laptop advice

[Knipex]

Ok long story short.

Got a new job and they are buying me a laptop. For work all it needs to do is the usuall office, e-mail, interweb etc. basically anything out there will do !!!

But I will be using this as my main machine at work NO DESKTOP MACHINE.

I will have no other monitor so a decent screen is important.
Ability to play some games / DVD's would be nice. (nights can get long in hotel rooms.) This machine will have to last me 2 to 3 years. Weight isnt a huge issue (Im a big strong lad) but portability would be nice. Wireless networking is not a requirement. (I used to be an electrician so I hardwire everything) A Modem for dial up is an absolute necessity. Other than that I am wide open to ideas.

My budget is tight. (max €2000 about £1400). Has to be available in Europe and has to ship with english manuals etc. (for something nice I would be willing to put a few quid of my own into it but it will be owned by the company)

I have a little experience with laptops and used a Toshible Satelite 600mhz Celeron for 2 years and it was painfull (job at the time got 20 of them at an end of line sale at PC world).

So I need advice. Models and places to buy them.

Ok what does this look like

[adwhitworth]

I would highly suggest the Dell Centrino Laptops. I have a few friends with them and they are amazing. Up till the 19th Jan, Dell have the Inspiron 8600 w/upgrade to a 1.5 P4M for £1300ish.

[scopEDog]

If you dont mind paying a bit more for them...IBM laptops are really the best on the market. I've had 3 and have been the most solid, dependable machines I've ever owned....and by golly i dont even work for IBM :)

[iduktech]

I have a 15" 2.2ghz dell inspiron, but like andy said Centrino Laptops are the nicest,
with my laptop I can play "call of duty", "need for speed under ground" ect ect, It came with a dvd player, so I get to do my accounts while watching a movie
I got it 4 months ago at a wow price of £465.00 + vat (£546.37)

[Pug]

Don't have any experience with it personally but I thought this looked nice (albeit a fraction over budget)

Sony Vaio PCG-GRT896HP

2.8GHz, 512MB, 60GB, 16" screen, GeForce 5600Go 64MB, DVD +-RW etc.

Same at eBuyer

Only a yr warranty though.

[Knipex]

Looking at Centrino laptops and think thats where I will be purchacing.

Currently the Dell Inspiron 8600 is looking like the machine for me. Nice spec and within my budget BUT I am curious about the size...

I have never seen (close up) or worked on a widescreen laptops so any pro's cons I should know about ????

Also need recomendation on a nice cheap wireless access point to go with it. :p

I know I said wireless was not required BUT surfing the WizD forums from the fireside while watching the TV does appeal to me. (geek factor points.)

IBM machines rock but to get equivelant spec I would need to sell the Westy and give my boss a heart attack......

[Knipex]

Ok this is what I am looking at.

Dell Insperon 8600.

With a 1.5M processor.
15.4" WSXGA (1680 x 1050) screen (upgraded from 1280 x 800)
512Mb ram
30Gig Drive (more than enough its just word, exel files and e-mail)
8 x DVD drive
64Mb nVidia geforce5200 GO (can upgrade to 128Mb Radeon Mobility 9600 Pro for an extra €115)
Intel Pro Wireless 2100 Mini PCI (must add wireless access point to home network)
Basic Office
Carry Bag

Total €2315.94 (including VAT @ 21%)

This is slightly above budget but I can get away with it.

I am concerened about the screen.
Does Wide aspect make seriously heavy ??
Does it have any real benefits ??
Is the upgrade to the radeon 128Mb worth while with that screen ??
Is the upgrade to the 1680 x 1050 worth it ??

Also any recomended changes ??
Any current owners of the 8600 have any feedback ??

[Edd]

My dad just got his PIII 700 replaced with a shiny new IBM Thinkpad (well, a black new IBM Thinkpad :p) and from what I've seen of it is really nice. The screen is good, however he also got one of their 19" monitors as well with a docking station, so in the office it doesn't really matter.