’ve an Acer 4810TZ, about £400 ex vat – and with an 8 hour battery. had it for a year now. That good that I also bought them for my last client – they wanted cheap, portable, reliable and able to cope the average (travelling) recruitment agent.

    My last Acer managed 4 years with constant travel including a 90 mile commute in a m/c top-box, and only the HD failed – which beat all the Toshibas and Sonys I’ve had over the previous 20 years.

    spooky_b329
    Full Member

    Try searching for ‘semi-ruggedised’ laptops, that should bring up the sort of things you’re looking for. The Toughbook is ‘fully-ruggedised’.

    The fully rugged laptops are impressive, have dropped my works Toughbook CF-18 4 feet onto concrete with the screen open and it didn’t even turn off, I’ve also shut the lid on an errant screw and it just left a tiny blemish in the touch screen protector…I only noticed something was wrong as the lid mechanism was tight to release. Also dropped some pliers onto the screen when its been in tablet mode and they just bounced off 🙂 Personally I reckon it would be cheaper to give us normal laptops and replace them three times as often when we break them 🙂

    surfer
    Free Member

    Personally I reckon it would be cheaper to give us normal laptops and replace them three times as often when we break them

    Thats my experience. Ruggedised ones are tougher but never really “tough” by definition they are always fragile.
    Ignore the fanbois Macs wont work well unless you work for a graphic designer! and as far as fragility goes they are more so that a thinkpad/Dell/HP model.

    allthegear
    Free Member

    MacBook pro and a copy of windows 7 will be less than £1k. New model due in march I hear and they run win 7 really well – didn’t PC Pro rate it their favourite windows laptop last year??

    Rachel

    PiknMix
    Free Member

    Toughbook light (Exec series)or any Lenovo

    geoffj
    Full Member

    Lenovo or MacBook running windows

    CHB
    Full Member

    Another vote for Acer Timeline series. Thin, light, durable and about £500 each with a long battery life.

    cxi
    Free Member

    I’ve got a HP Elitebook 8440p – would come in nicely on budget

    jon1973
    Free Member

    Lenovo or MacBook running windows

    doesn’t a Mac running Windows negate the point of having a Mac? Surely you’d suffer from all the ‘problems’ associated with Windows, Why not just by a Windows laptop?

    (serious question)

    geoffj
    Full Member

    Why not just by a Windows laptop?

    Aluminium unibody is a lot tougher than plastic bodies you get on most standard windows machines

    http://store.apple.com/uk/product/FB467B/A?mco=MTA4MzIzMDA

    footflaps
    Full Member

    My MacBook Pro is tougher than any Windows laptop I’ve used – I dented my previous Samsung by picking it up by the corner and the whole case deformed under it’s own weight!

    warton
    Free Member

    macbook, but pay for apple care incase the logic board goes…

    cxi
    Free Member

    Aluminium unibody is a lot tougher than plastic bodies you get on most standard windows machines

    Is that a like-for-like comparision? Eg £400 models compared or £1000 models compared?

    The Elitebook I linked to above has, to quote, HP:

    A magnesium/aluminum display enclosure and magnesium alloy chassis provides increased durability.

    Kuco
    Full Member

    macbook, but pay for apple care incase the logic board goes…

    Wish I did for my Macbook pro 😥 Had an old ibook that I dropped several times and whilst I was dreading the worst it survived both impacts fine.

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