Laptop - whats You favorite brand

In connection with a new job I am considering to buy a laptop to use solely for developing programs in Delphi (private use, I would not be able to get my employer to pay for this too ).

For years I have been using IBM ThinkPads at work and I really like those however I think they are way too expensive when I have to pay for it myself.

In my new job I will get a Dell laptop, don't know yet model or specs on that and have no experience with Dell laptops at all.

So what brand / model should I go for when it should just be used for developing small programs with Delphi Studio 2005 Proffessional? I am not after the cheapest possible laptop but I am not after the most expensive either.

IMO, for the money, and my experience, Dell

I think of Sony as being the most reliable and high-performance, but if you're looking into a dell, go with a juiced up inspiron 6000, or if you prefer a big big screen (17 wide), stick to the awesome 9300, of which I have two of in my house. Dell is a good value, but if you don't buy an "extra" warranty, don't expect a word of tech support.

True: get the extended warranty. anytime a screw gets loose or a tiny little rubber bumper on the screen lid falls off, I hit them up and they come running. But, order with only the minimum RAM and but/install memory from a 3rd part, such as Kingston or go to Newegg. I ordered my 9300 with 256 mb ram and switched out with 2gb from Kingston, on sale for $338.00. Same ram from Dell would have been 1000.00. Also, look for coupons... i got my 9300 for 33% off which was a sweet deal.

Dell at work, Dell at home. Server is homemade POS tower/box.

Given the choice it would be IBM but like you I can't afford it so I went Dell for my last two. I've got a i6000 now that I've been impressed with. I second the idea to get as little ram as possible from Dell and buy 3rd party. I've got 2 gigs of Kingston in mine at the moment.

Also a note about Dell...buy the 3 year onsite no fault warranty. If you look online for some of the coupon links you should be able to save enough to off set the warranty cost or get a free upgrade etc.

Hehe I could afford the IBM if I wanted But I'll leave it to coporates to buy that for private use I don't want to pay the price the IBM TP's cost. Not even at the employee discounts.

As for coupons etc. I live in Denmark so none of those work. I will only get the rebates when they are actually available directly on the site One of the rebates is actually double up on the memory so on selected Dell's that usually ship with 256 MB ship with 512 without extra cost.

I work on them all day, everyday. Thats my job. I personally think sony's are the best.

If you want the best and probably coolest lappy, build an Asus. That would be sweet!

For the money, for the support, for an absolute cool machine... DELL all the way. Try to get it through an employee discount at work and you've got yourself a great computer for a low price.

We just purchased two Inspiron700m from this deal at work. Get a laptop for half off if its $1400 or more. I chose two base 700ms then upgraded both till it hit $1400 in upgrades (memory, DVD burner, HD space, etc.) I paid aproximately $1400 for two really great laptops!

Prior to this I owned an Inspiron 8200 and use Dells at work as well.

I'm with the Dell vote.

My personal favorite is the IBM Thinkpad T Series. I'll never buy Dell again after dealing with their support various times. When I call IBM I am on hold for about a 1 minute before someone who speaks perfect English and knows exactly what he is talking about picks up.

I've got a Dell, so they get my vote. Get the extended warranty....I "accidently" dropped mine when it stopped working and sent it back; within three weeks I had a new one with a larger HD, triple the memory, and more options for no extra price.

I don't know Delpphi would work natively, though it would with Virtual PC, but I say Apple.
That said, Windows, I hate to go with the crowd, but yeah, Dell.

IBM all the way. Got a IBM x22 at home and at work we have a wide selection (R and T´s) of IBM laptops as we are IBM Buisness Partners.

If you cant afford a new IBM you might wanna look into buying a used one...i would personally rather get a used IBM than a new Dell.

http://laptops.dk/ have some awsome prices on IBM laptops as they buy the parts from the cheapest place and assemble them in Denmark. Although the laptops are not covered by the IBM warranty they are covered by laptops.dk themself (3 years).