I've got an HP Envy 15 (1104TX) that has all you want: 1. Supports up to 16Gb Ram 2. 1960x1200 resolution (in a 15.6" screen). I like the screen. It's not Dell's Adobe RGBLED but it's close. 3. Core i7 Price was $3000 back in February. There is a new version released recently by HP that might be much better. 4. + After market SSD
$2100 on eBay with SSD http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW---HP-Envy-15-Laptop---i7-820-8G-RAM---128G-SSD-HDD_W0QQitemZ260695699625QQcmdZViewItem?rvr_id=176625346640&query={query}&fitem=260695699625&linkin_id=8062051&mt_id=641&kw={query} The bad: - Keyboard has an extra set of keys to the left which is really annoying but you get used to it. - Crap battery life (1h) - Crap support (they didn't want to help me find out the Bluetooth drivers because I was not running the OEM W7 version). - Bluetooth is a bit flaky - Few of the keys started to loose the paint :( No chance for a replace as "it's my fault" (f*u* HP) - No VGA output (only mini HDMI). You need a special HP cable at $240 to output VGA - Any hardware support means shipping the laptop to HP and waiting 10-20 days for them to review, get parts and fix it. It's considered a consumer product not a business one which is plain stupid. How many "consumers" buy a $3000 laptop? I'm quite happy with it. Does not get terribly hot and it's very nice and light and relatively small. If HP support would be on par with Dell this would be the best laptop ever. I might even consider upgrading to 16Gb of RAM one day. Never had the feeling I need it but one day ... Corneliu. On Tue, Nov 30, 2010 at 11:13 AM, James Chapman-Smith < ja...@enigmativity.com> wrote: > Hi folks, > > > > I’ve been using a Dell XPS M1710 laptop now for the nearly the last 4 > years. It’s been a good little beast and it still performs better than many > of the newer machines that I get lumbered with on some client sites. > > > > It is now time for me to upgrade. Being a development machine I want good > graphics, lots of screen real estate (1920x1200 preferred) and memory > (12GB+). > > > > I’ve initially looked at the latest Dell offering – the XPS > 17<http://www1.ap.dell.com/au/en/home/notebooks/xps-17/pd.aspx?refid=xps-17&s=dhs&cs=audhs1&~ck=mn>– > it looks good, it can be configured with 16GB of RAM, but it only has > 1680x900 resolution. The XPS > 15<http://www1.ap.dell.com/au/en/home/notebooks/xps-15/pd.aspx?refid=xps-15&s=dhs&cs=audhs1&~ck=mn>offers > 1920x1080 but has an 8GB RAM limit. The other Dell offerings are > getting old so I’d like to avoid them. > > > > So it might be time to jump ship from Dell. > > > > I’m looking for advice from my fellow devs on which laptop brands and/or > models are highly regarded. I’m happy to pay for quality. > > > > *What laptop can anyone recommend for my next dev machine?* > > > > Cheers. > > > > James. >
